Shorts: Wimbledon, Two Circles, Rlwc2021
The All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club has renewed its broadcast partnership for The Wimbledon Championships with Sport 24, the IMG-owned live sports channel for the airline and cruise line industries, for a further three years.
The deal, which runs until 2024, will see Wimbledon continue an ongoing relationship with Sport24, having been one of the first tournaments to be shown on the channel when it launched it 2012.
Alongside the All England Club’s broadcast partners across the world, Sport 24 and its sister channel Sport 24 Extra will show more than 165 hours of live content from this year’s 135th edition. Both Sport 24 and Sport 24 Extra are produced from IMG’s production HQ at Stockley Park, London.
Gus Henderson, Commercial Director at the All England Club, said, “On the occasion of Sport 24’s 10th anniversary, we are delighted to be renewing our partnership for a further three years to 2024. Being able to bring Wimbledon to more people around the world more of the time is a core pillar of our commercial and marketing strategy, and, alongside our broadcast partners, the Sport 24 output plays an important role in delivering on that ambition.”
Rugby Europe, the governing body responsible for the development of rugby in Europe, and UK-based sports marketing and data technology company Two Circles have announced a three-year strategic partnership. The deal will see the pair work together to develop and enhance Rugby Europe’s direct-to-consumer proposition to create more value for fans and commercial partners.
This new relationship will hope to enable Rugby Europe to acquire and engage new audiences by identifying and developing new digital assets and offering its commercial partners significant new business opportunities, through the development of direct relationships with a growing pan-European fanbase.
Florent Marty, Managing Director Rugby Europe, commented, “It has been a historic year for Rugby Europe, marked by the successful launches of our ‘Rugby Europe TV’ membership programme, and the new Rugby Europe Super Cup. The considerable growth in the number of registered users (approx. 100,000) on our platform since its launch last year, and the more than one million unique visitors on our website over the same period, shows that there is a real appetite for the content we produce and a real enthusiasm for rugby in Europe, and for our competitions. It also shows us that as an organization, we have a strong potential for development with many interesting assets to work with.”
The Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021) has announced professional global cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx as its official cryptocurrency trading platform partner.
The announcement sees the World Cup follow a number of other sports into the crypto space, after recently announcing Vodafone as the tournament’s official technology partner.
Jon Dutton, RLWC2021’s Chief Executive said, “Crypto companies have recently established themselves in the sports sponsorship market and I am pleased that we have been able to introduce this innovative sector to the Rugby League World Cup. CoinEx is a global company, and their trading platform has a focus on being secure, stable, professional and compliant which aligns with RLWC2021’s value of authenticity.”
Spartan and Tough Mudder have announced premium paddle board brand Red as their official change robe partner for the 2022 race season. The partnership will see the introduction of the bespoke Spartan and Tough Mudder branded Pro Change EVO robes, which will be available to purchase at all Spartan and Tough Mudder UK events from May 2022 onwards.
Head of Marketing at Red, Charlie Green, said, “Red are delighted to be chosen as the official change robe partner for Spartan and Tough Mudder. We are passionate about extending all outside activities and making them more enjoyable by using one of our Pro Change EVO robes. We can’t wait to introduce our Pro Change robes to the Spartan and Tough Mudder crews and see them put through their paces!”
Dublin and London-based sports marketing agency Fifty-Three Six has appointed Paul Glynn as Head of Media & Strategy. Glynn, formerly VP of Global Paid Media at DAZN and Head of Online Media at gambling giant Paddy Power, joins as Fifty-Three Six expands its senior management team and eyes further growth after a year that has seen revenues grow by 80%.
Tom Fox, Co-Founder at Fifty-Three Six, commented, “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Paul to the team as our new Head of Media & Strategy. The sporting landscape is changing dramatically as brands look to engage fans in new ways, across emerging technologies and platforms. At Fifty-Three Six, we are focused on being at the cutting edge of innovation in sport and providing best-in-class strategic support to our clients. Paul’s wealth of experience within the OTT, customer acquisition and digital strategy spheres will further enhance our ability to provide a world class service to our partners.”
UK Athletics (UKA), the National Governing Body for athletics in the UK, has today revealed the new team kit that will be worn for the first time at this summer’s major athletics Championships featuring the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team. Most notably followers of the GB & NI team will welcome the return of the Union flag to the front of the vest, following feedback from athletes and fans across the UK.
UK Athletics also announced launched “Where It Starts”, a campaign to champion diversity and togetherness in athletics ahead of a packed summer of Championship action. The campaign tells the stories behind GB & NI athletes and their journey into track and field, demonstrating the inclusive nature of the sport. Featured athletes include Olympian Laura Muir, Paralympians Thomas Young and Sammi Kinghorn, and a host of other well-known names.
