Industry Shorts: Ioc, Sky Sports, Spartan

The IOC has ratified the programme for the Olympic Games Paris 2024, which will be fully gender equal, with a 50/50 split in participation.

The Tokyo 2020 Games – rescheduled for next summer – is set to reach 48.8% female participation, which will be furthered four years later, while athletics, boxing and cycling will reach full gender equality for the first time ever at Paris 2024, meaning 28 out of 32 sports on the Paris 2024 programme will be fully gender balanced. Paris 2024 will also see a growth in mixed events, rising from 18 in Tokyo to 22 in Paris.

The IOC’s ratification also confirmed that the Paris 2024 Games will include breakdancing for the first time, along with the retention of skateboarding, surfing and climbing, which are all set to debut in Tokyo next summer.

Sky Sports has announced that it saw its highest ever day of ratings on Sunday 29th November, with an average of 1.17 million viewers tuning into Sky Sports channels throughout the day.

According to the broadcaster, numbers peaked across its portfolio of channels at 3.50pm, when 4 million viewers tuned in – around the final few minutes of Manchester United’s dramatic comeback win against Southampton in the Premier League and just after the restart of the dramatic Bahrain GP in Formula 1. 

The broadcaster also aired the Premier League clash between Chelsea and Tottenham, as well as the second International T20 match between South Africa and England.

Obstacle course race and extreme wellness brand Spartan has announced a new partnership with sports recovery specialist MyoMaster.

The deal will see MyoMaster become Spartan’s Official UK and Ireland Recovery Partner for the 2021 season, and will aid the recuperation of racers. Spartan says the pair will help participants learn to take care of their bodies, as well as improving performance and ultimately achieving more throughout the race season. 

The partnership will also see MyoMaster activate a specialised ‘Recovery Zone’ at all five Spartan UK and Ireland event weekends, which will allow racers to try out a variety of the brand’s signature products, as well as learning from sports recovery specialists and brand ambassadors, including World’s Strongest Man Adam Bishop, and England and Harlequins rugby player Joe Gray. READ MORE

AC Milan has teamed up with fashion brand Paper Planes to unveil a new seven-piece limited edition capsule.

The pair say the new collaboration ‘teaches you to tap into your imagination – to see beyond the façade to unearth endless possibilities and unearth true identity, allowing yourself to dream and set your intention’.

The new partnership brings together globally-recognised institutions from the cities of Milan and New York – two of the world’s fashion capitals – and will see a new collection available exclusively on the websites of both organisations from 11th December, as well as in-person at AC Milan retail stores. The collection is also available for pre-order for those subscribed to the AC Milan newsletter on 8th December.

The deal was brokered by RocNation Sport, who collaborated with the Serie A giants on a live event From Milan With Love: Next Gen. The pair recently spoke to Sport Industry Group about the opporunity for the two to work together at the crossover of fashion, music and football.

The W Series has announced its provisional race calendar for 2021, in partnership with Formula 1.

The all-female single-seater championship will host eight races which will feature on the F1 undercard between June and October 2020.

The W Series season will begin in France on 26th June and conclude in Mexico City on 30th October, taking in races in the USA, Netherlands, Belgium, Hungary and Austria, as well as an event at Silverstone during the British Grand Prix weekend on 17th July.

EDGEsport has expanded its content offering as part of new partnerships with Tour de France organiser, ASO, and GAME Sports Management.

The IMG-owned channel will screen action from the motorcycle trial event FIM X-Trial World Championships, as well as non-stop around-the-world yacht race the Vendée Globe.

Further motorsport properties such as Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Dubai International Baja, Spa Classic, and Le Mans Classic will become part of the broadcaster’s portfolio, as well as a host of motorsport documentaries.

As part of the ASO deal, EDGEsport will also carry highlights from a number of top UCI-sanctioned cycling events such as the Tour de Hongrie, the Arctic Race of Norway and the Deutschland Tour. 

Royal Liverpool and Royal Troon will host the 2023 and 2024 editions of The Open Championship respectively.

The R&A has confirmed that The 151st Open will be played at Royal Liverpool from 16th-23rd July 2023, and The 152nd Open will be played at Royal Troon from 14th-21st July 2024.

The cancellation of the 2020 edition, at Royal St George’s, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has forced the R&A into the change, The 149th Open will still take place at the Kent links, having been moved to 11th-18th July 2021.

The ECB has appointed Poonam Davé as its Head of Marketing on maternity cover.

Davé has previously served as Strategic Brand and Marketing Consultant at The FA, and was most-recently the permanent Head of Brand and Planning at Nuffield Health until July 2020.