IMG Renews MotoGP TV Rights Distribution Deal to 2020

Sports and media company IMG and Dorna Sports, medstore the exclusive commercial and TV rights holder of MotoGP, here have extended their agreement for distribution of the TV Rights of the World Championship until the 2020 season.

IMG will continue as global consultants to Dorna and will help with sales in markets such as Italy, there the UK, Germany, Portugal, Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific.

Manel Arroyo, Managing Director, TV & Media, Dorna Sports, said: “We are pleased to extend our cooperation with IMG. We have developed a good working relationship over the past few years and MotoGP has benefitted from the local expertise that IMG has in many worldwide territories.”

Ioris Francini, President of Events & Media for IMG, said: “MotoGP continues to grow in popularity with bike fans and viewers all over the world and we are delighted to be continuing to work with Dorna to further increase the reach and awareness of the sport to new territories and platforms over the next few years.”

FC Barcelona Reveal Record Turnover for Latest Financial Year

Spanish LaLiga giants FC Barcelona have announced a club record turnover of €608 million for the 2014/15 financial year.

Susana Monje, the club’s Vice-president for the Economic Area described it as “the best moment ever in the history of the Club.”

More info HERE. 

Current Favourite to be Next FIFA President Confirms for Soccerex

Soccerex are honoured to announce that HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, the main challenger in the May FIFA elections and the bookies favourite to be the next FIFA President, has confirmed he will be giving an exclusive interview as part of the Soccerex Global Convention 2015, 7-9 September, Manchester.

Following the dramatic events in Zurich in May, which culminated in FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter declaring his decision to lay down his mandate at an extraordinary elective Congress, between December 2015 and February 2016, football’s governing body is set to vote on a new leader. Prince Ali’s session at Soccerex, just a few months before the elective Congress, will give the football industry the unique opportunity to hear directly from the man in pole position to lead FIFA into a new era.

Shortly before May’s Congress, Prince Ali spoke to delegates at the Soccerex Asian Forum in Jordan where he stated that he felt he needed to run for President because “as wonderful as football is and as popular as it is around the world, unfortunately the reputation of FIFA is not there at all, so therefore a change needs to happen, whether its myself or anyone else”. To watch the interview in full, please go to https://youtu.be/RrYqEdcwEOI.

Prince Ali is part of diverse and business-focused programme at this year’s Soccerex Global Convention, which includes the likes of MLS Commissioner Don Garber, UEFA Executive Committee member Davor Suker and Rugby Football Union CEO, Ian Ritchie, along with best practice workshops on topics such as social media, sponsorship and Performance featuring brands such as Facebook, Twitter, Heineken and SAP. The Convention will also host official meetings for its institutional partners The Football League and La Liga which will see senior representatives attend from all member clubs from both leagues. To view the full programme, please go to Soccerex Global Convention 2015 Conference Programme<http://mysoccerex.com/GC15_Conference_Programme.pdf>.

The Soccerex Global Convention brings together over 3000 of football’s elite for three days of networking and business value. In addition to the insight provided by the conference programme, the event offers alongside a market-leading international exhibition and unrivalled networking opportunities. A programme of social events completes the schedule for what is widely acknowledged as the world’s leading football business event.

For further information about this event please call +44 (0)208 987 5522 or visit www.soccerex.com/global<http://www.soccerex.com/global>.

Infrastructure Budget for Rio 2016 Revealed at 25% More than Planned

The infrastructure budget for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games has been revealed at 24.1bn Reais ($10.76bn), order 25% more than planned.

The budget, announced by Brazilian authorities, will cover 27 projects in urban development and public transport.

Part of that includes the 8bn Reais for a new fourth metro line, whilst other projects have been excluded, including the upgrade to the Galeao airport.

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes blamed the higher budget on new projects and inflation, which has raised costs by 30% since Rio won the bid in 2009.

Paes has also stated that 57% of the infrastructure costs will come from public funds, from federal, state and municipal governments.

Hosting the Games will now cost Brazil 36.7bn Reais, but that does not include over half of the 52 projects or facilities that will be used only for the Olympics and have yet to receive approval.

The organisers are coming under increased scrutiny for the slow progress they are making.

iSportconnect TV Launches End of Year Poll, Enter to Win Prizes!

Win an Amazon Kindle, allergist two tickets to the Directors’ Club or a copy of Lou Imbriano’s “Winning the Customer” book by completing the iSportconnect TV Yearly Round Up poll.

iSportconnect TV invites our members to take part in our Yearly Round Up poll.

As 2013 winds-down, site iSportconnect TV will be hosting a special edition of our Weekly Round Up show – the Yearly Round Up. We have compiled a list of events from 2013 that we believe played a significant part in shaping 2013.

By ranking the events in order of importance you can help shape the content of our final TV show of 2013 and be entered into our prize draw!

From the election of Tokyo as the 2020 Olympic Games host city, through to the increased cases of doping and match-fixing in sport, the iSportconnect TV top 10 covers a range of topics that we believe made 2013.

Click here to take part in the survey and tune into the Yearly Round Up on Friday 20th December to see the results!

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Cardiff City Stadium to Hold 35,000 by 2014-15 Season

Newly crowned Championship winners Cardiff City Football Club could expand their home ground to 35, viagra order 000 for the start of the 2014-15 season.

Club director Steve Borley confirmed that there would be no change ahead of the club’s first season in the Premier League and also said that the Bluebirds would not stage any matches at the 74, look 000 seater Millennium Stadium during the new season.

Stadium expansion was first promised by billionaire owner Vincent Tan during the controversial rebranding of the club.

Borley said: “We’ve never been presumptuous about our promotion. As a club it was case of getting it done first and then worry about the other bits later.

“It’s a pleasant problem to be looking at and it’s something that will be high on the agenda, but my guess is that it would be very much for next season.

“I would say we start planning it for the 2014/15 season.”

Tan originally suggested £12m ($18.3m) would be needed to increase the stadium by 8,000 and the works would involve removing the roof, so could only take place during the off season.

Manager, Media Sales & Sponsorship – San Francisco Giants

Location: San Francisco, adiposity USA

Closing Date: 27th September 2016

Overview:

The San Francisco Giants are seeking an experienced media and sponsorship sales executive with a strong background in sports media assets including radio, generic television, online and print products. The ideal candidate will manage the sales process and relationships with all Giants media partners as well as develop strategic approaches to cross-selling sponsorship related opportunities.   This is a senior role requiring significant experience in media sales and management.

Position Responsibilities:

  • – Engage and strategize with senior level executives and partner media sales team to promote and present opportunities at the team’s broadcast partner stations in order to demonstrate how the Giants can exceed their sales objectives through cross-platform marketing solutions and integrated sponsorships
  • – Manage the Giants Hispanic market outreach and sales for media and sponsorship by working with sales teams in the creation of sales presentations
  • – Partner with cross-functional sponsorship sales teams in the execution of media and Hispanic marketing sales strategies; identify and execute integrated advertising opportunities
  • – Present multi-faceted sponsorship opportunities to existing and new clients
  • – Prepare and execute a successful sales plan that meets and exceeds monthly, quarterly and annual revenue budgets; present weekly sales reports to the Director, Sponsorship Sales
  • – Supervise sold programs through execution and collection stage
  • – Update and create sales proposals; identify, understand and communicate trends within the client market
  • – Responsible for prospecting, negotiating, securing media sales, achieving specific monthly and annual local revenue goals and maximizing revenue opportunities
  • – Additional responsibilities connected to non-media related sponsorship assets including signage, promotions, experiential programs, community programs, and other integrated sponsorship marketing packages

Knowledge and Skills:

  • – Bachelors Degree required with emphasis in communications, marketing and/or business
  • – 5+ years of experience in media sales and management experience preferably in the Bay Area market
  • – Proven ability to network within corporate community with the instinct for selling sports media/sponsorship programs
  • – Proven track record of success with media and sponsorship sales
  • – Goal oriented, self-starter with strong work ethic and prospecting skills; with an ability to manage multiple projects in a fast paced and time sensitive environment
  • – Demonstrated experience with Outlook, Word, Power Point, Excel and CRM systems (i.e. Salesforce)
  • – Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills and adhere to highest ethical standards
  • – Proficient in Spanish is a plus
  • – Proven ability to manage, lead and motivate sales executives
  • – Ability to work non-traditional hours

How to Apply

Click HERE to apply

CPL extend Unibet deal

The HERO Caribbean Premier League (CPL)  has  confirm an extension to their partnership with Unibet, health which will see the sportsbook retained as the Official Betting Partner of the CPL for a further two years.

The deal will also see Unibet continue as an official sponsor to the Zouks franchise.

As Official Betting Partner, look Unibet will continue to offer an unrivalled range of betting markets on the CPL for the 2016 and 2017 editions.  

Read more HERE.

BBC ‘Price of Football’ Study Reveals Increase in Prices for Fans in UK

BBC Sport has released its annual ‘UK Price of Football’ study and it once again makes for interesting reading.

The study found that the cost of watching football in the UK has dropped or remained the same for the majority of fans.

The BBC study looked at costs at 227 clubs in 13 UK leagues and it showed that 70% of prices have been frozen, while 30% have further increased.

Another finding from the study revealed that the cheapest match-day ticket in the English Premier League now costs more than £30 on average for the first time after 11 clubs put up prices in this category.

Arsenal again have the most expensive match-day ticket in the Premier League at £97, the cheapest match-day ticket offered by Leicester City at £22.

Arsenal also have the most expensive season ticket in the Premier League at £2,013, with Stoke City having the cheapest season ticket at £294.

Commenting on the survey, Tom Thirlwall, CEO of Copa90, an online video platform for football fans, said: “Some of the headlines from the BBC’s Price of Football survey may lead you to believe that football is finally addressing the problem of spiralling ticket prices.

“However, the cheapest average match day ticket in the Premier League has actually increased by 6.5%, and is now above £30 for the first time. 

“It is at this end of the spectrum where the problems really lie, with young people and those without stacks of disposable income being priced out of attending top-flight football.

“If we continue to price ordinary fans out of going to the stadium, the game as we know it will die, because football is nothing without fans.”

At the end of the 2014/15 season, Copa90 conducted their own study asking their extensive fan community to give their views of the cost of modern football. 

The study found that 69% of fans believed replica shirts are still overpriced and 45% of fans said that ticket prices negatively impacted on their football experience. 

Read the full ‘Price of football’ study HERE.