Shorts: GLA Report, Joe Media & Premier Sports, GSIQ

The Greater London Authority (GLA) together with social impact and sustainability consultancy Think Beyond have released a new report titled ‘Major Sports Events: Impact for London 2023’.

The report demonstrates how a sample of major sports events in 2023 helped support the Mayor of London’s strategic priorities across economic impact, global reach, environmental sustainability, and social integration.

The six headline events within the report included the three NFL London Games, one at Wembley Stadium and two at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the annual RideLondon mass participation cycling event, Major League Baseball’s (MLB) London Series at London Stadium and the Formula E London E-Prix held at ExCel London.

Key findings include:

• £160 million of total direct economic impact was generated across six events.

• 72 million global viewers from 170 territories tuned in to watch the featured events.

• 100% renewable electricity powered the Formula E and Major League Baseball (MLB) events

• 84% of 352 Formula E volunteers agreed that volunteering gave them a sense of pride in contributing to their community.

Part of a three-year plan to share inspiring and demonstrate London’s world-leading position, the full report is downloadable here.

Social publisher Joe Media Group and pay-TV broadcaster Premier Sports have developed a new content offering that will allow commercial partners to advertise across both networks.

In a LinkedIn post, Paul O’Donohoe, Managing Partner of JOE Media Group, said, “We are excited to announce we are adding Premier Sports’ Premium Live Sports rights to the JOE Media Group (UK) content offering including some of the most exciting properties across football and rugby in the UK and Ireland such as the English Premier League, Champions League, La Liga and European and Domestic Rugby Championships.“

Mickey O’Rourke, the founder of both Setanta and Premier Sports, bought a 10% stake in Joe Media Group in in December 2020 and increased his investment in 2023 to €10 (£8.4m).

GSIQ has appointed Laura Fuge as its Client Services Director with responsibility for driving customer relationships, ensuring quality and consistent deliverables across client reporting.

Fuge joints from YouGov Sport where she was an Associate Director.

Launched in May 2024, GSIQ is an intelligence analysis agency created by former YouGov Sport executives Charlie Dundas and Josh Marcus.

Volvo Construction Equipment has been announced as the new front-of-shirt partner for Motherwell Football Club Women until the end of the 2025/26 football season.

“We are delighted to be partnering with the club,” said Volvo Construction Equipment Global Marketing director, Jacqueline Reid. “As longstanding organisations, we share many similar values and are very proud of our history and experience, which we use to pave the way for future generations and success. At Volvo we are committed to supporting our local community and in building a better world for all. As a company, we are very committed to reaching 35% female employees by 2030. Therefore, the partnership with the women’s team is important for us as we work towards this goal and recognised as an employer of choice for all. I am sure we will share enormous success together and wish the team a fantastic season ahead.”