The WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) has named Stats Perform its Official WTA Data Supplier.

The transformative partnership will deliver multiple feeds to customers – an exclusive umpire-derived data feed for an expanded number of WTA matches, as well as an ultrafast data feed collected by Stats Perform’s Opta analysts.

The data collected by Stats Perform’s Opta analysts will include detailed match statistics down to rally and shot level. This will dramatically increase the level of live insight available for thousands of WTA matches to power a new range of broadcast, second screen, and betting experiences.

The data feed will support Stats Perform’s advanced AI capabilities which will be leveraged to help bring fans closer to the sport through engaging data-driven insights and stories. Through these unique insights, fans will be able to get to know the players and the game at a much deeper level.

The data also enhances Stats Perform’s existing live WTA video streaming service to help create the ultimate experience in trusted and entertaining in-play betting.

Stats Perform’s extensive sports content distribution capabilities will improve the availability of official WTA data to make it more accessible for authorized sportsbooks, broadcasters, OTT, media, sponsors, tech and fantasy games, giving fans and bettors fast, detailed and accurate tennis data.

As evidence of Stats Perform’s commitment to growing the profile of women athletes, the partnership will push more innovative insights and content to raise the profile of WTA players. The agreement also aims to elevate the betting experience through the delivery of faster, deeper feeds, and promote integrity in tennis via the provision of two operationally independent feeds.

Carl Mergele, CEO Stats Perform, says: “The WTA has very ambitious goals for their tournaments and players and we’re proud to be trusted to help them reach new levels of fan and bettor engagement. Our broadcaster, media, and betting networks are already excited because they’ve seen how high-quality information elevates sport’s appeal.”

Micky Lawler, WTA President, says: “Stats Perform has a history of creating innovative and trusted content and products that drive entertainment levels and new revenue streams for the professional sports ecosystem. We’re looking forward to discovering new and unique storylines surrounding the WTA Tour and our players and tournaments available in new, exciting and comprehensive ways.”

ASICS, the true sport performance brand has signed a new partnership with the Brisbane Broncos, as the club’s Official Apparel Partner for 2021 and beyond.

The partnership will see ASICS supply apparel and footwear for the club’s NRL and NRLW teams.

The global sportswear brand places focus on exceptional quality and high performance, with their values aligned with the Brisbane Broncos’ consistent pursuit of improvement and success. 

To help give the Broncos players the edge they need going into the 2021 season, ASICS has produced a new jersey featuring a traditional Broncos maroon colourway with a gold striped sublimation print and a combination of functional materials with excellent fit and durability.

Unique design elements have been added to the jersey to compliment the Brisbane Bronco’s appearance and playing style, including:

· Moisture wicking, quick drying, light-weight material

· New modern collar

· Embossed Broncos text on sleeve trim

· Stripe design, resembling classic Broncos jerseys

Brisbane Broncos squad members including Xavier Coates, Tom Dearden and Payne Haas (pictured above) had the opportunity to trial the jersey before it’s launch.

“The new ASICS kit feels great and looks awesome. It’s lightweight, extremely breathable and really embraces our club’s spirit by giving a nod to vintage Broncos uniforms” said Payne Haas, Broncos player and ASICS ambassador. 

On the new partnership, Mark Brunton, Managing Director at ASICS Oceania said “ASICS has a rich history of supporting Australian sport and is now extremely proud to be in partnership with one of Australia’s most loved National Rugby League clubs.

“The Brisbane Broncos have a great reputation of being a dominant force in the league and we’re looking forward to providing both the NRL and NRLW teams with sportswear that will meet their high-performance requirements.

“Our team has put a great deal of detail into the new jerseys, incorporating the technical elements that ASICS is known for while embracing the spirit of Brisbane Broncos club. We can’t wait to see the teams take the field in them in 2021.”

Brisbane CEO Paul White said the club was excited to join forces with ASICS – one of the worldwide leaders in quality sportswear.

“The Broncos are thrilled to announce a long-term partnership with a company of ASICS’ stature, renowned for producing such premium products,” he said.

“We embarked on a deliberate strategy to align our club with global brands and there are few better-known brands in sport than ASICS. The 2021 jersey designs are outstanding and we are sure our Broncos members and fans will embrace the quality of the entire apparel range being produced by ASICS.”

Diriyah, Saudi Arabia will host Formula E’s first all-electric night race as part of the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship calendar.

Always focused on innovative, sustainable solutions, Formula E will light the track with low-consumption LED technology powered by fully renewable energy. Formula E confirmed this morning that the all-electric ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will literally light up the streets of Diriyah as it returns to the historic desert surroundings of the UNESCO World Heritage site for the third year in a row.   

Set for a spectacular double-header in the dark, the first sport to have net zero carbon since inception will once again use its platform to share a positively charged call-to-action, reminding fans that even the most intense and unpredictable racing can take place without the environment paying the price. 

Lighting the track with the latest low-consumption LED technology will reduce energy consumption by up to fifty per cent compared to non-LED technologies.The remaining energy needed to power the floodlighting will be fully renewable provided by high performing low-carbon certified hydrogenated vegetable oil made from sustainable materials. 

With a founding purpose to counteract climate change, Formula E’s commitment to deliver better futures through racing drives its ongoing environmental, economic and social sustainability initiatives around the world. Saudi Arabia is the perfect partner on this mission, as it embraces its own sustainability journey towards a modern, inclusive Saudi Arabia as part of Vision 2030.

The Diriyah E-Prix will run at 17:00 GMT (20:00 local time) on February 26 and 27. It follows the debut of the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in Santiago, Chile with two races each staged at 18:00 GMT (15:00 local time) on January 16 and 17.

CLMBR, a leader in connected fitness technology, today announced Grammy Award-winning artist and Co-Founder of Marcy Venture Partners, Jay-Z, and Novak Djokovic, the No.1 men’s tennis player in the world, have joined the CLMBR investment team to support the 2021 launch of CLMBR Connectedand CLMBR Purevertical climbing machines.

Their participation continues to build on CLMBR’s reputation as an innovator in the fitness and lifestyle industries.

“Vertical climbing has been known to be an incredibly efficient total body workout without impact. In addition, it puts your body in a neutral spine alignment, which is important for me as an athlete. The on-demand classes and programmatic workouts are a huge bonus! I’m excited to be part of this team and look forward to sharing this fun and powerful workout with the world,” said Novak Djokovic.

CLMBR is an ergonomic and innovative vertical climbing machine. It’s the first vertical climber to feature a large-format touch display with on-demand, instructor-led classes. The patent-pending design has a high-quality build, minimal level of required maintenance, and features an integrated audio system that can fill an entire room with sound, enhancing excitement for the user. It also offers a state-of-the-art companion app to display key metrics, including vertical feet climbed and workout targets reached. 

“We are excited to work with JAY-Z and Novak to bring the best modality in fitness to consumers,” said Avrum Elmakis, founder and CEO of CLMBR. “Unlike bikes, treadmills, and rowers, CLMBR has less impact on the joints while providing the most efficient calorie burn per minute of any machine in the marketplace. CLMBR disrupts the way that people work out and offers something new in a segment that has not seen a lot of meaningful innovation, and I’m excited to share the machine with consumers around the world as we become the leader in the connected fitness market.” 

Deltatre, the global leader in fan-first experiences, and DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga, which is responsible for organizing and marketing Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, have extended their Sportec Solutions collaboration.

As part of a renewed agreement, Deltatre has also taken the majority shareholding of Sportec Solutions. 

Sportec Solutions is the independent joint venture between sports and entertainment technology provider, Deltatre, and the DFL. 

Sportec Solutions offers advanced gathering, storage, analysis, distribution, and analytics of live match data to clubs, licensees, partners, and clients. In addition, Sportec Solutions is responsible for the Bundesliga’s innovative officiating technology, which includes Goal Line Technology (GLT) and centralized Video Assistant Referee (VAR) services. 

For the first time, products from Sportec Solutions will be available to the international market, meaning global leagues and federations can benefit from services that were previously offered exclusively in Germany. Organizations can now develop their own leading data provision services, utilizing the expertise from Sportec Solutions as well as Deltatre operations and worldwide presence. With this enhanced capability, leagues and federations can drive greater revenue from their content whilst optimizing their officiating services, such as VAR and GLT.

 

Giampiero Rinaudo, CEO, Deltatre: “The pace of development and innovation from Sportec Solutions has been extraordinary. The partnership has been productive since its inception. We’re committed to expanding the service to other leagues and federations around the world in collaboration with the DFL – and to helping players, clubs, fans, and broadcasters gain unparalleled insight into the sport they love.

“Deltatre’s further investment underlines our belief that data collection, distribution, and analysis are all fundamental parts of the fan experience evolution. This agreement positions Deltatre as the technology partner of choice for sports organizations that want to control their own event data and associated monetization opportunities.” 

Christian Seifert, CEO, DFL: “The expansion of Sportec Solutions reinforces the DFL’s ambition to play a leading global role, also with reference to media, technology and match data. Looking at match data specifically, the possible uses in sports and media analysis will continue to develop rapidly. As innovation leaders, DFL and Sportec Solutions will provide new impetus to these areas.” 

Deltatre will assume operational and commercial responsibilities outside of Germany. The strong ongoing collaboration sees Christian Holzer and Dr Hendrik Weber serving as Managing Directors. 

Martial arts organization ONE Championship has signed a multifaceted global partnership with Facebook that includes distribution of exclusive content on Facebook Watch, a Facebook Gaming channel where ONE’s top athletes will stream gameplay and gaming commentary, and the addition of ONE Virtual Reality content to the Venues app on the Oculus platform.

ONE Championship and Facebook have long worked together in bringing the most exciting martial arts content to millions of fans globally, leveraging the platform’s power. ONE’s Facebook page now exceeds 25M+ followers and the company exceeded 5 billion platform video views in 2019.

“ONE Championship is committed to finding new ways to connect authentically with our fans and allow them to experience the stories of hope, strength, dreams, and inspiration created by our athlete superheroes. Our long-term partnership with Facebook has been instrumental in allowing us to build reach and audiences around the world. We are excited to expand our partnership and leverage the power of the Facebook platform, be that VR with Oculus, the rapid growth of esports and community gaming with Facebook Gaming, or simply non-stop action clips for Facebook Watch you cannot find anywhere else,” said Hari Vijayarajan, Group CCO of ONE Championship.

The partnership’s agreement includes:

• An agreement to deliver custom content to martial arts fans globally, featuring unique camera angles, behind-the-scenes footage and more, exclusively made for Facebook Watch and IGTV.
• The joint launch of ONE Championship and ONE Esports Facebook Gaming channel, where fans can watch their favorite ONE athletes stream their gaming activity exclusively on Facebook Gaming, playing and engaging daily.
• The launch of “Only on Oculus” next-generation VR content in the Venues app for Oculus Quest where martial arts fans across the globe can experience the best seat in the house, virtually.

“We’re thrilled to extend our partnership with ONE Championship as we grow our sports collaboration across our platform. Community is at the core of ONE Championship and we will continue to help them reach their audiences whether it is through premium content in Facebook Watch, or to our new engagement opportunities through Facebook Gaming. The announcement also bring content to the Oculus platform is testament to ONE Championship’s ability to anticipate where their community will engage and create a meaningful experience for fans,” said Joyee Biswas, Director Sports Partnerships Facebook Asia Pacific.