SailGP Adds GoPro To Its Sponsorship Portfolio For Season 2

GoPro will join SailGP – the sport’s pinnacle league – as its official on-board action camera provider for Season 2, which kicked off in Bermuda last month.

Using the latest in its lineup of rugged waterproof cameras, GoPro is outfitting SailGP teams with its HERO9 and MAX cameras, which boast a lengthy list of state-of-the-art features including vivid 5K image and crisp sound quality, the ability to record the epic nation vs nation on-water battles with immersive 360° views, and innovative HyperSmooth technology delivering the most advanced stabilization in video recording. In addition, GoPro will supply a variety of mounting accessories to ensure they are positioned in the best place and stay put as the boats travel at nearly 100 kph.

To launch the collaboration and as excitement builds towards the first-ever Italy Sail Grand Prix in the City of Taranto (June 5-6), thrill-seekers across the globe will have opportunities to win incredible prizes by sharing the vision of their next adventure.

Entitled ‘What’s your next adventure?’, SailGP and GoPro are encouraging fans to unpack their imagination and share where their next adventure will take them. The top two winning entries, via SailGP.com/GoPro, will receive a SailGP x GoPro prize bundle plus an exclusive SailGP Season 3 experience. In addition, there will be further prizes to be won throughout the season for those that live for adventures powered by nature. For more details follow SailGP and GoPro on Facebook and Instagram.

The season-long SailGP x GoPro ‘What’s Your Next Adventure?’ contest begins May 21, 2021, and runs throughout the season which includes Taranto, Italy (June 5-6), Plymouth, UK (July 17-18), Aarhus, Denmark (August 20-21), Saint-Tropez, France (September 11-12), Cádiz – Andalusia, Spain (October 9-10) and Christchurch, New Zealand (January 2022). The winners of the SailGP x GoPro contest will be announced at the Grand Final in San Francisco on March 26-27, 2022.

SailGP head of digital and fan engagement Daisy Vollans said: “GoPro’s passion for adventure-seeking and conveying those moments through digital storytelling is the perfect complement to SailGP’s adrenaline-fueled championship, that’s powered by nature and delivered against a backdrop of natural, iconic venues around the world.

“This partnership not only delivers the ultimate in entertainment value for fans far and wide – bringing them closer to the action – it also represents inspiration, creativity, and a genuine penchant for living life in the moment, so we are very excited to work with such a like-minded company as GoPro.”

IMG Arena Partners Endorphin Magine For Data Packaging Of Croatian Football

IMG ARENA is to expand its Croatian football offering following with an expanded agreement covering data and video for all domestic league and cup competitions to its existing partnership with the top tier Croatian First Football League from the 2022/23 season.

IMG ARENA’s multi-year agreement with Endorphin Magine Ltd will see it package data and live footage for betting and gaming operators to offer to their customers. Endorphin Magine Ltd signed a 10-year broadcast and production deal with the Croatian Football Association (HNS) in 2020, commencing from the 2022/23 season.

Mark Wrigley, Rights Director at IMG ARENA, said: “Croatian football is an excellent product within our portfolio and one we know will be popular. We’re pleased to have boosted our offering with this extended partnership as we continue to build out a rounded product range that includes top football content from around the world.”

David Johnson, CEO at Endorphin Magine said: “With a first-class product that has been incorporated by sports betting brands globally, we have seen the value that IMG ARENA has delivered for Croatian football. We look forward to increasing that with this deal which significantly extends the partnership in scope and duration.”

Croatian football continues to grow in popularity and has held a top-20 ranking in UEFA’s club coefficients since 2013/14, with Dinamo Zagreb its most successful team. IMG ARENA’s other high profile football properties include the English FA Cup, Italian Serie A, Coupe de France, and the MLS in America.

SportAccord Unveils Partnership Portfolio For Fully Virtual IF Forum 2021

SportAccord has revealed City of London, Marsh, OnePlan, Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Deportivo and Sport Event Denmark as Partners of the fully virtual International Federation (IF) Forum 2021 on Tuesday, 25 May.

The Olympic Capital of Lausanne and the Canton de Vaud in Switzerland are also supporting the virtual gathering as Host City Partners, with more than 300 leaders from over 125 IFs set to take part in the event.

“Our Partners recognise the importance of the IF Forum for the global sports movement, given that the focus is on learning how sport and society can emerge stronger from a global crisis,” said Nis Hatt, Managing Director of SportAccord, which organises the IF Forum. “We are excited to hear from experts from across the worldwide sporting landscape and give participants the opportunity to network and exchange best practice strategies on a range of vital issues via our dynamic virtual platform.”

The IF Forum 2021 Partners are as follows:

  • City of London, governed by the City of London Corporation, is the business and financial district – often referred to as the Square Mile – at the heart of London.
  • Marsh is a global leader in insurance broking and risk management, helping clients to better quantify and manage risk to survive and thrive.
  • OnePlan is a collaborative, real-time platform that provides a full suite of event planning, design and management tools. 
  • Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Deportivo is a non-profit institution dedicated to integrating the sport component into Peruvian development policies.
  • Sport Event Denmark is the national Danish sports event organisation with the main objective of attracting and hosting major international events.
  • Lausanne and the Canton de Vaud are home to over 55 international sports organisations, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a vast number of IFs, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the International Academy of Sports Science and Technology, and various businesses offering services in sport.

The 15th edition of the invitation-only IF Forum will feature the perspectives of numerous experts, including representatives of the IOC, umbrella sports associations, IFs and sports industry executives.

Several high-level speakers have been confirmed for the event, including IOC President Thomas Bach; Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization; H.E. Ban Ki-moon, the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Chair of the IOC Ethics Commission; and Dr. Raffaele Chiulli, President of SportAccord and the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).

The virtual sessions will delve into a series of timely and relevant topics, including ‘Moving Forward, Pivoting and the Lessons We Are Learning’, ‘A Return to Competition and Lessons from the Bubble’, ‘Athlete Mental Health’, ‘Commercial Approaches for IFs in the New Normal’ and ‘The Virtual Experience and its Home within IFs’.

NBA Launches Betting-Focused Content Initiative

NBA Digital has announced a new “NBA Bet” content initiative, which will feature the debut of a weekly NBA TV show and betting-focused content across NBA.com, the NBA App and social platforms.

As part of this multi-platform offering, the NBA, Turner Sports and BetMGM will premiere NBA TV’s first live studio show dedicated to betting-focused information and analysis – NBABet presented by BetMGM – beginning Friday, May 21, at 6:30 p.m. ET. The 30-minute weekly show launches the day before the NBA Playoffs tip off and will continue through the first two rounds of the Playoffs.

Based out of WarnerMedia Studios in Atlanta, the show’s quick-hitting format will feature league-wide NBA betting analysis and breakdowns from experts across the industry. As the presenting partner of NBABet, BetMGM’s data feed will be integrated and the latest BetMGM NBA odds will be shown throughout each show.

In the second round of the playoffs, NBA.com and the NBA App will feature a new NBABet section, which will include editorial content for fans from content partners such as Action Network, Bleacher Report, and Yahoo Sports, among others. The weekly show will also be available to NBA TV subscribers.

The NBA is also launching a new social media account, @NBABet, which will be programmed by Action Network. @NBABet will engage NBA fans with video segments, highlights, analysis, insights, trends and more – all from a betting perspective.

Over the past two seasons, NBA Digital has offered NBABet Stream, an alternate betting-focused telecast for NBA League Pass and NBA TV subscribers, which has featured betting focused graphics and commentary from experts from Action Network, Bleacher Report, and Yahoo Sports.

Wolves Signs Castore As On-Field Partner In A Landmark Deal

Wolves have agreed a multi-year partnership with British premium sportswear brand Castore to become the club’s new on-field partner, in a landmark deal for both brands.

The partnership boasts the largest technical partner sponsorship fee in the club’s history and will see Castore manufacture all on-field playing kit and side-line apparel, while Wolves will manufacture and distribute a range of replica products under license from Castore.

As a result, the partnership will facilitate a far broader range of product than has previously been available to Wolves supporters, with all ranges now bespoke to Wolves, including women’s replica, training and travel wear.

The new club-manufacturer model has seen success in the US but is a first for elite sport in the UK, and Wolves general manager for commercial operations, Vinny Clark, believes it marks a hugely exciting moment in the club’s journey.

“This is truly a ground-breaking deal in Premier League football, which challenges the established order of things, and we are delighted to have found a progressive and disruptive partner in Castore to embark on this journey with us,” he said.

“From our first meeting with Tom and Phil, co-founders of Castore, it became evident that we shared a passion to shake things up. We wanted to re-set how things worked from a kit partnership viewpoint to find a win-win-win scenario for our fans, the brand and the club respectively, and we believe this agreement achieves that.

“Our fans will get a great assortment of product that is unique to Wolves and has been carefully put together in response to the feedback we have received in recent years, and Castore will receive fantastic exposure to the Premier League’s multibillion global audience.

“In addition to that, the partnership model allows us to have greater flexibility and agility in getting replica product to market, making this a commercially attractive venture, significantly ahead of what we have achieved in the past.

“Range and assortment of product is vitally important to us. We know our fans get frustrated when other clubs have the same kit silhouette, goalkeeper kit or training product as us, or if we can’t offer ladies sizing on replica product to our many women fans.

“These are consistent themes we wanted to address moving forward, and this partnership with Castore enables us to make significant improvements in our offering.

“Like some of Europe’s top clubs, we also want to give people access to our authentic pro garments, and a range of kit and training products in the same specification that our players wear, manufactured by Castore, will be available, which further strengthens our offering.

“We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Castore into the pack and I see an exciting journey ahead for the partnership.”

As part of the deal, Castore will unveil a first-of-its-kind Pro Performance collection which will be worn by the first team in all competitions, and available to purchase by supporters.

The collection is made from a unique technical fabric developed exclusively by Castore, which the brand believes to be lighter, more flexible, and more durable than anything worn by a Wolves team before.

Chelsea FC Onboards Trivago As Training Wear Partner

Chelsea Football Club has partnered with travel brand trivago which will become the club’s Official Training Wear Partner.

The multi-year partnership between these two international brands, which will begin following the club’s final Premier League match, will see trivago feature across the club’s training kit for the Men’s, Women’s, and Academy teams.

From Piraeus to Munich, supporters have travelled from across the world to be there for the best nights in the club’s history. The partnership and integrated campaign, Let’s Go, will bring together the best of football and travel in a uniquely Chelsea way. From television to curated content to once-in-a-lifetime experiences together, Chelsea and trivago are helping fans go further, bigger, and bolder.

Chelsea chief executive Guy Laurence said: ‘We are all looking forward to that moment when we can travel freely again, whether that is to watch Chelsea or to have a long-awaited holiday away from home, so I’m really delighted to be welcoming trivago into the Chelsea family. With a global platform that is truly best-in-class, we will be proud to wear the trivago name on our Men’s, Women’s and Academy training wear.’

trivago CEO Axel Hefer said: ‘When the opportunity to partner with Chelsea came up, we jumped at the idea. We at trivago are very passionate about football. For us, it is not just entertainment, it is part of our culture and daily life.

Being with people who matter to us, experiencing exciting and unique moments together, exploring new destinations on away matches or huge victories in national and international competitions – football is bringing joy into our daily lives in a similar way travel does. We are excited to bring this to life with a smile-raising, heart thumping trivago twist in a uniquely Chelsea way – let’s go!

FIH Engages Gold Town Games To Develop A Hockey Manager Game

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has engaged on a 5-year partnership with a gaming company – Gold Town Games (GTG) – which will develop a hockey manager game, available on mobile, planned to be released globally before the end of 2021 on Google Play and the App Store. The game will be free to download.

GTG is a Swedish, publicly listed, mobile game developer and publisher that makes competitive, intuitive and social sport manager applications. The company currently has three sport manager games in ice hockey, in football and, by autumn 2021, in American football.

“It is an honor for us at Gold Town Games to be able to produce the world’s first mobile hockey manager game. It will be a challenge but also lots of fun and hopefully we can please the fans. The game of hockey has old, strong roots and it’s going to be exciting to develop and publish a game to its broad and growing global fan base”, said Gold Town Games CEO Pär Hultgren.

Commenting on the announcement, FIH CEO Thierry Weil said: “As an International Federation, entering the gaming world is a must nowadays, frankly. We’re glad to be partnering with GTG to help us doing this with a high-quality product. The hockey manager game will add significant promotion to our sport by bringing it to the attention of the huge gaming community around the world.

From there, I do believe that a number of gamers will become hockey fans as well, and possibly even hockey athletes. That would be a really great outcome. Furthermore, with this new initiative, we’re also providing hockey lovers with a game they’ve been waiting for since a long time.”

New York Jets And Baltimore Ravens Strike Partnership With Sportradar To Improve Betting Performance

Sportradar, a leading global provider of sports betting and sports entertainment products and services has announced a strategic partnerships with the New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens to support their efforts in maximizing sponsor performance and unlocking new opportunities for their partners in the rapidly growing legal sports betting category.

These new alliances mark the first-time major U.S. professional sports teams have partnered with a sports technology company to address these types of marketing needs in such an innovative manner.

Sportradar will utilize ad:s, its full service, data-driven marketing solution, to help each team enhance and refine their sponsorship and affiliate marketing strategies for legal sports betting partners. Specifically, Sportradar is delivering technology that will inform dynamic creative assets and produce data-driven content to be featured in programmatic advertising campaigns, in the interest of personalizing the fan experience and deepening the degree of engagement. This disruptive approach will also create efficiencies in sponsorship activations and increase the effectiveness of customer acquisition initiatives.

“Sportradar is thrilled to be working with the Jets and the Ravens on this strategic initiative in the ever-evolving US market,” said Mike Smith, Head of Advertising, US, Sportradar. “Legalized sports betting presents new and unique opportunities for teams, as well as betting operators, and the Jets and Ravens are taking a step in raising the value of their brands for their respective betting sponsors. Our end-to-end platform provides each team a number of levers they can pull to ensure they’re delivering a personalized experience based on their distinct fanbases, while maximizing their marketing investment.”

With the continued expansion of legal sports betting in the U.S., finding an innovative technology partner that knows how to navigate the fragmented marketplace and uncover potential areas for growth is paramount. Sportradar, which has deep expertise in these areas and strong relationships across the sports betting and sports entertainment ecosystem, is uniquely positioned to help businesses maximize the wide range of opportunities brought about by legalized sports betting.

“This innovative relationship with Sportradar will allow the New York Jets to optimize the overall performance of our legal sports betting partners, both inside and outside of our ecosystem,” said Jeff Fernandez, New York Jets Vice President, Business Development + Ventures.  “The ability to engage, acquire, convert and retain customers in this super competitive and rapidly growing space is of the highest priority for operators.  Sportradar’s proprietary technology and expertise in reaching sports bettors via predictive analytics will be extraordinarily valuable to Official LSB Sponsors of the Jets.” 

“As we continue increasing our visibility in the world of sports betting and digital gaming, the Baltimore Ravens are honored to be among the first NFL teams to partner with an industry leader in Sportradar,” Ravens Chief Sales Officer Kevin Rochlitz stated. “Through its unmatched sports data intelligence, Sportradar provides an efficient and robust outlet for our partners to better engage with and cater to fans in this rapidly evolving industry.”

Burnley FC Expands Footprints In British Isles With Four Partnerships

Burnley Football Club is to expand its reach to all four corners of the British Isles after agreeing strategic partnerships with football clubs in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland.

Scottish Championship club Ayr United, 2007 League of Ireland First Division winners Cobh Ramblers, Portadown of the NIFL Premiership and Cymru North team Llandudno will all become partner clubs of Burnley FC.

Giving the Clarets a footprint across the UK and Ireland, the partner clubs will benefit from Burnley’s football expertise in development and education of their coaches and players, sharing of data across youth academies and sport science and access to tools such as AiSCOUT.

In return Burnley will widen its scouting network for talent identification in the partner clubs’ region, with the most talented young players from each club travelling regularly to Burnley for football camps and assessment when identified.

All clubs’ academies and women’s teams will compete in a summer pre-season games and tournaments, while loan deals for Burnley’s academy players to gain experience at senior levels will also be considered.

Alan Pace, Chairman of Burnley F.C., said: “This is an exciting opportunity for us to grow Burnley’s footprint and profile in every corner of the British Isles and benefit from working with some fantastic clubs on our doorstep.

“We look forward to developing a strong working relationship with Ayr United, Cobh Ramblers, Portadown and Llandudno which will no doubt benefit the clubs, the coaches and their players for many years to come.

“This is very much the first step in our plans to expand the football network of Burnley, build the relevance of our club beyond the North West of England and ensure that Burnley’s academy continues to be a high-performance hotbed for future first team players and international footballers.”

The development of coaches will be central to Burnley’s work at the partner clubs – the club will provide hands-on support in creating best practice structures to implement professional coaching in line with Burnley’s Category 1 Premier League academy.

Long-term, the goal of the strategic partnerships is to create player pathways into the Premier League for the best players. Portadown were twice winners of the NIFL Championship Development League South from 2017-19 while previous academy graduates of Cobh Ramblers include Premier League stars Roy Keane and Stephen Ireland.

Matt Williams, Chief Operating Officer of Burnley F.C, added: “While there are clear benefits to the football side of the club, I believe there will also be significant benefits both operationally and commercially for all sides, none of us are naïve enough to think we know it all, and I am sure we can learn from our partner Clubs as much as they can learn from us.

“We wanted to partner with clubs we felt would fit with what we stand for. The four Clubs are at the heart of their local communities, have a passionate fan base and have chairmen and directors, who like Alan Pace and his team are ambitious and constantly looking to improve.

“We have developed a great understanding with Portadown in recent seasons and this is a natural step for us both and our relationship with Cobh can be traced back to 1921 when the Clarets were crowned League Champions prompting the newly formed Club in Ireland to wear the famous Claret and Blue, in addition they are currently managed by our former defender Stuart Ashton.

“Like ourselves Ayr have a relatively new Chairman who has a real ambition to push the Club forward and challenge for promotion to the Scottish Premiership whilst our friends at Llandudno are keen implement a professional approach to their Club and I couldn’t be more delighted to welcome the four teams on the journey with us.”

Bundesliga Hands Over Broadcast Rights To NENT Group For Netherlands Until 2029

Bundesliga International, a subsidiary of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga, has agreed an additional two-cycle deal with Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group) for the rights to broadcast the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 in the Netherlands from the start of the 2021-22 season. The deal will run until the conclusion of the 2028-29 season.

NENT Group will launch its Viaplay streaming service in the Netherlands in Q1 2022, with the Bundesliga as a cornerstone in its rights portfolio, broadcasting more than 300 live Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 matches every season. In addition, NENT Group will have exclusive rights to the German Supercup and the Bundesliga relegation play-offs. Viaplay’s Bundesliga coverage will include localised commentary and studio programming.

The partnership now covers 10 European markets, following the announcement last month that the two organisations had struck a historic broadcast agreement for the Nordic region, Baltic countries and Poland. The deal marked the longest media rights agreement that either NENT Group or Bundesliga International has ever entered into, and is further strengthened with the addition of this important market.

Robert Klein, Bundesliga International CEO: “Our partnership with NENT Group goes from strength to strength. With the combination of its state-of-the-art Viaplay platform and the integration of our innovative tech products, Dutch fans will be able to follow world class Bundesliga coverage day-in day-out. Over the term of this two-cycle deal, fans can expect to get closer to the Bundesliga than ever before. This includes our unique Matchday offerings, customisable to the local audience, as well as a number of possibilities to experience the Bundesliga – FOOTBALL AS IT’S MEANT TO BE!”

Anders Jensen, NENT Group President and CEO: “The Netherlands is an ideal market for Viaplay and a very attractive next step towards our ambition of becoming the European streaming champion. Our long-term and multi-market partnerships with key sports rights owners, together with our ever-increasing line-up of original and exclusive content, will enable us to offer Dutch viewers something new and unique. When bringing Viaplay to a new market, we look for clear opportunities to grow, innovate, collaborate and take leadership. The Netherlands delivers on all counts.”