October 3, 2017 Author: Michael Flynn
DataPOWA’s regular guide to the most important happenings in the world of sport sponsorship and marketing, digital and of course, data. There’s a focus on the convergence of live broadcasting and streaming this week, and the battle is certainly hotting up.
MAN UNITED CHIEF URGES DIGITAL GIANTS TO BID FOR RIGHTS
For the biggest and most influential teams in Europe the next wave of income will come from the digital streaming rights to their games and leagues. For some, like Manchester United, the right to negotiate their own streaming deals will make a monumental impact on they income. They haven’t got the right to do this yet, but it’s coming, and is more likely than a breakaway league in Europe.
Last week on a regular conference call with investors, United Chief Exec Ed Woodward made the prediction that the streaming giants (Amazon, Netflix & Facebook primarily) would enter the race for the rights, and that Manchester United, at least, would welcome their interest.
The increase in the money gained from TV deals over the last few years seems, broadly speaking, to have come down to two vague areas. Partly, it stems from competition, and it is partly gained through interest from new areas which were only small pieces of the pie before. A bid from a streaming giant like Amazon or Facebook would be a mixture of both.
To read the full article, visit the Digital Sport link
Tags: Football, Broadcast, Streaming, Manchester United, Ed Woodward
To read about Amazon’s first live NFL game beating the Twitter audience, visit The Drum link
BT SPORT BOSS THINKS DIFFERENTLY…
The Guardian interview the man who’s got his finger firmly on the pulse of broadcasting, BT Sport’s Simon Green. They state, ‘if Simon Green is concerned about the prediction that Premier League TV rights are about to get billions of pounds more expensive then he is not showing it.’
Simon is already thinking ahead to the next Premier League broadcasting-rights battle. Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman of Manchester United, predicted that digital giants will muscle in on the Sky and BT duopoly, forcing the price even further through the roof. The tender is expected before the end of the year and a heated auction will no doubt follow.
To read the full article, visit The Guardian link
Tags: Football, Broadcast, Streaming, Premier League
MEET ALEX HUNTER, THE VIRTUAL FOOTBALL SUPERSTAR
Brands often harness ambassadors to spread their messages among desired audiences but Coca-Cola shook up this practice after unveiling its sponsorship of a fictional and virtual footballer, Alex Hunter, the protagonist of EA Sports’ Fifa 18 video game.
The protagonist of the game’s narrative-driven ‘The Journey’ mode will become a Coca-Cola Zero Sugar ambassador during the course of the season. While allowing for a legitimate professional footballer experience, the move also advertises the brand to the player on a meta level, building upon Hunter’s inclusion in the Adidas First Never Follows campaign in Fifa 17.
To read the full article, visit The Drum link
Tags: Coca-Cola, FIFA 18, eSports, Gaming
SPORTS RIGHT HOLDERS: WE WANT DATA
Something that underpins dataPOWA is the understanding that data is central to the success of any sport in the digital age. IBC’s Mark Mayne reports on the IBC2017 conference and that sporting rights owners are increasingly keen to take on the role of media distributor in order to gain new data.
While engagement may have supplanted reach as the ultimate measure of brand and campaign value, the data behind that is even more valuable, concluded an expert panel at IBC.
To read the full article, visit IBC link
Tags: Sports, Data
GOOD SHOUT
If you have got five more minutes, take a look at these articles & videos:
- Marketing Dive: Facebook inks deal for NFL post-game highlights
- Sports Industry Biz: Aston Martin to become Red Bull title sponsor in 2018
- Daily Mail: How the ‘Netflix of sport’ could change the way fans watch football
- Digital Sport: Sports broadcasting and social media platforms: A symbiotic relationship?
- Manchester Evening News: Gary Neville and ‘Class of 92’ are opening a university
