Industry Shorts: Sky, Edgbaston, Wolves

Sky Documentaries has commissioned production company Fulwell 73 for a new feature length documentary about the European Super League (ESL).

The documentary will chart the events of the days surrounding the announcement of the short-lived ESL in April 2021, taking a look at the 72-hour period between its announcement and collapse, supported by archive footage and featuring interviews with figures from the 12 founding clubs, football leagues, and federations, as well as players and fans.

Fulwell 73 has created a number of successful sport TV shows and documentaries in recent years. It was behind the Netflix hit Sunderland ‘Til I Die, as well as working on The Class of ’92 and I Am Bolt. Its Euro 2020 companion show Crouchy’s Year Late Euros is now airing on the BBC.

Edgbaston will operate at 80 per cent capacity for the Royal London ODI between England and Pakistan on 13th July.

Around 19,000 fans will be allowed into the stadium bowl and hospitality lounges without social distancing as part of the research study.

All attendees aged 11 or older will be required to show a negative COVID lateral flow test result or proof of two vaccinations at least 14 days before the fixture to secure entry.

Last month, the stadium successfully hosted some 60,000 spectators across four days of the LV= Insurance Test Match between England and New Zealand with the same spectator entry requirements.

Premier League side Wolves have announced Getty Images as their Exclusive Photographic Provider in a deal that will see the club relaunch its ‘integrated visual strategy’.

Getty will work with all of the club’s teams, including Wolves Women, Wolves Esports and Under-23, and will provide support on content creation and distribution, with all imagery syndicated to Getty Images’ global customers. The photography agency’s specialist esports photographers will also work closely with Wolves to develop their visual strategy surrounding in-game imagery.

To support Wolves to promote their club heritage and drive deeper engagement with their fanbase, Wolves will also have access to Getty Images’ archive, which contains over 130 million assets and includes some of the very first images of the club dating back to the late 19th century.

The ICC has announced a new partnership with Endeavor Streaming, which will see the latter become the provider of its streaming platform, ICC.tv.

The platform is the global governing body’s OTT platform, delivering live-streamed cricket from ICC events where local broadcast rights deals aren’t in place.

The service launched recently, and hosted coverage of the World Test Championship Final – which took place in Southampton between New Zealand and India – and features archive content as well as other programming. READ MORE 

Curveball Digital has signed an agreement with electric powerboat championship, the E1 Series, to provide a host of digital media services including social media management, strategy, content creation, and original video series production.

The partnership will help E1 Series grow their global following on social media in the run up to the competition’s launch, as well as promote the brand’s key pillars in sustainability, technology, and world-class sport.

Curveball will be tasked with creating a social-first content strategy, as well as creative campaigns to tell the stories of the series in ‘unique, eye-catching, and engaging ways’.

London Marathon Events (LME) will host its first in-person mass participation running events in 15 months, confirming that the Vitality London 10,000 and the Vitality Mile will both take place at Hatfield Park in Hertfordshire on Sunday 11th July.

Meanwhile the Standard Chartered Great City Race on Tuesday 20th July will become the first mass participation running event to be held on the streets of London since the start of the pandemic.

Runners set off in waves of 1,000 in a ‘carefully planned start process’ at the Hatfield Park events, while the Standard Chartered Great City Race on closed roads will also include a virtual edition.

Regional UK airline Loganair has been announced as Official Travel Partner for tennis tournament Battle of the Brits.

The tournament, created by its Tournament Director Jamie Murray, pits Scottish players against English players, and was launched in response to the lack of tournament tennis during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 edition will take place on 21st and 22nd December.

Loganair will fly the players – including the Murray brothers, who will participate – and backroom staff to and from Aberdeen for the event, and will also celebrate its new partnership by giving fans the chance to win tickets to the tournament, with return travel included on Loganair’s services to Aberdeen from across the UK.