Ben Sherman To Dress Up Team GB For Tokyo 2020

Team GB has appointed British clothing brand Ben Sherman as official supporter for the Tokyo 2020 and beyond.

Under the multi-year agreement, Ben Sherman will create exclusive looks to be worn by the British athletes during the official Opening Ceremony, as well as additional lifestyle apparel for retail.

An exclusive capsule collection will be available at Ben Sherman standalone stores, on bensherman.co.uk and at select retailers for fans.

Ben Sherman Creative Director Mark Williams will head up the design direction of the Opening Ceremony looks while also designing a capsule collection of supporters’ wear.

He said: “It’s a real honour to be tasked with designing the collection. We will use the brand’s heritage, authenticity and aesthetic excellence to inspire the very same athletes who inspire us with their dedication, and sportsmanship. The design elements will hold true to the spirit of the Olympics and Great Britain. We want the athletes to feel an immense sense of achievement and unity while representing the nation during the Opening Ceremony.”

British Olympic Association Commercial Director Tim Ellerton said: “Ben Sherman is a heritage brand synonymous with British fashion and having worked together for Athens 2004, they know what Team GB means in this country. The Opening Ceremony of a Games is a unique moment when the eyes of the world are on the team before the excitement of Tokyo 2020 commences.

“Ben Sherman is known for its creativity and class and we are already excited about the designs they have in mind that will introduce the brilliant Team GB athletes to the world at the Games in the best possible way.”

For the Opening Ceremony of Rio 2016 (in photo), Stella McCartney was in creative charge of the Team GB look.

 

Fox Sports And Caffeine Will Show FIFA eWorld Cup

Fox Sports has won the U.S. television and streaming rights to the finals of multiple EA Sports FIFA19 Global Series events.

Meanwhile, streaming platform Caffeine has secured global streaming rights to all events. The tournament rounds will be livestreamed on Caffeine’s EA Sports FIFA esports channel where American viewers can live-host their own streams of the tournament.

Last September, Fox announced the investment of a combined $100 million into Caffeine and a joint venture called Caffeine Studios, jointly owned by Fox Sports and Caffeine.

Brent Koning, EA Sports FIFA Competitive Gaming Commissioner said: “The superstars of competitive FIFA are creating a compelling narrative of competition and rivalry, fuelled by amazing gameplay and skill on the virtual pitch. Partnering with an established leader in football broadcasting such as Fox Sports will only accelerate our growth and build momentum towards this season’s finale.”

Christian Volk, Director of eFootball and Gaming, FIFA said: “As part of continued and ongoing growth and professionalization of eFootball around the world, we are excited to have Fox Sports and Caffeine on board to broadcast EA Sports FIFA 19 Global Series events, as well as the FIFA eNations Cup and FIFA eWorld Cup later this year. Fox Sports and Caffeine are both recognized and highly respected broadcasters in their own right and we look forward to working closely with them to further showcase eFootball and bring the passion and excitement of the FIFA19 Global Series to new audiences.”

 

Arsenal Signs International Content Deal With Spring Media

Sports media agency Spring Media and Arsenal Broadband Ltd, the digital media arm of Arsenal Football Club, have reached an exclusive agreement for worldwide (ex UK and Ireland) distribution of the club’s international programming block and in-house produced content.

The cooperation will see Stockholm-based Spring Media will work closely with Arsenal’s media department to support its continuous efforts in producing engaging content for its growing global fan base.

The international content distribution aims to support Arsenal’s global sponsorship, social media and fan engagement strategies drawing on Spring Media’s distribution and digital content expertise.

The three-hour weekly Programming Block consists of delayed match coverage from all Arsenal FC Premier League, European and FA Cup first team matches together with the two magazine programs Arsenal World and Arsenal 360.

Arsenal All Access consists of bite-size clips produced by the in-house Arsenal Media production team.  These provide short-form, behind-the-scenes access to Arsenal FC, up close and personal and are available across all platforms.

Ben Ladkin, General Manager of Arsenal Media, said: “We are very pleased to be working with Spring Media for our international media content distribution. Spring Media’s track record in distributing football content globally, and its expertise and focus on digital content and value creation will be important as we continue to grow our in-house content production and engagement with our fans around the world.”

“We are honoured, proud and highly motivated to work with Arsenal FC, one of the world’s biggest football clubs,” said Torsten Billing, partner at Spring Media. “We will apply all our resources and knowhow across rights licensing, production, media management, content creation, and digital distribution to grow the global reach and revenue of Arsenal across traditional broadcast as well as social- and digital media platforms.”

Abu Dhabi Media Gets UFC Rights

UFC has announced a new broadcast partnership with Abu Dhabi Media.

As part of the multi-year agreement, Abu Dhabi Media will provide access to all live UFC events and non-live programming. Abu Dhabi Media will have the exclusive multimedia rights to show all UFC content in the MENA region which includes all live events, pre and post-event programming and all original UFC programming.

Abu Dhabi Media has further rolled out a localized OTT service and mobile app in the region which will be a digital subscription service which offers customers online access to all live UFC events.

The Chair of Abu Dhabi Media, HH Noura Al Kaabi, said: “We are delighted to bring the UFC back to Abu Dhabi Media and we are excited to share their content with our viewers.

“The MENA region is extremely important to UFC, and we are thrilled to begin this partnership with Abu Dhabi Media to bring our fans new and localized content,” said David Shaw, UFC Senior Vice President, International and Content. “We are looking forward to working closely with Abu Dhabi Media on localized media initiatives for the region.”

Abu Dhabi Media Gets UFC Rights

UFC has announced a new broadcast partnership with Abu Dhabi Media.

As part of the multi-year agreement, Abu Dhabi Media will provide access to all live UFC events and non-live programming. Abu Dhabi Media will have the exclusive multimedia rights to show all UFC content in the MENA region which includes all live events, pre and post-event programming and all original UFC programming.

Abu Dhabi Media has further rolled out a localized OTT service and mobile app in the region which will be a digital subscription service which offers customers online access to all live UFC events.

The Chair of Abu Dhabi Media, HH Noura Al Kaabi, said: “We are delighted to bring the UFC back to Abu Dhabi Media and we are excited to share their content with our viewers.

“The MENA region is extremely important to UFC, and we are thrilled to begin this partnership with Abu Dhabi Media to bring our fans new and localized content,” said David Shaw, UFC Senior Vice President, International and Content. “We are looking forward to working closely with Abu Dhabi Media on localized media initiatives for the region.”

Manchester City Renews Hays Partnership

In photo above: Sholto Douglas-Home, Chief Marketing Officer of Hays (left), and Ferran Soriano, Chief Executive Officer of Manchestyer City

Manchester City has renewed its partnership with recruitment company Hays.

As part of the renewal, Hays will continue to be the Official Recruitment Partner of Manchester City until 2023. Hays has extended the relationship with City Football Group to become the Official Recruitment Partner of New York City FC in 2015, as well as Manchester City Women in 2017 and most recently with Japanese side, Yokohama F. Marinos.

Hays (2018 revenues of £5.75 billion) will work together with City to curate new digital and social content over the next four years. The renewal will be further boosted by the new naming rights which make Hays an Official Tour Sponsor for the Club’s overseas tours and provide further access to experiences for Hays’ staff across the globe.

Sholto Douglas-Home, Hays Chief Marketing Officer, said: “We are delighted to be continuing as the Official Recruitment Partner of Manchester City’s men’s team for a third term and the women’s team for a second term. We established our partnership in 2013, based on a mutual ambition to attract skilled, expert professionals to build high performing teams.

“Since then, Hays has played a key role in sourcing valued members of City Football Group’s professional staff to help drive the Club’s success off the pitch. We have also explored the synergies between the world of work and elite sport, assessing how the dynamics that drive players to succeed can be applied to everyday careers.”

Damian Willoughby, City Football Group Senior Vice President of Partnerships, said: “For a football club to be successful it needs to have the right people in every position – from the players on the pitch to the professional staff who underpin the operation of the club. Throughout our partnership, Hays has been fundamental in helping Manchester City find great people to help our organisation grow and support our teams’ achievements.

“Our partnership with Hays continues to strengthen and we are proud that this has grown beyond our men’s team to incorporate our women’s team, as well as other clubs from the Group. We are delighted to extend our relationship into this next chapter that will see us mark ten years of this exciting partnership.”

 

Astro Lands Malaysian Rights To Pacquiao Bout

Havas Sports & Entertainment has agreed a deal with Astro Malaysia to broadcast the World Boxing Association (WBA) Welterweight Championship in the country.

Billed as the ‘Fight of Champions,’ Manny Pacquiao and Lucas Matthysse will square off for the WBA Welterweight belt this weekend.

Havas Sports & Entertainment – a division of the broader global full-service agency Havas – was appointed as the international media rights and commercial partner by fight promoters MP Promotions and Events.

CK Lee, Astro’s Head of Sports Business, said: “Astro Arena has been the home of sports in Malaysia and we’re proud for this rare opportunity to showcase this once-in-a-lifetime event with boxing legend Manny Pacquiao across our sports platforms, including our sports digital brand Stadium Astro.”

“We’re pleased to partner Havas Sports & Entertainment and Manny Pacquiao’s consortium to make this event available to Malaysian fans.”

Santos FC Partners With Spotify For Podcasts

Brazilian Série A football club Santos FC has forged a new partnership with music streaming service Spotify.

As part of the deal, the São Paulo-based club has established an official profile on the platform featuring players’ playlists, along with those of Santos-supporting music acts.

Santos will roll out a weekly podcast as part of the programming on Spotify.

The team’s players were seen wearing personalised headphones for their clash against Corinthians on Monday to mark the start of the partnership.

Spotify already has existing partnership with Corinthians, São Paulo FC and Palmeiras, which all play in the Campeonato Paulista league..

 

 

Seattle WNBA Team Signs Jersey Patch Deal

The Seattle Storm of the WBNA has announced a landmark 10-year partnership with Symetra Life Insurance Company.

As per the agreement, Symetra will be the ‘Official Life Insurer of the Seattle Storm.’ Symetra’s branding will appear on the upper left-hand shoulder of the Storm’s home and away jerseys.

The organizations will unveil a joint community partnership and future philanthropic endeavors later this spring.  Symetra will also serve as the presenting sponsor of ‘Inspiring Women Night’ for the next decade of Storm basketball.

Storm CEO and GM Alisha Valavanis said: “Symetra is demonstrating what it means to put the platform of your business behind your values for positive social results. We will proudly don the Symetra logo on our jersey to signify our shared mission to support, foster and promote equality, diversity and inclusion.”

Symetra CEO Margaret Meister said: “Our Storm relationship provides a great opportunity to elevate Symetra’s brand awareness in both our Pacific Northwest home region and on a national level. It also allows us to engage new audiences and align ourselves with a much-admired organization that shares our values around diversity and inclusion, empowering women and youth, and commitment to community.”

 

Facebook Partners Fox News For Copa Libertadores

Facebook has signed a four-year sub-licensing deal with broadcaster Fox Sports for the Copa Libertadores in South America.

The deal covers Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Furthermore, Fox will broadcast all Thursday matches previously acquired by Facebook, while Facebook will show 46 – rather than 28 – matches live on its Facebook Watch platform.

Facebook’s Copa Libertadores matches will also be available via the tournament’s official page on the platform, as well as Fox Sports’ page.

Leonardo Lenz, director of sports partnerships for Facebook in Latin America, said: “Consumer behaviour is changing, and we want to help bring that change and innovation to the sports ecosystem in Latin America. Our experience has shown us that adding more matches can facilitate a better adoption of the change.”