LaLiga And LiveScore Agree LaLiga SmartBank Broadcast Deal

As Atlético Madrid continue to lead Barcelona and Real Madrid in the fight for the LaLiga Santander title, an equally tight contest is emerging at the top of Spain’s second division, LaLiga SmartBank, which can now be seen for free in the UK and Ireland via the LiveScore app.

For the remainder of the regular season, at least three specially selected LaLiga SmartBank matches per round will be exclusively streamed through LiveScore. As one of the world’s leading real-time sports updates and streaming service providers, LiveScore already has over 2 million users in the UK and Ireland. Users simply need to open the streaming function on the LiveScore app, which is downloadable from the app stores, and select the match in question to enjoy the action.

The innovative new agreement allows LiveScore app users to get closer to historic Spanish clubs including Real Zaragoza, Málaga, Girona and Espanyol de Barcelona directly from their iOS and Android mobile devices. LaLiga SmartBank also hosts some of the country’s hottest rivalries such as the Asturian derby between Real Oviedo and Sporting Gijón, as well as Spain’s most prominent island teams Las Palmas, Real Mallorca and Tenerife.

Real Mallorca currently sit top of LaLiga SmartBank and hold a slender lead over Espanyol and Almería in the quest for automatic promotion to LaLiga Santander. Rayo Vallecano, Leganés and Sporting Gijón occupy the remaining playoff positions. Beneath that, eight clubs are separated by just five points, suggesting the race for promotion to Spain’s top division will go down to the wire.

Ric Leask, Marketing Director at LiveScore, said: “We are thrilled to be once again expanding our free-to-air live streaming service, this time bringing the passion and quality of Spanish football through the addition of LaLiga SmartBank. This is an exciting time for UK and Ireland football fans to follow the action as a number of household name teams battle it out for promotion back to LaLiga Santander. 

As a global sponsor of LaLiga Santander, at LiveScore we already recognise the appeal and interest in Spanish football for our users, and we can’t wait to start bringing the very best of LaLiga SmartBank to these shores between now and June.” 

Melcior Soler, director of LaLiga’s audiovisual department said: “This agreement provides a new and immersive way for fans to discover LaLiga SmartBank through an app that has become synonymous with live sport in the UK and Ireland. Digital platforms can help broaden the reach of our competitions and build lasting connections with the user. We are confident that LiveScore provides a viewing experience that people will want to repeat.”

Sky Sports Announce Multi-Year Broadcast Agreement With England Netball

Sky Sports has announced a new multi-year broadcast partnership with England Netball, the largest media partnership in the governing body’s history, and it features the return of Vitality Netball Superleague on February 12.

Every match of the 2021 Vitality Netball Superleague season will be broadcast across Sky Sports and England Netball platforms.

The new agreement will give the competition its greatest visibility to date and aims to build upon the momentum and audience growth that netball has enjoyed in recent years.

“Sky Sports has been a long-term partner of netball since 2006. We are delighted to be expanding upon our existing deal to bring the thrill of the game to our audiences for years to come,” Rob Webster, Sky Sports Managing Director, said.

“Popularity for the sport has increased in recent years as viewing figures saw 550,000 people tune in to watch England’s Vitality Roses in 2019’s thrilling Netball World Cup semi-final.

“At Sky Sports our goal is always to be the best partner to sport and we hope by working together we can help netball continue to grow in future.”

“It is such a pleasure to be able to announce this new deal with Sky Sports,” Fran Connolly, CEO of England Netball, said.

“Over recent years they have been able to capture huge moments in our sport and bring fans closer than ever to netball.

Cazoo Continues Sports Expansion With World Snooker Tour Partnership

Cazoo, UK’s online car retailer has signed a multi-year deal with the World Snooker Tour (WST) as the main sponsor of the Players Championship, Tour Championship and World Grand Prix.

This trio of prestigious events on the snooker calendar will be known as the Cazoo Series and will see prominent Cazoo branding on the main set, players’ waistcoats and interview and media conference backdrops and will have extensive live coverage on ITV and a range of broadcasters across the globe.

The Cazoo Players Championship will take place from February 22 to 28, contested by the leading 16 players on the one-year ranking list, followed by the Cazoo Tour Championship which will run from March 22 to 28, featuring an elite field of the world’s top eight.

During the 2021/22 season, the Cazoo Series will start with the Cazoo World Grand Prix, scheduled for early December.

This latest deal with WST adds snooker to Cazoo’s impressive portfolio of major sports sponsorships announced over the past year which includes principal sponsorship of the Rugby League World Cup, The Hundred cricket tournament as well as Premier League football teams Everton and Aston Villa.

Cazoo owns and fully reconditions all its cars before offering them on its website. Cazoo has thousands of cars available at any time for either delivery or collection in as little as 72 hours. Every Cazoo car comes with a full 7-day money back guarantee and a comprehensive 90-day warranty.

Cazoo is pioneering the shift to online car buying in the UK and, since its launch just over one year ago, has already delivered over 15,000 cars to consumers across the UK who have embraced the selection, transparency and convenience of buying high quality used cars entirely online.

Alex Chesterman OBE, Founder & CEO of Cazoo said, “We are delighted to partner with Barry and his team at the World Snooker Tour to launch the Cazoo Series. This partnership will help to further grow our audience as we continue to build Cazoo into a household brand and we look forward to engaging with and delivering the best car buying experience to snooker fans across the UK.”

Barry Hearn OBE, Chairman of WST said: “We are excited to welcome Cazoo to the snooker family and are looking forward to introducing our significant global audience to the Cazoo brand. The events in the Cazoo Series are some of the highest quality tournaments on the calendar because they bring together the cream of the crop and only the players in form earn a place in the draw.”

Kayo Sports Strikes Streaming Deal With Telstra For AFL And NRL App

Telstra will expand its sports streaming offering for customers through a long-term partnership with Kayo Sports, Australia’s premier sports streaming service.

Kayo will replace Telstra Live Pass in the AFL Live App and NRL Official App, delivering sports fans a world-class experience featuring every AFL and NRL game, of every round, live and ad-break free during play. Kayo also delivers the biggest and best range of live and on-demand sport from Australia and around the world.

Telstra is offering an exclusive offer for customers who have previously used the NRL and AFL Live Passes. Eligible customers will now receive a special offer from Telstra of $20/month off Kayo’s Basic subscription (usually $25/month) for 12 months providing them with Kayo for just $5/month for 12 months.

This exclusive offer gives Telstra Live Pass customers access to every game of every round of the AFL and NRL regular seasons (including the Finals Series in the lead up to the AFL and NRL Grand Finals), and also 50 premier local and international sports live and on-demand, across multiple devices and screens. All other Telstra consumer customers have access to a special offer of $10/month off Kayo’s Basic subscription for 12 months (equates to Kayo Basic $15/month for 12 months).

Telstra CEO Andrew Penn said: “We laid the foundation for sports streaming in Australia with Live Pass back in 2012. Today, video streaming of content is everywhere. How and where viewers consume their content and their expectations have changed greatly in this time.

“We have always been committed to delivering fans the best experience possible across our range of products and services, and sports is a key part of our strategy and offering. While Live Pass has provided a great experience for our customers over time, Kayo has quickly become the premium sports streaming service in Australia, and we’re excited to provide this exclusive offer to our customers, giving them the chance to watch a wider range of sports on their choice of screen.

“We’re proud to support the AFL and NRL and will continue working with them and our other partners to leverage the latest innovation and technology to offer their fans and our customers the best entertainment experience possible at the game, at home, on the bus, or anywhere our network takes you.”

Patrick Delany, Foxtel Group CEO said: “We have a great long-term relationship with Telstra and as our company’s strategies evolve, we are finding new ways to work together. We have created a great product in Kayo, streaming 50 sports live including the AFL and NRL action, it’s exciting for Kayo to be endorsed for Live Pass customers by Telstra.”

International Volleyball Federation To Drive Global Growth With Volleyball World

The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and CVC Capital Partners Fund VII have announced the launch of Volleyball World, a new partnership which will drive innovation, growth and investment in volleyball around the globe.

Volleyball is the fourth most popular sport globally, with more than 800 million fans and high participation, across attractive markets, including Italy, Brazil, Japan, Poland, China and the US. Volleyball was the most watched sport at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, with 2.6 billion viewer hours globally.

Volleyball World will become the commercial entity for the sport around the world, initially for FIVB and aiming at working later alongside other leagues and federations, with the goal of increasing the profile and popularity of the sport, through fresh investment for the benefit of fans, players and National Federations.

Volleyball World will be responsible for the commercial operation of key volleyball and beach volleyball international events, including: the World Championships, Olympic Qualifiers and the Volleyball Nations League. The partnership will focus on event hosting, fan experience, media, data / digital opportunities, and sponsorship to grow commercial revenues for reinvestment, which will ensure the long-term success of the sport. 

FIVB, together with its 222 National Federations, will remain the sole, global volleyball regulatory body with responsibility  for the sport and its development. As the majority shareholder in Volleyball World, FIVB will oversee the new commercial vision for volleyball while ensuring the interests of all stakeholders are represented. CVC brings extensive experience to this partnership, with a strong track record of investing in multiple sports businesses, including Formula 1, Moto GP, and Rugby. CVC also brings access to a broad international network of relationships with offices in 22 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas, which will help accelerate the commercial growth of volleyball and investment in the sport at all levels.

Finn Taylor, who was previously the head of Cirque du Soleil’s Global Touring show business overseeing significant geographic expansion and growth, will be the CEO of Volleyball World. Fernando Lima, formerly FIVB Secretary General will Chair the Board of Volleyball World. Other Board members will include Fabio Azevedo (the current FIVB General Director) and Simon Denyer (founder and former CEO of DAZN Group).

FIVB President Ary S. Graça F said: “We are delighted to partner with CVC to launch Volleyball World. The FIVB is committed to constantly innovating while searching for opportunities that can sustain the development of the sport around the world. In CVC we are confident we have found a partner with the experience, network and capital to support FIVB in its mission to further professionalise the sport for the benefit of fans, players and National Federations.

“Volleyball World will boost our sport’s financial growth and deliver lasting legacies for the whole game. Working in partnership with CVC we will be able to secure volleyball’s future and emerge stronger from the current challenges.”

CVC Capital Partners Head of Sports, Media and Entertainment, Nick Clarry added: “Volleyball is one of the most popular sports in the world and there is a huge untapped fan base and commercial potential. FIVB & CVC working together at Volleyball World, will drive innovation and greater fan engagement, which will accelerate growth and allow for substantial reinvestment back into the sport.

“We are delighted to be partnering with FIVB and look forward to working closely together to develop the sport globally, working collaboratively with all the players, leagues and federations in the years to come.”

World Rugby And IMG Announce A Consultation Process For Global Sports Apparel Supplier

World Rugby and its global master licensee IMG have announced the consultation process to select a global sports apparel supplier for all competitions during the 2021-24 period will launch this month.

The global sports apparel supplier will, for the first time, have access to rights and assets for all of World Rugby’s international competitions, including Rugby World Cup 2021 and 2023.

Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan, the first to be hosted in Asia, broke attendance and broadcast audience records with 1.8 million fans in the stadiums and more than 857 million people tuning in from around the world to watch the action. Additionally, sales of the 2019 tournament’s licensed products and merchandise outperformed 2015’s by more than 40 per cent.

World Rugby Commercial Director Tom Hill said: “We are delighted to be kicking off this important process with IMG, our global master licensee. The selection of the right apparel supplier is key to projecting the sport, engaging with fans and growing revenues for reinvestment in the sport.

“Given the prestige of the properties this agreement will cover, the success of the apparel programme at RWC 2019 in Japan, and excitement around France 2023, this is an attractive and lucrative proposition for interested parties – one that will directly support the growth of rugby worldwide.”

Mickael Andreo, VP of Licensing, IMG, said: “Rugby is enjoying unprecedented worldwide growth across male, female and youth participation after Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan broke a multitude of records in one of the most impactful and ground-breaking tournaments in the game’s history. We are looking forward to taking this opportunity to market as we believe it represents a singular opportunity for brands aiming to position themselves as the authority in the rugby space.”

InCrowd Appoints Michael Jones As COO

Michael joins InCrowd with over 20 years experience working across data, CRM, strategy and marketing with major sports organisations.

Highlights include sitting on the ticketing strategy group for Rugby World Cup 2015 and working with other leading major rights holders and governing bodies such as British & Irish Lions, 6 Nations, EFL and Commonwealth Games 2022 on the implementation of data, insight and commercial strategies.

Most recently, Michael has held the role of Managing Director at sports marketing agency Goodform, specialising in data and insights and working with major sports organisations across the world. Prior to Goodform, Michael was Head of Business for Watford Football Club.

At InCrowd, Michael will be responsible for translating the vision and strategy of the business into operational delivery excellence. He will lead on facilitating internal commercial operations and importantly will help ensure our customers are able to drive their own commercial growth and fan engagement through optimum use of our technology solutions.


Aidan Cooney, InCrowd’s co-founder and CEO stated “We are delighted to welcome Michael to the InCrowd team as we continue to help organisations improve top-line growth and business efficiencies using our digital experience technology and solutions. Michael has a very strong track record of working in club operations and in providing CRM solutions to sports governing bodies, leagues and clubs. We are incredibly excited about the level of experience and expertise he is bringing to InCrowd and, most importantly, to our customers.”


“I’m delighted to be joining InCrowd at such a pivotal time in digital transformation within sport”. Michael says. “The business has grown exponentially in the last eighteen months with its clear mission to drive ROI through data-powered digital experiences.

“I feel privileged to have joined the outstanding InCrowd team and look forward to making a significant contribution to the business operations of InCrowd and its rapidly growing customer base”.

MotoGP Renews Braodcast Deal With BT Sport

Dorna Sports has announced a contract extension with BT Sport, confirming the broadcaster as the exclusive home of live MotoGP in the UK and Ireland until at least the end of 2024.

BT Sport provides unrivalled MotoGP™ coverage across the UK and Ireland, broadcasting each and every Grand Prix live and exclusively. Thanks to this new agreement, fans can continue to enjoy every practice, qualifying session and race for MotoGP™, Moto2™, Moto3™ and MotoE™ over an incredible twenty hours of coverage across each race weekend, as well as access to innovations such as a 360 camera view, available on the BT Sport App.

This contract extension will also see BT Sport’s MotoGP™ coverage reach the ten-year mark, with fans across the UK and Ireland having enjoyed top quality coverage and insight since the 2014 season.

Simon Green, Managing Director at BT Sport: “We are extremely proud to continue as the home of MotoGP in the UK and Ireland. BT Sport has the best presentation team delivering the most comprehensive MotoGP coverage that UK fans have ever enjoyed, with every single practice, qualifying and race broadcast in full.

“I would also like to congratulate Dorna on safely and successfully completing the 2020 season, one of the most exciting we have seen, and thank them for collaborating with us to bring some great new programming to our audiences during last year’s lockdown.”

Manel Arroyo, Managing Director at Dorna Sports: “BT Sport are one of our most important partners and we are delighted to see MotoGP remain with them until at least 2024, securing top quality coverage for the sport in one of our most important markets.

“Fans in the UK and Ireland couldn’t ask for more. After a thrilling but challenging 2020 season, we are proud to see this partnership confirmed to continue and mark a decade of collaboration. We would also like to thank BT Sport for their support in 2020 and look forward to at least another four seasons working together.”

Extreme E Agrees Video Partnership With SNTV

Extreme E, the electric off-road racing series, has partnered with SNTV, the world’s leading sports news video provider, to share its innovative sporting product with a global audience.

For the last 24 years, SNTV has worked with federations, sports organisations and brands to provide world-class sports video news and highlights to global broadcasters and digital publishers. They are now bringing their extensive production expertise and distribution network to Extreme E.

Ali Russell, Chief Marketing Officer at Extreme E, said: “SNTV is a partner that will help give Extreme E global reach and exposure through its connections and expertise. Not only will they support sharing the racing action, they will use hybrid storytelling to share a wide variety of content the series has to offer.

“In Season 1 there are five races so it is important to continue the momentum of the championship even when we aren’t racing and draw people’s attention to all aspects of the series including Legacy Programmes, driver and team profiling and the championship’s floating centrepiece, the St. Helena, which not only transports all the equipment, but will also be home to scientific research.”

SNTV has partnerships with some of the biggest sporting properties in the world including NBA, Bundesliga and Formula One. Its aim is to connect sports fans worldwide and it does this by distributing quality sports video content to 1200 global outlets across broadcast and digital in 115 territories worldwide.

James Dobbs, Managing Director at SNTV, said: “In many ways Extreme E is the perfect partner for SNTV, offering compelling human stories and important social messages, all centered around a premium sporting event. Working with Extreme E, we will drive awareness and increase the profile of the series by delivering race highlights and other feature content across our global media network.

“All distribution will be underpinned with usage and insights data, allowing Extreme E to tailor their content strategy and demonstrate value to stakeholders. We’re excited to maximise impact and exposure of this innovative, equality-driven, all electric series as it continues to influence the sporting and social agenda.”

Envision Virgin Racing Strikes Strategic Partnership With Johnson Matthey

Envision Virgin Racing Formula E Team and Johnson Matthey (JM), a global leader in sustainable technologies have confirmed a multi-year strategic partnership. 

Headquartered in the UK, the worldwide FTSE 100 index company has become renowned for its unrivalled  expertise and vision to create a cleaner, healthier world, particularly through its advanced cathode material technology. 

The partnership with Envision Virgin Racing will see JM become both an Official Partner of the team and of the  team’s innovative ‘Race Against Climate Change’ sustainability programme, created to help amplify the fight  against climate change and accelerate the movement to zero emission vehicles.  

The new collaboration will also focus on the co-development of the first ever electric two-seater Formula E style  race car, powered by eLNO®, JM’s family of nickel-rich advanced cathode materials that deliver superior energy  density whilst sustaining excellent battery cycle life. Working closely together, as the team does with all its partners,  the technical collaboration with JM will result in a working race car which will be based at the team’s state-of-the-art  facilities at Silverstone, in the UK.

As a founding team of the FIA World Championship, Envision Virgin Racing – owned by world leading greentech  company Envision Group – boasts an impressive record both on and off the track. Aside from securing 11 wins and  29 podiums, it is the only current carbon neutral Formula E team (PAS 2060), one of a handful to have achieved  the FIA’s Three Star Sustainability Accreditation and recently announced a new partnership with the UN’s COP26  global summit. 

Formula E – the world’s first fully-electric race series – gets underway with a new season in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia  on February 26 where the team’s race cars will sport JM’s branding, as well as on official team apparel. 

As the owner of the team, Envision Group’s pioneering innovation work in areas such as smart wind technology,  battery development and AIoT infrastructure has seen it earn an array of sustainability credentials, including being  the first company in mainland China to commit to 100% renewable electricity by 2025. The greentech company is  becoming the net zero partner to help its clients accelerate their energy transition, digital transformation and net  zero carbon ambitions.  

Commenting on the announcement, CEO of Envision Group and Executive Chairman of Envision AESC, Lei Zhang  said: “Envision Group, Envision Virgin Racing and Johnson Matthey are all at the forefront of the EV revolution, so I  am delighted to be collaborating with them. As a global leader in sustainable technologies, JM’s vision aligns  perfectly with the net zero values of Envision, and I look forward to working together to tackle climate change  before it is too late.” 

Robert MacLeod, Chief Executive of Johnson Matthey, added: “Our vision is for a world that’s cleaner and  healthier, today and for future generations, so we’re delighted to be working together with Envision Virgin Racing  and its owners Envision Group as we both share an ambition to create a more sustainable future.

“We’re also  excited about creating the first electric race car using eLNO technology – which is a major milestone in its  commercialisation – and to join the team’s ‘Race Against Climate Change’ initiative and its goals of inspiring  generations to take action to protect the planet.”