Michel Vion Appointed As FIS Secretary General

The FIS Council has unanimously appointed Michel Vion as the new FIS Secretary General.

Vion comes to FIS after serving as the President of the French Ski Association since June 2010. Additionally, he been a member of the FIS Council since 2004. In order to fully focus on his role as FIS Secretary General, Vion will step down in his role as a FIS Council member with immediate effect. He additionally has stepped aside in his role as the President of the FIS French Ski Association.

“Michel brings the perfect combination of leadership skills and expertise of our sport to the role of FIS Secretary General,” said FIS President Johan Eliasch. “FIS is truly fortunate to have an individual of his caliber to come on board and lead the daily operations as we take the next steps into the future of FIS.”

Before joining the French Ski Association Board in 2002, Vion worked as Alpine Director at the French Ski Association from 1992-1999 and as General Sports Director for another two years (from 1999 to 2001). In 2001, he moved to the industry to serve as Competition Director at Ski Dynastar. From 2005-2009, he was Director of Racing at the Rossignol Group that includes brands such as Rossignol, Dynastar, Lange, Look and Kerma.

“I am very honoured and humbled that the FIS Council had the confidence to appoint me as the new FIS Secretary General.” Said Vion. “It is a very exciting time to take over this role as our president has many innovative, cutting-edge plans to ensure FIS will have a bright future.”

A former world-class ski racer, Vion became World Champion in combined at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Schladming (AUT) in 1982. He also collected three World Cup podiums in his career, including a victory in Wengen (SUI) in 1985 and was a seven-time French champion.

Aston Villa Names OB Sports As Principal Partner

Aston Villa has signed OB Sports as a new Principal Partner and new Exclusive Official Sleeve Partner.

The OB Sports brand logo will exclusively feature on the sleeve of Villa’s new 2021/22 kits for the first team playing squad at all home and away first team fixtures including all Premier League and cup games.

OB Sports is a leader in sports and entertainment and widely recognized as one of the most trustworthy and reliable platforms in Asia. OB Sports devotes its efforts to not only establish a secured platform for its users but also to provide a diversified high-quality interactive entertainment experience for football fans. OB has received fervent support from millions of users as well as trust and broad recognition from within the industry and is widely regarded as the leading force in Asia in the fields of sports and entertainment.

Aston Villa’s Chief Commercial Officer, Nicola Ibbetsonsaid: “We are incredibly excited for OB Sports to be joining us as a Principal Partner from the 2021/22 season. This partnership will help to bring the Aston Villa brand closer to our international fans and we look forward to a season of exciting plans together.”

Kai Webb, President for the International Business of OB Sports, commented: “As a veteran of the Premier League, Aston Villa not only has a long club history and a huge fan base, but its ‘Never Give Up’ sporting spirit is in line with OB Sports’ corporate culture of ‘Striving for Excellence’.

“This will be one of the most exciting cross-industry cooperation in sports from the 2021/22 season, and will build on our existing high profile sponsorship portfolio to provide the fans and users with the best sports and entertainment experience by a close cooperation between the two well-known brands.”

ARL Commission Strikes Broadcast Rights Deal For NRL Matches With Sky New Zealand

State of Origin fixtures and a selection of premium NRL matches will be available on free-to-air TV in New Zealand for the first time in a new broadcast rights deal between the ARL Commission and Sky New Zealand.

As part of the deal that will extend to the end of 2027, selected games during Anzac Round and Magic Round will be available on free-to-air television.

The deal ensures all NRL Telstra Premiership and NRLW games will be broadcast live in New Zealand.

The enhanced agreement involves a new level of collaboration with both the ARLC and Sky NZ working closely alongside New Zealand Rugby League to co-invest in initiatives to grow rugby league.

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said the deal showed the game was developing in New Zealand.

“This is an exciting deal for rugby league fans in New Zealand and highlights Sky NZ’s ongoing commitment to growing our game,” he said. 

“It ensures every premiership and NRLW game will continue to be broadcast live, along with the finals series and State of Origin.

“Sky’s increased commitment for the duration of this deal will assist in expanding our reach in New Zealand, including coverage of our emerging development competitions.

“There’s around one million Kiwis who follow rugby league and partnerships like this play a vital role in growing our fan base and ensuring even more coverage of one of the world’s most entertaining and exciting competitions.

This deal highlights the importance of the New Zealand Warriors NRL CEO Andrew Abdo:

“We have some of the best athletes in the world and a growing number of those players are from New Zealand.

“This deal also highlights the importance of the New Zealand Warriors. Despite the Warriors not having played in Auckland for over a year, Sky were committed to not only extending their deal, but significantly broadening it.”

Sky New Zealand Chief Executive Sophie Moloney said the partnership was more than a broadcast deal.

“Through our partnership we have committed to working even more closely with NRL and NZRL to grow the game of Rugby League in New Zealand, like the roadshow we have on this weekend in Christchurch with the Warriors and NZRL,” she said.

NBA China Signs XPeng Motors As Official Marketing Partner

Chinese electric car company XPeng Motors has officially become an official marketing partner of the NBA China, making it the first smart car brand to join forces with the NBA China.

XPeng will enter into a three-year partnership with the NBA and will announce future interactive fan events.

As part of the partnership, XPeng will kick off innovative marketing plans around key events and activities, including NBA3X.

“We welcome XPeng to the NBA family,” said Ma Xiaofei, CEO of NBA China. “XPeng is committed to connecting consumers closely through innovative products and experiences, which coincides with the NBA’s philosophy.”

F1 Renews E-Commerce And Manufacturing Deal With Fanatics

With the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship™ in full swing, Formula 1 and Fanatics, the global leader in licensed sports merchandise, have announced a multi-year extension to their e-commerce and manufacturing deal.

The extension, agreed following an outstanding 2020 performance, will see Fanatics retain global e-commerce and manufacturing rights and is announced following a year in which sales on the official online F1® Store grew by more than 40% globally, with official F1® merchandise being delivered to fans in 143 different countries across the world. This strong performance has accelerated in the first six months of 2021, with sales on the official online F1® Store growing by triple digits compared to the same period in 2020, while the sport’s increased presence in the US is evident, as the region has become the most significant market (most sales) for the F1® site.

Fanatics, which partners with more than 300 of the biggest sports clubs and organizations in the world, has worked with Formula 1® to grow sales by almost 200% since 2017 and has changed the way F1® fans purchase their merchandise online through an innovative, tech-infused approach to making and selling fan gear in today’s on-demand, mobile-first culture.

The official F1® online store utilizes Fanatics’ vertical commerce model, which combines on-demand manufacturing with an agile supply chain to produce the timeliest assortments of merchandise for Formula 1® fans. A key driver of sales on the official F1® online store in 2020 was the store’s move to Fanatics’ industry leading Cloud Commerce technology, which provides rapid navigation for fans across online and mobile sites. It meant faster website performance, larger hi-resolution product displays, local languages and currencies and frictionless checkout, transforming the online shopping experience for F1® fans. 

Fanatics partners with many of the largest sporting organizations in the world including Manchester United, Chelsea FC, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, NFL, NBA, MLB and the NHL.

Ben Pincus, Director of Commercial Partnerships at Formula 1, said: “We are pleased to extend our ecommerce and licensing partnership with Fanatics on the back of an exceptional 2020 performance, which follows the remarkable growth we have seen over the last few years. Our ambition is to serve all our fans no matter where in the world they are located, and our focus in the years to come will be to access new markets and grow strategic territories like China.”

Zohar Ravid, General Manager for Fanatics’ International Business, said: “We have worked in partnership with Formula 1 for a number of years now and grown its global merchandise business significantly in that time. The recent transfer of the site onto our innovative cloud commerce platform has delivered some incredible results in recent months; we are committed to building on that growth in the coming years and I am delighted that we will now be able to continue to deliver results and an incredible service to its global fanbase.”

PTO Appoints Socialie To Deliver Athlete Content Creation

The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) has appointed Socialie to deliver athlete content creation and distribution services across their social ecosystem to drive engagement and growth.

Launched in 2016, Socialie is the fastest, most advanced tool for managing social media for business with the aim of driving bottom-line results through improved efficiency, seamless collaboration, organisation of assets, and real-time reporting. Socialie is used by many leading sports leagues, such as UFC, ATP, WTA, FIBA Media as well as national federations, governing bodies, over 60 professional teams and media companies to share content with over 20,000 publishers, generating millions of impressions each month.

Socialie will work alongside the PTO’s internal commercial, marketing and digital teams on content creation and strategy, community management, audience growth and syndication whilst creating meaningful content storytelling propositions for sponsors to activate against.

Socialie will assist the PTO to share athlete content across its network of stakeholders including athletes, sponsors, NGBs and the wider triathlon community over the next few months in the run up to the PTO’s inaugural flagship event – The Collins Cup.  This integrated approach will be supported with in-depth real-time analytics and data dashboards to inform decision making.

Nick Shakinovsky, Global Head of Content & Digital at the PTO, stated, “We are delighted to be working with Socialie on content creation and strategy, community management, audience growth and syndication. Kristin and her team at Socialie are perfectly positioned to help us create meaningful storytelling opportunities to help make our Professional Triathletes household names.”

Tim Godfrey, Chief Marketing Officer of the PTO, stated: “We are delighted to have Socialie on board. Bringing this level of experience to Professional Triathlon is core to the remit of the PTO. We look forward to working with them as we build up towards The Collins Cup in August.”

Kristin Adams, Founder of Socialie, said: “The PTO’s athlete centric approach and values have enabled them to leverage the power of our platform. They have been incredible partners from the outset and continue to empower their athletes with engaging and personalized content to amplify their exciting races and events. We are looking forward to The Collins Cup and everything else the PTO have planned to continue growing their sport and reaching new fans all over the world.”

Univision To Launch Global Streaming Service

Univision Communications Inc., the leading Spanish-language media and content company has unveiled its plans for a comprehensive global streaming service, which includes both free ad-supported and premium subscription-based options, to launch in the U.S. and Latin America in 2022.

The two-tier streaming service will offer a differentiated product proposition, vast content scope, expansive library and more Spanish-language originals than any other streaming service. The service will be fueled by full access to Televisa’s deep content library and iconic IP as well as an ambitious slate of new originals produced by the leading creators in the Spanish-speaking world. The best of the existing PrendeTV, VIX and Univision NOW services will be transitioned and unified into one global service and brand. Brand, pricing and specific launch date for the service will be announced following the close of the Televisa-Univision merger later this year.

The ad-supported tier (AVOD) will be anchored by Univision’s current free Spanish-language streaming service, PrendeTV. This free tier will feature an upgraded, broadcast quality content proposition, including select originals, major studio films, premium Spanish-language titles, an expanded live sports offering and a unique 24/7 news service. In total the free tier will have over 100 linear channels and over 40,000 hours of wholly-owned and acquired content that will also be offered in VOD form.

The new premium subscription tier (SVOD) will feature more than 6,000 hours of Spanish-language content and more than 30 original productions exclusively on the service within its first year. The original productions for the service are being developed by some of the most notable established and up-and-coming creators in Spanish-language content today. Today, we are announcing projects with Maria Dueñas, Santiago Limon and Mario Vargas Llosa, with many more to be announced in the coming weeks. The vision for the premium SVOD offering is to bring audiences more originally produced Spanish-language content than any other streaming service globally.

To execute on this vision, Rodrigo Mazon has joined as EVP & GM of SVOD,reporting directly to Pierluigi Gazzolo,President and Chief Transformation Officer at Univision. With more than 10 years experience in streaming, Mazon joins Univision from Netflix, where he most recently served as VP of Content. Mazon will be responsible for all elements of the SVOD service, including content and programming strategy, original content production, talent relations, content acquisitions from third-party producers and subscriber growth and retention.

Mazon’s appointment follows the recent addition of Michael Cerdá as Univision’s new EVP, Product and Engineering, Streaming. Cerdá joined the company from Disney+, where he was global head of product, and oversees the product and engineering strategy for Univision’s streaming portfolio. Rafael Urbina, Univision’s EVP & GM, AVOD Streaming, continues to lead PrendeTV, and will lead the future free ad-supported tierboth in the U.S. and internationally.

The service will be home to the most renowned and celebrated creators in Spanish-language media. As the first premium service specifically designed to serve the global Spanish-language audience, Univision will provide the resources and creative freedom to develop in-language, authentic, world class content that our community deserves. The SVOD tier will launch with more than 30 original productions throughout 2022, featuring globally recognized and award-winning producers, creators and writers, including:

  • Maria Dueñas: Bestselling author of “El tiempo entre costuras” (The Time in Between) and “La templanza” (The Vineyard) whose television streaming adaptations have found critical and international acclaim, has signed a first-look deal with Univision for her future content and novels and will develop her first-ever seriesexclusively for Univision’s SVOD streaming service.
  • Mario Vargas Llosa: Internationally acclaimed Peruvian author and Nobel Prize winner Vargas Llosa will have his 2006 novel “Travesuras de la niña mala” (The Bad Girl) adapted into a television series, which will be executive produced by Patricio Wills from Televisa’s W Studios. The novel is an epic love story set in the 1960s across various cities in Europe.
  • Santiago Limon: Creator and co-writer of the hit comedy film “Hasta que la boda nos separe” and director and executive producer of the highly anticipated reboot of “Rebelde,”as well as director of the renowned television series “La búsqueda” (The Search) and director for some episodes of “Casa de las flores”(House of Flowers), Limon, together with Ben Silverman, executive producer of “Jane The Virgin” and “Ugly Betty,” from Propagate, will bring “Pinches Momias” an action, horror and comedy series in which Guanajuato’s renowned mummies come back from the dead during the busiest week of the year, and a group of troubled teenagers become the town’s only hope to survive.
  • “Mujer del Diablo”: An original series created by Leonardo Padron, who was the writer of “Amar a Muerte”, “Rubi” and “Si Nos Dejan,” some of Univision and Televisa’s most popular primetime series.
  • “No Llegaron Solos”: Univision has inked a development deal with Caracol Televisión, 360 Powwow and Isla Audiovisual for this historical series. “No Llegaron Solos” is an intense, epic story reviving the conquest of the Americas and depicting the amazing journey of legendary Catalina de Erauso, one of the most rebellious women of all time. The series portrays the adventures of the three women who came with the Spanish conquistadors to settle in Latin America; among them, Erauso, the Spanish runaway novice who disguised herself as a man, rising to the rank of lieutenant in the colonial army in South America.

“I am thrilled to be creating my first streaming series for such an impactful Spanish-language brand as Univision,” said Maria Dueñas. “Creating an original series alongside a team who understands the importance of creating in-language content for the millions of Spanish speakers around the world is a dream come true.”

Mario Vargas Llosa commented, “Univision’s invitation to join a newly developing community of Spanish-language creators under one expansive umbrella is a true game-changer for us. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute at the onset of this visionary service and look forward to bringing quality Spanish-language content to life alongside the talented team at Univision.”

Santiago Limon said, “For too long, Spanish-language content has been marginalized and relegated to an industry afterthought. Univision’s expanded streaming offering provides a focused and prestigious home to Spanish-language content with a singular mission. I could not be more excited to join and collaborate with this exciting roster of fellow creatives.”

“Today’s announcement is a quantum leap in Univision’s transformation as we aggressively scale and expand our streaming capabilities to bring thousands of hours of premium, original content to the nearly 600 million Spanish speakers around the world,” said Pierluigi Gazzolo, President and Chief Transformation Officer at Univision.

“We are excited to announce our new SVOD service as a powerful cornerstone of this strategy, providing us the opportunity to reach global audiences with high-quality, original programming from distinguished producers and top talent not available anywhere else. With PrendeTV, and now with our SVOD offering, Univision is uniquely positioned to satisfy the global demand for premium Spanish-language content, the last truly meaningful open lane in global video streaming.”

Gazzolo continued, “Today’s announcement of our planned expansion is further bolstered by the impressive executive team leadingour SVOD offeringand PrendeTV. With this team we are bringing together some of the deepest and most relevant expertise in streaming across the media landscape. Rodrigo brings to Univision more than a decade of streaming experience from leading services such as Netflix and Hulu, where he established a proven track record of identifying programming trends that quickly engaged audiences as well as attracting notable creative talent across the entertainment industry.”

Rodrigo Mazon, EVP & GM of SVOD, said, “Univision is an iconic brand and the leading Spanish-language media company in United States. The previously announced merger between Televisa and Univision will create a company of unprecedented creative resources in the Spanish-speaking world.

I could not be more excited to join such a unique company and visionary team at a pivotal time in Univision’s growth and transformation trajectory. I am eager to help drive Univision’s global expansion through the launch of our SVOD service, which will enable us to engage global streaming audiences with compelling storytelling opportunities from our creative community.”

Saracens Returns To Gallagher Premiership With Castore Partnership

Saracens has named Castore as Principal Kit supplier as it returns to the Gallagher Premiership.

Castore have seen unparalleled growth throughout the period after their inception in 2015 and are starting to disrupt the premium sportwear market in with a unique product offering and exciting partnerships across various sports.

Castore’s partnership portfolio boasts an impressive line up from Rangers FC, Wolverhampton Wanderers, McLaren F1, Sydney Roosters, Melbourne Storm, to athletes such as Adam Peaty, Jos Buttler, Sir Andy Murray and England and Saracens own, Owen Farrell. Saracens are the latest high-performing professional team to bolster this line up and are Castore’s first move into the Premiership rugby.

Launching on 1st July, Castore will supply the newly promoted Men’s, Women’s and Mavericks kits in a long-term deal which will be their first rugby partnership in the United Kingdom and opens a new audience for Castore to spread their philosophy of Better Never Stops.

Castore wish to showcase their authentic, highly technical fabrics and bespoke designs utilizing the partnership with both Saracens and Mavericks to display the world’s most premium sportswear.

The kits will be revealed in late summer to go on sale ahead of the 2021/22 season in the official club shop.

Lucy Wray, Saracens CEO is delighted to welcome Castore to the club for the next five years.

“We are very excited to be entering a new chapter with Castore and look forward to embracing them into the Saracens family.

“Castore are at the forefront of innovation with their sportswear and our values are very much aligned, so we are thrilled to be at the start of a ground-breaking partnership.

“We look forward to unveiling the kits this summer, which I’m sure will be hugely popular amongst our supporters.”

Tom Beahon, Castore founder said ” We’re delighted to partner with Saracens, an iconic English club known and respected across the globe. This marks our first step into English rugby, and we’re deeply proud to begin the journey with such a successful team and passionate fanbase.

“Together with the most successful women’s teams of our generation, they perfectly embody the Better Never Stops ethos and their tireless desire to perform and win makes them a perfect fit for Castore.”

Castore – with its slogan “Better Never Stops” – was founded by sporting brothers Tom and Phil Beahon in 2015. It develops highly innovative sportswear which is made using patented fabrics and advanced technical engineering for gym use, athletics, tennis and golf.

It has set out ambitious plans to take on global sportswear giants such as Adidas and Nike, particularly in top-level football in the UK and Europe.

The company operates a digital, direct-to-consumer business model that has allowed it to grow extremely rapidly since launch and avoid the much-publicised challenges of many traditional bricks and mortar brands and now sells into over 90 countries globally.

Castore is backed by a consortium of high-profile private investors. They include a billionaire family who invested in January to facilitate Castore’s entry into the global football market, where the brand believes there is an opportunity to disrupt the establish players at the highest levels of the sport.

Castore expects to partner with five leading clubs across Europe for the 2022/2023 season and utilise its digital expertise and capabilities in technical engineering to create products that enhance player performance and increase club revenues from branded merchandise.

Argentine Football Association Selects Genius Sports As Data And Streaming Partner

Genius Sports has been selected by the Argentine Football Association (“AFA”) as its exclusive Official Data & Streaming partner for all AFA competitions.

AFA is the oldest soccer association in South America and one of the most prestigious across the world game. As the national governing body of soccer in Argentina, AFA organizes the entire league system from the Liga Profesional de Futbol – LPF” (1st division) to Primera D, domestic cup competitions and the men’s, women’s and Olympic national teams.

Across over 3,300 games a season and 13 competitions, Genius Sports will help to connect fans, brands and sportsbooks around the world with all levels of Argentinian soccer. Genius Sports has been granted the exclusive rights to capture and distribute official AFA data and live video broadcasts for the regulated betting industry, providing sportsbooks with premium content to help acquire, engage and retain customers.

This partnership will be central to AFA’s strategy to increase fan engagement and visibility over all levels of Argentinian soccer. Genius Sports has also been granted official data distribution rights for media across all AFA competitions, enabling brands, publishers and advertisers to exploit its suite of personalized advertising, content and fan-messaging solutions.

To help grow Argentinian football’s global reach, Genius Sports will install cutting-edge GeniusLive+ cameras at over 100 venues, capturing broadcast-quality streams that will power AFA’s OTT platform. Genius Sports will work in partnership with Pixellot and Argentinian company La Corte for the production of all GeniusLive+ events, enabling AFA to live stream over 2,000 new games from eight competitions per season.

Claudio Tapia, President of the Argentine Football Association, said: “As a leading global soccer federation, one of AFA’s key objectives is to generate new revenue streams by unlocking the value of its digital assets through new strategic partnerships. As part of this process, we are extending the reach of our brand across new markets and growing our corporate partnerships.

“Today, we are very happy to announce this strategic alliance with Genius Sports, the leading sports technology company that trusts in our association and vision and will help equip us for a digital future. We are convinced that this partnership will be critical to expanding the visibility of Argentine soccer across the world and also opens up a range of new commercial possibilities.”

Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports, said: “The Argentine Football Association is one of the most respected and prestigious organizations in world soccer. Being selected by them for such a vital partnership that combines our expertise across live data, streaming, production and media is a huge honour and further validation of Genius Sports’ outstanding credentials and strategy.”

BLAST Premier Expands Media Rights Deal With Douyu

Esports tournament organiser BLAST Premier has expanded its media rights deal with Douyu, China’s leading live streaming service. 

As part of the expansion, Douyu will retain exclusive broadcast rights for the rest of the BLAST Premier 2021 season and get the opportunity to deliver the first ever BLAST event in China by hosting a Fall Qualifier.

The deal will see BLAST Premier streamed across Douyu and extended to Huya and Bilibili with over 500 million monthly active users across all three platforms. 

The announcement comes off the back of a number of new deals for BLAST Premier with the esports tournament orgasiner’s portfolio of media rights growing to over 35 partners, while shown in 18 different languages and to over 150 TV territories.

China is one of the fastest growing markets for esports in the world, which translates to a live streaming audience of 193m in 2021 with BLAST Premier enjoying some of its biggest viewership in the country.

Alexander Lewin, VP of Distribution and Programming for BLAST, said: “In line with our strategy to team up with the world’s biggest broadcasters we are delighted to further deepen and extend our partnership with Douyu into a second year. Douyu’s esports expertise and fantastic reach will continue to provide BLAST Premier’s fanbase in China with the very best Counter-Strike entertainment. We are looking forward to working with the Douyu team on the Chinese Qualifier and welcoming CS:GO teams from China into the BLAST universe.” 

BLAST Premier is a global Counter-Strike tournament series that unites all major events, offers opportunities to all regions across the globe and crowns the world champions of CS:GO. Up to 32 teams will take part in the seven events this year with a combined prize pool of $2,475,000 on the line. The BLAST Premier Qualifiers provide teams from all corners of the world with an opportunity to feature in the tournament organiser’s events and a platform to compete on an elite level.

The tournament organiser posted increased viewership last year with more than 83 million hours of content watched across all seven of its Counter-Strike tournaments while delivering the most watched CS:GO online match of all time during the 2020 Global Final.