Industry Shorts: Lta, Formula E, Joe Wicks

The LTA has announced a new partnership with Swiss luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer.

The pair have entered into a three-year partnership, which will begin on 1st January 2021, and will see the brand become an Official Partner of the governing body for tennis in Great Britain, as well as the Official Timekeeper its program of summer major events.

TAG Heuer’s presence at the series of ATP and WTA sanctioned tournaments will include a clock tower on the main concourse at each venue, as well as a ‘TAG Heuer Match Clock’, whilst the tournament umpires will ensure the matches are kept on TAG Heuer time.  

The move sees the brand enter further into the tennis world, where it is already working with the likes of double Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova (pictured) and Canada’s rising stars Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Formula E and BBC Global News have announced a new commercial partnership which will see the pair produce a set of online films to bring the sport to a new digital audience by showcasing fan stories from behind the scenes of the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

The series aims to shine a light on the role Formula E is playing in the global adoption of electric vehicles, and will also share stories of fans’ most memorable experiences of watching the sport, and encouraging them to upload to a new online platform. 

The stories will then be made into original short films which will be housed on a dedicated content hub within the BBC StoryWorks website throughout 2021 and 2022. 

The Body Coach star Joe Wicks has launched a new fitness app based on his 90-day plan that aims to transform the way people think about their fitness and build healthy habits for life. 

Wicks was one of the most visible at-home fitness stars of the first 2020 lockdown accumulating over 80 million views on his daily ‘PE With Joe’ classes for kids and families on YouTube. 

The new app – which was created in collaboration with digital product studio ustwo and has been in development for over a year – will include varied workouts and meal plans, and will also feature a ‘Lives’ function, where users can join Wicks for an exclusive live Bootcamp starting in January 2021.

Sales, consultancy and investment agency, The Sports Playmaker, has signed a new strategic partnership with global venture firm Stellwagen Ventures to create a transatlantic advisory service to help businesses in the sport and entertainment sector source funding to accelerate their growth plans. 

The partnership sees The Sports Playmaker’s Jay Greene and Ben Speight join up with Matthew Baxter and Jeff Walker of Stellwagen Ventures, and will give start-ups across the sector the opportunity to leverage the combined experience of the two companies 

At launch, the partnership brings together nearly three dozen investment opportunities spanning four continents throughout areas like sport, data, fan engagement and esports.

Formula 1 team Racing Point, which will become Aston Martin Formula 1 Team from the 2021 season, have announced Matt Bishop as Chief Communications Officer, joining up with the team after the rebrand next year.

Bishop, who started his career as an automotive and motor racing journalist and served as Editor in Chief of F1 Racing (now GP Racing) and Group Editor of Autosport, joined McLaren Formula 1 as Communications Director in 2008 before leaving that role in 2018 to become one of the founders of the all female single-seater championship W Series.‍‍

The team says Bishop will help deliver its commitment to supporting diversity and inclusion via Formula 1’s #WeRaceAsOne initiative, having been a founding ambassador of Racing Pride, the movement developed in collaboration with Stonewall and launched in 2019 to promote LGBTQ+ inclusivity in the motorsport industry.

Sportradar has become the Global Broadcast Rights Distributor and OTT Partner of Australia’s Hungry Jack’s National Basketball League (NBL) in a multi-year partnership.

The sports data services provider will enhance distribution and coverage for its media rights across broadcast and online platforms, utilising its global network and its combination of audiovisual technology and data expertise to deliver a broadcast fan experience for global audiences in Europe, the US, China and South East Asia.

In addition to the exclusive Global Broadcast Rights and OTT deal, Sportradar will also become an Official Integrity Partner to the NBL, providing odds monitoring services across Australia’s top men’s and women’s competitions through its Fraud Detection System.