SportsPro Magazine Issue #96

Issue 96

www.sportspromedia.com

Issue 96

SEAN BRATCHES UNLEASHING THE POWER OF FORMULA ONE

Inside the Champions League’s rights team

English cricket’s broadcast revolution The emerging picture in OTT

@SportsPro

Lessons from The Brand Conference 2017

CONTENTS | ISSUE 96

46 COVER STORY 46 Talking Liberty Ten months into Liberty Media’s stewardship of Formula One, Sean Bratches and Frank Arthofer, two of the men brought on board to transform the championship’s commercial outlook, tell SportsPro about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for motorsport’s biggest beast.

FEATURES 34 The Brand Conference: what we learned The Brand Conference, SportsPro’s event for those in sport building brands and those in brands reaching fans, returned to Lord’s Cricket Ground in London for its fourth edition, and its biggest so far, on 28th September.

54 Live and direct Silicon Valley tech giants, traditional media powerhouses, virtual MVPDs, rights holders, budding startups dubbed the ‘Netflix of sports’ – all are jostling for position in an OTT streaming sector that is redefining the way sport is watched.

62 The Profile: Eleventh hour

62

As executive chairman and chief executive of Eleven Sports, Marc Watson is leading an emerging broadcast force which is acting locally on global ambitions.

68 Over the radar Sports data and content specialist Sportradar AG is eyeing further growth in a burgeoning OTT market with a new solution that might yet tap into its expertise elsewhere.

72 A hand on the future The VELUX EHF FINAL4 is the climax of the European Handball Federation’s signature club tournament, the EHF Champions League, and since 2010 has become a compelling showcase for a sport whose popularity can be underestimated.

78 Opening up After over a decade behind the paywall, the England and Wales Cricket Board has signed lucrative new broadcast deals which will take live coverage back to freeto-air TV. Chief executive Tom Harrison explains how its media partners will help reach a more diverse fanbase.

SportsPro Magazine | 3

CONTENTS | ISSUE 96

AT THE FRONT 6 8 10 12 14

Editor’s Letter The Long Read Notes and Observations The Matt Slater Column Digest The shifting sands of sports audiences and contents

16

94

Matt Smith

18 84 Company profile: One vision The European Broadcasting Union unites the interests of public service media in 56 countries in a rapidly changing media environment. Through its business arm, Eurovision Media Services, it is playing a full part in shaping the future of content production and distribution.

88 Eastern promises As Lagardère Sports and Entertainment celebrates the opening of its major new oďŹƒce in Shanghai, chief executive Andrew Georgiou explains how local knowledge is helping the agency get ahead in the country, and why no one in the west has yet truly understood the growth of China.

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is the ultimate test for an amateur sailor.

The brainchild of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and William Ward, now on its 11th edition, oers both sailors and sponsors a unique opportunity to take on one of the biggest challenges of the natural world.

108 Beach world SportsPro travelled to this year’s PoreÄ?

Major to ďŹ nd out what attracts thousands of annual spectators from around the world, and to learn more about the Swatch Beach Majors series’ plans to cement itself on the global stage.

114 Behind the ropes 94 Teamwork For over 25 years, the bespoke Team Marketing agency has developed and sold the rights to Uefa club soccer competitions. SportsPro stepped into its oďŹƒces in Lucerne to see how the operation has evolved.

102 Company profile: Striking for Glory Launched in 2012 with the aim of taking the sport of kickboxing to new heights, GLORY Sports International has already established itself as the world’s leading brand in the discipline.

IGBS: Partnering to the Top

104 Around the world in eight legs

Founded in 2004, Fighting Spirit has promoted a range of boxing, kickboxing, MMA, Muay Thai and wrestling events across the globe. The latest instalment of Enfusion in Antwerp, Belgium showed just how Fighting Spirit’s promotions have built a loyal fanbase.

Camille Julien Moraud

19

Sponsorship and the digital space: legal perspective Caroline Swain

20 22 24 26 30

Premature Facts Movers and Shakers SportsPro World Gallery The Shot: NFL protests

AT THE BACK 120 122 126 128 130

Deals Review Sponsorship Deals Index Unofficial Partner Jottings

118 Company profile: Fighting Spirit Laurent Pourrut, chief executive of Fighting Spirit, discusses the event promotion company’s rich stable of combat sport properties, which are proving an international knockout.

104

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EDITOR’S LETTER

Over we go

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arcelona playing on with European soccer’s largest club stadium lying empty as police attempt to subdue an unauthorised vote IRU &DWDODQ LQGHSHQGHQFH RXWVLGH 7KH SUHVLGHQW RI WKH 8QLWHG 6WDWHV RI $PHULFD FDOOLQJ RQ 1)/ WHDP RZQHUV WR ÀUH SOD\HUV for peaceful protests during the national anthem, and his vice president leaving before a game begins upon the sight of a show RI GHÀDQFH The old line about sport and politics was always a lie, and it still is. Sport is a public forum, a place where people of different backgrounds and opinions come together in the same space. Even when it is expressly designed to be hermetically sealed from the outside world, it can only keep so much around the perimeter.

7KDW LQà XHQFH RI OLIH EH\RQG VSRUW¡V ERXQGDULHV LV IHOW LQ HYHU\ ZD\ LW FDQ EH DQG LQ WKH EURDGFDVW VHFWRU VZHHSLQJ FKDQJHV WR KRZ ZH ZDWFK ZKDW ZH ZDWFK RQ VFUHHQV LV ÀQDOO\ KDYLQJ LWV LQHYLWDEOH LPSDFW :KHQ , VWDUWHG DW WKLV SXEOLFDWLRQ D IHZ \HDUV DJR WKHUH ZDV an argument that the digital revolution was going to treat sport differently; that sport was going to be the last great hope of live TV. To some extent, it has been: live sporting events have long outperformed other programming on linear platforms, and the idea of them as appointment to view still persists.

But as interactions with technology spark changes in almost every aspect of people’s everyday lives – not just how they shop or communicate but, some research would suggest, the way they think and learn as well – it is going to have consequences for the way they enjoy their sport. Digital distribution and delivery has been a factor of sports broadcasting for half a decade or more. Now it is affecting how fans want to pay for sport, and their entire behaviour around games and events they can or cannot attend.

Soon, if it is not doing so already, it will come to bear on which sports and formats come into the ascendancy – just as every previous technological advance has done before it.

Published in the weeks before the Sportel media convention in Monaco, this issue of SportsPro is our annual broadcast special. A consistent theme emerges this time around OTT, and the direct-to-consumer platforms that take their lead from entertainment services OLNH 1HWà L[ DQG $PD]RQ 9LGHR 7KLV LV D WUHQG WKDW SURPLVHV WR XWWHUO\ UHVKDSH WKH VSRUWV LQGXVWU\ RYHU WKH GHFDGH DKHDG DQG LW LV ZLWK WKDW LQ PLQG WKDW ZH KDYH ODXQFKHG RXU ÀUVW HYHU OLYH HYHQW GHGLFDWHG WR WKH EURDGFDVW VHFWRU WKH 6SRUWV3UR 277 6XPPLW KHOG ZLWK WKH support of the Olympic Channel in Madrid on 29th and 30th November.

The future is here. There can be no escaping it.

In the broadcast sector, sweeping changes to how we watch what we watch on screens is finally having its inevitable impact.

Eoin Connolly Editor

EDITOR Eoin Connolly

MANAGING DIRECTOR Nick Meacham

DEPUTY EDITOR Adam Nelson

COMMERCIAL CONSULTANT Richard Partridge

AMERICAS EDITOR Michael Long

COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Jon Abraham

STAFF WRITERS Sam Carp, George Dudley

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGERS Charlie Barker, Tom Purdy

JUNIOR WRITER Elena Holmes

BUSINESS OPERATIONS MANAGER Kirsty Arundale

ART DIRECTOR Daniel Brown

EVENTS MANAGER Yin Khoo

PHOTOGRAPHIC AGENCY Action Images

HEAD OF EVENTS CONTENT William Tubbs

MEDIA PARTNER Press Association

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SportsPro magazine is published by: SportsPro Media Ltd 3rd Floor, Two America Square, London EC3N 2LU, UK Tel: +44 (0) 207 549 3250 Fax: +44 (0) 207 549 3255 Email: info@sportspromedia.com Web: www.sportspromedia.com (SportsPro Media Ltd is part of the Henley Media Group Ltd www.henleymediagroup.com) NOTICES: Issue No 96 SportsPro Magazine (ISSN 1756-5340) is published bi-monthly throughout the year. Printed in the EU.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: Available at a cost of UKÂŁ199 (Print subscription), and UKÂŁ149 (Digital Subscription). Back issues are available for UKÂŁ40 and delivered anywhere in the world at no extra charge. Subscriptions are available by logging on to www.sportspromedia.com EDITORIAL COPYRIGHT: The contents of this magazine, both words and statistics, are strictly copyright and the intellectual property of SportsPro Media. Copying or reproduction may only be carried out with written permission of the publishers, which will normally not be withheld on payment of a fee. Article reprints: Most articles published in SportsPro Magazine are available as reprints by prior arrangement from the publishers. Normal minimum print run for reprints is 400 copies, although larger and smaller runs are possible. Please contact us at: info@sportspromedia.com

THE LONG READ

A GAME OF TWO PATHS SportsPro Americas editor Michael Long explains how a recent soccer dispute in the United States underlines the decisions the sport will have to make there to ensure its future progress.

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The Host Broadcaster

WE SHAPE THE FUTURE OF SPORT

NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

A WINDOW TO THE SOUL

I

Adam Nelson

t is not an original observation that the circus of European soccerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transfer window has come, in some ways, to overshadow the start of the playing season itself. But it is nevertheless an observation worth making.

Countless articles are been churned out every year discussing which clubs were the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;winnersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;losersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; on the market this summer. For some of the most vocal fans on social media, it seems that missing out on a top target, losing a key star or even bringing in the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;wrong playerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is every bit as damaging for a club as three points dropped in an actual game of actual soccer.

2017â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s summer window â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in the UK, at least, notwithstanding the landmark â&#x201A;¬222 million transfer of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain â&#x20AC;&#x201C; was DUJXDEO\ GRPLQDWHG DV PXFK E\ WUDQVIHUV WKDW GLGQ·W KDSSHQ DV WKRVH WKDW GLG $V WKH WHDPV DW WKH WRS RI WKH JDPH KDYH JURZQ LQ Ã&#x20AC;QDQFLDO stature and taken each summer as an opportunity to consolidate their power on the pitch, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve become accustomed to transfer sagas adhering to a very predicable template: after weeks of back and forth, bids and rejections, unhappy players and unhappier supporters, the biggest clubs get their man.

7KLV \HDU /LYHUSRRO·V 3KLOLSSH &RXWLQKR $UVHQDO·V $OH[LV 6iQFKH] DQG 6RXWKDPSWRQ·V 9LUJLO 9DQ 'LMN ZHUH WKH KLJKHVW SURÃ&#x20AC;OH SOD\HUV IRU ZKRP WKDW Ã&#x20AC;QDO VWHS QHYHU RFFXUUHG DQG DOO WKUHH SOD\HUV HQGHG WKH VXPPHU H[DFWO\ ZKHUH WKH\ VWDUWHG LW The intransigence of their clubs, it turns out, was the precursor to a bigger development. One week after the conclusion of the 2017 transfer window, it was announced that the 20 Premier League clubs had voted in favour of bringing the deadline forward, with the window set to slam shut â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with apologies to Jim White â&#x20AC;&#x201C; at 5pm on the day before the 2018/19 season begins.

The biggest caveat to this is that the deadline applies only to Premier League clubs buying, not selling, their playing staff. As it stands, teams across Europe will still be able to conduct their business a full three weeks after Englandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clubs have had their hands tied. $W Ã&#x20AC;UVW WKLV ORRNV VLQJXODUO\ OLNH 3UHPLHU /HDJXH WHDPV GRLQJ WKH XQWKLQNDEOH DQG YRWLQJ DJDLQVW WKHLU RZQ Ã&#x20AC;QDQFLDO DQG IRRWEDOOLQJ LQWHUHVWV Under league rules, 14 of the 20 must vote in favour of such a motion, and this one passed by that margin. Why would Liverpool, who voted in favour of the change, leave themselves vulnerable to sky-high bids for Coutinho while unable to recruit a replacement? Why, also, would they OHDYH WKHPVHOYHV LQ WKH SRVLWLRQ RI KDYLQJ WR WXUQ GRZQ D Ã&#x20AC;QDQFLDO ZLQGIDOO SRWHQWLDOO\ LQ WKH KXQGUHGV PLOOLRQV RI SRXQGV SUHFLVHO\ EHFDXVH WKH\ canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afford to leave a hole in their squad?

7KH GHFLVLRQ WHOOV XV PXFK DERXW WKH JURZLQJ FRQÃ&#x20AC;GHQFH DQG Ã&#x20AC;QDQFLDO VWDELOLW\ RI 3UHPLHU /HDJXH WHDPV ,Q D OHDJXH LQ ZKLFK DUJXDEO\ DV PDQ\ DV FOXEV IDFH VRPH UHDOLVWLF WKUHDW RI UHOHJDWLRQ WR WKH VHFRQG WLHU LW LV UHPDUNDEOH WKDW DW OHDVW RI WKH DUH VDWLVÃ&#x20AC;HG WKDW KDYLQJ foreign clubs potentially able to poach their players for a two-week period wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be to their detriment. This is not a decision that has been made E\ DQG IRU WKH HOLWH EXW E\ WKH GLYLVLRQ DW ODUJH DV 3UHPLHU /HDJXH WHDPV DV D ZKROH QRZ VWDQG VR IDU DKHDG RI WKHLU FRQWLQHQWDO ULYDOV Ã&#x20AC;QDQFLDOO\ WKDW WKH WKUHDW LV VHHQ DV LQVLJQLÃ&#x20AC;FDQW Liverpool demonstrated that they can stand up to the might of Barcelona if theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve decided a player isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t leaving. Further down the ladder, Southampton demonstrated that they can stand up, in turn, to Liverpool. The Premier League clubs are not so much shooting themselves in the foot as showing off about the size of their gun.

The leagueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s broadcast revenues are set to rise again when the deals are renegotiated at the end of the year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; though by less than the 70 per cent they increased last time â&#x20AC;&#x201C; giving no indication of the bubble bursting. With the likes of Facebook and Amazon waiting in the wings to take advantage of any hesitation from the traditional broadcasters, the divisionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 20 teams look set to race still further ahead of their continental rivals. ,Q OLJKW RI WKLV LW ZDV DQ XQVXUSULVLQJ GHYHORSPHQW ZKHQ ODWHU LQ 6HSWHPEHU WKH 3UHPLHU /HDJXH·V VR FDOOHG ¶%LJ 6L[· ² /LYHUSRRO $UVHQDO Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur â&#x20AC;&#x201C; began campaigning for a larger share of that broadcast revenue. The plan, presented by Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore, would see 35 per cent of the overseas broadcast revenue distributed by league position, a major move away from the current system under which all broadcast revenues are distributed equally. The proposal has also reportedly received the backing of Everton, West Ham United and the 2015/16 champions Leicester City, but lacked the support to pass at a meeting in early October. Further talks will be held in November. :KLOH VLPLODU VXJJHVWLRQV UHDU WKHLU KHDG HYHU\ WLPH 79 GHDOV FRPH XS IRU UHQHJRWLDWLRQ WKH WKUHDW IHHOV PRUH SRLQWHG WKLV WLPH ,I 6RXWKDPSWRQ·V VWHDGIDVWQHVV RYHU WKH VDOH RI 9DQ 'LMN ZDV DQ LQGLFDWLRQ WKDW WKH SOD\LQJ Ã&#x20AC;HOG KDG OHYHOOHG VRPHZKDW WKLV UHSUHVHQWV D EODWDQW DWWHPSW WR XQOHYHO LW DJDLQ 2YHUVHDV EURDGFDVW UHYHQXHV DUH WKH PRVW VLJQLÃ&#x20AC;FDQW JURZWK DUHD IRU WKH 3UHPLHU /HDJXH DV OXFUDWLYH PDUNHWV DFURVV $VLD VFUDPEOH WR JHW WKHLU Ã&#x20AC;OO RI WKH DFWLRQ DQG WKH DUJXPHQW IURP WKH ELJJHVW VLGHV LV WKDW WKH\·UH WKH RQHV GULYLQJ WKDW LQWHUHVW DQG GHVHUYH D bigger slice of the pie.

The two issues demonstrate the light and shade of the Premier Leagueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appeal. On the one hand, the competitive nature of the division has ORQJ EHHQ KHOG XS DV RQH RI LWV SULPDU\ DVVHWV ZLWK WKH WUDQVIHU ZLQGRZ GHFLVLRQ LQGLFDWLQJ WKH EXEEOH WKDW WKH 3UHPLHU /HDJXH Ã&#x20AC;QGV LWVHOI LQ On the other, the necessity for commercial growth is always likely to outrank the sporting integrity of the competition, and regardless of the protests from the rest of the league, those at the top are always going to seek to consolidate their positions. How the negotiations play out will tell us much about the kind of competition the Premier League wants to be as it celebrates its 25th year. @adamsonnel

10 | www.sportspromedia.com

THE SLATER COLUMN

ON THE BEAT WITH MATT SLATER With Paris and Los Angeles now ďŹ nally conďŹ rmed as Olympic hosts for 2024 and 2028, Press Associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chief sports reporter makes the case for a long-term outlook in assessing mega-events.

I

t is a regrettable by-product of the human condition and modern science but sports fans are getting used to the idea that some races are not over until the urine samples are reopened a decade later.

Nobody thinks it is fair and justice delayed really is justice denied when the cheats trigger bonuses while the cheated lose funding. But waiting a few years to judge the overall success of an Olympics, on the other hand, might not be such a bad thing.

Here, some redistribution of praise and a second look at what looked so good, or VR EDG Ă&#x20AC;UVW WLPH DURXQG LV QRW RQO\ ZLVH it is essential if mega-events are to have a future in countries with annoyances such as elections and a free press.

That future has looked uncertain of late, as demonstrated by the International Olympic Committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (IOC) attempt to convince us Septemberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dual award of the 2024 and 2028 Games was a win-winwin, as opposed to a face-saving fudge.

Having lost several aces along the way, IOC president Thomas Bach ditched the drama, doubled down on bravado and bought some time.

Lucky for him, the only two cards he had left â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Los Angeles and Paris â&#x20AC;&#x201C; were good â&#x20AC;&#x2122;uns, certainly better than those he was left clutching for the 2022 Winter Games, when a similar blight of bids resulted in a head-to-head between Almaty DQG %HLMLQJ WZR FLWLHV XQOLNHO\ WR Ă&#x20AC;JXUH RQ many winter holiday bucket lists.

But while Paris and LA will most likely be excellent hosts of the self-styled greatest show on earth, nobody is pretending the Olympics, and therefore every other sporting spectacular, can carry on like this.

Much of the early commentary on this has focused on the need for sport to make fewer demands, pay its way and leave places at least as good as it found them â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it is a head-shaking disgrace that organisations as pleased with themselves as most international sports federations are must be reminded of such basic manners.

12 | www.sportspromedia.com

Bach, of course, will point to his blueprint for the future of the Olympics, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Agenda 2020â&#x20AC;&#x2122; (I am assuming it does exist in physical form and is not just a state of mind), and say it is already happening.

He would probably also claim most of the costs associated with Games have nothing to do with sport, as they are investments in infrastructure, and WKH 2O\PSLFV EULQJ EHQHĂ&#x20AC;WV QRW HDVLO\ measured by accountants, journalists or opposition politicians.

Others, however, will point to Rioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drained swimming pool, ransacked MaracanĂŁ and empty golf course and say, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pull the over one, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s got Olympic rings on.â&#x20AC;?

While Paris and LA will most likely be excellent hosts of the self-styled greatest show on earth, nobody is pretending the Olympics can carry on like this.

For me, the real secret to restoring the game-changing allure of the Games is to not wait until the party is over to start thinking about what happens next.

LA mayor Eric Garcetti appears to be thinking along the same lines. Thanks to the healthy advance the IOC gave LA IRU OHWWLQJ 3DULV JR Ă&#x20AC;UVW KH KDV VWDUWHG investing in community sports projects and improving green spaces. *DUFHWWL ZLOO KDYH OHIW WKDW RIĂ&#x20AC;FH ORQJ before 2028 comes around but, if his plan comes off, there will be athletes and fans at those Games who have DOUHDG\ EHQHĂ&#x20AC;WHG IURP WKH JRRG YLEHV DQ Olympics can bring.

And to share a little credit closer to home, London 2012â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legacy is looking brighter all the time, too.

Jerome Frost was the head of design

and regeneration for the Olympic Delivery Authority and he believes London got most of the big decisions right and will UHDS WKH EHQHĂ&#x20AC;WV RI WKDW 8.Â&#x2026; ELOOLRQ investment for years to come. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People can say there was a plan to regenerate that part of London but when?

The Games brought it all forward, perhaps by 30 years,â&#x20AC;? Frost told me last month. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That deadline and the commitment IURP JRYHUQPHQW SURYLGHG WKH FRQĂ&#x20AC;GHQFH investors needed and gave our construction industry a massive shot in the arm in the middle of a recession.â&#x20AC;?

Frostâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rosy view of what the Games left behind in east London was echoed in a recent Financial Times piece that listed new homes, jobs and property values as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;gold medalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; results from 2012.

It would be mistake, though, to pretend LW LV DOO EXWWHUĂ LHV DQG Ă RZHUV DORQJ WKH River Lea, and nobody can be entirely happy about the sequence of compromises that saw taxpayers foot the bill for a Premier League football clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s palatial new home.

Frostâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s answer to that is to be more realistic about venues from the outset, go temporary, if necessary, plan accordingly and focus on getting as much buy-in as possible.

Now with global design and engineering Ă&#x20AC;UP $UXS )URVW EHOLHYHV WKH IXWXUH RI mega-events is using technologies such as virtual reality to the bring the sports to life for people far beyond the venues. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The key is how you get the populace of any city, region or country to engage with an event â&#x20AC;&#x201C; if LA makes money in 2028 but does not make people care, it will have failed,â&#x20AC;? said Frost.

Assessing that takes time, which brings me back to the statute of limitations for what Games can achieve but also how and when they should be measured.

Who knows, perhaps Rio will follow Barcelona and Atlanta as Olympics hosts that look better â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for the fortunes of those cities â&#x20AC;&#x201C; once the results are re-analysed.

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DIGEST SECTION TEXT HERE ISSUE 96

As the last edition of SportsPro in 2017, Issue 97 will feature our annual reflection on the big news and trends shaping the year in the industry: from the march of technology to the end of another Olympic race and a landmark summer for women’s sport in Europe.

Next time in

The review edition

The Agenda

Elsewhere in the magazine, there will be a flavour of all some of the high-level discussions at Sportel Monaco and, of course, the inaugural SportsPro OTT Summit with the support of the Olympic Channel, which will bring together 200 senior executives in Madrid on 29th and 30th November

to consider the most pressing challenges in the broadcast and digital sectors.

There will also be a look at the world’s rising centres of influence and investment, and the latest on how venue technology and best practice are shaping the modern fan experience.

Dates for your diary in the weeks ahead

26TH OCTOBER TO 2ND DECEMBER Rugby League World Cup 2017 Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea 27TH OCTOBER Fifa Council meeting Zurich, Switzerland 31ST OCTOBER TO 3RD NOVEMBER ANOC General Assembly Prague, Czech Republic The world’s national Olympic committees gather after a busy year for the movement

7TH TO 11TH NOVEMBER NextGen ATP Finals Milan, Italy The best young players in men’s tennis meet in a new tournament with an experimental spirit 8TH TO 10TH NOVEMBER International Federation Forum Lausanne, Switzerland 23RD NOVEMBER TO 8TH JANUARY 2018 The Ashes Australia England’s cricketers head Down Under to defend the urn Icons designed by Freepik

14 | www.sportspromedia.com

ISSUE 96 By the numbers

What they’re saying this issue

p68

p46

“I feel like a shark here. If I stop swimming I’m gonna die – there’s just so much to do.”

Sean Bratches, Formula One Group

p62

“There’s been an awful lot of value locked up in pay-TV for a very long time and I think the industry has been worried about impacting that value, and therefore slow to put new models out into the market. But I think that’s starting to change now. It has to change and it is starting to change.”

Marc Watson, Eleven Sports

p88

“In 2009, China had 150 million middle class consumers.

In 2022, they’re projected to have 550 million middle class. That’s a 400 million person increase in the middle class alone, and the fastest growing segment within that is the upper-middle class, the ones with more disposable income. That represents a population increase of just middle-class spend that is bigger than the entire United States of America.”

Andrew Georgiou, Lagardère Sports and Entertainment

From the SportsPro Podcast

“I don’t need a legacy. I’ve had a ball these last 16 years.”

Outgoing International Paralympic Committee president Sir Philip Craven reflects on his tenure before making way for Andrew Parsons of Brazil.

Find every SportsPro Podcast at www.sportspromedia.com/podcast or subscribe via iTunes

SportsPro Magazine | 15

THOUGHT LEADER BROADCAST

THE SHIFTING SANDS OF SPORTS AUDIENCES AND CONTENT Matt Smith

As audiences adopt more diverse ways to consume sporting content, rights holders and broadcasters will have to adjust their distribution platforms

T

here is no denying the notion that video powers our daily lives. From social networks like Snapchat and Facebook to digital behemoths like Amazon, video is part of the fabric of everything they do.

Just over one year ago, Snapchat rolled out its Discover product, which collected social updates, video, imagery, and other information from publications, television programmers, and even sports leagues.

These entities leverage the platform to reach new generations of video consumers on screens when and where those viewers choose.

The stakes are high for these video publishers as they make big bets on DXGLHQFHV ZKR DUH UHGHĂ&#x20AC;QLQJ QRW RQO\ KRZ content is consumed, but also how it is prepared, managed, and delivered.

Measuring the winds of change The massive global growth of mobile devices has created a sea change in how we as viewers watch television and view video of all kinds. Service providers have been under particular pressure as they shed subscribers in recent years.

Traditionally, service providers have been the source many turn to in order to watch television â&#x20AC;&#x201C; especially sports content â&#x20AC;&#x201C; given the rights secured by various networks. These very expensive rights have driven up the cost of television packages over the past many years.

This trend has given rise to a plethora of OTT offerings, for a variety of reasons.

16 | www.sportspromedia.com

)LUVWO\ WKH PRELOH Ă&#x20AC;UVW DXGLHQFH ZDQWV WKHLU content on their devices, and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;traditionalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; programmers want to give it to them.

6HFRQGO\ GLJLWDO Ă&#x20AC;UVW SURJUDPPHUV D OD FDUWH sports leagues, and networks see OTT as a very cost-effective path to their viewers.

Last, but certainly not least, these new video offerings represent a new and very welcome revenue stream, where digital ads replace those that appeared in the broadcast.

Future battle lines are being drawn beyond sports. Disney chief executive Robert Iger announced recently that future entries in the wildly popular Star Wars and Marvel series will be streamed exclusively on Disneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s upcoming OTT offering.

Expect to see this same trend with sports content, too.

The audience is there â&#x20AC;&#x201C; build the stadium Today we are seeing the online video equivalent of a renaissance period, where new networks, niche content, and sports leagues of all shapes and sizes are standing up services every month. OTT video is changing the economics of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;channelsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in that they cost orders of magnitude less to launch than their broadcast brethren who came before them. Never before has it been less expensive to launch a channel.

And the audience is there.

We know that live video alone will grow E\ XS WR WLPHV RYHU WKH QH[W Ă&#x20AC;YH \HDUV according to research from Cisco. The WRROV DQG LQWHOOLJHQW ZRUNĂ RZV DUH RSHQ and ready for business, too. To deliver a live event today calls for complexity beyond

simply acquiring a live signal, converting it to streams, and then delivering it to viewers.

Now, we must enable editing of the event in real time, where a big play or goal in a match can be clipped and distributed to social networks or apps immediately. Additionally, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re providing features like Cloud DVR, so that a viewer can pause a live event or scrub back to the beginning if they caught the event in progress. In all these cases, the online video components in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marketplace are helping create viewing experiences that are better than broadcast. /LYH HYHQWV KDYH EHHQ D VLJQLĂ&#x20AC;FDQW growth area for Brightcove in 2017. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve hosted sizable live events in 2017, all over the globe. Recently, we helped deliver the Mayweather-McGregor and the Pacquiao+RUQ Ă&#x20AC;JKWV IRU )R[WHO LQ $XVWUDOLD DQG the US Open with Brightcove Live. In India, we helped our customer Sony LIV host the 2017 Cricket Championships, which nearly four million viewers watched using our streaming technology. Further, sports brands like Salomon are leveraging the turnkey nature of Brightcoveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own OTT Flow solution to quickly ship apps for Roku and Apple TV, and all use our powerful hosting and publishing platform, Video Cloud. Brightcove spends every day working with sports customers across the globe to transform the experience and economics of video.

Matt Smith is vice president and principal evangelist, media at Brightcove. To learn more, visit brightcove.com

THIRD SEASON FOR AWARD WINNING CLIPPER RACE TV SERIES The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is regarded as one of the toughest endurance challenges, with everyday people from all walks of life, many of them total novices before their extensive training, taking on the biggest and most arduous competitive ocean adventure on the planet.

The eleventh edition of this unique biennial global race left the UK in August 2017 with every twist and turn of this emotionally charged human adventure being captured on camera for the third season of an awardwinning documentary series which will, once again, be aired by a wide range of international broadcasters.

Season two of the highly acclaimed ‘The Race of Their Lives’ following the Clipper 2015-16 Race, comprising seven 1-hour (52 minute) shows, reached over 900 million households in more than 170 countries. This is expected to grow even further in the 2017-18 series. Episodes are released as completed during the eleven month 40,000 nautical mile race and also shown as weekly or even daily stripped shows once the whole series is complete.

Over 700 crew led by professional skippers on twelve identical one-design sailing yachts compete in a series

of races between six continents. In the past 20 years the marathon biennial global event has gone from strength to strength and has engaged a range of formats to bring the action to international television audiences.

A human adventure storyline capturing the harsh reality of taking on the world’s toughest oceans has proved the most successful. The Race of Their Lives has been developed between rights holder and event operator Clipper Ventures and their Official Host Broadcast Partner 1080 Media TV. “We have had a very positive reaction to the latest season of The Race of Their Lives,” says Clipper Ventures’ Director of Sponsorship and TV Distribution Jonathan Levy who is also executive producer on the series. “The aim is to tell compelling individual human stories within the adrenaline-charged competitive nature of essentially a team sport.

“There are substantial technical and editorial challenges in such an unforgiving hostile environment.

In addition to professional self-shooting producer/ directors we train yacht crew to capture life on their respective boats and also have a mixture of remote cameras as well as small personal cameras such as the Garmin VIRB attached to body mounts to get into the heart of the action.”

1080 Media TV said it was delighted to retain the rights for a third season to produce and distribute the global long-form official TV series, live TV and web feeds, news and social media packages. “We will continue to develop a strong multiplatform approach which maximises traditional broadcast and new digital media opportunities for a strong global brand like the Clipper Race,” said Founder and CEO of the

1080 Media Organisation, Cliff Webb.

“We aim to build the international distribution even further for the 2017-18 Clipper Race series and we are still receiving strong interest in the second awardwinning season of The Race of Their Lives.”

In addition to this series Levy is looking to build on coproduction opportunities: “There is scope to work with more broadcasters to develop exclusive content for their markets, not only for long-form productions but also for news and features. In addition we produce short form video and other social media content to support the series, including live and 360 video.”

The Clipper 2017-18 Race series left Liverpool in the UK on 20 August 2017 with a live TV show being taken by broadcasters in the Americas, EMEA and AsiaPac. The global route takes in Uruguay, South Africa, Australia, China, Panama and USA before returning to Europe and the finish back on Liverpool’s iconic River Mersey in the UK on 28 July 2018.

All broadcaster enquiries should be directed to Cliff Webb at 1080 Media TV – email cwebb@1080Media.org and on their stand at Sportel in Monaco 23-26 October 2017 More background on the Clipper Race at: www.clipperroundtheworld.com Contact: Jonathan Levy jlevy@clipper-ventures.com Clipper Race You Tube channel: www.youtube.com/clipperrtw

THOUGHT LEADER BROADCAST

IGBS: PARTNERING TO THE TOP Camille Julien Moraud

I

n 2004, Host Broadcasting Services (HBS) and IMG joined forces to become the host broadcaster of the 15th Asian Games Doha 2006 under the name of Doha Asian Games Broadcast Services (DAGBS).

Since those days, Francis Tellier, CEO of HBS, and Graham Fry, global head of production for IMG, changed the name of the company to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;International Games Broadcast Servicesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (IGBS) on their way to delivering the highest possible standard of television and radio coverage of sporting events. Their mission is to provide tailored IDFLOLWLHV DQG VHUYLFHV WR Ă&#x20AC;W WKH EURDGFDVWLQJ of major events, whilst producing independent, impartial and objective coverage that offers fair exposure to all participating countries and their competitors.

events â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an Asian Games record.

Producing global sporting events, however, can be challenging, according to Daniel Wlochovski, project director of IGBS and FKLHI PDUNHWLQJ RIĂ&#x20AC;FHU RI +%6 During the 7th Asian Winter Games Astana-Almaty 2011, for example, IGBS had to overcome a new kind of challenge when it came to constructing the International Broadcast Centre (IBC). The 2,000m² facility was located in the Almaty Towers complex in downtown Almaty. The building, comprising WZR Ă RRU WRZHUV SRVHG VHYHUDO FKDOOHQJHV in the design, construction and operation of an IBC. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It took our crews 49 days working around the clock,â&#x20AC;? Wlochovski said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Through teamwork and trust we got it done, and learned some valuable lessons along the way.â&#x20AC;?

Innovating to excellence IGBS laid down the groundwork for becoming a global broadcasting expert with its successful delivery of the third West Asian Games Doha 2005. Using these Games as an opportunity to test various methods and principles, IGBS employed cuttingedge technology to provide top-tier HDTV pictures of the competition.

During the 2005 event, IGBS showcased a camera never seen before by the public â&#x20AC;&#x201C; DVB-T based low latency ratio frequency link â&#x20AC;&#x201C; allowing exceptionally stable pictures to be delivered from bikes, boats and helicopters. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In 2006, our role was to keep delivering every bit of this spectacular event to the millions of people around the world who wished to watch it on television, mobile devices, internet or to listen to it on the radio,â&#x20AC;? said Mike Wilmot, project director of IMG. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inspiring to see people from all over the world work together for one common goal.â&#x20AC;?

By the time IGBS returned to cover the 16th Asian Games Guangzhou 2010, what was once a promising framework had transformed into a broadcasting machine, each moving part working together to create something the world had never seen: that yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s event had 14,000 participants from 45 countries and regions competed across 42

18 | www.sportspromedia.com

Success relies on relationships IGBS knows that the success of their venture shares two things in common: building and maintaining relationships.

After having worked with IGBS for over ten years covering events in Asia, Mediacorp â&#x20AC;&#x201C; host broadcaster of the 28th South East Asian Games (SEA Games) Singapore 2015 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; instantly turned to IGBS to become its production partner to cover production, the IBC, venue operations, booking and broadcast-information distribution, delivering 19 days of coverage and over 490 hours of transmission time. The partnership helped UDLVH WKH SURĂ&#x20AC;OH RI WKH *DPHV ZLWK ,*%6 teams ensuring consistency across all the sports covered, and always leaving room for innovations.

When the 29th SEA Games Kuala Lumpur 2017 rolled around this year, Astro Arenaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choice for the IBC construction was easy. The strong trust in IGBS did not come overnight, however â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it was built from the many years of providing exceptional hostbroadcasting services. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do good broadcasting unless you listen to broadcasters so you can understand how to cater to their needs,â&#x20AC;?

Tellier said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You can provide all the technology in the world, but if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t

build strong relationships, the structures break down.â&#x20AC;?

Leaving a legacy Along with building strong relationships within the industry, Tellier and Fry also thought that forging the next generation of broadcasters was paramount for the future. The two men championed the implementation of legacy programmes for each event, aimed at teaching local students the basics of broadcasting, understanding event organisation, working in international environments and learning the details of the industry. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Legacy programmes offer a unique opportunity for students to get a hands-on experience in high-pressure situations at some of the biggest sporting events in the world,â&#x20AC;?

Tellier said.

When IGBS was again pressed into action to produce several live sporting events, highlights and the English commentary for the 17th Asian Games Incheon 2014, Fry and Tellier thought it was the perfect opportunity to help students learn about the complex world of sports broadcasting. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With all this expertise developed over years of hard work we knew that we had a responsibility to pass on that knowledge,â&#x20AC;? said Fry. Having been appointed host broadcaster, IGBS will take its heritage of knowledge and experience to the Rugby World Cup Japan 2019 and the 30th Asian Games Jakarta-Palembang 2018, where the mission is to continue building a legacy to leave broadcasting in the hands of dedicated and TXDOLĂ&#x20AC;HG SURIHVVLRQDOV â&#x20AC;&#x153;With the way technology is transforming broadcasting, and the world for that matter, the level and scope of coverage will truly be mind-blowing,â&#x20AC;? Tellier said, talking about the future of broadcasting. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exciting to be bringing in the next generation of broadcasters and knowing weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be leaving a trace behind.â&#x20AC;?

Camille Julien Moraud is information coordinator at Host Broadcasting Services.

THOUGHT LEADER SPONSORSHIP

SPONSORSHIP AND THE DIGITAL SPACE: A LEGAL PERSPECTIVE Caroline Swain

T

he utilisation of technology and, in particular, social media by brands to target consumers is not a new topic.

What is new is the way in which brands are getting smarter and more innovative in how they use tech and data to target consumers in their sponsorship activation.

Where previously the rights offered by rights holders were linear, predictable and largely tangible in nature, we are now fully immersed in the world of œLQà XHQFHUV¡ œEUDQGWHU¡ LQWHU EUDQG EDQWHU

and measurable impressions. Rather than passively engaging with consumers through traditional methods like shirt sponsorship and product placement, brands need to be agile, dynamic and innovative.

7KH MRE RI D PRGHUQ GD\ PDUNHWHU LV DQ HYROYLQJ PLQHĂ&#x20AC;HOG 1HJRWLDWLQJ IDLU WHUPV which incorporate social media is complex.

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More flexibility, less control = greater impact

Improved data = shorter-term contracts?

Staying on the right side of the regulator

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Social media sponsored advertising has been a hot topic for the advertising regulator in recent years. Consumers are also aware of the restrictions put on brands and will report those who fall foul of those obligations.

As a reminder, if an individual or entity has been paid â&#x20AC;&#x201C; by money or otherwise â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to post content on social media about a brand, and the brand has any control whatsoever over the content of the post, it must be clear that the post is an ad. Remember to make the disclosure early and make it clear LQFOXGLQJ Âś DG¡ LV DOZD\V D JRRG LGHD

In traditional sponsorship arrangements, brands have required approval rights over any content disseminated by any means. As WKH ZRUOG EHFRPHV LQFUHDVLQJO\ IDVW SDFHG and responsive, advertising must keep up.

Requiring approval rights over every tweet or Instagram post could seriously reduce the impact of that post.

We are seeing more agile frameworks in sponsorship arrangements that allow for reactive posts and constant engagements rather than the prescribed rights and obligations of each party. Due diligence on potential partners is more crucial than ever.

Striking a balance between maintaining the reactive appeal of social media and the protection of the brand is complex. One way for brands to manage this is to set out clear parameters in terms of what is acceptable without approval and what is an DEVROXWH QR JR

Exclusivity â&#x20AC;&#x201C; what about new technologies?

The extent of exclusivity will always be a hot topic for negotiation in a sponsorship arrangement. As new modes of advertising are created, a new topic in the exclusivity discussion has emerged: to what extent will a brand have exclusivity over new technologies and platforms?

Clarity in the contract is essential. Stating that a brand has exclusivity in social media ZLOO EH LQVXIĂ&#x20AC;FLHQW LI WKH ODWHVW SODWIRUP LV not classed as social media. Increasingly,

ZH DUH VHHLQJ ULJKWV RI Ă&#x20AC;UVW UHIXVDO LQ sponsorship arrangements that cover new technologies. Whether or not this right will involve additional sponsorship fees is open for debate but this allows both parties a GHJUHH RI Ă H[LELOLW\ ZKLFK LV D QHFHVVLW\ LQ WKLV HYHU FKDQJLQJ ODQGVFDSH

Reputation management â&#x20AC;&#x201C; can your social media history ever truly be erased?

Incorporating morality and reputation clauses in sponsorship contracts is nothing new but many brands are becoming increasingly concerned about engaging individuals to promote their brand on social media. Its reactive nature means that brands often have less control over content but, in addition, terminating a sponsorship deal GRHVQ¡W QHFHVVDULO\ JLYH EUDQGV WKH LQVWDQW separation that they are looking for.

Historic social posts will exist until GHOHWHG ,QFOXGLQJ D œFOHDQVLQJ¡ FODXVH LQ \RXU sponsorship deal which can be activated if the arrangement is terminated for certain reasons might give some comfort here.

Social media has transformed the sponsorship scene. Contracts for a single WZHHW IURP D SUH HPLQHQW LQGLYLGXDO DUH heavily negotiated. Where rights and obligations have previously been meticulously described and the parameters clearly set out, we are moving to a contractual standard that is agile, responsive and principles based. Brands are increasingly giving up control â&#x20AC;&#x201C; something that the boardroom will XQGRXEWHGO\ VWUXJJOH ZLWK %XW LW¡V ZRUWK LW ² one tweet is worth 1,000 branded shirts.

Caroline Swain is an associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, and advises clients on a range of commercial contracts including software licensing, events and sponsorship agreements, terms of sale, digital and social media agreements and marketing contracts. She also has experience advising on consumer law, data protection, e-commerce and sales.

Caroline has experience of working with clients across a broad range of sectors including retail and leisure, TMT, charities, and sport. She regularly acts for both large multinational corporations, and innovative startups and charities.

SportsPro Magazine | 19

PREMATURE FACTS

Players gonna play, haters gonna hate…

71 per cent of esports fans across the US, the UK, France and Germany believe it will become a mainstream activity in the near future. Just over half of respondents consider competitive video gaming an actual sport; only 28 per cent believe it should become an Olympic sport. Those are some of the key takeaways from Nielsen’s new Esports Playbook, which details initial findings from the company’s ongoing survey of the global esports audience.

Sport, disrupted The global sports industry is ‘undergoing more disruption than ever’, with technology and changes in sponsorship the most influential forces, according to the 2017 edition of PwC’s annual Sports Survey. The report projects that the industry’s growth rate will slow down

Right place, right time

Picture by: Yui Mok/PA Archive/ PA Images

As Sky and BT tool up to do battle once again for the Premier League’s next round of multi-billion dollar domestic TV rights in the new year, talk of new players entering a bidding war has been used to raise the stakes. As SportsPro went to press Facebook executives were refusing to rule out a long-mooted bid for the league’s streaming rights.

Meanwhile, Netflix and Amazon have both been strongly linked with acquiring the rights to produce fly-on-the-wall documentaries for individual teams - a handy little earner for clubs on its own terms, and a useful tidbit for Premier League bosses who have been conspicuously reticent to quell speculation of a coming tech splurge.

What’s in a name?

Athletics’ global governing body, the IAAF, is understood to be considering a name change as it bids to overhaul its tainted reputation. After years under a much-maligned regime and a succession of high-profile doping scandals, the Daily Mail reported during the London 2017 global championships that the federation could adopt a new moniker such as World Athletics. Seb Coe, the IAAF president, has since mooted more tangible changes to the sport’s commercial set-up, telling October’s Leaders Business Summit he would consider an Indian Premier League-style athlete auction, city-based franchises and pop-up tracks inside soccer stadiums.

A woman’s world Is this the dawn of a new era of powerful female owners in sport? In the US, Laurene Powell Jobs (left), the billionaire widow of Apple co-founder and former chief executive Steve Jobs, has agreed a deal to buy a 20 per cent stake in Washington DC-based ownership group Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE). Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, wealthy financier Amanda Staveley is reportedly close a takeover of Premier League club Newcastle United. With women’s sport on the rise in general, it would be fitting to see change at the very top.

Going against the grain Copa90 prides itself on doing things differently. Having grown from a popular fan-driven, soccerfocused YouTube channel, the now Turner-backed video service moved into acquiring one-off live digital rights earlier this year and, in a break from the norm, is looking to partner with streaming platforms and rights holders on the creation of original shows and other programming. It is an approach that flips convention on its head, for sure, and one which hints at the diverse routes to prominence available in the booming digital video market.

20 | www.sportspromedia.com

by over 32 per cent in the coming three to five years to an average of 6.4 per cent.

Consolidation is expected at the elite end but PwC warned of a squeeze to the industry’s ‘middle class, which is generally struggling to generate revenues of a competitive nature’.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Movers and shakers August and September 2017 This is an edited selection of appointments made in the weeks before publication. For daily updates on the movers and shakers in the sports industry, visit www.sportspromedia.com Please email appointments to: info@sportspromedia.com

Steve Brown The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has appointed Steve Brown as its new chief executive. Brown will be promoted to the role from his position as chief officer for business operations at the organisation, which is the English governing body for rugby union and rugby sevens. He replaces the retiring Ian Ritchie.

David Lappartient David Lappartient has been elected as the new president of the International Cycling Union (UCI). The Frenchman unseated Britain’s Brian Cookson, who had been in office since 2013, at the governing body’s congress in Bergen, Norway. Lappartient claimed a convincing victory following a closely fought campaign, securing 37 votes to his rival’s eight. He has served as the president of the European Cycling Union (UEC) since 2013, as well as being vice president of the UCI.

22 | www.sportspromedia.com

Ban Ki-moon

Sam Jones

Andrea Agnelli

Ban Ki-moon has been elected as the new chairman of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) ethics commission at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru. The South Korean, who served as the eighth secretary general of the United Nations (UN) between 2007 and 2016, will take over from Senegal’s Youssoupha Ndiaye, who had held the position since February 2007. A total of 78 votes were cast by members of the IOC on the second day of the session in September, with 74 in favour and four against. 73-year-old Ban will serve in the role until at least 2021.

Sam Jones has been appointed as the chief executive of OverTier, the joint venture between global sports marketing giant Bruin Sports Capital and advertising company WPP which runs the National Football League’s (NFL) Game Pass OTT service throughout Europe.

In his new role, Jones will report to George Pyne, chief executive of Bruin Sports Capital, and will also act as an advisor to the company on its digital business ventures.

Juventus president Andrea Agnelli has been named as the new chairman of the European Club Association (ECA), a Uefarecognised independent body that represents and safeguards the interests of soccer clubs in Europe. He will be the first Italian to hold the post. However, the 41-year-old’s club are currently appealing his one-year ban in Italy for alleged links to an illegal ticketing ring.

Daniel Cohen Sports marketing and entertainment agency Octagon has appointed Daniel Cohen to lead its new global media rights consulting arm, Octagon Media Rights Consulting. Cohen, who most recently served as MP & Silva’s senior vice president of Americas, will act as the division’s senior vice president. He also has previous experience as the senior vice president of business development and sales for Bloomberg Sports.

Cohen will report to Octagon’s chief strategy officer Simon Wardle, and will be based in the company’s New York office.

Sam Kennedy John Henry and Tom Werner, co-founders of the Fenway Sports Group which owns Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Boston Red Sox, have announced that Sam Kennedy has been promoted to become the franchise’s president and chief executive officer.

Kennedy has worked for the eighttime World Series winners since 2002, and took over from Larry Lucchino as the team’s president in 2015. The Massachusetts native has agreed a five-year contract extension which will tie him to the club until 2022.

Andrew Parsons Andrew Parsons has been elected as the new president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The Brazilian, who will replace the long-serving Sir Philip Craven, prevailed in the first round of voting at the IPC General Assembly in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He secured 84 of the available votes, two more than the 82 required for an absolute majority.

Sophie Goldschmidt The World Surf League (WSL) has appointed Sophie Goldschmidt as its new chief executive. The experienced Goldschmidt joins the organisation from CSM Sport and Entertainment, where she served as group managing director. She has previously worked at England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU), where she was chief commercial and marketing officer, as well as at the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and Adidas.

Goldschmidt has relocated from London to Santa Monica to replace interim chief executive Dirk Ziff. Previous chief executive Paul Speaker stepped down in January.

Reon Edwards

Jack Lim

Reon Edwards has been appointed as the chairman of New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL). A former Canterbury Rugby League chairman, Edwards has been a member of the NZRL board since 2015, and had been serving as chairman in an interim capacity after Gary Fissenden resigned in June. Edwards brings 37 years of experience within rugby league, both as a player and as an administrator. Fissenden had been in the role for three years, with his departure coming just months before New Zealand co-hosts the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, which is due to get underway on 26th October.

Singapore-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion ONE Championship has appointed Jack Lim as its new chief commercial officer. Lim will be responsible for uniting the series’ existing revenue streams, overseeing sponsorships, media rights, merchandising, ticketing, and brand licensing, while he will also explore new growth opportunities as the championship looks to secure more global partnerships. Lim will report to Chatri Sityodtong, the chairman and chief executive of ONE Championship.

Chris Lencheski International sports marketing agency MP & Silva has appointed experienced motorsports executive Chris Lencheski as its interim global commercial partnerships director.

Lencheski joins the agency from IRG Sports + Entertainment, a motorsports-focused marketing firm where he served as vice chairman and chief executive.

Based out of MP & Silva’s New York office, Lencheski will manage the company’s global sponsorship team across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Tim Bampton Motorsport’s McLaren Technology Group has named Tim Bampton as its new group communications director. Bampton will report to the group’s chief marketing officer John Allert, and will be responsible for leading its strategic, corporate and brand communications, including McLaren Racing and McLaren Applied Technologies.

He will also oversee initiatives such as McLaren’s esports project, the ‘World’s Fastest Gamer’.

Alessandro Antonello Italian soccer side Inter Milan have named Alessandro Antonello as their new chief executive. Antonello joined the Serie A club as chief financial officer in September 2015, before moving to become chief operating officer a year later. He took up his new position on 1st September.

FEATURED MOVER Sophie Goldschmidt, chief executive, World Surf League How did your appointment come about and what particularly attracted you to the role?

It was a fantastic process and journey, I’d say, to get to the point that we’re at today. A few months ago I met the ownership group to fully understand the opportunity. I must admit I probably didn’t really appreciate the scope and scale of that opportunity, and the potential for surfing globally.

I think the performances now and the elite aspects of surfing have reached amazing levels, so from that standpoint there is a chance to really put surfing on the map in a much bigger way so that the athletes are really properly appreciated for their tremendous talents and become much more famous and household names. I think the sport is absolutely ready to capitalise on that.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics and surfing’s inclusion is a game-changer for the sport and I think further underlines how the popularity of the sport and the appreciation for athletic performance has really grown.

How would you assess the WSL’s reputation and standing in the global sports industry?

Ashling O’Connor International sports recruitment organisation SRi has announced that Ashling O’Connor has joined the company as a partner.

O’Connor will lead SRi’s media, content and digital practice in the EMEA region, where she will be tasked with continuing the firm’s growth in these areas. She will work closely with fellow partners in the US and Asia on senior-level international assignments. The former journalist, who previously held positions at UK newspapers The Times and the Financial Times, joins from boutique executive search agency Bird & Co, where she was a partner.

I think the reputation of the WSL and surfing in general is very positive. Again, when you look at the organisational structure and how it’s evolved and how it’s developing, the talent that the organisation has and the vision for the future, the investments that are being made in the areas that I’ve highlighted, I think the way that that’s been established and built is as good as any sports organisation in the world.

What we’re looking to do now, collectively, is to raise the profile of the sport. I think there are still a lot of people that we can get hooked and that can enjoy this great sport, whether that’s through raising the profile of our athletes or the organisation in general.

What will the WSL look like in five years’ time? Will you look at possible calendar changes, perhaps by adding more events in new markets?

I think it’ll evolve significantly. We know that change is happening at a faster pace than ever before and we want to be on the forefront of innovation and growth within the sport and entertainment sector. So we’ll see a lot of positive changes.

From a calendar perspective, obviously the new wave system is going to unlock important new event opportunities. In five years’ time we’ll have had the 2020 Olympics, which I’m sure will be a huge success and will definitely be another way for us to broaden and grow our appeal in new markets.

SportsPro Magazine | 23

SPORTSPRO WORLD HOSTINGS AND HAPPENINGS

2

B

1

4

3

F A

E

C 5

A

D

Conferences 1

Marina del Rey, USA

The growing sector of esports will take centre stage for the inaugural edition of the esports Rising conference, hosted by SportsBusiness Daily in the Californian seaside community of Marina del Rey on 9th November. Panels across the day will look at converting mainstream sports fans to esports, the development of dedicated esports venues, and the structure of sponsorships in the gaming world.

2

Glasgow, UK

The 2017 edition of the Host City conference and exhibition, billed as ‘the world’s largest meeting of cities, sports, business and cultural events,’ takes place in Glasgow, Scotland on 28th and 29th November. Host City sees city representatives, destination marketers, event owners and suppliers from all over the world meet to network, present their work and learn from each other.

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3

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Sports media industry leaders from across the globe will once again descend on Monaco from 23rd to 26th October for the 2017 edition of the Sportel Convention. The 2016 event saw over 2,700 delegates from 78 different countries in attendance.

4

Madrid, Spain

SportsPro’s own brand new event, the OTT Summit, will gather 200 senior executives from key players within the over-the-top sector, including broadcasters, rights holders, content distributors, social platforms and technology providers, to meet, network and share ideas on the latest developments and what they mean for their business. The two-day conference will be hosted in partnership with the Olympic Channel in Madrid, Spain. The Olympic Channel’s Yiannis Exarchos (right) will speak.

5

Doha, Qatar

Taking place at the Grand Hyatt Doha in Qatar on 4th and 5th December, the 2017 Soccerex Asian Forum will bring together the buyers and suppliers in soccer across the region for two days of insight and business. The event combines a conference, exhibition and programme of structured networking opportunities, and will provide a preview of next year’s Global Convention, which also takes place in Doha.

Hosting A

Senegal and Tunisia

Fiba Africa, the governing body for basketball on the continent, has announced that Senegal and Tunisia will co-host the Fiba AfroBasket 2017. Africa’s continental basketball tournament will feature 16 national teams divided into four groups of four. The Senegalese capital city of Dakar will host two groups, while Tunisia’s capital of Tunis will stage the remaining two. The latter stages are all set to be held in Tunis.

B

Madrid, Spain

The Wanda Metropolitano, the new home of top-flight Spanish soccer side Atletico Madrid, has been chosen as the host venue of the 2019 Uefa Champions League final. The decision was confirmed in September after being agreed upon at Uefa’s executive committee meeting in Nyon, Switzerland. The Olympic Stadium in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, was unsuccessful in its bid for European club soccer’s showpiece but will host the final of the second-tier Europa League.

C

Israel

The Israeli capital of Jerusalem will host the opening three stages of the 2018 Giro d’Italia, the opening Grand Tour of the International Cycling Union’s (UCI) World Tour season. It will be the first time that any of cycling’s three Grand Tours – the Giro, along with the Tour de France and Spain’s Vuelta a España – begins outside of Europe. The Giro’s 2018 ‘big start’ will be a ten-kilometre time trial around Jerusalem on 5th May. D

Singapore

Formula One, the world’s elite motorsport series, has announced that the Singapore Grand Prix will remain on its calendar for a further four years. The deal will see the Marina Bay Street Circuit continue to stage one of the championship’s two night races until 2021. Since its debut, the event has benefited from a year-on-year 19 per cent growth in ticket sales, cementing its place as one of the highlights of the series’ calendar. The renewal was negotiated with Singapore GP Pte Ltd, the owner of the circuit, and the Singapore Tourism Board.

E

Shanghai, China

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mixed martial arts (MMA) series has announced that it will stage its first event in mainland China later this year. The promotion will take place at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai on 25th November. The fight card is yet to be announced but fans were able to purchase tickets from 1st August. It was also confirmed that General Tires will be the presenting sponsor of the fight night.

F

Motegi, Japan

Dorna Sports, the owner and promoter of motorcycling’s MotoGP, has announced that the Twin Ring Motegi circuit will continue to host the Japanese Grand Prix for a further five years. The venue has been part of the elite global championship’s schedule since 1999, and its previous contract was due to expire to at the end of 2018. The renewal ensures that Motegi will continue to feature on the series’ race calendar until at least 2023.

Liberty Media has struck a deal with the Singapore Tourism Board to ensure that Formula One will continue to host a night race in the Asian city until 2021

SportsPro Magazine | 25

GALLERY

David Dein, Hayley McQueen, Kolo Toure, Mike Phelan and Stan Collymore are joined by Soccerex owners Rita Revie and Tony Martin to celebrate Dein’s birthday

LaLiga president Javier Tebas talks about ‘Threats and Opportunities for Football’

Ajax chief executive and former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar signs a shirt

Charlie Stillitano speaks about the International Champions Cup

Former Dutch players Wim Jonk and Ruud Van Nistelrooy chat in the LaLiga Lounge

England national rugby union coach Eddie Jones

Jordi Cruyff talks about the legacy of his father Johan, who was posthumously awarded the Duncan Revie Award at the event

Jerry Newman from Facebook talks about digital disruption and broadcasting

Spanish World Cup winner and Manchester United star Juan Mata arrives to speak about Common Goal

Soccer star Stephanie Roche takes a selfie with former Manchester United forward Andy Cole

Manchester City and England midfielder Jill Scott

Soccerex Global Convention 2017 Manchester ‘s Central Convention Complex hosted the Soccerex Global Convention for the final time from 4th to 6th September to put the business of soccer under the spotlight and address the challenges facing the game over the coming year.

26 | www.sportspromedia.com

The Deltatre Sport Industry Breakfast Club welcomed panellists Alistair Kirkwood, managing director of NFL UK, and Niels de Vos, chief executive of UK Athletics, moderator Alyson Rudd, and senior figures from across the sector on 6th September at London’s BT Centre

Scott Field, director of communications at the British Olympic Association (second left)

NFL UK MD Alistair Kirkwood speaks with Hussain Naqi, senior VP of international development at Jacksonville Jaguars

Naqi chats with a delegate

Kirkwood and De Vos discuss hosting global events in London and the growth for both NFL and athletics in the UK over recent years

Members network at the BT Centre

CNN’s Amanda Davies before the event

Guests exchange business cards

Giles Goodwin, Sport Collective UK director

Deltatre Sport Industry Breakfast Club members chat ahead of the panel

Deltatre Sport Industry Breakfast Club The Deltatre Sport Industry Breakfast Club brings together an audience from across UK and European sport to meet, network and hear from key figures on a range of topical issues – all before the working day kicks in. The most recent event took place on 6th September at London’s BT Centre.

SportsPro Magazine | 27

GALLERY

The Tower Bridge Grange Hotel was decorated with motorsport memorabilia

Formula One’s head of digital and new business, Frank Arthofer (right), was the morning’s keynote speaker

Ben Reiling, director of sports marketing, motorsport at Coca-Cola

Jack Nicholls, Formula One commentator for the BBC, was the host for the day

HPS Jardine chairman Tony Jardine (left) moderates the sponsors panel

A question comes in from the floor

TV presenter Alexandra Legioux

The captive audience at the Tower Bridge Grange Hotel

Legioux with Heike Grunwald, head of partnerships at ACO, and Romain Grabowski, external communications manager of Motul

Jose Villaneuva, sponsorship manager at Estrella Galicia, the drinks partner for the event

Nielsen’s David Cushnan (left) leads the discussion on the teams panel

Delegates admire the BAC Mono road car

The Black Book Motorsport Forum The Black Book Motorsport Forum returned for its fourth edition on 23rd August at London’s Tower Bridge Grange Hotel. Leading figures from across the world of motorsport were present to discuss the state of the play in the industry.

28 | www.sportspromedia.com

Mayweather lands a blow on McGregor on his way to a technical knock-out victory in the tenth round

Talk show host Aisha Tyler

Die Hard’s Bruce Willis

William H Macy, star of Fargo, was among the famous faces in attendance

Entourage actor Jeremy Piven

Transformers director Michael Bay (centre) with gameshow host Steve Harvey

Mike Tyson and LeBron James watch the fight

Jennifer Lopez and Derek Jeter take their seats

Demi Lovato performs the US national anthem before the fight

Mayweather v McGregor

paimages.co.uk PAImages

After a six-week hype-building run-up, the most talked-about fight of the year finally took place between former multi-weight world champion Floyd Mayweather and UFC superstar Conor McGregor on 26th August 2017 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

SportsPro Magazine | 29

THE SHOT NFL PROTESTS

THE SH T Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones kneels with his players before the national anthem is played prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium on 25th September. Players, owners, and other NFL team staff across the country ‘took a knee’ as a protest against social and racial injustice in the United States.

30 | www.sportspromedia.com

BUILDING THE BIG MOMENTS

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As a major distributor and producer of sports content, it enables media partners to share the biggest and best moments in sport with audiences across the globe.

Infront provides top-level services to the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest events including CBA League games, DFB national team matches and the DFB Cup, FIS World Cups and World Championship events, Lega Serie A, EHF EURO events, the World Marathon Majors, the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship and many more.

Our experience. Shared passion.

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Features: • Replays, slow motion, branded transitions • Animated graphics and stings • Bespoke branded scoreboards, and timers • Social media integration and interaction • Multiple outputs including perimeter screens, internal hotel and concourse TVs • One person operation, or multiple • Streaming capabilities

Offering a completely integrated system - giant screens, computer hardware and the vision production you'll need to produce slick, professional results - Fonix resolve the headaches of large screen video for your venue with a single, seamless solution.

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SPECIAL REPORT SECTION TEXTBRAND THE HERE CONFERENCE

34 | www.sportspromedia.com

SportsPro Magazine | 35

SPECIAL REPORT SECTION TEXTBRAND THE HERE CONFERENCE

LESSONS FROM THE BRAND CONFERENCE The Brand Conference, SportsPro’s event for those in sport building brands and those in brands reaching fans, returned to Lord’s Cricket Ground for its fourth edition on 28th September. Supported by our gold partners – UCFB, Umbel and Charles Russell Speechlys – this was the biggest instalment of TBC yet and over the course of ten engaging panel sessions and presentations, a range of vital talking points emerged for stakeholders across the industry.

SELECTIVITY IS KEY TO ATHLETE BRANDS If the scope and range of The Brand Conference has widened dramatically over the four years that SportsPro has been running the event, it is because the criteria that define what constitutes a ‘brand’ in the sport industry are widening, too.

The lessons that were once reserved for ‘brands’ in the traditional sense – the sponsors and partners which support the industry – are increasingly applicable across the sector, as rights holders, athletes, broadcasters and more look to leverage the power of sports marketing to gain a commercial advantage in a crowded and competitive space.

Confirmation of this came early at this year’s edition of TBC, which opened with a look at how Anthony Joshua – British world heavyweight champion boxer and SportsPro’s most marketable athlete for 2017 – and his team built up a brand with a targeted and coherent strategy for maximising the Londoner’s commercial potential.

36 | www.sportspromedia.com

It is a strategy which has undoubtedly paid off. Since turning professional after his Olympic super-heavyweight gold medal in 2012, Joshua’s star has risen at improbable speeds, taking him to the verge of international superstardom over the course of less than five years. Is it simply a case of being a fantastic fighter in the right place at the right time, or is there a greater level of calculation to it?

“Of course, you need the base ingredient of a very talented athlete,” said Freddie Cunningham, Joshua’s long-term business partner and co-founder of AJ Boxing. “But you also need to put the foundation blocks in early. [Joshua] bought into the picture, which is really important – he wanted to take even more control over his own brand, which is quite unique for an athlete.”

Joshua’s own engagement with shaping his brand has been key, particularly when it comes to his major commercial partners, which he picks carefully and works with closely. Sports energy drink brand Lucozade is one of several to have benefited from the boxer’s keen interest – with its head of partnerships James Young

recalling at TBC how he flew out to Dubai at a day’s notice to meet with Cunningham and Joshua to seal the deal.

“We flew over to Dubai to pitch because it had to be done there and then,” said Young. “We’d identified Anthony as someone we wanted to work with, but the deal had to be done ahead of his fight [2016’s title defence against Dominic

Joshua and his team carefully select the brands he works with, such as Beats and Under Armour

Broadcaster Lynsey Hooper discusses athlete branding with Freddie Cunningham and Andy Bell of AJ Boxing, and Lucozade Ribena Suntory’s James Young

Breazeale at the O2 Arena in London]. So I got over there for an afternoon, pitched the idea to them and thankfully we got it done. People are still telling me that I went on holiday with Anthony Joshua, but that’s not quite how it was!”

The idea that Young pitched in Dubai was the now much-lauded ‘Made to Move’ campaign, which included the TV advert which ends on a shot of Joshua and his mum in the north London flat in which both still live, and was an enormous success.

Andy Bell, publicist at AJ Boxing, said that when the advert was first screened with other brands present, “you could feel the atmosphere change in the room with people going, ‘Lucozade have stolen a march’”.

The aim of the advert, said Bell, “was to take Anthony out of the gym and put him into the public consciousness,” something which aligned with Lucozade’s aim as an active, sport-focused brand, but also a lifestyle one.

“We had redefined our brand purpose, we decided that we want to get people

moving,” said Young. “I’m constantly on the lookout for new and interesting opportunities, and AJ was on my radar as someone that people paid a disproportionate amount of interest to what he was doing in the exercise space.

People were really interested in watching him shadowbox in a sandpit, or have tennis balls thrown at him.”

Despite having never been in boxing as a sponsor, Lucozade targeted Joshua because “he’s got something about him,” said Young. “Kings and queens, mafia bosses, Frank Sinatra – they all cross the room to meet the heavyweight champion.”

Despite being in a “shrinking sector,” Young said that Lucozade has had “a phenomenal year,” something he at least partially attributes to the campaign which allowed two strong brands to combine.

“We’re going to exceed our sales target by almost double,” he said, “and I can’t say that it’s all down to the AJ effect, but he’s helped to make our brand more modern, more cool. If you wrote the AJKlitschko fight as a movie, no one would have believed it.”

A major pillar of ‘Brand AJ’ has been his selectiveness in relation to who Joshua, Cunningham, Bell and the rest of the team will work with. As Young said, “these guys aren’t going to get away with doing something substandard that’s going to damage their brand,” and Cunningham added that this is only going to become more true as Joshua’s brand develops and his fame grows.

“A great example of this is [soccer star Cristiano] Ronaldo, who is out there with 15 different deals with different brands, probably none of which are making any money,” he said. “The general feeling is that it’s too much.

We worked with several brands on the way up, but now [Joshua] is at world champion level, it’s about reducing that.

“We’ve got 12 active partnerships and we want to go down to six to eight big bluechip companies, and how they’re going to activate is more interesting than how much money they’ve got. It’s about taking a very defensive route on that side of thing.

You don’t want to be out there with ten partnerships and have one that is making a load of money.”

SportsPro Magazine | 37

SPECIAL REPORT SECTION TEXTBRAND THE HERE CONFERENCE

The panel discuss how esports sponsorships and partnerships measure up against those in traditional sports, and highlight what is hampering the sector

FRAGMENTATION STILL HOLDING ESPORTS BACK There was an audible gasp in the auditorium when Cliff Morgan, chief executive of esports-targeted energy drink brand G-Fuel, told the TBC audience that some professional gamers can make “as much as US$100,000 a month” from subscription fees to their content.

Esports is still viewed with some suspicion by many in the sporting world and, as the panel at TBC agreed, part of the cause is fragmentation across the industry – though this produces opportunities as well as challenges.

“The real challenge for those coming into esports from the brand side is that there are so many different opportunities within esports,” said Steve Ford, vice president of sales at Amazon-owned streaming platform Twitch. “You could work with a certain team, or a large game publisher that runs a game, or an esports events organiser, or with Twitch, or you

38 | www.sportspromedia.com

could try to be across the whole thing.

But that fragmentation means that, if you want a sector-wide overview of numbers, you’re looking for a unified set of data that just isn’t there.”

That fragmentation applies, too, to the governance and regulation of the sector.

Because each individual video game represents its own intellectual property, which is owned by the publisher, staging events or tournaments can be tricky.

“Some take a different view of it and see it as good publicity for their game but some are stricter about the use of their IP,” said Jaclyn Wilkins, senior associate at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, one of The Brand Conference’s gold partners and a company which has worked extensively in the esports space.

Morgan added that the current situation is “a bit like if the NFL [National Football League] owned and controlled every football out there”.

Central regulation of esports, Wilkins went on, “is such a fragmented area” in

part because different genres of games and different titles are completely different. Calls for a single body are like “asking for a regulator for ‘sports’”, without recognising that different disciplines require completely different governance.

Brands are slowly learning the nuances of the sector, however, with Ford noting that last year “in Europe we reached the tipping point where we were bringing in more revenue from non-endemic brands than gaming ones”.

“Esports is a really broad umbrella under which lots of communities exist,” he said, “and that’s what brands are starting to realise and think about. Just because you invest in rugby doesn’t mean you invest in table tennis, and that’s the same with esports. The fans and players of League of Legends are not going to be the same as the Fifa crowd, the world of esports is too broad and you can’t think any more about just sponsoring ‘esports’ in general.”

Kate Johnson, head of global sponsorships at Visa, explains how the brand has been forced to evolve its sponsorships in the digital era

RAPID EVOLUTION NECESSARY FOR TRADITIONAL BRANDS IN AGE OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE Few non-endemic brands in the world of sport have a more prominent sponsorship portfolio than Visa, which has major partnerships with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Fifa and the National Football League (NFL) to name but three of its most high-profile deals.

Over the last few years, the payment handling and financial services company has stepped up its efforts in the sporting space, taking a more proactive approach to its sponsorship activations and fan engagement activities.

The reason, explained Kate Johnson, the former Olympian who is now head of global sponsorships at Visa, is to do with the shifting nature of the “form factor” of company’s business.

“Sponsorships really have become the crux of our strategy at Visa how we reach consumers en masse to communicate that form factor change to them,” she explained. “Five years ago, it used to be that you’d pull out your Visa card and see our brand, every time you paid for something. But now that’s changing with contactless, and phone payments, and

payment rings – at PyeongChang, people will be able to pay with their biometrics!

– and we need to adjust because of that form factor change. So getting our brand out there, and updating our brand, through sports is now twice as important as it was.”

On the rights holder side, the TBC audience also heard from Silvio Vigato, co-chief revenue officer and head of brand, licensing and retail at Italian soccer giants Juventus. This year, the club underwent a major rebranding, including a significant redesign to their badge for the first time in their history, upsetting many who felt it disrupted the tradition of Juventus.

Vigato counters that the logo was deliberately designed “not to be a just a refinement; we went for a total disruption”.

In the current era where soccer clubs – and sports teams of all stripes – are looking to gain any advantage possible, particularly in the digital space, the new simplified logo gives Juventus a chance to “go further – beyond our fans, and beyond football,” said Vigato. “We need to shift from being just a soccer club, to a global brand. How can we be relevant and which story can we tell to people

who are in Shanghai or San Francisco?

We were in need of something more consistent.”

In crafting a logo that is instantly recognisable whether it’s viewed on a phone screen or on a pair of earrings, the club realised they had to make a radical break rather than a slow evolution.

“The new logo stands more for a brand than the previous one,” Vigato said. “The old one had great history, but now we have a logo that represents something more. We went for a disruptive move and the reaction was quite cold. When we explained that it was not just an aesthetic thing but a logical move as a consequence of some business activities, then people understood.”

Silvio Vigato, co-chief revenue officer at Juventus

SportsPro Magazine | 39

SPECIAL REPORT THE BRAND CONFERENCE

MAKE MISTAKES, BUT ONLY MAKE THEM ONCE For an organisation such as the NFL, which, despite falling viewing figures, still enjoys a near-monopoly, enormous popularity in its home territory and has one of the strongest and most recognisable brands in all of sport, any major move can represent a risk to an identity that has taken decades to build.

The league’s decision ten years ago to begin moving games overseas to generate more global interest and build its brand worldwide was always going to rock the boat. “Teams get ten home games per season,” said Mark Waller, the NFL’s executive vice president, international, at TBC. “We were asking people who had invested billions in new stadiums to give up ten per cent of their inventory for the year by taking a home game away from them. You also piss off fans when you take a home game away from them. We’re aware of that, and we work really hard to explain to fans what we’re trying to do.”

Ten years on, and with London hosting four games in 2017’s NFL International Series, the endeavour has proven a

Wembley was packed out yet again for 2017’s NFL International Series tie between the Miami Dolphins and the New Orleans Saints

40 | www.sportspromedia.com

Mark Waller, executive vice president, international at the NFL, outlines the importance of making mistakes

definite success – “successful enough that I’ve kept my job, anyway,” joked Waller. The key, he added, was not just a willingness to take risks, but being able to learn from the mistakes that were made if those risks don’t pay off.

“I would hope our history is a catalogue of mistakes,” he said, “but not

many mistakes that we have repeated.”

He gave the example of the recent relaunch of the Game Pass over-the-top (OTT) service in Europe, on which the NFL “has made some mistakes in the transition, but I think what you’ll see is that we’ll correct them. When we make mistakes, we stand up to them.”

www performgroup com www.performgroup.com

SPORTS CONTENT & MEDIA

SPECIAL REPORT SECTION TEXTBRAND THE HERE CONFERENCE

6

1

1/ Coca-Cola’s vice president of Olympic assets and experiential marketing James Williams on stage at The Brand Conference

2/ A delegate takes advantage of the networking time

3/ Ben Morel, senior vice president and managing director for EMEA at the NBA

4/ Silvio Vigato, co-chief revenue officer and head of brand, licensing and retail at Juventus, chats with a delegate

2

5/ Attendees listen to one of the morning’s technical workshops

6/ The main plenary room was packed throughout the day

7/ AJ Boxing’s Freddie Cunningham prepares for the conference’s opening panel session

7

8/ Kate Johnson, vice president at Visa, talks about the evolution of sponsorships

9/ The sun came out for the event at the Home of Cricket

3

5

10/ HP’s Yvonne Hobden and Twitch’s Steve Ford discuss esports

8

11/ Guests enjoy the breakfast roundtables

12/ The BBC’s James Pearce was the master of ceremonies for the day

13/ Mark Waller, executive vice president, international at the NFL, in conversation with James Pearce

14/ Richard Gillis questions the panel on how to leverage fan loyalty

Photographs by Charles Sturge

42 | www.sportspromedia.com

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SportsPro Magazine | 43

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COVER STORY FORMULA ONE

TALKING LIBERTY Ten months into Liberty Media’s stewardship of Formula One, Sean Bratches and Frank Arthofer, two of the men brought on board to transform the championship’s commercial outlook, tell SportsPro about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for motorsport’s biggest beast.

By Adam Nelson

S

ean Bratches, Formula One’s managing director of commercial operations, might not quite be sport’s Michael Corleone but he admits that, after calling time on his 27-year career with broadcasting giant ESPN in 2015: “I thought I was out – until they dragged me back in.”

The smile Bratches wears as he says this reveals there is no ambiguity to his remark. Having overseen ESPN’s growth from a single channel to a global juggernaut, pioneering highGHÀ QLWLRQ EURDGFDVWLQJ DQG crafting ESPN’s cable and satellite distribution network in his stay of more than a quarter of a century with the company, no one could have held it against Bratches when he headed for a well-deserved retirement.

That retirement ultimately lasted less than two years. In early 2017, Bratches was coaxed back to work by new Formula One Group chief executive Chase Carey after the

46 | www.sportspromedia.com

completion of Liberty Media’s takeover of motorsport’s elite series.

He would not have returned, he says, for anything other than a project of this magnitude.

“Now, I feel like a puppy!” he adds. “My tail’s always wagging, I’m smiling the entire time.”

Bratches certainly does not come across as the kind of character who would settle down into a retirement of leisure – although he is, reportedly, a skilled woodworker in his spare time, he appears to thrive off the energy and bustle of the sports industry. “I feel like a shark here,” he says. “If I stop swimming I’m gonna die – there’s just so much to do.” *****

Liberty has now been in control of Formula One for ten months, and it’s hard to imagine a more hectic environment in the world of sport to come back into. Talking about the process that brought him into the Liberty fold, Bratches

Sean Bratches, Formula One’s managing director of commercial operations

jokingly describes it as a “classic bait and switch,” in an anecdote that tidily illustrates the scale of the job before him.

“I was approached to come over and run the business group,” he explains, speaking to SportsPro in Shanghai in August. “And then I got here, and there was no business group!

There was no marketing team, or digital team, or communications, or research. Nothing.

“So I’ve been in the process of hiring the leads of each of those respective JURXSV , VSHQW WKH À UVW three or four months effectively by myself before people starting coming on board. I was just rolling a grenade into every room I went into because there was nothing in the pipeline.

There were no deals pending or anything.”

Much of what Liberty found DIWHU Ă&#x20AC; QDOO\ FRPSOHWLQJ LWV takeover of the sport in early 2017 was in a similar state, with rumours suggesting that former chief executive Bernie Ecclestoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grip over Formula One Management had become so dominant that nothing could be done without his say so â&#x20AC;&#x201C; meaning, in effect, that very little got done at all.

Formula One was hardly falling into disrepair â&#x20AC;&#x201C; global audiences were still impressive and, as the size of Libertyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s US$8 billion buy-out would attest, it was still a huge generator of revenue â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but a sense of stasis had permeated the sport for a number of years, with many modern, and even some not-so modern, innovations passing Formula One by.

It is instructive, for instance, to note that at the time of /LEHUW\¡V WDNHRYHU WKH RIĂ&#x20AC; FLDO MotoGP account had almost the same number of followers on Twitter as that of Formula One. It is not to denigrate two-wheeled racing to suggest that such a VLWXDWLRQ ZDV QRW UHĂ HFWLYH of the two seriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; wider overall popularity. Social media, says Bratches, is something the new owner has â&#x20AC;&#x153;put its shoulder EHKLQGÂľ VLJQLĂ&#x20AC; FDQWO\ issuing new guidance to teams, drivers, sponsors and race promoters on developing the sportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s digital offering.

Bratches emphasises that he is not here to compare and contrast the two different ways of working â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x153;I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work under the Bernie regime, and I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really have a lot of context for the way things were run,â&#x20AC;? he says â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but it is nevertheless apparent that Liberty has taken a revolutionary approach to its start at Formula One, rather than an evolutionary one. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve already demonstrated things that are representative of the new way

SportsPro Magazine | 47

COVER STORY FORMULA ONE

of thinking,” he says. “We did an event in London where we raced cars up and down Whitehall, we had Bastille, Little Mix and Kaiser Chiefs, sponsor activation, fan elements, show cars. I’ve got a WHQGHU RXW WR VHYHQ GLIIHUHQW À UPV to create fan experiences, fan festivals in city centres in proximity to Grands Prix next year.”

That, Bratches says, is a “total reinvention of the fan experience at Grands Prix,” which previously were focused on the hardcore Formula One fans who were turning up to races just to see the racing.

“Reinvention” is a word that comes up frequently while talking with Bratches. So, too, is “fan” – but it is quickly apparent that the fans being courted by Liberty are a much broader, more diverse group than the petrolheads who were the bread and butter of the previous regime.

“We’re trying to put more water in the ocean to rise all tides in an effort to create a better fan experience at these events, whether it’s in the fan festival area, the public area, in the paddock, in the paddock club or if it’s on the

48 | www.sportspromedia.com

grid,” Bratches says. “We’re doing substantive things in all of those areas to bolster the fan experience.” *****

All of this is in service of Liberty’s ultimate task, which is, in Bratches’ words, “trying to pivot this from purely a motorsport company to a marketing and entertainment company”.

The way there, he says, will be through “massively improved digital engagement”.

“We’re certainly going to emphasise the linear business in terms of broadcast and we’re going to make that better,” he adds.

“We’re going to produce it better than it’s ever been produced before, really show the speeds, the sounds, the wheel-to-wheel racing, what people are really, really interested in. But at the same time, the digital side is really interesting to us.

“We have an RFP [request for proposal] in the marketplace right now to create a live and non-live over-the-top [OTT] product and to better utilise the data and metrics

Frank Arthofer, Formula One’s global head of digital and new business, speaking at the Black Book Motorsport Forum

that come out of each race. There are 1,500 points of data that come out of each of these cars every second of a Grand Prix. We’re not going to suffocate the fan but we want to identify a substantive amount of those metrics that we can convert the ones and zeroes into very compelling user interfaces to tell our story, to engage fans, to take the non-fan to the casual level, and the casual fan to the avid level. ´:H QHHG WR À JKW LQ WKH ZHLJKW class that we should be in, which we’re not at now.”

Aside from Bratches, one of the men most responsible for getting the sport into its rightful place is Frank Arthofer, another ESPN alumnus who was named Formula One’s global head of digital and new business in May. Speaking to SportsPro at August’s Black Book Motorsport Forum in London, Arthofer notes that getting digital engagement right is crucial WR WKH IXWXUH Á RXULVKLQJ RI WKH sport, and to that transformation into an entertainment company as much as a motorsport one.

Although there are an estimated

470 million Formula One fans of some description worldwide, he VD\V ´WKHUH LV D VLJQLĂ&#x20AC; FDQW VXEVHW of those fans who are incredibly avid and passionate about the sport, and they havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t had access to historical Grands Prix in the past.

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an opportunity to serve that up and meet that unmet demand through digital engagement. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Generally in digital weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve all, to a man, said we need to make an investment there because these things take time and resources,â&#x20AC;? continues Arthofer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The PGA Tour, Nascar, other sports in America that are similarly positioned â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they have dozens and dozens of products in tech and a whole team of editorial people.

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to outsource some

Arthofer says the ďŹ rst step in the digital revolution at Formula One is to work more closely with the teams themselves

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re trying to put more water in the ocean to rise all tides to create a better fan experience.â&#x20AC;?

of the technology development because we think thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great partners who can help us build it, but we also need to have a really small but really effective internal editorial team to help us grow.â&#x20AC;?

7KH EHQHĂ&#x20AC; W RI FRPLQJ LQWR DQ organisation so under-developed digitally is that there is still plenty of â&#x20AC;&#x153;low-hanging fruitâ&#x20AC;?, adds Arthofer, with opportunities and challenges presenting themselves equally as he and his team attempt to enact a digital makeover not just IRU WKH EHQHĂ&#x20AC; W RI )RUPXOD 2QH itself, but all of its stakeholders.

He explains that it is as much about making sure the little things are done â&#x20AC;&#x201C; things which may DSSHDU REYLRXV DW Ă&#x20AC; UVW JODQFH EXW which until now have lacked strong implementation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We need to work more collaboratively with the teams â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it starts with them, because there are certainly a lot of fans who love the drivers but thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot of fans who love the teams, too â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re working on that,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s little things, like allowing them to Ă&#x20AC; OP DW WKH HYHQW IRU VRFLDO PHGLD

platforms, letting them share their own content instead of keeping them on a leash. And thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bigger things that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re talking about as well. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our sponsors, who havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really been able to activate digitally in the past, are champing at the bit IRU WKLV VR LW¡V Ă&#x20AC; UVW DQG IRUHPRVW about how we activate them and grow those relationships and deliver high ROI for them and for us. Longer-term, we want to grow our sponsor relationships, too, and I think having bigger and better digital assets will help us do that.â&#x20AC;?

Long-term thinking, however, is proving a problem in a fast-paced world in which Formula One is already starting from the back of the grid. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have a modest and SURĂ&#x20AC; WDEOH EXVLQHVV LQ WKH QHDU term,â&#x20AC;? says Arthofer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Long-term, how far can you really plan in the digital media world? A couple of years at this point? So weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re focused on getting a great product out in front of the fans who have been asking us for it, and then converting some of those fans to subscribers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Part of the challenge and

SportsPro Magazine | 49

COVER STORY FORMULA ONE

the opportunity is that also yields a global fanbase. In the world today thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great thing; you want to have a global fanbase. Marketers, brands, media companies, they all want to be global and we already DUH 2Q WKH Ă LSVLGH LW PHDQV \RX have to serve different audiences in different languages with different kinds of content and product experiences. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the part that , KDYH WR Ă&#x20AC; JXUH RXW DQG RXU EURDGFDVW SDUWQHUV KDYH WR Ă&#x20AC; JXUH out, and our production team has WR Ă&#x20AC; JXUH RXW Âľ That Arthofer and Bratches both KDYH VLJQLĂ&#x20AC; FDQW EDFNJURXQGV LQ WKH world of broadcasting is clearly no

50 | www.sportspromedia.com

Bratches says Formula One needs to become â&#x20AC;&#x153;an entertainment company as much as a sporting oneâ&#x20AC;?, with concerts and other events forming part of the experience

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton duke it out in the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix, the last in the country under the current deal

coincidence, and is indicative of where Liberty is hoping to see the biggest return on its investment.

The TV product was already Formula Oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strongest asset, but there are those in the motorsport world who feel that it has been held back and, despite the vast amounts of cash already pumped into the sport by broadcasters, see it as an area due for major growth. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got a lot of top priorities,â&#x20AC;? jokes Bratches, â&#x20AC;&#x153;but that is clearly my top, top priority. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on the top of the list. There are huge opportunities on the broadcasting and production side to move this to be a more 21st century display of

our brand and of our content, and I agree with those who say that fans are expecting more.â&#x20AC;?

Turn the channel to any other sporting event, he says, and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see an example of something Formula One could be doing better than it currently is or an idea that could be implemented in the world of high-speed racing. The ongoing shake-up of the broadcast world â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with innovations like over-the-top (OTT) and direct-to-consumer platforms changing the way rights are sold, and virtual and augmented reality set to transform how sports are consumed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is again a hindrance to long-term planning, but that is more a cause for excitement than negativity, says Bratches. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are encouraged about the future of the display of our content on television,â&#x20AC;? he says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;but clearly this is a sector that is undergoing rapid transformation. We need to try and strike a balance, particularly with regards to OTT platforms. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in a window right now where I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think it would be prudent that we went 100 per cent pay. From a brand standpoint, we need and are desirous of a freeto-air component to each of the packages that we do. As we look at the pay marketplace weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to have to assess how our OTT plans fall in line. ´:H¡YH JRW D SUHWW\ VLJQLĂ&#x20AC; FDQW

Delivering sports OTT streaming and tactical feeds simultaneously Would you like to produce one streaming feed for your OTT channel or web, and one tactical feed for the technical VWDĆŹ VLPXOWDQHRXVO\" The latest version of AutomaticTV, launched a few weeks ago, meets both these requirements at the same time. On the one hand, it can live stream a production or tactical feed automatically using its AI, while on the other hand, any club or production company can operate the system to control pan/tilt/zoom of additional output feeds, remotely. With this new feature, clubs, leagues and federations can use D XQLTXH V\VWHP WR IXOĆŽO both needs and share the cost between marketing and technical budgets.

AutomaticTV is a multicam, Full HD production system capable of producing live sporting events with or without the assistance of an operator. AutomaticTV can work on automatic or in manual mode, or both at the same time. It can record and stream to your preferred CDN IRU XS WR GLĆŹHUHQW feeds simultaneously.

AutomaticTV is multisport, it can automatically produce football, futsal, basketball, handball, volleyball, and hockey. Any

SOD\HUV SUDFWLFLQJ GLĆŹHUHQW actions can be streamed simultaneously by one SHUVRQ WKRXJK GLĆŹHUHQW outputs.

Spanish Second Division B game between Valencia CF and CF GavĂ

other sport or event can be produced in manual mode.

AutomaticTV is designed to operate fully automatically, manually, or both at the same time. For example, while the systemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s AI is producing a match feed for your OTT platform fully automatically, a human operator can be producing a tactical feed using a simple joystick to pan/ tilt/zoom from a remote location (or vice versa).

In other words, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s up to the user whether to take full manual control of all

the productions from a central location, or let the system produce the game automatically based on D SUHGHĆŽQHG VFKHGXOH The recent introduction of remote production has very low bandwidth requirements. With just 8 to 10 Mbps, a remote operator can control the system and stream a Full HD output directly to any CDN. A recurring demand from sports analysts ZDV WR UHFRUG GLĆŹHUHQW parts of a pitch each on LWV RZQ VSHFLĆŽF YLGHR 7KXV GLĆŹHUHQW JURXSV RI

Chinese University Basketball Association game

www.automatic.tv

AutomaticTV is especially useful to address this issue also, as the user can produce a tactical feed automatically while manually controlling up to 7 more additional output feeds to record any other angles of the game at will.

AutomaticTV can also display part/all its feeds in a multi-screen format in one single video.

In addition, if the analyst LV RQ WKH ĆŽHOG WKLV ODVW YHUVLRQ DOVR RĆŹHUV WKH possibility to control the production from a tablet or a smartphone.

Analysts can adjust pan/ tilt/zoom of any feed and switch cameras without KDYLQJ WR OHDYH WKH ĆŽHOG WR ĆŽQG D FRPSXWHU 7KLV is particularly useful for training sessions.

Possibilities are endless and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all left in the hands of the user.

AutomaticTV is versatile, HĆąFLHQW DQG LQ FRQVWDQW evolution. The perfect tool to provide as much footage as needed simultaneously for every occasion, produced either automatically or manually from wherever the user is.

COVER STORY FORMULA ONE

amount of the global population that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have television, either for economic reasons or, in the case of a younger generation of fans, philosophical ones. We want to serve all fans, and have a voice out there, so we have a pretty good vision in terms of how a live and non-live direct-to-consumer platform could work in concert with our incumbent partners today and tomorrow.

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a big priority to us because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a substantive amount of our revenue stream and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a consumer touchpoint that we want to amplify, not do anything to degrade. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re excited about that opportunity and, as technology unfolds, I think the consumer ends up being the winner.â&#x20AC;?

Arthofer adds that the strategy for both the short and long term is to â&#x20AC;&#x153;always work with broadcast partnersâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re great at what they do, and they have massive distribution outlets that we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hope to match,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I come from ESPN and I believe in the future of ESPN, and I believe in the future of media brands and broadcast partners, but I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more about changing incrementally than cannibalism. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about: how do we add value to the ecosystem and add value to fans rather than how do we take share from the broadcast partners? We want to support them and just as weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to do more with the promoters and sponsors, we want to do more with the

52 | www.sportspromedia.com

Bratches says he is â&#x20AC;&#x153;excited about the futureâ&#x20AC;? of Formula Oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s broadcast product

Lewis Hamilton celebrates victory at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, a territory in which Liberty is looking to expand further

broadcast partners as well.â&#x20AC;? *****

In the course of each conversation, both Bratches and Arthofer refer to Formula One as having a â&#x20AC;&#x153;startup feelâ&#x20AC;?, which is not just a hat-tip to current marketing vogue. Despite, as Bratches points out, â&#x20AC;&#x153;having a global brand, half a ELOOLRQ IDQV DQG D VWURQJ Ă&#x20AC; QDQFLDO balance sheet,â&#x20AC;? it feels like a legitimate way to look at a project which, in many ways, is starting from the ground up as a modern sporting institution. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know that thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s too many opportunities like this in the world of sport on a global basis,â&#x20AC;? adds Bratches. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At the beginning, we were spending a lot of time WU\LQJ WR Ă HVK RXW ZKDW ZHUH WKH key ideas and what we should put our shoulder behind and trying to create a strategic plan and a vision for going forward. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re trying to evolve this from a very dealoriented transactional business to one that is I think much longerterm thinking, much more strategic decision and planning-oriented.â&#x20AC;?

Investments are going into every sector of the business to HQVXUH LW LV Ă&#x20AC; ULQJ RQ DOO F\OLQGHUV including a series of well-overdue brand and audience studies. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not going to be a company where research makes decisions,â&#x20AC;? says Bratches, â&#x20AC;&#x153;but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to

ultimately inform better decisionmaking as we go forward and I think thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot of business aspects of Formula One that were developed that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re trying to evolve and improve upon.â&#x20AC;?

That, in turn, will help to exploit those opportunities that had â&#x20AC;&#x153;laid fallowâ&#x20AC;? under the previous ownership. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re really starting to build from the ground up and, brass tacks, the plan is working,â&#x20AC;? says Bratches. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every Grand Prix this \HDU KDV KDG VLJQLĂ&#x20AC; FDQW LQFUHDVHV in ticket sales, other than the British Grand Prix. Television ratings are up globally, our digital numbers are through the roof, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re above any major global sport and I will say that we started down here but weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re growing faster in 2017 in the digital world than any other sport. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re encouraged by the early signs, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot of work to do, but I think weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re encouraged by the immediate metrics that have come out of it and we feel very supported by the Formula One community, including the fans, but also the promoters, the sponsors, the teams, our media rights holders â&#x20AC;&#x201C; theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all very encouraged in terms of what we see and how weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re activating in trying to detonate this brand.â&#x20AC;?

Bratches, for one, is glad he was dragged back in. With time, all of Formula One should be, too.

FEATURE BROADCAST

LIVE AND DIRECT Silicon Valley tech giants, traditional media powerhouses, virtual MVPDs, rights holders, budding startups dubbed the ‘Netflix of sports’ – all are jostling for position in a booming OTT streaming sector that is redefining the way sport is distributed and consumed.

By Michael Long

T

he rapid and continuing emergence of new overthe-top (OTT) distribution platforms has given rise to an increasingly crowded streaming market, one that is growing larger and yet undoubtedly more intricate by the day. Across the global landscape of sports media, an already fragmented picture is becoming progressively more pixelated, even if the consumption trends, technological advancements and wider market forces that produce it remain abundantly clear.

Keeping up with the dizzying pace of developments in the global OTT space can be a challenge, to say the least. With viewers shifting in their droves away from pay-TV to digital platforms, a slew of entities have taken to offering video services direct to the end consumer via the internet.

Nascent operators now compete with more established players, carving out a competitive advantage by targeting niche sports or underserved demographics. They in turn compete with deep-pocketed media and tech giants, ensuring that the battle lines span multiple markets, devices, platforms, and sports.

54 | www.sportspromedia.com

Further scrambling the picture is the fact that many OTT services remain a work in progress. Such is the budding nature of the streaming sector as a whole, operators are constantly adding new channels and programming as they license more content, building out their respective offerings whilst securing distribution for their services on more and more devices all the time.

Disney’s big play sets up US game These new dynamics are disrupting the media landscapes of many countries and regions, but nowhere is the burgeoning OTT market more voracious than in North America, where the widely publicised pressures weighing upon the traditional cable bundle are aptly encapsulated in the recent moves made by The Walt Disney Company. As the owner of ESPN, America’s most watched and yet most expensive cable channel, the pioneering media conglomerate has long been seen as a microcosm of the pay-TV industry at large.

Forced to adapt to mounting cable subscriber losses and programming costs, coupled with concurrent

SportsPro Magazine | 55

Credit: Peter Byrne/PA Archive/PA Images

FEATURE BROADCAST

GURSV LQ DGYHUWLVLQJ DQG DIĂ&#x20AC;OLDWH revenues, Disney is investing heavily in OTT content delivery. The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s major strategic shift into the competitive digital space â&#x20AC;&#x201C; headlined by its recent acquisition of BAMTech, the live streaming specialist spun off from Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM), and the impending launch of new OTT sports and entertainment offerings next year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is in line with a more ambitious strategy in that sector at the House of Mouse, and there can be no denying where Disneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s priorities now lie. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You have to be willing to either create or experience some disruption as we migrate from what has been a more traditionally distributed world to a more modern, nontraditional distribution world,â&#x20AC;? Bob Iger, Disneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chairman and chief executive, said earlier this year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some of that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to end up doing to ourselves. We understand that thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disruption but we believe we have to be a disruptor, too.â&#x20AC;?

Having paid a further US$1.58 billion to increase its stake in BAMTech to 75 per cent in August, Disney plans to launch its new ESPN-branded OTT offering in

56 | www.sportspromedia.com

early 2018. Powered by BAMTechâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proprietary streaming technology, the service will include around 10,000 live events each year that arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t offered on ESPNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s linear FKDQQHOV LQFOXGLQJ VSRUW VSHFLĂ&#x20AC;F content from partners such as Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Hockey League (NHL), and Major League Soccer (MLS). It KDV DOVR EHHQ FRQĂ&#x20AC;UPHG WKDW *UDQG Slam tennis and college sports will be available on the service, which will be offered through an updated version of the current ESPN app.

Disneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shift has come amid similar plays by its main domestic rivals, with 21st Century Fox, NBCUniversal, CBS and Turner Broadcasting System all jostling for position in an OTT sports sector

Disney-owned ESPN is set to launch its own OTT service early next year

The NFL is collaborating with OverTier to expand its Game Pass oďŹ&#x20AC;ering in Europe

undergoing rampant expansion.

Like Disney, each of those companies is plotting the launch of new or enhanced sports streaming apps and services in the near future, all while making their content available outside of traditional cable packages on other internet-based platforms, some of which they have already invested in.

Yet the OTT battleground has advanced to encompass back-end as well as front-end services. In January, for example, Turner and NBC formed a new joint streaming venture in a bid to challenge the market dominance of BAMTech.

The two companies are now pooling the resources of Turnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s iStreamPlanet and NBCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Playmaker Media, creating a combined offering that is helping league and network clients build out their OTT and video-on-demand services.

Emerging forces and MVPDs A similar situation is found across the Atlantic. As the worlds of OTT and broadcast converge, media companies and established telcos have begun to take a holistic view of the customer proposition in an effort to create a seamless

Over the horizon: Sport’s digital future 29-30th November 2017 I Madrid, Spain Confirmed speakers

Tim Orme Head of Digital Products

Rick Cordella EVP & General Manager, Digital Media

Alex Kaplan EVP, Commercial

www.sportspro-ott.com |

Luis Goicouria SVP, Digital Platforms & Media Strategy

Theo Luke Director, Sports Partnerships

Yiannis Exarchos Chief Executive Officer

Sam Jones CEO

@SportsProEvents | #SPOTT17

FEATURE BROADCAST

experience for viewers across all devices. In the UK, for instance, pay-TV broadcasters Sky Sports and BT Sport have reshaped their offerings in response to dramatic changes in consumption, with the former now offering standalone single-sport channels and the latter embarking on an OTT distribution strategy that closely aligns live linear TV with social media in a bid to amplify its content.

Elsewhere, Eurosport owner Discovery Communications has teamed up with BAMTech to create BAMTech Europe, a new joint venture that will focus on delivering back-end streaming technology to rights holders, broadcasters and the operators of OTT platforms across Europe. The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ă&#x20AC;UVW SDUWQHU LV (XURVSRUW 'LJLWDO the unit which oversees Eurosport Player, a subscription-based directto-viewer channel.

But the ongoing assault on the OTT market is, of course, coming from many sides, not only from the big-beast media companies.

Further down the broadcasting food chain, emergent services that aggregate content from multiple in-demand networks in the manner of a traditional cable provider have

58 | www.sportspromedia.com

The Olympic Channel was launched a year ago to build a year-round presence for the Games and dozens of federations have since signed up as content partners

come to the fore. These so-called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;virtual MVPDsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; have ridden a wave of shifting consumption patterns to enjoy a surge in popularity, and their disruptive impact in North America, which is estimated to command more than 85 per cent of the global OTT market, cannot be overstated. ,I 1HWĂ L[ DQG LWV FKLHI ULYDO Amazon have spearheaded the global SVOD revolution, building their successful on-demand VWUHDPLQJ EXVLQHVVHV FKLHĂ \ RQ movies and entertainment, the likes of Hulu, Sony PlayStation Vue, Dish Networkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sling TV, AT&Tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DirecTV Now and Fubo.tv have collectively shaken up the sports media landscape in the US by offering so-called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;skinny bundlesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; that enable consumers to purchase programming on an a la carte basis, thereby stripping out any unwanted channels. $W Ă&#x20AC;UVW JODQFH WKHVH QHZ DJH virtual MVPDs resemble longestablished, multi-channel pay-TV service providers but their value propositions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; underpinned by no Ă&#x20AC;[HG WHUP FRQWUDFWV FDUHIXO SULFLQJ options and myriad optional addons â&#x20AC;&#x201C; have fostered an acceleration in uptake. That is a trend that is at once both cause and consequence

of the twin phenomena known as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;cord-cuttersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x201C; households that are dropping their cable subscriptions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;cord-neversâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x201C; typically younger viewers who have never had cable subscriptions and prefer to piece their premium entertainment together from online services.

As these new services gain traction along with the broader trends that are fuelling their growth, it is clear that the traditional sports broadcasting paradigm has shifted and the certainties of old are being challenged all the time. This is perhaps best illustrated in the creation and continued emergence of Hulu, a virtual MVPD which enjoys the backing of some of Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most powerful traditional media companies. Part-owned by Disney, 21st Century Fox, Comcast and Turner parent Time Warner, +XOX UHSUHVHQWV WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW DQG PRVW VLJQLĂ&#x20AC;FDQW SOD\ E\ $PHULFD¡V leading TV programmers to sell subscription content directly to viewers whilst simultaneously competing with their usual customers, namely the pay-TV distributors.

Huluâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Live TV service launched in May and now provides streams of more than 50 live and on-

FEATURE BROADCAST

demand TV channels covering sports, news and entertainment.

Its sports programming comes in the form of HBOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Showtime, the Red Bull Signature Series, featurelength documentaries, and a range of other content licensed from its various media backers, such as NFL football feeds provided by ESPN, NBC, CBS and Fox.

Rights holders take back control Like other new entrants in the multi-channel marketplace, Hulu offers both rights holders and consumers additional options when it comes to content distribution and consumption. Yet it is also true that rights holders themselves have grown more digitally minded in line with the sports industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s broader shift towards OTT. From leagues and federations to individual clubs, the majority of sports organisations now recognise that operating a dedicated OTT service harbours a multitude of EHQHĂ&#x20AC; WV HQDEOLQJ WKHP WR FDUYH out greater value from their rights, create new commercial LQYHQWRU\ FDSWXUH PRUH Ă&#x20AC; UVW KDQG consumer data, and better serve their respective audiences through revolutionary technologies. It is that industry-wide acknowledgement that has engendered a proliferation in branded OTT offerings across pretty well every level of the sporting ecosystem.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), for example, has established the Olympic Channel as a means of engaging audiences, particularly those within a younger demographic, between Games. The number of international federations signed up to create content for the service currently stands at 57 while distribution and production partnerships have been signed with broadcasters in various markets, DOWKRXJK WKHUH LV QR RQH VL]H Ă&#x20AC; WV all strategy for every region. In the US, for example, the service is now offered as a 24/7 linear channel in partnership with Games broadcaster NBC, with BeIN Sports setting up a similar offering in the Middle East and North Africa. Across

60 | www.sportspromedia.com

The WTA, in partnership with Perform, has launched its own in-house OTT service

The EFLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s iFollow platform allows British soccer fans to keep in touch with their team from around the world

the Atlantic, meanwhile, Olympic Channel content is being delivered via a more integrated, cross-branded editorial approach that draws on the reach and expertise of incoming Olympic TV partner Eurosport and Discovery.

Meanwhile the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tennis Association (WTA), the European Handball Federation (EHF), the English Football League (EFL) and Fina, the global governing body for aquatic sports, have all recently added their names to the growing list of organisations to launch their own OTT platforms, setting up the Perform-powered WTA TV, the Sportradar-backed ehfTV, the NeuLion-built iFollow service and the Deltatre-supported FINAtv respectively. All of those platforms are intended to Ă HVK RXW WKH FRYHUDJH DYDLODEOH through traditional broadcasters,

reaching underserved fans and those in underserved markets while also establishing a more direct relationship with a fragmented global audience.

The National Football Leagueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (NFL) Game Pass subscription VHUYLFH KDV IXOĂ&#x20AC; OOHG D VLPLODU function within the US in recent years. That is now being aggressively expanded throughout Europe under the auspices of OverTier, a joint venture created by Bruin Sports Capital and WPP. Among clubs, too, a similar shift is taking place â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in February, for instance, Premier League giants Manchester United underlined their global appeal and an already sophisticated media mindset by rolling out their MUTV app as an OTT subscription service in 165 countries around the world.

For the giants of tech and social media, meanwhile, the streaming of premium live sport has become a key differentiator, not least since each company remains intent on positioning video at the heart of their businesses. Indeed, some of the biggest and most powerful players in the digital media space have stepped up their pursuit of the compelling, advertiser-friendly, appointment-to-view programming sport provides, albeit by employing ostensibly differing approaches.

The tech giants circle Having been tooling up its video capabilities with an eye on sport for some time, Amazonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long-awaited move into live streaming came in April, when it acquired the global rights to the NFLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Thursday night games for the current season. Since WKHQ WKH 6HDWWOH EDVHG Ă&#x20AC; UP KDV taken the global rights to the new ATP NextGen tournament for elite young menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tennis players, reportedly secured UK rights to the ATP World Tour, added Discoveryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eurosport Player to its new Amazon Channels streaming platform, and picked up the audio rights to Bundesliga soccer in Germany.

To date, Amazon has kept its sports streaming cards close to its chest. Earlier this year, for example, it purchased an invitation to tender for cricketâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Indian Premier League (IPL) but then sat out a bidding race that eventually saw Star India pay just over US$2.5 billion for the full package of JOREDO ULJKWV RYHU Ă&#x20AC; YH \HDUV But it is clear that the company will be â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and indeed already is â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a force to be reckoned with across the entire OTT value chain. As well as licensing content directly from rights holders â&#x20AC;&#x201C; rumours of a long-mooted, potentially landscape-altering bid for live Premier League rights in the UK continue to swirl ahead of the award of a new three-year cycle early

next year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it also provides access to hundreds of linear channels and other OTT offerings through its Amazon Fire TV service, Fire tablets and Prime Video app.

Clearly, Amazon is only beginning to scratch the surface when it comes to its OTT capabilities. The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scope is arguably unmatched across e-commerce and retail, cloud computing and data measurement, and how live sports streaming Ă&#x20AC; WV ZLWKLQ LWV VSUDZOLQJ DUUD\ RI services will be closely monitored in the months to come. ´:H¡UH GHĂ&#x20AC; QLWHO\ ORRNLQJ DW opportunities that make sense for us that we think our customers would love,â&#x20AC;? Rich Au, the director of Amazon Channels in the US, said recently. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll say is, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe everything you read, unfortunately. But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an exciting space for us because we feel like we can help grow sports with many of the opportunities weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking at.â&#x20AC;?

Elsewhere Facebook has aggressively stepped up its pursuit of live and on-demand sports rights as a way of building out its new Watch video feature, which it rolled out to a limited number of US users in August, and further growing its lucrative advertising business. Sports programming available upon Watchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s launch included MLB games, WNBA

Amazon has made a strong play in menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tennis, taking the global rights to the new ATP NextGen tournament as well as, reportedly, the UK rights to the ATP World Tour

All-Access, streams of Mexican soccerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Liga MX, and Golden State Warriorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Championship Rewindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, a documentary that looks back at the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s championship-winning 2016/17 NBA season. Unlike Amazon, Facebook did show its hand in the recent IPL contest, bidding Rs3,900 crore (US$608.6 million) for the digital rights to the tournament.

Like Facebook, Twitter has ORQJ YLHZHG LWVHOI DV D ÂśYLGHR Ă&#x20AC; UVW¡ platform, which has inevitably led it towards sport in similar fashion, while Googleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s YouTube TV â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a US$35-a-month, MVPD-style subscription service â&#x20AC;&#x201C; hit the US market in April with an initial batch of sports programming from the likes of ESPN and NBC, as well as optional add-on networks such as Showtime and Fox Soccer Plus.

Generally speaking, these tech players have both the will and WKH Ă&#x20AC; QDQFLDO PHDQV WR GLVUXSW the media landscape in virtually any market they please, but they are not alone. Other well-heeled, digitally native streaming startups are approaching the OTT market from an international vantage point.

Multi-sport services like Perform Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DAZN and Eleven Sports, established in 2015 by MP & Silva co-founder Andrea Radrizzani, have entered select markets around the world, taking a deliberately localised approach to rights acquisitions, production and distribution as they MRLQ WKH UDFH WR EHFRPH WKH Âś1HWĂ L[ of sportsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Another player taking D VLPLODU DSSURDFK LV 6SRUWVĂ&#x20AC; [ a subsidiary of the Total Sports Asia (TSA) agency whose service went live in July and now delivers live streams of lower-tier sports to mobile users across south-east Asia.

As each of these services vies for a foothold in the marketplace, it is clear that the booming OTT sports industry remains some way off consolidation. It is clear, too, that the chosen strategies and geographies and business models vary greatly from one service to the next, but what unites them all is a simple conviction: the landscape of sports media is changing, and a market in Ă X[ LV RQH ULSH IRU H[SORLWDWLRQ

SportsPro Magazine | 61

THE PROFILE MARC WATSON

Eleventh hour

Marc Watson has history in managing the arrival of a sports broadcasting newcomer and since the start of 2015, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been doing it again as executive chairman and chief executive of Eleven Sports. Now, new markets and new platforms are coming into play for an organisation which is acting locally on global ambitions.

By Eoin Connolly. Photographs by Graham Fudger.

M

arc Watson has been here before.

Just a few years ago, he led a sports broadcasting newcomer on an incursion whose effects have been as dramatic as any in recent years. As chief executive of BT TV â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a media offering from the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former monopoly telecoms operator that was in its relative infancy when he joined in 2009 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; he was one of the main creative forces behind BT Sport, which emerged from nowhere to secure live rights to a glut of premium properties in short order.

BTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arrival not only created a durable challenger to the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long-dominant Sky Sports, it also changed perceptions of the kind of companies that could deliver live sports content and the way fans would pay for and watch it.

In March 2014 Watson, who previously advised the likes of the Premier League at rights consultancy Reel Enterprises, stepped away from the insurgency he had helped to foster in search of a new challenge. By the turn of the following year, he had found it. Andrea Radrizzani, another man with a background in rights arbitrage in his capacity as the co-founder of the MP & Silva agency, was keen to move across the aisle and set up a broadcast network of his own. Watson ZDV D QDWXUDO Ă&#x20AC;W IRU WKH QHZ YHQWXUH DQG

by August 2015, Eleven Sports was live.

Now operating in seven markets â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Singapore, Taiwan, Italy and the US â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Eleven is both a product of and response to a broadcast PDUNHWSODFH WKDW LV Ă XFWXDWLQJ ZLWK D kaleidoscopic intensity. It has taken a platform-agnostic approach to distribution

62 | www.sportspromedia.com

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; available with linear cable operators in some countries, and as a directto-consumer digital offering in those territories where the market supports it.

Different routes have been taken to its audience. In the US, Eleven acquired distribution assets from and took the place of cable network One World Sports LQ RUGHU WR Ă&#x20AC;QG D ZD\ LQWR WKH ELJJHVW media market around. In Italy, it bought a majority stake in the over-the-top (OTT) service Sportube â&#x20AC;&#x201C; securing its rights to Lega Pro, the national third tier of club soccer, in the process. In the days before this magazine was going to press, it also secured digital rights to three live Serie A soccer games a week. Fans are now able to pay â&#x201A;Ź1.99 per match or â&#x201A;Ź3.99 for full weekly access, as desired.

That speaks to the probing approach Eleven takes to its rights portfolio. Where possible, Eleven has made itself the home of premium competitions like the Premier League, Germanyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bundesliga, or Formula One. But it is also sensitive to local interests, building much of its presence in Poland, for example, around domestic affection for speedway.

The on-air production carries a local Ă DYRXU DQG UHVSRQVLELOLW\ IRU HDFK QDWLRQDO operation is devolved to a local team. But this remains a broadcaster with global ambitions. Its worldwide base is at the RIĂ&#x20AC;FHV RI 5DGUL]]DQL¡V $VHU LQYHVWPHQW group â&#x20AC;&#x201C; whose interests, since early summer, have also included sleeping English soccer giants Leeds United â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in the high-end London district of Mayfair. It is there that SportsPro meets Watson, also the executive chairman of Aser Media, to discuss how Eleven intends to extend its network further.

What was it that first drew you to the opportunity here at Eleven?

Well, initially it was the chance to work with Andrea Radrizanni â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and the opportunity to build an international sports network. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what we set out to do back in about January 2015 when we started working together. That, for me, was what I wanted to do and was a very exciting prospect.

We started, really, with a blank sheet of paper. We had some rights; there were some markets where rights were available. So we looked at those rights and we looked at those markets, and then we started moving at speed.

We set Eleven up as a company in about March 2015 and we launched in August.

On a day-to-day basis, whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your level of communication with Andrea and with Danny Menken, the group managing director?

Danny and I work constantly together, dividing up the tasks to run the business.

Generally he is focused on the day-to-day operations and I am more focused on strategy, people and the numbers. The big deals, we tend to divide up between us. Andrea is not involved in the details of running the business but he is very close to what we are doing; we talk all the time and he helps a lot with driving the business forwards. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great asset for us.

In each market, you have someone operating the national channel in a role that varies from set-up to set-up. How do you manage that structure?

We have a global-local model. What weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re aiming to do is set up a global platform which

Marc Watson, executive chairman and chief executive of Eleven Sports, pictured in London on Monday 18th September 2017

Over 20,000 hours of live content are produced by Eleven Sports each year Eleven Sports operates 18 services in seven markets for over 15 million paying customers

SportsPro Magazine | 63

THE PROFILE SECTION TEXT HERE MARC WATSON

is able to capture some global synergies in running a sports business – in the acquisition of rights, in our branding and marketing, in our production and distribution of content, and particularly in our management of consumers. So wherever we can find cost synergies and savings at a global level, we’re looking to do that.

But what we’ve realised about sport, unlike other genres of content, is that to be successful you have to do it locally. Sport is consumed on a local basis by fans, so you have to be very local. That means that we’ve put together a local operation in every market with, as you said, a local managing director running the business, local studios, local production, and a localised service for the fans that we’re targeting. So that element of our structure is incredibly important to how we operate and to our future success.

We try and devolve a fair bit of authority to our local MDs to run the business in the way that they want to run it but we are, in reality, working very closely with them every day as we run the business and build it out.

How does that affect what you do, particularly strategically? The other role that you’re best known for in sports broadcasting was in heading up BT Sport in the UK, where you were running one national market top to bottom. How does that compare with having all of these different nodes?

It is quite different, and it is a challenge.

Running a small business is just as complicated as running a bigger one, is what you find out, and each market is different.

It comes down to selecting the right people and having great people in every market who really know their market. We’re not taking someone from London and dropping them in Warsaw or Taiwan and asking them to run the business, we’re picking someone who’s local and really understands the market to work with us to run that business and build it.

We are trying to create localised services but with a single global machine working underneath, leveraging scale in rights acquisition and distribution and finding synergies on production, technology and transmission. Finding the right balance between delegated local control and central interference is always a healthy tension. In the end, we know that the more you try to homogenise into a global service, the more you lose traction with local customers. So we try and keep this in mind with everything we

64 | www.sportspromedia.com

do. In practice, we review the local businesses every month, visit regularly and then in between we get directly involved in the bigger stuff, wherever that might be happening.

Looking at Eleven from the top down, how are you trying to establish a point of difference? When you and Andrea sat down two and a half years ago and started talking about putting a broadcaster together, what did you see that broadcaster as being?

When we started out we were initially pretty opportunistic, based on where we saw good rights deals and felt there was a gap, but since then we’ve become a bit more sophisticated, starting with the cost and availability of rights and then focusing on potential demand, collecting all the local audience and usage data we can get our hands on.

We look at this past audience data, fan sites, live gates, social media stats and so on. Then finally we’ll try and make a judgement about future competition on rights and the impact of our entry into the market. We’re looking for an unserved market of fans, for whom Eleven will be a premium service, low rights costs, and an absence of inflationary pressures. All that said, in the end it comes down to a judgement – and whether we can find the right people to run the business locally.

Are you replicating your approach from market to market and developing a set of best practices or do you start from scratch each time?

No, we absolutely have a model that we’re looking to roll out across the world. And our approach to producing content and our approach to making content available – and our focus on the fans – is the same wherever we go. And actually, it’s the same regardless of what content it is we’re broadcasting.

So in some markets we have some quite big rights, and in other markets we have smaller rights, but the approach for all of it is pretty consistent.

It developed, by necessity, very, very quickly.

Let’s look at a recent example. The move into the US is a few months old so it’s still at an early stage even relative to the age of the global company. What was the nature of the opportunity you saw there?

We wanted to be in America because it’s the biggest media market in the world, but

what we saw in the States was a market that’s changing extremely quickly and is very dynamic. And we saw very large number of sports which are currently underserved for their fanbase: they’re not covered in the way that their fans want and to the degree that their fans wanted. So we saw an opportunity to change that and to build a business on the back of it, and that’s why we entered into the marketplace.

We’ve started with a pretty traditional linear channel, actually, which we took over in March. Since then we’ve tripled the television audience – from a small base, but we’ve tripled the audience – and stabilised the business. It’s doing pretty well.

We’ve gone from zero hours of content when we took it over to 1,700 hours of live content a year, and we’re continuing to build that out. And what we’re really focused on there is not taking on the big guys in that marketplace but looking for sports which are underserved where we think we can make a difference to the fans’ experience. So we’re right at the beginning of our journey in America but we see a lot of potential, we see that we can take this business a long way in that marketplace, and I think you’ll see a lot of activity from us in the coming 12 months or so in that market.

What level are you pitching it at? What sports do you see as being underserved and what role do you think you can play in the market? What will the Eleven Sports identity be there?

Our identity there is still evolving – it’s early days – but we’re targeting younger, dedicated fans of sports that are not generally covered by the big networks. They may cover a little of each sport – the occasional match here and there – but they’re not giving consistent coverage of these leagues, and we see an opportunity to give more consistent coverage to those fans.

That might be international sports. It might be national sports. We recently did the world championships of Frisbee which did very well for us, actually, and was not covered anywhere. It sounds small from the UK but actually, in America, it played very, very well.

We’re looking at high school and college sports which are underserved. We recently took the rights to Ivy League football, for example, which again has proved a very good product for us – good value and quite highprofile. And then we’re looking at local teams and local sports where, again, the fan is not able to access all the content they want to see.

Eleven has made local knowledge and expertise a cornerstone of its business, hiring experienced broadcasting staff in each of its seven territories

Naturally, the approach is one that’s going to make Eleven a premium broadcaster in some countries where you’ll be carrying major local rights or Premier League rights, while your positioning in the US is going to be markedly different from that.

I’m not sure it is, actually, because if you’re making a service available to a dedicated fan then, for that fan, you are a premium service.

Because you’re giving them what they want – and charging for it. So actually, all over the world, we’re a premium service. If you’re taking what you might call smaller sports and putting them on a free-to-air network, that might be different, but that’s not what we’re doing. We are looking to serve the unserved fan with a premium product, and we’re doing that the world over.

The content may change from market to market, and the size of the fanbase may change from market to market, but the proposition is actually pretty consistent.

How consistent are you aiming to be with the rights you’re acquiring? Where you can buy a set of rights in every market that you serve, do you prioritise those opportunities at all?

Definitely. If there’s an opportunity to do that, we will do it, and you’re maybe seeing

the beginnings of a trend towards the globalisation of the selling of rights. But as you know, most of the major rights are sold on a fairly localised basis, still.

But that is interesting for us and the more global scale you get, the more that’s something you can look at, and that is a potential advantage of having a business across multiple markets around the world.

Certainly, in the future, that’s something that I see as being a key benefit.

What about your allocation of resources to each market? You’re allowing each company to run with a degree of independence but are you, from your seat here, looking to give a company support in terms of rights acquisition in one market, and looking for another to sustain itself a bit more? What’s the approach?

It’s a bit of a balancing act, depending on the maturity of the marketplace and the people that you’ve got there. But really, we’re very involved in every market is the truth. The key is to have very good people locally and let them get on with running the business but get involved enough so that you can bring some global synergies to what they’re doing.

In practice, that means that it depends a little bit what’s going on at a particular time in each market as to where your focus goes

but, really, we are pretty involved everywhere.

And we could probably have done a lot more markets – we’ve done seven markets in two years – but we’re moving at a pace which we think is sustainable in terms of the size of the business that we’ve got, both in terms of the capital of the business that’s required and the people that we’ve got.

So we’re pretty happy with what we’ve done so far. We’re now starting to look at the next set of markets that we want to roll the Eleven brand out to. If you look at where we’ve got to so far, you’ll see 18 services now, seven markets, more than 15 million paying customers, available in more than 70 million television households and many more via the internet. We’re producing over 20,000 hours of live content a year. Last weekend, we did well over 100 live sports events. We were the number one and number two sports channel in Poland on the opening weekend of the football season, and we’re growing fast in all of our markets.

The last few months we’ve gone through a period of consolidating the businesses that we launched and really focusing on getting them right. We’re now coming to a point where we’re ready to start expanding again.

You’re only operating in a few markets at the moment but it’s quite an esoteric spread of very different types and sizes across three continents. Are you

SportsPro Magazine | 65

THE PROFILE SECTION TEXT HERE MARC WATSON

finding that there’s a uniformity to the performance of any given rights? Have there been any that have really surprised you in terms of how they’ve done?

the live video on demand element of that is increasingly important. But we absolutely see a place for both in the present marketplace and I see that still being the case for a few years yet.

There is some uniformity in sport but there are also real differences wherever you go – in every market. And, actually, it’s understanding the differences that is key to your success. We’ve now got a very good portfolio of rights around the world – it differs a little in every market, but we’ve got a very good portfolio of rights – and, overall, they’re performing very strongly.

Just to give you a couple: the Bundesliga in Poland, which we’ve just taken, is performing very strongly for us. As I said, in the opening weekend of the season we were the number one and number two channel in that market, which is pretty phenomenal because we’re not as well distributed as some other channels. So that’s performed extremely well for us; Formula One in that market has done extremely well for us, too.

The Lamigo Monkeys, a local baseball team which is top of the league in Taiwan, is doing really well for our Taiwanese business.

In Italy, Lega Pro is a different model and a different sort of right but it’s doing very well for us. It’s a very dedicated fanbase which was very underserved; there were very, very few matches available before we came into the market. And for that fanbase, it’s doing extremely well – and, by the way, it’s a premium product. For those fans, Eleven Sports is a premium product.

A lot was made this time last year about the live audiences on TV for major, premium sports. Do you think the sports broadcast industry was late at all in seeing what was going on with OTT and direct-to-consumer video services, particularly given that live sport was the last thing that was outperforming the trend for TV audiences elsewhere?

We’ve talked a lot about rights but Eleven has also been willing to embrace digital platforms in new markets from the outset. What are some of the factors that influence what type of services you’ll be offering and where?

What you’re analysing in each market is what rights are available and what rights are interesting, where the fans are for those rights and what’s the best and most cost-effective way of reaching them. Now, in almost all of our markets, we are running linear channels as well as a full OTT service where fans can watch the channel and they can watch the particular matches they want to watch. The only exception to that at the moment is Italy, and that’s because the product we’ve got in Italy lends itself better to an OTT, live ondemand type of service than a linear service.

I think in most markets where we’re launching, you will still see a linear element to what we do. But increasingly, the SVOD and

66 | www.sportspromedia.com

You’ve seen some audience decline. It’s not clear to anyone whether that is due to piracy and unrecorded viewing or whether it’s due to an actual decline in audiences. I think it’s probably due to piracy; I don’t think there are less fans for sport and I don’t think fans’ propensity to watch sport is reducing materially. I think that there are just more ways of fans accessing the sport that they want to watch and some of that is not being recorded in the official data. That’s my guess.

There’s obviously a danger in that to the sports industry and I think the sports industry and the pay-TV industry has been a bit slow in responding to it, yes. There’s been an awful lot of value locked up in pay-TV for a very long time and I think the industry has been worried about impacting that value, and therefore slow to put new models out into the market.

But I think that’s starting to change now. It has to change and it is starting to change.

Is that just a distribution issue or is it also a rights issue? Will there come a time when sport is sold differently?

In the end, you’ve got to give consumers what they want because if you don’t give them what they want, they’re going to take it. That is the lesson from the music industry, and there’s a lot of lessons of that from the sports industry, too.

And if you are giving consumers what they want, and you’re giving them what they consider to be good value, then you’ll continue to have a good business. That’s what the industry has got to do and that’s the key challenge.

What is that about? It’s about the customer proposition and it’s about the retail proposition.

So, yes, it’s about the content that you make available and how you make it available, and from a retailing perspective it’s about giving consumers what they want in the way that they want it. So all of these elements come into play in order to be successful and in order to

keep the illegal side of the industry at bay. But if you put into the market a proposition which is stronger than illegal services, which is well priced, which is flexible at the point of demand, and which represents good value, then you’re going to be OK. A lot has been made of the spectre of tech companies – particularly Amazon, who have been on the fringes of a few major sales processes as well as picking up some smaller rights – potentially making a serious move into the sector.

What does that do to the marketplace?

I don’t know what the strategy of these companies is. I’m not privy to that. What I see from the outside is some very big companies who are interested in the space and interested in what sport can do for their core business – and are testing what sport can do for their core business, but are not quite sure of the outcome yet. That’s what I see from the outside.

I think from the point of view of a broadcaster like us, it’s very important to develop relationships with these companies, and to work with them, and, actually, to be willing to make your content available to these companies. That is the key.

If you look at why telcos have moved into sport, often it was driven by the fact that they couldn’t access content for their customers and they therefore felt obliged to go out and buy it for themselves. For these big companies, I think the first thing is to develop a relationship with them and find a commercial way which works for both sides to make your services available for their customers, and then we’ll see from there. Certainly, at Eleven, that’s what we are focused on doing and we’ve got some good conversations going with all of those companies.

Are your priorities different, given the scale and age of your operation, than they might be at an established market leader?

Everyone has their own business to protect and grow and their own strategy for doing so.

We’re growing fast but we’re not a big player – we’re an independent operator and we’re two years old. So the key for us is to reach our fans and our customers wherever they want to be, and if they happen to want to consume our content via another platform – where it be an Amazon or another platform – then I think it’s our job to make sure that they can do so. That is what we’re focused on.

Local agenda: Poland While Marc Watson leads the worldwide Eleven Sports project from London as group chief executive and executive chairman, the company’s wider model devolves responsibility to the heads of the services in its active markets: Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Singapore, Taiwan, Italy and the US. The set-up within each those countries differs each time, depending on the size and internal dynamics of those territories and the strengths of the staff in place there.

In Poland, the national operation is led by managing director Krzysztof Świergiel. According to Watson, the process of putting together a team there began “about three months before launch”, with the global leadership keen to “avoid speculation about our market entry” and “to put the right pieces in place as early as possible”.

“We were very lucky to have the expertise of our COO, Ralf Manthey,” Watson adds, “who was already present in the market and had fantastic knowledge of the local landscape.

“From the top down we run a pretty lean operation, running seven markets with 103 people. Our aim is to have the best people in the right positions, enabling us to be nimble and make key decisions quickly without the bureaucracy and red tape that you see in bigger organisations.”

For Świergiel, in an interview conducted shortly after SportsPro speaks to Watson, Eleven’s fundamental aim is to “combine local market intelligence and global expertise and experience” in a way that “helps us to understand and act on local needs and the bigger global picture”.

“From the very beginning,” he says, “Eleven Sports has been developing new standards in live productions in the Polish market. We have covered the biggest leagues and events such as Bundesliga, La Liga, speedway and Formula One like nobody before in Poland.”

Eleven broadcasts around 25 to 30 live events each weekend in Poland – “which is a record in this country” – and estimates that it spends around 40 per cent of the budgets of other European broadcasters

German soccer legend Lothar Matthäus has worked as a pudit on Eleven Sports’ coverage in Poland

“thanks to our innovative approach and the selective use of equipment”.

Soccer from Germany’s Bundesliga has been a hugely popular addition in recent months and analysis of viewing figures around those games has only served to reinforce the perceived importance of investing in locally relevant programming and not just live rights. Świergiel adds: “We have set a new standard for commentating with the best and most influential commentators and pundits in the market providing in-depth commentary and analysis in local language with a ‘lean-in’, fan-friendly approach.”

Pundits such as German World Cupwinning former soccer player Lothar Matthäus have been encouraged to take part in fan engagement activities such as Facebook Live Q&A sessions, while interviews with stars like Robert Kubica and Robert Lewandowski have also fleshed out the editorial offering.

“Our self-produced studio shows are also proving very popular – audience figures show that fans treat studio segments as an essential part of the viewing experience with 50 per cent of viewers watching pre-match programming, 90 per cent watching

half-time studio analysis and 60 per cent watching post-match studio analysis,” Świergiel says.

Local programming is complemented by local talent: executives, producers and journalists who have an in-depth understanding and experience of the market, working in what Świergiel calls a “lean and effective team”.

“We have created a powerful combination of international expertise with the best new talents in the local market. This enables us to draw on valuable experience and the latest innovative practices that help to keep us moving in the right direction.”

The balance between the domestic and international operations is a vital one and, asked whether he expected the Polish office to enjoy greater independence as it becomes more established, Świergiel points to the need to keep a coherent global system in place.

“We already have a lot of autonomy to run the business in accordance with local needs thanks to Eleven’s decentralised approach,” he says. “Eleven has a growing number of markets and our proposition is tailored locally to each, but under the surface there is one machine serving all to ensure a consistent approach.”

SportsPro Magazine | 67

FEATURE BROADCAST

OVER THE RADAR Sports data and content specialist Sportradar AG dramatically enhanced its over-the-top streaming capabilities with its acquisition of Sportsman Media Holding in 2016. A year on, the Swiss-based ďŹ rm is eyeing further growth in a burgeoning OTT market.

By Michael Long

S

portradar AG is not necessarily known for its streaming capabilities. The Swiss-based company has to date made a name for itself as a worldwide leader in data provision, statistics and betting services, while its proprietary Integrity Services and Fraud Detection System (FDS) are now widely used across the global landscape of sport, helping to safeguard dozens of organisations and governing bodies against bettingUHODWHG FRUUXSWLRQ DQG PDWFK Ă&#x20AC; [LQJ Last year, however, Sportradar dramatically enhanced its over-thetop (OTT) streaming operation

68 | www.sportspromedia.com

through its acquisition of Sportsman Media Holding, a group of digital media production and marketing companies and platforms which, since its formation in 2001, has facilitated the delivery of more than 25,000 live events per year. Under the terms of the deal, FRQĂ&#x20AC; UPHG LQ $SULO 6SRUWUDGDU acquired all four entities under the Sportsman Media Holding umbrella: rights agency Sportsman Media Group GmbH, international online sports TV platform Laola1. tv and its owner Laola1 Multimedia, and live content production entity Unas Media Productions.

Though terms were not disclosed, the takeover represented D VLJQLĂ&#x20AC; FDQW PRYH LQWR ODUJHO\ uncharted territory. As Sportradar FKLHI H[HFXWLYH &DUVWHQ .RHUO noted at the time, the Sportsman acquisition â&#x20AC;&#x153;marked a shiftâ&#x20AC;? for WKH FRPSDQ\ ZKRVH H[SHULHQFH in the audiovisual sports content sector, while well established, had previously been limited to the betting and gaming industry. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It will upgrade our audiovisual portfolio,â&#x20AC;? .RHUO VDLG ´DQG ZLOO HQVXUH WKDW our clients will have the broadest and best range of solutions to choose from, whether on an

individual basis, or whether on a bespoke bundle of solutions basis.â&#x20AC;?

Since the acquisition closed towards the end of last year, each of the former Sportsman entities KDV EHHQ LQWHJUDWHG LQWR WKH H[LVWLQJ Sportradar business, which has JURZQ WR HPSOR\ RYHU SHRSOH in more than 30 locations across the globe. Now, Sportradar is plotting further inroads into a global OTT market that it estimates will be worth as much as US$80 billion by 2021 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; around 30 per cent of which will be generated through sport alone. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our approach was not to dive into acquiring rights for our own

TV platform,â&#x20AC;? says Rainer Geier, Sportradarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s managing director for OTT. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to step into this market further because I think the market has really awakened now and you have the Skys, the BTs, the DAZNs and the Eurosports entering into this market.â&#x20AC;?

Rather than competing directly IRU ULJKWV DORQJVLGH WKRVH H[LVWLQJ distribution players in what is an increasingly crowded market, Geier H[SODLQV WKDW WKH GHFLVLRQ ZDV WDNHQ to instead serve as â&#x20AC;&#x153;an enablerâ&#x20AC;? for rights holders wanting to set up their own OTT platforms. To that end, Sportradar has developed what

is now known as the Sportradar OTT solution, a white-label video VWUHDPLQJ SURGXFW VSHFLĂ&#x20AC; FDOO\ designed for sports federations and rights holders. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We developed a really highly Ă H[LEOH EXW VFDODEOH EDFNHQG solution, which is based on video and also data delivery,â&#x20AC;? adds Geier. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We offer this OTT solution to different federations but also broadcasters, rights holders and other institutions.â&#x20AC;?

This June Sportradar OTT RIĂ&#x20AC; FLDOO\ KLW WKH PDUNHW LWV ODXQFK coinciding with the signing of a wide-ranging partnership with

SportsPro Magazine | 69

FEATURE BROADCAST

EHF Marketing, the commercial arm of the European Handball Federation (EHF). Under that deal, 6SRUWUDGDU EHFDPH WKH RIĂ&#x20AC;FLDO data and streaming partner of all EHF club competitions, including the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s EHF &KDPSLRQV /HDJXH DV ZHOO DV WKH ORZHU WLHU (+) &XS DQG &KDOOHQJH &XSV ZKLOH WKH FRPSDQ\ LV DOVR working with the EHF to build and develop ehfTV.com, a revamped direct-to-consumer digital offering powered by Sportradarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s OTT solution. ´$W OHDVW IRU WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW PRQWKV our target is so-called second-tier sports and federations because ZH KDYH LGHQWLĂ&#x20AC;HG WKH PRVW QHHG within these federations,â&#x20AC;? Geier says, speaking to SportsPro from Sportradarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s St Gallen headquarters. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now there are really a lot of dynamics in the OTT market and we are in good talks with really top federations.â&#x20AC;?

Among the other federations to have taken advantage of the solution are the European Hockey Federation and also the International Tennis Federation (ITF), with whom Sportradar

70 | www.sportspromedia.com

DJUHHG DQ H[SDQGHG GHDO LQ September. Under the latter agreement, the company is now delivering live streams of all 'DYLV &XS DQG )HG &XS PDWFKHV outside of the US, part of a newly launched OTT service that enables tennis fans worldwide to purchase coverage ranging from individual ties and entire rounds to an annual package covering all rounds of each cup. The partnership also calls for the launch of a desktop live scoring centre and redesigned mobile app for both competitions.

But Sportradar OTT is by no means limited to federations.

Sportradar is already working with national broadcasters such as Sportitalia who want to revamp and scale up their digital distribution DORQJVLGH WKHLU H[LVWLQJ OLQHDU channels. German 2.Bundesliga soccer side Eintracht Braunschweig are also using the solution to take their own club-branded subscription channel, Eintracht TV, to the global online marketplace.

For each of those offerings, Sportradar takes care of the technical aspects and maintenance of the platform while the rights

Right: Rainer Geier, managing director of OTT for Sportradar (centre), with his EHF Marketing counterpart David Szlezak (right)

Sportradar announced its partnership with the EHF ahead of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seasonending VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne

holder produces and manages the content signal â&#x20AC;&#x201C; although Sportradar also has the ability to handle on-site production in-house thanks to its acquisition, as part of the Sportsman takeover, of Unas Media Production. For the EHF, IRU H[DPSOH WKH FRPSDQ\ SURGXFHV D PLQXWH PDJD]LQH VKRZ HYHU\ matchday, which is then distributed to broadcasters all over the world.

The differing nature of Sportradarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s early OTT clients speaks to the versatility of the platform but the real beauty of the VHUYLFH VD\V *HLHU LV LWV Ă H[LELOLW\ Fully customisable and highly scalable, the solutionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advanced technological backbone can HDVLO\ DFFRPPRGDWH WKH VSHFLĂ&#x20AC;F requirements of the client, from bespoke branding and unique frontend user interfaces to the necessary geo-blocking and revenue share structures.

In most cases, the solution is offered free of charge, and while the Sportradar OTT-powered services currently on the market are monetised through either a subscription and/or advertisingbased model, all revenues are shared

between Sportradar and the client. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think that is really unique in the market,â&#x20AC;? says Geier. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have put all WKLV H[SHULHQFH LQWR WKH GHYHORSPHQW of this product, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m pretty sure there is no other company that can offer this variety of technique with such a model here. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The other thing is that we set up some digital advertising unit within Sportradar, because when it comes to the revenue share model we can help to generate revenues on this platform. Also the rights holder is allowed to sell advertising and they are really welcome to bring in their H[LVWLQJ VSRQVRUV WR WKLV SODWIRUP Âľ 6XFK LV WKH Ă H[LELOLW\ RI WKH model, Geier notes how a clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commercial partners and third party advertisers can be integrated in different ways across the same platform. On ehfTV.com, for LQVWDQFH WKH &KDPSLRQV /HDJXH VHFWLRQ LV UHVHUYHG IRU RIĂ&#x20AC;FLDO sponsors of that tournament while advertising spots on other areas of the service are available for purchase by non-EHF partners.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re also trying to acquire new partners for the EHF on site and RIĂ LQH Âľ *HLHU DGGV ´7KDW LV RXU approach and when it comes to marketing and revenue streams, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really very aligned with the needs of the federation.â&#x20AC;?

In the few months since its launch, Geier says Sportradar OTT has already highlighted how combining data and data visualisation solutions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; two areas ingrained in Sportradarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;DNAâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with video content has â&#x20AC;&#x153;huge potentialâ&#x20AC;? to transform a clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s digital output. By incorporating elements such as real-time data or player tracking into their platforms, clients can go well beyond the provision of live streams to deliver an even richer, PRUH HQJDJLQJ XVHU H[SHULHQFH â&#x20AC;&#x153;Once you have access to video signals and the data â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which we have with the EHF because we are WKHLU RIĂ&#x20AC;FLDO GDWD SURYLGHU ² ZH are able to create completely new SURGXFWV ZKLFK GLGQ¡W H[LVW EHIRUH Âľ Geier notes.

%XW WKH EHQHĂ&#x20AC;WV RI WKH VROXWLRQ do not end there. While Sportradar OTT is still a nascent unit and thus represents â&#x20AC;&#x153;a small partâ&#x20AC;? of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s overall revenues at present, Geier adds that there is plenty of scope for â&#x20AC;&#x153;much bigger cooperationsâ&#x20AC;? with clients given that there are â&#x20AC;&#x153;a lot of other synergiesâ&#x20AC;? with various other divisions of the wider group. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Once we have access to the signal, we could easily sell it to our betting companies, if the federation wants to, and drive DGGLWLRQDO UHYHQXHV Âľ KH H[SODLQV â&#x20AC;&#x153;We could make some data products out of it. We could, as we also have the infrastructure of a classic sports rights agency with the former Sportsman Media Group, we could help the federation to sell it to other broadcasters all over the world. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We can offer integrity services, which is also a core of Sportradar, to the federations, and I think that is especially interesting when it comes to strategic partnerships.â&#x20AC;?

SportsPro Magazine | 71

FEATURE HANDBALL

A hand on the future The VELUX EHF FINAL4 is the climax of the European Handball Federationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s signature club tournament, the EHF Champions League, and since 2010 has become a compelling showcase for a sport whose popularity can be underestimated. The 2017 edition at Cologneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s LANXESS arena heralded an era of further growth and change to come.

By Adam Nelson

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72 | www.sportspromedia.com

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HC Vardar recorded a debut victory

Cologneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s LANXESS arena, the long-term host of the VELUX EHF FINAL4, was sold out again for the 2017 edition

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SportsPro Magazine | 73

FEATURE HANDBALL

David Szlezak, managing director for EHF Marketing

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74 | www.sportspromedia.com

FINAL4 title sponsor VELUX has backed the competition since its inception

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HC Vardar celebrate a maiden victory in the VELUX EHF FINAL4

The 2017 VELUX EHF FINAL4 saw the use of the refcam system, with viewers able to watch from a refâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s-eye perspective

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SportsPro Magazine | 75

Experience more

mx1.com

The Global Differentiator for Sports Interview with MX1 Director of Product Marketing, Sports and Events, Dana Dar Q: What is the MX1 story? What opportunity did you spot in the marketplace?

A: We are a subsidiary of SES and were formed in 2016 by merging two complementary companies together, RR Media and SES Platform Services, to combine their best services and form a single provider with a genuinely global offering of end-to-end customized solutions for media platforms..

We offer a global infrastructure encompassing all delivery methods, whether that be satellite, fiber, IP or otherwise, we can ensure we find the best-fit solutions for our customers.

Different customers have different needs; broadcasters differ to sports agencies and they are different in turn to sports federations. All though have common ground in needing to aggregate, manage and get their content to as wide an audience of end-users as possible, and that’s where we come in.

Q: What have been the biggest changes in the last few years in people's expectations of a media platform?

A: The demand now is for high-quality content on multiple devices. Whether it’s a large screen in 4K, viewing on a tablet or a mobile device, viewers expect to be able to watch what they want, when they want, on any and all devices.

Delivering this effectively and cost-efficiently is not simply a cut and paste job though: the nature of the experience varies between sports and between devices and the service viewers are provided needs to be tailored accordingly.

Q: How do you manage the process of creating media solutions?

Our MX1 360 media production platform is truly

end-to-end. From ingest through editing to delivery and working in the hybrid cloud, it is capable of handling all aspects of the content management process and interfaces well with third party tools. But we don’t tie people to it.

It’s there, it’s incredibly powerful, and it’s always an option, but clients are free to use the tools that suit their established workflows if they so require. And we are always on the lookout for new and exciting technologies and seeking how to use them to best suit our customers’ needs.

Q: Are content producers becoming more savvy in tailoring their content for different devices? What are some of the best examples you've seen?

A: There is a growing understanding that viewers across different devices are different and some devices are used better — and indeed are more popular — for long-form and short-form content. Content producers know their fans, especially in niche sports where viewer’s preferences might differ from the baseline, and therefore need to make sure they provide the content in the best format to increase visibility and engagement.

Q: In what ways might the needs of a rights holder client differ from those of a major broadcaster or media company?

A: They follow different business models and have different end users, therefore the way we approach them needs to be different too.

Whether we are looking at a simple distribution of the rights to increase reach, efficiency and monetization, or whether we are looking at broadcasters who know their fans and need to

manage their content differently to provide best experience for their viewers, the solution has to be tailored to fit. Sports federations are increasingly becoming media providers and so we also work closely with them on how to customize our solutions for their specific needs and audiences.

Q: As access to media tools becomes ever more democratised, what are the best ways for a product or service to stand out?

A: As always, it comes down to offering great customer service coupled with the ability to be flexible and react quickly to changes in this dynamic market.

Q: What are some of the most important developments to look out for in the year ahead?

A: The main trend is going to be an increase in digital. As we become more informed and experienced in our understanding of how to best use and monetize digital platforms, we will see an increase in the improvement and deepening of the fan experience in their execution. The data being used by teams and coaches to make decisions during an event will gradually find its way to the viewer. On the broadcaster side we will see more and more movement to IP production and IP delivery, while improvements in display quality will see an increasing uptake in 360-degree video as more households buy into VR. There are also some really interesting developments in AI which could start having an impact in production automation.

Dana Dar Director of Product Marketing for Sports and Events at MX1 Dana has an extensive background in the Sports Technology and Broadcasting industry with a true passion for sports and a real understanding of the broadcasting industry, sports organizations, players and fan experience.

Dana spent the first part of her career as a sports reporter and producer, covering a wide array of sports; reporting from large events such as the NBA Finals and Superbowl; and being involved in the entire workflow of the live sports production.

Today she is involved with the product marketing and business development side of technologies for the global sports broadcasting industry; including all media, digital strategies, original content creation and management and delivery for the various sports stakeholders.

FEATURE CRICKET

OPENING UP After over a decade behind the paywall, the England and Wales Cricket Board signed a new broadcast deal in the summer which ensured the return of live coverage on free-to-air TV while also delivering a significant boost in income. Chief executive Tom Harrison explains how the agreements are fundamental to the search for a more open and diverse fanbase.

By Eoin Connolly

E

nglish cricket has KLVWRULFDOO\ EHHQ GHÀQHG by its hierarchies, memberships, and captaincies. Its boundaries, for want of a better word.

Nowhere has this been truer, down the years, than at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, home for two centuries to plenty that is glorious and some that is notorious about the country’s summer game.

78 | www.sportspromedia.com

In the building just next door, however, Tom Harrison does QRW KDYH KLV RZQ RIÀFH 1R RQH at today’s England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) does, so the chief executive sits in the bullpen with the rest of his team. That is information that his staff are quick to share on a bright Friday morning in late September, as a meeting room is prepared for SportsPro.

Tom Harrison has just been through his biggest summer so far as chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board

It is early enough that there is no fresh milk yet in the fridge, but late enough that a handful of staff are already at their desks. At the back of the room, a former England Test captain and three-time Ashes winner, clad in a zip-neck jumper and shirt, reclines in his chair as he talks to a colleague.

Open-plan: the link is easily made to the image that the ECB has been trying to project since Harrison

was installed as chief executive in January 2015, when he began his second stint with the governing body. In between, he had worked in Singapore for what was ESPN Star Sports, and oversaw global media rights sales at IMG for Cricket Australia, Cricket South Africa and the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Harrison joined a group in a state RI VXIIRFDWLRQ 2Q WKH Ă&#x20AC;HOG WKH senior teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s results had collapsed and their playing style had turned arid. Off it, there had been a running catalogue of missteps and miscommunications. Revenues were healthy, but fans were growing alienated.

Change swept through the ECB leadership. In March 2015, Harrison was joined by a new chairman â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Costcutter supermarket founder Colin Graves, who arrived full-time from Yorkshire after two years as ECB deputy chair. Andrew Strauss, the aforementioned former national team captain, was appointed as director of cricket for the England menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We thought through it long and hard and came up with a very decisive strategy on getting the right people in the right places,â&#x20AC;? +DUULVRQ UHFDOOV ´$QG WKDW Ă RZHG into the executive team as well, that we needed to get the right people around the business to help us get and successfully carry out this vision that we were setting for the business. 2016 was very much about creating that strategy for the game, and bringing the game along with us on this journey to try and make cricket a bigger and more relevant sport in this country for more people. And then â&#x20AC;&#x2122;17 was really about starting to deliver against those objectives.â&#x20AC;?

It would be a stretch to suggest a reinvention of English cricket in that time but recent months have given ample opportunity to demonstrate a fresh outlook. In June, England and Wales hosted the ICC Champions Trophy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the punchy menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s secondary tournament in the 50-over game. The hosts impressed with some free-spirited performances and were heavily favoured until a

VHPL Ă&#x20AC;QDO GHIHDW E\ 3DNLVWDQ ZKR ZHQW RQ WR EHDW ,QGLD LQ WKH Ă&#x20AC;QDO LQ one of the most-watched TV sports events of the year.

Test series wins followed against South Africa and West Indies, with WKH ODWWHU JUDFHG E\ WKH FRXQWU\¡V Ă&#x20AC;UVW GD\ QLJKW Ă&#x20AC;YH GD\ JDPH DW (GJEDVWRQ in Birmingham. Encouragingly for the ECB and its ambitions of a more open cricketing community, the highlight of the whole summer did not feature the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team at all. It was Englandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s women taking the Cricket World Cup title in July, EHDWLQJ ,QGLD LQ D WKULOOLQJ Ă&#x20AC;QDO LQ front of a sold-out Lordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

It has, Harrison says, been â&#x20AC;&#x153;an incredibly busy summerâ&#x20AC;?, one which is not yet over as he settles into a window-side armchair. England still have one-day internationals to play against West Indies until the end of September. More challengingly, vice captain Ben Stokes is days away from an arrest for actual bodily harm after an early-hours incident in Bristol. The fracas is caught on camera and circulated by the press, though the details are not as cut and GULHG DV WKH\ Ă&#x20AC;UVW DSSHDU $W WKH time of writing, Stokes is not being considered for selection as a police investigation continues.

For Harrison, the rest of the summer has been spent executing strategies to â&#x20AC;&#x153;address declining or stagnating participationâ&#x20AC;?, a SUREOHP KH LGHQWLĂ&#x20AC;HV DV FRPPRQ to most team sports â&#x20AC;&#x153;over the last ten or 12 yearsâ&#x20AC;?. The in-venue experience for supporters has also been on the agenda.

Without question, though, the commercial landmark of the year has been one of the more eyecatching sets of deals signed by any ULJKWV KROGHU LQ ² WKH Ă&#x20AC;YH \HDU domestic TV contracts the ECB FRQĂ&#x20AC;UPHG RQ WKH ODVW GD\ RI -XQH that will bring in UKÂŁ1.1 billion from 2020 to the end of 2024.

Pay-TV market leader Sky Sports, which has been the exclusive UK live TV home of all professional cricket played in England since 2006, will remain the ECBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s senior broadcast partner. Meanwhile, the publicly funded BBC, whose Test

England's women won a Cricket World Cup on home soil in July on one of the most memorable days of the British sporting year

Match Special radio programme and digital near-live clips are currently the primary point of contact for millions of British fans, will show live games on television IRU WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW WLPH VLQFH DV OLYH English cricket returns to domestic free-to-air TV after what will have grown to a 15-year absence.

For the ECB, the news will have been met with excitement â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and no little relief. This was by far the PRVW VLJQLĂ&#x20AC;FDQW WHVW RI +DUULVRQ¡V commercial skill to date and, given his background, few excuses could have been made had he come up short.

After a decade of almost pro forma rights deals with the BBC, free-to-air highlights partner Channel 5 and Sky Sports â&#x20AC;&#x201C; whose most recent two-year H[WHQVLRQ WR FDPH E\ ZD\ RI a contract option â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a new approach ZDV WDNHQ WR GHOLYHU WKH VLJQLĂ&#x20AC;FDQW uplift required.

Underpinning the offer to broadcasters was an eight-team domestic Twenty20 tournament, set to launch in 2020, which earned the blessing of Englandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s professional county teams in April but will sit outside the existing county set-up. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have the backing of the game to go and do something very different with that,â&#x20AC;? Harrison explains, â&#x20AC;&#x153;which is fundamental in us driving a new business plan going forward which is both around international cricket but also around domestic cricket, where we have control. In international cricket you only have control to a certain extent.â&#x20AC;?

The new deals, Harrison says, were the result of â&#x20AC;&#x153;a long process and a very well-planned oneâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was a long journey,â&#x20AC;? he

SportsPro Magazine | 79

FEATURE CRICKET

adds. “But for us it was about three things: it was about reach, revenue and relevance. We needed to ensure that what we came out with was something that was effectively the catalyst to enable the game to get from where it is now to where we see it going, where it’s capable of going if, as I said, we do all of these things about thinking differently about the opportunity of cricket, about stripping away the formality of what cricket means to some fans in this country. The broadcast deal was going to be a key catalyst in helping us deliver that.”

The sales procedure, as Harrison describes it, was “thorough and robust”. “We put an evaluation panel together which had independent advisors on it, which JDYH ELGGHUV FRQÀGHQFH WKDW probity was going to be at the heart of our proposition,” he says. “And we were able to create a moment where people knew we were coming to market with something compelling and something that everybody wanted to put their best foot forward to try and win.”

One thing Harrison’s team needed to be able to count on was a breadth of market interest. Such is the cost of UK Premier League rights – Sky Sports is effectively paying UK£11 million a game in the current cycle, with BT Sport laying out UK£7.6

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million – that rights holders lower down the scale are left to wonder at their own importance. Some rights have been relinquished with relatively little resistance by the big two; others have taken on greater strategic consequence.

The ECB hoped to be in the second category. Sky Sports has made little secret down the years of the fact that it sees cricket as perhaps its primary driver of subscriptions after Premier League soccer. But England will actually play their next international games – including the celebrated Ashes series – on rival BT Sport, as part RI D ÀYH \HDU GHDO WKDW EURDGFDVWHU has in place with Cricket Australia.

“Any rights holder wants a competitive TV market when you go to market,” Harrison says. “You want competition to help drive interest and to drive the revenue.

I think what is really important, though, is what we were able to successfully do which is to excite pay-TV, free-to-air, and to a certain extent, social media players about what our plans were. So this was about selling a vision which was about what cricket is capable of doing over the next few years.”

In the event it was Sky Sports – “the best broadcaster of cricket in the world” – that retained the rights, building a new package that

The ECB is putting its new TV arrangements at the centre of an attempt to appeal to a broader audience

LQFOXGHG D VLJQLÀFDQW FRPPLWPHQW to stimulating participation.

Harrison reveals that the ECB had also been privy to Sky’s plans for its new ‘vertical’ single-sport channels, which were launched in July, and was aware that cricket was among the sports singled out for exhibition.

The new Sky Sports Cricket channel is a powerful showcase but it will also clearly demonstrate the effect cricket has on the broadcaster’s bottom line. That may bring some pressure, but Harrison senses an opportunity.

“Having a strategy which enables intelligence to feed directly back to your stakeholders about how relevant you are, I think, is a very, very good thing,” he suggests. “And I think that LW ZLOO JLYH XV KXJH FRQÀGHQFH WKDW the decisions that we make, we can measure that very directly.”

That knowledge, as Harrison sees it, will be invaluable to the ECB in understanding its audience dynamics when it comes to sell TV rights again in a few years’ time.

“It’s very clear – and this is something that my background has taught me – that whenever you’re going to market with a property, you’re not thinking about the deal that you’re doing, you’re always thinking about the next deal,” he says. “You’re always saying, ‘What are you doing now to ensure that

FEATURE CRICKET

Harrison with former Asheswinning captain and ECB director of England cricket Andrew Strauss

and women’s T20 internationals, the BBC will show ten live games a year from the new T20 tournament and from the Kia Women’s Super League. Its return as a live broadcaster comes at the end of a long, sometimes bitter conversation throughout the game about the PHULWV DQG ÁDZV RI WKH H[LVWLQJ 79 arrangement – one that has raged almost throughout the period since England’s last live appearance on free-to-air, against Australia on Channel 4, in the heady summer of 2005.

Harrison himself had warned against cricket becoming “the richest, most irrelevant sport in this country” ZKHQ FRQÀUPLQJ WDONV ZLWK IUHH WR air players earlier this year, but he views the initial move behind the paywall on different terms.

“When I came into this role nearly three years ago, the foundations of the game were strong,” he says.

“Now what’s at the heart of those foundations is the decision some time ago to concentrate on revenue, to ensure that the game was in a place to be able to deliver on what we have now. So to look at it through a context now is not really fair and it’s not really relevant. If you look at what’s been achieved with the revenue that’s been generated, it’s given us this opportunity now to look at reach and revenue together to ensure that we’re growing the game.”

Yui Mok/PA Archive/PA Images

the next time you go to market, you’re in better shape than you are now?’ And that was very much the backdrop to us thinking about the future in a very long-term way, and you see that coming through in everything that we’re doing.

“The focus on south Asian communities, the focus on women, building a new T20, making sure that the World Cup in 2019 is a fantastic platform for growth for cricket in this country, the investment in our teams to make VXUH WKDW ZH·UH DOZD\V ÀJKWLQJ DW the top of the rankings for all three formats: these are all critical things for us to ensure that the next time we go to market we’re ensuring the QH[W ÀYH \HDUV RU WKH QH[W SHULRG of English cricket’s future.”

The inspiration for the new TV deals – of a bigger, more open and diverse national audience for the game – manifested itself for Harrison GXULQJ WKDW ZRPHQ·V ÀQDO EDFN LQ -XO\ “The whole noise was different,” he says. “The whole noise of Lord’s that day was different. The pattern of sales on that day, if we look under the bonnet of the data that sits behind it, is fascinating: more coffee sold than ever before, it wasn’t all about alcohol sales; more kids playing on the nursery ground than ever; and just a complete engagement in what was going on RQ WKH ÀHOG IRU ZRPHQ·V FULFNHW µ As well as a selection of men’s

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Back in mid 2017, in keeping with the ‘Cricket Unleashed’ strategy the ECB has developed, there was VLJQLÀFDQW LPSRUWDQFH DWWDFKHG WR ÀQGLQJ D IUHH WR DLU SDUWQHU which could deliver reach as well as revenue. That, says Harrison, was as important to prospective buyers in the pay-TV sector as it was to the governing body.

“The other thing we were seeing,” he adds, “was a dramatic response to our broadcast rights clips, and a growing partnership with the BBC which was very exciting because I think some of the challenges that cricket was IDFLQJ LQ VRPH ZD\V UHÁHFWHG some of the challenges that the BBC was facing. So some of the communities that we were trying to reach through cricket were some of WKH FRPPXQLWLHV WKDW WKH %%& ÀQGV hard to reach through its network.”

It is telling, and indicative of an age of more crowded schedules, that English cricket will re-emerge on the public broadcaster in its shortest, three-hour format. Harrison notes that UK free-to-air TV “hasn’t really had a crack” at T20, which debuted just over two years before England’s last live appearance on free-to-air TV. The IPL and the Caribbean Premier League have made appearances on terrestrial digital networks ITV4 and Dave respectively, but the new deal will still be seen in most quarters as a VLJQLÀFDQW ODQGPDUN “This was an opportunity for free-to-air to do something different with a format that had never been on terrestrial TV in prime time,” Harrison says. “That opportunity is tremendously exciting. It’s still very challenging for free-to-air TV to schedule longform cricket – either ODI or Test match cricket. That’s not to say that that can’t happen in the future, but for this particular moment in time where, traditionally to pay-TV, the BBC are losing rights, this was a moment where they could celebrate something returning – a major VSRUW FRPLQJ EDFN ZLWK VLJQLÀFDQW investment behind it.”

Details of the new T20 tournament are still to be fully

thrashed out. The ECB is currently in discussions with counties about prospective home venues for the new teams, a process that must also take into account hosting rights for LQWHUQDWLRQDO À[WXUHV +DUULVRQ VD\V that a plan to take the tournament WR WKH HQG RI LWV ÀUVW \HDU LV FRPLQJ together and includes “more than 100 workstreams”.

What is clearer at this point is the ECB’s motivation for putting a tournament like this together. “If you look at the patterns of what other boards around the world have done,” Harrison explains, “they’ve been successful at using domestic T20 to drive a new business plan that they have more control over.

With all of the shifting elements around international cricket it was really, really important that we gave ourselves this balanced business going forward instead of being entirely reliant on international cricket for deriving our revenue.”

Earlier in September, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had put together a milestone TV deal of its own, delivering massive new revenues by selling the global media rights to the IPL to Star Sports for DURXQG 86 ELOOLRQ RYHU ÀYH years. That agreement marks the YHU\ ÀUVW ZKLFK YDOXHV D FOXE cricket tournament more highly, per game, than international matches. Harrison, though, sees that as an outlier, a product of the unique scale and fervour of the subcontinental fanbase.

England, he says, remains an international cricket market, and he is watching with intent to see how innovations such as four-day Test matches are received.

“Every time cricket has been challenged with adapting and modernising and coming up with something in the face of a changing environment,” he argues, “it’s managed to do it. And I don’t think Test cricket should be any different from that.” ,QQRYDWLRQ LV DOVR D GHÀQLQJ factor in the broadcast sector in 2017, and it may be that the new TV deals signed by the ECB are the

Despite plans for a major new domestic T20 tournament from 2020, Harrison still sees England primarily as an international cricket market

last of their kind. Before going to market this time, Harrison and his colleagues “talked to a huge number of people through this process, understanding where OTT was going, understanding where social media platforms were going”.

“We spent a lot of time on the east and west coasts of the US,” he continues, “understanding their sports strategies, understanding their live content strategies. Obviously that conversation is ongoing and I’m absolutely certain that over the QH[W ÀYH \HDUV WKHUH ZLOO EH WKLQJV happening with new players entering the market, new ways of distributing the content, new distributors coming on stream that give rise for us to be excited about the future. It’s hard to see how there are fewer players going forward than there are now.”

However the market develops, Harrison views the goal for the ECB as putting cricket in a position where by 2024, it is “a slam-dunk tier-one property for pay-TV, free-to-air and OTT”. In the years ahead, that will mean continuing to open the borders of the game and broaden its audience. It will mean producing England teams that excite and prosper, and delivering an outstanding Cricket World Cup in 2019, just before the new TV deal kicks in.

There is plenty of ground still to cover but this, after all, is why Harrison accepted the ECB’s call in WKH ÀUVW SODFH

“Why did I do it?,” he says, asked about his return to Lord’s in 2015.

“To be brutally honest, I felt that when I threw my hat in the ring to do this job, if they went for someone with my skillset then it would maybe say something about the direction of travel of this game.

Because I’ve always had a very ambitious and unapologetic view of where cricket can be in this country, and was always going to follow a bold, ambitious plan.

“I’m very fortunate to have an incredibly supportive chairman who’s led the game in a very collaborative way and in a very positive direction, and that relationship has enabled us to make some progress in this regard.

So look, I’m very privileged to be in this role and I understand the responsibility that comes with it and the fact that, actually, such are the tails, the comet trails to these jobs, that judgement on performance will come down the line. It’s not always easy to see the impact of something immediately or within 12 months or something.

“So we’re being very careful about the progress that we’re making but very deliberate about understanding that to continue on this journey of relevance, we’ve got to create something. We’ve got to do things differently. Otherwise, you’re effectively managing decline, such is the competitive landscape that we operate in.”

SportsPro Magazine | 83

COMPANY PROFILE EBU

One vision The European Broadcasting Union unites the interests of public service media in 56 countries in a rapidly changing media environment. Through its business arm, Eurovision Media Services, it is playing a full part in shaping the future of content production and distribution.

E

urovision Media Services (EMS) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the business arm of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), an Association of public service media organisations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; has been delivering media services at major sports events for the past 60 years.

It continues to be at the forefront of technological advancements in the industry.

EMSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recently launched hybrid network, Eurovision FLEX, and its video repository service, Eurovision NEX, have supported the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stated desire to be a holistic provider that delivers innovative solutions to sports federations and media organizations across a range of platforms.

Graham Warren, chief operating RIĂ&#x20AC; FHU RI (06 EHOLHYHV WKDW EHLQJ D Ă&#x20AC; UVW FKRLFH PHGLD VHUYLFHV provider under the umbrella of the EBU helps in â&#x20AC;&#x153;developing innovation that sports federations and media organisations wantâ&#x20AC;?.. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Apart from handling the international distribution of many top sports events, we also produce some of them,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This year we had: the Fina World Championships 2017 [in aquatics] in Budapest, the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Hong Kong, and the IBU Biathlon World Cups in Europe and South Korea, to name a few.â&#x20AC;?

Although EMS has in its portfolio â&#x20AC;&#x153;a range of standard solutions that are ready to deploy for different types of eventsâ&#x20AC;?, Warren acknowledges that the sheer diversity of sports means each event, especially larger multi-venue ones, end up having â&#x20AC;&#x153;some form of customisationâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All events come with certain

84 | www.sportspromedia.com

challenges,â&#x20AC;? notes Warren. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For us, I would say that the most complex ones are those where we are the host broadcaster, meaning that we manage the overall event production, venue services and distribution. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Events like this must be coordinated well. Everything needs WR EH GRQH Ă DZOHVVO\ )RU H[DPSOH this summer we were in Budapest as the host broadcaster for the Fina World Championships 2017. We took care of the full production of the international broadcast feed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; up to four simultaneous feeds from Ă&#x20AC; YH YHQXHV ² DQG GLVWULEXWHG WKH event over the Eurovision Global Network to rights holders globally.â&#x20AC;?

EMS has predominantly worked in live linear television offerings and while Warren admits that â&#x20AC;&#x153;OTT [over-the-top] is a reasonable alternativeâ&#x20AC;? to traditional TV, it is the difference in production values, latency issues, and quality that, in his opinion, still gives linear services an edge. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Linear TV continues to play an important role,â&#x20AC;? maintains Warren. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Especially for live sport because

Graham Warren, chief operating oďŹ&#x192;cer of Eurovision Media Services

Eurovisionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s FLEX system allows content to be delivered via internet, ďŹ bre and satellite technology

of the immediate experience for the fan. However, we also recognise WKH LQFUHDVLQJ VLJQLĂ&#x20AC; FDQFH RI QRQ linear viewing. We work closely with sports federations and media organisations to make sure they can capitalise on the additional content produced at live events through catch-up and on demand services. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Both platforms have their place but in the short to medium term I am convinced that they will continue to complement each other.â&#x20AC;?

The increasing amount of focus in immersive technologies such as virtual reality or augmented reality, 360-degree video and secondscreen content is also something that EMS is exploring.

Last year, the organisation launched a hybrid network called Eurovision FLEX. The idea of Eurovision FLEX came from the realisation that sports federations and media organisations face increasing pressure to provide more and more engaging content to their audiences on multiple devices while optimising their costs as much as possible. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Eurovision FLEX was originally developed to enable media organisations to deliver live and recorded content seamlessly over WKH LQWHUQHW Ă&#x20AC; EUH DQG VDWHOOLWH

thereby providing alternative options for delivering content and reducing cost,â&#x20AC;? says Warren. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have now expanded its range to allow media organisations to manage and adapt the way their content is delivered from a userfriendly web portal.â&#x20AC;?

EMSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s other piece of technological advancement which helps in the distribution of live sport is Eurovision NEX, which was debuted at the Uefa European Championship in 2016. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We know that additional video content and data for second screens is very valuable to sports federations and their sponsors.

Eurovision NEX allows sports federations to deliver high quality YLGHR Ă&#x20AC;OHV LQ D TXLFN DQG VHFXUH ZD\ YLD VDWHOOLWH Ă&#x20AC;EUH RU LQWHUQHWÂľ explains Warren. â&#x20AC;&#x153;To do this, we place a â&#x20AC;&#x153;NEX boxâ&#x20AC;? at the rights holdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; premises. The NEX box serves

DV D UHSRVLWRU\ IRU YLGHR Ă&#x20AC;OHV such as near-live clips, highlights or any additional content that complements the live coverage of the event.â&#x20AC;?.

EMS has, in the past, declared its aspirations to become a holistic provider and, as Warren puts it, â&#x20AC;&#x153;work right along the value chainâ&#x20AC;?.

The Briton believes that the company is getting close to realising that dream of being able to offer sports federations and media organisations innovative solutions across the board. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What we see from the many sports federations that we deal with is a demand for more one-stopshop solutions for their events,â&#x20AC;? says Warren. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I believe this is because the events are now more complex with the need to deliver more content for web and mobile applications or to social media. Live video on TV isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t enough anymore. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All of this needs to be

EMSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s NEX system allows for near-live content to be distibuted in highdeďŹ nition

coordinated and managed. Luckily for us, most sports federations prefer to focus on the editorial angle and have us take care of the rest. â&#x20AC;&#x153;To me, this is the holistic approach. Taking into account developments in media technology, working closely with sports federations and media organisations to understand their needs and adapting our solutions to cater for these needs at each step of the process. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve enjoyed doing this for the past 60 years and look forward to continuing to do so in the future!â&#x20AC;?

Contact EMS Emai: shannon.williams@ eurovision.net Call: +41 22 717 2370 Mobile: +41 79 565 0429 Visit: www.eurovision.net

SportsPro Magazine | 85

COMPANY PROFILE EBU

Servicing the public With an audience reach of more than one billion people across Europe, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)’s Members are proving that there is still a huge appetite for public service broadcasting.

T

he EBU – which has 73 Members in 56 countries in Europe, as well as a further 33 associates in Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Americas – enjoyed a particularly fruitful 2017, helping bring more than 200 events to audiences freeto-air.

EBU Sport works with over 30 international sports federations and is currently handling the media rights for 36 different contracts.

Of these, according to EBU Director of Sport Stefan Kürten, one of the highlights this year was the IAAF World Championships 2017. The biennial athletics championships, which was held in London this summer, was a huge success bringing over 2,300 hours of sport to more than 50 countries in Europe.

“We think that this is further proof of how well partnerships with public service media work across Europe,” says Kürten.

“We increased the amount of live output by over ten per cent compared to 2015 and the average market share was higher in all the main European markets.”

The EBU is, however, not complacent and is investing in new sports and events. Next year, it is the broadcast partner of the inaugural European Championships, a new multisport event which synchronises the existing continental meetings of seven leading sports: aquatics, gymnastics, athletics, rowing, triathlon, cycling and golf.

The European Championships 2018 is being hosted by two cities: Glasgow and Berlin, between 2nd and 12th August. This ambitious multi-venue event will, of course,

86 | www.sportspromedia.com

raise several organisational challenges for the EBU. “The European Championships is a brand-new and hugely ambitious event,” explains Kürten.

“This new concept will help to increase the impact and reach of the individual events and win new audiences for the different sports.

“We estimate more than one billion people across the globe will be able to enjoy all the action from the comfort of their living rooms.”

Kürten believes this is “an interesting concept for multisport events” but admits that “from a broadcast perspective it is challenging because our Members must split their teams across the different venues in different countries.” Making sure the needs of all 73 Members are met is the EBU’s biggest challenge.

“When we look at our portfolio, we are helping bring a variety of over 18 different sports to European audiences,” states Kürten. “We really believe that we GR D JUHDW MRE LQ UDLVLQJ WKH SURÀ OH of sports – both large and small – and help federations build their fanbase.

“It is also so important that the leading sport events stay on free-

Stefan Kürten, director of sport for the European Broadcasting Union

to-air networks in the interests of fostering national cohesion and preserving cultural identity.”

While the EBU as an organisation is “constantly evolving the services and platforms that we offer”, Kürten LV DZDUH WKDW ´KLJK À QDQFLDO investment from [new] companies” such as video-on-demand (VOD) platforms provides fresh challenges for Members. It is a change for which the Union is already preparing.

“The new guys are challenging us but I see it as a real opportunity for cooperation to engage with new audiences,” says Kürten. “If you want to stay relevant in Europe then an intelligent way of tailoring the rights is by investing in partnerships with us and our freeto-air Members, together with, for example an OTT provider. I see it as a challenge but also an opportunity.”

Together with Eurovision Media Services – the business arm of the EBU which offers a range of services to rights holders from host broadcasting to event management, content production and distribution – the EBU continues to innovate and offer services to sports federations right across the value chain.

While its foundations are in the most traditional forms of television and radio, it is ready for a new era.

Contact EBU email: rainford@ebu.ch Call: +41 (0)22 717 23 21 Visit: ebu.ch/sport

FEATURE AGENCIES

88 | www.sportspromedia.com

EASTERN PROMISES As Lagardère Sports and Entertainment celebrates the opening of its major new oďŹ&#x192;ce in Shanghai, the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chief executive, Andrew Georgiou, explains how local knowledge is helping the agency get ahead in the country, and why no one in the west has yet truly understood the growth of China.

By Adam Nelson

E

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

Andrew Georgiou, chief executive of Lagardère Sports and Entertainment, speaks at the launch of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Shanghai oďŹ&#x192;ce

veryone is talking about China,â&#x20AC;? says Andrew Georgiou, chief executive of Lagardère Sports and Entertainment. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In this business, you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help but hear about it.

But the numbers in this market are frightening. People havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t got their heads around what it means.

The growth of this country is terrifying and I think in the west in particular, but even here, people havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even begun to understand the implications.â&#x20AC;?

Georgiou is speaking with SportsPro in Shanghaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hyatt on the Bund hotel, with the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vast DQG OXPLQRXV Ă&#x20AC;QDQFLDO GLVWULFW lightning up the skyline behind him. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an impressive sight and, for all that discussion that has taken place over the past few years about Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ascension to the status of global superpower, it perhaps takes being here and seeing the investment in action

to appreciate the scale of what is being done.

This November will mark half a decade since Xi Jinping assumed WKH RIĂ&#x20AC;FH RI SUHVLGHQW LQ &KLQD DQG alongside its wider economic growth over that period, a sub-plot has developed relating to the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rise to global preeminence in the sporting world. Xi has made sport a key pillar in his long-term plan to strengthen Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s international dominance, with a two-pronged strategy involving both increasing LQĂ XHQFH RYHUVHDV ² WKURXJK massive investment in European VRFFHU FOXEV IRU LQVWDQFH ² DQG attracting greater investment into the country from western sources.

For Georgiou, who describes his â&#x20AC;&#x153;journey with Lagardèreâ&#x20AC;? as having started three years ago, when he was QDPHG FKLHI RSHUDWLQJ RIĂ&#x20AC;FHU RI the division, this has presented an RSSRUWXQLW\ KH NQHZ KH ² DQG WKH DJHQF\ ² FRXOG QRW DIIRUG WR PLVV

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Though it has already been in RSHUDWLRQ IRU QHDUO\ D \HDU WKH RIĂ&#x20AC;FLDO opening of Lagardèreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Shanghai RIĂ&#x20AC;FH WRRN SODFH LQ $XJXVW ZLWK WKH agency inviting some of its biggest clients along to commemorate and celebrate the occasion. The PDJQLWXGH RI WKRVH JXHVWV ² ZLWK senior representatives from the likes of Formula One and Bundesliga soccer giants Borussia Dortmund LQ DWWHQGDQFH ² LV LQGLFDWLYH RI WKH level of desire that exists to crack this market. Lagardère is working with both, in varying capacities, to help grow their stature in China.

The Asian market as a whole, says Georgiou, is â&#x20AC;&#x153;a real geographical strengthâ&#x20AC;? of Lagardèreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been [in China] for 25 years already, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve proven that we know how to operate in this part of the world and in China VSHFLĂ&#x20AC;FDOO\ Âľ KH VD\V ´7KH $VLDQ Football Confederation [AFC] is one of our biggest rights holders but weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been in and out of China for 25 years, whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been the Asian Basketball Confederation, whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been the Asian Tour, whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been the Chinese Golf Association or the China Football Association, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been coming in and out of here with European football clubs for years, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been

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selling the Premier League into this market for years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The foothold that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had in this part of the world for over 20 years, and the people weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had on the ground, and our understanding of the market and how it works, I think, is a really core strength. If you look at what is clearly a shift in terms of how sport is being driven ² DQG KRZ WKH HFRQRP\ LV EHLQJ GULYHQ ² DQG KRZ LQĂ XHQWLDO $VLD and China is, our understanding and knowledge here is a really big strength as well.â&#x20AC;?

None of this would have been possible at this scale for Lagardère Sports and Entertainment if not for the major restructuring the company underwent in 2015, when several Lagardère-owned properties were merged to form the new umbrella entity. This included World Sport Group, the subsidiary for which Georgiou had previously served as chief executive, as well as PDMRU SOD\HUV VXFK DV 6SRUWĂ&#x20AC;YH DQG Lagardère Unlimited.

If not necessarily struggling, the various divisions were not entirely thriving, either, and Georgiou says that the tensions between the different properties and different geographies in the company made LW D ´UHDO GLIĂ&#x20AC;FXOW SODFHÂľ WR ZRUN

Shanghai SIPGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Brazilian forward Hulk (right) is perhaps the biggest name star to move from European soccer to the China Super League so far, but Georgiou says there is much more to come

It is now a â&#x20AC;&#x153;radically different organisation than it was three years agoâ&#x20AC;?, he says, with the restructure preempting a cultural shift â&#x20AC;&#x153;that had to happen, but which has happened as a consequence of the series of steps that we as a management team took along the way and the approach that we took in doing itâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Taking apart all the individual agencies and putting it back together in a completely different way allows us to take advantage of our global footprint, which was never really the case before,â&#x20AC;?

Georgiou explains. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s allowed us to focus on what we think we can be good at, what our core strengths are, versus all the things we were doing across the different agencies.â&#x20AC;?

Financially, too, things have â&#x20AC;&#x153;improved out of sightâ&#x20AC;?, but it is in the perception of the company across the industry that Georgiou Ă&#x20AC;QGV WKH JUHDWHVW VXFFRXU ´:H¡YH got some really good success stories now thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proving to the market how the business has evolved and how we are back now, being successful,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve said a number of times, the key change for me out of all that has been the cultural change weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve put through the entire organisation and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s probably the thing of which I am the proudest. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That journey has been transformative for the entire business in a really positive way, and I think my measure of that success over the last three years has been how the market has responded to us, how it is responding now to, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;OK, you guys are back in the game, we want you at the table and we want to hear what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to VD\ ² ZH ZDQW WR HQJDJH ZLWK \RX ¡¾ Georgiou says the company has taken this experience into China, where it has looked to hire â&#x20AC;&#x153;authentically local people, Chinese people who understand the Chinese market and Chinese consumption patternsâ&#x20AC;? to populate LWV 6KDQJKDL RIĂ&#x20AC;FH 7KRVH SDWWHUQV are not something a westerner, even with the sports industry H[SHULHQFH RI VHYHUDO NH\ Ă&#x20AC;JXUHV at Lagardère, could hope to pick up, and local knowledge will be

absolutely key to penetrating the Chinese market in any meaningful sense. It is not just the level of LQYHVWPHQW DQG FDVKĂ RZ LQ &KLQD that Georgiou is talking about when he claims people â&#x20AC;&#x153;havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t begun to understandâ&#x20AC;? this marketplace.

The really interesting narrative, he says, is the growth of the rapidly emerging middle class. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In 2009, China had 150 million middle class consumers,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In 2022, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re projected to have 550 million middle class. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a 400 million person increase in the middle class alone, and the fastest growing segment within that is the upper-middle class, the ones with more disposable income. That represents a population increase of just middle-class spend that is bigger than the entire United States of America. What youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to VHH KHUH LV GHPDQG ² EHFDXVH WKDW middle class for me is a proxy for

Chinese fans cheer on German side Borussia Dortmund during a pre-season friendly in the country. The Bundesliga giants have made a signiďŹ cant push into China, aided

by Lagardère.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;China is a snapshot of the future, of where I think the western world is going.â&#x20AC;?

GHPDQG ² WKDW LV JRLQJ WR LQFUHDVH by the size of the United States in the next couple of years.â&#x20AC;?

The important thing to remember, Georgiou says, is that â&#x20AC;&#x153;China is one market, one territory, one country ² WKHUH¡V GLIIHUHQW SURYLQFHV EXW LW¡V RQH FRXQWU\ ² DQG LQ GRPHVWLF terms, that middle class is going to be getting behind one leagueâ&#x20AC;?.

If western soccer fans thought that the expansion of the China Super League (CSL) had been DJJUHVVLYH DOUHDG\ ² SDUWLFXODUO\ LQ 2015 and 2016 when Chinese teams spent hundreds of millions on players from soccer leagues across (XURSH ² WKH\ KDYHQ¡W VHHQ DQ\WKLQJ yet, according to Georgiou. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In Europe, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about 550 million middle class, the same as the SURMHFWHG Ă&#x20AC;JXUH IRU &KLQD Âľ KH VD\V â&#x20AC;&#x153;But how many leagues are they supporting? That consumption, that thirst for consumption in Europe, is supporting domestic leagues at all levels. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got so many leagues in Europe being supported by the same number. In China, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got one league. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That power of demand and consumption is going to support that league and so the CSL is going

to become the biggest league in the world over time because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s got the commercial framework to make it work. If the government can get that generational change to support the grassroots, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unstoppable. I think you can tell that I think Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to be pretty important.â&#x20AC;?

The real challenge, Georgiou adds, will not be in attracting big-name European and South American players to China, but in developing that â&#x20AC;&#x153;generational changeâ&#x20AC;? and encouraging a wave of Chinese talent into the game. The point at which the CSL will be able to recognise itself as a true success, Georgiou says, will be when a Chinese superstar is playing in the league, and chooses to stay there. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With the globalisation of sport, you can see the Premier League, WKH &KDPSLRQV /HDJXH ² \RX FDQ see the best football in the world in China,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We need to provide the opportunity for the grassroots to come up and actually develop and earn a living from playing football that is genuine and real and lucrative that inspires the next generation of kids to use football as a career for the future.

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´,W LV MXVW WU\LQJ WR ÀQG WKDW balance and that is really hard to ÀQG , WKLQN ZH·UH JRLQJ WR VHH HEEV DQG ÁRZV RYHU WKH QH[W \HDUV RI how that management happens of injections of foreign stars, creation of local stars and you’re going to see Chinese stars coming to other markets, coming to Europe. But WKHUH ZLOO EH DQ LQÁHFWLRQ SRLQW when the Chinese stars are saying, ‘I’d rather just stay at home. I’m getting paid basically the same, the quality of football is pretty high, and in fact now all the international stars are coming here.’ When that happens, it’s just going to go nuts.”

With the current Premier League and La Liga hegemony, though, LVQ·W LW GLIÀFXOW WR HQYLVDJH WKDW shift happening at any time in the near future?

“I remember a time when [Italy’s] Serie A was the number one league in the world and the Premier League was nothing,” Georgiou responds. “That didn’t take long to change. I don’t see why, given the economic size between the Premier /HDJXH DQG &KLQD ² PLOOLRQ %ULWV v 550 million middle class Chinese

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Georgiou with senior management figures from Lagardère’s Shanghai office

² KRZ WKDW FDQ·W EH D FRQFHUQ DERXW where the economic power is going to drive the development of the sport. I say that while tempering the fact that a grassroots generational change is still required in China to get to that point. The economic success is happening quickly but the cultural change, to create that authentic football culture, is generational. It’s not going to happen overnight.”

As that generational momentum grows, the movement of capital which has already been encouraged

by President Xi’s policies will only increase, too, with more global institutions looking to take advantage of that expanding middle class in China, and more Chinese brands seeking to develop their worldwide footprint.

Ultimately, “this is why we’re here in Shanghai,” Georgiou says, “and why it’s happening now”. ´:H SUHYLRXVO\ KDG DQ RIÀFH LQ Hong Kong which serviced the China market,” he adds, “but we’re RSHQLQJ DQ RIÀFH LQ 6KDQJKDL principally because we’ve got a lot of demand from our current clients

like European football clubs who are saying, ‘We want to do more here’, or Formula One, who want to develop their business here, as well as Chinese brands who are saying, ‘How do we grow our business outside China?’”

Having a presence on the ground, with a wealth of local knowledge and experience, is crucial “because the consumption in China is very different than it is anywhere else in the world”.

“It’s almost a snapshot of the future, of where I think the western world is going,” Georgiou says, “but China has just leapfrogged because it doesn’t have that baggage of cable, of TV, it doesn’t have that and it’s jumped to where it is now.

“You can see the starting points of how that’s changing in the western markets as well with the decline in viewership, declining subscriptions of traditional models and the rise in mobile, and this market is all mobile. As a business, I think we’ve got the history, the network, the knowledge and now the people on the ground to help us take advantage of that growth.”

FEATURE SOCCER

Teamwork For over 25 years, the bespoke Team Marketing agency has developed and sold the rights to Uefa club soccer competitions. SportsPro stepped into its oďŹ&#x192;ces in Lucerne to see how the operation has evolved.

By Eoin Connolly

T

here are not too many sporting competitions known around the world by sight. Fewer still are known by sound. Yet just a few bars of a Handel-inspired anthem can loose an avalanche of memories in almost any soccer fan, anywhere.

The music and lyrics of the Uefa Champions League theme hang framed and signed by the composer, Tony Britten, on a wall LQ WKH RIĂ&#x20AC; FHV RI DQ RUJDQLVDWLRQ which has done plenty to generate all the pomp and the glory that tournament now represents.

Team Marketing was established alongside the Champions League in 1991 to sell rights for Uefaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relaunched elite competition. It has done so ever since, delivering â&#x201A;Ź37 billion in total income.

Today it positions itself as a full-service commercial agency, working across the development, sales and delivery of rights for all of Uefaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s club competitions, including the Europa League and Super Cup. Under the terms of its current agreement, it cannot take on any other clients. The result is a company that has uniquely evolved to cater for the needs and the rhythms of the Champions League and Europa League. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the same way that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got a fantastic single client and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve JRW D YHU\ SURĂ&#x20AC; WDEOH EXVLQHVV ² D YHU\ JRRG EXVLQHVV ² , WKLQN LW¡V YHU\ GLIĂ&#x20AC; FXOW WR UHSOLFDWH WKLV YHU\ focused, tailored solution, built over 25 years, into another property,â&#x20AC;? says Jamie Graham, the Team

94 | www.sportspromedia.com

Marketing chief executive. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So everybody talks about wanting a Team-like model, but they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t realise the costs of doing it and the time and effort needed to get up to a certain standard of delivery.â&#x20AC;?

7KH QXPEHU Ă XFWXDWHV EXW DW the time of SportsProâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visit in late August, just under 110 people are EDVHG DW 7HDP¡V RIĂ&#x20AC; FHV LQ /XFHUQH a small city around 50 kilometres from Zurich in the Germanspeaking heart of Switzerland.

Lucerne is well regarded for its Altstadt; the wooden Chapel Bridge, or KapellbrĂźcke, over Lake Lucerne; and the KKL Luzern concert hall. Like all the best parts of Switzerland, it is attractive and clean and has excellent access to the Alps. But it would be fair to say that it is the work that has brought most of Teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s staff here.

7KH 7HDP RIĂ&#x20AC; FHV RSHQ RXW on arrival into a smart reception by a large main boardroom.

Beyond that, past installations of Champions League match balls and a branded Subbuteo table, along corridors emblazoned with quotable maxims from sporting JUHDWV LV D UDEELW ZDUUHQ RI RIĂ&#x20AC; FHV Teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sponsorship and broadcast sales forces are here, along with their servicing counterparts. So too are branding and licensing teams, a troop of lawyers, and a commercial affairs department. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We tend not to recruit from other sports marketing agencies,â&#x20AC;? reveals Simon Crouch, the Team FKLHI RSHUDWLQJ RIĂ&#x20AC; FHU ´:H¡OO recruit from a club or recruit from

Simon Crouch has been with Team since 2008 and became chief operating oďŹ&#x192;cer in 2012

a broadcaster or a sponsor to try and bring in that freshness. I do think it is hard, having one client, to stay very close to the very latest developments across the industry, and I think we have to put a lot of extra work in to do that than we would if we worked across a portfolio of clients.â&#x20AC;?

Crouch joined Team in 2008 but was installed in his current role in 2012, bringing to an end a period of turnover in senior management and, both he and Graham believe, heralding a different culture at the agency. According to Graham,

there has been a concerted effort in recent years to engender a more constructive environment, both in terms of staff development and staff interaction.

There is a pragmatic dimension to this. “There is a blurring of the lines between broadcasters and sponsors,” says Crouch. “There’s a blurring of the lines between broadcasters, sponsors, clubs and Uefa.”

Consultation has become paramount. Where once, sponsorship and broadcast sales departments might have fought hungrily over scraps of inventory, now they are encouraged to collaborate and discuss what will produce the best overall result.

As commercial knowledge within the wider soccer community becomes more sophisticated, there is also more conversation with the agency’s only partner.

“I think ten years ago,” Graham says, “there was much more control that Team had in dictating terms a little bit with Uefa. And Uefa have changed: they’ve got expert personnel themselves; they’re more challenging of us, and rightly so. But I think we’re

working much more collaboratively with them now than we’ve ever done.

We share more with them than we’ve ever done, and it’s sometimes easier for us to explain and to give them the information, rather than keeping them in the dark.”

“And I think as they develop expertise internally, we need to be better,” adds Crouch. “That’s not meant in a competitive, destructive way. To remain their trusted advisors on all these commercial aspects, we need to be better informed in some way than they are because, otherwise, we’re not adding any value for them.”

One team, two competitions Team’s Champions League and Europa League input begins at the very outset. While it is ultimately the job of the confederation, and the clubs, to decide on competition formats, they are informed and led by research from the agency that predicts how different concepts will perform.

In recent years, Uefa has acted on Team’s recommendation to scrap a

Team Marketing chief executive Jamie Graham has attempted to engender a more collaborative atmosphere in recent years

second round-robin group stage in the Champions League, to replace the Uefa Cup with the Europa League in 2009, and to introduce a Champions League qualifying place for the Europa League winners two seasons ago. Advice is also sought on scheduling changes, with split Champions League kick-off times at 7pm and 9pm CET to be debuted in the 2018/19 season.

Carrie Little, the Team Marketing strategy manager, leads on the commercial evaluation of formats and scheduling, passing her feedback on to Uefa Competitions. Discussions with the confederation are constant in the development stage.

The access system of TXDOLÀ FDWLRQ IURP QDWLRQDO WHDP competitions, Little says, “gets pretty geeky and quite complicated very quickly”. Even within the existing 32-team format for the Champions League, there might be 20 different access structures.

“I think we’re already in double À JXUHV >IRU IRUPDWV IRU WKH QH[W cycle of competitions from 2021 to 2024] and we’re only in our

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Ă&#x20AC;UVW VL[ PRQWKV RI GHYHORSPHQW Âľ Little adds. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I like to think that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re pretty open-minded when it comes to format, so if we wanted to look at a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Super Leagueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; with 20 clubs across Europe and weekend scheduling, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d gladly welcome that and pursue that. Or when Fifa expanded to 48 teams for the World Cup, we thought that might be interesting for the inventory.â&#x20AC;?

In some cases, such as that of the Super League concept, models might be explored in the interest of understanding what competitors might offer. Little is also investigating the impact of a straight knockout format for the Europa League, given its potential appeal among supporters. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And we simulate all of this,â&#x20AC;? she DGGV ´ORRNLQJ DW FOXE FRHIĂ&#x20AC;FLHQWV to see what the range and the DYHUDJH RI DOO WKH FRHIĂ&#x20AC;FLHQWV DUH so that we can get a really strongly detailed opinion on the quality of the competitions as well.â&#x20AC;?

Formats are one thing, but where the secondary competition has struggled to date is in developing its own identity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a very easy claim with the Champions League: if you win it, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re the best club in Europe,â&#x20AC;? says Crouch. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think ZH¡YH JRW WR Ă&#x20AC;QG ZKDW WKH FODLP LV for the Europa League that makes it unique. It canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just be that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the second-best competition in the

96 | www.sportspromedia.com

ZRUOG ² LW¡V JRW WR KDYH VRPHWKLQJ unique that it talks about that the Champions League canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. â&#x20AC;&#x153;One of the things that we said is that the Champions League might be the best of Europe but the Europa League is the breadth of Europe. I think thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a natural distinction between those two things. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s whether we want to work with Uefa to push that further, or whether we want to push a different differentiation between the two competitions.â&#x20AC;?

Team has developed different sponsorship structures for the Champions League and Europa League. TV rights, meanwhile, are sold as separate tenders but are sent to market at the same time. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of the broadcasters that we sell to will not necessarily look at the individual products but theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll look at the midweek proposition ² 7XHVGD\ :HGQHVGD\ 7KXUVGD\ ² DQG LI ZH ZRXOG QRW KDYH WKH Thursday, it would still sell very well, but then the Europa League would suffer from that,â&#x20AC;? explains Thomas Schmidt, Teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s managing director for media rights. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Europa League essentially EHQHĂ&#x20AC;WV PDVVLYHO\ IURP WKH dynamics we can create with the &KDPSLRQV /HDJXH DQG EHQHĂ&#x20AC;WV from the fact that broadcasters say, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Why both? Well, I solve my problem through all the week, and

Carrie Little, the Team Marketing strategy manager, consults with her counterparts at Uefa on scheduling and competition formats

if Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got some domestic league on the weekends, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m basically there.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; 6R WKDW¡V ZK\ ZH DUJXH Ă&#x20AC;HUFHO\ WKDW you should keep it together.â&#x20AC;?

Citing the example of Englandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Premier League, where top ratings draws Manchester United and Liverpool have dropped into the second-tier tournament in recent seasons, business affairs director and former Sky Sports buyer Oliver Holland notes that broadcasters do not want to pay â&#x20AC;&#x153;top dollarâ&#x20AC;? for the Champions League only for rivals to show bigger-name teams after collecting Europa League rights â&#x20AC;&#x153;on the cheapâ&#x20AC;?. There is value to those channels, he adds, in being able to tell the â&#x20AC;&#x153;full storyâ&#x20AC;? of a European club season.

And in some markets, such as Turkey and Russia, Europa League rights are closer to parity.

TV rights: there and back again â&#x20AC;&#x153;You tell me,â&#x20AC;? jokes Schmidt, â&#x20AC;&#x153;but my impression is always that a lot of people in the industry and outside have the impression that, actually, what Team does is, we send out an email and then we wait next to the fax machine for the money to come through.â&#x20AC;?

Teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s TV sale process matches the three-year length of Uefaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rights terms. Typically, a year is spent in a preparatory phase, with two years then spent selling. Uefa and the clubs took longer than usual to agree on the access system for 2018-21, with the top four teams from the top four leagues granted automatic Champions League spots, so the sales phase for that cycle began around six months ODWH ² LQ 'HFHPEHU UDWKHU than the summer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We sell in 180 plus territories and end up in two years with around 250 plus deals and contracts with over 150 broadcast partners,â&#x20AC;? says Schmidt. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Logistically, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an amazing exercise and a very, very complex exercise to crack through LQ WZR \HDUV ² QRZ ZH KDYH WR GR LW in one and a half.â&#x20AC;?

There are around 30 â&#x20AC;&#x153;highly specialisedâ&#x20AC;? staff working on

the Team sales operation. New salespeople are bedded into support UROHV LQ WKHLU Ă&#x20AC;UVW F\FOH WR OHDUQ WKH Team culture. They come from D EURDG UDQJH RI EDFNJURXQGV ² though none, Schmidt says, are â&#x20AC;&#x153;sports marketing sales sharkâ&#x20AC;?

W\SHV ² DQG DOO RI WKHP DUH EDVHG LQ WKH /XFHUQH RIĂ&#x20AC;FH 7KDW PHDQV a lot of expensive travel, but also ensures contact and consistency across the agency.

A commercial affairs team, under Hollandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s supervision, is â&#x20AC;&#x153;across everything, and all communications and recommendations to Uefa go through them so that we give something thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s consistent in approach, in style, in qualityâ&#x20AC;?.

As Team is only going to market with a single product, Schmidt says, WKHUH LV ´QR FRQĂ LFW RI LQWHUHVWÂľ LQ its discussions with broadcasters. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When we go out and sell rights,â&#x20AC;? he explains, â&#x20AC;&#x153;we never go: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the Champions League; if you have â&#x201A;Ź120 million just pay us â&#x201A;Ź100 million because we have some swimming as well.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?

The one-year preparatory phase begins with commercial concept development, led by Crouch, in which sponsors and broadcastersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; input is assessed and inventory is allocated between the two sets of available rights. Then sales policies are derived from an evaluation of legal and regulatory frameworks.

A â&#x20AC;&#x153;global narrativeâ&#x20AC;? is developed about the competitions, highlighting what is new and exciting about them, with the storyline adapted in each market according to local tastes.

Then contractual documentation is prepped, along with sales materials and presentations.

The sales staff travels continuously throughout. In total, the preparatory year will see over 300 market visits take place, with over 1,000 pre-sales meetings conducted.

The sales phase is also split into three sections. Pre-sales sees market visits continue, with the team encouraged to â&#x20AC;&#x153;sense checkâ&#x20AC;? any intelligence discerned by that point on the ground. Meetings with prospective buyers are used to

Team business aďŹ&#x20AC;airs director Oliver Holland and managing director for media rights Thomas Schmidt

build trust, identify any prospective rationale for purchase, and hone in on any potential leverage.

Team works out its expectations for each market but, as Schmidt explains, exact prices are never VSHFLĂ&#x20AC;HG QRW OHDVW DV WKDW ZRXOG carry the risk of giving broadcasters the impression they have been misled should the market pan out differently or irrational bids come in. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All you can do is get people to trust in the process and trust that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fair,â&#x20AC;? says Holland.

The tender phase often sees a Team unit â&#x20AC;&#x153;set up shop in a hotelâ&#x20AC;? in each territory, presenting to each bidder in turn. This is an opportunity to present to chief H[HFXWLYHV DQG VHQLRU Ă&#x20AC;JXUHV DQG inject some late urgency.

This is also the point at which the client will become engaged.

Whereas in sponsorship discussions, Uefa is updated regularly, Team is given greater autonomy in TV rights sales as a way of controlling the Ă RZ RI LQIRUPDWLRQ â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re keen and Uefa is keen to not send mixed messages, and essentially stay out of it, which allows us to build the dynamic that we need to build in order to get results,â&#x20AC;? Schmidt says.

Bids are then evaluated against SULFH DQG Ă&#x20AC;QDQFLDO VHFXULW\ ZLWK bidders strongly encouraged to pay upfront or seek a bank guarantee.

Factors such as promotional commitment and production expertise also come into play. The next steps are to accept an offer, enter a second round of a tender ² SRVVLEO\ ZLWK D UHZRUNLQJ RI the packages available to stimulate GHPDQG ² RU SXW WKH PDUNHW RQ KROG in the rare event the offers made are unsatisfactory.

If an offer is accepted, tri-party negotiations begin between Team, the successful bidder, and Uefa. ´6SHHG LV TXLWH HVVHQWLDO ZH Ă&#x20AC;QG Âľ says Schmidt, for whom a prompt process and communication with unsuccessful bidders stops FRQĂ&#x20AC;GHQFH IURP EHLQJ HURGHG At the peak of the cycle, a new market closes every three days. By the end, around 1,500 presentations have been made, and 3,000 tender documents distributed.

Once the sales process is complete, the account management operation comes into the picture back in Lucerne. Operational contacts are established, and broadcasters are invited to preseason â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;induction workshopsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, which are of particular value to newcomers. Support is offered on technical set-up and broadcast sponsorship implementation, with Team remaining in close contact through the season to ensure assistance is available and vital obligations are met.

SportsPro Magazine | 97

FEATURE SOCCER

The future With meetings taking place between Team and interested parties every few months, the sales staff are typically highly aware of any interest from incoming parties. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whether we then react to this or change our model is a different question, and I think, rightly or wrongly, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re probably not seen DV WKH PRVW LQQRYDWLYH LQ WKH Ă&#x20AC;HOG Âľ concedes Schmidt. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not ODXQFKLQJ 277 >RYHU WKH WRS@ services; weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not splitting up rights into different transmission techniques. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a very simple system. But we need to be aware of the development. We need to be sure of the rights and the way the packages work for OTT players, as well as for traditional broadcasters, telcos, or indeed Amazon.â&#x20AC;?

That platform-neutral approach has still allowed OTT players to participate, with DAZN in Japan an early example. What Team is not in a position to do at this stage, despite entreaties from some of the leading digital powers, is split off the streaming rights from the rest

98 | www.sportspromedia.com

The Team oďŹ&#x192;ces in Lucerne, Switzerland are bedecked with Champions League and Europa League iconography throughout

RI WKH SDFNDJH ² HVSHFLDOO\ LQ WKRVH markets where pay-TV broadcasters are seeking exclusivity. Major global changes to sale strategies, in any case, require the approval of Uefa.

Nevertheless, establishing regular contact with any and all potential buyers means the agency is well placed to capitalise on shifts in the marketplace. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All the social media platforms,â&#x20AC;?

Holland says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;which may be something for 21-24, by that stage, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have been talking to them for a decade at least.â&#x20AC;?

According to Schmidt, it is not yet clear if Team â&#x20AC;&#x153;can quantify how much moneyâ&#x20AC;? OTT players like DAZN are bringing into the PDUNHW ´EXW WKH\ GHĂ&#x20AC;QLWHO\ KHOS WKH competitive dynamicsâ&#x20AC;?. But the real impact could come if tech giants like Amazon, Apple or Google make a serious entry. After talks in the current cycle, Schmidt expects Amazon to â&#x20AC;&#x153;be thereâ&#x20AC;? when sales begin for 2021-24, and believes the consistency in worldwide delivery and appeal of Champions League coverage will be â&#x20AC;&#x153;perfectâ&#x20AC;? for companies operating on a global scale. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And I think they will come to that conclusion, ultimately,â&#x20AC;? he adds. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just a question of when.â&#x20AC;?

A direct live rights buy is not the only way into the marketplace for the digital giants. Holland points to Facebookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s agreement to carry live Champions League games from Fox Sports in the US, and the social media deals that BT Sport has committed to in the UK to show its highlights to as wide an online audience as possible.

That could, he believes, lead to fuller commitments down the line.

There seems little doubt, as Schmidt puts it, that â&#x20AC;&#x153;after pay-TV and telecoms, Silicon Valley will drive the priceâ&#x20AC;? of Champions League and Europa League rights.

7HFKQRORJ\ ZLOO OLNHO\ LQĂ XHQFH future cycles in other ways, with everything from digital substitution boards to VR and AR and AI under evaluation. But the model that Team uses to measure the success of Uefaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s product will then have to progress in kind.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;How do you tell the oldfashioned audience story in a new media world?â&#x20AC;? says Crouch, positing the question that will determine how effective Teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work will be in the years to come. There is a need, he explains, to create measurements that go beyond the understanding developed over decades of linear TV. On those terms, between digital fragmentation and the widespread migration behind the paywall, the cumulative worldwide TV audience for the Champions League has IDOOHQ IURP ELOOLRQ WR ELOOLRQ 7KH DXGLHQFH UHDFK Ă&#x20AC;JXUH KRZHYHU has held steady, and the likelihood is that not enough is understood yet about how the competition is faring on digital outlets.

This is of particular concern to sponsors. Team is working with a range of boutique digital specialists like Mole in a Minute, The Insights Distillery and SnapRapid, to improve its assessment of partner exposure on social platforms.

Crouch also points out that audiences on pay-TV are likely to have higher levels of commitment.

The media ecosystem, nonetheless, has changed completely in the past decade. Where once a straight line could be drawn through clubs to rights holders and on to content creators, publishers and distributors before getting to the viewer, now the fan sits amid a plethora of global publishing platforms.

Over the summer, Team hired former London 2012 head of new media Alex Balfour as its senior consultant on digital strategy. $V ZHOO DV Ă&#x20AC;QGLQJ DGMXVWPHQWV where Uefa can improve its online performance, Balfour will be FKDUJHG ZLWK Ă&#x20AC;QGLQJ RXW ZKDW SODFH digital should have in the rights released for the next cycle. â&#x20AC;&#x153;How do we embed digital into our commercial concept?â&#x20AC;? asks Crouch. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The commercial concept that we broadly follow was invented back in 1991. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been added to and adjusted and shaped but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still, fundamentally, a commercial concept that was invented and built in â&#x20AC;&#x2122;91. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to try and

Teammates: the sponsorship cycle

B

roadcast rights sales for Uefa club competitions delivered €2.5 billion a year for the 2015-18 cycle, and the European soccer confederation is targeting €3.2 billion from the sales process in play. But the term ‘Champions League model’ became shorthand some time ago for a sponsorship set-up that allows multiple partners to share highlevel exposure.

the tailoring of rights packages – Team’s sponsorship sales operation begins a two-year sales period. Typically, it is the categories with the biggest inventory, such as beer, that are the first to close – Heineken’s latest deal was signed in the third quarter of 2016. Less established categories can be filled right up to the start of the first season in a new cycle, allowing for more reactive decisions to be

Prospects for the 2021-24 Uefa sponsorship cycle are already being identified by Team Marketing

Kerstin Lutz is the managing director of sponsorship at Team, heading a staff of around 35. Team’s responsibilities in this area extend from sales to account management and events delivery, though in recent years venue operations has been taken back in-house by Uefa.

Following a period of concept development – which encompasses market analysis, revenue projections, and

work out whether we can add to that concept and integrate digital easily into that, or whether it needs something more radical.”

Team’s relationship with Uefa has been a long one and, at the time of writing, one Europe’s clubs have been asked to extend through a new memorandum of understanding.

taken depending on market interest or on new opportunities in areas like tech.

Prospecting, however, is a much longer process. Targets are already being assessed for the 2021-24 cycle.

Presentation materials are tailored for prospects and incumbent partners, and aim to convey the character of the tournament in question – from the classical Champions League to the

spikier, more accessible Europa League.

Where once the spokespeople used in video promotions were celebrated coaches and players, now they are more likely to be those who can speak to the media value of European club competitions, such as WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell.

Formal meetings are followed by offers against specific packages, with successful bids recommended by Team to Uefa.

Should an offer be accepted, Team then leads on negotiation and contracting.

Each sponsor is then assigned a dedicated unit within Team, comprising a senior account coordinator and three account managers. Twice a season, Team and Uefa will meet sponsors for review and preview sessions.

Sponsors, of course, are not the only third parties granted the right to use Champions League and Europa League marks – subject to the terms of Uefa’s voluminous brand manuals, described by Team senior licensing and promotions manager Daniel Hammond as “stunning works of art, detailing every kind of asset you could imagine”.

Product licensing is another means of getting the competition brands into consumers’ lives, on everything from signed memorabilia to Subbuteo to Montegrappa fountain pens.

According to Hammond, an “association in licensing can be as strong for us as it is for the partner as well”, so well-chosen, high-end products are favoured over large volumes – a particularly significant move given the tournaments’ year-round presence.

The next step for licensing Uefa’s club competition brands is experiential, with Hammond envisaging a “Planet Hollywood model” of official hubs that combine retail with special events.

The continuing adaptation of its remit, Graham admits, means WKDW LW FDQ EH GLIÀFXOW IRU 8HID administrators to fully understand the full breadth of the agency’s responsibilities.

“But at the end, what we say to the staff is that no matter what happens with all the different senior

people at Uefa, the one thing we keep doing is delivering,” he says.

“If we keep hitting the numbers, if we keep adding value, if we keep having the sponsors and the broadcasters still saying positive things about our involvement, then VXUHO\ WKDW·V D GLIÀFXOW WKLQJ WR ZDON away from if you’re Uefa.”

SportsPro Magazine | 99

COMPANY PROFILE GLORY SPORTS

Striking for Glory Launched in 2012 with the aim of taking the sport of kickboxing to new heights, GLORY Sports International has already established itself as the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading kickboxing brand. The company faces the challenges of functioning in an increasingly fragmented broadcasting landscape, and the need to bring in a wider audience, but thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plenty of punching power in the pipeline.

B

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

eing the number one kickboxing brand in the world permeates everything we do,â&#x20AC;? says Jon J Franklin, chief executive of GLORY Sports International. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have the best television relationships in kickboxing, and the best OTT relationships.â&#x20AC;?

It has taken global league GLORY MXVW Ă&#x20AC;YH \HDUV WR JHW WR WKLV SRLQW ,W now has an unparalleled number of live kickboxing events on multiple continents, and programming distributed across over 200 territories. It is also the place to see the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best. Since acquiring the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Showtimeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; promotion just months after launching, GLORY has brought many of the leading kickboxers into one league and made possible a broad range of elite match-ups. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We immediately went out and found all the top athletes in the sport,â&#x20AC;? says Franklin. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter what your name is as a company, people will follow big athletes. GLORY then started working with the best promoters and trainers, and next, looking to work with top television networks.â&#x20AC;?

Building the business â&#x20AC;&#x153;from the ground upâ&#x20AC;?, Franklin says, was important for GLORY, which went on to partner with UFC Fight Pass, the subscription-based video streaming service owned by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which promotes mixed martial arts (MMA) events. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our initiative with UFC Fight Pass gave us access to that niche fan area of those already following martial arts, because of their status as the number one MMA promoter,â&#x20AC;?

102 | www.sportspromedia.com

Franklin adds.

The company has targeted large TV broadcast networks, looking to grow its reach. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ultimately we got a deal with ESPN in 2015,â&#x20AC;? Franklin says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;which at that point didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any MMA or anything.â&#x20AC;? This deal was crucial in attracting audiences as â&#x20AC;&#x153;having big sports broadcasters like ESPN and Ziggo brings us to mainstream sports fans all over the worldâ&#x20AC;?.

In terms of building its content, GLORY now produces nearly 100 pieces of broadcast content a year. It is the variety, as well as the quantity, of content that has been important in helping GLORY to develop.

Each time it has an event, GLORY cuts four complete TV shows, including its GLORY numbered events, the GLORY Super Fight series, the Inside GLORY magazine programme that introduces the ZHHNHQG¡V Ă&#x20AC;JKWV DQG WRXUQDPHQWV and then Rewind, which summarises the weekend events. As well as this, GLORY has tournament formats IRU Ă&#x20AC;JKWV VRPHWKLQJ )UDQNOLQ VD\V LV â&#x20AC;&#x153;unique in combat sport showings,â&#x20AC;? giving it another edge over rival combat offerings.

To cast a net for a wider audience, GLORY also aims to put on knock-out events. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re creating

GLORY is the number one kickboxing brand in the world

Jon J Franklin (centre) stands between Meryem Uslu (left) and TiďŹ&#x20AC;any Van Soest at the weigh-in ahead of their bout at Glory 44

a lot of content featuring our top athletes and hosted by well-known personalities,â&#x20AC;? says Franklin. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Guys like Mike Tyson and Bill Goldberg host the countdown shows with us or are featured as part of the live shows.â&#x20AC;?

The theme of building audience growth around the hook of personality is a tactic GLORY uses similarly with the creation of special pay-per-view events which carry backstories. One such upcoming event is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;GLORY: Redemptionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in December, when GLORY heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven takes on Jamal Ben Saddik, a rivalry dating back to their Ă&#x20AC;UVW PHHWLQJ ´6RPH RI WKHVH ELJ Ă&#x20AC;JKW PDWFK ups take on a life of their own,â&#x20AC;?

VD\V )UDQNOLQ ´:LWK Ă&#x20AC;JKWV OLNH Mayweather v McGregor, people who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even follow combat sports came out of the woodwork because it was telling a compelling and interesting story. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Combat sports promoters try to create a storyline, but it works well to use organic narratives. When you look at the Rico v Badr Hari match-up last December, it was the VWRU\ RI WZR Ă&#x20AC;JKWHUV FRPLQJ IURP different backgrounds; Rico cut

his teeth in GLORY, whereas Badr VSHQW KLV WLPH Ă&#x20AC;JKWLQJ WRS JX\V in Japan. Badr was a dominating Ă&#x20AC;JXUH LQ NLFNER[LQJ DQG 5LFR ZDV a teenager, so the match-up was interesting, and gave people a sense RI ZKR WKHVH Ă&#x20AC;JKWHUV ZHUH â&#x20AC;&#x153;It resulted in a sell-out crowd in Germany â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I think it was the highest-rated show in Holland for the whole year, beating Formula One and other more mainstream sports â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and it proved that when the story is right and when the athletes collide, kickboxing can be right up there with MMA and other major boxing events.â&#x20AC;?

Aside from bringing in audiences through the generation of captivating content, GLORY has to differentiate itself from other combat sports events. â&#x20AC;&#x153;From a combat sports standpoint, GLORY is a bit different,â&#x20AC;? says Franklin. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the on-the-ground Ă&#x20AC;JKWLQJ WKDW 00$ KDV ZH¡UH DOO VWDQG XS Ă&#x20AC;JKWLQJ â&#x20AC;&#x153;When the opponents are standing XS DQG Ă&#x20AC;JKWLQJ LW RXW DW DQ 00$ event, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when fans are cheering the most, and when they get down on the ground, people either boo or donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going on as itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a little bit harder to see. We also have a high knock-out ratio, and crowds like the drama. GLORY encompasses all the best parts of combat sports, in my mind.â&#x20AC;?

GLORY, says Franklin, are a global brand, and so thinking about their global development is a priority. The promoter is always

looking to target new audiences, and last year received a Chinese investor, Yao Capital, launching its expansion LQWR &KLQD ´:H¡UH WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW LQWR China for combat brands, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re pretty excited about that,â&#x20AC;? Franklin continues. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a huge market, obviously â&#x20AC;&#x201C; not only from a fan standpoint but also from a sponsor and television standpoint.â&#x20AC;?

Chinese market expansion isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the only punch GLORY is looking to land. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got an initiative going in the Americas, extending into Latin America and also Canada,â&#x20AC;? says Franklin. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will be hosting RXU Ă&#x20AC;UVW HYHQW LQ %UD]LO LQ Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve signed with some different television agencies, as well as our traditional agencies that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had for a number of years; Total Sports Asia in the Far East and Asia areas.

So like some of the other big brands such as Formula One and Major League Baseball and UFC, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re trying to work with groups that have a big presence in the areas that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re expanding into.â&#x20AC;?

With digitisation and technological development changing the way sport is consumed, so that over-the-top platforms (OTT) are an emerging force within the broadcasting arena, GLORY has to consider the content it produces and the way this is distributed in an era of fragmentation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You need to have something thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exclusive for some broadcasters and something thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exclusive for OTT,â&#x20AC;? says Franklin. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In addition, you have a lot more

GLORY has brought many of the leading kickboxers into one league, including names like Badr Hari (left) and Rico Verhoeven (right), making a broad range of elite match-ups possible

opportunities to stream your content but you also want to make sure that the platforms youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re streaming on are platforms that are reaching your target audience, and also getting to a mainstream audience. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You can eliminate dark areas in a way you couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t three or four years ago by using internet platforms. It becomes a jigsaw puzzle of rights between the traditional cable satellite and TV broadcasters, and the OTT broadcasters, and obviously, as a ULJKWV KROGHU \RX KDYH WR Ă&#x20AC;JXUH LW out so you can maximise not only your distribution, but your reach and viewership.â&#x20AC;?

Sponsorship will be the next challenge for GLORY as the company seeks to bolster its position as a major sports event producer on a global stage. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going from strength to strength, increasing our distribution with each event; we practically doubled our sales in New York in just two years, which shows we are becoming more mainstream,â&#x20AC;? Franklin says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Next we need to bring on board a couple of major global partners and grow EUDQG DZDUHQHVV :H ZDQW WR Ă&#x20AC;QG D partner that can take advantage of our platforms and move forward with us.â&#x20AC;?

Contact Glory Sports Visit: glorykickboxing.com email: eric@jacktaylorpr.com Call: +1 718 354 9024

SportsPro Magazine | 103

FEATURE SAILING

Around the world in eight legs The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is the ultimate test for an amateur sailor. The brainchild of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and William Ward, now on its 11th edition, oďŹ&#x20AC;ers both sailors and sponsors a unique opportunity to take on one of the biggest challenges of the natural world.

By George Dudley

104 | www.sportspromedia.com

F

or over 20 years the planetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s keenest amateur sailors have taken on the monumental 40,000 nautical mile Clipper Round the World Yacht Race with just a 70-foot ocean racing yacht between them and Poseidonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unpredictable will.

The almost year-long race was initially conceived in 1995 by celebrated British seaman Sir 5RELQ .QR[ -RKQVWRQ WKH Ă&#x20AC; UVW person to sail solo non-stop around the world, and UK businessman William Ward. Long-distance yacht races are usually the preserve of seasoned professionals but the Clipper Round the World is a platform for ordinary, everyday people to excel on.

Needless to say, the race is not for the faint-hearted.

The 2017/18 race departed from Liverpoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Albert Dock on 20th August with the competitors embarking on the opening Atlantic Trade Winds leg which is ending, for WKH Ă&#x20AC; UVW WLPH LQ WKH 8UXJXD\DQ SRUW of Punta del Este, at the time of writing, a little over a month later.

Taking in stop-offs in South Africa, Australia, the USA, China, Panama and Northern Ireland, the Clipper is divided into eight legs of varying distances. Participants can choose to complete the full circumnavigation or to compete in select individual legs.

It is the only boat race in the world ZKHUH WKH RUJDQLVHUV VXSSO\ D Ă HHW of 12 identical racing yachts, each ZLWK D IXOO\ TXDOLĂ&#x20AC; HG VNLSSHU WR VDIHO\ guide the amateur crew across the treacherous oceans and seas.

The marathon route concludes back in the city of Liverpool next summer, 11 months after the crews originally set sail from the same port.

Sleep deprivation, cabin fever, the unwelcome attentions of 90foot waves and the genuine threat of fatality are some of the extreme tests for the unprofessional sailors, all of whom pay for the privilege to race. Even renowned British entreprenuer Sir Richard Branson would be hard pressed to sell this cold. However, it is what company chief executive Ward â&#x20AC;&#x201C; who admits

that he â&#x20AC;&#x153;wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really interestedâ&#x20AC;? in round the world sailing â&#x20AC;&#x153;at Ă&#x20AC; UVWÂľ ² KDV GRQH VXFFHVVIXOO\ IRU editions of the nautical challenge.

Each iteration of the race is inundated by requests and, to date, 5,000 people from all walks of life have taken part.

Knox-Johnston and Ward founded Clipper Ventures, the company that would go on to run the event, in 1996. Three years later the pair were joined by Jeremy Knight, who initially came on ERDUG DV Ă&#x20AC; QDQFLDO GLUHFWRU DQG ODWHU EHFDPH FKLHI RSHUDWLQJ RIĂ&#x20AC; FHU Knox-Johnston, Ward and Knight are currently the only directors on Clipper Venturesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; board. While the race has become bigger than any of those men could KDYH HYHU LPDJLQHG ZKHQ WKH Ă&#x20AC; UVW Ă HHW VHW RII IURP 3O\PRXWK LQ October 1996, the ethos and spirit of the race remain the same. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is chalk and cheese between >QRZ DQG@ WKH Ă&#x20AC; UVW UDFH Âľ VD\V :DUG speaking to SportsPro in London in mid-September, with the current set of crews out over the Atlantic. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have improved immeasurably the boats, stopovers and staff, but the fundamental thing of people wanting to achieve something is still the same. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is still those same oceans, danger and all the things that go with it, which is what drives the people to sign up and pay what they do for it. :DUG Ă&#x20AC; UVW JRW LQYROYHG ´YHU\ early onâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; before the original boats were even built â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and he quickly noticed that â&#x20AC;&#x153;they hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really got the fundingâ&#x20AC;? that was needed to stage a yacht race of such magnitude. The Briton was initially hesitant to back the endeavour but when he started reading â&#x20AC;&#x153;applications from people that wanted to do the race, I saw the passion from the crew membersâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and he never looked back.

Wendy Tuck (right) will become the ďŹ rst Australian skipper to complete the Clipper Race twice when she arrives back into Liverpool next summer

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The amateur factor is everything about the Clipper Race. Without it we are just another yacht race.â&#x20AC;?

Ward, who was 39 at the time and rebuilding his own business after the UK property collapse of 1989 and 1990, saw the race as an opportunity for a â&#x20AC;&#x153;bit of an adventure, not just a businessâ&#x20AC;?.

And the fact that the revered Knox-Johnston was at the helm of the organisation meant that trips to prospective host ports were a slightly less daunting prospect for a nautical newcomer who, by his own admission, knew â&#x20AC;&#x153;little of the sailing worldâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I met Robin, I liked him and off we went,â&#x20AC;? remembers Ward. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had never been around to ports, talked sailing jargon and so forth.

However, in the early days there was no team â&#x20AC;&#x201C; no race director, no PR people or mechanics â&#x20AC;&#x201C; just eight skippers, Robin and myself. It was always very interesting and a great learning curve. â&#x20AC;&#x153;From a business perspective, I knew nothing about [the sailing industry] but I do know that if people are willing to pay what we were charging at the time â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and were so passionate to do it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; there has to be some form of business on the back of it. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I suppose that in business I am a gambler, so it seemed a good opportunity at the time.â&#x20AC;?

7KDW Ă&#x20AC; UVW UDFH ² OLNH WKH subsequent few â&#x20AC;&#x201C; was â&#x20AC;&#x153;a welldocumented struggleâ&#x20AC;? for the organisers but they have since come through that shaky start and â&#x20AC;&#x153;turned it into a really good businessâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have a huge amount of respect for the people that took part in the Ă&#x20AC; UVW UDFH WKH\ ZHUH SLRQHHUV Âľ

SportsPro Magazine | 105

FEATURE SAILING

says Ward. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is almost like Robin going off on his own and becoming WKH Ă&#x20AC; UVW SHUVRQ WR JR VLQJOHKDQGHG non-stop around the world. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These guys put a lot of trust in us to get them around. We had eight good skippers and off we set on the adventure. It is incomparable to the set-up we have now with 70 staff in place. This year we have spent more money on one stop that we did the whole race.â&#x20AC;?

As the event and the organisation have grown Knox-Johnston and Ward are â&#x20AC;&#x153;not as hands-on as we used to beâ&#x20AC;?, partly because of the size of the business but also the â&#x20AC;&#x153;quality of people that want to come and workâ&#x20AC;? with the company.

The pair are nonetheless constantly monitoring the company that has been moulded in their images.

Ward feels that he and Knox-RKQVWRQ QRZ IXOĂ&#x20AC; O WKH UROHV RI ´IDWKHU Ă&#x20AC; JXUHVÂľ WR WKH UDSLGO\ expanding team of international organisers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My forte would be to keep a lot of balls in the air, not specialising in one area,â&#x20AC;? states Ward. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Like any business, you develop and people take different roles. Bringing in sponsorship, which was down to me in the past, is now a team effort DQG IRU WKH Ă&#x20AC; UVW WLPH QRZ KDV someone else leading it.â&#x20AC;?

8QOLNH WKH Ă&#x20AC; UVW UDFH ZKLFK was without any sponsorship and relied on private investment, the modern Clipper Race is funded by partners and host ports as well as crew registration fees. Ward doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t divulge the cost of running an almost year-long global sailing race

106 | www.sportspromedia.com

William Ward, chief executive and co-founder of Clipper Ventures

Ward and his Clipper Ventures co-founder Sir Robin KnoxJohnston ring the Opening Bell at the Nasdaq Stock Market in Times Square in 2016, in celebration of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 20th anniversary

but concedes it is â&#x20AC;&#x153;a lot of moneyâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;No boat was sponsored [in the Ă&#x20AC; UVW UDFH@ Âľ UHFDOOV :DUG ´1RZ LW LV very much about the sponsors and WUDGH EXVLQHVV WR EXVLQHVV EXVLQHVV to consumer, marketing, branding and the CSR. That said, gone are the days when a sponsor just puts a sticker on the side of the boat; they want a lot more and hopefully we are able to give them that. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t gone for a title sponsor. Each boat is sponsored by individual ports or stopovers and then you have some sponsors. It is pretty simple in many respects â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but long-winded in many respects as it lasts for a year.â&#x20AC;?

Entrants must pay UKÂŁ40,000 DQG :DUG FRQĂ&#x20AC; UPV WKDW WKH ´UDWH card team partnership [for yacht branding and activation rights] is UKÂŁ1.5milliion and UKÂŁ500,000 for a host port sponsorâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Registration still makes up a great deal of it but the host port partners and sponsors are catching it up, and will most probably overtake it by

the next race,â&#x20AC;? explains Ward. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is certainly our aim that by the next two races, sponsorship will be the main source of revenue. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Funding came initially by me putting money in but that has obviously changed. We bought our ODVW Ă HHW IURP RXU RZQ FDVK UHVHUYHV and still a lot come from the crew members. The sponsorship is now coming up to the level where it is really making a difference with what you can do in the race. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It costs an awful lot of money to run 12 yachts, all of the training, the kit and the human resources.â&#x20AC;?

The host ports are evidently the raceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s key sponsors nowadays. It is WKHUHIRUH LQYDOXDEOH WR Ă&#x20AC; QG YHQXHV that will offer both the desired sums of money to Clipper Ventures but also ensure that the route still circumnavigates the oceans in a logical manner. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We do target key geographies to a degree but we are obviously going around the world in a circle at certain times of the year to avoid hurricane season or the doldrums,â&#x20AC;? notes Ward. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are essential places to go and there are stop-offs that we visit that are business-orientated. It is a mix, without losing to the fact that this is a round-the-world yacht race â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and entrants are paying to have an adventure, and that race. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For us, going to the Middle East is not really something that we have looked at. We have been asked to go but it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t something that attracted us because of the race route. We were tempted because

the dollars are there but other than that, we avoided it. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Asia is important. We will look to have one or two or even three more Asian entrants into next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s race; more cities backed by commercial sponsors rather than just outright commercial partners.â&#x20AC;?

It is fair to say that sailing is a sport that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily lend itself to traditional broadcast â&#x20AC;&#x201C; especially in the case of endurance ocean races. Ward admits that other than â&#x20AC;&#x153;the exception of the Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cup, sailing is all very sameyâ&#x20AC;?. Even for something like the round-theworld Volvo Ocean Race, which has professional crews going at extreme speeds creating visually incredible images, you have to be â&#x20AC;&#x153;really into your sailing to watch itâ&#x20AC;?.

Round-the-world sailing is nevertheless a sport that can be effectively transmitted on overthe-top (OTT) and video-ondemand (VOD) platforms, either in highlight packages or live streams.

It is these digital broadcast modes that Ward sees as the future home for the Clipper Race. ´:KHQ ZH Ă&#x20AC;UVW VWDUWHG \RX FRXOG almost hide away on the boats but those days are long gone,â&#x20AC;? he says.

The 2017/18 Clipper race sets sail from Liverpoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Albert Docks

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our race started in Liverpool this year and we had a live feed there that a lot of countries, a lot of broadcasters took up. It was an hour-long programme and it is now so much cheaper pro rata than what it was 12 to 20 years ago. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The programmes that we have made are more focused on human interest â&#x20AC;&#x201C; on taking a shop assistant, Ă&#x20AC;UHPDQ RU EDQN PDQDJHU EHLQJ really out of their comfort zone.

They tend to be documentaries and the last one was seven hours and went out to 190 countries. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People like AT&T have signed up to do it digitally. We have seen a difference in the market now. [UK pay-TV channel] Sky Sports 2 is not really where we want to be now; it is coming into different areas to talk about that unique interest.â&#x20AC;?

Seeing amateur sailors battle 80IRRW ZDYHV LQ WKH 1RUWK 3DFLĂ&#x20AC;F KDV as Ward puts it, the â&#x20AC;&#x153;wow factorâ&#x20AC;?, and it is to many still the unique selling point of the race. Despite the increase in sponsorship, the expansion of the organising team and quality of the boats, the Corinthian spirit is something that Ward wants to remain at the heart of the race. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The amateur factor is everything

about the race; without it we are just another yacht race,â&#x20AC;? says Ward. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is really important. We have the one professional skipper and at least one person on each boat that has been trained to a very high standard, but they are still amateurs and they are still paying to be on the race. That is really the be-all and end-all. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you start mixing [amateur and professional crews], then I think that it becomes very dangerous. â&#x20AC;&#x153;By the time that the race Ă&#x20AC;QLVKHV PDQ\ RI WKH URXQG WKH worlders become very, very good sailors and many of them have gone on to skipper our boats in future editions. There is an awful lot that they learn and they got hooked into the sport. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Generally speaking, we provide a massive amount of new blood into VDLOLQJ \RX ZRXOG EH DPD]HG KRZ many people that have never sailed before end up with a yacht. For one, Sir Keith Mills, who had not sailed in a serious manner until 1998 when he went on the Clipper Race but he came back and bought a yacht and look what he has done. He has transformed sailing and done more for the sport than most people have in Britain.â&#x20AC;?

SportsPro Magazine | 107

FEATURE BEACH VOLLEYBALL

BEACH WORLD Thanks to Hannes Jagerhofer and Red Bull, the Croatian town of Poreč is now home to one of the bestattended events on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. SportsPro travelled to this year’s Poreč Major to find out what attracts thousands of annual spectators from around the world, and to learn more about the Swatch Beach Majors series’ plans to cement itself on the global stage.

By Sam Carp and Adam Nelson

108 | www.sportspromedia.com

I

t is 10pm on Saturday night and, as darkness descends over 3RUHĂż LWV WHQGHUO\ OLW VWUHHWV DUH XQXVXDOO\ TXLHW )URP WKH Croatian townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s centre, reverberations RI PXVLF FDQ EH KHDUG LQ WKH GLVWDQFH A few hundred metres away, on the FRDVWDO PXQLFLSDOLW\¡V ZDWHUIURQW VLWV D EXVWOLQJ EHDFK YROOH\EDOO VWDGLXP SDFNHG WR WKH EULP ,QVLGH WKH 5HG %XOO %HDFK Arena, Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sarah Pavan and 0HOLVVD +XPDQD 3DUHGHV DUH taking to the sand, preparing to face the Czech pair of Barbora +HUPDQQRYi DQG 0DUNHWD 6OXNRYD LQ WKH ZRPHQ¡V Ă&#x20AC;QDO RI WKLV \HDU¡V 3RUHĂż 0DMRU 2XWVLGH TXHXHV VWDUW to stretch around the temporary stadiumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perimeter, and it soon becomes apparent that some fans ZRQ¡W EH JHWWLQJ LQ (QWU\ WR WKLV HYHQW KDV DOZD\V EHHQ IUHH WR WKH SXEOLF EXW LQ D Ă&#x20AC;QDO PRPHQW of desperation, punters begin waving money towards stewards in exchange for the eveningâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coveted HQWHUWDLQPHQW 6HHPLQJO\ LW LV RQH WLFNHW WKDW ULFKHV FDQ¡W EX\ This is the Swatch Beach 9ROOH\EDOO 0DMRU 6HULHV WKH VSRUW¡V XQGLVSXWHG KRWWHVW SURSHUW\ /DXQFKHG LQ DV D MRLQW YHQWXUH between Austrian entrepreneur +DQQHV -DJHUKRIHU DQG HQHUJ\ GULQNV EUDQG 5HG %XOO WKH VHULHV KDV HVWDEOLVKHG LWVHOI DV D SLOODU RI WKH JOREDO JRYHUQLQJ ERG\¡V ),9% %HDFK 9ROOH\EDOO :RUOG 7RXU DQG VLQFH LWV LQDXJXUDO HGLWLRQ 3RUHĂż LV RQH RI RQO\ WZR YHQXHV WR KDYH VWDJHG D WRXUQDPHQW HYHU\ \HDU 7KLV \HDU UHOHQWOHVV WKXQGHUVWRUPV LQ WKH EXLOG XS WR WKH WRXUQDPHQW threatened to tear the branding from the stadiumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exterior, but it is testament to the eventâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s organisers that by the time SportsPro arrives, the RQO\ UHPQDQWV RI WKH DGYHUVH ZHDWKHU DUH D IHZ LVRODWHG SXGGOHV VKDGHG IURP WKH GHJUHH KHDW ´, WKLQN WKHUH¡V QRW D EHWWHU Ă&#x20AC;W IRU D ORFDWLRQ WKDQ KHUH LQ 3RUHĂż ZKHUH ZH FDQ KDYH WKH FHQWUH FRXUW VR FORVH WR D WUDGLWLRQDO DQG YHU\ EHDXWLIXO FLW\ Âľ VD\V -DJHUKRIHU ´,I \RX ZDQWHG WR draw the perfect venue on paper for a EHDFK YROOH\EDOO WRXUQDPHQW LW ZRXOG ORRN MXVW OLNH 3RUHĂż Âľ

(YHQ DW Ă&#x20AC;UVW JODQFH LW¡V GLIĂ&#x20AC;FXOW WR GLVDJUHH 7KH TXDLQW WRZQ LV QHDUO\ \HDUV ROG DQG ZHEEHG WRJHWKHU E\ FRORXUIXO FREEOHG DOOH\ZD\V ZKLOH WKH FRPSHWLWLRQ¡V centre court peers out on to the VXQ GUHQFKHG $GULDWLF 6HD 7KH eventâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s accommodation partners, 9DODPDU +RWHOV 5HVRUWV DQG /DJXQD 3RUHĂż EXLOG WKH tournamentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s side courts on their RZQ VWUHWFK RI VKRUHOLQH RIIHULQJ D QDWXUDOO\ VWXQQLQJ EDFNGURS IRU SOD\HUV DQG VSHFWDWRUV DOLNH 0RUH VLJQLĂ&#x20AC;FDQW WKRXJK LV WKDW WKH WRZQ UHVWV RQO\ D IHZ KRXUV IURP .ODJHQIXUW 7KH $XVWULDQ FLW\ LV WKH ELUWKSODFH RI WKH 6ZDWFK 0DMRU 6HULHV DQG KDV JDUQHUHG D IHUYHQW EHDFK YROOH\EDOO IDQEDVH VLQFH LW Ă&#x20AC;UVW KRVWHG D WRXUQDPHQW LQ 1RZ WKRVH VDPH HQWKXVLDVWV IUHTXHQW 3RUHĂż RQFH D \HDU WUDQVIRUPLQJ WKH SRSXODU WRXULVW GHVWLQDWLRQ LQWR D EHDFK YROOH\EDOO KXE DQG FUHDWLQJ D FDUQLYDO atmosphere that has become V\QRQ\PRXV ZLWK WKH HYHQW ´,Q 3RUHĂż ZH KDYH DQ $XVWULDQ LQYDVLRQ Âľ VD\V 1LND )OHLVV WKH KHDG RI LQWHUQDWLRQDO FRPPXQLFDWLRQ IRU WKH 6ZDWFK 0DMRU 6HULHV ´)RU EHDFK YROOH\EDOO LQ &URDWLD WKLV LV WKH EHVW WKLQJ WKDW FRXOG HYHU KDSSHQ because the country doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t teach WKH VSRUW DW GHYHORSPHQW OHYHO DQG LW¡V JUHDW WKDW ZH DUH VR FORVH WR Austria because we can have this

â&#x20AC;&#x153;For us, beach volleyball is about playing the full piano of emotions.â&#x20AC;?

The Croatian town of PoreÄ? has become a staple on the Beach Majors calendar

amazing fanbase here so that the WRXUQDPHQW LV DOZD\V D VSHFWDFOH ¾ ,QGHHG -DJHUKRIHU¡V EHDFK YROOH\EDOO FRPPXQLW\ LV EORVVRPLQJ ² DQG D TXLFN SHUXVH LQVLGH WKH WRXUQDPHQW¡V YHQXH PDNHV LW FOHDU WKDW LW LVQ¡W RQO\ &URDWLDQV ZKR à RFN KHUH ,Q RQH FRUQHU VWDQG a group of fans kitted out in $XVWULDQ UHSOLFD YHVWV LQ DQRWKHU VLW D FOXVWHU RI VXSSRUWHUV ZUDSSHG LQ WKH %UD]LOLDQ à DJ DQG DW WKH back of the main stand are a pair RI $PHULFDQV IDFH SDLQWHG LQ WKHLU QDWLYH UHG ZKLWH DQG EOXH 3RUHÿ PLJKW EH KRPH WR MXVW XQGHU SHRSOH EXW PRUH WKDQ four times that number are expected IURP DURXQG WKH ZRUOG RYHU WKH FRXUVH RI WKH ZHHN )RU DQ HYHQW FRQVLVWHQWO\ NHHQ WR VKRZFDVH LWVHOI WR SRWHQWLDO SDUWQHUV 6ZDWFK 0DMRU 6HULHV¡ LQWHUQDWLRQDO SURMHFW PDQDJHU 6WHIDQ :DQNP OOHU H[SODLQV WKH crowd has become one of the WRXUQDPHQW¡V ELJJHVW GUDZV $V WKH RUJDQLVHUV DUH DOZD\V TXLFN WR VWUHVV WKH HQG SURGXFW LV D XQLTXH EOHQG

SportsPro Magazine | 109

FEATURE BEACH VOLLEYBALL

RI KLJK HQG HQWHUWDLQPHQW DQG ZRUOG FODVV VSRUW â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s different here because we KDYH D IXOO VWDGLXP ZKLFK DWWUDFWV the VIP guests, and they want to FRPH EHFDXVH RI WKH DWPRVSKHUH Âľ :DQNP OOHU VD\V ´8VXDOO\ LW¡V WKH other way around, in that you have WKH 9,3 JXHVWV DQG FHOHEULWLHV VKRZLQJ XS DQG QRUPDOO\ WKLV LV ZKDW DWWUDFWV WKH SHRSOH â&#x20AC;&#x153;The aim is to get the energy WKDW WKH ZKROH FUHZ SXWV LQWR WKLV SURMHFW EDFN IURP WKH FURZG , WKLQN ZKDW +DQQHV >-DJHUKRIHU@ KDV GRQH LV FUHDWH D QHZ OLIHVW\OH because Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never seen a sport connected to so many other facets of entertainment that work out so ZHOO DV KHUH DW WKH EHDFK YROOH\EDOO Âľ To ensure the atmosphere GRHVQ¡W GZLQGOH WKH VHULHV HPSOR\V a dedicated entertainment team XQHQYLDEO\ WDVNHG ZLWK HQVXULQJ WKDW D FRQVWDQW Ă RZ RI HQHUJ\ VSUHDGV WKURXJKRXW WKH FDSDFLW\ VWDQGV 7KH DXGLHQFH LV UDUHO\ JLYHQ the opportunity to draw breath, as HDFK EUHDN LQ SOD\ LV SOXJJHG E\ FKHHUOHDGHUV ZDWHU FDQQRQV DQG VLJQDWXUH GDQFH PRYHV GHYHORSHG and produced with accompanying VRXQGWUDFNV E\ WKH HYHQW¡V '-V DQG VWDGLXP DQQRXQFHUV ´)RU XV LW¡V DERXW SOD\LQJ WKH IXOO SLDQR RI HPRWLRQV Âľ VD\V VWDGLXP DQQRXQFHU )OR 5XGLJ WKH PDVWHU RI FHUHPRQLHV IRU 6ZDWFK 0DMRU 6HULHV ´:H DUH DOZD\V JRLQJ WR record new things and produce QHZ FKDQQHOV LW¡V MXVW D TXHVWLRQ RI ZKDW Ă&#x20AC; WV WR WKH JDPH ZKDW Ă&#x20AC; WV WR WKH SOD\HUV DQG ZKDW ZH FDQ EXLOG up as a goosebump atmosphere ZLWK DOO WKH SHRSOH Âľ )RU WKH VHULHV¡ FRUSRUDWH SDUWQHUV WKH VLJKW RI D IXOO DQG FDSWLYDWHG YHQXH FHUWDLQO\ LPSOLHV UHWXUQ IRU WKHLU LQYHVWPHQW 7KH FHQWUH FRXUW is at the heart of an encompassing 6ZDWFK %HDFK 9LOODJH ZKHUH WLWOH VSRQVRU 6ZDWFK SDUNV D OX[XU\ VWRUH QH[W WR D ELJ VFUHHQ OLYH VWUHDPLQJ proceedings at the venueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entrance, Samsung has its own private tent to carry out activations, and a Red %XOO VSRQVRUHG PDLQ EDU SURYHV SDUWLFXODUO\ SRSXODU ZLWK WKLUVW\ SDWURQV

110 | www.sportspromedia.com

If the extensive brand presence LVQ¡W LQGLFDWLYH HQRXJK ZDONLQJ LQWR WKH OX[XULRXV 9,3 DUHD PDQLIHVWV KRZ JUHDWO\ WKH VHULHV YDOXHV LWV FRPPHUFLDO SDUWQHUVKLSV 7KH ORQJ FDUSHWHG HQWUDQFH WR WKH H[FOXVLYH Âś%HDFK 0DMRUV &OXE¡ VHHPV PRUH EHĂ&#x20AC; WWLQJ RI D +ROO\ZRRG PRYLH SUHPLHUH EXW WKLV NLQG RI H\H FDWFKLQJ H[FHOOHQFH KDV EHFRPH WKH QRUP IRU -DJHUKRIHU¡V FUHDWLRQ Visitors are greeted with an assortment of cuisines prepared RQ VLWH E\ 6ZDWFK 0DMRU¡V ORQJ term catering partners at Do &R ZKR KDYH D ULFK KLVWRU\ RI IHHGLQJ KRVSLWDOLW\ JXHVWV DW )RUPXOD 2QH UDFHV 8HID (XURSHDQ Championship soccer tournaments DQG WKH 2O\PSLF *DPHV 3HUKDSV WKH RQO\ GDQJHU RI VXFK D Ă DZOHVVO\ FRQVWUXFWHG 9,3 RIIHULQJ LV WKDW LW DOPRVW EHFRPHV WRR HQWLFLQJ WR OHDYH %H\RQG WKH array of buffets and bars is an H[FOXVLYH JUDQGVWDQG RYHUORRNLQJ WKH DFWLRQ D SULYDWH ORXQJH DQG DQ outdoor terrace hovering over the sea, which more adventurous fans DUH GDUHG WR H[SORUH RQ D VSHHGERDW WKDW ZKLVNV KRVSLWDOLW\ JXHVWV DURXQG WKH 3RUHĂż ED\ â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you dive in here you are LQ D GLIIHUHQW ZRUOG Âľ -DJHUKRIHU SURXGO\ SURFODLPV ´DQG WKLV LV WKH success and what is attractive for RXU VSRQVRUV :H LQYLWH WKHP WR stay in Croatia for three days, so they eat great food, they go out at night and they spend time together LQ WKH H[FOXVLYH 9,3 VWDQG DQG ZDWFK PDWFKHV 7KH\ DUH H[FLWHG and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a different kind of way of

Hannes Jagerhofer, the Austrian entrepenuer and chief executive of the Beach Majors Company who is helping to revolutionise beach volleyball

networking and getting to know HDFK RWKHU Âľ So great is the eventâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s draw now that stars from other sports are TXHXLQJ XS WR EH LQYROYHG $W WKH )RUW /DXGHUGDOH 0DMRU LQ )HEUXDU\ WKH VHULHV VWUXFN D GHDO ZLWK RQOLQH FRPPXQLW\ SODWIRUP 6SRUW%LEOH ZKLFK VDZ %ULWLVK ER[HU 'DYLG +D\H FRPPHQWDWH RQ D OLYH JDPH YLD WKH FRPSDQ\¡V %HDFK6WUHDP RYHU WKH WRS 277 VHUYLFH 7KH IRUPHU ZRUOG KHDY\ZHLJKW FKDPSLRQ DOVR DSSHDUHG LQ WKH 6ZDWFK 0DMRU 6HULHV¡ â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Beach Meetsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; YouTube feature, ZKLFK Ă&#x20AC; OPV SOD\HUV IURP WKH %HDFK 9ROOH\EDOO :RUOG 7RXU VZDSSLQJ UROHV IRU D GD\ ZLWK DWKOHWHV IURP VSRUWV LQFOXGLQJ FOLII GLYLQJ LFH KRFNH\ DQG VXUĂ&#x20AC; QJ ,Q 3RUHĂż WKH RUJDQLVHUV ZHQW one step further, granting Croatian LQWHUQDWLRQDO VRFFHU VWDU ,YDQ 3HULäLĂ˝ D ZLOGFDUG HQWU\ WR WKH JURXS VWDJH of the tournament, which saw him SDLU XS ZLWK FRXQWU\PDQ 1LNäD 'HOO¡2UFR WR KHDGOLQH WKH WRZQ¡V Ă&#x20AC; UVW HYHU OLQH XS RI EHDFK YROOH\EDOO QLJKW PDWFKHV *DPHV XQGHU WKH stars have opened new avenues for event organisers, and the Inter 0LODQ PLGĂ&#x20AC; HOGHU¡V FDPHR LV TXLFNO\ IROORZHG E\ D VWXQQLQJ Ă&#x20AC; UHZRUNV GLVSOD\ ZKLFK EULQJV WKRXVDQGV RI WRXULVWV WR D VWDQGVWLOO DORQJ WKH townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marina, before the event Ă DZOHVVO\ Ă&#x20AC; OWHUV LQWR DQ RQ VLWH SDUW\ ZKHUH OLYH EDQGV HQWHUWDLQ JXHVWV LQWR WKH HDUO\ KRXUV RI WKH PRUQLQJ 3HULäLý¡V EHDFK YROOH\EDOO GHEXW ZDVQ¡W MXVW SRSXODU ZLWK WKH VHOO RXW KRPH FURZG EXW DOVR ZLWK WKH ZRUOGZLGH WHOHYLVLRQ FKDQQHOV ZKLFK UHTXHVWHG IRRWDJH RI WKH \HDU ROG¡V JDPHV DV ZHOO DV WKH QHZ subscribers who signed up to the %HDFK6WUHDP GXULQJ KLV QLJKW PDWFK 7KLV GLJLWDO DSSURDFK LV ZKHUH WKH RSSRUWXQLW\ OLHV H[SODLQV 3KLOLSS 6FKZDU] FKLHI VWUDWHJ\ RIĂ&#x20AC; FHU IRU WKH 6ZDWFK 0DMRU 6HULHV IRU D VSRUW WKDW¡V QRW DOZD\V LQ WKH SXEOLF H\H FUHDWLQJ FURVVRYHUV ZLWK DWKOHWHV IURP RWKHU GLVFLSOLQHV LV EHFRPLQJ LQFUHDVLQJO\ LPSRUWDQW WR JURZ EHDFK YROOH\EDOO¡V JOREDO SURĂ&#x20AC; OH â&#x20AC;&#x153;The strategy behind this is to UHDFK D EURDGHU DXGLHQFH Âľ KH VD\V â&#x20AC;&#x153;because if we want to succeed

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FEATURE BEACH VOLLEYBALL

as a niche sport we really need to be attractive as a sports product which everyone understands. The beauty of our project is that everybody loves it because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so positive. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not edgy in any way, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just fun. Whenever we have the chance to introduce it to our partners or some celebrities, they say they love it and want to come back. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This means we are doing a lot RI DFWLYDWLRQV OLNH WKH 3HULäLĂ˝ VWRU\ now. One thing is that he comes here and wants to play but the big thing from our point of view is what we make out of it. By linking the two different sports together and connecting with his fans immediately makes them our fans, so we are working to produce a lot of content about it and try to have the right distribution angles, because this is the only way to create the reach we QHHG DQG Ă&#x20AC;JXUHV DUH VKRZLQJ WKDW itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really picking up.â&#x20AC;?

The clear objective, then, is to create a world class media product that can transcend the seriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; local reach and begin appealing to global broadcasters. The organisers recently agreed a deal with NBC, which sees exclusive content distribution partner Red Bull Media House produce a variety of personalised content for the US network, including exclusive interviews with American players, clips for its social media channels, and up-to-date information about the competition. No fewer than FDPHUDV DUH FRYHULQJ WKH 3RUHĂż

112 | www.sportspromedia.com

Major from every angle and, this year, chips are being inserted in player vests to measure the height of their jumps, while trackers have been installed in the volleyballs to measure the speed of every serve. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You can see the interest of bigger TV stations is now growing,â&#x20AC;? says Christian Baier, chief executive at Capcom Media and moving images director for the Swatch Major Series. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They are recognising what is going on here and that it is a really interesting sport because of our overall product. More and more broadcasters are recognising that this is a high-class product with huge potential. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The challenge is bringing this extraordinary atmosphere from the centre court into the living room of people watching at home, and at the same time we need to show what kind of world class athletes these guys are and how spectacular the sport is. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We introduced three-dimensional tracking so viewers can understand the effort. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard to appreciate KRZ GLIĂ&#x20AC;FXOW LW LV WR MXPS RXW RI the sand and to reach a height of over three metres and our goal is to visualise that and incorporate the graphics into our TV signal.â&#x20AC;?

If the series hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t yet had the chance to showcase itself to the world, the opportunity will certainly be afforded by this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Vienna.

The Swatch Beach Majors Series combines high-class professional sport with a festival-like entertainment experience

7KH Ă DJVKLS HYHQW LV SDUW RI the Swatch Major Series for the Ă&#x20AC;UVW WLPH DQG QR IHZHU WKDQ worldwide broadcasters have already purchased the rights to FRYHU LW 3RUHĂż SOD\V KRVW WR WKH drawing of lots for the tournament, DQG D EXVWOLQJ PHGLD URRP LV Ă&#x20AC;OOHG with players and representatives FRQĂ&#x20AC;GHQW WKDW -DJHUKRIHU¡V WHDP FDQ produce an event that will cement the series as the sportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crown jewel. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The World Championships is the perfect opportunity for us,â&#x20AC;?

-DJHUKRIHU H[SODLQV ´EHFDXVH ZH FDQ execute it to the same high standards and even more than we normally do for our Major Series events. But it is also a huge challenge, because everything is doubled: the amount we spend is doubled, the size of the stadium is doubled, and we have never produced something this big before.â&#x20AC;?

Indeed, the scale of the WRXUQDPHQW ZLOO EH VLJQLĂ&#x20AC;FDQWO\ greater than anything the series has GRQH LQ WKH SDVW ZLWK D VHDWHU stadium already erected next to the Danube River in one of Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest capital cities, and up to VSHFWDWRUV SUHSDULQJ WR attend. While that might seem a daunting prospect to some, -DJHUKRIHU LV NHHQ WR DVVHUW WKDW LW¡V merely a benchmark of the rapid progress that the series has made, and he seems stoically determined to deliver the best Beach Volleyball World Championships ever. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think for me beach volleyball can be a real diamond but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like a puzzle,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re missing one of these pieces then it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really work. I think the most important parts are the combination of entertainment, the interaction between the fans and the athletes, and a world class service. Our aim is to deliver all the pieces of this puzzle and I think as it is shaping up now, if our plans come true for the World Championships you will never have seen anything like it.â&#x20AC;?

And as those words start to resonate following another VXFFHVVIXO 0DMRU LQ 3RUHÿ LW¡V KDUG to do anything but believe him.

Serving the world It serves as a measure of how far Hannes Jagerhofer and his Beach Majors team have come in so short a space of time that in just the series’ third full season they were asked to collaborate with the sport’s global governing body, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), on hosting the World Championships.

In 2015, the FIVB’s Beach Volleyball World Championships were held in the Hague, and already there was a sense that the body was moving toward a new style of event, with entertainment as much of a focus as the sport. An artificial beach was constructed in the centre of the Dutch administrative hub, while the city’s Binnenhof square was converted into a festival ground, where fans enjoyed live music and global street food.

Two years on, and the FIVB has brought Beach Majors and Red Bull Media House on board to double down on what it started in the Netherlands. For the first time, the World Championships are a part of the Swatch Beach Majors series, representing the penultimate stop on the tour before the season-ending finals in Hamburg.

Taking place in Austria’s capital city of Vienna, where Beach Majors has its head office, the 2017 Beach Volleyball World Championships represent a new high point in the ongoing efforts to combine high-octane sporting excellence with allround entertainment.

Speaking to SportsPro in Vienna, FIVB general director Fabio Azevedo explains that the intentions of his organisation are to “revolutionise the sport.”

“We want really to move volleyball and beach volleyball to the next level,” he says. “One way we want to do that is make clear that we are about entertainment plus sport. We want to have our fans to attend our events and have an active entertainment. It’s not just them being there, it’s them being there dancing, singing, being educated about what’s happening on the field of play. What we want to have is fans who are really engaged and participating.”

Seeing what Beach Majors was achieving at its stops around the world convinced the FIVB to collaborate with the company for beach volleyball’s biggest global occasion outside the Olympic Games, and everywhere at the tournament in Vienna bears the

hallmarks of a Beach Majors event, from the broadcast set-up by Red Bull Media House to the corporate VIP hospitality experience.

“That was and is an amazing partnership,” says Azevedo.

“They’re bringing huge experience that they, along with Red Bull and Red Bull Media House, have. Red Bull Media House is responsible for the TV production here, and they have a very innovative way to broadcast this event.

“This is good for us because what we’re realising is that we have to improve the communication of volleyball and beach volleyball. We want to communicate much better and integrate our public in what’s happening on the field of play.”

That broadcast was shown in 57 countries around the world, with almost 3,000 hours of cumulative TV coverage produced over the course of the ten days of competition, making it among the most successful World Championships ever – and instantly demonstrating that improved communication the FIVB is looking for.

Beach Majors, says Azevedo, is helping the FIVB to “achieve our major aims” by “moving beach volleyball to the next level in terms of business hospitality, in terms of relationship with the main stakeholders around, and also the promotion of the event. Their events in Canada and the USA have helped grow the game globally.”

Meanwhile, the World Championship site, a temporary venue built on an island in the Danube, attracted 180,000 visitors to watch the action live, some coming to Beach Majors for the first time to experience what Azevedo calls “the best beach volleyball has to offer” because there is something for “every single member of the family”.

Even a thunderstorm on the day of the men’s final cannot bring down the party atmosphere and, by the time Brazil’s Evandro and Andre defeat the home favourites and surprise finalists Clemens Doppler and Alex Horst, sunshine is once again raining down on the court. But it is not long before thoughts turn to the future. Both the FIVB and Beach Majors have outlined ambitions to grow the sport in Asia and, while no further announcements on their partnership have been made, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games present a perfect opportunity for that expansion. AN

SportsPro Magazine | 113

FEATURE MARTIAL ARTS

Behind the ropes Founded in 2004, Fighting Spirit has promoted a range of boxing, kickboxing, MMA, Muay Thai and wrestling events around the world. SportsPro made the trip to Antwerp, Belgium for the latest instalment of Enfusion, the company’s kickboxing property, to find out how Fighting Spirit’s promotions have built a loyal fanbase, and to learn more about its plans to expand into new markets.

By Sam Carp

114 | www.sportspromedia.com

A

punishing right uppercut to the chin precedes a vicious knee to the body. A bonecrushing spinning kick sets up a decisive one-two combination.

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Kickboxing star Superbon Banchamek on his way into the ring

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SportsPro Magazine | 115

FEATURE MARTIAL ARTS

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116 | www.sportspromedia.com

and march towards the ring. Either VLGH RI WKH ZDONZD\ ODUJH VFUHHQV WHDVH WKH FURZG ZLWK PRQWDJHV RI SDVW ÀJKWV ZKHWWLQJ WKH DSSHWLWH RI D ED\LQJ DXGLHQFH WKDW GHPDQGV WR EH VHUYHG D SOHQWLIXO VXSSO\ RI knockouts. ,Q VRPH FDVHV WKH ÀJKWHUV· ULQJ ZDONV DUH LQWURGXFHG E\ D OLYH UDSSHU RWKHUV E\ D 0RURFFDQ EDQG EXW DOO DUH DFFRPSDQLHG E\ IDFHV HWFKHG ZLWK D WRUWXUHG EOHQG RI IRFXV ]HDO DQG DSSUHKHQVLRQ )RU D SURIHVVLRQDO ÀJKWHU WKH VKRUW ZDON IURP WKH FRPIRUW RI WKHLU GUHVVLQJ URRP WR WKH SUHVVXUH RI WKH ULQJ FDQ IHHO OLNH D OLIHWLPH 0RVW KDYH DOUHDG\ VSHQW months beating bags and punching SDGV DQG YLVXDOLVLQJ YLFWRU\ EXW WKRVH ÀQDO ZDLWLQJ PRPHQWV DUH RIWHQ WKH PRVW FKDOOHQJLQJ ,Q WKH ULQJ WKH ÁDVK\ PRPHQWV RI VXUURXQGLQJ HQWHUWDLQPHQW VXGGHQO\ SDOH LQWR LQVLJQLÀFDQFH DV WKH UHYROYLQJ VSRWOLJKWV FRPH WR DQ DEUXSW KDOW DQG KRQH LQ RQ the competitors as they receive WKHLU ÀQDO LQVWUXFWLRQV IURP WKH UHIHUHH +HUH WKH ÀJKWHUV VWDQG DORQH DQG WKLV HQGXULQJ LPDJH LV ZKHUH FRPEDW VSRUWV WUXO\ DSSHDO WR WKH DQLPDOLVWLF VLGH RI KXPDQ QDWXUH 6RPHWLPHV LW LV RXW RI FXULRVLW\ RWKHU WLPHV RXW RI SULGH but competing to see who is better LV D WUDLW WKDW KDV ORQJ EHHQ SDUW RI our society. ´, WKLQN WKH DSSHDO RI FRPEDW VSRUW FRPHV IURP WKH ZD\ LW ORRNV µ 3RXUUXW SRLQWV RXW ´:KHQ

The pre-ring spectacle builds anticipation in Antwerp’s Lotto Arena

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Superbon strikes his Enfusion #53 opponent Mohamed Khamal with a knee

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SportsPro Magazine | 117

COMPANY PROFILE FIGHTING SPIRIT

In the ring with Fighting Spirit Laurent Pourrut, chief executive of Fighting Spirit, discusses the event promotion companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rich stable of combat sport properties, which are proving a knockout around the world.

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here are few sports that can draw a global fanbase purely off the back of an inherent ability to transcend geographic, cultural and socioeconomic boundaries. American football, for instance, is in its relative infancy in terms of showcasing itself outside of North America, despite boasting one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most popular sports leagues for nearly 100 years. For those who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t regularly watch the National Football League (NFL), the foreign combination RI WRXFKGRZQV Ă&#x20AC; UVW GRZQV DQG timeouts isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t conducive to an easy introduction to what is fundamentally a national sport.

3XW WZR Ă&#x20AC; JKWHUV IDFH WR IDFH ZLWKLQ WKH FRQĂ&#x20AC; QHV RI D ULQJ KRZHYHU DQG the subsequent action requires little explanation. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more, that same scenario can be replicated throughout the world, where the basic concept of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;last man standingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; will never fail to register with fans.

Indeed, combat sports have existed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and attracted mass audiences â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in an amateur capacity for thousands of years, but boxing aside, it was only with the emergence of mixed martial arts (MMA) promotions in the 1990s that lesser-known disciplines truly started to make their mark on a professional, global scale. For Laurent Pourrut, the chief executive of event promotion company Fighting Spirit, the aim is to tap into an appetite for combat sports that is already there, and take it to the next level through world class events and competitions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fighting Spirit was created because of a shared passion between me and my brother about wrestling and boxing,â&#x20AC;? he explains. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We started Fighting Spirit in 2004 because we believed that combat sports were not getting enough exposure, especially

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with regards to MMA and wrestling.

In that sense, our passion became our job.â&#x20AC;?

Combat sports, then, are something that fans have always been passionate about, but it was not until recently that promoters recognised the wealth of opportunity to monetise it. While most promoters typically specialise in one particular sport, Fighting Spiritâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stable includes boxing, kickboxing, MMA, wrestling and Muay Thai. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our entire team is passionate about combat sports, and the programmes we offer are programmes we watch,â&#x20AC;? says Pourrut. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like it, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not in our line-up. We are always looking for the best programmes on the market to satisfy audiences who want to watch high-quality action with premium production. This mentality is what has made us a leading company in the combat sports industry.â&#x20AC;?

Although Fighting Spiritâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s properties predominantly feature (XURSHDQ Ă&#x20AC; JKWHUV WKH DGGLWLRQ RI athletes from Asia and the Americas ² WZR RI WKH ZRUOG¡V ELJJHVW Ă&#x20AC; JKW markets â&#x20AC;&#x201C; coupled with a handful

Laurent Pourrut, the chief executive of Fighting Spirit,

Pourrut says the event promotion company was set up to build interest in various combat sports

of events on those continents has given the company added leverage when it comes to negotiating with global broadcasters. Fighting Spirit is expanding internationally, ZLWK D QHZ RIĂ&#x20AC; FH RSHQLQJ VRRQ LQ Budapest and plans in motion for representation in Asia and the Middle East. The demand is certainly there, and Fighting Spiritâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kickboxing promotion, Enfusion, is already being shown in 160 countries around the world, while its MMA brand, M-1 Global, is also reaching screens in more than 100 different territories. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When it comes to broadcast partnerships,â&#x20AC;? Pourrut explains, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fighting Spirit is putting emphasis on long-term relationships. We

GR RXU YHU\ EHVW WR Ă&#x20AC;QG HYHQWV which suit the broadcaster and its audienceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs. Our strength is also our reliability and credibility on the PDUNHW JLYHQ WKDW ZH DUH WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW company to offer a complete variety of combat sports, ranging from wrestling to MMA, without forgetting the traditional martial arts. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fighting Spirit aims to bring the best offering for each and every combat sport. The core idea is that whatever you pick in our portfolio, you will have the best promoters DQG SURGXFWLRQV \RX FDQ Ă&#x20AC;QG RQ WKH market, but also the most reliable. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The fact that we have such a wide offering and different audience targets means that the broadcast partners we target depend on the genre. Wrestling tends to be more appealing for free-to-air and digital terrestrial broadcasters, while pure combat sports are more popular with pay-TV and digital channels.â&#x20AC;?

While there is an obvious need to supply broadcasters with a premium product, Fighting Spiritâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s promotions also place an emphasis on showcasing the best talent combat sports have to offer. In recent times, there has been an increasing tendency among SURPRWHUV WR VHOO WKHLU Ă&#x20AC;JKWV EDVHG on an underlying narrative, which can often lead to over-hyped events which IDLO WR GHOLYHU RQ Ă&#x20AC;JKW QLJKW )LJKWLQJ Spirit, on the other hand, might not boast household names just yet, but has helped to establish talent pipelines into its promotions, cultivating a FRQYH\RU EHOW RI VNLOOHG Ă&#x20AC;JKWHUV WR ensure that audiences are getting value from what happens inside of the ring, rather than out of it. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When you look at our main properties,â&#x20AC;? says Pourrut, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Enfusionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s management has been working in this industry for 25 years, and provides opportunities for the next generation RI Ă&#x20AC;JKWHUV WKURXJK LWV (QIXVLRQ Talents and Enfusion Rookies development programme. Enfusion VKRZFDVHV WKH EHVW Ă&#x20AC;JKWHUV RI WRGD\ rather than the ones of yesterday as you often see in other promotions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;M-1 Global, meanwhile, is already celebrating 20 years of existence, making it one of the oldest in MMA. It works closely with gyms to train

Fighting Spiritâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stable includes boxing, kickboxing, MMA, wrestling and Muay Thai

Ă&#x20AC;JKWHUV EXW DOVR XVHV WKH ZLGH UDQJH of athletes starting from the amateurs in the World Mixed Martial Arts Association [WMMAA] to create Road to M-1 worldwide events, so those who reach the top-tier M-1 Challenge events are the ones who have been carefully selected and earned the right to be a part of it.â&#x20AC;?

The company also understands the part it has to play in preserving the integrity of the sport. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was at the centre of a doping scandal in August, when it emerged that Jon Jones â&#x20AC;&#x201C; already banned for doping in the past â&#x20AC;&#x201C; had tested positive for an anabolic steroid just weeks after recapturing the world light heavyweight title against Daniel Cormier. That event had been the UFCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s highest-selling pay-per-view of 2017, and while Jonesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; transgression was damaging for the promotion and the athleteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reputation, the damage is more enduring for the sport as a whole. With that in mind, Pourrut is keen to assert that Fighting Spirit recognises its role as a custodian of PDLQWDLQLQJ WKH OHYHO SOD\LQJ Ă&#x20AC;HOG WKDW is at the heart of the sportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appeal. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For us, safety and doping tests DOZD\V FRPH Ă&#x20AC;UVW Âľ KH VD\V ´:H FDUU\ out medical tests before the events and if there is a risk of injury, we pull out the athletes. If an athlete tests positive for a banned substance, ZH SXQLVK WKHP ZLWK VLJQLĂ&#x20AC;FDQW VDQFWLRQV OLNH EDQQLQJ WKH Ă&#x20AC;JKWHUV and their team.â&#x20AC;?

There is a sense, then, that Fighting 6SLULW RSHUDWHV Ă&#x20AC;UPO\ ZLWK ORQJHYLW\ in mind. There is a clear aim to build WKH SURĂ&#x20AC;OH RI Ă&#x20AC;JKWHUV E\ LQWURGXFLQJ

them to their audience from an early stage in their development, so fans can follow their journey from the amateurs right through to the pinnacle of the sport. Not only does this construct a more genuine narrative of its own, it also creates brand loyalists within a fanbase which is given the chance to develop real DIĂ&#x20AC;OLDWLRQV ZLWK WKH FRPSHWLWRUV â&#x20AC;&#x153;The main challenge for us is to engage our viewers once the live events are over,â&#x20AC;? Pourrut explains. â&#x20AC;&#x153;One of the solutions is to allow our fans the chance to watch their IDYRXULWH Ă&#x20AC;JKWHUV DQG IROORZ WKHLU lives behind the curtain. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a growing demand for our reality TV shows and documentaries, because the storytelling is so strong that it encourages fans to follow a Ă&#x20AC;JKWHU UHJDUGOHVV RI WKHLU DELOLW\ â&#x20AC;&#x153;These shows are unique because they prove that combat sports are not just about one person knocking out another. It is about two people who have their own reasons for being in the ring, two professionals who put all of their talent on the line, and we want to give them the power to tell their story through combat sport. â&#x20AC;&#x153;2018 will be a huge year for XV ZLWK WKH ELJJHVW Ă&#x20AC;JKWV LQ WKH history of Enfusion and the 20year celebration of M-1 Global, so stay tuned!â&#x20AC;?

Contact Fighting Spirit Visit: www.ďŹ ghting.fr email: ďŹ ghting@ďŹ ghting.fr Call: +33 5 82 84 20 40

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DEALS REVIEW

DEALS REVIEW Sports industry deal-making highlights from August and September 2017

Russell Westbrook pens ten-year Jordan Brand extension National Basketball Association (NBA) star Russell Westbrook has agreed a ten-year extension of his shoe deal with Nike’s Jordan Brand, according to ESPN’s Nick DePaula.

Industry sources report that the reigning NBA MVP’s new contract is the most lucrative total endorsement deal for a Jordan Brand athlete to date, and will see the 28-year-old remain with the company until the end of the 2025/26 season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder point guard first signed a five-year agreement with Jordan Brand in 2013, and has since been the face of its advertising campaigns and the annual Air Jordan model each season. The new deal is expected to see the two parties work together to develop an on-court Westbrook signature shoe.

The extension, which was negotiated by the Wasserman agency and Westbrook’s agent Thad Foucher, comes ahead of the initial deal’s expiration next year.

Following the departure of eight-time NBA All-Star Kevin Durant, Westbrook led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the seasonending NBA Playoffs in 2016/17, but they were eliminated in the first round by the Houston Rockets. The Thunder play their first game of the new season at home to the New York Knicks on 19th October.

Formula One teams up with Lagardère Sports Formula One, the world’s elite motorsport series, has launched a strategic partnership with Lagardère Sports in an attempt to drive the sport’s growth in China.

Starting in 2018, the collaboration will see the agency use its vast network to secure strategic partners for the championship in areas including event promotion, media rights, digital and brand partnerships, merchandising, talent development and racing team development.

Having acquired Formula One in an US$8 billion deal, Liberty Media will work this agreement into its plans to broaden the appeal of the series in key growth markets.

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Sean Bratches, the managing director of commercial operations for Formula One, said: “We have a proud and longstanding relationship with motorsport in Asia, working with some great motor race circuit owners and successful race promoters from Singapore to Suzuka in Japan through to Malaysia and Shanghai in China.

“We are keen to build on this, developing our brand through unique live entertainment experiences designed to get fans closer to the action. We’re delighted to be working with Lagardère Sports, whose knowledge of the market in China will help establish long-term benefits for all our partners and brands that we work with.”

NFL logs on with Facebook The National Football League (NFL) has announced a new multi-year partnership with Facebook to provide official NFL video and content to fans around the world.

The league will use the global social media platform to publish NFL Game Recaps and official highlights from all 256 regular season fixtures, along with the season-ending play-offs and Super Bowl.

Additionally, NFL Media, the league’s media arm, will distribute packaged content from its production division NFL Films on Facebook’s Watch service, which will give fans in the US access to NFL Turning Point, Sound FX and NFL Game Recaps.

The deal will see highlights made available to fans immediately after the conclusion of every NFL game. Fans from around the world will be able to access the content by following the NFL or any of its 32 clubs on Facebook.

“We have millions of fans on Facebook, and they continue to demonstrate an incredible

Laurene Powell Jobs buying major stake in Monumental Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple cofounder and former chief executive Steve Jobs, has agreed a deal to buy a 20 per cent stake in Washington DC-based ownership group Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE).

Powell Jobs, a billionaire philanthropist and the president of the Emerson Collective, will acquire the minority stake provided the deal is approved by both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Hockey League (NHL).

Founded by Ted Leonsis, a former AOL executive, MSE is the parent company of the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals, as well as other properties including both teams’ home venue, the Capital One Arena, the Washington Mystics of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the

YouTube TV becomes first presenting sponsor of MLB World Series

appetite for NFL content,” said Hans Schroeder, chief operating officer of NFL Media. “We’re excited to bring a compelling set of highlights and shows from the NFL and our clubs to our fans on Facebook.”

“We’re excited for Watch to become a destination for NFL fans to catch up on the latest on-field action and connect with one another,” added Dan Reed, Facebook’s head of global sports partnerships. “These full game recaps and shows will deliver comprehensive coverage while enabling the active NFL fan communities on Facebook to watch and debate the top storylines from each week.”

Washington Valor and Baltimore Brigade Arena Football League (AFL) teams.

If the deal goes through - league approval was anticipated as SportsPro went to press Powell Jobs, 53, will become the second-largest shareholder in Monumental, behind only Leonsis, who serves as the 19-member organisation’s chairman and chief executive.

Terms of Powell Jobs’ investment have not been made public but the Washington Post reports that it is estimated to be worth ‘hundreds of millions of dollars’.

Powell Jobs is one of the wealthiest women in the world, with an estimated net worth of nearly US$18 billion. She also owns four per cent of The Walt Disney Company, and was part of a group that tried unsuccessfully to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers NBA franchise several years ago.

Powell Jobs’ late husband, who co-founded Apple in 1976, died in 2011.

Major League Baseball (MLB) has entered into a multi-faceted partnership with Google’s nascent YouTube TV service, which becomes the firstever presenting sponsor for the league’s seasonending World Series.

YouTube TV, an over-the-top (OTT) live streaming offering which launched in several US markets earlier this year, will have advertisements and on-air call-outs throughout World Series coverage provided by MLB broadcast partner Fox, whose channels are also available via YouTube TV. Additionally, the service will be promoted across MLB’s digital and social platforms, as well as in ballparks during games. The two parties will also collaborate to create original, World Series-themed content featuring MLB players and popular YouTubers, and run competitions offering fans the chance to win behind-thescenes experiences.

It is hoped the new partnership, which represents YouTube’s first major promotional push for its new service, will drive digital consumption of World Series coverage whilst also helping to raise awareness of YouTube TV, which is available on all devices, including mobiles, tablets, computers and smart TVs. YouTube TV is one of several virtual MPVDs looking to lure consumers into buying so-called ‘skinny bundles’ - lower-cost programming packages delivered over the internet without the need for a cable subscription. As well as Fox’s channels, it currently offers access to ESPN and NBC Sports-branded regional sports networks.

While financial terms have not been disclosed, the new deal continues MLB’s strategy of signing presenting sponsors for its post-season play.

The league recently signed deals with Camping World, which now sponsors the championship series in both the National and American leagues; Doosan Corporation, which is backing the American League Division Series (ALDS); and T-Mobile US, which supports the National League Division Series (NLDS).

For more information on these deals and daily updates from across the sports industry, visit www.sportspromedia.com

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DEALS SECTION TEXT HERE DIRECTORY

DIRECTORY OF SPONSORSHIP DEALS Signed in August and September 2017 MLS and Adidas pen US$700m renewal

Ferrari spark Marlboro renewal

Li-Ning confirms renewal with CBA

Major League Soccer (MLS) has renewed its exclusive apparel deal with Adidas, in what is the largest commercial partnership in the league’s history. The new contract will run for six years - from 2018 to 2024 - and is reported to be worth some US$700 million in total, far higher than the current eight-year deal worth US$25 million per year. As well as continuing to produce uniforms, footwear and training gear for all 22 clubs in MLS, Adidas will remain the official supplier of apparel to MLS youth academies, development leagues and youthaffiliated clubs. Adidas became the exclusive apparel partner of MLS in 2004, although it had previously supplied three of the ten founding franchises that comprised the league when it formed in 1996. Its previous contract was agreed in 2010.

Length of contract: 6 years Annualised value: US$116 million Overall value: US$700 million Sport: Soccer

Formula One team Ferrari have agreed a multiyear extension of their long-term partnership with Philip Morris International and its Marlboro cigarette brand. The two parties first joined forces over 40 years ago, and the tobacco company has been the Italian outfit’s title sponsor since 1997. Due to a ban on tobacco advertising, Marlboro’s logo has not appeared on Ferrari’s race car since the 2007 Chinese Grand Prix, but the vehicle has maintained a red and white livery that reflects the colours of the US-based company’s branding. The agreement means that Philip Morris will remain as the only tobacco company associated with the world’s elite motorsport series, and will continue to use its links with Ferrari to promote Marlboro in various territories. No financial terms were released but Ferrari’s existing partnership with Philip Morris is believed to be worth around US$100 million a year.

Length of contract: 3 years Annualised value: US$100 million Overall value: US$300 million Sport: Motorsport

The Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) has renewed its apparel deal with Li-Ning.

The Chinese sportswear brand, which first signed with the league in 2012, will continue to supply footwear, clothing and protective equipment to all 20 CBA teams. The extension was announced at an event in Hong Kong attended by Li-Ning founder and executive chairman Li Ning and Yao Ming, the former National Basketball Association (NBA) superstar who is now chairman of the CBA. Both parties also pledged to collaborate on the further promotion and professional development of the league and to pursue a more stable and expanded long-term partnership. The financial terms of the renewal were not officially released, but reports on Tencent’s QQ service suggest that the deal will be worth around one billion yuan (US$150 million) over five years.

Length of contract: 5 years Annualised value: US$30 million Overall value: US$150 million Sport: Basketball

Real Madrid pen €70 million Emirates renewal

MSE confirms Capital One naming rights deal

European soccer champions Real Madrid have renewed their partnership with Emirates until the end of the 2021/22 season, according to various reports. If confirmed, the Dubai-based airline will continue as the La Liga side’s frontof-shirt sponsor for the next four seasons, in a deal which will see the company’s Fly Emirates logo emblazoned across the chest of all first team playing tops. According to Spanish daily newspaper Marca, the extension is worth €70 million (US$84 million) for each year of the agreement, earning the reigning European champions a mammoth total of €280 million (US$336 million). The deal would become the most lucrative shirt sponsorship agreement ever seen in world soccer, dwarfing the annual €55 million (US$66 million) Madrid’s rivals Barcelona receive from Rakuten, along with Manchester United’s UK£53 million (US$73.9 million) per annum partnership with Chevrolet.

Length of contract: 5 years Annualised value: US$70 million Overall value: US$280 million Sport: Soccer

Monumental Sports and Entertainment (MSE), the company which owns the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Washington Capitals and the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Washington Wizards, has confirmed that US bank holding company Capital One has secured the naming rights for the arena that houses the two franchises. The 20,000-seater Verizon Center will now be known as the Capital One Arena, with complete signage and branding scheduled to be installed later this year. According to the Bloomberg news agency, the deal is valued at US$100 million over a ten-year period. The naming rights were previously held by telecoms conglomerate Verizon Communications but the company’s contract expired at the end of 2016. MSE has also announced that it has made a separate, independent US$40 million investment in the newly named Capital One Arena.

Length of contract: 10 years Annualised value: US$10 million Overall value: US$100 million Sport: Multiple sports

MLSE and Scotiabank in arena rights deal Toronto-based ownership group Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) has agreed a 20-year stadium naming rights deal with Scotiabank worth a reported CAN$800 million (US$639 million). The lucrative sponsorship agreement will see Toronto’s Air Canada Centre - home of the Maple Leafs ice hockey team and the Raptors basketball franchise renamed the Scotiabank Arena when it takes effect on 1st July 2018. Air Canada has held the naming rights to the downtown venue, which also houses the Toronto Rock of Major League Lacrosse (MLL), since it opened in February 1999, paying a reported CAN$4 million per year under the terms of its initial 20-year deal. Reports in Canada say as many as eight companies expressed an interest in acquiring the naming rights, while TSN reports that the deal, which averages just under US$32 million per year, is ‘believed to be the highest-priced annual building and team sponsorship in North American sports history.’

Length of contract: 20 years Annualised value: US$32 million Overall value: US$639 million Sport: Multiple sports

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GSW and Rakuten agree jersey patch deal The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Golden State Warriors have announced that Rakuten will be their first ever jersey patch sponsor. In a multi-year deal announced in September, the Japanese tech company’s logo will adorn the reigning NBA champions’ practice, regular, post-season and summer league uniforms starting from the 2017/18 season. As part of the agreement, Rakuten will also become the official e-commerce partner, official video-on-demand partner and official affiliate marketing partner of the Warriors. The sponsorship is Rakuten’s second major move within sports in the last year, after the company was announced as Spanish soccer giant Barcelona’s new front-of-shirt sponsor in November 2016 in a four-year deal worth €220 million (US$235 million).

Length of contract: 3 years Annualised value: US$20 million Overall value: US$60 million Sport: Basketball

Werder Bremen renew deal with Wiesenhof Top-flight German soccer side Werder Bremen and Wiesenhof have extended their sponsorship agreement for a further four years. Poultry products manufacturer Wiesenhof will continue to be the Bundesliga outfit’s front-of-shirt sponsor until the end of the 2019/20 Bundesliga season.

Wiesenhof has been Bremen’s shirt sponsor since 2012. The deal is thought to be a minor advance on the single-year extension signed between the two parties in 2016, which was reported by SportsPro to be worth US$7.45 million Length of contract: 4 years Annualised value: US$8 million Overall value: US$32 million Sport: Basketball

Formula One team Scuderia Ferrari have renewed their massive sponsorship deal with Marlboro

Miami Heat dunk Ultimate Software

Atlanta Hawks sign jersey sponsorship

The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Miami Heat have announced that Ultimate Software will be their jersey patch sponsor for the next three years. Starting from the 2017/18 season, the technology company’s logo will be imprinted on the front of the Florida-based franchise’s uniforms until the end of the 2019/20 campaign. Ultimate Software, which already serves as the club’s official payroll provider, will also support the Miami Heat Charitable Fund initiatives. “Together, the Miami Heat and Ultimate Software can send a message that, in both sports and business, people are the foundation of strong teams and putting people first is the best road to championships,” said said Scott Scherr, founder, president and chief executive of Ultimate Software Length of contract: 3 years Annualised value: US$10 million Overall value: US$30 million Sport: Basketball

The Atlanta Hawks have announced a multi-year sponsorship deal with local healthcare provider Sharecare that includes jersey branding. The National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise became the league’s 13th team to agree a jersey patch sponsorship ahead of the 2017/18 season.

Atlanta-based Sharecare, founded in 2010 by Jeff Arnold, a lifelong Hawks fan, and Mehmet Oz, is a digital app that provides users with personalised information about their health. As part of the deal, brokered by the WME | IMG agency, Sharecare will also have a dedicated activation area and signage at the Hawks’ Philips Arena, as well as a presence on the team’s various media platforms.

Length of contract: 3 years Annualised value: US$6 million Overall value: US$18 million Sport: Basketball

LA Lakers agree jersey patch with Wish The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Los Angeles Lakers have named Wish as their first ever jersey patch sponsor. Under the terms of a three-year deal, the e-commerce platform’s logo will adorn the California-based franchise’s uniforms starting from the 2017/18 season.

According to industry outlet SportsBusiness Daily, the agreement will earn the 16-time NBA champions somewhere in the region of US$12 million to US$14 million for each year of the partnership.

Length of contract: 3 years Annualised value: US$14 million Overall value: US$32 million Sport: Basketball

Mello Yello renews NHRA title sponsorship Coca-Cola’s Mello Yello soft drink brand has extended its title sponsorship of the NHRA’s premier drag racing series until 2023. Under the new deal, the citrus-flavoured brand will have an enhanced presence at all NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events over the next six years.

While financial terms have not been disclosed, the previous deal was reported to be worth between US$3 million and US$4 million annually.

Length of contract: 6 years Annualised value: US$4 million Overall value: US$24 million Sport: Motorsport

Denver Nuggets in Western Union tie up The Denver Nuggets have added their name to the list of National Basketball Association (NBA) franchises with a jersey patch sponsor for the upcoming season. As part of a three-year deal, the logo of The Western Union Company will adorn the Nuggets’ jerseys beginning with the 2018/18 NBA campaign. As well as jersey branding, the partnership includes in-arena signage as well as social, TV and radio advertising, and collaboration on community initiatives. Western Union will also serve as a co-presenting sponsor of the Nuggets’ 50th anniversary celebrations.

Length of contract: 3 years Annualised value: US$6 million Overall value: US$18 million Sport: Basketball

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DEALS SECTION TEXT HERE DIRECTORY

Espanyol net new main sponsor Top-flight Spanish soccer side Espanyol have announced Riviera Maya as their new main sponsor for the next six years. The Mexican tourist destination will serve as the La Liga outfit’s front-of-shirt sponsor in a deal which will see the resort’s logo adorn the front of all first team playing tops from January 2018 until 2023.

According to soccer business outlet Inside World Football, the agreement is worth a total of €12 million (US$14.3 million), which could rise to more than €16 million if the team qualify for European competition. Riviera Maya has been a partner of the Barcelona-based club since 2011, and the new deal has been negotiated with the Government of Quintana Roo, where the resort is based.

Length of contract: 6 years Annualised value: US$2.6 million Overall value: US$16 million Sport: Soccer

Hendrick Motorsports renew Nationwide deal Nascar team Hendrick Motorsports have renewed their partnership with insurance group Nationwide for a further year. The extension will see Nationwide act as the primary sponsor for Alex Bowman’s number 88 entry at 19 races during the 2018 Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series season and is worth as much as US$9.5 million over the year. Nationwide first teamed up with Hendrick Motorsports in 2015. 24-year-old Bowman is set to take over behind the wheel of the number 88 car from the popular two-time Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr, who announced in April that 2017 would be his final year of racing full time.

Length of contract: 1 year Annualised value: US$9.5 million Overall value: US$9.5 million Sport: Motorsport

German soccer champions Bayern Munich have launched a new three-year partnership with Ursapharm

Bayern Munich see through Ursapharm deal

Burnley score first ever sleeve sponsor

Top-flight German soccer giants Bayern Munich have launched a new three-year partnership with Ursapharm. The pharmaceuticals company will be listed as a gold partner of the Bundesliga champions until the end of the 2019/20 season, in a deal which will see the club endorse the brand’s new range of eye drops. The aim of the collaboration is to raise awareness of dry eye disease and emphasise the importance of daily eye care. As part of the agreement, Bayern’s Manuel Neuer, Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng have already appeared in a cross-media campaign promoting Ursapharm’s new products.

The company will also benefit from brand exposure on pitchside LED bands at the club’s Allianz Arena.

Length of contract: 3 years Annualised value: US$1.5 million Overall value: US$4.5 million Sport: Soccer

Top-tier English soccer side Burnley have announced a new sleeve sponsorship deal with Playdemic. The agreement will see the mobile gaming company’s Golf Clash brand imprinted on the left sleeve of the Premier League team’s shirts until the end of the 2017/18 season. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, although the advertising space is understood to be valued at around 20 per cent of the value derived from a club’s main shirt sponsorship deal - working out at roughly UK£500,000 (US$660,000) for the Clarets.

Length of contract: 1 year Annualised value: US$660,000 Overall value: US$660,000 Sport: Soccer

Axalta doubles up with Hendrick Hendrick Motorsports have also extended their collaboration with coating systems company Axalta for a further year. Axalta will have its branding imprinted on the Alex Bowman’s number 88 entry for 15 races throughout the 2018 Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series season in a deal valued at around US$7.5 million. Axalta is a major backer of Nascar.

Last year, it became the final founding partner of the world-famous Daytona International Speedway, where the traditional opening race of the Nascar season is held.

Length of contract: 1 year Annualised value: US$7.5 million Overall value: US$7.5 million Sport: Motorsport

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Marathon deal for Generali Elsewhere in Bavaria, insurance firm Generali has expanded its partnership with the Munich Marathon to become the title sponsor of the race for three years until 2020. According to Sponsors.de, the deal is worth an annual sum in the mid six-figure range and will see Generali branding on display all along the course of the run. The race takes place in October, alongside the city’s infamous Oktoberfest celebrations.

Length of contract: 3 years Annualised value: US$500,000 Overall value: US$1.5 million Sport: Athletics

CG Gruppe becomes sleeve sponsor of Leipzig Top-tier German soccer side RB Leipzig have entered into a commercial partnership with CG Gruppe. Under the terms of the agreement, the real estate company will be Leipzig’s sleeve sponsor from the start of the 2017/18 Bundesliga season. CG Gruppe will also have a strong brand presence on Die Bullens’ digital and social media platforms and through pitchside LED boards at their home stadium, the Red Bull Arena. RB Leipzig finished second in the 2016/17 Bundesliga, qualifying the Red Bull-funded team for the Uefa Champions League for the first time in their eight-year history.

Length of contract: 1 year Annualised value: US$500,000 Overall value: US$500,000 Sport: Soccer

NETWORK WITH THE GLOBAL FOOTBALL INDUSTRY

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INDEX ISSUE 92

Issue 96

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SPECIAL REPORT SECTION TEXTBRAND THE HERE CONFERENCE

COVER STORY FORMULA ONE

SEAN BRATCHES

TALKING LIBERTY

UNLEASHING THE POWER OF FORMULA ONE

INDEX OF COMPANIES AND PEOPLE

Inside the Champions League’s rights team

English cricket’s broadcast revolution

Ten months into Liberty Media’s stewardship of Formula One, Sean Bratches and Frank Arthofer, two of the men brought on board to transform the championship’s commercial outlook, tell SportsPro about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for motorsport’s biggest beast.

By Adam Nelson

S

ean Bratches, Formula One’s managing director of commercial operations, might not quite be sport’s Michael Corleone but he admits that, after calling time on his 27-year career with broadcasting giant ESPN in 2015: “I thought I was out – until they dragged me back in.”

The smile Bratches wears as he says this reveals there is no ambiguity to his remark. Having overseen ESPN’s growth from a single channel to a global juggernaut, pioneering highGHÀ QLWLRQ EURDGFDVWLQJ DQG crafting ESPN’s cable and satellite distribution network in his stay of more than a quarter of a century with the company, no one could have held it against Bratches when he headed for a well-deserved retirement.

That retirement ultimately lasted less than two years. In early 2017, Bratches was coaxed back to work by new Formula One Group chief executive Chase Carey after the

completion of Liberty Media’s takeover of motorsport’s elite series.

He would not have returned, he says, for anything other than a project of this magnitude.

“Now, I feel like a puppy!” he adds. “My tail’s always wagging, I’m smiling the entire time.”

Bratches certainly does not come across as the kind of character who would settle down into a retirement of leisure – although he is, reportedly, a skilled woodworker in his spare time, he appears to thrive off the energy and bustle of the sports industry. “I feel like a shark here,” he says. “If I stop swimming I’m gonna die – there’s just so much to do.” *****

Liberty has now been in control of Formula One for ten months, and it’s hard to imagine a more hectic environment in the world of sport to come back into. Talking about the process that brought him into the Liberty fold, Bratches

Sean Bratches, Formula One’s managing director of commercial operations

jokingly describes it as a “classic bait and switch,” in an anecdote that tidily illustrates the scale of the job before him.

“I was approached to come over and run the business group,” he explains, speaking to SportsPro in Shanghai in August. “And then I got here, and there was no business group!

There was no marketing team, or digital team, or communications, or research. Nothing.

“So I’ve been in the process of hiring the leads of each of those respective JURXSV , VSHQW WKH À UVW three or four months effectively by myself before people starting coming on board. I was just rolling a grenade into every room I went into because there was nothing in the pipeline.

There were no deals pending or anything.”

The emerging picture in OTT Lessons from The Brand Conference 2017

34 | www.sportspromedia.com 46 | www.sportspromedia.com

21ST CENTURY FOX

54

A AFC

88

AJ BOXING

34

AMAZON

APPLE Armstrong, Lance ARSENAL FC

8, 16, 20, 54, 62, 94

130 8 46

ARUP

12

ASER

62 62

ASIAN BASKETBALL CONFEDERATION

88

ASIAN TOUR

88

AT&T ATP

54, 104 54

Au, Rich

54

AVIVA

62

Azevedo, Fabio

34

Cunningham, Freddie

BRIGHTCOVE

16

D

Britten, Tony

94

BRUIN SPORTS CAPITAL

34

FIGHTING SPIRIT

DAVE

78

DAZN

68, 94

54

12

Baier, Christian

108

108

Fleiss, Nika

108

Ford, Steve

34

DIRECTV

54 54

FORMULA ONE GROUP

46, 88

DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

46

54

FORMULA ONE MANAGEMENT FOX SPORTS

BT TV

62

BV BORUSSIA DORTMUND

88 DISH NETWORK

C Capone, Al

E 130

Ecclestone, Bernie

46

CARIBBEAN PREMIER LEAGUE

78

EHF MARKETING

72

CBS

54

EINTRACHT BRAUNSCHWEIG

68

CHANNEL 5

78

ELEVEN SPORTS

CHARLES RUSSELL SPEECHLYS

34

ENFUSION

CHINA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

88

ENGLAND AND WALES CRICKET BOARD

CHINESE SUPER LEAGUE

88

ESPN

CHINESE GOLF ASSOCIATION

88

ESPN STAR SPORTS

EFL

114 78

46, 54, 130

CLIPPER VENTURES

16 104

78

54, 72

68

COMCAST

54

EUROSPORT

54

8

EVERTON FC

8

78

BCCI

78

Bell, Andy

34 114 104

46

COPA90 COSTCUTTER Coutinho, Philippe CRICKET AUSTRALIA CRICKET SOUTH AFRICA Crouch, Simon

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20 78

F FACEBOOK

8

20

ICC

78

IGBS

18

IMG

18, 78

Frost, Jerome

12

IOC

12, 34, 54

Fry, Graham

18 IPL

54, 78

FUBO.TV

54 ITV4

G Garber, Don

8

Garcetti, Eric

12

Geier, Rainer

68

Georgiou, Andrew

88

G-FUEL

34

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

54

J Jagerhofer, Hannes

108

Jaraya, Mohammed

114

Jobs, Laurene Powell

20

Jobs, Steve

Johnson, Steven 94

Graves, Colin

78

Gulati, Sunil

8

8, 16, 20, 54, 62, 94

78

FC BARCELONA

6, 8 72

78

FC BARCELONA LASSA

94

FC INTERNAZIONALE

20, 128 34 128 34

K KIA

H Haye, David

78

54, 94

Graham, Jamie

Harrison, Tom

BBC

IAAF

JUVENTUS FC

54

88

I

Johnson, Kate

EUROPEAN HANDBALL FEDERATION

108

94

GOOGLE

BAMTECH

Commisso, Rocco

Humana-Paredes, Melissa

54

16, 54

54

54, 62

HULU

130

Iger, Bob

46

Carey, Chase

HOUSTON ROCKETS

HYATT HOTELS FIVB

54

20

Bratches, Sean

12

DELTATRE

Coe, Lord Sebastian

Branson, Sir Richard

FINANCIAL TIMES

20, 53, 62, 78, 94

94

Ben Moh, Nordin

54

BT SPORT

Balfour, Alex

114

FINA

108

EUROPEAN HOCKEY FEDERATION

Banchamek, Superbon

114

Dell'Orco, Nikša

CISCO

Bach, Thomas

34, 94, 130

62, 68

108

B

FIFA

BT

16, 94

Arthofer, Frank

ASER MEDIA

Breazeale, Dominic

78

Kitchen, Julie

114

Knight, Jeremy

104 104

78 108

HBS

18

Knox-Johnston, Robin

HC VARDAR

72

Koerl, Carsten

68

Hermannová, Barbora

108

Kubica, Robert

62

Holland, Oliver

94

L

Horn, Jeff

16

LA LIGA

108 8, 88

LAGARDÈRE SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

88

MOLE IN A MINUTE

94

88

MONUMENTAL SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

20

LAGARDÈRE UNLIMITED LAGUNA POREČ LAMIGO MONKEYS

PREMIER LEAGUE

108

Morey, Daryl

130

62

Morgan, Cliff

34

MOTOGP

46

LANXESS

72

LAOLA1.TV

68

LEEDS UNITED FC

62

LEICESTER CITY FC

8

NASL

62

NBA

72, 130

NBC

108

MP & SILVA

Lewandowski, Robert LIBERTY MEDIA

N

NBCUNIVERSAL 54

Little, Carrie

94

NETFLIX

LOTTO LUCOZADE RIBENA SUNTORY

8, 72, 94

MANCHESTER CITY FC

34

94

54

8

8, 54, 72, 94

Manthey, Ralf

62

Mateo, Miguel Matthäus, Lothar Mayweather, Floyd Jr McGregor, Conor

MEDIACORP Menken, Danny

20, 54 54

NEW YORK COSMOS

8

NEWCASTLE UNITED FC

16

20

16, 62, 114 16, 62, 114

130

Princess Haya bint Hussein

130

Q QUEST

Radrizzani, Andrea

Mills, Sir Keith

54, 62 108

RED BULL MEDIA HOUSE

108

ROKU

16

Ronaldo, Cristiano

34

S

54

Saabye, Henrik

NIELSEN

20

SALOMON

130

O O2

34

OLYMPIC CHANNEL

54

Sánchez, Alexis

62

Ozcan, Tayfun

114

16

PARIS SAINTGERMAIN HANDBALL

72

8 104

MLB

54

MLS

8, 54

Paul, Chris Pavan, Sarah

8

PERFORM GROUP Perišić, Ivan

SPORTSMAN MEDIA GROUP

68

SPORTSMAN MEDIA HOLDING

68

SPORTUBE

114

STAR INDIA

54

VELUX

72

Stokes, Ben

78

Vigato, Silvio

34

Strauss, Andrew

78

VISA

34

SUBBUTEO

94

W

8

SWATCH

108

Świergiel, Krzysztof

62

Szlezak, David

72

T

108

Ward, William

104

Watson, Marc

62 8

Wiederer, Michael

72

TELEKOM VESZPRÉM

72

Wilkins, Jaclyn

34

Tellier, Francis

18

Wilmot, Mike

18

THE INSIGHTS DISTILLERY

94

Wlochovski, Daniel

18

WORLD SPORT GROUP

88

Wozniak, Steve

128

THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY

16, 54

Silva, Riccardo

8

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FC

Sinatra, Frank

34

SOUTHAMPTON FC

Wankmüller, Stefan

94

54

8

TURNER

20

TURNER BROADCASTING SYSTEM

54

TWITCH

34

68

94

34

TEAM MARKETING

TOTAL SPORTS ASIA

SNAPRAPID

Waller, Mark

WEST HAM UNITED FC

8

16

108

van Os, Edwin

Scudamore, Richard

SNAPCHAT

V

62

54

108

8

8

TIME WARNER

20, 54, 62, 78, 94, 104

US SOCCER

68

Van Dijk, Virgil

108

SKY

UNAS MEDIA PRODUCTIONS

VALAMAR HOTELS & RESORTS

Schwarz, Philipp

TWITTER

46, 54

WPP

54

WTA

54

X Xi Jinping

88

Y Young, James YOUTUBE

34 20, 54

U UCFB

34

UEFA

62, 72, 94, 108

16, 54

130 108

54

16

18 62

SPORTSFIX

94

Slukova, Marketa

Pacquiao, Manny

54, 68, 72

Schmidt, Thomas

SKY SPORTS

P

68

72

12

ONE WORLD SPORTS

SPORTRADAR

SUM

RED BULL

NHL

SPORTITALIA

130

R

SONY MIAMI FC

20

8

72 62

Prince Ali bin al-Hussein

6, 34

OLYMPIC DELIVERY AUTHORITY

8, 20, 54, 62, 72, 78, 88, 94 62

NFL

Nuzman, Carlos

MANCHESTER UNITED FC

MARVEL

54

114

M MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ADVANCED MEDIA

8

114

PREMIERSHIP RUGBY

PWC

NEULION

Neymar Jr Lutz, Kerstin

54, 62

46, 88

LIGA MX

LIVERPOOL FC

Pourrut, Laurent

8

54

SPORTBIBLE

108

108

SPORTFIVE

88

UFC

62

UMBEL

34

SportsPro Magazine | 127

UNOFFICIAL PARTNER

IN PRAISE OF ART SCHOOL Growing up in the 1970s, new ideas penetrated my life at a rate of around one every three or four years.

Stagflation; go to work on an egg; and the revelation that when you put the right combination of numbers into a pocket calculator, you could make it spell the words ‘Poodog’ and ‘A-hole’ when held upside down.

That was the sum of my exposure to progressive thinking during the period 1974 to 1978.

Cleverness was a marginal activity, denoted on film and TV by the wearing of glasses and/or a lab coat. Inventors were people like Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, an endearing dreamer living in chaotic rural poverty, albeit one who managed to pay the mortgage on a shabby chic windmill on the South Downs and run a vintage flying car.

Today, ideas are a commodity item, flying at us from every corner of the internet and, like every area of marketing, sport is in thrall to the cult of disruption.

No self-respecting conference hack will talk for five minutes without referencing The D Word, which has lost all meaning, reduced to press release fodder by PRs hoping some Silicon Valley glitz will rub off on their client’s pedestrian ‘new’ thing.

Real disruption is quite rare and is by nature highly unpredictable.

A while ago I met the author and broadcaster Steven Johnson, who wrote a really good book about the

128 | www.sportspromedia.com

meaning of innovation, called How We Got To Now. Each chapter takes a single subject and reveals the extraordinary chain of events that led to the everyday items we now take for granted. The six topics are: Glass, Cold, Sound, Clean, Time and Light.

The story of glass points out that Gutenberg’s printing press led to a surge in the demand for spectacles, ‘as the new practice of reading made Europeans across the continent suddenly realize that they were farsighted; the market demand for spectacles encouraged a growing number of people to produce and experiment with lenses, which led to the invention of the microscope, which shortly thereafter enabled us to perceive that our bodies were made up of microscopic cells. You wouldn’t think that printing technology would have anything to do with the expansion of our vision down to the cellular scale’.

The central idea of Johnson’s book is that great innovations

involve a virtually unknowable chain of causality. There’s no chance that we will be able to identify the connections that will be made in the future, let alone predict them in advance.

There are lessons here for anyone with a remit to cultivate innovation in the workplace. Point one is, don’t expect your next big thing to come out of an office.

The downside of creating organisations is that they tend to eradicate chaos and unpredictability, the very things needed to encourage the mental leaps required.

Most businesses don’t tolerate the type of loose, unformed thinking needed to bring new perspectives to existing problems.

Instead, real disruptors share a tendency to exist on the margins, either of society as a whole or more narrowly, within their particular area of expertise.

‘The defining characteristic of a genuine innovator is that they cultivate hobbies, often combining

a day job with a million and one different interests,” said Johnson, referencing Apple’s co-founders, “that whole ‘Jobs and Wozniak working in the garage’ model”.

This hobbyist tendency encourages the weird collision of interests that are at the heart of creativity.

By contrast, sport and marketing are very rule-based pursuits, which leads to the second problem.

The sports business is – unsurprisingly – dominated by a business school mentality. This rewards consistency and repetition and is very adept at taking ideas and making money from them. But it’s not where the ideas are born.

Business school v art school is one of the great divides running through all areas of life and is very pronounced in the marketing industry, of which sport is a part.

When was the last time you asked someone working in sport if they went to art school?

Rather than encourage creativity, governments have slashed arts budgets and increased tuition fees, two factors that combine to make studying art subjects a greater risk for most 18-year-olds.

So there’s been a big dip in young people taking the art school route, which will have long term implications on encouraging the important skills of lateral thinking and creative problem-solving.

This is a shame. The sports business needs more dreamers.

THE SCRIBBLER

by The Scribbler

Haya authority the billionaire ruler of Dubai has discreetly held on to the services of Quest, the global advisory and investigative firm that worked on her brother’s campaigns, to continue gathering information on possible corruption. A private detective agency on retainer at Fifa? These things write themselves.

Picture by: John Walton/PA Wire/PA Images

Two failed bids for the Fifa presidency taught Prince Ali bin al-Hussein plenty about the rough and tumble of soccer politics, but those defeats have done little to deter the Jordanian’s sister, Princess Haya (right). According to The New York Times, the former SportsPro cover star and wife of

The big dance

Booking the diary

Daryl Morey rarely misses a beat. One of the NBA’s more cultured executives, the general manager of the Houston Rockets orchestrated one of the trades of the summer when he lured star point guard Chris Paul from Los Angeles. But it turns out Morey’s talents go beyond the choreography of player rosters. As well as artfully guiding the Rockets towards surely another play-off run, Morey has been moonlighting as the producer of Small Ball, a basketball-themed musical comedy set for a six-week run in Houston next April. The lights, the boards, the paint: The Scribbler is heading way downtown.

Longer lead times yield better results – that much we can all agree on – but the rising trend of countries and cities declaring bids for far-off major sporting events is getting silly.

Hosting rights for the 2026 Fifa World Cup have yet to be awarded and yet Ghana has already stated its intention to run for the 2038 edition in an existentially troubling 21 years’ time. The Scribbler has already tired of hearing about LA 2028. Good people of Ghana – and everyone else – give it a rest, at least for another ten years.

Going for gold Speaking of endemic corruption and elite sport, the Scribbler is as weary as you all of the sad, long tail of the tale of Brazil’s Olympics, and it can be hard for more news of graft and neglect to pierce through the murk. Even so, the occasional detail still astounds. For example: the fact that Brazilian Olympic Committee president and former Rio 2016 organising committee chief Carlos Nuzman’s (above) October arrest after a probe into an alleged vote-buying ring was eventually triggered by the apparent discovery of a Geneva safe stashed with 16 onekilogramme gold bars. The 75-year-old is said to have failed to declare them on tax documents.

A similar offence brought down Al Capone. The same one got Scrooge McDuck.

All in which game?

Sports executives are forever asking fellow kids how they are doing but one can’t help thinking all this talk of esports’ addition to the Paris 2024 Olympic slate might be cheat-code enabled.

Sport or not, it’s still a befuddling mishmash of games, events and teams who have trouble

130 | www.sportspromedia.com

getting their capital letters in the correct places.

More pertinently, it’s also a morass of protected IP, and the very act of choosing which title to play could be a commercial ordeal. Call the Scribbler a stickler, but has anyone actually thought this through? And has anyone told squash?

The och-no Celebrating the 2003 release of Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, featuring an inspirational final-reel appearance by the zeitgeist’s own Lance Armstrong, ESPN chose on 8th August to briefly rebrand its ESPN U channel as ESPN 8: The Ocho, the fictional TV home of the unlikely heroes of Average Joe’s Gym. Digging up references to years-old Hollywood comedies for a quick PR hit?

Stop trying to make ‘fetch’ happen, ESPN.

Engage your fans.

Understand your audience.

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