Industry Shorts: Ashes, World Rugby, Eurosport & Isl
The thrilling finale to the third Specsavers Ashes test between England and Australia saw Sky Sports receive record viewing figures of 2.1 million – the highest recorded figure to watch the longest form of the game since it left terrestrial television in 2005.
The subscription TV broadcaster recorded the figures at the denouement of the test, with England achieving the victory needed to level the series so far. The number is dwarfed, however, by the 8.7 million that watched the ICC Cricket World Cup final earlier this summer, 3.5 million of which came through Sky.
World Rugby has announced Japanese construction and civil engineering corporation Taisei as an official sponsor of Rugby World Cup 2019.
The corporation was involved in the building of various tournament venues around Japan, and this announcement means that the tournament, which begins in Japan in September, has finalised its sponsor lineup.
Eurosport has acquired the rights to the International Swimming League (ISL) in a two-year deal which will see the Discovery-owned broadcaster screen coverage of the new league on TV and on their OTT platform Eurosport Player.
The ISL is the first league for elite swimmers and will feature the likes of Adam Peaty, Katie Ledecky, Cate Campbell, Federica Pellegrini and Florent Manaudou, and will give the world’s best swimmers the platform to go head to head in seven races around the world in the coming months.
The broadcaster has confirmed that it has also acquired global rights to sub-license the league, with the exception of the USA and Australia.
UEFA and Santander have launched the UEFA Financial Management Training programme to help footballers increase their understanding of finances in order to better manage their wealth.
The initiative offers players the chance to take an e-learning course covering topics such as cash management, credit, savings and investments designed to ensure players are financially secure when their careers end.
Manchester City has announced a partnership with Korean gaming brand Superbloke in Korea, Japan and South East Asia.
The deal will see the Premier League champions incorporate its players into the brand’s FC Superstars game, a blockchain-based game where fans can collect tokens bearing real life stats from City players.
