Shorts: JAECOO, Freemans Event Partners, Spectra Racing

JAECOO has renewed its partnership with Crowd Network for the 2025/26 rugby season, supporting the podcast For The Love Of Rugby across its full European coverage.

The deal will see the podcast, hosted by former England internationals Ben Youngs and Dan Cole, follow the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup through to the finals weekend in Bilbao in May 2026. As part of the collaboration, a For The Love Of Rugby-branded JAECOO 7 will travel to matches across Europe, while the partnership will also include live events, digital content, and interviews with players, beginning with Northampton Saints and England back rower Henry Pollock on 20 October.

For The Love Of Rugby launched in 2024 and has since become one of Crowd Network’s leading sports podcasts. It won “Best Rugby Podcast” at the 2025 Sports Podcast Awards and has been shortlisted for honours at the British Podcast Awards and Broadcast Sport Awards.

JAECOO, a premium SUV manufacturer expanding its brand presence in Europe, first worked with For The Love Of Rugby during the 2024/25 season, delivering over 19 million views across four episodes during the European semi-finals and finals.

Ben Youngs, Co-founder of For The Love Of Rugby and England’s most capped men’s player, said, “We’ve wanted to wrap a car in FTLOR pink from our first conversation with JAECOO, and watching the best players in Europe have their photo taken next to it was a real ‘pinch me’ moment. I love that we’re both challenger brands, trying to disrupt our respective markets. Others might have had a head start, but this partnership will see us both go to the next level.”

Freemans Event Partners has appointed Dan O’Gorman as its new Commercial Partnerships Director.

O’Gorman brings over a decade of commercial leadership experience, having previously worked with brands including Coca-Cola, Meta, and Nike. In his new role, he will lead the global growth strategy for the company’s new Partnerships division, focusing on brand activations across its portfolio of events and venues, which includes Silverstone, Wembley Stadium, and the Ryder Cup.

He joins from growth agency Monumental Marketing, where he was Chief Commercial Officer. Prior to this, he was the EMEA Brand Partnerships Director at Bazaarvoice.

Dan O’Gorman, Commercial Partnerships Director, Freemans Event Partners, said, “In an AI-driven market where brands are battling to win faster, innovate better and grow more sustainably in the attention economy, investing strategically in authentic and engaging consumer-brand experiences has never been so important. Showing up where it matters is integral in converting consumers to brand fans, and the unique opportunities that live experiences have in creating this journey is a fantastic way for brands to re-frame their shop window.

“I’m hugely excited to join Freemans at this pivotal moment as the business elevates its live experiential offering with enhanced digital and social capabilities to curate a hyper-personalised 360 brand-fan experience at scale, driving value for our partners.”

Natasha Thiebaut, Chief Commercial Officer, Freemans Event Partners, said, “We’re delighted to welcome Dan to the team, his track record really speaks for itself. As we continue to innovate across the live events sector, Dan’s leadership will be instrumental in unlocking new opportunities and delivering exceptional value to our partners.”

British cycling team Spectra Racing have renewed their partnership with bike brand Pearson Cycles in a deal that runs until 2026.

The agreement builds on a partnership first launched in 2024 and will see the Derbyshire-based team continue to compete on Pearson bikes across gravel and cyclocross disciplines. As part of the renewal, the team’s 10-rider squad will use the UCI-approved On and On Race model. The partnership also includes a product development element, with Pearson’s engineering team using ongoing rider feedback to refine its bikes.

The collaboration has already seen success, with riders securing national titles in cyclocross and a podium finish at the British National Circuit Championships.

Gina Ball, Spectra Racing’s Team Manager, said, “Working with Pearson has given our riders a voice in the design process and turned it into performance gains. The collaboration and our direct involvement mean our riders get the best setup possible for the season ahead. Being recognised by Pearson, which supports British racing, and we’re excited for what’s to come this cyclocross season.”

World Curling has partnered with Globecast and GlobalM to deliver its live international event coverage.

The collaboration will see the Scotland-based governing body use Globecast’s global distribution network and Switzerland-based GlobalM’s cloud-native IP video transport technology. The partnership aims to provide World Curling rightsholders with a modern, cost-effective alternative to traditional satellite distribution for accessing live event feeds.

Paul Calleja, CEO of GlobalM, said, “We’re excited to be working alongside Globecast and World Curling. This collaboration showcases how our platform enables federations and rightsholders to deliver high quality live content worldwide, while also reducing operational complexity and cost. It’s a strong example of how the industry can embrace IP and cloud to meet the growing demands of sports audiences everywhere.”