Industry Shorts: Premier League, Dugout, #sispotlight

Premier League teams could have to repay £340m to broadcasters due to the disruption caused by the suspension of the season.

Even if the league is restarted, the fact that matches will take place at different times than originally scheduled and are likely to take place without fans, means broadcasters could be due the refund.

Premier League CEO, Richard Masters said: “We were able to update our clubs today on our situation with broadcasters, which is obviously confidential.

“Whatever happens, there’s going to be significant loss of revenue for clubs. That is inevitable.”

Dugout has announced a new global partnership with Verizon Media.

As part of the deal, the Verizon-owned Yahoo Sports will gain access to Dugout’s library of football-related videos created by a raft of clubs.

This deal will build on Yahoo’s portfolio of sport content from global partners and the pair say the deal will allow fans to stay connected to teams and athletes until football leagues are back up and running.  

This week’s Sport Industry Spotlight session will focus on Events, and will take place on Wednesday 13th May at 15:00 BST (10:00 EDT / 16:00 CET).

Join panellists from the ECB, Wimbledon, MLB and the Vitality Netball World Cup 2019 to talk all things major events, fan engagement, legacy, and delivery with the brains behind some of sport’s biggest recent spectacles.

Reserve your spot here.

Rio 2016 gold medal-winning cyclist Callum Skinner has teamed up with physicist Alex MacDonald to launch a Kickstarter campaign for HindSight Rear View Cycling Glasses. 

The new venture sees the pair launch a glasses product which features patent-pending rear-view lens technology which promises to bolster road safety for cyclists who do not have to move their heads to look behind them.

Clubs from Premiership Rugby and the French Top 14 have demanded a formal role in the finalisation of the season’s calendar in a letter sent to World Rugby as well as the French and English Unions.

Darren Childs, CEO, Premiership Rugby, and his French equivalent, Paul Goze, have signed a letter addressed to World Rugby, the RFU CEO Bill Sweeney and the France federation president Bernard Laporte.

In the letter, the pair say it is ‘essential’ that changes to the international competition calendar take place after consultation and in agreement with the leagues.

They said: “The exceptional situation must lead all the parties to show a spirit of cooperation and solidarity, we do not however imagine that club competitions should be the variable for adjusting the calendar management in the context of this crisis.”

Following on from the announcement that British sportswear brand Umbro will become the Official Technical Kit Partner of the England Rugby team, the brand has also announced a similar deal with Premiership Rugby side the Bristol Bears.

The partnership begins on 1st July 2020 and will see the brand provide match day kit, training kit and off-field wear for all of the club’s men’s, women’s and Academy teams.

UK Athletics has confirmed that the London Anniversary Games, due to take place in the London Stadium on 4th and 5th July, have been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The event, which also forms part of the World Athletics-organised Diamond League, will not take place this year, although the League itself is slated for an August return, with a date in Gateshead on 16th August still provisionally scheduled in the calendar.

Members of England’s Physical Disability cricket team will attempt to complete a marathon a day over a ten-day period in order to raise funds for UK cricket and sport disability charity the Lord’s Taverners.
 
The squad, which finished runners-up in the Physical Disability World Series last summer, has pledged to run 26 miles every day for at least ten days. 

Twelve members of the side will share their training efforts online as they look to complete their 260mile+ challenge.