Shorts: Bbl, Lancashire Cricket, EFL
UK-based sports data business IMG ARENA has secured the exclusive worldwide betting data and streaming rights for the British Basketball League (BBL).
The multi-year deal includes the BBL’s domestic UK betting streaming rights and marks the first time that the data and streaming rights have been packaged together. It covers the 10 franchise-strong BBL Championship, its end-of-season BBL Play-offs, and knockout competitions, the BBL Cup and the BBL Trophy.
IMG ARENA will capture and deliver data from over 214 games per season for its global network of over 460 sportsbook operators and also distribute the live streaming for betting.
Mark Wrigley, Senior Director, Rights at IMG ARENA, said, “Basketball is a sport that we are incredibly passionate about and committed to helping grow its global reach. The BBL and its competitions are an exciting addition to our portfolio, increasing our offering of premier-level basketball from key territories around the world.”
Lancashire Cricket has announced the extension of its long-term partnership with Sportsbreaks.com, which sees the sports travel specialist remain as the official sports travel partner of the club and Emirates Old Trafford.
The deal also sees Lancashire unveil an enhanced Sportsbreaks.com terrace, which will feature in the new development at the 26,000-capacity Emirates Old Trafford.
Daniel Gidney, Chief Executive of Lancashire Cricket, said, “I can’t overstate the importance of the role Sportsbreaks.com have played in the new development at Emirates Old Trafford, without their support this project would not be going ahead. Upon completion in 2023, it’s going to provide our stadium with amazing new space for supporters to come and watch sport in a unique environment.”
As a long-term partner of Lancashire Cricket, the Sportsbreaks.com logo will continue to appear on the front of North West Thunder’s playing shirts, plus the training and travel wear for Lancashire Cricket for the County Championship and Royal London Cup competitions.
English Football League (EFL) Championship club Norwich City has announced the renewal of its partnership with in-game advertising and video game monetisation platform Bidstack.
During the 2021/22 season, Bidstack became the founding partner for Norwich City’s first-ever esports team, 1J Esports, and helped to establish the club within the esports space. In its inaugural season the Norwich was crowned champion of the 2021/22 ePremier League, a competitive gaming tournament played on EA SPORTS’ annual FIFA game.
Jonathan Casbon, Head of Partnerships at Norwich City, said, “The team at Bidstack have been behind us every step of the way and together we’re creating a really strong esports presence and developing innovative strategies for the growth of the team. We look forward to collaborating with Bidstack and sharing in more successful achievements as our partnership progresses.”
Rematch, the sporting experiences provider that recreates iconic sporting moments through immersive theatrical events, has appointed UK sports PR and sponsorship agency MatchFit as its retained agency for sport-focused consumer and B2B PR.
Richard Ayers, Founder of Rematch said, “We are pleased to be working with MatchFit at such an exciting stage of our journey. MatchFit’s earned media expertise, and deep understanding of sporting culture, means this is brilliant fit for our business.
“We are excited to see how PR can play a role as we seek to transport audiences across the world back in time to celebrate the greatest moments in sporting history.”
UK-based sports management company Unique Sports Management has appointed Sam Bailey as its new Head of Marketing.
Bailey joins from Roc Nation, where he spent two years as Head of Digital.
