World Rugby has launched the United Kingdom and Ireland broadcast rights tender process for Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan.

With rugby continuing to achieve record participation and interest growth around the world, health the demand for the rights is set to remain strong.

World Rugby has issued bidding information to interested parties in both markets and bids for Rugby World Cup 2019 as a stand-alone or coupled with Rugby World Cup 2023 will be considered.

Broadcasters interested in receiving the tender documentation should contact Jeremy Stone (Jeremy.Stone@img.com). The Rights Holding Broadcaster for each market will be announced later this year.

World Rugby Chief Executive Brett Gosper said: “Rugby World Cup 2015 was a very special and record-breaking tournament. Central to its success was the reach and appeal of the tournament through our broadcast partners in the UK and Ireland, where record rugby audiences were achieved.

“We are inviting all interested parties to enter the process and look forward to appointing our rights holding broadcasters for these important markets later in the year as the exciting momentum continues towards what promises to be a ground-breaking Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan.”

Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad has announced he wil be stepping down from the position at the end of 2015 for family reasons.

The 48-year-old Norwegian has spent eight years at the helm.

Full story HERE.

By Christian Radnedge

SportAccord suffered another blow this week as Peru announced that they were withdrawing their status as host nation for the 2017 World Combat Games.

The Games, cough first hosted in Beijing in 2010, clinic were supposed to be one of the most high profile events under the SportAccord banner – but due to president Marius Vizer’s controversial comments in Sochi last month, link the organisation must find a new host.

Vizer had promised that “the World Combat Games 2017 in Lima, Peru, are slated to be the biggest edition yet, while promising greater returns to all stakeholders.”

But in a strongly worded letter, the Peruvian Olympic Committee voiced their opposition to the criticism that Vizer had aimed at the International Olympic Committee and its president Thomas Bach at the SportAccord Convention.

“It should be noted that the Peruvian Olympic committee is an integral part of the Olympic movement,” Jose Quinones Gonzalez, head of the Peru NOC, wrote.

“Therefore it supports the IOC and the reforms of Agenda 2020 which have been widely consulted and agreed with all members.”

Boxing and taekwondo last week had already quit the event in protest at Vizer’s anti-IOC tirade.

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A record 248,521 spectators attended The Cheltenham Festival 2015, Cheltenham Racecourse announced today, after 68,918 people attended Gold Cup Day, up from 67,814 in 2014.

The previous record crowd for the annual four days of world-class Jump racing that make up The Festival was 237,369. This was recorded in 2012 and before Jockey Club Racecourses capped attendance capacity on Gold Cup Day as part of enhancing the customer experience on offer.

The first three days of The Festival in 2015 attracted record crowds of 63,249 (Tues), 55,859 (Weds), 60,495 (Thurs), followed by a sold out Friday of 68,918.

Ian Renton, who runs Cheltenham Racecourse as South West Regional Director for Jockey Club Racecourses, said: “We have had fantastic crowds – a record on each of the first three days and significantly up on previous years while today has been a sell-out since March 3.

“Racegoers are really happy with the changes we are making here. As part of our £45 million redevelopment, we have tried to create more space behind the main grandstands and at the same time redevelop the tented village to provide a more spacious area.

“Even with a crowd of 63,000 on the first day of The Festival, Tuesday, and nearly 61,000 yesterday (Thursday), everyone felt comfortable. The bars have worked, the queues are less and people feel it is a much easier environment to enjoy their racing.”

Feedback from the public attending each day has been excellent, Renton commented. “It has been lovely – not only have we had tremendous racing, but the reaction of the racegoers has been great. I have had literally hundreds of people coming up to say how pleased they are with the changes and how it has transformed Cheltenham.”

Among the improvements for this year have been new restaurants, additional viewing space around the paddock and a new Brightwells pavilion for owners and trainers. The new grandstand is under construction, with the ground floor being used for a temporary bar this year and the 156 toilets on the lower ground floor in use.

Renton said: “By next year’s Festival, we will have the Cheltenham Club on the top floor, which will be a wonderful facility for people to buy a year-round experience of Cheltenham. The annual boxes are largely all sold, then below that we have fantastic facilities for all categories of racegoers.

“The owners and trainers will have an area with viewing, a bar and a dining facility, and the people who were in the A&R boxes have got a facility on the same floor which will allow them viewing and tables throughout the year.

“Moving down through the stand, a there will be a great facility for annual members overlooking the course, and a new champagne bar, and finally the ground floor bar will be properly kitted out and will be a really fantastic bar for all Club racegoers. We’ll have it all in really good shape for next year.”

Paul Fisher, Group Managing Director of Jockey Club Racecourses, said: “Crowds at The Festival are often an indication of interest levels in our sport generally, so we’re absolutely delighted with the last four days on many levels. Ian and his team deserve huge credit; on his watch The Festival is reaching new heights in popularity and that bodes well for Jump racing as a whole.

“And as Cheltenham is part of The Jockey Club, every penny of profit made will get reinvested back into the sport. It’s been a fantastic four days.”

Fan Cam: The Not So Beautiful Game

One of the greatest things which the internet – and social media in particular – has achieved is it has democratised communication to a point where every one has a platform.

The means and the right to not only have your say and hold a point of view, but also to then publish that view, to disseminate it around the globe.

The man in the pub with a pint and a loud voice now is a worldwide pundit. And perhaps the greatest example of this new found communication power is the Fan Cam.

The people with attitude and outspoken views are now captured outside stadia and turned into media stars.

You need some examples? Well these are just three of the top of their game:

– Arsenal

– Liverpool

– Manchester United

Like reality television stars there is certainly an air of condescension from the people behind the camera – and are we agreeing with the commentators or laughing at them?

A genuine insight from the fans or a guilty internet pleasure? Either way, it does make great viewing. Want more? Of course you do.

Snapchat: Talking To The Youth Market

For many marketeers Snapchat is – like its demographic – a slightly confusing young upstart.

It’s a teenage audience they know they should be talking to, but how do you approach them and how do you converse with the youth without coming across as an awkward dad at the disco?

Well, help may be on hand if rumours of Snapchat’s latest appointment are correct. According to the Techcrunch website, the social platform has taken on Nike’s former global director of digital Eric Toda.

The speculation is that this means Snapchat will themselves be helping teams, brands and stadia to use their My Story to create pieces which are entertaining for communities and will ensure content is relevant and authentic, rather than forced and unfunny.

Some brands such as Red Bull and Taco Bell are already on the channel and the sporting world is following suit – and that uptake is set to grow while it still remains the social weapon of choice for teens.

Nascar on YouTube: Race To Review

There’s an interesting new viewing development in the US taking place with YouTube now showing replays of the entire NASCAR Sprint Cup series races. And it’s free of charge.

So it’s bypassing all the channels, barriers both geographical and digital to create a very democratic form of review.

The replays are part of the league’s intention to make Nascar’s own digital properties the first choice for fans to visit before, during and after race day.

It’s yet another way control of the actual viewing of sport is being wrestled away form traditional broadcast media and into the hands of teams and series. You can check out the most recent Sprint Cup races here.

Social History: Athletes Who Would Have Been Digital Stars

It’s one of those pub conversations every one should have. Which athlete, from a previous era, would have killed it on social media?

Who would have been the Joey Barton, the Manchester City, or the Roger Federer on social media if it had been around? It’s the question posed in a blog on the bleacher report site.

It lists some sports stars such as John McEnroe and Babe Ruth who would have made great copy had they been on Twitter, but perhaps the one we could all agree on is Muhammad Ali.

Esoteric genius, world champion and as quick with his wit as with his gloves, when he was fighting he would have been social gold.

But over to you. Who do you think would have been a knockout on Instagram or a contender on Facebook? Let us know via the comments below.

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Having spent eight seasons in Formula One managing the digital channels for world champions Red Bull Racing, David Granger now runs Fact 51, a social and digital content agency.

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Earlier this week I moderated a panel for the PR industry on Sports Tourism; it was widely agreed that it was the ‘silent sector’ in sport. Testament to this was the extended debate amongst the organizers deciding whether the event should be themed Sports Tourism or Destination Marketing. What is clear is that it is playing a central role in sparking the recovery of global tourism. Sports tourists are high-spending and stay longer, often stimulating other forms of tourism in their wake.

For the sports sector, sports tourism is often associated with host city bidding, often being seen as the flip side of that coin; if cities host a major sports event, fans will come to it. Whilst this is not an insignificant part of the world of sports tourism, not least of all financially, there is a lot more to this growing sector than that.

As the Sports Tourism specialist on the panel, Gerry Dawson, Director of Destination Marketing BSL, explained ‘There are many reasons for the sport tourism boom. Traditional sun and sea vacations were the mainstay of the industry but these are being replaced by active sport related holidays. Today we see a proliferation of flight and destination options alongside a new breed of tourists keen to attend an ever-increasing calendar of readily accessible mega sporting events.’

Despite flat global growth in tourism revenue between 2008 and 2010, sports related tourism moved from c.8% to 11.5% of total spend, seeing it rank as the fastest growing element in the global tourism sector. The World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) estimated that total global tourism receipts in 2012 were £638 billion, with sport related tourism estimated at c.15% or £95bn.

These figures haven’t been achieved simply through major events, a significant contributing element is travel involving spectating or participating in something much smaller or localized. After all, events of all sizes can animate a city, just look at something like the Kinsale 7s or Limassol Marathon.

 It isn’t just the athletes who dictate the scale of an event, increasingly the importance of volunteers is becoming a critical factor. Whilst these people are usually local, with major events the volunteer workforce is as likely to be in-bound tourists, keen to play a part in history.

Sport tourism is now a tool to make and achieve many things – from generating significant revenues, creating thousands of new jobs, regenerating urban infrastructure and to develop or reappraise entire destinations. Additionally brands are getting in on the act, with major organizations sponsoring or staging events in order to get even closer to their target markets.

As sport’s influence on society increases, its economic influence will extend accordingly too. Sports tourism is a burgeoning area and clearly still has healthy future growth potential.

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Rebecca Hopkins is Managing Director of ENS Ltd, a London-based sports agency tasked with promoting and protecting brands in sport. They specialize in sports PR, crisis management and online public relations.

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The litany of alleged scandals at football’s world governing body FIFA continues to grow in line with the increasing revenue pouring into its coffers from lucrative media rights deals and corporate sponsorships.

Bribery, vote rigging and corruption seem to be standing items on the agenda of the patriarchs of the ‘football family’, a discredited and dysfunctional body with a rap sheet stretching from ISL to Qatar.

But FIFA dismisses the outrage of each fresh revelation with the insouciance of the first family of crime contemplating its latest ASBO. Surely it is time for a sterner sanction, but how can Mr.Blatter and his henchmen be brought to book when they consider themselves accountable to no one but themselves?

The good news is that a precedent exists for changing the unacceptable culture and behavior of the self-appointed petty potentates of football administration.

After the debacle of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002, the US Senate threatened that US companies would face prohibition from engaging in sponsorship relationships with any part of the Olympic movement unless all corruption was eradicated and processes put in place to ensure it could not recur. The effect was immediate and little has been heard to damage the integrity of the International Olympic Committee since that time.

Two factors militate against the same solution being applied to FIFA. First, the US could exert both moral authority as host country and financial muscle as the largest contributor to the media rights auction. In addition, eight of the ten leading IOC sponsors in 2002 were US companies and the financial damage to the IOC from their withdrawal would have been catastrophic.

Here lies the difference between the Olympic movement and football. The US audience for the World Cup is not dominant while only two of FIFA’s current top six sponsors are US companies.

Collective action by national governments with the power and moral authority to demand change is unlikely given the prestige and economic benefits that accrue from staging the World Cup finals. This leaves the Swiss as host nation to FIFA or the corporate sponsors themselves as the only entities able to insist upon change and with the financial power to enforce it.

It remains to be seen if they can be persuaded to act or if the politics of self-interest will continue to prevail and enable the FIFA gravy train to maintain its runaway course.

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Steven Falk is director of Star Sports Marketing a consultancy providing advice on sponsorship activation, CRM, brand and affinity marketing. You can follow him on Twitter @steven_falk

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