iSportconnect, Author at iSportConnect

Matchroom Sport announce DAZN and SPORT1 broadcasting deals

Matchroom Sport, denture DAZN and SPORT1 have announced a new five-year agreement, cheap cheap which will see Matchroom’s extensive catalogue of events broadcast on DAZN, decease the new live sports streaming service, and leading PDC darts events broadcast on SPORT1, Germany’s leading multimedia sports broadcaster.

The inclusion of Matchroom Sport’s catalogue of TV sports events means DAZN will now be offering subscribers access to major tournaments across seven more sports, including exclusive coverage of all PDC Darts events. The full catalogue of programming includes:

· all live PDC Darts events including the PDC World Darts Championship, Premier League Darts and World Series of Darts
· Three major world pool events per year, including the popular Europe vs. America Mosconi Cup match
· Champion of Champions snooker
· Fish‘O’Mania, the annual FA Cup of Fishing
· World Championship of Ping Pong
· Weber Cup tenpin bowling
· PGA EuroPro Tour golf

SPORT1 will continue to show live free-TV coverage of a number of the leading Darts competitions including the World Darts Championship, the Premier League Darts, World Matchplay and Grand Slam of Darts as well as delayed coverage of all the other sports competitions.

Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn said: “I am thrilled to be able to announce this new long-term agreement with DAZN – the exciting new live streaming platform in Germany, Austria and Switzerland – and Germany’s leading multimedia sports broadcaster SPORT1.

“Matchroom Sport, SPORT1 and Perform have long-standing and successful partnerships and I am delighted to be able to continue this relationship and to be a part of DAZN’s and SPORT1 content offering.”

Olaf Schroeder, COO Sports of Constantin Medien AG and Chairman of the Management of Sport1 GmbH: “Through this newly signed cooperation with Matchroom Sport together with DAZN, we continue to write history with the longstanding, mutual success story of darts in Germany. With the World Darts Championship, we will extensively present to the constantly growing fan club the absolute annual highlight of the sport on German free-TV. Together with our 360° multimedia coverage and our team featuring commentator Elmar Paulke and host Sascha Bandermann, we want to build on in the tremendous positive development of darts sports.”

John Gleasure, Chief Commercial Officer of DAZN said: “DAZN is all about putting fans first by offering the most extensive range of live and on demand sports content. This long-term partnership with Matchroom Sport provides our members with the most comprehensive Live Darts coverage from one of Germany’s fastest growing sports and an extensive range of other live sports. We are delighted to extend our long standing relationship with Matchroom Sport and providing a new home for the huge number of German Darts fans.”

Welsh Government rule out Commonwealth Games Bid

The Welsh Government have ruled out bidding to host the Commonwealth Games in 2026 according to WalesOnline.

Economy and Infrastructure Secretary Ken Skates said that following a detailed feasibility study they have concluded it is not in a position to bid.

The last time Wales hosted the games was in 1958.

Mr Skates told WalesOnline: “We have now fully considered that feasibility study, anabolics which sets out total projected costs for a Wales bid of between £1.32bn and £1.54bn.

“Such costs would involve a huge additional financial commitment from Welsh Government over three Assembly terms.

“Given the high cost, generic our understanding that an all-Wales bid was less likely to be supported and the current funding uncertainty following the vote to leave the EU, we have reluctantly concluded that the bid for the 2026 Commonwealth Games is not feasible.”

EXCLUSIVE: The Sports Entertainment Business

Wrestling, or sports entertainment, poses an interesting question in blurring the lines between a sports event and a television product.

There is an obvious difference in terms of professional wrestling, seen at the Olympics, and ‘wrestling’ or sports entertainment, which sees pre-determined results but still evolves the physical sports element.

Eric Bischoff is very much a pioneer of the latter having been an Executive Producer and President of World Championship Wrestling, General Manager and Producer of World Wrestling Entertainment and Executive Producer of Impact Wrestling – it’s fair to say he has a little bit of experience in the field.

We sat down with Bischoff, to discuss the business of wrestling.

iSC: Firstly, how difficult was it to manage a Multi-million dollar wrestling company?

EB: “It’s intense, it’s challenging, it’s rewarding, it’s frustrating – it’s all of the above. I’m glad I had the opportunity to do it but at this stage of my life I wouldn’t be interested in doing it again.”

“I wouldn’t work to go back to hyper situations I was in when running WCW, but I love sports entertainment as a performer and a producer. I would love to get back involved once again, if the opportunity was right and there was a chance of it being successful.”

iSC: What do you think has been the biggest change in the industry over the last 30 years?

EB: “The biggest shift has been the television landscape. The television industry has grown significantly, it’s grown vertically – meaning there are a lot more cable outlets, but they are all owned by large conglomerates, so it has become increasingly difficult to find networks that are willing to host wrestling as part of their programme schedule.”

“The industry has become larger but the wrestling side of the industry has got much more difficult for smaller producers. That’s why essentially you have a monopoly in the industry, not an intentional monopoly, but the WWE controls around 97% of the television market.”

iSc: What works best within the industry – some companies are stationed at one base while others travel to other arenas, which of these models brings the most success in your opinion?

EB: “One of the reasons wrestling has endured as a property is because it regularly tours large and small markets. Sports don’t typically perform live in smaller markets, but wrestling is one of those properties where if you live in a small town, then you probably have access to see the same people you see on television each week at a local venue.”

“I think that builds a unique relationship between the property and the audience. In Sports Entertainment, the audience is as important to the program as the action that actually takes place, so you produce the event to capture as much reaction and emotion from the audience, as you do action in the ring. That’s probably not as true with other forms of entertainment.”

iSc: What would you change about the current products being made, having been at the top of the industry, what would you say needs to be improved?

EB: “I watch WWE and I’m a fan of WWE, but as a fan and former producer, I see things that I would do differently. For me it’s a little bit too glossy, it’s almost too produced. As a result It loses its spontaneous feel.”

“What I found is that wrestling fans love the sense that anything can happen. It’s alternative television. The observation that I have now, is that you lose that sense that something unpredictable can happen. I don’t sense that because of the way it’s produced. I would look for a more organic, gritty way to give it that alternative feel to it.”

iSc: You appear to be working on a lot of business projects at the moment, tell us about some of those?

EB: “My business partner and I have our own TV production company. We have two shows that are in production right now and several others at other stages. We also have a gaming company and actually we have some product that we distribute into the UK through William Hill.”

“We also have a small brewing company, which is distributed through the Rocky Mountain area of the US. We’re currently looking at launching a digital channel that will incorporate sports entertainment or wrestling. We are doing a lot at the moment, which are branded entertainment types of products and issues.”

iSc: You mention working within the digital space, is that something that has been influenced by the WWE Network which has proved both lucrative and successful for the WWE?

EB: “The WWE network is an example of a hugely successful digital project but there are many smaller digital wrestling initiatives that are successful as well. Digital platforms are the future of entertainment whether it’s sports or general entertainment.

“So we’re like everyone else in the industry, migrating towards digital platforms and trying to find a way to take advantage of our experience and knowledge and production capabilities to break into that market.”

iSc: The 90s was a ‘boom period’ for wrestling with the so-called ‘Monday Night Wars’ pitting your company WCW against the WWE, would that have been different in today’s world with more platforms than ever before?

EB: “It’s a difficult question, it’s a good question but it’s hard to answer. The Monday Night Wars occurred because of unique timing; unique timing in the TV industry, in sports entertainment and it would be hard to create them circumstances again.”

Eric’s

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CAS uphold Russian track and field Olympic ban

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has upheld the IAAF’s blanket ban on Russian athletes competing at the Olympic Games.

Aside from a handful of exception cases, it means there will be no Russian athletes competing in athletics in Rio.

The decision is also expected to have a wider impact – the IOC had been waiting for CAS’ ruling before deciding whether to ban the entire Russian Olympic delegation in the wake the McLaren report.

However, in its ruling, CAS said it could not make judgements on whether some Russians athletes should be allowed to enter under a neutral flag – as it was beyond its remit. They could only rule bases on IAAF regulations.

Had CAS overturned the ban, the IOC would feel that they could not exclude Russia from the Olympics – as CAS would have already ruled on a case with the same theme: whether individual athletes should be punished for the failings of their country.

The McLaren report outlined systematic, state-sponsored doping by the Russians from 2012 – 2015.

The IOC had said it was ‘exploring the legal possibility’ of banning the entire Russian delegation from Rio, and now CAS have ruled against the Russians, many Western NOCs will be putting pressure on the IOC to do the same.

Japanese Olympic Committee set up investigation into Olympic bid

The Japanese Olympic Committee have announced that it has set up an investigation panel regarding the Tokyo 2020 Bid activities.

The panel includes outside lawyers and an accountant which will investigate the consultancy agreement between the Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee and Singaporean company Black Tidings.

The panel will consist of Yoshihisa Hayakawa, cough a law professior and practicing lawyer – who will head up the panel, asthma Kazuki Shishido, price Vice-Chair of the Japan Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel and Keiichi Kuba, a Public Accountant in Japan and Canada.

In addition, Kiichiro Matsumaru, Senior Executive Board Member of the JOC; and Kotaro Wakui, Senior Director for Trials, Bureau of General Affairs of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, will attend the panel meetings as observers.

The first meeting of the investigation panel will take place on 26 May, 2016.

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One day to go until the iSportconnect Sports Performance Masterclass

The iSportconnect Sports Performance Masterclass is now just a day away and the excitement is building for what is shaping up to be a memorable event.

The event will take place in partnership with Elite Performance Partners at the Grange Hotel Wellington, London on 26th April with a number of high-profile delegates.

Among the panelists will be:

– Chris Earle, Head of Education at The Football Association

– Neil Black, Performance Director of UK Athletics

– Brendan Purcell, Performance Director of British Triathlon

– Les Reed, Executive Director at Southampton Football Club

– Ged Roddy, Director of Youth at the Premier League

– Mark Upton, Coaching Science Manager at the English Institute of Sport

– Mark Evans, Director of Capacity Consulting (Former Harlequins CEO)

– Chris Anderson, Managing Director of Coventry City Football Club

iSportconnect chairman Michael Cunnah said: “Following the success of last years Sports Performance Masterclass, we look forward to welcoming out delegates and the panelists to our latest masterclass at the Wellington. It is set to be an engaging and insightful event with an exciting panel with extensive experience in the field.

“We’d like to thank Elite Performance Partners for all their work in helping create what I’m sure will be a fantastic event.”

The iSportconnect Sports Performance Masterclass will be expertly moderated by David Slemen, Managing Director of Elite Performance Partners, the recruitment business specialising in placing senior leaders and expert practitioners into elite sports teams, governing bodies and federations.

The discussions will be held without the press and under Chatham House Rule, allowing for an open and free flowing debate.

Invitation Policy: The Sports Performance Masterclass is an exclusive invite only event to senior industry executives and other similar positions at governing bodies, federations, teams/clubs and brands only.

To register your interest please contact Elyse Gallacher at elyse.gallacher@isportconnect.com.

In partnership with:

Host Partner:

Global Partners:

Netherlands to Host 2019 World Archery Championships

Netherlands has been named as the host nation for the World Archery Championships, allergist World Archery Para Championships and World Archery Congress in 2019.

The Dutch city of ’s-Hertogenbosch has been confirmed to stage the three events.

London Irish Confirm Appointment of new Chairman

English rugby union club London Irish have announced the appointment of Frank McCartney as the club’s new chairman.

McCartney replaces outgoing chairman David FitzGerald who stepped down for personal reasons.

More info HERE.

“Best Rugby World Cup” Delivers £80m Surplus for World Rugby

By Christian Radnedge

World Rugby ceo Brett Gosper hailed the 2015 Rugby World Cup as the “best” tournament ever, pills but confirmed that the use of technology would be reviewed in the wake of controversial decisions.

Gosper was speaking at Twickenham the day after New Zealand beat Australia 34-17 in the final to win their third world cup title, herbal which World Rugby said was watched by an estimated global television audience of 120 million.

Rugby’s global governing body also confirmed that the tournament generated over £250 million in ticket revenues – more than 2.7 million tickets were sold – delivering an £80m profit to World Rugby and a £15m surplus to the RFU.

A tournament review would take place over the next few weeks, asthma Gosper confirmed, after hailing England 2015 as the best ever since the inaugural edition in 1987.

“It was not just the biggest but the best Rugby World Cup on so many criteria,” Gosper said. “We’re more than satisfied, we’re pretty ecstatic. The whole tournament has shown our sport at its very best in every possible way, not only to existing fans but to new fans.”

On the use of the television match official, which drew criticism for its delay and also for when it could and could not be used, Gosper admitted it would be looked at.

He said: “First of all, I think the TMO and refereeing has been outstanding over the course of this tournament. We’re at a current TMO protocol which will evolve as does every aspect of technology.

“So, as with every other part of the tournament, we will look at this aspect and see if any adjustments need to be made.”

Spotlight on Japan

Also in attendance at Twickenham was World Rugby chairman Bernard Lapasset, who had the honour of joining Prince Harry in handing the Webb Ellis Cup to winning All Blacks captain Richie McCaw.

Lapasset was quick to try and channel the euphoria from England 2015 into excitement for the tournament’s debut in Asia at Japan 2019.

The Frenchman confirmed that he would be meeting with Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe next week to sign off on government guarantees securing the funding for certain organisational aspects of the event.

“We’ve signed an agreement,” Lapasset said. “It is completely the format of the guarantee that we need.

“I will be in Japan on the 8^th to see Mr Abe to receive the full support of the government on that and after that we will have a press conference so we can achieve the process by the end of next week.”

Deodoro progress

Lapasset has yet to confirm whether he will stand for a third term as World Rugby chairman next year, although he did insist that he was focused on delivering a successful rugby 7’s tournament at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Confirming recent discussions about the progress of construction of the Deodoro Stadium where rugby will be played in the first South American Games, Lapasset said: “I met with the chairman of the Brazilian Rugby Union as he was here and we talked about the contact we’ve had with the Rio 2016 organisers and we are hopeful this [venue completion] will be achieved very soon.

“We have good contact with them, the progress is good, we have good support from the government and the local authority and I talked personally with the mayor of Rio and I am very positive about the certainty of the work in Deodoro.”

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MLS Partners With Twitter Ahead of Season-Finale

Major League Soccer (MLS) has partnered with social media platform Twitter to incerase engagement with supporters on the final day of the MLS season on Sunday and in the week leading up to the regular season finales.

Social media staffers will be present at every MLS stadium to help bring the atmosphere and behind the scenes to Twitter’s platforms.