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SIR KEITH MILLS<br />
On the America’s Cup and<br />
changing sport’s rules on<br />
environmental engagement<br />
AHMED HUSSEIN<br />
On the economic and<br />
strategic aims behind Abu<br />
Dhabi’s sporting expansion<br />
PAUL SAMUELS<br />
On sporting responsibility<br />
and making sponsorship<br />
sales easier, not harder<br />
ISSUE No. 152 • 12.09<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • Issue No. 152 • 12.09<br />
TOP<br />
BLATTER HEADS ‘MOST INFLUENTIAL’ POLL<br />
MAN<br />
INFORMATION, INSIGHT AND ANALYSIS FOR THE GLOBAL SPORTS SECTOR
WHERE SPORT<br />
MEETS<br />
SportAccord is the new collective name for over 100 member associations including <strong>International</strong> Sports Federations<br />
and Rights Holders. Together, they award rights to more than 1,000 <strong>International</strong> Sports Events each year.<br />
The SportAccord <strong>International</strong> Convention is your annual opportunity to meet them and the global sport business<br />
community to exchange ideas and create partnerships that will define and shape the future of sport.<br />
If you only attend one networking event in 2<strong>01</strong>0, make sure it counts.<br />
www.sportaccordconvention.com<br />
DUBAI<br />
25 – 30th April 2<strong>01</strong>0<br />
ATLANTIS HOTEL, THE PALM<br />
SportAccord Convention 2<strong>01</strong>0 Gold Sponsors:
12.09 CONTENTS<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09<br />
REGULARS<br />
08 Agenda<br />
Looking ahead, comment<br />
and analysis<br />
14 Brands and Marketing<br />
Visa renews with the IOC and<br />
US professional teams join<br />
forces to beat the recession<br />
18 Media<br />
The EPL’s success in Asia<br />
and growing boxing’s reach<br />
22 Events<br />
Events the NFL way, Qatar’s<br />
2<strong>01</strong>8 ambition and ticketing<br />
26 Headliner<br />
Sir Keith Mills,<br />
Principal, TEAM ORIGIN<br />
66<br />
VOICES<br />
PAGE 26<br />
“This has been an unhappy period for the<br />
Americas Cup which is indicative of the<br />
fact it is governed by an out of date<br />
structure. There is a ground swell of<br />
opinion - including the Defender and the<br />
Challenger - that a new governance<br />
structure needs to be put in place.”<br />
Sir Keith Mills<br />
Principal, TEAM ORIGIN<br />
26<br />
22<br />
70 Big Debate<br />
Which incidents have had<br />
the greatest impact on the<br />
business of sport in 2009<br />
72 Most Influential...<br />
Sport ’s Top 20 People<br />
82 People<br />
Mark Hargreaves, COO,<br />
Knowledge MGI<br />
FEATURES<br />
30 It’s All in a Name<br />
The fresh thinking driving naming rights deals<br />
34 Shaping up to the 21 st Century<br />
The stadia, arena and facilities pushing boundaries of innovation<br />
38 The Gold Standard<br />
The SportBusiness Sports Event Management Awards<br />
48 Motoring On<br />
The lowdown on F1, Rally, Nascar, MotoGP and SuperBikes<br />
62 Jumping for Success<br />
Rights Focus: Jump Racing<br />
66 An Increasing Influence<br />
<strong>International</strong> Focus: The Middle East<br />
PAGE 66<br />
“It’s a good start for motor sport in Abu<br />
Dhabi. To compete in [the wider]<br />
economic sense, we need these kind of<br />
activates as a catalyst to build more<br />
infrastructure for better growth.”<br />
Ahmed Hussein,<br />
Head of Sports & Events Marketing,<br />
Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority<br />
PAGE 70<br />
“Commercially it is going to be another<br />
tough year. Teams, governing bodies<br />
and owners are going to have to<br />
perform, behave and play by the rules<br />
- they need to make the sponsorship sell<br />
easier not harder.”<br />
Paul Samuels,<br />
Executive Director,<br />
AEG Sponsorship<br />
62
UPDATA 12.09<br />
www.sportbusiness.com<br />
DEAL oF THE MoNTH<br />
Global financial services<br />
provider Barclays agreed a<br />
three-year deal to extend its<br />
title sponsorship of the English<br />
Premier League.<br />
About the deal<br />
Barclays has been sponsor of<br />
the Premier League since 20<strong>01</strong>,<br />
using its Barclaycard brand from<br />
20<strong>01</strong> to 2004. The deal <strong>cover</strong>s<br />
the global title sponsorship<br />
of the Premier League and<br />
includes exclusive worldwide<br />
marketing rights, UK and<br />
international TV programme<br />
accreditation, extensive<br />
advertising packages, matchday<br />
tickets and hospitality. Barclays<br />
will also continue to include the<br />
biennial pre-season tournament,<br />
the Barclays Asia Trophy.<br />
What drove the deal<br />
“The Barclays Premier League<br />
sponsorship has been very<br />
successful for Barclays and<br />
the strategic fit is stronger<br />
than ever. The sponsorship is a<br />
very important element of our<br />
marketing mix and provides a<br />
cost effective method to market<br />
our organisation, helping us in our<br />
ambition to be one of a handful of<br />
banks leading the global financial<br />
services industry,” said Barclays<br />
president Robert E. Diamond Jr.<br />
What’s it worth<br />
$134.5 million over three years.<br />
ToP 30 SPoNSoRSHIP DEALS: OCTOBER 2009<br />
Sponsor Value Duration Deal<br />
No Sponsor Industry Country Event or Activity type ($m) (years) type<br />
1 Barclays Financial Services - Banking UK Barclays Premiership Event 134.5 3 R<br />
2 Staples Office Equipment USA Staples Center Organisation 100+ R<br />
3 ING Financial Services - Banking Netherlands Holland Team 40 8 N<br />
4 Mars Financial Services - Other UK English Football Association Organisation 40 5 N<br />
5 Thomas Cook Travel UK London Olympics 2<strong>01</strong>2 Tier Two sponsor Event 35 3 N<br />
6 Garmin Consumer Electronics USA Garmin-Slipstream Team 18 3 R<br />
7 Repsol Oil/Petrol <strong>International</strong> Honda team in Moto GP Team 16 1 R<br />
8 Enterprise Rent-A-Car Car Rental USA NHL Organisation 12 3 N<br />
9 Puma Clothing - Sports Czech Republic Tomas Rosicky Personality 10+ N<br />
10 TW Steel Watches/Timing <strong>International</strong> Renault Team 10+ 3 N<br />
11 Mercedes Cars/Automotive USA US Open Event 10+ 4 N<br />
12 Babolat Clothing - Sports USA Andy Roddick Personality 10 4 R<br />
13 Nordea Financial Services - Banking Sweden Scandinavian Masters Event 9 3 N<br />
14 adidas Clothing - Sports UK Scottish Football Association Team 8 4 N<br />
15 Lindt Food - Confectionery <strong>International</strong> Roger Federer Personality 7.5 5 N<br />
16 Jacobs Creek Drinks - Wine Australia Australian Open Event 7.5 3 N<br />
17 Rolex Watches/Timing USA Andy Roddick Personality 5 - 9.9 R<br />
18 Valero Energy Energy/Power/Gas/Electricity USA Alamo Bowl Event 7.2 4 R<br />
19 Omega Watches/Timing Dubai Dubai Desert Classic Event 6 5 N<br />
20 Ford Cars/Automotive New Zealand New Zealand Cricket Team 5.4 3 N<br />
21 FedEx Couriers/Freight Europe Heineken Cup Event 5 4 R<br />
22 Efes Pilsener Drinks - Beer <strong>International</strong> Euroleague Basketball Event 4.2 3 R<br />
23 Friends Provident Financial Services - Insurance UK Friends Provident T20 Event 4 N<br />
24 McDonalds Restaurants Thailand Thailand Team 2.96 N<br />
25 John Smith’s Drinks - Beer UK John Smith’s Grand National 2<strong>01</strong>1 to 2<strong>01</strong>3 Event 2 3 R<br />
26 Visa Financial Services - Credit Cards UK Olympic Games Event 2 3 R<br />
27 Fujitsu General Engineering UK V8 Supercar Series Event 2 2 R<br />
28 Copart Cars/Automotive USA Roush Fenway Racing Team 2 1 N<br />
29 UMB Bank Colorado Financial Services - Banking USA Denver Botanic Gardens’ amphitheater Organisation 1 - 2.49 3 N<br />
30 Totinos Pizzas Restaurants USA Winter Dew Tour Event 1 - 2.49 1 N<br />
Notes: Fees are reported/estimated. (N) - New deal; (R) - Renewal<br />
Source: The World Sponsorship Monitor produced by Sports Marketing Surveys. Contact: nigelg@sportsmarketingsurveys.com<br />
SNAPSHoT<br />
BETTING INDUSTRY GRoWING STRoNG IN SHIRT SPoNSoRSHIPS<br />
Football shirt sponsorships<br />
have defied the credit crunch<br />
and stabilised across Europe’s<br />
six key leagues at a total of<br />
€395.5 million, according to<br />
SPORT+MARKT’s 11th European<br />
Jersey Report.<br />
Banking / Financial services / insurance<br />
Energy Supplier<br />
Telecommunications<br />
Betting/ Lottery<br />
Travel/ Tourism/ Accomodation<br />
Others<br />
The betting industry has been a<br />
driving force in avoiding a fall in<br />
value in the shirt sponsorship<br />
market for the 2009-10 season,<br />
despite operators having to<br />
find their way around betting<br />
restrictions in certain European<br />
markets, including France.<br />
“With the international exposure<br />
of English and Spanish teams,<br />
they provide a perfect global<br />
advertising platform to reach<br />
football fans across all markets,<br />
worldwide,” said Gareth Moore,<br />
SPORT+MARKT <strong>International</strong><br />
Sales Director.<br />
29.0<br />
43.4<br />
48.3<br />
Source: SPORT+MARKT European Jersey Report 2009/10<br />
142.8<br />
Total<br />
395.5m<br />
56.4<br />
75.6<br />
4 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09
UPDATA 12.09<br />
FERRARI SLUMP SEES RATINGS PLUMMET<br />
FoRMULA oNE television<br />
audiences in Spain and Italy<br />
fell drastically in the 2009<br />
season, reflecting disappointing<br />
performances by Spanish driver<br />
Fernando Alonso and Italian<br />
constructor Ferrari, which suffered<br />
its worst season in 16 years.<br />
According to the latest sports<br />
viewing survey from Eurodata TV<br />
Worldwide and TV Sports Markets,<br />
the big falls in Spain and Italy<br />
were partly counterbalanced by<br />
a significant lift in UK audiences.<br />
Viewership in the other two top<br />
European markets, France and<br />
Germany, remained broadly stable.<br />
Audiences in Spain dropped<br />
29 per cent on 2008, with Alonso’s<br />
worst-ever season coinciding with<br />
<strong>cover</strong>age shifting from what was<br />
the country’s leading commercial<br />
broadcaster, Telecinco, to smaller<br />
rival La Sexta. La Sexta’s live<br />
<strong>cover</strong>age averaged just under<br />
three million viewers per race.<br />
Audiences for Italian publicservice<br />
broadcaster Rai’s <strong>cover</strong>age<br />
fell 21 per cent against 2008, when<br />
Average live television audiences for Formula one<br />
Market 2009 season 2008 season % change<br />
000s Share (%) 000s Share (%) 08 v 09<br />
France 3,119 30.4 3,096 29.2 +0.74<br />
Germany 5,206 38.2 5,145 39.0 +1.19<br />
Italy 5,587 40.3 7,1<strong>01</strong> 50.0 -21.32<br />
Spain 2,962 31.1 4,194 46.0 -29.38<br />
UK 4,743 47.7 4,079 41.0 +16.3<br />
Sources: TV Sports Markets, Eurodata TV Worldwide / Mediametrie - BARB - AGF/Gfk<br />
Fernsehforschung - AUDITEL - TNS Audiencia de Medios - All Rights Reserved<br />
Ferrari won the championship,<br />
averaging some 5.6 million viewers<br />
per race.<br />
In the UK, Jenson Button’s<br />
championship season provided<br />
a perfect start for public-service<br />
broadcaster the BBC, which took<br />
over the rights at the start of this<br />
year from commercial rival ITV.<br />
In France, audiences for<br />
commercial broadcaster TF1 rose<br />
less than one per cent to<br />
3.1 million. Some 33 per cent of<br />
the audience was women, slightly<br />
lower than the gender split for<br />
Champions League football, where<br />
35 per cent of TF1’s audience is<br />
women. In Germany, RTL averaged<br />
5.2 million viewers per race, with<br />
the penultimate race of the season<br />
in Brazil attracting the season-high<br />
of 7.2 million viewers and a<br />
28-per-cent audience share.<br />
The full 2009 F1 season’s viewing will<br />
be released in the Yearly Sport Key<br />
Facts Special Report from Eurodata<br />
TV Worldwide/Mediametrie.<br />
Eurodata TV Worldwide is the leading<br />
provider of sports television audiences,<br />
with access to ratings and programming<br />
details for 2,000 channels over five<br />
continents. Eurodata TV Worldwide<br />
offers a range of services to help clients<br />
successfully market TV programmes and<br />
monitor their broadcasts.<br />
Florent Simon<br />
Eurodata TV Worldwide Sport Manager<br />
Email: fsimon@eurodatatv.com<br />
Tel: +33 171 099 307<br />
TVSPORTSMARKETS<br />
TV Sports Markets is No.1 for the<br />
business of TV sports. With its unrivalled<br />
knowledge of TV rights deals and<br />
markets around the world, it provides<br />
market-leading analysis of the sector<br />
in a range of publications and bespoke<br />
research products.<br />
Ben Speight<br />
Head of Research, TV Sports Markets<br />
Email: ben@tvsportsmarkets.com<br />
Tel: +44 207 954 3505<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 5
www.sportbusiness.com<br />
SPORTBUSINESS IN NUMBERS
COMMENT<br />
“The deal <strong>cover</strong>s all territories<br />
where the Festival of Christmas is<br />
celebrated. This is a true partnership.<br />
Boogaloogaloo Santa will become far<br />
more efficient as a result of the deal.”<br />
PUBLISHING<br />
Editorial Director:<br />
Kevin Roberts<br />
newsdesk@sportbusiness.com<br />
Editor:<br />
Miriam Sherlock<br />
Designer:<br />
Charlie Thomas<br />
Production Manager:<br />
Craig Young<br />
production@sportbusiness.com<br />
Production Assistant:<br />
Laura Head<br />
Publishing Director:<br />
Philip Savage<br />
<strong>International</strong> Business<br />
& Sales Director:<br />
Stuart Lewis<br />
Marketing Manager:<br />
Shona ODonnell<br />
Advertising Sales:<br />
Adam Colthorpe<br />
Cyril Dujacquier<br />
mediateam@sportbusiness.com<br />
Information Sales Manager:<br />
Adam Barker<br />
Sales Executives<br />
Alfie Waring<br />
Emile Ben-Atar<br />
Brian Williams<br />
Chris Beadle<br />
Subscriptions and<br />
Information Sales:<br />
subs@sportbusiness.com<br />
T: +44 (0) 20 7954 3481<br />
www.sportbusiness.com<br />
Published by:<br />
SportBusiness, a division of SBG<br />
Companies Ltd, 33 - 41 Dallington<br />
Street, London, EC1V 0BB,<br />
T: +44 (0) 20 7954 3515,<br />
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www.sportbusiness.com<br />
Cover Photo: Getty Images Sport<br />
Printed in the UK by:<br />
The Magazine Printing Company<br />
www.magprint.co.uk.<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong><br />
is published monthly © SBG<br />
Companies Ltd 2009. All rights<br />
reserved. No part of this publication<br />
may be reproduced or transmitted<br />
in any form or by any means, or<br />
stored in any retrieval system of<br />
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permission, except for permitted<br />
fair dealing under the Copyright<br />
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Application for permission for use<br />
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in other published works shall<br />
be made to the publishers. Full<br />
acknowledgement of author,<br />
publisher and source must be given.<br />
ISSN 1757-5346.<br />
KEVIN ROBERTS ON THE DIFFICULTIES IN GENERATING NEW REVENUES<br />
WHILE SECURING THE CONTINUED SUPPORT OF THE FANS...<br />
THE GLOBAL MARKETING COMMUNITY applauded<br />
a significant breakthrough in late November when<br />
emerging Asian search engine operator Boogaloogaloo<br />
announced a wide-ranging deal with the government of<br />
Lapland to become title sponsor of Santa and his portfolio<br />
of elves, reindeer and other helpers.<br />
A key element of the agreement is an initial five-year<br />
naming rights deal for Santa’s Grotto which will become<br />
known as: The Grotto@boogaloogaloo.com.<br />
All lead reindeer, including the world-famous Donner<br />
and Blitzen are included in the multi million Dollar<br />
agreement, although Rudolph, who remains under<br />
contract to the Red Nose Organisation, is excluded.<br />
“This is an excellent deal for Boogaloogaloo,” said<br />
its CEO. “It is the result of painstaking market research<br />
which revealed that to compete in a global marketplace<br />
we had to take steps to gain brand recognition and real<br />
traction among the key 5-12 years age group. After all,<br />
children are our future.”<br />
“The deal <strong>cover</strong>s all territories where the Festival of<br />
Christmas is celebrated or where Santa is recognised.<br />
And that represents most of the world. This is a true<br />
partnership. Boogaloogaloo Santa will become far more<br />
efficient as a result of the deal. Our technology will enable<br />
kids to enter an on-line examination to determine whether<br />
they have been Good or Bad in the previous 12 months.<br />
The results of these will determine what types of presents<br />
they will be allowed to select from the offerings of the<br />
specially chosen and quality controlled suppliers chosen<br />
by and accessed via Boogaloogaloo.com<br />
“Once verified by Boogaloogaloo chief Elf, their<br />
gifts choices will be delivered by a sleigh guided by<br />
our specially developed SantaNav. This eliminates the<br />
possibility of children being disappointed by receiving the<br />
wrong presents.”<br />
A spokesman for the Lapland government, Mr S. Kimo,<br />
described the deal as “a truly mould-breaking partnership<br />
which will change the face of Christmas.” Asked by<br />
journalists to comment on the moral stability of Santa - who<br />
has previously been caught Kissing Mummies under the<br />
Mistletoe and drinking Sherry - Mr Kimo said: “We have<br />
no concerns. This is dealt with by a part of the agreement<br />
known as the Santa clause. This provides strict guidelines for<br />
Santa’s behaviour 365 days a year. We want him to be a proud<br />
ambassador for Lapland and Boogaloogaloo and to share and<br />
exemplify our brand values…whatever those may be.”<br />
The Boogaloogaloo deal is widely seen as pushing<br />
the sponsorship envelop in new directions and has been<br />
described in some quarters as ‘simply unbelievable.’ In<br />
fact, that scenario may be slightly more believable than<br />
an earlier deal which saw Mike Ashley, owner of English<br />
second tier football club Newcastle United announcing<br />
that the club’s historic stadium was to be named for his<br />
company, Sports direct.<br />
In an inelegant attempt at compromise, the ground is<br />
now known as sportsdirect.com@StJames’Park, a move<br />
which flies in the face of common sense, respect for fans<br />
and more or less every chapter in the Sponsorship text book.<br />
It is not our job to lecture Mike Ashley on making money.<br />
While accepting that there may be some clever<br />
accountancy reasons for the Sports Direct naming rights<br />
deal, it appears to fall down in more or less every other<br />
respect. Let’s start with the fans…who hate it. Newcastle<br />
is a one club city and the passion for everything Black<br />
and white runs deep. For the fans, St James’ Park means<br />
something special and the addition of an ugly commercial<br />
moniker is seen as desecration.<br />
Second, if the fans aren’t going to embrace the new<br />
name you can be sure that the media won’t. It’s difficult<br />
to imagine a single broadcaster referring to the ground<br />
by its new name. You can lead media horses to water but<br />
not make them drink. Legend has it that when Fosters<br />
first sponsored The Oval cricket ground, the BBC taped a<br />
notice to the commentary box wall reminding its staff that<br />
‘This Is The Oval -Not The Fosters Oval.<br />
Attitudes have, of course, relaxed significantly over the<br />
years and the media is now far more comfortable with the<br />
use of commercial names. But the fact remains that they<br />
really only seem natural when the facility in question has<br />
absolutely no history (see feature on pages 30-32). At a new<br />
facility, fans can embrace the sponsors, maybe even feel a<br />
little grateful that their cash has helped in some way with<br />
the creation of the stadium of arena. But to impose a name<br />
- particularly such a clumsy one - on a much loved and<br />
revered venue is simply asking for trouble. In many ways it’s<br />
the equivalent of sticking two fingers up at your customers.<br />
But looking on the bright side, even Newcastle United<br />
doesn’t have to deal with the same issues as the Colorado<br />
Rapids who play in Major league Soccer. Their impressive,<br />
purpose-built stadium is considered something of a<br />
masterpiece but it rejoices in the name of its sponsor….<br />
Dick’s Sporting Goods Field.<br />
Naturally, Fans know it simply as The Dick. Quite what<br />
that does for the sponsor brand is anybody’s guess!<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 7
AGENDA<br />
SHORTSTOP<br />
Super 15: Melbourne was chosen as<br />
the location for the 15th franchise in the<br />
expanded Super Rugby competition from<br />
2<strong>01</strong>1. The Australian city was chosen by<br />
independent arbitrators after SANZAR,<br />
the body representing the rugby unions<br />
of South Africa, New Zealand and<br />
Australia, failed to reach an agreement<br />
between Melbourne and a competing bid<br />
from South Africa’s Southern Kings.<br />
MLB: The New York Yankees win in the<br />
MLB’s World Series was worth $59.6<br />
million in direct spending to business<br />
in New York City. Each of the playoff<br />
matches played at the Yankees’ stadium<br />
brought in $6.7 million from visiting<br />
fans, players and media, according to<br />
research by the Economic Development<br />
Corporation.<br />
Formula One: The Brawn GP F1 team<br />
will be renamed Mercedes Grand Prix<br />
from next season, after it was bought<br />
by carmaker Daimler AG and Abu<br />
Dhabi-based investment fund Aabar<br />
Investments PJSC. Daimler bought<br />
a 45.1 per cent stake and Aaber 30<br />
per cent. Team manager Ross Brawn<br />
retains a shareholding along with four<br />
other directors.<br />
BSkyB:UK pay-operator BSkyB said a<br />
review panel’s recommendations on<br />
protected sporting events for freeto-air<br />
UK TV could have a “disastrous<br />
impact” on the long-term health of UK<br />
sports bodies. The panel, led by former<br />
English Football Association executive<br />
director David Davies, recommended<br />
that Ashes Test matches, home and<br />
away international football qualifiers,<br />
the Open Championship, the whole of<br />
Wimbledon, the entire Rugby World Cup<br />
and Welsh Six Nations should be added<br />
to the current list.<br />
MCC: Marylebone Cricket Club chief<br />
executive Keith Bradshaw denied<br />
reports that the organisation is to<br />
consider selling the naming rights of<br />
the Lord’s cricket ground alongside<br />
a massive redevelopment scheme to<br />
modernise the stadium.<br />
European Football: German police said<br />
“high ranking European leagues” are<br />
involved in a match-fixing operation it<br />
has un<strong>cover</strong>ed. Uefa has supported the<br />
investigation, providing the police with<br />
data on unusual betting patterns.<br />
Premier League: Manchester United<br />
manager Sir Alex Ferguson said the<br />
growth of foreign ownership of English<br />
Premier League clubs has made club<br />
chairmen more impatient for results.<br />
RAISING THE BAR<br />
Paul Deighton, LOCOG chief<br />
executive, said the Olympics and<br />
Paralympics would generate around<br />
£400 million from ticket sales.<br />
DEIGHTON ALSO SAID that he was aiming for<br />
between £600 and£700 million from private<br />
sponsorship, with £550 million already secured.<br />
Speaking at the Sport Event Management<br />
conference, he said: “If you look at the revenue<br />
we have yet to capture, the principal component<br />
will be from ticketing. Something like £400<br />
million will come through ticketing. We are<br />
building business plans for each of the sports to<br />
make sure that we can get tickets in the hands of<br />
the people who most want to be there.”<br />
Speaking before the announcement of BMW<br />
as LOCOG’s seventh Tier 1 sponsor, Deighton<br />
said it had been tough raising sponsorship cash<br />
in the economic downturn. “If I can point to<br />
the most gravity defying accomplishment of the<br />
project so far it’s raising that money in the light<br />
of extraordinarily difficult economic conditions.<br />
“It says a lot about the power of the Olympic<br />
and Paralympic brands, it says a lot about the<br />
BRAND BUILDING<br />
McCann Worldgroup promises to<br />
communicate the ‘truth’ when it<br />
takes control of the the ‘look and feel’<br />
the London 2<strong>01</strong>2 brand.<br />
“NEVER BEFORE has the public had a greater<br />
ability to scrutinise and control the messages we<br />
send,” said Brett Gosper, President & CEO of<br />
McCann Worldgroup EMEA. “Truth, more than<br />
ever is a brand’s most valuable asset.”<br />
As LOCOG’s Official Marketing Services<br />
Provider, McCann Erickson, supported by<br />
other Interpublic agencies, will be responsible<br />
for advertising, promotion and digital<br />
communications in relation to 2<strong>01</strong>2. It will work<br />
with Greg Nugent who took the newly created<br />
role of brand and marketing director. Nugent is<br />
tasked with building the 2<strong>01</strong>2 brand, reporting<br />
into Paul Deighton, who will concentrate on<br />
driving further commercial revenue.<br />
The agency will offer services worth up to<br />
£10 million in value-in-kind in return for<br />
obtaining third-tier sponsorship rights. It beat off<br />
competition from rivals WPP Group.<br />
“Every agency in London worth its salt went<br />
for the first round of the tender,” said Nick<br />
Sykes, managing partner, McCann Erickson. “It<br />
became obvious that LOCOG were looking for<br />
something quite different in terms of the tender,<br />
a genuine partnership for three and a half years,<br />
across every discipline”.<br />
Not yet on sale - Getty Images Sport<br />
appetite of this country to be involved in making<br />
this an incredible success.” He also defended<br />
the decision to abandon plans for a temporary<br />
venue for badminton and rhythmic gymnastics<br />
meaning athletes will journey across the capital<br />
to compete at existing venue Wembley Arena.<br />
“In this economic environment it’s not really<br />
acceptable to taxpayers to build a temporary<br />
venue when you already have an acceptable one.<br />
“It’s hard to say we were not prepared to send<br />
athletes another 15 minutes on the road... that<br />
we’d rather spend a lot more money and build<br />
something that we are then going to take down.”<br />
Truth behind the brand - Getty Images Sport<br />
It is the first time any Olympic Organising<br />
Committee has ever secured such a groundbreaking<br />
agreement for a marketing services<br />
partnership. Success for McCann, Sykes says,<br />
will be defined in three ways. “It will allow us<br />
to showcase our work in front of a huge global<br />
audience. Secondly, we will have proved the<br />
business case for bidding for the work in the<br />
first place. And thirdly, and this is more of a soft<br />
measure, it makes us one of the most attractive<br />
employers in the UK communications scene.”<br />
Lord Coe, chairman of LOCOG, described<br />
London 2<strong>01</strong>2 as the two largest sporting events<br />
on the planet and said “marketing them has to<br />
be one of the most complex tasks that any agency<br />
can face. McCann Worldgroup is one of the few<br />
companies in the UK which has the breadth and<br />
depth of capability to help us deliver the Games.”<br />
8 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
INSIGHT<br />
MIRIAM SHERLOCK<br />
Editor<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong><br />
“The way the America’s Cup works is that you<br />
have to win it to have a say on how it is run,”<br />
explains Paco Latorre, communications director<br />
for America’s Cup Management and spokesman<br />
for Alinghi<br />
In agreeing to race in Valencia in February and<br />
in publishing the Notice of Race - the rules and<br />
regulations that will govern the next edition of the<br />
event - Cup holder Alinghi has seemingly ensured<br />
the next chapter of the America’s Cup will actually<br />
unfold next year. But beyond that, the future of the<br />
competition is unclear.<br />
Arguments over the structure of the<br />
competition have led to a crippling two-year court<br />
battle between Alinghi (as the Defender) and rival<br />
BMW Oracle. Primarily a battle over who was the<br />
legitimate Challenger following the 2007 Cup, the<br />
legal issues have also stretched to <strong>cover</strong> disputes<br />
over the race Protocol and the venue.<br />
Latorre says despite resolution on the venue<br />
there are still three lawsuits pending and there<br />
remain a number of technical issues about how<br />
the 2<strong>01</strong>0 race will be carried out. Nevertheless, he<br />
says, these should not stop the boats from sailing<br />
off the Spanish coast early next year.<br />
And it is once they are on the water that real<br />
resolution may come. At stake will be the Cup,<br />
but also the right to decide how its next editions<br />
will be managed. To the victor will go the role of<br />
de-facto promoter and the chance to shape the<br />
future structure of the competition.<br />
Fundamental changes to the Cup format can<br />
only be made by amending the 1857 Deed of Gift,<br />
through the New York Supreme Court where the<br />
document is registered. But to do so, the winners<br />
will need a consensus that has been sadly lacking<br />
over the past two years.<br />
The signs are, that should Alinghi once more<br />
emerge victorious, it will have the backing of<br />
other teams in its attempts to modernise both the<br />
2<strong>01</strong>0 should see an America’s Cup - Getty Images Sport<br />
TO THE WINNER, THE SPOILS<br />
Alinghi may well have guaranteed that an America’s Cup race will now<br />
take place in early 2<strong>01</strong>0. But longer-term, the competition’s future may<br />
depend on who emerges victorious next year. By Bernardo Domingues.<br />
structure of the Cup management and the format<br />
of the competition.<br />
Sir Keith Mills, the principal of the British<br />
entry for the next Cup, TeamOrigin, has described<br />
the current structure as “not fit for purpose” and<br />
has said he will work with whoever wins the best<br />
of three America’s Cup races next February.<br />
Mills (see our Headliner interview, page 26)<br />
advocates a third party group of management<br />
advisers brought in to draw up a new, workable<br />
blueprint which everyone could adhere to.<br />
Ideally, any new structure would offer stable<br />
day to day management of the competition, both<br />
on the water and also commercially, while still<br />
protecting the rights of the Cup Defender.<br />
What Mills seems to be proposing is not too far<br />
removed from the structure Bertarelli sought to<br />
install after he first won the Cup in 2003, through<br />
an independent organiser AC Management.<br />
“Certainly, Bertarelli has been discussing<br />
changes with Sir Keith Mills and other<br />
stakeholders as well,” says Latorre, “but first we<br />
must contest the 33rd America’s Cup.”<br />
Should BMW emerge victorious the future for<br />
the America’s Cup may be something different.<br />
According to the existing Deed of Gift, it is the<br />
Challenger of Record’s prerogative to open up the<br />
field to other competitors. BMW Oracle won a<br />
legal action earlier this year to be considered the<br />
Challenger of Record and then chose not to open<br />
up the field - a move which deprived all the other<br />
teams of the opportunity to take on Alinghi for the<br />
Cup, for next year at least.<br />
Whatever the outcome, the legal battles of the<br />
last two years have created an uncertainty which<br />
has derailed the momentum the competition<br />
achieved with the successful 32nd America’s Cup.<br />
It can only be hoped that, with a firm plan to get<br />
out onto the water in 2<strong>01</strong>0, the spirit of sporting<br />
competition will put the sport back on track.<br />
IT WAS OUR very great pleasure here<br />
at SportBusiness, last month, to<br />
once again sponsor the Sports Event<br />
Management Awards.<br />
The Awards, presented at a<br />
prestigious Black Tie Ceremony at<br />
Lords Cricket Ground, London, are now<br />
in their third year and recognise the<br />
innovation and skill of the individuals<br />
and organisations that make sports<br />
events happen. They truly celebrate the<br />
Gold Standard in in each of the many<br />
sectors of event management.<br />
Such is the growth in popularity<br />
and scope of the Awards since their<br />
inception, that over 150 entries were<br />
received this year, meaning the judges<br />
really had their work cut out, and over<br />
200 guests attended the Ceremony.<br />
For the full list of worthy winners as<br />
well as the notable runners up, see our<br />
extended feature on pages 38-44.<br />
And it struck me while reading our<br />
Headliner interview this month - the<br />
subject is that guru of events marketing<br />
and organisation, Sir Keith Mills - that<br />
perhaps there might be scope next<br />
year for a new award category, based<br />
around the area of ‘sustainability and<br />
environmental impacts.’<br />
Sir Keith is running TeamOrigin, the<br />
UK entry for sailing’s America’s Cup<br />
and, as he explains on pages 26-28, is<br />
aiming not only to win the prestigious<br />
trophy but also, in partnership with<br />
environmental partner the Carbon<br />
Trust, to change the rules of sporting<br />
engagement forever. His mission: to<br />
lead the way in using sport to improve<br />
the environment and persuade<br />
companies and consumers to change<br />
their behaviours.<br />
The Vancouver 2<strong>01</strong>0 Olympics will be<br />
the first Games to go carbon-neutral,<br />
with help from 25 corporate sponsors<br />
and local and national governments.<br />
Its partners too are offsetting some of<br />
their own carbon emissions related to<br />
the Games. Then the FIA has proposed<br />
that the total activity of putting on a<br />
motor sport championship or series<br />
should be carbon neutral - quite some<br />
undertaking for the organisers and<br />
teams. These are just a few of many<br />
such worth initiatives… And, just<br />
maybe, early entries for the Sport Event<br />
Management Award for Sustainability.
AGENDA<br />
SHORTSTOP<br />
ESA: The European Sponsorship<br />
Association (ESA) launched a<br />
23-page guide for small sports<br />
rights-holders and newcomers to<br />
sponsorship looking to take their<br />
first steps into the industry.<br />
AF1: Arena Football One (AF1),<br />
the indoor American Football<br />
league founded in 2009 to replace<br />
the indefinitely suspended Arena<br />
Football League (AFL), submitted<br />
a formal offer to purchase the<br />
assets of the AFL. Formed in 2009,<br />
the coast-to-coast AF1 League will<br />
commence its inaugural season in<br />
the spring of 2<strong>01</strong>0.<br />
SOCHI 2<strong>01</strong>4: The organisers of<br />
the 2<strong>01</strong>4 Winter Olympics in Sochi<br />
published an environmental<br />
strategy drawn up in conjunction<br />
with the United Nations<br />
Environment Programme (UNEP)<br />
and the Russian Government. The<br />
organisers say the strategy will<br />
see the natural environment in the<br />
region surrounding Sochi not just<br />
protected, but enhanced.<br />
AUSTRALIA: An independent<br />
review of Olympic sport in Australia<br />
commissioned by the government<br />
said the focus on winning Olympic<br />
medals was hitting participation<br />
rates and choking funding need by<br />
for grassroots sports.<br />
EHF: Austria-based betting<br />
company bet-at-home.com<br />
agreed a new deal to be an official<br />
partner of the European Handball<br />
Federation’s (EHF) European<br />
Handball Championships taking<br />
place in Austria in 2<strong>01</strong>0.<br />
USL: Seven football clubs<br />
previously part of US professional<br />
league the United Soccer Leagues<br />
broke away to form a new league<br />
and begun seeking recognition<br />
from football authorities.<br />
NFL: The 80,000-seat Silverdome<br />
stadium in Pontiac, Michigan, which<br />
cost more than $55 million to build<br />
in 1975, has been sold at auction<br />
for $583,000 by the debt-ridden<br />
city authorities which own it. The<br />
stadium is the former home of the<br />
National Football League’s Detroit<br />
Lions, who left for a new stadium in<br />
downtown Detroit in 2002, and once<br />
hosted the Super Bowl.<br />
EXCEPTION PROVES THE RULE<br />
Barry Wilner on success breeding success in the NHL this year, according to the Forbes<br />
annual valuation. All except for the team at the top of the money rankings.<br />
IT PAYS TO BE an original<br />
member of the National Hockey<br />
League. Big time.<br />
The Original Six are among the<br />
seven most valuable franchises<br />
in the NHL, according to Forbes’<br />
annual rankings. Only the<br />
Philadelphia Flyers, who joined<br />
the league in the first wave of<br />
expansion in 1967, broke up the<br />
old boys club.<br />
For the fourth straight year,<br />
the Toronto Maple Leafs are on<br />
top, which is quite impressive<br />
considering they have not made the<br />
playoffs in four years and don’t look<br />
likely to make them this season.<br />
According to Forbes, they are<br />
worth $470 million, an increase of<br />
5 per cent over last year and far in<br />
front of the New York Rangers at<br />
$416 million, up just 1 per cent.<br />
The Montreal Canadiens are<br />
third ($339 million), followed by<br />
the Detroit Red Wings<br />
($337 million), Philadelphia<br />
($273 million), the Boston Bruins<br />
($271 million) and the Chicago<br />
Blackhawks ($258 million).<br />
Chicago’s rise is the most<br />
noteworthy. The Blackhawks have<br />
been tailenders on the ice for much<br />
of the decade, which damaged<br />
their overall worth. But aggressive<br />
marketing by owner Rocky Wirtz<br />
and strong drafting have made<br />
the Blackhawks so attractive that<br />
they regularly sell out the United<br />
Center. And they will be a Stanley<br />
Cup contender for the 2009-10<br />
season, having made the Western<br />
Conference final last spring.<br />
2009 NHL VALUES<br />
TEAM<br />
“The common denominator is to<br />
win and we wanted to move the<br />
organisation ahead,” Wirtz has said.<br />
“I see us perennially going to the<br />
playoffs and, once we get there,<br />
anything can happen.”<br />
What has happened in the past<br />
year is the NHL’s biggest rise in<br />
value, up 26 per cent.<br />
The next biggest increase is by<br />
the Washington Capitals, up 15 per<br />
cent to $183 million.<br />
Of the top 10 franchises - Dallas<br />
is eighth ($246 million), Vancouver<br />
ninth ($239 million) and New Jersey<br />
10th ($223 million) - two actually<br />
decreased in value: the Flyers and the<br />
Stars, who dropped by 10 per cent.<br />
Winning the Stanley Cup did not<br />
catapult the Pittsburgh Penguins<br />
into the Top Ten. They are 11th at<br />
$222 million, but that is a<br />
14-per-cent-increase in value,<br />
which certainly has to do with<br />
being the champions. Look for the<br />
Penguins to move up further next<br />
Toronto Maple Leafs top the money table - Getty Images Sport<br />
2009 Value<br />
(in millions)<br />
One-Year<br />
Change (%)<br />
Revenues<br />
(in millions)<br />
Toronto 470 +5 168<br />
NY Rangers 416 +1 139<br />
Montreal 339 +2 130<br />
Detroit 337 +11 130<br />
Philadelphia 273 -1 1<strong>01</strong><br />
Boston 271 +3 108<br />
Chicago 258 +26 108<br />
Dallas 246 -10 97<br />
Vancouver 239 +1 109<br />
New Jersey 223 0 97<br />
League Averages 223 1 94<br />
year when their new arena opens.<br />
New Jersey’s value, which is the<br />
same as in 2008, is also the leaguewide<br />
average, a slight increase over<br />
the $220 million of last year.<br />
By contrast, the average value of<br />
an National Football League team<br />
this year is $1.042 billion, and the<br />
lowest-ranked team, the Oakland<br />
Raiders, are worth $797 million,<br />
dwarfing the NHL’s Maple Leafs.<br />
The Toronto team is also top in<br />
terms of operating income, with<br />
$78.9 million, more than double<br />
the $31.3 million for runners-up,<br />
the Canadiens. Toronto revenues<br />
were also top, at $168 million,<br />
followed by the Rangers at<br />
$139 million. At the other end<br />
of Forbes’ chart are the Phoenix<br />
Coyotes. Their ownership issues,<br />
which have existed for years and<br />
dragged on for months in the<br />
courts, drop their worth to $138<br />
million. Stunningly, that is only 3<br />
per cent down on last season.<br />
10 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09
aGeNDa<br />
aMerICa The ParIah<br />
rick Burton asks if it might now be another decade before the uS hosts one<br />
of sport’s major events.<br />
I oPeNeD MY NewSPaPer this morning to<br />
read that an American racing team (Charlotte,<br />
North Carolina’s US F1) was thinking of joining<br />
the Formula One circuit. Interestingly, it will<br />
serve as the first US-based F1 team in 40 years.<br />
That’s quite a while.<br />
It’s been even longer - 42 years - since an<br />
American-based team won an F1 race - Dan<br />
Gurney in his black No. 36 Eagle-Weslake in<br />
1967 at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps - and<br />
more than 30 years since an American (well,<br />
okay, a naturalised American - Mario Andretti)<br />
won the FIA world title in 1978.<br />
Those are only trivial tidbits (including the<br />
fact America has not hosted an F1 race since<br />
2007 in Indianapolis) but it caused me to think<br />
about America’s future involvement in global<br />
sports and the act (or art) of playing with the<br />
other kids in the world’s sand box.<br />
The most obvious place to start was with<br />
the Olympics and dissecting Chicago’s firstround<br />
departure from bidding to host the 2<strong>01</strong>6<br />
Summer Olympic Games. As we all know,<br />
Chicago and the US Olympic Committee lost<br />
badly and since then much has been written<br />
about the Americans not really understanding<br />
FACT OF THE MONTH:<br />
how the IOC really works (see Communiqué).<br />
That is undoubtedly unfair to the many<br />
Americans who worked tirelessly for Chicago’s<br />
bid during the last three years because those<br />
individuals always knew the USOC was standing<br />
outside the IOC’s Swiss-based windows looking<br />
in. They simply couldn’t change the physical<br />
choices and statements made by various USOC<br />
representatives during the last 10 years. The<br />
damage, if that’s what one would call how<br />
America conducted itself overseas, ran very deep.<br />
Or as Kurt Vonnegut often wrote in<br />
Slaughterhouse-Five, “So it goes.”<br />
Regardless, with Chicago leaving the party<br />
early, Rio de Janeiro went on to win big, thanks<br />
largely to a great branding campaign. Americans<br />
quickly returned to their North American-only<br />
National Football League (NFL), Major League<br />
Baseball, NCAA college gridiron and launch of<br />
another NHL season.<br />
But here’s an interesting statistic: With<br />
the US now out of hosting the 2<strong>01</strong>6 and 2<strong>01</strong>8<br />
Olympic Games and unlikely to bid for the 2020<br />
Summer Games (possibly sulking after losing<br />
2<strong>01</strong>2 to London and then 2<strong>01</strong>6), it is likely at<br />
least a decade will go by before a major global<br />
three hIll WInS often reQuIred to BeCome four hIllS ChAmPIon<br />
The annual Ski Jumping Four Hills Tournament takes place in December and January. Five of the last<br />
10 overall winners of the competition have won at least three of the four hills on their way to the title.<br />
overall four hills Tournament winners with at least three hill wins in one season<br />
# name nation oberstdorf garmisch Innsbruck Bischofshofen Season<br />
4 Sven Hannawald Ger 1 1 1 1 20<strong>01</strong>/2002<br />
3 björn Wirkola Nor 1 1 1 2 1968/1969<br />
3 Jens Weißflog GDr 2 1 1 1 1983/1984<br />
3 matti Nykänen FIN 2 1 1 1 1987/1988<br />
3 Toni Nieminen FIN 1 2 1 1 1991/1992<br />
3 Janne Ahonen FIN 1 1 1 2 2004/2005<br />
3 Wolfgang Loitzl AUT 2 1 1 1 2008/2009<br />
3 olav björnstad Nor 1 1 1 3 1953/1954<br />
3 björn Wirkola Nor 3 1 1 1 1966/1967<br />
3 Andreas Widhölzl AUT 3 1 1 1 1999/2000<br />
3 Toralf engan Nor 1 1 1 4 1962/1963<br />
3 Sigurd Pettersen Nor 1 1 4 1 2003/2004<br />
3 max Wolkart FrG 1 1 1 5 1958/1959<br />
3 Kazuyoshi Funaki JPN 1 1 1 8 1997/1998<br />
3 Helmuth recknagel GDr 1 1 1 15 1958/1959<br />
event plants its flag on American soil again. It<br />
seems likely the 2<strong>01</strong>8 <strong>FIFA</strong> World Cup will go<br />
to a European country and we know Rugby’s<br />
World Cup and the Cricket World Cup have both<br />
been bid out through 2<strong>01</strong>9 (meaning 2023 is the<br />
next available date). That’s three more Summer<br />
Olympics and three more <strong>FIFA</strong>, IRB and<br />
ICC World Cups (each) all closed out through<br />
2020. And no possibility of a US-based Winter<br />
Olympics until 2022.<br />
Even in the short term, just one single year,<br />
no F1 races will take place in the US in 2<strong>01</strong>0 nor<br />
is there an America’s Cup or golfing Ryder Cup,<br />
which heads to Wales in October 2<strong>01</strong>0. Even in<br />
the Davis Cup (tennis), the Americans open on<br />
the road in Serbia.<br />
That means no international events in the<br />
US in 2<strong>01</strong>0 except the familiar major tennis<br />
tournaments (i.e., US Open or a later round of<br />
the Davis Cup) and major golf tournaments (the<br />
Masters, etc.).<br />
And lest anyone feel I am deliberately leaving<br />
out the biggest international federations, let’s<br />
address those sports here and now.<br />
To the best of my research capabilities, it<br />
appears FINA’s 2<strong>01</strong>1 and 2<strong>01</strong>3 swimming world<br />
championships are going to Shanghai and<br />
Dubai; the IAAF’s 2<strong>01</strong>1 and 2<strong>01</strong>3 world athletics<br />
championships will play out in Daegu (South<br />
Korea) and Moscow; the FIG 2<strong>01</strong>0 and 2<strong>01</strong>1<br />
world artistic gymnastics championships are<br />
headed to Rotterdam and Tokyo and the 2<strong>01</strong>0<br />
and 2<strong>01</strong>1 world figure skating championships<br />
are slated for Turin and Nagano.<br />
Plus - and I write this as the former<br />
commissioner of a basketball league with teams<br />
in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore - FIBA’s<br />
2<strong>01</strong>0 and 2<strong>01</strong>4 men’s basketball championships<br />
will take place in Istanbul and Madrid with the<br />
women’s world championships for those years in<br />
12 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • no. 152 • 12.09
COMMUNIQUE<br />
November 2009,<br />
New York<br />
InternAl AnAlySIS And WrAnglIng Are<br />
unSurPrISIngly the reSPonSe to ChICAgo’S<br />
fAIlure to BrIng home the olymPIC gAmeS.<br />
US rejection and dejection Getty Images Sport<br />
the Czech Republic and India respectively.<br />
So here’s my concluding fact: it now falls to US<br />
Soccer (bidding for the 2022 World Cup) and the<br />
city of Denver (a possible candidate to bid for the<br />
2022 Winter Olympics) to bring the world back<br />
to the US. Simple maths says 20 years will have<br />
passed since the US hosted the scandal-plagued<br />
2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.<br />
Two decades is a long time in a digital age and<br />
it might suggest the world’s sport site selectors<br />
are quietly determining they can sustain their<br />
championship business despite America’s wealth<br />
and modern stadia infrastructure. That or they<br />
are determining other places are better suited, or<br />
more deserving, for global sports celebrations.<br />
Does it mean America is falling behind in<br />
something that isn’t quite a race Does it suggest<br />
Americans need to start joining (or getting<br />
elected to serve as members on) the federations<br />
that make these decisions<br />
My sense is an unqualified ‘yes’ and I write<br />
that knowing America has been well placed with<br />
selection for many of the major IF events in the<br />
past (Olympics, <strong>FIFA</strong> World Cup) although not<br />
for rugby union, cricket or athletics.<br />
I also know that no country is better than any<br />
other country and all are deserving if they are<br />
capable of managing the logistics and generating<br />
the appropriate local/national community support.<br />
As a first-generation American, though, I can<br />
only quietly (and humbly) hope that my country<br />
of birth, with its many resources, will fully<br />
support US Soccer and the USOC to get America<br />
back in gear by 2020 or 2022. Otherwise, I will<br />
need to keep my passport active.<br />
Rick Burton is the David B. Falk Professor of Sports<br />
Management at Syracuse <strong>University</strong> in Syracuse,<br />
N.Y and a former chief marketing officer of the US<br />
Olympic Committee.<br />
The fallouT from the failed Chicago<br />
bid could last for years, perhaps<br />
decades. “It’s very real,” Doug Logan,<br />
Ceo of USA Track and Field, told The<br />
Associated Press, “and for us to take<br />
our rightful place, we have to have an<br />
understanding of what’s really going<br />
on out there.”<br />
one thing that is going on - and is a<br />
positive for the US olympic movement<br />
- has been the upheaval within the<br />
USoC ranks since the failure in<br />
Copenhagen. Stephanie Streeter,<br />
who replaced Jim Scherr as Ceo has<br />
stepped aside. A search is on to find<br />
a leader with stronger connections to<br />
the international olympic community.<br />
There certainly won’t be any plans<br />
for future US olympic bids until<br />
new leadership is in place at the<br />
USoC after what Swiss IoC<br />
member Denis oswald<br />
called “a defeat for<br />
the USoC, not for<br />
Chicago.”The<br />
United States may<br />
well contribute<br />
more money<br />
to the olympic<br />
movement than<br />
any other nation,<br />
but the USoC’s<br />
infighting and<br />
perceived arrogance<br />
contributed to the loss<br />
of face. “I’m incredibly<br />
saddened by the developments, which<br />
I lay largely at the feet of the USoC,<br />
which has clearly lost its way,” said<br />
NbC Universal Sports and olympics<br />
chairman Dick ebersol.<br />
The well-connected Scherr believes<br />
it is more complex and that rio was<br />
destined to win hosting rights for the<br />
2<strong>01</strong>6. Games.<br />
“The headline should be: rio won<br />
the bid. Chicago did not lose the bid<br />
and Chicago did not lose by bidding,”<br />
said Scherr, who was forced to resign<br />
in march, a move that agitated many<br />
national governing bodies within the<br />
US olympic movement.<br />
“The IoC and the IoC president<br />
Jacques rogge wanted to plant the<br />
flag of the olympic movement and<br />
the olympic Games in South America.<br />
Jacques rogge wanted that, I believe,<br />
as part of his legacy as president of<br />
the IoC, to go to another continent<br />
with the olympic Games.”<br />
Still, Scherr concurs that the<br />
tumult within the USoC couldn’t have<br />
helped his country’s case for 2<strong>01</strong>6 and<br />
could continue to damage US chances<br />
in future bidding.<br />
“This wasn’t something new in the<br />
last six or seven months,” Scherr<br />
said. “The Salt Lake City bid scandal,<br />
what the IoC felt was the overcommercialised<br />
Atlanta Games, the<br />
Iraq War, America’s role in the global<br />
economy... All of these issues have<br />
affected the USoC and its standing in<br />
the IoC for a long time.<br />
“If the United States chooses to<br />
bid again, it’s going to be a very<br />
long and difficult process to<br />
address those issues<br />
so that a US city<br />
really has equal<br />
footing and an<br />
opportunity to<br />
win the right<br />
to host an<br />
olympic and<br />
Paralympic<br />
Games.”<br />
All of<br />
which does<br />
not mean the<br />
United States has<br />
become a non-player<br />
on the olympic stage.<br />
“I don’t think you’re ever going<br />
to abandon hope,” USA Swimming<br />
executive director Chuck Wielgus<br />
said at the time. “but the recent<br />
happenings at the USoC - certainly<br />
some of those things have probably<br />
not helped in the minds of IoC<br />
members who have long memories.”<br />
So what next for the USoC As bob<br />
Ctvrtlik, a former IoC member who<br />
was part of the initial Chicago 2<strong>01</strong>6<br />
bid team puts it: We’ll just have to<br />
see. When we said it was the right<br />
place, the right time, we meant it. I<br />
don’t think it’s anti-American. I think<br />
we still don’t have the horsepower<br />
to do the politicking. ... <strong>International</strong><br />
engagement takes a lot of time.”<br />
Barry Wilner<br />
AP and SportBusiness <strong>International</strong><br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • no.152 • 12.09 13
BRANDS & MARKETING<br />
SHORTSTOP<br />
MARETIN<br />
REAL MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo,<br />
the world’s most expensive football<br />
player who moved from Manchester<br />
United to Real Madrid this summer,<br />
has not matched the sales boom<br />
when David Beckham made the<br />
same move in 2003. According<br />
to Bloomberg, sales of adidas<br />
shirts are as much as 75 per cent<br />
lower from data gathered across<br />
six sports stores in Madrid. Team<br />
income went up 27 per cent in the<br />
year after David Beckham signed for<br />
the club and 22 per cent of revenue<br />
came from sales of team apparel.<br />
BMW: The car maker signed up as<br />
the latest top-tier domestic sponsor<br />
of the 2<strong>01</strong>2 London Olympics, in a<br />
deal worth an estimated 40 million<br />
pounds ($67 million) in cash and<br />
services. BMW will provide about<br />
4,000 vehicles to transport athletes,<br />
officials and other members of the<br />
Olympic community.<br />
BARCLAYS: Global financial<br />
services provider Barclays<br />
extended its title sponsorship of<br />
golf’s Singapore Open until 2<strong>01</strong>2.<br />
Under the terms of the agreement,<br />
prize money will remain at least $5<br />
million, the field size will increase<br />
from 156 to 204 players and the<br />
event will move to Week 46 of the<br />
annual golf calendar for 2<strong>01</strong>0.<br />
ING: European financial services<br />
provider ING extended its title<br />
sponsorship of the New York City<br />
Marathon for another three years.<br />
The contract - which now runs until<br />
after the 2<strong>01</strong>3 race - was originally<br />
signed in 2003 and has been renewed<br />
twice<br />
IZOD: Clothing brand Izod signed a<br />
multi-year deal with the Indy Racing<br />
League (IRL), the sanctioning body<br />
for the IndyCar Series, to become<br />
title sponsor from the 2<strong>01</strong>0 season.<br />
The deal marks the sport’s first title<br />
sponsorship since 20<strong>01</strong>. Under the<br />
agreement Izod will also retain its<br />
label of official apparel partner of<br />
the Indy Racing League, which began<br />
in 2008.<br />
188BET: English Premier League<br />
club Liverpool signed online gaming<br />
and entertainment company 188bet<br />
as its betting sponsor. The deal will<br />
run for three years and aims to step<br />
up Liverpool’s profile in Asia.<br />
Phelps is exclusive to Visa - Getty Images Sport<br />
TAKING CENTRE STAGE<br />
Visa is signed up with the IOC for next 11 years, a particularly notable deal and<br />
fee in difficult economic times. Barry Wilner explains the company’s rationale.<br />
CREDIT CARD COMPANY VISA extended its<br />
contract as official global sponsor to the IOC<br />
for the 2<strong>01</strong>6 Summer Games in Rio and onto<br />
the Summer Olympics in 2020. With the<br />
going rate for February’s Winter Olympics<br />
in Vancouver just under $100 million for<br />
the quadrennium, it’s a significant financial<br />
commitment by Visa.<br />
“The Olympic Games transcend political and<br />
geographical boundaries to deliver incomparable<br />
international exposure,” said Joseph Saunders,<br />
chief executive officer of Visa Inc. And analysts<br />
estimate Visa could spend as much as another<br />
$300 million promoting the tie-in with the<br />
Games through the 2<strong>01</strong>4 Winter Olympics in<br />
Sochi. Those are never numbers to dismiss, but<br />
they are particularly notable in these times.<br />
Visa also recently extended its NFL<br />
sponsorship for five years, a deal worth about<br />
$40 million overall. Why the big spend And<br />
why now For one thing, Visa is able to attract<br />
athletes like Michael Phelps to represent the<br />
company, and that association pays huge<br />
benefits. Only Visa, for example, will have an<br />
affinity card with Phelps’ likeness.<br />
Also, Visa and its member banks have<br />
exclusive rights to Olympic symbols, something<br />
they use heavily in advertising. The company<br />
estimated that brand equity increases by 25 per<br />
cent among consumers who know about Visa’s<br />
Olympic sponsorship.<br />
Visa’s recent Olympic promotions have led<br />
to large increases in applications, including a<br />
40 per cent jump at banks for its platinum card<br />
prepared for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Those<br />
Olympics were viewed as a grand opportunity<br />
to open up the biggest untapped market on the<br />
planet, and Visa dived in by adding 90,000<br />
ATM machines, with more than 200,000<br />
merchants accepting Visa in China.One US<br />
retailer estimated an increase in Visa spending<br />
at 9 per cent for Olympic promotions.<br />
The IOC deal also ensures Visa has a<br />
monopoly on the two biggest global sports<br />
events, the Olympics and the World Cup. “One<br />
wonders whether Visa would still spend as much<br />
as they are if they were guaranteed that their<br />
competitors would not purchase (such) rights,’’<br />
said Craig Depken, an economics professor at<br />
the <strong>University</strong> of North Carolina-Charlotte who<br />
specialises in sports economics.<br />
“This is potentially the case in many<br />
sponsorship situations: Do firms purchase<br />
sponsorship (be it a stadium name, a NASCAR<br />
car, or Olympic naming rights) because they fear<br />
what their competitors will do This is famously<br />
called the `prisoner’s dilemma.’ Furthermore,<br />
Visa has been a primary sponsor for the USOC<br />
and IOC for quite some time. To abandon the<br />
relationship at this point might raise more<br />
questions than Visa cares to answer - specifically<br />
concerning their financial well-being.”<br />
Visa is one of nine global sponsors for the<br />
Vancouver Games, along with McDonald’s,<br />
Coca-Cola, Panasonic, Acer, Atos Origin, General<br />
Electric, Omega, and Samsung. Panasonic and<br />
Samsung also remain affiliated through Soch<br />
2<strong>01</strong>4 and Rio 2<strong>01</strong>6. Dmitry Chernyshenko, CEO<br />
for the Sochi 2<strong>01</strong>4 Games, said Visa’s extension<br />
helped his city raise its sponsorship budget to<br />
$850 million - five years before any skiers or<br />
skaters compete.<br />
14 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
PARTNERING UP<br />
Barry Wilner on an emerging US trend. Rather than battle each other for the<br />
entertainment dollars during the economic downturn, some professional<br />
teams from across the leagues are joining forces.<br />
THE LATEST US FRANCHISES to partner up are<br />
Chicago’s Bears of the NFL and Blackhawks of the<br />
NHL. Their cross-branding promotional initiatives<br />
include commercials and representation inside<br />
Soldier Field, home of the Bears, and the United<br />
Center, where the Blackhawks play.<br />
It’s the first such partnership between an NFL<br />
club and an Original Six franchise from the NHL.<br />
“Partnering with the Blackhawks is a unique<br />
relationship that showcases two storied Chicago<br />
franchises,” said Bears senior director of sales<br />
and marketing Chris Hibbs. “The collaboration<br />
of the two teams and our star athletes is<br />
something we hope the passionate Chicago<br />
sports community can rally around.”<br />
On the surface, it would seem the Bears have<br />
less to gain from such an arrangement than the<br />
Blackhawks. Only the Cubs can rival the Bears<br />
for attention in the Windy City. The Blackhawks<br />
rank behind the Chicago Bulls (NBA) and White<br />
Sox and Cubs (MLB). A closer look though,<br />
shows why such a concorde works.<br />
Barring making the playoffs, the Bears play<br />
only 10 homes games (eight regular-season,<br />
two pre-season). The Blackhawks have 41 home<br />
dates, which provides months of extra exposure<br />
at sporting events for the Bears.<br />
Plus, the young Hawks have a growing<br />
legion of youthful players who seem bound for<br />
stardom: Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick<br />
Sharp, Brent Seabrook and Brian Campbell. The<br />
Bears can’t match that.<br />
A set of five commercials featuring those<br />
skaters and Bears players Jay Cutler, Devin<br />
Hester, Robbie Gould, Lance Briggs and Greg<br />
Olsen have been planned. It’s an opportunity<br />
for both teams to expand their horizons among<br />
Chicago’s fans. For the Blackhawks, the benefits<br />
are obvious. “We are honoured to partner with<br />
one of the most recognised brands in the world,”<br />
Blackhawks senior vice president of business<br />
operations Jay Blunk said. “This will give our<br />
players and organisation exposure to millions of<br />
loyal Bears fans.”<br />
Two states east in Ohio, Major League<br />
Baseball’s Cleveland Indians and the NHL’s<br />
Columbus Blue Jackets have also partnered up.<br />
The Indians have attendance issues, so<br />
attempting to draw fans from the middle of the<br />
state, where Columbus sits, has always been<br />
attractive. Unlike the NFL and NHL, the schedules<br />
for baseball and hockey barely intercede, so the<br />
partnership makes sense calendar-wise.<br />
As for the Blue Jackets, they have barely<br />
made a dent in the Columbus community so<br />
dominated by Ohio State football and basketball.<br />
They are the only major league hockey team in<br />
the state, too.<br />
The pact calls for shared advertising and<br />
hospitality and special ticket offers to fans via<br />
e-mail and direct mail. The Blue Jackets were<br />
promoted at Indians games during the 2009<br />
season, with the Indians now being showcased<br />
at Nationwide Arena during the hockey season.<br />
Also included in the deal are opportunities<br />
to reach each team’s fan base, in-ballpark/<br />
arena presence at each team’s venue for select<br />
games, and media exposure across broadcast<br />
partner channels, according to the Indians and<br />
Blue Jackets. “Our new partnership with the<br />
Blue Jackets is just another example of two<br />
organisations taking a creative approach in<br />
marketing the product of professional sports<br />
entertainment within the same region,” said<br />
Indians senior vice president of sales and<br />
marketing Vic Gregovits.<br />
Look for such partnerships to crop up<br />
elsewhere in the USA.<br />
Cutler of the Chicago Bears and Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks - Getty Images Sport<br />
MARETIN<br />
EYE ON THE<br />
INDUSTRY<br />
FORMULA ONE PLUS<br />
Shaun Whatling, CEO of<br />
Redmandarin, on the momentous<br />
change afoot in Formula One.<br />
When FOM first mooted capping, it<br />
seemed a futile gesture. After all, what<br />
chance did FOM stand against the power<br />
of Ferrari, FOTA and the combined weight<br />
of the automotive industry<br />
And yet, nine months later, F1 is in<br />
a very different place - a much better<br />
one. The sudden reshaping of the F1<br />
landscape began with the withdrawal of<br />
some of the long-standing partners in<br />
2007, but it was Honda’s decision to pull<br />
the multi-million dollar plug that really<br />
turbo-charged the change.<br />
Fears that the credibility of F1 had<br />
been damaged following the McLaren-<br />
Ferrari spying scandal were fuelled by<br />
the contrived Nelson Piquet Jr crash,<br />
provoking yet more media speculation<br />
around long-term sponsor investment.<br />
F1 had already seen multiple attacks on<br />
its sponsors - the loss of tobacco money,<br />
alcohol sponsors fears, green advocates<br />
criticising the environmental impact of<br />
the sport - a ‘back to basics’ approach<br />
was long overdue.<br />
The cost-cutting moves agreed under<br />
the revised Technical and Sporting<br />
Regulations; now heavily reinforced<br />
through the Resource Restriction<br />
Agreement, although effective in terms<br />
of limiting big ticket expenditure such<br />
as wind tunnel and live testing, could<br />
never seriously dent the will of the larger<br />
automotive teams to compete in the arms<br />
race that F1 had become.<br />
Now, without Honda, Toyota, BMW and<br />
with the likely withdrawal of Renault, the<br />
RRA has found its teeth. Mercedes and<br />
Ferrari are the only automotive players<br />
and if the grid looks very different, the<br />
economic picture is radically more so.<br />
Despite the influx of new brands behind<br />
Brawn, Force India and USF1, the<br />
investment required to deliver technical<br />
advantage will be directly visible on the<br />
bottom line of every team.<br />
Team performance will ultimately<br />
be a function of balanced business<br />
performance: financial management,<br />
commercial creativity, product<br />
development and brand management.<br />
Now is the time to see if an F1 team can<br />
be run along conventional business lines:<br />
to perform on the track and produce a<br />
profit, on a year-by-year basis.<br />
We’ve seen this commercialisation<br />
in the upper tier of the Premier League,<br />
in the IPL, and it’s been a longstanding<br />
feature of the NFL. In this year of economic<br />
turmoil, change has come to the paddock.
SHORTSTOP<br />
BRANDS & MARKETING<br />
MARETIN<br />
ADIDAS: Sportswear brand adidas<br />
ended a $3 million sponsorship of<br />
the <strong>University</strong> of Central Florida’s<br />
athletic department after one of<br />
basketball star Michael Jordan’s<br />
sons played a match for the<br />
university wearing Nike shoes<br />
named after his father.<br />
ETIHAD: An English court ordered<br />
Etihad Airways and real estate<br />
developer Aldar Properties to<br />
pay the Force India F1 team<br />
$5.25 million as the result of a<br />
sponsorship dispute. Etihad and<br />
Aldar had claimed a change of<br />
livery to the Force India car, and<br />
the addition of a kingfisher logo,<br />
when it bought by Indian billionaire<br />
Dr Vijay Mallya in October 2007<br />
constituted a breach of their<br />
sponsorship agreement, and pulled<br />
out. Etihad and Aldar had entered<br />
into a three-year $20 million title<br />
sponsorship deal with the team in<br />
April 2007.<br />
MASTERCARD: MasterCard<br />
became match title sponsor for the<br />
Barbarian rugby internationals for<br />
the 2009-2<strong>01</strong>0 season. The series<br />
of matches will be known as ‘The<br />
MasterCard Trophy<br />
SCRATCH GOLF: US golfer Ryan<br />
Moore, the 2004 US Amateur<br />
champion, signed an unusual<br />
agreement with sponsor Scratch<br />
Golf that will see him take a stake in<br />
the company, with the opportunity<br />
to earn performance bonuses and<br />
additional payments.<br />
ENGLISH LEAGUE: Football club<br />
Newcastle United agreed a stadium<br />
naming rights deal with sportswear<br />
retailer Sports Direct, owned by<br />
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley.<br />
The club plans to rename its home<br />
stadium sportsdirect.com@St James’<br />
Park Stadium under a deal lasting<br />
until the end of the season, prompting<br />
an angry response from fans.<br />
ADIDAS: Andy Murray signed a<br />
new £15 million, five-year deal with<br />
sportswear maker adidas. The<br />
deal begins 2<strong>01</strong>0, ending Murray’s<br />
relationship with Fred Perry.<br />
LV=: LV= will title sponsor rugby<br />
union’s Anglo-Welsh tournament,<br />
the joint competition managed by<br />
the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and<br />
Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).<br />
WITHOUT WISHING TO READ too much<br />
into this year’s forecasts for the sponsorship<br />
industry, one can at least take heart from the<br />
statistics that predict year-on-year growth in<br />
global expenditure of between 2-3.1 per cent in<br />
2009 (GroupM/IEG June 2009 respectively) to<br />
circa $44.4 billion.<br />
Against a backdrop of a forecast 5.5 per cent<br />
fall in global advertising spend to $417 billion<br />
and a 3.7 per cent decline in other marketing<br />
services this year, those in the sponsorship<br />
industry should be feeling reasonably confident<br />
that it continues to show positive signs of<br />
progression, even in the most challenging times.<br />
In fact, global sponsorship growth has been<br />
strong over the past two decades, consistently<br />
outpacing growth in advertising and sales<br />
AIG dropped out, but AON will step in - Getty Images Sport<br />
OPTIMISING TOUCH POINTS<br />
Jeremy Clark, Managing Director, MEC Access, Europe Middle East & Africa,<br />
explains that insight is the key to a bright future for sports marketers.<br />
promotion in percentage terms. Sport continues<br />
to dominate the industry in terms of the number<br />
of deals and overall investment by brands.<br />
But a 5 per cent decrease in its total share of<br />
investment between 2007 and 2008 (Source:<br />
TWSM) is statistical evidence, if we needed it,<br />
that some brands are seeking new or alternative<br />
platforms, in entertainment and cause, to<br />
drive differentiation and deeper consumer<br />
engagement, potentially at the expense of sport.<br />
So, on the one hand the industry is in<br />
reasonable health and continuing to buck the<br />
trend. But on the other side sport must react to<br />
the increasing competition by demonstrating its<br />
true worth as one of the most effective platforms<br />
for brands to drive consumer engagement and<br />
deliver a positive return on investment.<br />
16 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
BrandZ map - Brand equity across markets<br />
80<br />
60<br />
40<br />
20<br />
0<br />
-20<br />
10 15 20 25 30 35<br />
Source: BrandZ 2008 Base: 400 per market<br />
PartnerZ - Consumer engagement in sports (France)<br />
100%<br />
90%<br />
80%<br />
70%<br />
60%<br />
50%<br />
40%<br />
30%<br />
20%<br />
10%<br />
0%<br />
16<br />
15<br />
Mexico 2008<br />
Sweden 2008<br />
UK 2008<br />
Taiwan 2008<br />
Spain 2008<br />
Brazil 2008<br />
Japan 2008<br />
France 2008 Australia 2008<br />
Thailand 2008<br />
China 2008<br />
Russia 2008<br />
USA 2008<br />
Canada 2008<br />
Italy 2008<br />
Korea 2008<br />
Germany 2008<br />
Netherlands 2008 Denmark 2008<br />
Hong Kong 2008<br />
Czech Republic 2008<br />
Rugby Formula Football Cycling Tennis Skiing Sailing Horse Golf<br />
union one Racing<br />
Source: France PartnerZ 2008 Filter: 3,000<br />
R.O.S.E - Event’s impact on brand buying intention<br />
Event XX explains 12% of exposed XY brand buying<br />
intention<br />
75%<br />
12<br />
18<br />
India 2008<br />
12%<br />
Source: Rose 2008 Base: 461<br />
It was in last November’s issue of SportBusiness<br />
<strong>International</strong> that Editorial Director, Kevin<br />
Roberts, highlighted that the sports industry<br />
could benefit from better PR, given the<br />
disconnect between the public perception of<br />
sports marketing and the business realities.<br />
This disconnect, it was suggested, could<br />
drive some brands away from sport out of fear<br />
of upsetting and alienating the public. And sure<br />
enough, we’re witnessing it all over the world<br />
with high profile fall-out from the likes of AIG,<br />
Buick and ING, to name but three.<br />
Call it a necessary ‘correction’ or ‘spring<br />
clean’ brought about by the recession, but we<br />
should not shy away from the fact that there are<br />
some fundamental challenges in the industry<br />
that need to be addressed. Brands are rightly<br />
scrutinising every marketing dollar spent and<br />
need to understand the return that they can<br />
expect from their investment.<br />
Too often in the past sponsorships have<br />
been established without appropriate research<br />
and insights, an understanding of the role of<br />
16<br />
16<br />
8 6 4 3 2 1<br />
4 5<br />
9<br />
12<br />
16<br />
16<br />
MALE<br />
FEMALE<br />
18-34<br />
25-34<br />
UP TO $3,000<br />
OVER $3,0<strong>01</strong><br />
Event impact<br />
Love it<br />
Like it<br />
It’s OK<br />
Dislike it<br />
Not interested<br />
Unaware of it<br />
Brand impact<br />
sponsorship within the wider communications<br />
mix, the setting of clear objectives and KPIs.<br />
Rarely will a perfect partnership come from<br />
a single flash of inspiration. Research and<br />
insight should play an integral role across<br />
the sponsorship process and should feed the<br />
strategy, property selection and its activation.<br />
So where should a brand-owner start We<br />
know about all the investment that has already<br />
been pumped into associations with <strong>FIFA</strong><br />
through 2<strong>01</strong>4, and London 2<strong>01</strong>2, many of which<br />
will have built a robust business case for that<br />
investment. But beyond these there is a wide<br />
range of high-profile opportunities on the horizon<br />
in the world of sport that with the right strategic<br />
approach, brands could be capitalising on.<br />
The starting point is a thorough investigation<br />
into the brand, the appropriate platforms and<br />
properties and an in-depth analysis of the target<br />
audience. We use BrandZ, a proprietary WPP<br />
resource, which delivers in-depth measurement<br />
of brand equity and imagery across 23,000<br />
brands and 31 countries.<br />
<br />
BRANDS & MARKETING<br />
Extending this insight and research is the<br />
PartnerZ tool which moves the principles<br />
of BrandZ into the sponsorship arena and<br />
maps consumer engagement and perceptions<br />
of platforms and properties across 13 markets<br />
worldwide. Supplementing this is the extensive<br />
profiling of consumer demographics, behaviours<br />
and attitudes delivered through TGI which<br />
itself <strong>cover</strong>s the major markets worldwide.<br />
A rigorous approach such as this will help<br />
brand-owners build a compelling and objective<br />
business case for sponsorship investment.<br />
These tools help to confirm brand issues,<br />
identify property strengths and weaknesses, and<br />
ensure that the consumer is put at the heart of<br />
all strategic development.<br />
Without it brands run the risk of wasting<br />
marketing dollars on inappropriate associations<br />
that fail to drive meaningful engagement with<br />
their audience and consequently deliver a<br />
negligible return on investment.<br />
For those brand owners that have made the<br />
decision to invest in a sports property it’s critical<br />
for the long-term viability of the association that<br />
this investment can be monitored and its effect<br />
determined. In the past, much of the focus has<br />
been on measuring the output, evaluating brand<br />
exposure delivered through the association and<br />
measuring the awareness shift.<br />
However, with sports marketing having the<br />
capacity to deliver against multiple brand and<br />
business objectives this will more often than not<br />
be an insufficient evaluation of the association.<br />
The industry has been crying out for a<br />
robust model that can help isolate the effect of<br />
partnership activity and identify the direction<br />
and strength of influences between partnership<br />
activity and consumers, which in turn can help<br />
drive the credibility of the discipline.<br />
Over the past two years, such a tool has<br />
been in development within MEC Access. The<br />
recently launched ROSE© model is a unique<br />
consumer research and modelling tool that<br />
maximises the effectiveness of sponsorships.<br />
It measures the overall performance of<br />
partnerships, isolates the influence of<br />
association on brand buying intention and<br />
delivers a roadmap for future improvements in<br />
their activation. We should be in no doubt that<br />
the sports industry continues to make enormous<br />
progress and that more and more brands are<br />
realising the potential power of sponsorship.<br />
With the right strategic approach to determining<br />
the most appropriate solution, brands will<br />
capitalise on the great many opportunities that<br />
exist within sport in the years to come.<br />
Supplement this with comprehensive<br />
measurement of any partnership activity and<br />
there should be ample justification to support<br />
long-term investment in the discipline. On<br />
that basis, I believe sponsorship and sports<br />
marketing will not just maintain its position<br />
in the marketing hierarchy, but will become a<br />
driving force for the future.<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 17
MEDIA<br />
SHORTSTOP<br />
Al Jazeera: Pan-Arabian broadcasters<br />
ART and Al Jazeera signed a<br />
preliminary agreement for ART’s<br />
six sports channels to become a<br />
part of Al Jazeera Sports, according<br />
to Rapid TV News. A Memorandum<br />
of Understanding was signed and<br />
although terms have not been<br />
disclosed the payment is believed to<br />
be well in excess of $1 billion. Under<br />
the deal, Al Jazeera Sport will take<br />
over ART’s existing sports contracts,<br />
becoming the exclusive provider of<br />
sports content for ART’s Arab Digital<br />
Distribution platform.<br />
IOC: The <strong>International</strong> Olympic<br />
Committee awarded South American<br />
TV rights for the 2<strong>01</strong>0 Winter Games<br />
in Vancouver and the 2<strong>01</strong>2 Summer<br />
Games in London to ESPN. Under the<br />
deal, ESPN will have free-to-air rights<br />
in Argentina, pay-television rights in<br />
Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia,<br />
Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay<br />
and satellite-only rights in Venezuela.<br />
Asia meets England in the Premier League - Getty Images Sport<br />
EPL STILL SCORING IN ASIA<br />
Pay-television competition in key Asian markets continues to fuel the rise of<br />
the English Premier League’s Asian television rights fees. James Pickles of<br />
TV Sports Markets reports on the league’s latest round of deals.<br />
Serie A: <strong>International</strong> sports media<br />
company MP & Silva acquired the<br />
international media rights for Italian<br />
football’s Serie A for the 2<strong>01</strong>0-11 and<br />
2<strong>01</strong>1-12 seasons. The rights were<br />
awarded by the Italian Football League<br />
(Lega Calcio) after a competitive<br />
tender process, and <strong>cover</strong> all<br />
platforms including television, internet<br />
and mobile.<br />
Euro 2<strong>01</strong>2: Portuguese paybroadcaster<br />
Sport TV acquired the pay-<br />
TV rights in Portugal for Euro 2<strong>01</strong>2 in<br />
a deal with UEFA. Sport TV has rights<br />
for all 31 matches in the tournament,<br />
including exclusive rights for 12 group<br />
stage matches. Free-to-air rights in<br />
Portugal will be sold at a later stage.<br />
Serie A: An Italian court blocked<br />
pay-broadcaster Sky Italia’s deal for<br />
a package of rights for Italian league<br />
football for the 2<strong>01</strong>0-11 and 2<strong>01</strong>1/12<br />
seasons. Conto TV had challenged<br />
the deal, which was for the ‘Platinum’<br />
package of rights <strong>cover</strong>ing all Serie<br />
A matches. Sky Italia said it would<br />
challenge the decision.<br />
<strong>FIFA</strong>: Chinese state-broadcaster China<br />
Central Television (CCTV) acquired<br />
the rights to all <strong>FIFA</strong> tournaments,<br />
including the 2<strong>01</strong>0 and 2<strong>01</strong>4 <strong>FIFA</strong> World<br />
Cups. Under the deal, CCTV will also<br />
show matches from the <strong>FIFA</strong> Women’s<br />
World Cup and <strong>FIFA</strong> youth football.<br />
THE ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE extended its<br />
enviable record of television-rights-fee increases<br />
in Asia under the latest raft of deals that were<br />
agreed in October, <strong>cover</strong>ing the 2<strong>01</strong>0-11 to 2<strong>01</strong>2-<br />
13 period. Sports rights specialists TV Sports<br />
Markets estimate that the league enjoyed around a<br />
40-per-cent fee increase in deals signed in the 22<br />
territories <strong>cover</strong>ed by its main Asian tender.<br />
There were not uniform increases across the<br />
board, however. The overall rise was principally<br />
driven by big jumps in the big markets of<br />
Singapore and Malaysia, with India also seeing<br />
spectacular growth. In other territories increases<br />
were more modest and fees even fell in a couple<br />
of markets, including South Korea.<br />
The Premier League stoked up what interest<br />
there was by tweaking its rights offering to<br />
make it even more attractive for broadcasters.<br />
It liberalised internet rights, removing the<br />
stipulation in existing contracts that matches<br />
shown on the internet must be simulcast on<br />
television. It also offered broadcasters the<br />
possibility of buying a centrally-produced Premier<br />
League channel - the so-called Premier League<br />
content service - providing winning bidders with<br />
what is effectively a “plug-and-play” solution.<br />
This is thought to have been aimed<br />
specifically at helping new telecoms companies<br />
come into the market, such as Singapore’s<br />
SingTel, which stunned incumbent rights-holder<br />
Starhub with a knockout first round offer.<br />
Singapore proved to be the only territory<br />
where the gap between the highest and nexthighest<br />
bids was big enough for the league to<br />
award the rights in the opening round. Starhub<br />
was hit by a double whammy in that within<br />
hours of SingTel announcing its Premier League<br />
win, pan-regional broadcaster ESPN Star Sports<br />
said that it was shifting its sports channels from<br />
Starhub to SingTel as well.<br />
In an attempt to stem the expected subscriber<br />
churn, Starhub has since radically overhauled its<br />
sports offer. It has promised to cut the price of its<br />
premium sports bouquet by over 50 per cent when<br />
its Premier League deal expires next summer. In<br />
addition it is offering all its existing cable television<br />
customers two new sports channels for free,<br />
including the Eurosport News channel.<br />
ESPN Star Sports held on to Premier League<br />
rights in 18 territories, although it lost Vietnam<br />
to the MP & Silva agency and retained the rights<br />
in Malaysia through a joint-bid with its longterm<br />
partner Astro. The threat from Telekom<br />
Malaysia, which is gearing up to launch an<br />
IPTV service, played a key role in driving up the<br />
Malaysian price by an estimated 70 per cent.<br />
That threat took bidding into a second round but<br />
it soon became clear that Telekom Malaysia was<br />
not ready to commit yet to major investments in<br />
sports content. That battle now looks likely to be<br />
deferred until the next three-year cycle.<br />
Elsewhere, it is thought ESS will use the<br />
Premier League rights to drive carriage of a slew<br />
of new sports channels, including its recentlylaunched<br />
ESPNews channel and a high-definition<br />
offering. ESS’s new Premier League deals <strong>cover</strong><br />
Malaysia, Indonesia, the Indian sub-continent,<br />
South Korea and other smaller territories.<br />
The Premier League will sell the rights in<br />
China and Hong Kong in a separate auctions<br />
which were about to commence as this article<br />
went to press.<br />
18 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
EXTENDING BOXING’S REACH<br />
The US market remains the top target for boxing promoters, who are seeking<br />
fans’ attention with an ever-wider array of media initiatives. Barry Wilner<br />
reports on the tactics being used, and the new overseas markets targeted.<br />
DEAL OF<br />
THE MONTH<br />
JAMES PICKLES<br />
Editor, TV Sports Markets<br />
NEVER THE TYPES to be shy about how and<br />
where they seek money for their productions -<br />
sometimes the more outlandish the source, the<br />
better - US boxing promoters are mining new<br />
areas - thinking outside the ring, if you will.<br />
Young audiences, for whom boxing is now<br />
seriously battling with mixed martial arts, are<br />
being targeted with a barrage of new products<br />
on traditional and new media. And promoters<br />
are reaching far beyond American shores and<br />
into China, a market that every forward-thinking<br />
sports entrepreneur covets.<br />
“Boxing has to reach a younger audience, a<br />
new audience,” HBO Sports vice president Mark<br />
Taffett says. “We need to connect them to the<br />
athletes to move the sport forward.”<br />
HBO has been doing this through its “24/7”<br />
behind-the-scenes programmes broadcast in the<br />
lead-up to major bouts. These fights tend to be the<br />
easiest to sell to the public, even on pay-per-view,<br />
but the idea that HBO can create new fight fans,<br />
particularly amongst youngsters, through those<br />
specials is an original one.<br />
“HBO’s 24/7 draws new fans to the sport of<br />
boxing in order to ensure boxing’s future,” Taffet<br />
said, speaking about the broadcasts leading up<br />
to US boxer Floyd Mayweather’s big victory in<br />
September over Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez.<br />
“The [Mayweather fights] are must-see TV that<br />
have our fans glued to their television sets.<br />
“We have made it so that wherever consumers<br />
go, watch, listen, read, tweet, text, they are going<br />
to be surrounded by Mayweather and Marquez.”<br />
There was a pre-fight show televised by Fox<br />
Sports Net, which is a stronghold for the viewing<br />
demographic promoters seek: young male sports<br />
fans. De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions,<br />
Marquez’s promoter, helped things along by<br />
releasing lots of video content for broadcast prior<br />
to the fight.<br />
Golden Boy also went back to a tried and<br />
trusted broadcast method from the 1960s and<br />
‘70s and showed the fight in nearly 200 cinema<br />
theatres across the country. Theatres throughout<br />
America showed trailers advertising the bout in<br />
the weeks leading up to it.<br />
The one million-plus pay-per-view buys<br />
for Mayweather-Marquez suggests that the<br />
promoters’ approach to the media, combining<br />
traditional methods with new, definitely works.<br />
But the US is no longer the only market the<br />
promoters think they can make big money in.<br />
Dino Duva and businessman Richard Davimos<br />
have formed D&D Global, which has reached<br />
agreement with the Chinese Boxing Federation<br />
to train and market its amateur fighters.<br />
“This is the chance to develop them right to<br />
the pros,” Duva says. His company is the first<br />
overseas player to do a broad, comprehensive<br />
deal with the Chinese in boxing.<br />
In addition to training Chinese boxers - many<br />
already have spent time at camps in the States<br />
- D&D Global gained exclusive rights to market<br />
them. Several sponsors, including adidas, are<br />
already on board.<br />
“We’re in the process of working on TV deals<br />
in China and globally,” Davimos says.<br />
“The thing that’s interesting for me is the<br />
money is there to commercialize, even while<br />
they’re amateurs. We’re talking to sponsors that<br />
would never go near boxing in the U.S.”<br />
Adds Duva: “There are markets out there<br />
where you can make more money than you can<br />
in the United States.”<br />
Juan Manuel Marquez fights Floyd Mayweather - Getty Images Sport<br />
Mumbai-based agency Nimbus<br />
Communications extended its deal with<br />
the Board of Control for Cricket in India<br />
(BCCI) for a further four years, from<br />
2<strong>01</strong>0 to 2<strong>01</strong>4. The rights, which <strong>cover</strong><br />
India’s home international matches<br />
and domestic competitions, have<br />
traditionally been the country’s most<br />
important sports rights property.<br />
What’s it worth<br />
Nimbus is paying approximately Rs20<br />
billion ($425 million) over the period, with<br />
a flat rate of Rs312 million per match.<br />
How does that compare<br />
On a per match basis, Nimbus is paying<br />
about four-per-cent less than what<br />
it pays now. The decrease is largely<br />
attributed to the changed economic<br />
environment but also perhaps tacitly<br />
acknowledges that the rights are no<br />
longer the undisputed driver in the<br />
market, given the spectacular growth<br />
of Twenty20’s India Premier League<br />
in the last two years. It is also worth<br />
remembering that Nimbus’s winning offer<br />
last time round was over $100 million<br />
clear of the next highest bid.<br />
What competition was there<br />
The BCCI was restrained from offering the<br />
rights on the open market by a very strong<br />
renewal clause in the existing Nimbus deal<br />
which gave the agency first right of refusal.<br />
Were there any potential challengers<br />
Rivals Sony and ESPN Star Sports were<br />
interested in the BCCI rights, especially<br />
Sony, which is looking at launching a<br />
dedicated sports channel to fill a gap in<br />
its present bouquet of channels. Winning<br />
the BCCI rights, which it could combine<br />
with its existing nine-year deal for the<br />
IPL, would have given Sony an impressive<br />
platform and at the same time landed a<br />
crippling blow on one of its rivals.<br />
What would have happened had Nimbus<br />
lost<br />
The BCCI rights are the backbone of<br />
Nimbus’s Neo channel, which would have<br />
seen its turnover plummet at least 80<br />
per cent if it had lost the rights, raising<br />
serious questions over its future. As it is,<br />
the new extension contains a similarly<br />
strong renewal option for a further four<br />
years up until 2<strong>01</strong>8, in effect guaranteeing<br />
Neo’s future for almost a decade.<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 19
MEDIA<br />
SHORTSTOP<br />
IPL: Entertainment & Sports Direct,<br />
promoted by investment advisory<br />
and private equity company DAR<br />
Capital Grouphas, won the theatre<br />
rights for the Indian Premier<br />
League from 2<strong>01</strong>0-2<strong>01</strong>9. The tenyear<br />
deal is reported to be worth Rs<br />
330 crore ($71 million).<br />
TyC Sports: Argentinian sports<br />
broadcaster TyC Sports acquired<br />
the TV rights in Argentina for the<br />
Vancouver 2<strong>01</strong>0 Winter Olympics<br />
and London 2<strong>01</strong>2 Olympic Games.<br />
TyC Sports has had the broadcast<br />
rights in Argentina for every<br />
Summer Olympic Games since<br />
Atlanta 1996. TyC Sports also<br />
acquired rights for the IAAF’s<br />
Diamond League series of athletics<br />
meets, which begins next year.<br />
World Series: Major League<br />
Baseball’s World Series averaged<br />
an 11.7 television rating and<br />
19-per-cent audience share on US<br />
television, up 39 per cent from the<br />
record low of 8.4 and 14 per cent in<br />
2008. This year’s World Series was<br />
contested by the New York Yankees<br />
and the Philadelphia Phillies. Last<br />
year the teams were the Phillies and<br />
the Tampa Bay Rays.<br />
Eurosport: Eurosport <strong>International</strong><br />
reported an operating profit of<br />
€33.7 million for the first nine<br />
months of 2009, up over 100 per<br />
cent on the €16.7 million profit<br />
in the same period in 2008.<br />
Subscription revenues rose yearon-year,<br />
driven by the launch of<br />
the Eurosport HD channel, which<br />
launched in May 2008 and now has<br />
four million paying subscribers, and<br />
of Eurosport 2, which now has 38<br />
million paying subscribers.<br />
MTV3 Max: Finnish broadcaster<br />
MTV3 renewed its rights for Formula<br />
One for the 2<strong>01</strong>0 to 2<strong>01</strong>2 period. MTV3<br />
will continue to show live <strong>cover</strong>age<br />
on its MTV3 Max low-priced paychannel,<br />
and delayed <strong>cover</strong>age on its<br />
free-to-air MTV3 channel.<br />
IPL: Sony’s Entertainment<br />
Television <strong>Network</strong>’s channel SET<br />
Max, the official broadcaster of<br />
cricket’s Indian Premier League<br />
(IPL), is estimated to bring in over<br />
Rs 650 crore ($135 million) for the<br />
2<strong>01</strong>0 edition of the competition, 30<br />
per cent higher than in 2009.<br />
TO SELL OR NOT TO SELL<br />
Rick Burton on the timing conundrum facing the IOC when it comes to<br />
negotiating the US broadcast rights for the 2<strong>01</strong>4 and 2<strong>01</strong>6 Olympic Games.<br />
READ A NORTH AMERICAN Sports Business<br />
Journal and you will come across a treasure trove<br />
of rights fee information <strong>cover</strong>ing the various TV<br />
network sports deals for the largest American<br />
sports properties, including the Olympics.<br />
They are significant and what is particularly<br />
interesting is that the Olympics, particularly<br />
following the massive ratings success of the<br />
2008 Summer Games from Beijing, were not<br />
only the lowest dollar value of the six (which are<br />
all in a single, sophisticated market) but also that<br />
the IOC tends to only bid the Olympics in single<br />
four-year (or two Games) blocks in the US.<br />
That means the next round of bidding for<br />
the US rights, (<strong>cover</strong>ing at least the Sochi 2<strong>01</strong>4<br />
Winter Olympics and 2<strong>01</strong>6 Summer Olympics in<br />
Rio de Janeiro) are due for negotiation, logically,<br />
sometime next year, after the Vancouver Games.<br />
To that end, there are a number of interesting<br />
factors at play:<br />
● The possible number of bidders in the US<br />
(likely ESPN/ABC, Fox, CBS possibly with Time<br />
Warner and NBC possibly owned by Comcast),<br />
how these parties are likely to compete and how<br />
they will drive the pricing<br />
● Economic conditions in the US and whether<br />
they will continue to improve during the 2<strong>01</strong>0-12<br />
window when this process could take place<br />
● Vancouver’s ratings performance in the US.<br />
This is where the performances of certain<br />
American athletes will influence NBC’s outcome<br />
● Whether the selection of Rio gets ‘spun’ by the<br />
bidders as warranting a discount in the US<br />
● Whether the selection of Sochi (and its<br />
European time zone) will dictate a discount<br />
● Whether US broadcasters will act ‘coy’ about<br />
bidding for rights that only serve them for a<br />
‘couple of weeks’ in February 2<strong>01</strong>4 and August<br />
2<strong>01</strong>6. This coyness is consistent (since the<br />
networks always know the Games only last a<br />
few weeks) but will undoubtedly be measured<br />
by cash flow projections related to how much it<br />
will cost each respective broadcaster to maintain<br />
future rights with the NFL, NBA, NASCAR,<br />
NCAA and Major League Baseball (all which will<br />
go back up for grabs between 2<strong>01</strong>3 and 2<strong>01</strong>6)<br />
● The IOC’s desire to get the deal done early in<br />
order to benefit Sochi and Rio or to wait for more<br />
favorable economic conditions in the US. Dick<br />
Pound wrote in his 2006 book Inside the Olympics,<br />
that due to the economic conditions in the TV<br />
industry at the time, the longer the IOC waited<br />
to sell the US rights (after Atlanta’s selection) the<br />
more revenue the sale would generate. But Atlanta<br />
needed cash for construction of the Olympic<br />
Stadium and wanted the bidding to begin ASAP.<br />
When we consider the bidding process this<br />
time, there are two major ‘player’ developments<br />
20 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
MEDIA<br />
Current Major US TV Deals<br />
NFL<br />
NBA<br />
NCAA<br />
Major League Baseball<br />
NASCAR<br />
Olympic Games<br />
worth noting: the emergence of ESPN/ABC as a<br />
committed bidder and the likely acquisition by<br />
Comcast of General Electric’s NBC.<br />
Up first is ESPN. The Connecticut-based giant<br />
has not been shy in announcing it will bid for 2<strong>01</strong>4<br />
and 2<strong>01</strong>6 and recently tipped its cards even further<br />
by scooping the Vancouver 2<strong>01</strong>0 and London<br />
2<strong>01</strong>2 broadcast rights in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile,<br />
Columbia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay<br />
(and satellite-only rights in Venezuela).<br />
ESPN’s executive vice president of content,<br />
John Skipper, attended the Beijing Games and<br />
brought with him a team of seasoned executives<br />
that had long been crunching Olympic numbers.<br />
He knew only too well that the IOC receives<br />
approximately half of its revenue from media<br />
rights and the US portion has traditionally been<br />
greater than the rest of the world combined.<br />
It gives a global player like ESPN (owned by<br />
Disney) notable leverage. Perhaps the only other<br />
Phelps helped exonerate Ebersol- Getty Sport Images<br />
At least $28.34-billion over eight years (through 2<strong>01</strong>3) with Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN<br />
and Direct TV<br />
At least $7.44-billion over six years (through the 2<strong>01</strong>5-16 Finals) with ESPN/ABC,<br />
TNT, Direct TV, Dish <strong>Network</strong> and iN Demand<br />
At least $6-billion over 11 years (through 2<strong>01</strong>3) for up to 66 collegiate<br />
championships with CBS, ESPN and Direct TV<br />
At least $4.87-billion over seven years (through 2<strong>01</strong>3) with Fox, ESPN, TBS, Direct<br />
TV, Dish <strong>Network</strong> and iN Demand)<br />
At least $4.8-billion over eight years through 2<strong>01</strong>4 with Fox, ESPN/ABC, TNT and<br />
Speed Chanel<br />
At least $2 billion (for the Vancouver 2<strong>01</strong>0 and London 2<strong>01</strong>2 Games) with NBC<br />
Universal<br />
party to bring a similar big picture orientation is<br />
Murdoch’s various Fox platform.<br />
Translation: ESPN (or possibly Fox) can<br />
amortise its US investment (i.e., paying a premium<br />
in one country) by averaging out its investment via<br />
other territorial purchases.<br />
NBC has long been the rights holder in<br />
the US and long appreciated by the IOC. “The<br />
Peacock” is also fronted by NBC Sports chairman<br />
Dick Ebersol and, as 2009 was wrapping up,<br />
Ebersol was verbal about the growing overtures<br />
by Comcast and the strong possibility the two<br />
companies would complete a deal by early 2<strong>01</strong>0.<br />
As this issue went to press (mid-November) that<br />
acquisition looked imminent.<br />
Interestingly, much has been made of the<br />
suggestion (or fact) that NBC overpaid for the<br />
2008 Games in Beijing. But in return, Ebersol<br />
received morning swimming finals (featuring<br />
Michael Phelps) so the action would be seen live<br />
in prime time in the US. When Phelps delivered,<br />
the ratings went through the roof and Ebersol<br />
was exonerated.<br />
For the IOC, the continued delivery of the<br />
Games, stage-managed in a carefully-crafted love<br />
letter from Ebersol to the American public - truly<br />
benefitting the IOC and its values - cannot be<br />
underestimated.<br />
Translation: Richard Carrion, the IOC’s finance<br />
commission chairman, would logically recommend<br />
taking the highest bid. But (and these are significant<br />
disclaimers) if Comcast buys NBC because it wants<br />
to establish itself as a major sports force in the US<br />
(to rival ESPN) … and bids aggressively … and if<br />
Comcast is able to keep Ebersol engaged beyond<br />
London 2<strong>01</strong>2 … and if Ebersol is asked to remind the<br />
IOC bid evaluators of his personal contributions in<br />
growing the Games in the US then the Comcast/NBC<br />
package, if particularly creative, might receive extra<br />
attention and could win despite slightly less dollars.<br />
So when will the IOC go to market A<br />
successful Winter Olympics in Vancouver for<br />
NBC (in terms of ratings, ad inventory sold,<br />
overnight, final ratings and critical appreciation<br />
by the media) could create favourable timing for<br />
the IOC anxious to bring Comcast and ESPN<br />
into a head to head showdown by June.<br />
On the other hand, by waiting for US market<br />
conditions to continue improving and by more<br />
fully priming the pump with Fox and CBS, the<br />
IOC might truly get four legitimate bidders.<br />
Admittedly, not all four networks will bid<br />
with real intent (meaning at least one will likely<br />
submit a stalking horse bid) but for the IOC to<br />
get four major players to the table may outweigh<br />
the benefits of a early bidding process.<br />
It would also allow IOC’s administration to<br />
believe that selecting Rio was just as viable as<br />
selectin Chicago.<br />
There is no doubt that Chicago’s loss cost<br />
the IOC money and Carrion acknowledged<br />
as much immediately following the vote in<br />
Copenhagen. The question remains what the<br />
discount percentage will ultimately equal. By<br />
selecting Rio, could the IOC have missed out on<br />
maybe as much as an extra $500-million from<br />
US broadcasters<br />
No one will know for sure but in his book<br />
Rome 1960, author David Maraniss noted that it<br />
is not uncommon for the IOC president to feel<br />
the pangs of revenue lost. Current IOC president<br />
Jacques Rogge will want his fine legacy enhanced<br />
by a great gathering of financial spoils from the<br />
Americans. Odds are that if his negotiators do<br />
their jobs well, the Sochi-Rio Express will bring<br />
in at least $2-billion. It is doubtful the bidders<br />
will overpay but one never knows at an auction.<br />
Money is a quirky commodity.<br />
Rick Burton is the David B. Falk Professor of Sport<br />
Management at Syracuse <strong>University</strong> and a former<br />
chief marketing officer of the USOC.<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 21
EVENTS<br />
SHORTSTOP<br />
2020 OLYMPICS: Turkish city Istanbul<br />
will bid to host the 2020 Summer<br />
Olympics. Speaking at the Sports Event<br />
Management conference in London,<br />
Prime Ministerial sports adviser<br />
Mehmet Atalay said: “We decided not to<br />
bid for 2<strong>01</strong>6 while we concentrated on<br />
trying to make sure we had everything<br />
in place to launch a serious attempt for<br />
2020.” Istanbul hosted the 2005 UEFA<br />
Champions League final.<br />
WINTER OLYMPICS: Quebec City said it<br />
is considering a bid for the 2022 or 2026<br />
Winter Games. Quebec failed in bids to<br />
host the 2002 and 2<strong>01</strong>0 Winter Olympic<br />
Games. Host cities for the 2022 and<br />
2026 Winter Olympic Games will be<br />
chosen in 2<strong>01</strong>5 and 2<strong>01</strong>9 respectively<br />
FRENCH OPEN: The French tennis<br />
federation (FFT) threatened to move<br />
the French Open from Roland Garros<br />
if plans for a new roofed centre court<br />
are not approved by Paris City Council.<br />
The FFT is facing ‘hostility’ from<br />
the Council and local residents over<br />
the development. The project was<br />
announced last May, with an estimated<br />
finish date of 2<strong>01</strong>3 or 2<strong>01</strong>4.<br />
2<strong>01</strong>4 WINTER OLYMPICS: <strong>International</strong><br />
Olympic Committee president Jacques<br />
Rogge expressed his approval for<br />
Russia’s preparations for the 2<strong>01</strong>4<br />
Winter Games in Sochi. Rogge said<br />
he was encouraged by “the pace and<br />
quality’’ of the work in the Black Sea<br />
resort area where almost all of the<br />
venues and infrastructure are being<br />
built from scratch.<br />
2<strong>01</strong>4 YOUTH OLYMPICS: Poznan<br />
announced its intention to bid for<br />
the 2<strong>01</strong>4 Youth Olympic Games. The<br />
Polish city has hosted numerous<br />
Olympic Sports events in the recent<br />
years such as the 2009 Rowing World<br />
Championships, the 2009 European<br />
Championships in Basketball, and is<br />
one of the key host cities for the 2<strong>01</strong>2<br />
UEFA EURO. The 2<strong>01</strong>4 Youth Olympic<br />
Games bid is a part of the city’s<br />
commitment to sport and to promoting<br />
a healthy life style among its citizens.<br />
QATAR BID GETS SERIOUS<br />
Matthew Glendinning, reports on the Middle East State of Qatar’s highprofile<br />
bid to host the 2022 <strong>FIFA</strong> World Cup.<br />
THE QATAR 2022 World Cup Bid team is<br />
taking its Bid message of ‘unity, progress and<br />
understanding’ to football industry conferences<br />
and exhibitions worldwide in a high-profile<br />
promotional push for the Middle Eastern state’s<br />
hosting ambitions.<br />
From the October’s ‘Leaders in Football’<br />
Conference in London to a major exhibiting<br />
presence at Soccerex in Johannesburg in<br />
November, Chairman of the Qatar 2022 Bid,<br />
HE Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa<br />
Al-Thani is championing what would be the<br />
first global sporting event ever to be hosted in<br />
the Middle East - and confirms that Qatar is<br />
“extremely serious” about its plans to host the<br />
World Cup in 2022.<br />
“We are not doing this just to give Qatar some<br />
publicity,” said the Qatari Royal. “We really want<br />
to host the World Cup and we are more than<br />
capable of doing so. There is a huge interest and<br />
passion across the Middle East for football and<br />
we have a track record of hosting great events -<br />
national, regional and multi-national.”<br />
Sheikh Mohammed says that he feels people<br />
do not yet know Qatar as well as he would like<br />
them to. “We’re a small nation, but we have<br />
made some huge leaps forward. We are blessed<br />
by having a very strong economy - and this is<br />
why we are able to invest in our future. Our<br />
World Cup Bid is part of that investment.<br />
“Why are we bidding Because we truly<br />
believe in the <strong>FIFA</strong> slogan ‘For the Game. For<br />
the World’. There are not enough global events<br />
in the Middle East. We want to give people in<br />
the Middle East the chance of experiencing this<br />
wonderful tournament.”<br />
In answer to those who question whether, given<br />
its small size, Qatar could host the World Cup,<br />
Sheikh Mohammed responds: “I guarantee we can<br />
host it. It’s all going to be about the fan experience.<br />
The compact size of our proposal will give fans<br />
the opportunity to see every match, without the<br />
need for travel and hotel changes. It will be highly<br />
organised, so there will be hardly any need for<br />
commuting between matches.”<br />
Nor, says Sheikh Mohammed, would the<br />
summer temperatures in Qatar be a problem for<br />
players or fans. “It’s only 2009 and we already<br />
have cooling technologies that create a very<br />
comfortable atmosphere in our stadiums, while<br />
outside temperatures are much higher.<br />
“And just look at what we have achieved in<br />
only the past few years in our country - and then<br />
please believe that in 2022 we will certainly have<br />
amazing cooling technologies for stadiums,<br />
training grounds and fan zones.<br />
“We want to do this by developing<br />
environmentally-friendly technologies - and<br />
these technologies will then be used to the<br />
benefit of other countries around the world.”<br />
Looking further ahead, Sheikh Mohammed<br />
explains that the Bid meshes with Qatar’s<br />
existing long-term infrastructure development<br />
plan, the ‘Qatar Vision 2030’. “Hosting the<br />
World Cup fits into that existing plan - and<br />
would be an important chapter in that plan. We<br />
want a Qatar World Cup to leave a long legacy,<br />
not just in Qatar but much further afield,” says<br />
Sheikh Mohammed.<br />
“We would also like to put on a really familyfriendly<br />
World Cup, where parents feel safe<br />
bringing their children to watch the match. Their<br />
young memories of a fantastic World Cup will<br />
also be our legacy to <strong>FIFA</strong>.”<br />
England lost to Brazil last month in Doha - Getty Images Sport<br />
COMMONWEALTH GAMES: Cardiff<br />
began forming a bid for the 2022<br />
Commonwealth Games which will be<br />
presented to the Welsh Assembly.<br />
Cardiff has hosted a Rugby World Cup<br />
final, FA Cup finals, rallying, Grand<br />
Prix speedway and an Ashes Test in<br />
recent years.<br />
22 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
EVENTS<br />
SHORTSTOP<br />
RYDER CUP: London-based marketing<br />
agency The Sports Consultancy was<br />
appointed by Spain’s Real Federacion<br />
Espanola de Golf to advise on all<br />
aspects of the country’s bid to host the<br />
Ryder Cup in 2<strong>01</strong>8.<br />
THEY ARE SOME of the hottest tickets in sport,<br />
but the heat has been turned up even further in<br />
the fierce battle to prevent fans being defrauded<br />
in their desperation to see the 2<strong>01</strong>0 <strong>FIFA</strong> World<br />
Cup finals next summer.<br />
A quick search on the internet brings up a<br />
handful of websites offering ‘unbeatable’ deals<br />
on both tickets and even packages. Some are<br />
legitimate <strong>FIFA</strong>-approved tour operators, but<br />
the vast majority fall into the category of<br />
‘rogue trader’.<br />
The danger therefore is that despite<br />
warnings, numerous supporters will sign up for<br />
a package which may, or may not, get them to<br />
South Africa but will certainly not secure entry<br />
into the stadia. It is believed a vast number have<br />
already handed over money for worthless tickets.<br />
The scams vary from a simple tickets-forcash<br />
arrangement, credit card-based fraud or<br />
e-mails telling the recipient that they have won a<br />
lottery backed by the South African government,<br />
supposedly counter-signed by Nelson Mandela.<br />
The <strong>FIFA</strong> website goes to great lengths<br />
to explain that ticket-only deals should only<br />
be purchased through its offices, while those<br />
wishing to combine matches with hospitality<br />
will only be guaranteed to get what they require<br />
through <strong>FIFA</strong>’s partners MATCH.<br />
The governing body adds that the popular<br />
ticket-and-travel packages associated with major<br />
sporting events will only be available through its<br />
60 affiliated tour operators scattered around the<br />
world, and that official match tickets will only be<br />
printed a few weeks before the tournament.<br />
The <strong>International</strong> Olympic Committee also<br />
took legal action against websites that set up<br />
Olympic ticketing scams for Beijing 2008, with<br />
people paying for tickets and accommodation<br />
that did not exist.<br />
Warnings over ‘rogue’ ticket sellers - Getty Images Sport<br />
TACKLING TICKET THIEVES<br />
With the third phase of 2<strong>01</strong>0 World Cup tickets going on sale December 4,<br />
Adrian Hill investigates what the authorities are doing to try to stop tens of<br />
thousands of individuals being ripped off by rogue operators.<br />
In one instance fans paid about £30,000 for<br />
tickets and accommodation that did not exist via<br />
the website www.beijingtickets.com.<br />
The World Cup situation has become so<br />
intense that <strong>FIFA</strong> has called on the assistance<br />
of London’s Metropolitan Police, specifically<br />
its e-crime unit. ‘Operation Phyllite’ has so<br />
far closed down over 100 websites that were<br />
offering unauthorised goods connected not<br />
just with the World Cup, but Premier League,<br />
international and FA Cup matches. The Met<br />
claims it’s the biggest single cull of websites in<br />
the history of law enforcement.<br />
“Fraudsters capitalise on the victim’s desire<br />
to attend an event knowing that they will pay<br />
out for the opportunity to be present at that all<br />
important one-off event,” the e-crime unit’s<br />
Detective Superintendent Charlie McMurdie<br />
says. “The risk begins when your desire to<br />
purchase the tickets blinds your judgment, or<br />
leads you to unlawful websites. If it looks too<br />
good to be true, it probably is”.<br />
The Australian Competition and Consumer<br />
Commission (ACCC) said an international<br />
review of thousands of websites, including<br />
1,400 based in Australia, underscored the need<br />
for consumer vigilance against unauthorised<br />
websites. <strong>FIFA</strong>’s Legal Affairs team is working<br />
closely with other international authorities to<br />
spot illegal offers and then take action to put the<br />
traders out of business.<br />
The draw in Cape Town on December 4 is<br />
third of five phases of ticket sales and, with the<br />
first round matches revealed, will be the busiest<br />
of the lot as fans search frantically to find a<br />
means to watch their country on the biggest stage<br />
in football. Whether or not this will coincide with<br />
a proliferation of scammers across the internet,<br />
the authorities are primed to take action.<br />
AMERICA’S CUP: Alinghi, the America’s<br />
Cup holder, accepted the Spanish port<br />
of Valencia as the venue for next year’s<br />
race against BMW Oracle. Oracle said<br />
it was “very pleased to see that Alinghi<br />
has finally agreed with us that Valencia<br />
in February is the correct venue to hold<br />
the 33rd America’s Cup”.<br />
GERMAN SUPER CUP: The German<br />
Football League (DFL) reintroduced<br />
the German Super Cup to the domestic<br />
footballing calendar for the first time<br />
in 14 years. The proposal received<br />
majority approval and will see the<br />
Bundesliga champions take on the<br />
DFB-Pokal winners in the official<br />
prelude to the 2<strong>01</strong>0-11 season.<br />
EUROPEAN ATHLETICS: Helsinki<br />
was awarded the European Athletics<br />
Championships for a third time. The<br />
Finnish capital, which hosted the event<br />
in 1971 and 1994, was the unanimous<br />
choice of the European Athletics<br />
Council to stage the championships<br />
in 2<strong>01</strong>2. The event will take place<br />
between June 27 and July 1.<br />
2<strong>01</strong>2 OLYMPICS: UK newspaper the<br />
Telegraph reported the real cost of the<br />
London 2<strong>01</strong>2 Olympic Games is<br />
£2.7 billion more than the UK<br />
government has stated. It said the<br />
announced sum of £9.3 billion public<br />
Olympic spending “substantially<br />
understates” the true position which<br />
is at least £12 billion. The extra cost<br />
reportedly includes £1.15 billion spent<br />
to buy and clean up the Olympic site<br />
and £269 million in interest payments.<br />
RUGBY UNION: The coach of the Italian<br />
rugby union team said he wants his<br />
side to remain based at decaying Rome<br />
stadium Stadio Flaminio, despite an<br />
80,000 attendance for Italy against New<br />
Zealand at the San Siro in Milan.<br />
2<strong>01</strong>0 OLYMPICS: Organisers of the 2<strong>01</strong>0<br />
Vancouver Winter Games postponed<br />
the third phase of ticket sales because<br />
of major website problems which<br />
prevented the sale of 100,00 tickets.<br />
Officials made additional tickets<br />
available on November 14 due to the<br />
“online technical glitch”.<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 23
EVENTS<br />
PLAYING IT THE AMERICAN WAY<br />
Wembley Stadium gets a US-transformation - Getty Images Sport<br />
The NFL staged another hugely successful regular season game at Wembley Stadium in October, rekindling debate<br />
over a London franchise and whether the Super Bowl could one day come to the UK. Adrian Hill looks at whether<br />
the British, and the rest of the world, need to embrace the ‘American Experience’.<br />
AMERICAN FOOTBALL’S ‘team of the decade’,<br />
the New England Patriots, exhibited the power,<br />
speed and skill that have taken them to three<br />
Super Bowl triumphs in the 21st century by<br />
crushing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35-7 at<br />
Wembley Stadium in October.<br />
The NFL charm offensive, which came to<br />
Wembley for the third successive year, aims<br />
to seduce not just the relatively small band of<br />
avid American Football followers in the UK but<br />
the so-called floating voters, those who may be<br />
swayed by the distinctly different atmosphere,<br />
where sport is certainly not everything.<br />
Cheerleaders, parties in the car park, an<br />
NFL cinema, live bands and video game tents,<br />
as exhibited at Wembley, are all part of the<br />
established fun of a day out at an NFL game.<br />
The stated intention is, eventually, to base an<br />
NFL franchise in London. Certainly the devotees<br />
who have flocked beneath Wembley’s famous<br />
arch on an October Sunday for the past three<br />
years would grasp the concept, but is there an<br />
appetite among the wider public For any large<br />
franchise to work the surrounding community<br />
as a whole must get behind it.<br />
Of course, the rhythm of American sports<br />
is distinctly different to what most British fans<br />
are used to. The concept of ‘time-outs’ is an<br />
opportunity for off-field entertainment, while<br />
the pulsating nature of Premier League football<br />
and Heineken Cup rugby, with very few lengthy<br />
stoppages, provide little scope for additional<br />
non-sporting entertainment. And the question<br />
is, would the fans in places such as Birmingham,<br />
Manchester and Newcastle really want it anyway<br />
Where the NFL frequently attracts some of<br />
the biggest bands in popular music, traditional<br />
British sporting occasions, such as the FA Cup<br />
final and Six Nations matches, only offer the<br />
singing of the anthems, a few fireworks and<br />
the church hymn ‘Abide With Me’. Does British<br />
sport need to learn from the ‘American-Way’<br />
Julian Marks, of event360, organised<br />
the NFL show in London and has provided<br />
entertainment at many showpiece occasions in<br />
various sports over the years.<br />
Marks and others in his field are essentially<br />
responsible for everything inside the stadium<br />
that’s not the actual sporting event - whether<br />
content for the huge display screen, music,<br />
announcements or entertainment.<br />
24 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09
EVENTS<br />
“The crowd at the NFL game is a different<br />
audience,” Marks told SportBusiness<br />
<strong>International</strong>. “There are a lot of Americans and<br />
ex-pats, plus British American football fans.<br />
They expect entertainment and really buy into<br />
it - it’s not just a match for them, an NFL game<br />
is an event.<br />
“Getting a full NFL fixture in London is a<br />
big deal, and we had approximately 90 per cent<br />
of the crowd in the stadium pre-match. You get<br />
nothing like that figure in the States, where<br />
people tend to drift in before kick-off. An NFL<br />
game outside America is a real event and people<br />
want to savour it.”<br />
Difficult to change habits<br />
The next step may be to double, or even<br />
quadruple, the number of regular season NFL<br />
matches at Wembley, although the plan raises<br />
issues about damage to the Wembley pitch with<br />
the NFL season running in conjunction with<br />
the traditional sequence of autumn England<br />
international football matches.<br />
The American approach to staging sports<br />
events clearly works when transplanting one<br />
of their own into another country, but can<br />
it be successful within traditional British<br />
sporting activities, or indeed for other<br />
non-American pursuits worldwide Is there<br />
even a demand for it<br />
“British sports fans are a bit set in their<br />
ways and the clubs that could afford to spend<br />
on entertainment don’t really need to, because<br />
they could sell their tickets 10 times over as it<br />
is, so there’s no requirement to lure people<br />
in,” explains Marks.<br />
“The clubs that would have more of<br />
an interest in entertainment wouldn’t<br />
or couldn’t afford to commit the money<br />
required on a game-by-game basis. So,<br />
I think we will only really see sports<br />
entertainment happening at big matches<br />
in the UK. Football and rugby are<br />
very different to American sports.<br />
Fans like to drink in pubs,<br />
chatting to their mates and<br />
come into the stadium late. It’s<br />
difficult to change habits.”<br />
This selective approach<br />
has worked for Marks, his<br />
company having incorporated<br />
such techniques as innovative banners<br />
and fireworks at international matches and<br />
Cup finals, earning praise from governing<br />
bodies and sponsors alike who are of<br />
the shared opinion that it adds to the<br />
spectacle. And even if it isn’t well received<br />
by spectators, putting on a spectacle can<br />
still be a valuable commercial tool.<br />
“Sponsorship of sports entertainment<br />
is an opportunity for a brand to get an<br />
emotional bond with the spectator. It’s<br />
an opportunity to enhance its exposure,”<br />
explains Fred Porro, managing director of the<br />
UK arm of Ignition, a leader in the field of<br />
experiential marketing.<br />
“Everyone wants to be entertained and the<br />
key is to find out how to do that. What works in<br />
the US does not necessarily work in the UK, or<br />
elsewhere. You have to be cognisant of where<br />
you are and what your audience wants.<br />
“I think 20,000 showing up for the postmatch<br />
‘tailgate party’ at Wembley was proof that<br />
it worked there.”<br />
There have certainly been signs that<br />
showmanship is starting to be more welcome<br />
in global events recently. This year, Formula<br />
One has introduced ‘F1 Rocks’, live concerts<br />
involving some of the world’s leading artists<br />
running alongside the Grand Prix. <strong>FIFA</strong> plans<br />
an event along similar lines, the ‘Official<br />
Kick-Off Celebration Concert’, at the Orlando<br />
Stadium in Johannesburg on June 10 next year.<br />
“Music complements sport incredibly well<br />
and has intrinsic value,” Porro argues. “We’ve<br />
seen this with F1 Rocks and the show that<br />
Control Room are going to put on for the <strong>FIFA</strong><br />
World Cup Kick-Off Celebration in South Africa<br />
will also have a very big musical influence. It<br />
will be more focused than the rather theatrical<br />
performances we see at the Olympics and will<br />
be something special.”<br />
Spotlight on London 2<strong>01</strong>2<br />
The Olympic Games was the first global<br />
sporting event to adopt ceremonies and<br />
entertainment to bookend the sporting spectacle<br />
and the Chinese brought it to a new level with<br />
their lavish production last year.<br />
The question from a UK point of view at least<br />
is, following the successes of Beijing and of the<br />
NFL event on home turf, what can be done for<br />
the 2<strong>01</strong>2 Olympics but also beyond the Games<br />
“I think China missed an opportunity after<br />
the Beijing Olympics to extend the legacy,” says<br />
Porro. “Now there is a chance for Brazil, with<br />
both the 2<strong>01</strong>4 World Cup and 2<strong>01</strong>6 Olympics<br />
coming up, to really make its mark. And with<br />
the carnival spirit of Rio they have all the<br />
ingredients to put on some fabulous shows.”<br />
The concept of entertainment at sports<br />
events has certainly come a long way since<br />
marching bands at FA Cup finals and the<br />
release of doves at the Olympic Games. America<br />
is the world leader but Marks is keen to point<br />
out that each event needs to be taken in its own<br />
context, both in terms of location but also within<br />
its sector and the culture of its following.<br />
“Entertainment has been a great success<br />
in Twenty20 cricket, for example, where it has<br />
seamlessly slotted in with the action, and I can<br />
only see it growing and growing in that form of<br />
the sport,” he adds.<br />
“But I’m not sure that the same is true of<br />
Test cricket. I couldn’t see dancing girls being<br />
tolerated during the Test at Lord’s.”<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 25
sAiling inTo<br />
The fuTure<br />
As PrinciPAl of TeAm origin, sir KeiTh mills hAs Two goAls - win The AmericA’s<br />
cuP And reduce globAl cArbon emissions. buT ThAT’s noT All. As he Told Kevin<br />
roberTs, he Also wAnTs To helP chAnge The wAy The world’s oldesT regulAr<br />
inTernATionAl sPorTs evenT is governed.<br />
By hIS own admISSIon, Sir Keith Mills is<br />
not the world’s best sailor. He may be a globally<br />
revered marketer and entrepreneur who has been<br />
writing the cheques that have kept Team Origin,<br />
the UK’s America’s Cup contender, in the water<br />
these past two and a half years, but he has a<br />
realistic take on where his talents begin and end.<br />
“Other team principles like (Ernesto) Bertarelli<br />
and (Larry) Ellison are both part of their race<br />
teams and are on the boat. But I won’t be sailing.<br />
The only people on a boat in Team Origin Colours<br />
will be the best in the world. In the same way, the<br />
only people in our design team will be the best in<br />
the world.”<br />
That’s more of a declaration of intent on behalf<br />
of Team Origin than an assessment of his own<br />
abilities. And it is made despite his having been<br />
part of a winning crew in the Clipper Round The<br />
World Race, a sporting achievement which would<br />
buy many people a lifetime of bragging rights.<br />
But Sir Keith isn’t about bragging. He is about<br />
influence rather than profile as evidenced by his<br />
involvement at the heart of London’s successful<br />
bid to bring the 2<strong>01</strong>2 Olympic Games to the UK<br />
capital and his role as deputy to Lord Coe on<br />
the Organising Committee. He’s also a board<br />
member of Premier League club Tottenham<br />
Hotspur and an advisor to the England campaign<br />
to host the 2<strong>01</strong>8 <strong>FIFA</strong> World Cup.<br />
Elsewhere he is in a highly publicised battle<br />
with Coutts, the private bank, over its advice and<br />
handling of his investment of some £65 million in<br />
AIG Life - an investment which cost him some<br />
£30 million of the reported £160 million share<br />
of the proceeds of the sale of LMG, the company<br />
which owned Nectar, the loyalty scheme operator.<br />
His sporting loves are illustrated in his office<br />
in Pall Mall, London, where a framed picture of<br />
Spurs centre back Jonathan Woodgate (“Oh that’s<br />
Woody”) sits alongside an impressive model of an<br />
America’s Cup Class boat in Team Origin colours.<br />
But one can only guess that, even for a man<br />
clearly adept at juggling projects, Team Origin<br />
must be top of mind right now.<br />
In many respects, Team Origin is blazing a trail<br />
for sport and sports marketing in an age where<br />
discussions over the power of sport to play a role in<br />
helping protect the environment have generated as<br />
much heat as light.<br />
There’s been a lot of talk, but action has been<br />
thin on the ground and on those occasions when<br />
sports and brands have put their heads above the<br />
environmental parapet, there have almost always<br />
been accusations of ‘greenwashing’.<br />
Team Origin is a project that Mills sees as both<br />
a “very, very serious bid to win the America’s<br />
Cup” and to have “a real impact on carbon<br />
emissions worldwide.”<br />
And that is one hell of a challenge. “Last year<br />
we sat down and talked about how we should<br />
position Team Origin and to me it was pretty clear<br />
that the world really has changed and the way in<br />
which companies are marketing their products and<br />
services has changed,” Mills says. “The levels of<br />
corporate social responsibility shown by companies<br />
and their awareness of environmental issues have<br />
changed for the better. I felt that we, as a team,<br />
needed to be reflective of those changes.<br />
“When we launched two and a half years ago we<br />
had put in place a grass roots sailing programme<br />
with the RYA called On Board and this is getting<br />
500,000 kids in the UK into sailing. But we<br />
wanted to see if we could do more that that in<br />
terms of making our contributions to society.”<br />
It became obvious to Mills and the team<br />
that their sport provided them with a unique<br />
opportunity. The America’s Cup represents the<br />
very pinnacle of a sport which delivers the most<br />
obvious and consistent example of how natural<br />
energy - the wind and waves - are used to generate<br />
excellence in sporting performance.<br />
“We asked ourselves whether there was a way we<br />
could use that extraordinary phenomenon to help<br />
reduce our carbon footprint and promote the race<br />
against climate change,” Mills explains.<br />
Consultants McKinsey were drafted in to examine<br />
the possibilities and advise on whether the vision<br />
could be turned into a marketing reality which<br />
delivered value for a range of different partners.<br />
“From the outset we were aware that we needed<br />
a partner if we were going to make this work. It<br />
is a complex area and one that we alone didn’t<br />
understand enough of.”<br />
26 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09
Sir Keith Mills - Getty Images Sport<br />
After a thorough search, The Carbon Trust was<br />
selected and, earlier this year, signed a partnership<br />
agreement for The Race For Change. The Carbon<br />
Trust will - among other things - advise the team<br />
on Best Practice in minimising its own carbon<br />
footprint, something which is fundamental to the<br />
credibility of the entire exercise.<br />
For Sir Keith, the twin goals are clear. “We<br />
intend to win the America’s Cup and if we can<br />
win the race against climate change we will have<br />
accomplished extraordinary feats,” he says.<br />
The America’s Cup has always been a rich man’s<br />
sport but few individuals could personally bear<br />
the cost of designing, developing, building and<br />
refining boats and keeping a professional crew on<br />
the water without corporate support.<br />
And Team Origin believes it has a unique<br />
proposition for corporate partners who share<br />
the team’s environmental agenda and concerns<br />
and want to find a credible way of leading carbon<br />
reduction efforts by example.<br />
The quest is for four Premier partners and a raft<br />
of smaller partners who “have similar goals and a<br />
business imperative of not simply reducing their<br />
own carbon footprint but telling the world that is<br />
what they are doing and telling others to so get<br />
behind the Race For Change campaign.”<br />
In many respects sailing is the consummate<br />
standard bearer for environmental issues and<br />
the stars appear to be in perfect alignment as<br />
corporations around the world scramble to meet<br />
Sir Keith Mills,<br />
Principal, Team origin<br />
Sir Keith Mills worked for 20 years in the<br />
advertising industry and in 1988, founded<br />
Air Miles <strong>International</strong> Group BV (AMIG) to<br />
develop the AIR MILES programme.<br />
He remains Chairman of Loyalty<br />
Management Group Ltd (LMG), the company<br />
which owns and manages the Nectar<br />
programme in the UK and licenses Air Miles<br />
programmes internationally.<br />
Sir Keith was <strong>International</strong> President<br />
and CEO of London 2<strong>01</strong>2, the company<br />
that was established to bid for the 2<strong>01</strong>2<br />
Olympic Games. There he led the team<br />
and, along with Lord Coe, was responsible<br />
for developing the bid strategy and<br />
persuading the 115 IOC members that<br />
London should be granted the rights to<br />
host the Olympic and Paralympic Games<br />
in 2<strong>01</strong>2. Sir Keith remains as non-executive<br />
Deputy Chairman of LOCOG alongside Lord<br />
Coe. He is also a non-executive director of<br />
Tottenham Hotspur FC.<br />
He is a keen amateur sailor and, in 1999,<br />
was one of the crew that won the Clipper<br />
Round the World Yacht Race.<br />
the social responsibility expectations of a world<br />
which is making business choices in new ways.<br />
“Just think,” says Sir Keith. “There are no<br />
engines on these boats. They can sail at twice the<br />
speed of the wind that is propelling them. It is<br />
the ultimate demonstration of capturing natural<br />
energy and generating performance.<br />
“Our message to businesses is that you don’t<br />
have to reduce your profit to reduce your carbon<br />
footprint. Indeed we think that if you adopt<br />
carbon reduction technologies you actually make<br />
more money.<br />
“This is a way you can reduce carbon footprint<br />
by 20 per cent over as period of time and have a<br />
better performing company as a result... All that<br />
and we can win the America’s Cup together.”<br />
To date the response from the corporate sector<br />
has been enthusiastic.<br />
“We have really hit a nerve,” Sir Keith says. “A<br />
lot of companies are taking this really seriously<br />
now. It is a Key Performance Indicator for many<br />
CEOs and they know that this can really resonate<br />
relative to traditional Olympic, F1 or even football<br />
sponsorship. It is relatively inexpensive and impact<br />
could be enormous.”<br />
It is, he says, the Real Deal. No participating<br />
company will be accused of ‘greenwashing’<br />
because they will have to sign up to a programme<br />
of internal carbon reduction measures which<br />
ensures that they walk the walk as well as talking<br />
the talk.<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 27
This has been an unhappy period for the<br />
Americas Cup which is indicative of the fact<br />
it is governed by an out of date structure.<br />
The Deed of Gift isn’t really fit for purpose<br />
Sir Keith draws on his experience with London<br />
2<strong>01</strong>2 to provide an example of how sports<br />
properties can work with partners and suppliers to<br />
effect change.<br />
“Between now and 2<strong>01</strong>2 the London Organising<br />
Committee will have signed 75,000 commercial<br />
contracts with companies, Every single one of<br />
those suppliers has to sign up for and demonstrate<br />
their sustainability credentials. That’s a guarantee<br />
that their products and services meet those<br />
standards - and the same applies to their sub<br />
contractors,” he says.<br />
“So you can see that the impact of that<br />
sustainability strategy is felt across tens of<br />
thousands of companies across the UK.<br />
“Bringing together partners behind Team<br />
Origin, the same will happen. Some of the people<br />
we have talked to are among the biggest companies<br />
in the world and the impact of having them<br />
practice what they preach is not insignificant.<br />
“One of the issues we face is persuading<br />
companies and consumers that unless behaviour<br />
alters we will continue to have a climate change<br />
problem and one of the most powerful tools for<br />
doing this around the world is sport.<br />
“Naturally I would like to think that what we<br />
are doing with this America’s Cup team will be<br />
the first of many initiatives where sport is used to<br />
improve the environment.”<br />
While there is no doubting Sir Keith’s own<br />
commitment to the cause, it is important not<br />
to be carried away by the notion that this is not<br />
just an environmental initiative carried by sport.<br />
Team Origin is an extremely serious contender for<br />
the America’s Cup, whenever and wherever it is<br />
eventually contested.<br />
While it is a UK entry, it is a multi-national<br />
team which beings together some of the world’s<br />
most talented sailors and technicians. Under multi<br />
Olympic Gold medal winning skipper Ben Ainslie<br />
is a hugely experienced international crew and the<br />
team is convinced that it can give anybody a run<br />
for their money, something they demonstrated<br />
during the Luis Vuitton series in Nice during<br />
November.<br />
“Ours is an international team and we are<br />
talking to big multinational companies. We may<br />
have a British skipper but many of the crew are<br />
from outside the UK. We are taking an entirely<br />
professional approach because while there are still<br />
wealthy benefactors prepared to invest their time<br />
and money in sport, behind them there needs to<br />
be increasingly professional team management,”<br />
says Sir Keith who expects initial partnership deals<br />
to be signed in the first quarter of 2<strong>01</strong>0.<br />
“Our proposals are based on a five year<br />
partnership and the companies we are talking to<br />
want to be in for the long haul. They are buying<br />
into a long-term programme and in that five years<br />
there will probably be two America’s Cups and a<br />
lot of other elite sailing competitions.<br />
“If we are successful in our goal of winning<br />
the America’s Cup, the marketing impact will be<br />
huge. It has never been won by a UK team and it<br />
will be a truly historic moment.<br />
Of course we then have the ability to host it<br />
in this country where it can be a Mini Olympic<br />
Games in respect of its ability to regenerate<br />
one of the major ports. Just look what has been<br />
achieved in Valencia.”<br />
While the scope of Team Origin’s vision and the<br />
power of the Race For Change concept are beyond<br />
dispute, there appears to be one weak link in the<br />
chain - the America’s Cup itself.<br />
The competition, and all those who are part of it,<br />
has been becalmed by a series of legal challenges<br />
which, at the time of writing mean that we don’t<br />
know where or when the next edition will take<br />
place or what format will be adopted.<br />
Ultimately the fault-line runs through the<br />
Deed of Gift, a kind of arcane covenant which<br />
ultimately governs the event. According to Sir<br />
Keith it has no place in today’s world of big<br />
money sport.<br />
“This has been an unhappy period for the<br />
Americas Cup which is indicative of the fact it is<br />
governed by an out-of-date-structure. The Deed of<br />
Gift isn’t really fit for purpose now and every 20 or<br />
30 years there is a dispute which ends up in court<br />
because it’s the only mechanism to resolve issues,”<br />
Mills explains.<br />
“Ironically, both sides recognise that is<br />
essentially the problem and there is a ground<br />
swell of opinion amongst the America’s Cup<br />
community - including the Defender and the<br />
Challenger - that a new governance structure<br />
needs to be put in place and a number of us have<br />
had discussion over a few months with all the<br />
interested parties about making that happen after<br />
the next Deed of Gift match.<br />
“We hope the America’s Cup after next, the<br />
34th America’s Cup match, will be sailed under a<br />
different structure - that’s work in progress. Look<br />
at all sports, whether F1, the Premier league or the<br />
Olympic Games and there are governance lessons<br />
to be learned. None of them is perfect and all<br />
have their strengths and weaknesses. We have an<br />
opportunity with the America’s Cup to learn from<br />
the structures of others.<br />
“We have to adopt a governance structure which<br />
is fit for purpose and which reflects the scale and<br />
complexity of the event and the way media rights<br />
are governed these days. Out of a really unhappy<br />
situation we could have a really remarkable<br />
turnaround.”<br />
Sir Keith is confident that there will be a<br />
resolution to end the current impasse. “As a team<br />
we are working on the expectation that it will be<br />
sorted some time next year.<br />
“I decided to bring the team back together<br />
again and we announced a programme of 200<br />
days of sailing training for next year. We need to<br />
get the team back in the water and race fit in the<br />
expectation that we will get into an America’s Cup<br />
cycle during 2<strong>01</strong>0,” he says.<br />
“Our sailing programme is not dependent on<br />
the America’s Cup. There is a Luis Vuitton series<br />
which races in Nice in the America’s Cup boats<br />
and we will be supplementing that sort of racing<br />
with the Audi Med Cup, a semi pro circuit.<br />
“There will be a lot of top class racing<br />
irrespective of the America’s Cup but this is a big<br />
business to keep on the water. I have funded it<br />
for the last two and a half years and have had a<br />
small number of commercial partners who have<br />
provided value in kind.<br />
“But we have not really had anything to offer to<br />
them until now,” he says.<br />
Given the strength of the America’s Cup brand<br />
and the genuine quality of the Team Origin crew,<br />
technical and management teams, the sporting<br />
components of this remarkable project are firmly<br />
in place. Now it is up to the corporate world to back<br />
the team’s environmental aspirations with money<br />
and harness the power of sport to their commercial<br />
and social objectives.<br />
Whatever the eventual outcome of the America’s<br />
Cup one thing is for sure. Team Origin and The<br />
Race For Change is set to become a textbook<br />
example and Sir Keith Mills may come to be seen<br />
as the man who helped change the relationship<br />
between sport, the corporate world and the<br />
environment forever.<br />
28 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09
NAMING RIGHTS<br />
IT’S ALL IN A NAME<br />
While economic uncertainty has hit many parts of the sponsorship world, the demand<br />
for naming rights for stadia and arena remains high. Andy Fry asks why naming rights<br />
deals retain their attraction in touch economic times and looks at the fresh thinking<br />
that are being used to derive maximum value.<br />
NO ONE IN SPORTS MARKETING would<br />
really question the value or impact delivered<br />
by naming rights sponsorships. But brands<br />
considering this approach need to realise it is<br />
far more complex than simply hoisting a banner<br />
over a sports stadium.<br />
For a start, it needs to be supported by a good<br />
marketing programme, explains Gareth Moore,<br />
international sales director at sponsorship<br />
consultancy Sport+Markt: “Naming rights<br />
sponsors form a league of their own,” he<br />
says. “But to guarantee success they have to<br />
implement their partnerships through further<br />
communication. Early communication with<br />
stakeholders such as fans and journalists is<br />
important because they have to be willing to<br />
accept and transport the name.”<br />
Moore’s point about fans cannot be overstated.<br />
While most are willing to tolerate a shirt<br />
or event sponsorship, the prospect of a company<br />
buying a venue’s name is - potentially - a much<br />
more direct assault on the fan’s relationship<br />
with their chosen club or team. Get it wrong<br />
and a naming rights deal can quickly become a<br />
millstone around a brand’s neck.<br />
This is why brands mostly prefer to be<br />
involved in new-build projects rather than<br />
trying to rename existing stadia. In the former<br />
scenario, it’s possible to be seen as the financial<br />
lynchpin of a project - as Emirates Airline was<br />
when it took naming rights to Arsenal’s new<br />
stadium in Ashburton Grove.<br />
In the latter, however, there’s a real risk that<br />
both fans and the wider community will reject<br />
the sponsorship - either by criticising it overtly<br />
or refusing to use its name as required. It’s<br />
tough, for example, to imagine Liverpool FC fans<br />
accepting a new name for Anfield. It’s easier,<br />
instead, to picture a brand attached to Liverpool’s<br />
proposed new-build at Stanley Park - since fans<br />
have yet to imprint on that venue and would be<br />
grateful for financial input into their club.<br />
A timely example of this issue is the decision<br />
by Newcastle United’s board to rename its iconic<br />
soccer stadium St James’ Park as sportsdirect.<br />
com@St James’ Park. Although this is just a<br />
stopgap measure until next season - when a new<br />
naming rights partner will be chosen - fans have<br />
already made it clear that they regard the move as<br />
an attack on the heritage of the club. Any brand<br />
that chooses to step in to this breach next season<br />
will need to think very carefully before doing so.<br />
The appeal of new-builds isn’t just about sidestepping<br />
a negative fan reaction, however. While<br />
established stadia have history on their side,<br />
it’s far more compelling for a forward-looking<br />
brand to be associated with a state-of-the-art<br />
stadium than a damp, crumbling fleapit where<br />
the toilets don’t flush. Not only that, but the new<br />
generation of stadia are being integrated more<br />
effectively into communities - something that is<br />
of real value to sponsors. Spurs chairman Daniel<br />
Levy made this point recently when he said<br />
his club’s proposed 56,000 stadium had been<br />
designed to be “a vibrant area 365 days a year -<br />
not a stadium with dead space surrounding it.”<br />
This distinction between new-builds and<br />
existing stadia isn’t a hard and fast rule - since it<br />
is possible to get involved with legacy facilities<br />
in a supporting role (naming a stand, for<br />
example, or partnering one part of a complex -<br />
as Timex has just done by linking up with the<br />
New York Giants’ new practice facility - now<br />
called the Timex Performance Center).<br />
The right fit<br />
But it’s worth noting that even in the US, where<br />
naming rights is a well-established and accepted<br />
concept, fans are not always comfortable with<br />
stadia name changes. The classic example is<br />
the San Francisco 49ers’ Candlestick Park<br />
which was known for a while as 3Com Park and<br />
Monster Park. Neither brand name ever won<br />
support from hardcore fans.<br />
Of course, getting fans and journalists on<br />
board is only part of the challenge - even in the<br />
context of a new-build facility. Assuming you<br />
get both those relationships right, there’s still<br />
a lot of work to be done in terms of making<br />
such a deal work, says Trevor Watkins, head of<br />
the sports team at legal firm Clarke Willmott.<br />
“Critical to a successful naming rights deal is<br />
creating a partnership where both the rights<br />
owner and the brand feel they are achieving<br />
their goals,” he explains. “For most venue<br />
owners, naming rights will be their single<br />
biggest asset, so they need secure a true value<br />
for them. Equally, brands need to feel that the<br />
venue rights owner is a partner which will work<br />
with them to fulfil their core objectives.”<br />
At the same time, it’s important not to<br />
operate as silos with the two sides pursuing<br />
agenda in parallel. “A real partnership is one<br />
where the two sides reinforce each other’s<br />
activities,” adds Watkins - who spent a period<br />
of time as chairman of AFC Bournemouth. “A<br />
good rights owner can facilitate the naming<br />
rights partner’s integration into the wider<br />
community. Likewise, leading brands have a lot<br />
more to offer than cash.”<br />
Still on the subject of new-builds, the<br />
importance of a transparent and pro-active<br />
partnership is evident from the moment<br />
the plans for the venue are drawn up, says<br />
Watkins: “Naming rights contracts are usually<br />
very long so marketers should ensure that<br />
their requirements in terms of exposure and<br />
activation are considered right from the start -<br />
before it’s too late. Getting involved early also<br />
means that the risk of an alternative venue<br />
name being used by fans is diminished.”<br />
Moore and Watkins agree that new-builds are<br />
generally a better option than existing stadia for<br />
the reasons above. But what kind of new-builds<br />
Should brands only be interested in NFL and<br />
soccer - or do other sports have something to<br />
offer And does it have to be major clubs like<br />
Arsenal - or do smaller sports franchise have<br />
something to offer “The answer to the first<br />
question is that a lot of venues are suitable for<br />
naming rights,” says Watkins. “Within sport,<br />
we’re seeing interesting activity in cricket (eg<br />
the Brit Oval and Swalec Stadium) and I’d say<br />
horse-racing is an untapped opportunity. But it’s<br />
not just professional sports venues. I think we’ll<br />
see activity at universities and multi-purpose<br />
civic facilities.”<br />
This point is underlined by recent trends<br />
in the US, where five college sports facilities<br />
have managed to secure deals worth more than<br />
U$20m in the last few years. Looking outside<br />
sports, one of the hottest US naming rights<br />
opportunities on the market right now is the<br />
GM Building, an iconic skyscraper in the heart<br />
of Manhattan’s shopping district - available<br />
for the first time in 40 years. What, you might<br />
say, has this got to do with sports marketers<br />
Well the simple fact is that it is competition for<br />
sports rights holders - just like the O2-branded<br />
millennium dome in London. Sports rights<br />
holders that are serious about securing a partner<br />
need to demonstrate the kind of best-practice<br />
seen in other sectors.<br />
At the same time, it’s a reminder that brands<br />
need to approach naming rights with an open<br />
mind. Leaving aside the fanbase, does the rights<br />
holder have a clear strategic vision Is the venue<br />
based near a transport hub Is it close enough to<br />
retail locations to facilitate experiential activity<br />
such as sampling Is the local economy in<br />
growth or decline Watkins, for example, talks<br />
up Plymouth - whose bid to be a 2<strong>01</strong>8 World<br />
Cup city could transform its value to a naming<br />
rights partner.<br />
As for the second point, the size of the<br />
rights owner, Watkins says it’s clearly a relevant<br />
consideration. “If you’re a global brand like<br />
Emirates then you want a partnership that delivers<br />
30 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
NAMING RIGHTS<br />
Tottenham FC/PA Archive/Press Association Images<br />
“Critical to a successful naming rights deal is creating a partnership where both<br />
the rights owner and the brand feel they are achieving their goals. A good rights<br />
owner can facilitate the naming rights partner’s integration into the wider<br />
community. Likewise, leading brands have a lot more to offer than cash.”<br />
significant exposure and fits the brand image. But<br />
that’s not to say smaller franchises can’t secure<br />
excellent deals. For them, it’s about identifying the<br />
most appropriate partners then demonstrating<br />
why their facility might have relevance.”<br />
Credit crunch<br />
Of course, all of the above has to be seen in the<br />
light of the current recession - which has had an<br />
inevitable impact on the naming rights market.<br />
Take a look at the US, for example, where<br />
financial service company Citigroup Inc signed<br />
a U$400 million, 20-year deal in 2006 for the<br />
naming rights to the new New York Mets Major<br />
League Baseball stadium.<br />
When the deal was struck, it looked like<br />
the perfect example of a naming rights deal -<br />
between a state-of-the-art sports franchise and<br />
a stable blue-chip brand. But as a result of the<br />
financial crisis, Citigroup’s involvement with<br />
the Mets is now seen by many as excessive -<br />
particularly since the company needed U$45bn<br />
of taxpayer money to survive. When the<br />
economy bounces back, Citigroup’s deal with<br />
Mets may look like good value. But for now,<br />
the criticism it is receiving is indicative of the<br />
difficulties facing financial service groups.<br />
Not only are they strapped for cash, they are<br />
subjected to opprobrium by politicians and the<br />
press if they spend it.<br />
This is a challenge for the naming rights<br />
market, which has been heavily reliant on<br />
financial services for support. Aside from Citi, for<br />
example, one of the biggest US deals of the decade<br />
was Bank of America’s 20-year link-up with NFL’s<br />
Carolina Panthers. Others to have stepped up<br />
included Barclays, Prudential and the TCF Bank<br />
of Minneapolis - which paid $35 million for title<br />
rights to the <strong>University</strong> of Minnesota’s stadium<br />
(the biggest deal in the college sector).<br />
It’s a similar story outside the US. In<br />
continental Europe, says Moore, the standout deal<br />
is the Allianz Arena - home to Bayern Munich.<br />
Also prominent are the Suncorp Stadium in<br />
Brisbane and Aviva’s support for the new national<br />
stadium in Ireland - which, from 2<strong>01</strong>0, will host<br />
the country’s rugby union and football teams.<br />
Now though, the financial services has gone quiet<br />
- which may explain why major US franchises<br />
such as The Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets and<br />
the New York Giants (see box off) have yet to sign<br />
deals for newly-constructed stadia. It may also<br />
be one reason why 2009 saw the closure of the<br />
Denver-based Bonham Group, a market-leading<br />
agency which handled 100 naming rights deals<br />
over a 20-year period.<br />
New players<br />
It’s not all doom and gloom however. While<br />
many banks and automotive groups are<br />
struggling, some other sectors are still able<br />
to flex their muscles. O2, already mentioned,<br />
has spearheaded the mobile sector’s move into<br />
naming rights (though mainly, it has to be said,<br />
in live music venues). Similarly, Etihad Airlines<br />
has joined Emirates and American Airlines as a<br />
high-profile player in the space - securing rights<br />
to the 55,000-capacity Telstra Dome stadium<br />
in Melbourne. Back in North America, office<br />
supply retailer Staples has just become the first<br />
brand in the US to sign a naming rights deal<br />
in perpetuity - extending its current 20-year<br />
deal (1999-2<strong>01</strong>9)with the Los Angeles sports<br />
arena for the lifetime of the building (home of<br />
the Los Angeles Lakers NBA team). No price<br />
was revealed - but so iconic is the so-called<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 31
NAMING RIGHTS<br />
CORNERSTONE SPONSORS<br />
The O2 is a successful example Getty Images Sport<br />
Staples Center that it’s hard to see either side<br />
wanting to end the partnership. For Staples, the<br />
deal represents an onsite audience of 4 million<br />
people a year - not to mention huge swathes of<br />
media <strong>cover</strong>age. Meanwhile for AEG (the arena’s<br />
rights holders), the deal represents steady<br />
income, support via the Staples retail chain<br />
and, tellingly, a brand which is now inextricably<br />
associated with the golden era of LA Lakers.<br />
This last point harks back to something<br />
Watkins said earlier, with regard to European<br />
stadia. While the sponsoring brand may want<br />
to become deeply embedded in the fabric of<br />
a stadium, does that necessarily serve the<br />
long-term interests of the rights holder What<br />
happens if the venue owner wants to replace the<br />
incumbent - only to find that new partners are<br />
concerned about the background noise created<br />
by its predecessor. Who, after all, would want<br />
to try and rename Bolton Wanderers’ Reebok<br />
Stadium Or the Staples Center<br />
A new direction<br />
Just how significant an issue this is should<br />
become clearer once Etihad Airways beds in as<br />
naming rights replacement at the AFL Telstra<br />
Dome. Venue boss Ian Collins expects the new<br />
name “to become part of Melbourne’s sporting<br />
vernacular” quite quickly. But brands should<br />
watch and learn.<br />
Conflict with previous sponsors is not the only<br />
consideration for naming rights partners. There’s<br />
also the issue of how to juxtapose the needs of the<br />
naming rights partner with those of other existing<br />
partners. This is true in motorsports - where the<br />
diverse array of team, driver and event sponsors<br />
may be one explanation for the lack of circuit<br />
naming rights deals.<br />
It’s also an issue in soccer, where big clubs<br />
like Manchester United have shirts sponsors,<br />
official suppliers and, increasingly, partners with<br />
sets of geographic rights. Partly, the answer is<br />
to have clearly defined contracts, says Watkins.<br />
But this is another example of a situation where<br />
an effective working relationship will also help:<br />
“When you are looking at a 10-20 year contract,<br />
it’s inevitable the venue rights holders will find<br />
new ways to commercialise its facility,” says<br />
Watkins. “That’s reasonable - but it has to be<br />
done in a way that doesn’t impact adversely on<br />
the naming rights partner.”<br />
Still, for all the potential pitfalls, the general<br />
view is that naming rights is set for another<br />
surge. Moore sees potential in France and Italy,<br />
where stadia investment is needed to prepare<br />
both countries for hosting big events.<br />
The same would be true for England if it<br />
hosts the 2<strong>01</strong>8 World Cup. Further afield, there<br />
are opportunities in developing markets which<br />
have hosted, or will soon host, major events.<br />
China’s National Stadium (The Bird’s Nest)<br />
and South Africa’s Cape Town Stadium are<br />
just two of the venues looking for big brand<br />
involvement. In the case of the former, there<br />
have been reports in the Chinese media that the<br />
venue management is looking for as many as<br />
14 partners in the form of naming rights deals,<br />
partnership sponsors and suppliers.<br />
With the Chinese economy already bouncing<br />
back from the downturn, perhaps this is where<br />
we’ll start to see the first shoots of re<strong>cover</strong>y in<br />
the naming rights marketplace.<br />
Barry Wilner on a new naming rights<br />
trend emerging in the US.<br />
MORE THAN HALF A YEAR before the new<br />
$1.3 billion stadium opens in the New Jersey<br />
Meadowlands, the future home of the NFL’s<br />
Giants and Jets has four cornerstone sponsors<br />
in place. That was achieved even before naming<br />
rights were sold.<br />
Well, not precisely, because in 2008, those<br />
naming rights were about to be purchased by<br />
Allianz for approximately $30 million annually<br />
before the teams broke off negotiations.<br />
So while the Giants and Jets have proceeded<br />
slowly and carefully in that area, they had<br />
no delays in lining up the four cornerstone<br />
partners: Verizon, Pepsico, Bud and MetLife.<br />
Each of those companies will pay more<br />
than $6 million a year to have branding inside<br />
the building and on the stadium’s facade, plus<br />
signage in the concourses.<br />
“In what is a challenging time economically,<br />
the fact that we have attracted four major<br />
corporate sponsors for the stadium is<br />
significant,” said Mark Lamping, president and<br />
chief executive officer of New Meadowlands<br />
Stadium Co.<br />
In addition, the Giants previously announced<br />
a 15-year agreement with Timex for the naming<br />
rights to their training facility and corporate<br />
headquarters located within walking distance<br />
of the new stadium. That deal is worth about $3<br />
million annually.<br />
Does all of this mean that smaller<br />
partnerships with sponsors will become<br />
the norm for US stadium deals The Dallas<br />
Cowboys opened their billion-dollar palace<br />
in Arlington, Texas, without awarding naming<br />
rights, but with a collection of sponsorships on<br />
a lesser scale.<br />
“The Jets and the Giants will be playing in<br />
this facility for a long, long time,” Lamping said.<br />
“You can’t force the economics of the deal in<br />
year one or year two simply because the market<br />
may not be where it needs to be.”<br />
When Yankee Stadium opened in the spring,<br />
baseball’s most famous franchise kept the<br />
iconic name and opted instead for agreements<br />
similar to the cornerstone partnerships in the<br />
Meadowlands. The new Yankee Stadium has<br />
deals with Audi, Budweiser, Delta, H&R Block,<br />
Jim Beam, Ketel One and Mohegan Sun for<br />
such things as clubs and suites.<br />
One NFL team owner whose stadium does<br />
not have a naming rights deal, believes a trend<br />
is being set. Speaking anonymously because<br />
“I don’t want to damage any opportunities with<br />
anyone,” he added: “In this economy, there<br />
are so many large corporations - Fortune<br />
500 companies - who simply can’t make the<br />
investment or are fearful of the repercussions<br />
publicity-wise if they sink millions of dollars into<br />
naming rights.<br />
“Plus, you won’t see any automakers or<br />
airlines doing it the way they once did. Instead,<br />
they are willing to spend less for a smaller<br />
presence, perhaps with the idea that later<br />
on, when the economy is stronger and their<br />
businesses are on more solid ground, they can<br />
move up to full naming rights.”<br />
32 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
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For more information or to order:<br />
T: +44 (0) 207 954 3484<br />
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www.sportbusiness.com/usw
FACILITIES<br />
SHAPING UP TO THE<br />
21 ST<br />
CENTURY<br />
From the Middle East to Middle America the<br />
sharpest minds in design and engineering are<br />
creating a new generation of facilities which<br />
will shape the way sport is viewed and played<br />
for decades to come. In this feature<br />
Andy Stevens highlights a selection of stadia,<br />
arena and training facilities around the world<br />
which push the boundaries of innovation,<br />
creativity and engineering excellence to deliver<br />
the ultimate sporting experience while meeting<br />
critical cost and environmental criteria.<br />
Venue: Soccer City Stadium<br />
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa<br />
Open: 11 June 2<strong>01</strong>0<br />
Type: Football stadium<br />
Use: <strong>FIFA</strong> World Cup South Africa 2<strong>01</strong>0<br />
Capacity: 94,700<br />
Owner and Operator: City of<br />
Johannesburg<br />
Architect: Boogertman and Partners<br />
Architects<br />
Cost: ZAR1.5 billion<br />
EIGHT OF THE 64 matches of <strong>FIFA</strong> World Cup<br />
South Africa 2<strong>01</strong>0, including the opening match<br />
and final, will be hosted by Johannesburg’s<br />
Soccer City Stadium. The venue is being rebuilt<br />
in a project that has required the demolition<br />
of three-quarters of the original First National<br />
Bank Stadium that opened in 1989. An<br />
extension to the seating bowl will increase<br />
capacity from 80,000 to 94,700, while 99<br />
additional luxury suites will increase hospitality<br />
inventory to 184 units. The construction<br />
programme has included the installation of a<br />
new roof and facade, floodlighting and playing<br />
surface. The design was inspired by a calabash,<br />
or melting pot of African cultures, which was<br />
selected as being the most recognisable and<br />
distinctive object to represent the continent’s<br />
identity. The facade is comprised of panels<br />
in eight colours and incorporates ten vertical<br />
slots which are geographically aligned with<br />
the nine other host venues and the Berlin<br />
Olympiastadion, which hosted the final<br />
in 2006. The venue was not used for <strong>FIFA</strong><br />
Confederations Cup South Africa 2009, but<br />
<strong>FIFA</strong> and the local organising committee are<br />
confident that it will be ready for the opening<br />
ceremony of the World Cup.<br />
Venue: Donbass Arena<br />
Location: Donetsk, Ukraine<br />
Open: 26 September 2009<br />
Type: Football stadium<br />
Use: FC Shakhtar Donetsk and UEFA<br />
Euro 2<strong>01</strong>2 Poland Ukraine<br />
Capacity: 51,504<br />
Owner and Operator: Stadium Shakhtar<br />
Limited<br />
Architect: Arup Sport<br />
Cost: USD$400 million (EURÐ281<br />
million, GBP£248 million)<br />
THE GLAZED FACADE of the Donbass Arena<br />
has led to it being referred to locally as the<br />
Jewel in the Park. The 24,000 square metre<br />
curtain wall, oval footprint and sloping roof<br />
complement the landscape of Donetsk’s 25<br />
hectare Leninsky Komosol Park, which itself<br />
has received a USD$30million refurbishment.<br />
Included in the 51,504 capacity is seating<br />
for up to 830 guests who can be hosted in 45<br />
luxury suites, while 83,823 square metres of<br />
accommodation offers visitors access to four<br />
bars, three restaurants, two cafes, a lounge<br />
bar, 53 concession points, as well as a FC<br />
Shakhtar Donetsk retail outlet, museum and<br />
fitness centre. The bowl includes two video<br />
boards of 92sqm each, while the playing<br />
field will be bordered by a 267 metre digital<br />
perimeter board system.<br />
The idea for the stadium was first<br />
conceived in 1999, although the appointment<br />
of architects Arup Sport was not made for<br />
another four years. Construction then started<br />
in 2006 and was completed in less than 36<br />
months. It will be a host venue for UEFA Euro<br />
2<strong>01</strong>2 Poland Ukraine and was designed to<br />
adhere to UEFA’s standards for staging the<br />
Champions League and Europa League finals.<br />
34 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
FACILITIES<br />
Venue: Yas Marina Circuit<br />
Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates<br />
Open: 30 October 2009<br />
Type: Motorsports circuit<br />
Use: Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix<br />
Capacity: 50,000<br />
Owner and Operator: Abu Dhabi<br />
Motorsports Management<br />
Architect: Hermann Tilke<br />
Cost: Undisclosed<br />
IN 2009, Formula One welcomed a new event<br />
and a new destination to its racing calendar<br />
when the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the 5.5<br />
kilometre Yas Marina Circuit were inaugurated<br />
on 30 October. With a capacity of 50,000, the<br />
venue includes a 7,000 seat grandstand and is<br />
believed to be the only motorsports venue in the<br />
world where all seats are <strong>cover</strong>ed.<br />
The Pit Building has 40 garages for teams and<br />
officials, as well as hospitality facilities, while<br />
the Driving School Building, Drag Racing Centre,<br />
Karting Centre and Business Park will serve<br />
the motorsports community. The circuit can be<br />
divided into two tracks of 3.1 kilometres and 2.4<br />
kilometres which can operate simultaneously<br />
for different motorsports events, such as drag<br />
racing and karting. Abu Dhabi Motorsports<br />
Management, which is a joint venture between<br />
the Abu Dhabi Government and the property<br />
developer ALDAR Properties PJSC, was<br />
incorporated in 2008 to oversee the construction<br />
and operations management of the circuit. The<br />
cost of the facility has not been disclosed but is<br />
Venue: Forsyth Barr Stadium at <strong>University</strong><br />
Plaza<br />
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand<br />
Open: August 2<strong>01</strong>1<br />
Type: Rugby stadium<br />
Use: Rugby World Cup 2<strong>01</strong>1 New Zealand<br />
and Highlanders Rugby<br />
Capacity: 30,000<br />
Owner and Operator: Carisbrook Stadium<br />
Trust<br />
Architect: Warren and Mahoney<br />
Cost: NZD$198.3 million<br />
CONFIGURED TO A RECTANGULAR<br />
playing field, the Forsyth Barr Stadium at<br />
<strong>University</strong> Plaza will be the home venue of<br />
the Highlanders Super 14 franchise and, in<br />
addition to rugby union, has the capacity to<br />
stage rugby league, soccer, American football<br />
and entertainment events. It will be the first<br />
stadium with a natural turf playing surface to<br />
be <strong>cover</strong>ed by a permanent roof and utilises<br />
20,558 square metres of transparent ethylene<br />
tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) panels. Indeed,<br />
part of a $40 billion 162 hectare project which<br />
also houses The Yas Hotel - a 500 room, fivestar<br />
complex - plus the Yas Marina and the Yas<br />
Yacht Club.<br />
the three largest ETFE clad buildings in the<br />
world are all sports venues, with only Beijing’s<br />
National Aquatics Centre and Munich’s Allianz<br />
Arena exceeding the Forsyth Barr Stadium.<br />
Three matches for Rugby World Cup 2<strong>01</strong>1<br />
New Zealand have been awarded to Dunedin’s<br />
existing Carisbrook Stadium by the organising<br />
committee, Rugby New Zealand 2<strong>01</strong>1 (RNZ<br />
2<strong>01</strong>1), and a decision will be made in 2<strong>01</strong>0 if<br />
these are to be transferred to the new facility.<br />
Construction began in May 2009 with completion<br />
due by August 2<strong>01</strong>1.<br />
25,000 permanent seats will be installed in<br />
the north, east and south stands and the west<br />
stand will have temporary seating for 5,000.<br />
This can even be further expanded if necessary<br />
to 35,000 with a mixture of both seating and<br />
standing accommodation.<br />
Dunedin City Council is contributing $98.5<br />
million to a private public partnership that is<br />
formed of an alliance of national, regional and<br />
city government, the <strong>University</strong> of Otago and<br />
other stakeholders. Initially marketed as the<br />
Otago Stadium, the Carisbrook Stadium Trust<br />
announced in January 2009 that the financial<br />
services provider Forsyth Barr would be the<br />
venue’s naming rights partner.<br />
Venue: Red Bull Arena<br />
Location: Harrison, New Jersey, USA<br />
Open: 17 March 2<strong>01</strong>0<br />
Type: Football stadium<br />
Use: MLS New York Red Bulls<br />
Capacity: 25,189<br />
Owner and Operator: Red Bull Park<br />
Architect: Rossetti<br />
Cost: USD$200 million<br />
THE ORIGINAL BLUEPRINT for what is to be<br />
the eighth soccer-specific stadium in MLS<br />
was completely redesigned when the owner’s<br />
of the Red Bull Energy Drink brand acquired<br />
the franchise and venue in 2006. The Red Bull<br />
Arena will now be the first European-style<br />
MLS stadium with a fully <strong>cover</strong>ed two-tier 360<br />
degree bowl.<br />
The capacity of the intimate venue<br />
will be 25,189 and includes 30 luxury<br />
suites and 1,116 club seats. All hospitality<br />
accommodation will be located to the west of<br />
the bowl and patrons will have access to their<br />
own private club. Visitors will be served via<br />
three clubs, 65 concession stands, up to 20<br />
portable vendor carts and two retail outlets.<br />
There will be two video boards - one at each<br />
end of the stadium - plus a ribbon board and<br />
over 300 television panels<br />
The facility is owned and operated by Red<br />
Bull Park and the 12 acre site is owned by the<br />
Town of Harrison.<br />
Venue: Singapore Turf Club Riding<br />
Centre<br />
Location: Singapore<br />
Open: 16 November 2009<br />
Type: Equestrian centre<br />
Use: Singapore 2<strong>01</strong>0 Youth Olympic<br />
Games<br />
Capacity: 1,500<br />
Owner and Operator: Singapore Turf<br />
Club<br />
Architect: Undisclosed<br />
Cost: Undisclosed<br />
OFFICIALLY OPENED in November 2009,<br />
the Singapore Turf Club Riding Centre is a<br />
community sports project managed by the<br />
Singapore Turf Club and its parent body, the<br />
Government of Singapore’s Tote Board. The<br />
facility is located on a 3 hectare site next to<br />
Singapore Racecourse and has an extensive<br />
grass roots programme and is to be the<br />
equestrian sports venue for the Singapore<br />
2<strong>01</strong>0 Youth Olympic Games. Its specifications<br />
include a 5,000 square metre open arena, 5,000<br />
square metre sheltered arena, viewing gallery<br />
for 1,500 spectators with a café, retail outlet,<br />
administration building and classrooms.<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 35
FACILITIES<br />
Venue: Gold Coast Stadium<br />
Location: Carrara, Queensland, Australia<br />
Open: 2<strong>01</strong>1<br />
Type: Australian Rules football stadium<br />
Use: AFL Gold Coast<br />
Capacity: 25,000<br />
Owner and Operator: Gold Coast City<br />
Council<br />
Architect: Populous<br />
Cost: AUD$126 million<br />
Venue: Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic<br />
Centre<br />
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia,<br />
Canada<br />
Open: 19 February 2009<br />
Type: Curling arena<br />
Use: Vancouver 2<strong>01</strong>0 Winter Olympic Games<br />
Capacity: 6,000<br />
Owner and Operator: Vancouver Board of<br />
Parks and Recreation<br />
Architect: Hughes Condon Marler<br />
Architects<br />
Cost: CAD$87.85 million<br />
THE VANCOUVER Olympic/Paralympic Centre<br />
will host the curling events for the 2<strong>01</strong>0<br />
Games and will also be a stage for the Cultural<br />
Olympiad with the installation of exhibits as<br />
part of the Vancouver 2<strong>01</strong>0 Venues Aboriginal<br />
Arts Program. Construction of the 10,000<br />
square metre (108,000 square feet) arena<br />
began in March 2007 and opened within two<br />
years. The Vancouver Organizing Committee<br />
for the 2<strong>01</strong>0 Olympic and Paralympic Winter<br />
Games (VANOC) is contributing $40.25 million<br />
to the capital budget and the City of Vancouver<br />
$47.60 million.<br />
In legacy mode, the facility will be converted<br />
by 2<strong>01</strong>1 into a multi-use sports and recreation<br />
complex featuring an ice pad, curling club with<br />
up to eight sheets of curling ice, gymnasium,<br />
field house, community centre, pre-school<br />
facility, library and offices. An adjacent 6,200<br />
square metre (66,500 square feet) aquatics<br />
centre with indoor and outdoor pools will be<br />
funded solely by the City and the Board of Parks<br />
and Recreation.<br />
CARRARA STADIUM is to be rebuilt to<br />
host the Australian Football League (AFL)<br />
Gold Coast expansion franchise from 2<strong>01</strong>1.<br />
The 25,000 capacity venue will include<br />
2,000 hospitality seats and 1,500 standing<br />
places, while the oval playing surface will<br />
also be able to accommodate an ICCcompliant<br />
cricket field; an IAAF standard<br />
athletics track, and it will accommodate the<br />
requirements of Australia’s bid to host the<br />
<strong>FIFA</strong> World Cup in 2<strong>01</strong>8 or 2022.<br />
The undulating wave form of the roof reflects<br />
the nearby seascape and landscape, with the<br />
stadium being designed to be a contemporary<br />
version of “footy in the park”. Food and<br />
beverage services will be located in the park<br />
rather than inside the stadium, and will be<br />
complemented by outdoor picnic and barbecue<br />
areas. Hospitality facilities will also attempt to<br />
“bring the living room to the park” with openair<br />
luxury suites and barbecue terraces that<br />
offer views of the field of play and the park.<br />
Funding from the federal, state and city<br />
governments was confirmed in May 2009,<br />
while the AFL will be investing in both the<br />
stadium and community projects.<br />
Venue: Consol Energy Center<br />
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA<br />
Open: 1 August 2<strong>01</strong>0<br />
Type: Ice hockey and multi-use arena<br />
Use: NHL Pittsburgh Penguins<br />
Capacity: 18,087<br />
Owner: Sports & Exhibition Authority of<br />
Pittsburgh and Allegheny County<br />
Operator: Pittsburgh Arena Operating<br />
and SMG<br />
Architect: Populous<br />
Cost: USD$321 million<br />
THE NHL PITTSBURGH PENGUINS are currently<br />
based at the 16,940 capacity Mellon Arena which,<br />
having opened in 1961, is now the oldest venue in<br />
the league. Ground was broken on the new Consol<br />
Energy Centre at the 8 acre downtown construction<br />
site in August 2008 and is expected to open just<br />
two years later for the start of the 2<strong>01</strong>0/11 season.<br />
The facility will have 18,087 seats including<br />
62 luxury suites, four party suites, 2,000 club<br />
seats and 236 loge box seats. Although this does<br />
not represent a significant increase in seating<br />
capacity, the size and quality of accommodation<br />
and ancillary services has been enhanced, with<br />
the 6 level building offering 720,000 square feet<br />
of space compared to 420,000 at the Mellon<br />
Arena. It will boast a restaurant, banquet facility,<br />
two clubs, five retail locations and two food<br />
courts - one of which affords views of the event<br />
floor and the other overlooking the downtown<br />
Pittsburgh skyline. General admission spectators<br />
will be catered for by the provision of one<br />
concession point of sale for every 158 spectators,<br />
while an enclosed elevated walkway will connect<br />
to the adjacent parking garages.<br />
The arena has been designed specifically<br />
for the NHL, but the 29,470 square foot floor<br />
will have the flexibility to be configured to host<br />
other sports and entertainment events, including<br />
basketball, arena football, indoor soccer, tennis<br />
and volleyball.<br />
In April 2009, the Penguins and the Sports &<br />
Exhibition Authority announced their intention<br />
for the facility to be the first NHL arena to attain<br />
the Leadership in Energy and Environmental<br />
Design (LEED) Gold Certification, which is<br />
awarded for the design, construction and<br />
operation of green buildings.<br />
36 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
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SPORTS EVENT MANAGEMENT<br />
AWARDS 2009<br />
Awards presenter Charlotte Jackson - Action Images<br />
THE GOLD STANDARD<br />
The third SportBusiness Sports Event Management Awards were presented at a glittering Gala Dinner in<br />
London which attracted key figures from all sectors of the international sports community to celebrate<br />
excellence among the individuals and organisations that make sports events happen.<br />
THE INGENUITY, creativity and management<br />
expertise of the international sports events<br />
community was celebrated at the third<br />
SportBusiness Sports Event Management<br />
Awards which saw 29 organisations and<br />
individuals recognised for their achievements<br />
and contributions during the past 12 months.<br />
The Awards were presented during a Black<br />
Tie Gala Dinner at Lord’s Cricket Ground in<br />
London, attended by many senior figures from<br />
the sports events sector.<br />
The evening proved a triumph for Olympic<br />
Games director Gilbert Felli, the City of<br />
Melbourne, leading agencies Fast Track and<br />
Nova <strong>International</strong> and many other companies<br />
recognised in 11 categories.<br />
Nigel Rushman, chairman of event<br />
organisers Rushmans praised the high quality of<br />
the entries.<br />
“This may not have been a year in which we<br />
had a mega-event such as a <strong>FIFA</strong> World Cup or<br />
Olympic Games but it was still a fascinating year<br />
of sport which demonstrated the ability of the<br />
sports events industry to continue to raise the<br />
bar of the planning and staging of events of all<br />
size,” he said.<br />
“Our congratulation to all of the winners.<br />
They thoroughly deserve their success. But our<br />
thanks also go to those who entered but did not<br />
make the cut. They will have another chance in<br />
12 months time.”<br />
Gilbert Felli, who won the Rushmans Award<br />
for Outstanding Contribution to Sports Events<br />
for his work with the <strong>International</strong> Olympic<br />
Committee, was not able to be at the ceremony<br />
but said, “It is a great honour for me to receive<br />
the Rushmans Outstanding Contribution to<br />
Sports Event Management award and I’d like to<br />
thank Rushmans and Sport Business Group for<br />
this accolade.<br />
“It is very gratifying to have your work<br />
recognised in this way and little did I think<br />
when I first started out as a young volunteer<br />
in event management almost 50 years ago,<br />
that one day I would end-up looking after the<br />
organisation of the Olympic Games.<br />
“It just shows where volunteering in sports<br />
events can take you and I hope that it may<br />
inspire a few young volunteers out there to<br />
keep giving their time and energy in the service<br />
of sports. Of course, organising the world’s<br />
foremost sporting event - the Olympic Games<br />
- is undoubtedly a team effort, so I’d also like<br />
to dedicate this award to all of the people who<br />
have helped to stage inspirational and excellent<br />
Games over the years. “It is their work and<br />
dedication that has allowed the Games to<br />
flourish and for the Olympic values to continue<br />
to be appreciated the world over.<br />
“I just hope that through my work, I have<br />
been able to contribute to keeping the Games<br />
and sport where they deserve to be, on the gold<br />
medal step of the podium.”<br />
The new Award for Brand Presentation<br />
was won by MasterCard Europe for the 2009<br />
Champions League Final. MasterCard Europe<br />
vice president and head of sponsorship, Paul<br />
Meulendijk was delighted. “Such a prestigious<br />
industry award recognises our people and the<br />
integrated approach we’re taking in activating<br />
our sponsorship properties while helping<br />
the consumers to further benefit from our<br />
involvement,” he said.<br />
“Sponsorships represent a critical component<br />
of MasterCard’s global marketing approach.<br />
It enables us to further deliver shareholder<br />
value by creating exclusive business-building<br />
opportunities for our customer financial<br />
institutions and merchants, while also<br />
offering Priceless Experiences to our<br />
MasterCard cardholders.”<br />
38 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
SPORTS EVENT MANAGEMENT<br />
AWARDS 2009<br />
The 2009 SportBusiness Sports Event Management Awards were a celebration<br />
of all that’s best in a diverse, highly professional and ultimately fundamental<br />
sector of the global sports business – and a chance for guests to let their hair<br />
down at a Black Tie dinner at Lords Cricket Ground in London.<br />
“It was a hugely enjoyable evening and a fantastic opportunity to<br />
meet and appreciate the work of the professionals who create and<br />
manage the events on which the business of sport is built.”<br />
Phil Savage, Publishing Director of SportBusiness Group<br />
Action Images<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 39
SPORTS EVENT MANAGEMENT<br />
AWARDS 2009<br />
SPORTBUSINESS SPORTS CITY AWARD<br />
Gold: Victorian Major Events Company for the city of Melbourne<br />
Silver: Senate Department for the Interior and Sport for Berlin<br />
Bronze: Qatar Olympic Committee for the city of Doha<br />
MELBOURNE’S reputation as a<br />
world-class city is well-recognised<br />
and well-deserved. Few cities<br />
approach the business of attracting<br />
and then delivering top quality<br />
domestic and international events<br />
with the professionalism and<br />
enthusiasm which the team at the<br />
Victorian Major Events Company<br />
demonstrates so consistently.<br />
And according to the winners, the<br />
true measure of a city’s worth - in<br />
sporting terms - is its passion for the<br />
major events it hosts.<br />
Melbourne, they say, is a city<br />
that lives and breathes sport. One<br />
of the key requirements of the<br />
SportBusiness Sports City Awards<br />
was to demonstrate the role played<br />
by local government, local business<br />
and the community in making<br />
sport happen. Over more than a<br />
century, political leaders of the<br />
day have demonstrated a strong<br />
commitment to major sporting events<br />
in Melbourne through ongoing,<br />
significant investment in they city’s<br />
sporting infrastructure.<br />
Melbourne has been staging<br />
major events, including and Olympic<br />
Games for many years but the key, it<br />
appears, is continually planning for<br />
the future.<br />
In the last 12 months Melbourne’s<br />
sports precinct, on the doorstep of<br />
the city centre, has welcomed a new<br />
member of the family. Joining the<br />
iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground,<br />
Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena,<br />
and Olympic Park is the Melbourne<br />
Rectangular Stadium which will<br />
provide the city with its first purposebuilt,<br />
rectangular pitch stadium with<br />
a world-class playing surface.<br />
In a national and regional<br />
context, the new stadium ramps up<br />
Melbourne’s competitive position<br />
as host city of choice for a range of<br />
different sporting codes, and offers<br />
event owners a new level in quality<br />
and amenity.<br />
In January, the Victorian government<br />
announced plans for a multi-million<br />
dollar redevelopment of Melbourne<br />
Park, to ensure that the Australian<br />
Open maintains its position as one of<br />
the best-loved and most successful<br />
tennis events on the calendar.<br />
The redevelopment will improve<br />
the comfort of patrons, players and<br />
media with more open space and<br />
shade, increased seating capacity,<br />
better public transport access and<br />
enhanced facilities including an<br />
international broadcast centre.<br />
In the last twelve months more<br />
than five million people have attended<br />
major sporting events in Melbourne<br />
- with a population approaching 3.9<br />
million people, this is an impressive<br />
indicator of the importance of sports<br />
events to the city.<br />
BRAND PRESENTATION<br />
GOLD: MasterCard Europe for the UEFA Champions League Final<br />
JOINT SILVER: McLaren Marketing Limited for the Formula One Grand Prix Season<br />
JOINT SILVER: The Look Company for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships<br />
THE RELATIONSHIP<br />
between events and the<br />
brands which become<br />
their partners is, at best,<br />
symbiotic. But too often<br />
brands are thought to<br />
fail to take advantages of<br />
the opportunities at their<br />
disposal, relying on the<br />
tried and tested value of<br />
perimeter boards and<br />
hospitality rather than<br />
embracing the event<br />
and applying intensive<br />
creative overlay to produce<br />
outstanding results.<br />
In the 2009 SportBusiness<br />
Sports Event Management<br />
Awards, Mastercard<br />
Europe demonstrated a<br />
commitment to creativity<br />
and a willingness to build<br />
promotions around the UEFA<br />
Champions League final<br />
which delighted the judges.<br />
The UEFA Champions<br />
League is a major element<br />
of Mastercard’s football<br />
sponsorship portfolio and<br />
the 2009 Final in Rome<br />
was MasterCard’s most<br />
successful ever event<br />
programme.<br />
The game in the<br />
Eternal City captured the<br />
imagination of the world,<br />
as Spain’s Barcelona<br />
overcame an early onslaught<br />
to beat English champions<br />
Manchester United.<br />
With a record 97 million<br />
worldwide TV viewership for<br />
this year’s UEFA Champions<br />
League Final, increased<br />
brand awareness and<br />
affiliation for MasterCard<br />
was achieved through<br />
broadcast sponsorship<br />
packages, perimeter boards<br />
and on-site branding.<br />
Mastercard Europe was<br />
the only sponsor to conduct<br />
a venue branding exercise.<br />
The branding programme<br />
included specific Romethemed<br />
materials and<br />
a replica of the Trevi<br />
Fountain in the customer<br />
hospitality suite.<br />
In a five-day festival<br />
next to the world-famous<br />
Colosseum, MasterCard<br />
ran a joint promotion with<br />
adidas that provided all<br />
fans and visitors with free<br />
UEFA merchandise for<br />
every purchase made with<br />
a MasterCard.<br />
The promotion was<br />
communicated through<br />
over 10,000 flyers, posters,<br />
giant screens, as well as<br />
a number of MasterCard<br />
hostesses. Through the<br />
exclusive hospitality area at<br />
the Champions League final,<br />
MasterCard showcased its<br />
newest payment, PayPass, to<br />
over 600 key customers.<br />
Guests were provided<br />
with specially designed<br />
PayPass watches and cards<br />
that allowed guests to use<br />
their contactless payment<br />
Charlotte Jackson and MasterCard’s Paul Meulendijk with the Award - Action Images<br />
device by tapping the watch<br />
against terminals that<br />
were positioned in front of<br />
a reconstruction of Rome’s<br />
iconic Trevi Fountain. Each<br />
tap represented the idea<br />
of throwing a coin into the<br />
fountain to make a wish<br />
and for every tap made,<br />
MasterCard donated €1 to<br />
charity. Overall, MasterCard<br />
Europe’s sponsorship<br />
of the 2009 Champions<br />
League Final in Rome was<br />
judged an an outstanding<br />
success. The brand says its<br />
programme helped deliver<br />
unique value to consumers<br />
and customers, and drive<br />
key business outcomes<br />
locally in Italy, and in key<br />
global markets. Key to this<br />
was the stadium branding<br />
activity through walk-way<br />
and Fan Zones branding,<br />
which created the perception<br />
that MasterCard was the<br />
dominant Champions<br />
League final sponsor for the<br />
72,000 fans who attended.<br />
40 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
TRIP FROM BRUSSELS<br />
TO LONDON : 250@<br />
NEW UMBRELLA : 20@<br />
TAXI TO LORD’S<br />
CRICKET GROUND : 15@<br />
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RECOGNITION THAT YOUR<br />
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BUILT IN A DAY : PRICELESS<br />
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There are some things money can’t buy.<br />
For everything else there’s MasterCard.
SPORTS EVENT MANAGEMENT<br />
AWARDS 2009<br />
MASS PARTICIPATION EVENTS<br />
Gold: Nova <strong>International</strong> for the BUPA Great Manchester Run<br />
Silver: IMG Mass Participation Sports for the Mazda London Triathlon<br />
Bronze: Diamond Sports Events for the Bournemouth Sevens Festival<br />
MASS PARTICIPATION EVENTS was<br />
the second category making its debut<br />
at the 2009 Awards.<br />
From cycling to half marathons and<br />
Iron Man events, mass participation<br />
sports continue to gain tremendous<br />
popularity world-wide.<br />
The Award recognised the unique<br />
event management pressures<br />
required to deal with athlete<br />
management, overlay requirements,<br />
security, transport, medical services<br />
and catering in an environment where<br />
thousands of competitors as well as<br />
spectators are involved.<br />
Gold went to Brendan Foster’s<br />
Nova <strong>International</strong> agency which has<br />
worked with the City of Manchester to<br />
turn the Great Manchester Run and its<br />
associated activities into a world-class<br />
event. It attracts thousands of visitors<br />
to the region from every corner of<br />
the UK and overseas (80,000 visitors,<br />
including participants, in 2008). This<br />
programme has also been a major<br />
contribution to the Councils’ physical<br />
activity agenda.<br />
The project team work for twelve<br />
months to deliver this event with<br />
support from Manchester City Council<br />
and thousands of volunteers.<br />
The event comprises an entire<br />
weekend of activities. It features<br />
the UK’s biggest 10km run and this<br />
year, it culminated in the BUPA Great<br />
City Games, a series of 150m sprint<br />
events featuring the phenomenal<br />
Usain Bolt and a host of other world<br />
class athletes. They raced on an IAAF<br />
and UKA approved running track setup<br />
in the city centre on Deansgate.<br />
The event was free to spectators.<br />
Judges agreed that Nova, together<br />
with Manchester City Council, had<br />
delivered a uniquely innovative events<br />
programme, showcased to the world.<br />
The event plays an integral part in the<br />
city’s growing reputation as a sporting<br />
capital whilst continuing to address<br />
social issues on a more local level.<br />
Operationally, the undertaking<br />
of the road closures and traffic<br />
management to facilitate the<br />
weekend’s festival of running was on<br />
a unparalleled scale.<br />
While the involement of Usain<br />
Bolt and a host of other stars gave<br />
the 2009 event a significant level of<br />
additional visibility, judges remained<br />
Heat on the streets of Manchester - Getty Images Sport<br />
focused on the event from every<br />
angle. They praised not only the<br />
precise planning and execution<br />
required to turn a city centre into a<br />
sports venue but also the specific<br />
examples of innovation demonstrated<br />
in creating the 150 metre track to the<br />
most exacting standards.<br />
“This was a particularly difficult<br />
category for the judges to determine,”<br />
said Nigel Rushman, co-chair of the<br />
panel. “The standard was uniformly<br />
high which reflect well on all involved.”<br />
EVENT LOOK<br />
GOLD: Fast Track for the UK School Games<br />
SILVER: ICC World Twenty20 Team for the ICC World Twenty20<br />
BRONZE: Designwerk for the Victoria Cup<br />
FAST TRACK took the Gold Award in<br />
the Event Look category for its work<br />
on the fourth edition of the Youth<br />
Sports Trust’s UK School Games,<br />
multi-sport event for elite level<br />
youngsters which aims to deliver the<br />
experience and spirit of an Olympic or<br />
Paralympic Games for young athletes<br />
who may well one day represent their<br />
country on the big stage.<br />
<strong>International</strong> agency Fast Track<br />
was appointed to plan, manage and<br />
deliver the event which, this year, saw<br />
track cycling added to the established<br />
four-day event programme of<br />
athletics, badminton, fencing,<br />
gymnastics, hockey, judo, swimming,<br />
table tennis and volleyball.<br />
Among Fast Track’s challenges was<br />
to create a complete brand identity<br />
which not only provided a strong event<br />
look but which reflects what the event<br />
stands for.<br />
This includes not only providing<br />
a showcase for young talent but<br />
bringing about a ‘step change in the<br />
content, structure and presentation<br />
of competitive sporting opportunities<br />
for young people.’ Fast Track created<br />
the UK School Games (UKSG)<br />
identity featuring the running<br />
figure - a friendly, iconic, bold,<br />
distinguishable, simple and friendly<br />
figure, recognisable to children of<br />
school age.<br />
The icon is uncomplicated in<br />
its construction, making it easily<br />
transferable in its use from marketing<br />
to merchandise to signage. In being<br />
fluid and indicating movement, it<br />
works in its endorsement of active<br />
participation sport.<br />
Supporting the UKSG logo, is<br />
a series of sport-specific icons,<br />
adapted from the running man.<br />
They all dictate specific sports<br />
featured under the UKSG umbrella.<br />
With the use of their own definitive<br />
colour, they act as a cost effective<br />
and adaptable tool for depicting<br />
specific sports with use in marketing,<br />
collateral, venues and stadiums.<br />
Influenced by the running figure,<br />
are a series of circle compositions<br />
and supporting swoosh graphics,<br />
used to create a recognisable<br />
Fast Track’s Michelle Diete receives the Award from Paul Nelson of SportCentric - Action Images<br />
endorsement for any UKSG<br />
communication or branding. All<br />
marketing and communications, from<br />
in-the-hand to on-site, follow this<br />
clean and simplistic route.<br />
The aim is to give clarity with clear<br />
honest dialogue with simple straight<br />
forward typography, keeping the<br />
message and tone of language direct<br />
and informative.<br />
Steve Grainger, chief executive of<br />
the Youth Sports Trust was clearly<br />
delighted with the results. “The new<br />
look reflected the growing stature<br />
of the event and we felt it to be<br />
an important development for the<br />
athlete enjoyment and spectator<br />
experience. As with the Olympic and<br />
Paralympic Games, the look and feel<br />
of the event is integral to its success<br />
and I believe that the strides that<br />
were made fully demonstrated the<br />
professionalism of the UK School<br />
Games,” he said.<br />
42 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
ISEMS Innovative<br />
Event Marketing 2007<br />
Ultimate Sports<br />
City 2007<br />
Ultimate Sports<br />
City 2008<br />
SportBusiness<br />
Sports City 2008<br />
SportBusiness Sports City 2009<br />
Talk to the people who know major events.<br />
Contact Brendan McClements, CEO, Victorian Major Events Company<br />
Tel +61 3 9868 4600 Email vmec@vmec.com.au www.vmec.com.au
SPORTS EVENT MANAGEMENT<br />
AWARDS 2009<br />
EVENT OVERLAY & FACILITIES<br />
GOLD: GL Events and Oasys Innovations for the <strong>FIFA</strong> Confederations Cup South Africa<br />
JOINT SILVER: Nova <strong>International</strong> Ltd for the BUPA Great City Games Manchester<br />
JOINT SILVER: NÜSSLI (Schweiz) AG for the Sony Ericsson WTA Championships<br />
THE <strong>FIFA</strong> Confederations<br />
Cup is the warm-up<br />
competition for the 2<strong>01</strong>0<br />
World Cup which will be<br />
staged in South Africa just a<br />
few months from now.<br />
The GL Events-Oasys<br />
Consortium supplied overlay -<br />
the equipment and temporary<br />
structures required to equip a<br />
venue to successfully meet the<br />
requirements of special events<br />
- at the four competition<br />
stadiums in Johannesburg,<br />
Pretoria, Rustenburg and<br />
Bloemfontein. Officials at the<br />
companies described the<br />
project as a huge challenge<br />
on a number of fronts.<br />
Significantly, it was the<br />
first time that a company was<br />
appointed as an exclusive<br />
overlay supplier on a major<br />
international football event<br />
Distance also created<br />
challenges as the South<br />
African venues are a long way<br />
from major event markets<br />
world-wide, where overlay<br />
commodities are usually<br />
stocked. Overcoming this<br />
demanded good organisational<br />
and logistic skills.<br />
With only 13 weeks<br />
between appointment of<br />
the preferred bidder and the<br />
final hand-over, time was a<br />
major factor.<br />
The project benefitted<br />
the local economy thanks to<br />
the appointment of 70 local<br />
suppliers, the hire of some<br />
500 local staff for the setting<br />
stage of the project and the<br />
purchase of rental of around<br />
two thirds of the necessary<br />
equipment. In addition,<br />
the consortium worked<br />
not only for the Organising<br />
Committee, but also for<br />
other clients such as Match<br />
Hospitality, Match Ticketing,<br />
Sponsors and Host Cities.<br />
The project involved<br />
site preparation including<br />
groundwork, the supply of<br />
27,000sqm of temporary<br />
structures; 5,000sqm of<br />
scaffolding structures;<br />
170 modular containers;<br />
100 storage containers;<br />
60 temporary toilet<br />
facilities; electrical power<br />
distribution: over 10,000m of<br />
cabling; 6,500m of cabling<br />
pathways; 1,500 distribution<br />
boxes, 8,000 plugs; four<br />
audio and simultaneous<br />
translation systems for<br />
press conference rooms<br />
34,500sqm of internal<br />
and emergency lighting<br />
22,000sqm of fire alarm<br />
systems.<br />
In addition the heating<br />
and ventilation requirements<br />
were for 100 floor standing<br />
and 15 roof top units while<br />
2.5 kilometres of internal<br />
partitioning, 26,700sqm of<br />
floor <strong>cover</strong>ing and 14,000<br />
pieces of furniture were<br />
supplied and installed.<br />
Field of play and other<br />
Action from the <strong>FIFA</strong> Confederations Cup final - Getty Images Sport<br />
equipment included 24<br />
goals, 20 team shelters,<br />
corner flags, 40 flag-hanging<br />
systems and 70 flagpoles<br />
together with the fit-out of<br />
25 TV and presenters studios<br />
50 camera platforms 600<br />
press desks and commentary<br />
positions.<br />
The entire project was<br />
delivered by a team of 50<br />
staff drawn from across<br />
Europe and Hong Kong as<br />
well as South Africa, together<br />
with 10 main sub-contractors<br />
and some 70 suppliers.<br />
Equipment was delivered<br />
from the UK, Hong Kong<br />
and France by sea freight in<br />
an operation involving 175<br />
containers - 85 from France<br />
and 90 from Hong Kong.<br />
EVENT SERVICES<br />
Gold: Creative Technology Limited for the European PGA Tour<br />
Silver: Gameday Management Group for the Super Bowl XLIII<br />
Bronze: Aesthetics Models and Events Ltd for Major Sporting Events in 2009<br />
CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY<br />
took Gold in the Sports Crowd<br />
sponsored Award for its<br />
innovative work on behalf of<br />
European Tour Productions<br />
on ‘The Race To Dubai’, the<br />
$10 million season-long<br />
competition which replaced<br />
the European Tour Order of<br />
Merit. The company’s work<br />
provides a tournamentspecific<br />
video and data feed<br />
which allows huge crowds<br />
spread around golf courses, in<br />
press centres and hospitality<br />
areas to follow and be fully<br />
engaged in the action.<br />
While tournament television<br />
has become a regular feature<br />
of major championships,<br />
every event leading up to the<br />
season-ending Dubai World<br />
Championship at Jumeirah<br />
Golf Estates in Dubai provided<br />
enhanced <strong>cover</strong>age through<br />
the innovative visuals provided<br />
by Creative Technology.<br />
Creative Technology<br />
developed a bespoke realtime<br />
production system that<br />
combines live information<br />
from broadcasters, pre<br />
-recorded material and<br />
highlights with real time<br />
graphics and scores updated<br />
from the event results<br />
system. This signal was then<br />
distributed to a network of<br />
TVs and large format video<br />
screens installed in key areas<br />
around the course.<br />
Where required the network<br />
can be expanded to include<br />
the clubhouse and/or oncourse<br />
hotels.<br />
The content production<br />
system allows for real time<br />
recording of all four days of<br />
each golf tournament, with<br />
a dedicated playout server<br />
to store and schedule clips,<br />
commercials and highlights<br />
packages produced on a<br />
separate edit system. This<br />
content is combined with a<br />
locally generated graphic<br />
wrapper, providing a live<br />
scoring and results panel<br />
which is updated from the<br />
central scoring database. The<br />
wrapper also incorporates<br />
tour and local sponsor logos<br />
and a real time clock.<br />
The signal distribution<br />
system, perhaps the most<br />
challenging element of the<br />
package, is built around<br />
a ruggedised military<br />
specification fibre system<br />
allowing fast and reliable<br />
installation of a bi-directional<br />
IPTV <strong>Network</strong>. Multiple HD<br />
Paul Sanders and Steve Purkess of Creative Technology with Kevin Roberts (left)<br />
and Glenn Kirton representing Award sponsors Sports Crowd - Action Images<br />
channels can be delivered to<br />
any suitable display device<br />
including televisions, LED<br />
displays and projection<br />
equipment. Every display can<br />
be individually controlled and<br />
monitored from the head end<br />
and all critical components<br />
are UPS protected to ensure<br />
the network is maintained in<br />
the unlikely event of localised<br />
power failure. The displays<br />
themselves vary between<br />
each tournament on ‘The<br />
Race to Dubai ‘series, but<br />
typically include an 18m2<br />
LED screen packaged in<br />
a purpose-built and fully<br />
branded mobile trailer unit<br />
and up to 100 HD televisions<br />
deployed throughout the<br />
hospitality and tournament<br />
management facilities. All of<br />
this equipment is installed,<br />
operated and removed on a<br />
weekly basis for the duration<br />
of the European Tour - a<br />
logistical challenge in itself.<br />
44 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
A pArtnership thAt mAkes<br />
the difference in AfricA<br />
© esprit pubLic - photographie : istockphoto<br />
GL events and Oasys Innovations have combined their global and<br />
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bodies, organising committees, host cities, sponsors, federations, broadcasters,<br />
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Our expertise includes all types of Overlay Services (planning & design, project<br />
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Let us buiLd your successes for you.<br />
Contact: gl-oasys@gl-events.com<br />
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SPORTS EVENT MANAGEMENT<br />
AWARDS 2009<br />
HOSPITALITY & TRAVEL<br />
GOLD: Keith Prowse for the Twickenham Experience Rugby Hospitality<br />
JOINT SILVER: Sportsworld Group Ltd for the British Tennis Series<br />
JOINT SILVER: Air New Zealand Holidays for the 17th Golden Oldies World Rugby<br />
Festival Edinburgh<br />
IN A MARKET feeling the<br />
impact of reduced corporate<br />
budgets, the challenge<br />
facing sports hospitality<br />
professionals is to find new<br />
and exciting ways of making<br />
their match day experience<br />
fresh, exciting and valuable.<br />
This year’s Gold Award<br />
went to Keith Prowse<br />
Hospitality for its work at<br />
Twickenham stadium, home<br />
of English rugby during the<br />
2008 Autumn <strong>International</strong><br />
series, when the visitors<br />
were New Zealand, The<br />
Pacific Islanders and world<br />
champions South Africa.<br />
The Twickenham Experience is<br />
a joint-venture between Keith<br />
Prowse and the Rugby Football<br />
Union to create, develop<br />
and implement innovative<br />
packages for individuals and<br />
corporate guests throughout<br />
the stadium.<br />
November 2008 saw the<br />
launch of the redeveloped<br />
South Stand which<br />
incorporates a variety of<br />
hospitality areas, notably<br />
The Players’ Lounge and<br />
Rugby House. Guests had<br />
the once-in-a-lifetime<br />
opportunity to meet, chat and<br />
quiz some of the stalwarts of<br />
English rugby history within<br />
The Players’ Lounge. Guests<br />
were guaranteed a postmatch<br />
Question & Answer<br />
session with four of the current<br />
England squad fresh from the<br />
pitch, whether they won or lost.<br />
In addition, the introduction<br />
of the new Rugby House - a<br />
large central facility, comprising<br />
the 800 capacity Rose Suite<br />
and a number of smaller,<br />
more intimate suites, together<br />
with new hospitality packages,<br />
has secured the Twickenham<br />
Experience’s reputation as the<br />
unrivalled hospitality package<br />
at Twickenham.<br />
Peter Selby of Keith Prowse receives the Hospitality Award - Action Images<br />
On entering Rugby House<br />
guests are greeted by the<br />
sights, smells and sounds<br />
of a real rugby atmosphere.<br />
They are able to walk on the<br />
Astroturf carpet, mingle among<br />
the life-sized rugby scenes<br />
including a scrum and a<br />
changing room, before entering<br />
their suites for a champagne<br />
reception followed by a fourcourse<br />
lunch.<br />
As a result of changes<br />
throughout Twickenham,<br />
Keith Prowse has seen<br />
unparalleled demand for<br />
packages in the modern<br />
Rugby House and highly<br />
sought-after The Players’<br />
Lounge. Packages that, in<br />
recent years, have received<br />
a good degree of positive<br />
feedback are now at the<br />
height of their popularity.<br />
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION<br />
Gilbert Felli, <strong>International</strong> Olympic Committee<br />
THE ACCLAIMED SUCCESS<br />
of the Beijing 2008 Olympic<br />
Games underscored just how<br />
far ‘The Greatest Show On<br />
Earth’ has come since its<br />
boycott-ridden low period<br />
in the late 1970s and early<br />
1980s, after which few cities<br />
were willing to take on a<br />
major event which appeared<br />
to be losing prestige as<br />
well as representing a huge<br />
financial liability.<br />
In the same way that the<br />
Games turned around its<br />
financial fortunes from<br />
Los Angeles onwards, the<br />
presentation and organisation<br />
of the Games has also taken<br />
significant steps forward with<br />
each successive edition.<br />
While this has undoubtedly<br />
been a team achievement,<br />
a key role has been played<br />
by Gilbert Felli, the Olympic<br />
Games Executive Director,<br />
responsible for the running,<br />
co-ordination and follow-up of<br />
all Olympic Games activities,<br />
from the candidature phase<br />
to the actual holding of the<br />
Olympic Games.<br />
Under his direction the<br />
Games have yet again become<br />
a sought-after property,<br />
whose value is highlighted<br />
by the ferocity of the bidding<br />
campaigns run by prospective<br />
hosts. Critically, he has been<br />
responsible for Games held in<br />
geographically and culturally<br />
diverse parts of the world<br />
which have been technical<br />
Sir Craig Reedie accepts the Outstanding Contribution Award<br />
on behalf of Gilbert Felli from Nigel Rushman - Action Images<br />
triumphs and strengthened<br />
the Olympic brand while<br />
holding up a mirror to the<br />
host city and country.<br />
EVENT MARKETING<br />
Gold: ICC World Twenty20 Team (part of the ECB) for the ICC World Twenty20<br />
Silver: Fast Track for the Aviva London Grand Prix<br />
Bronze: Munster Rugby for the Munster vs New Zealand Game<br />
THE INAUGURAL <strong>International</strong> Cricket<br />
Council World Twenty20 tournament,<br />
played in June, saw the newest form<br />
of the game played over 21 days at<br />
fours venues. In addition to the 42<br />
tournament matches there were 20<br />
warm-up games and the event set<br />
an international precedent with a<br />
women’s tournament taking place<br />
alongside the men’s.<br />
Despite the current popularity of<br />
Twenty20 cricket, the ultra competitive<br />
sports market meant there was no<br />
room for complacency among the ECB<br />
team responsible for marketing the<br />
event and ensuring that grounds were<br />
full. That attendance was close to 100<br />
per cent is evidence that they achieved<br />
their objectives.<br />
The UK was the tournament’s<br />
core market with a determined<br />
focus on engaging Britain’s ethnic<br />
communities.<br />
The tournament’s campaign<br />
creative strategy was based on<br />
the ICC World Twenty20 being<br />
‘Everyone’s Game’, emphasising<br />
that Twenty20 has a wide audience<br />
which encourages engagement and<br />
participation from those who may not<br />
normally follow cricket.<br />
The campaign’s media executions<br />
featured1000 poster placements<br />
on Underground and overland train<br />
stations sites over a six-week period,<br />
including digital posters; national<br />
radio advertisements; and UK regional<br />
press advertising with an audience<br />
reach of two million.<br />
Steve Elworthy of the ICC World Twenty20 team with<br />
Charlotte Jackson and John Shanley - Action Images<br />
The campaign also had a significant<br />
digital dimension. Along with pages on<br />
social networking sites, a four-week<br />
digital campaign on www.cricinfo.<br />
com resulted in over 14 million<br />
impressions. It was seen by over<br />
390,000 unique users and delivered<br />
22,000 clicks to the ticket sales site.<br />
46 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
SECURITY<br />
GOLD: Sword Event Guard <strong>International</strong> for the Volvo Ocean Race, the<br />
Galway Stopover Festival<br />
SILVER: Controlled Solutions Group for the World Fire-Fighter Games<br />
AWARDS PRESENTER Charlotte<br />
Jackson reminded the audience<br />
of one of the fundamental truths<br />
in modern sport, announcing:<br />
“No security…no events.”<br />
The companies which<br />
plan and deliver the security<br />
programmes which enable<br />
events to take place, play a vital<br />
role yet many of their strategies<br />
and tactics inevitably remain<br />
shrouded in secrecy.<br />
However, judges were quick to<br />
applaud Sword Guard Security, one<br />
of the leaders in the field, for its<br />
work around an event which provides<br />
significant security challenges.<br />
They won Gold for their work at<br />
The Galway Stopover Festival of the<br />
Volvo Ocean Race. Galway was the<br />
only port in the British Isles to host<br />
the spectacular Volvo 70 fleet.<br />
The 15-day event attracted over<br />
600,000 visitors and was broadcast<br />
live on TV and streamed online to a<br />
two billion world-wide audience on<br />
Volvo Ocean Race TV.<br />
The maritime festival site received<br />
a location-specific analysis which<br />
enabled Sword to prepare preevent<br />
risk assessments and also<br />
allowed them to conduct precise<br />
administrative forecasting and<br />
Sword reduced the challenge<br />
of managing the security by<br />
implementing a system that they<br />
have developed through their<br />
experience at major events.<br />
Sword demonstrated both<br />
flexibility and innovation through<br />
their ability to logically adapt and<br />
redefine the same systems and<br />
procedures to meet the needs of one<br />
event to the next.<br />
This was reflected in the ability to<br />
cater for crowds 150 per cent bigger<br />
than anticipated and the late arrival<br />
of the race boats into Galway.<br />
SPECIAL AWARD FOR INNOVATION<br />
THE ALL ENGLAND LAWN TENNIS CLUB<br />
IAN RITCHIE, chief executive of the<br />
All England Lawn Tennis Club, was<br />
on hand to receive a special Award<br />
for Innovation, sponsored by Group<br />
Partners, for the completion of<br />
the far-sighted project to install a<br />
retractable roof over Wimbledon’s<br />
Centre Court.<br />
In just 10 minutes, one of sport’s<br />
most revered and iconic venues can<br />
be transformed from an open air<br />
court into a charged and atmospheric<br />
indoor arena.<br />
It represents a multi million pound<br />
investment by the All England<br />
Club which at a stroke brings<br />
one of the world’s most<br />
historic sports venues into the<br />
21st century.<br />
Judges felt that the<br />
Wimbledon roof is a perfect<br />
example of a positive<br />
investment which extends<br />
the use of Centre Court and<br />
expands its potential.<br />
The project combines<br />
enlightened investment with<br />
engineering excellence and<br />
management of an extremely complex<br />
two-year project.<br />
Above all it is entirely in keeping<br />
with the look, feel and spirit of one of<br />
the world’s best-loved sports events.<br />
Judges considered the forward<br />
thinking project as and an example of<br />
precision planning, attention to detail,<br />
utilisation of the best technology and<br />
the skilful combination of traditional<br />
structures and styles of the 20th<br />
century with the innovation and<br />
technology of the 21st.<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 47
MOTORSPORT:<br />
OVERVIEW<br />
Simon Berger, IM2 CEO, is the man<br />
behind the Motor Sport Business<br />
Forum. Here, by way of introduction<br />
to our motor sport feature, he gives<br />
his overview of where the industry<br />
sits on the cusp of 2<strong>01</strong>0.<br />
In this time of economic instability, how would<br />
you say the motorsport industry has stood up<br />
I think every industry has suffered in the global<br />
downturn, just in varying degrees. Motorsport<br />
has been affected by the withdrawal of several<br />
manufacturers and sponsors from the sport<br />
and this has been compounded recently with<br />
certain global suppliers announcing that they<br />
are following suit at the end of 2<strong>01</strong>0.<br />
It is not all bad however. Several new teams<br />
will appear in various series, new sponsors are<br />
emerging as the cost of sponsorship falls and<br />
I believe that nearly all the commercial rights<br />
holders are looking to improve ‘the show’ to give<br />
more value-added to the sponsors and the fans.<br />
The banking sector has been hit hard - it is<br />
only natural that they have to look both internally<br />
and externally at everything they spend. A few<br />
have left the sport, but several have remained<br />
despite the hard times, which reiterates the fact<br />
that the ROI they receive through this medium is<br />
both quantifiable and justifiable.<br />
Is motorsport still a financially viable investment<br />
for brands and sponsors<br />
The simple answer is yes. Motorsport is still<br />
truly global and there aren’t many other sports<br />
that can say the same.<br />
It is also interesting that in F1 next year we<br />
will have at least 12 and potentially 13 teams<br />
on the grid and many of them come with new<br />
investors in the sport. You just have to look at<br />
Malaysia’s investment in the Lotus team and the<br />
fact that the founder of YouTube is investing in<br />
USF1 to see that motor sport continues to attract<br />
major investors.<br />
Is there a case for saying the recession has<br />
actually helped some of the series For example,<br />
F1 in terms of cost cuts and Rally in terms of<br />
cutting manufacturers from the series<br />
I wouldn’t say the recession has helped. But<br />
I think that F1 and WRC will be better for the<br />
changes that they have had to make. There is no<br />
doubt that the cost cuts made in F1 have paved<br />
48 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
F1 has kept its show on the road - Getty Images Sport<br />
the way for new investors and teams in the sport.<br />
I think the same will be happening in rallying,<br />
especially since ISC signed its new 10-year<br />
promoter’s contract.<br />
What would you say is the overall value of the<br />
motorsport market at present And what is your<br />
prognosis for 2<strong>01</strong>0<br />
I think stability is the key for 2<strong>01</strong>0. Motorsport,<br />
like all industries, has suffered from the economic<br />
downturn and no doubt we will see more bad<br />
news for some series and competing teams. But<br />
the major championships such as F1, WRC,<br />
WTCC and GT will remain because they have<br />
the support and the history behind them. Next<br />
year they will hope to achieve stability but I can<br />
certainly see growth in future years.<br />
Has a season full of controversy and headlines<br />
been good for Formula One<br />
Whilst I believe there here have been far too<br />
many negative headlines this year, I don’t think<br />
it has damaged F1 too much. People almost<br />
expect intrigue and controversy in the sport<br />
and sometimes this is as interesting as the<br />
race itself. People also tend to move on to the<br />
next ‘headline’ rather quickly so whilst one day<br />
it might be about a manufacturer leaving the<br />
sport, the next all the talk is about the incredible<br />
Abu Dhabi circuit and the end of another<br />
exciting season.<br />
World Rally seems to be in better than ever<br />
shape, it has listened to its fans and looks<br />
healthy and sustainable. Could other series learn<br />
anything from WRC<br />
The major stakeholders from the World Rally<br />
Championship will participate in a special<br />
session on 9 December. Neil Duncanson,<br />
chairman of WRC promoter <strong>International</strong><br />
Sportsworld Communicators will talk about his<br />
plans for this new era in the sport.<br />
This will be followed by a presentation from<br />
Paul Hembery, director of motorsport for Pirelli,<br />
who will discuss the tyre company’s unique<br />
role as supplier, sponsor and promoter of the<br />
championship. Also speaking will be John<br />
Nolan, head of digital at ISC’s parent company<br />
North One Television, Jarmo Mahonen,<br />
promoter of the successful Rally Finland event,<br />
and a representative from one of the competing<br />
manufacturers<br />
The Motor Sport Business Forum has expansion<br />
plans - ME, America, Asia Pacific. What is the<br />
rational for the expansion<br />
The fact we are expanding further afield is<br />
indicative of the increasingly global nature of<br />
motorsport. We noticed that many executives<br />
from other regions expressed an interest in our<br />
Monaco event but weren’t able to merely hop<br />
across continents. So we decided to look into the<br />
possibility of creating an event in each continent.<br />
These events very much focus on the region<br />
they are in. The Bahrain event had a distinct<br />
Middle Eastern flavour to the conference<br />
programme, featuring presentations from the<br />
major industry players in that region.<br />
Our US event, which will be held in Orlando<br />
on 8-9 December, will be ideally positioned to<br />
host the region’s first international event that<br />
creates a wealth of networking and business<br />
opportunities to companies, corporations and<br />
individuals alike.<br />
Our aspirations are to keep growing and to<br />
continue to provide an important platform for the<br />
motorsport industry.<br />
What would you say was the key benefit in<br />
attending the forum<br />
We launched the Forum five years ago and I think<br />
a lot of motorsport executives grasped the concept<br />
straight away. They saw the value, especially from<br />
a networking point of view.<br />
Once people realised that there would be a<br />
place where they could meet and talk business,<br />
where the focus of attention is not on the track,<br />
they immediately saw its value. The Forum is like<br />
a paddock, created specifically for the commercial<br />
side of the sport.<br />
THE WORD ACCORDING TO:<br />
BERNIE ECCLESTONE<br />
“I am happy, happy, happy that a lot of<br />
new teams are coming in. And they are<br />
coming in because they realise they can<br />
be competitive with a lot less money than<br />
before. It was really a bit of a closed shop<br />
by virtue of the cost. We are now getting<br />
new and interesting teams.”<br />
“I think we have adjusted (to difficult<br />
economic times) in the right way. We<br />
have conquered the necessity to spend<br />
a lot of money to be competitive. The<br />
best thing to come out of the recession<br />
for us was that it was a wake-up call for<br />
the teams. We didn’t need to make an<br />
agreement to say you couldn’t spend… it<br />
has happened on its own.”<br />
“What happened to the Renault team<br />
was probably quite fair. Perhaps we were<br />
a little bit harsh in what we meted out<br />
to Flavio [Briatore]. He needed a bit of<br />
a slap perhaps because he is the team<br />
manager. He could have said - you can’t<br />
do that. The buck stopped with him and<br />
in fairness to him he acknowledges that.”<br />
“There have been many difference<br />
incidents over the years which have been<br />
portrayed as the beginning of the end for<br />
Formula One. But I think the brand of<br />
Formula One is so strong that these sorts<br />
of things don’t hurt it.”<br />
“The good thing about it is that when<br />
you go to a race now and somebody asks<br />
who is going to win I’d have to say I<br />
haven’t a clue. I just don’t know.<br />
Before, when Michael (Schumacher)<br />
was around we knew that if he was on<br />
pole he was probably going to win...<br />
Now we don’t know and that’s good, it’s<br />
what people want.”
MOTORSPORT:<br />
SPONSORSHIP<br />
Virgin Group...seized the opportunity - Getty Images Sport<br />
If 2009 won’t go down as a vintage year for motorsports<br />
in terms of its commercial performance, it is certainly<br />
not all doom and gloom as the sector continues to be<br />
held in high-regard by blue-chip brands. By Andy Fry.<br />
SO THE HEADLINES looked bad.<br />
General Motors was forced to file<br />
for bankruptcy in 2009, the impact<br />
of which was most keenly felt in<br />
US stock car series NASCAR. In<br />
Formula One, the crisis led to the<br />
withdrawal of both Honda and<br />
BMW from the race grid during<br />
the year and the withdrawal of<br />
sponsors, including RBS, Credit<br />
Suisse, Dell and ING. The World<br />
Rally Championship saw long-time<br />
supporter Subaru pull out while<br />
iconic motorcycle brand Kawasaki<br />
quit MotoGP. Both blamed the<br />
economic downturn.<br />
And yet, there were also positive<br />
signs. Cast your eye across F1,<br />
Nascar, rallying and two-wheel<br />
motorsport and you’ll spot new<br />
deals involving Santander Bank,<br />
Vodafone, MegaFon, The National<br />
Bank of Abu Dhabi, Shell, Lenovo<br />
and Virgin. That’s hardly a sector<br />
on the verge of collapse.<br />
The rationale for every deal<br />
varies. But there are a few<br />
core attributes that explain<br />
the continued popularity of<br />
motorsport. First, there is the huge<br />
upmarket audience it delivers.<br />
Then there are its brand-based<br />
attributes - which <strong>cover</strong> everything<br />
from technical performance to<br />
aspirational lifestyle. Finally, there<br />
is the fact that motorsports is such<br />
a great b2b platform.<br />
LG Electronics chief marketing<br />
officer Dermot Boden summed<br />
up the appeal pretty neatly when<br />
talking about his own company’s<br />
partnership with F1 - unveiled at<br />
the end of 2008. “This is a great<br />
sponsorship for LG,” he said.<br />
“F1 is one of the most dynamic<br />
sports in the world, relying on<br />
leading-edge technologies and<br />
continually pushing the boundaries<br />
of engineering excellence. LG<br />
has a similar focus on innovation<br />
and technological leadership.<br />
This, alongside a global audience,<br />
provides clear synergies for us.”<br />
Global audience<br />
The global audience referred to<br />
by Boden is the reason why F1,<br />
more than any other motorsports<br />
franchise, is well-placed to weather<br />
the downturn. You only have to<br />
look at some of the deals it has<br />
pulled off in 2009 to see the value<br />
of territorial reach. At the start<br />
of the year, for example, came<br />
Panasonic’s decision to renew its<br />
partnership with Toyota until 2<strong>01</strong>2<br />
- a deal estimated in some quarters<br />
to be worth $45 million a year.<br />
Then there was Casio’s decision<br />
to back both Red Bull and its top<br />
driver Sebastian Vettel.<br />
More recently, Santander Bank<br />
agreed a five-year deal with Ferrari<br />
reckoned to be worth around<br />
$50-60 million a year. In the<br />
same week, it renewed its existing<br />
partnership with McClaren - a deal<br />
which many expected it to end. Like<br />
LG, Santander is no doubt that F1 is<br />
doing a decent job - and has figures<br />
to back it up. Since joining forces<br />
with McLaren, it says that UK<br />
awareness of its brand has jumped<br />
from 20 per cent to 82 per cent.<br />
Even more impressive, perhaps, is<br />
the claim that every 1 invested in<br />
F1 leads to a return of 5.<br />
Bernie Ecclestone realised long<br />
ago that the circuit’s international<br />
dimension is a crucial part of<br />
its resilience, which is why he<br />
continues to open up new markets.<br />
Any new Grand Prix race gives<br />
F1 access to an enlarged pool of<br />
sponsors and investors.<br />
And Grand Prix in territories<br />
like China, Turkey and the Middle<br />
East give big brands a way into<br />
emerging markets - encouraging<br />
them to stick with F1.<br />
The fruits of this endeavour are<br />
clear in Chinese computer firm<br />
Lenovo’s link up with Williams<br />
(estimated value $190 million), the<br />
creation of the Indian-backed Force<br />
India team and the $10 million deal<br />
between Russian mobile operator<br />
MegaFon and Renault.<br />
Not to be overlooked either is<br />
the way F1 has anchored itself<br />
in the Gulf. After opening for<br />
business in Bahrain during 2004,<br />
it has seen airline Gulf Air come<br />
in as title sponsor of that race and<br />
Etihad Airlines become a major<br />
backer of the Ferrari team. Further<br />
expansion came this year when<br />
the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand<br />
Prix secured a $4.5 million title<br />
sponsorship with The National<br />
Bank of Abu Dhabi.<br />
We’re seeing a similar pattern in<br />
Southeast Asia - where the creation<br />
of the Malaysian and Singapore<br />
GPs has brought in Petronas and<br />
Singtel as race sponsors. Now<br />
we are poised to see a Malaysianbacked<br />
Lotus team join the grid in<br />
2<strong>01</strong>0, a move which will spark yet<br />
more valuable sponsorship activity.<br />
Aside from the<br />
internationalisation of F1’s revenue<br />
base, the other big story in F1<br />
sponsorship this year has been<br />
the rise of Brawn GP and new<br />
World Champion Jensen Button.<br />
Although not viewed as a threat at<br />
the start of the season, a storming<br />
start to the 2009 campaign by<br />
Button led to a rush of deals.<br />
The most noteworthy was Virgin<br />
Group’s one-year deal in March.<br />
But this season has also seen<br />
brands like Henri Lloyd (clothing),<br />
Gieves & Hawkes (clothing)<br />
Ray-Ban (designer sunglasses)<br />
50 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
MOTORSPORT:<br />
SPONSORSHIP<br />
Top Motorsport deals in 12 months to December 2009<br />
Report Date Sponsor Team Sport Sponsor Type Reported Value of Deal Years Deal Type<br />
Dec-08 Lenovo McLaren Formula One Team Sponsor $16,000,000 1 New<br />
Jan-09 Panasonic Toyota Formula One Team Sponsor $105,000,000 3 Renewal<br />
Mar-09 Virgin Group Brawn GP Formula One Team Sponsor $30,000,000 1 New<br />
Apr-09 Petronas Yamaha Motorcycling Team Sponsor $24,000,000 3 New<br />
Sep-09 Santander McLaren Formula One Team Sponsor $48,000,000 3 Renewal<br />
Oct-09 Repsol Honda team in Moto GP Motorcycling Team Sponsor $16,000,000 1 Renewal<br />
Source:TWSM<br />
and MIG Invest (finance) join<br />
the team. Brawn (alongside Red<br />
Bull Racing) is notable for leading<br />
a trend towards non-traditional<br />
commercial partners. Others<br />
following suit include McLaren<br />
(Marks & Spencer) and Williams<br />
(Hell Energy Drink).<br />
And Brawn has been very<br />
flexible in terms of the types of<br />
deals it is willing to do, opening<br />
up motorsports to a wider range<br />
of partners. Sony Pictures came in<br />
for the Spanish Grand Prix while<br />
other race-specific relationships<br />
entered into by Brawn included<br />
Canon (Singapore) and Cervejaria<br />
(Brazil). With a price-tag of around<br />
$100,000-$150,000, that makes F1<br />
an affordable platform for brands.<br />
F1 aside, there was also good news<br />
for rallying when Ford and Citroen<br />
elected to stay with the WRC for<br />
the next two years. Given the<br />
pressure on car manufacturers, it<br />
was a welcome boost when Citroen<br />
Racing team principal Olivier<br />
Quesnel called WRC “an excellent<br />
promotional vehicle where costs<br />
are contained”. Also positive for<br />
the WRC was the news that Edox<br />
will be official timing partner until<br />
the end of 2<strong>01</strong>2.<br />
Two wheels good<br />
In the two-wheel sector,<br />
international circuit MotoGP’s<br />
experience has, in some respects,<br />
echoed that of F1. At the start<br />
of the year it lost Kawasaki. But<br />
throughout the season, commercial<br />
rights holder Dorna Sports has<br />
managed to sign some important<br />
deals. Gaming company Bwin,<br />
for example, reaffirmed its<br />
commitment when it renewed as<br />
title sponsor of MotoGP events<br />
in Spain (at Jerez) and Portugal<br />
(Estoril). In another coup, Shell<br />
Advance became title sponsor<br />
of the Malaysian motorcycle<br />
Grand Prix - adding to existing<br />
partnerships with races in Qatar,<br />
Italy, Germany and the USA (as<br />
well as being a partner of the<br />
popular works Ducati team).<br />
And there are other<br />
stories which suggest a minibounceback.<br />
In Australia, for<br />
example, Nikon made a lastminute<br />
decision to renew its<br />
sponsorship of the Surfer’s<br />
Paradise SuperGP event - which<br />
featured V8 Supercar races. In<br />
the US, meanwhile, there are<br />
rumours that the IndyCar series<br />
may be on the verge of a big deal<br />
with Phillips Van Heusen apparel<br />
line IZOD, owner of brands such<br />
as Calvin Klein, Van Heusen,<br />
Arrow and Bass, meaning<br />
potential scope for a more broadbased<br />
partnership involving all of<br />
the above in a secondary capacity.<br />
With the global economy still<br />
fragile, it’s too early to claim a<br />
sustainable re<strong>cover</strong>y. But such<br />
developments show that leading<br />
motorsports franchises continue to<br />
be a big pull for brands.<br />
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SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 51
MOTORSPORT:<br />
MEDIA<br />
Dale Earnhardt Jr in action -<br />
Getty Images Sport<br />
Storylines are the key to ratings spikes in motorsport<br />
since compelling, relevant dramas help it reach beyond<br />
the petrol-head audience. But Andy Fry dis<strong>cover</strong>s that<br />
consistency is also crucially important.<br />
THE ORTHODOX WISDOM is that<br />
fans spend more time at home<br />
during downturns because they<br />
can’t afford to go out; and that<br />
thesis certainly seems to have been<br />
borne out in the case of F1 which<br />
has delivered robust ratings across<br />
a range of territories. US stock car<br />
series Nascar the sector’s other bell<br />
weather franchise, has struggled by<br />
comparison though. So what’s the<br />
explanation<br />
While top motorsports<br />
franchises can usually be<br />
guaranteed to deliver a solid<br />
hardcore of viewers, the sheer<br />
range of digital media alternatives<br />
means that a genuine hook is now<br />
needed to boost TV ratings.<br />
For F1, this added incentive<br />
usually comes in three forms -<br />
race location, the performance<br />
of key individuals/teams and the<br />
competitiveness of the overall<br />
driver’s championships.<br />
The first point is underlined by<br />
the Mediametrie figures oppostite<br />
which show that TF1 France<br />
secured a 40 per cent share of<br />
audience for the 2009 Monaco<br />
Grand Prix - its highest rating of<br />
the year (at the time of writing<br />
before the Brazilian GP). Similarly,<br />
RAI Italy’s best figures came for<br />
the Italian Grand Prix (45 per<br />
cent share, 7.7 million). In other<br />
words, races close to home have a<br />
particular appeal to viewers.<br />
This point is even more<br />
accentuated in new F1 markets<br />
where news that a Grand Prix is<br />
on its way can have a ripple effect<br />
across the entire racing season.<br />
Take Singapore for example where<br />
ESPN Star Sports reported an<br />
increased appetite for the sport<br />
ahead of its debut GP in 2008.<br />
The most impressive figures came<br />
in the male 35-44 demographic,<br />
where audiences for live F1 races<br />
grew 127 per cent year-on-year<br />
(2008 vs 2007). Even among<br />
younger men figures were up<br />
around 20 per cent.<br />
While ESPNSS shows most<br />
F1 races, the Singapore GP itself<br />
is aired on domestic Englishlanguage<br />
network Channel 5.<br />
This year (2009), the race secured<br />
23.6 per cent of audience - which<br />
may not sound high until you<br />
consider a) it aired in primetime<br />
not daytime b) most viewing<br />
in Singapore goes to Chineselanguage<br />
Channel 8 and c) a highproportion<br />
of fans watch the race<br />
in bars. With all that in mind, the<br />
fact that the race was Channel 5’s<br />
12th best performer of the year (up<br />
to Sept 27) is pretty impressive.<br />
The impact on TV ratings of<br />
hosting a GP is only matched when<br />
one of the other key factors come<br />
into play. Take a look at the UK’s F1<br />
viewing figures, for example. Despite<br />
a five-hour time difference between<br />
the UK and the Americas, the<br />
Brazilian Grand Prix has delivered<br />
extremely strong ratings in the UK<br />
for both of the last two seasons.<br />
Home advantage<br />
The reason is simple. In both cases,<br />
the race has delivered a British<br />
World Champion - Lewis Hamilton<br />
in 2008 and Jenson Button in<br />
2009. In 2008, the race averaged<br />
8.8 milion viewers (41 per cent<br />
share) and peaked at 12.5 million<br />
for commercial network ITV. In<br />
2009, it averaged 6.6 million (35<br />
per cent) and peaked at 8.9 million<br />
for new rights holder the BBC.<br />
The impact of driver<br />
personalities in motorsports has<br />
been evident for years. Ayrton<br />
Senna, Michael Schumacher,<br />
Fernando Alonso and Kimi<br />
Raikkonen have all had a dramatic<br />
impact on F1 viewing figures<br />
in their domestic markets. By<br />
contrast, the absence of a top talent<br />
- or their retirement - generally<br />
causes the reverse effect.<br />
This was certainly the case in<br />
Germany after Schumacher retired.<br />
And it’s possibly one reason why<br />
Nascar on Fox US saw the average<br />
rating for its first ten races in 2009<br />
drop to 5.4 (8.9 million viewers)<br />
from 6.1 (10 million) year-on-year,<br />
which analysts have, at least partly,<br />
attributed to the inconsistent<br />
performance of Nascar icon Dale<br />
Earnhardt Jr.<br />
Nascar is acutely aware of the<br />
point - with Nascar Media Group<br />
president Paul Brooks saying that<br />
2009 has suffered from a lack of<br />
“storylines” - since it is these which<br />
drive viewing momentum. Usually,<br />
Nascar can rely on set-piece events<br />
like the Daytona 500 to help turn<br />
things round. But this year the race<br />
was rain-shortened - with the result<br />
that the audience was down 10 per<br />
cent on the previous year’s race.<br />
As we’ve noted above, a good<br />
story will make audiences ignore<br />
time differences. But this isn’t the<br />
same as saying time differences<br />
don’t matter - they do. In F1,<br />
Bernie Ecclestone has grasped this<br />
point - which is why he encouraged<br />
Singapore to hold a night-race<br />
(since this suited European<br />
television audiences better). It has<br />
also been noted also how much<br />
difference rescheduling race times<br />
in the likes of Australia and Asia<br />
can make to European audiences.<br />
Of course, it’s not always an<br />
easy judgment to make changes.<br />
Looking again at Nascar, for<br />
example, there is an argument that<br />
moving ad breaks away from pit<br />
stops would boost ratings since<br />
Nascar fans like pit stops.<br />
52 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
Countries Without a Domestic F1 GP<br />
TV Data - 2009 Season (up to Brazil GP) Total Individuals<br />
rat% rat# shr%<br />
Romania TVR1 1.5 295.7 6.2<br />
Best F1 Race Bahrain GP 1.9 387.7 8.1<br />
Hungary RTL Klub 10.5 970.1 40.1<br />
Best F1 Race Brazil GP 15.1 1395.8 32.3<br />
Croatia HTV2 5.8 256.1 25.2<br />
Best F1 Race Bahrain GP 7.7 318.6 28.4<br />
Sources: Eurodata TV Worldwide - Armadata - AGB NMR<br />
Countries With a Domestic F1 GP<br />
TV Data - Local race in 2009 Season Total Individuals<br />
rat% rat# shr%<br />
Singapore Channel 5 8.3 386.5 23.6<br />
Only Singapore GP shown on channel 5<br />
France TF1 7.5 4342 39.8<br />
Best Race in France was Monaco GP<br />
Italy RAI1 13.4 7672 45<br />
Best Race in Italy was Italian GP<br />
Sources: Eurodata TV Worldwide - TNS - Mediametrie - Auditel<br />
But imagine the outcry if an ad<br />
break missed some race action<br />
instead. Likewise, fans aggrieved by<br />
Nascar rain delays have suggested<br />
that the series should be flexible<br />
enough to alter race times if the<br />
weather looks bad. But, imagine<br />
the outrage among fans who come<br />
in at the expected start time to find<br />
the TV <strong>cover</strong>age is almost over.<br />
Clearly, all of the above has to be<br />
seen in the context of the kind of<br />
broadcast deals that franchises do.<br />
The best illustration of that is<br />
IndyCar in the US. Here, flagship<br />
race the Indianapolis 500 saw an<br />
18 per cent rise in 2009 - recording<br />
a 5.3 rating and a 14 per cent<br />
share for ABC. But the rest of the<br />
IndyCar season - which airs on<br />
cable channel Versus received an<br />
average rating of 0.39 per race.<br />
Contrast that situation with<br />
MotoGP - where rights holder<br />
Dorna has focused its efforts on<br />
securing free-to-air live <strong>cover</strong>age.<br />
Dorna’s ratings for the MotoGP<br />
race at Donington Park show a<br />
record audience for the BBC (2.9<br />
million viewers, 23 per cent share).<br />
This strong figure was echoed in<br />
Spain where public broadcaster<br />
TVE attracted 2.34 million people<br />
(23 per cent share).<br />
Consistent delivery<br />
Indeed, MotoGP viewing figures<br />
perfectly reinforce the points<br />
made regarding F1 and Nascar.<br />
The undisputed star of the circuit<br />
is Valentino Rossi - a hero in his<br />
native Italy. For Italia 1, this means<br />
audience share of around 40 per<br />
cent is normal.<br />
But it gets even better when<br />
there’s something special going on.<br />
For Italy’s home race in Mugello,<br />
ratings hit an incredible 6.79<br />
million. When Rossi scored a<br />
spectacular win in Catalunya, 5.98<br />
million Italians watched. Ratings<br />
like this can have a hugely beneficial<br />
effect on a network or a sporting<br />
franchise. But, it’s important not to<br />
be hypnotised by these peaks and<br />
troughs. In the case of Nascar, for<br />
example, more important than the<br />
2009 ratings dip is the fact that<br />
the series remains one of the topperformer<br />
TV sports in the US. It<br />
was still the top sport on television<br />
six times.<br />
For sponsors, who need to<br />
plan well in advance (usually 2-4<br />
year contractual cycles), it’s this<br />
long-term consistent delivery of a<br />
young predominantly male which<br />
is important - with sudden boosts<br />
in audience regarded as a bonus.<br />
That’s why season-long circuits like<br />
Nascar, F1, MotoGP and the World<br />
Rally Championship continue to<br />
attract sponsors.<br />
Look at Mediametrie’s figures<br />
for Central and Eastern Europe<br />
for example and you can see F1<br />
regularly outperforms the network<br />
average - delivering strongly<br />
against male viewers.<br />
WRC is another classic case<br />
in point. Comprising 12 races in<br />
different locations, it attracts a<br />
cumulative audience of more than<br />
800 million in 180 countries. It<br />
provides live <strong>cover</strong>age in exotic<br />
locations and produces a range of<br />
highlights, updates and magazine<br />
shows which extend the brand’s<br />
appeal. With content also pumped<br />
out via YouTube, Facebook and<br />
Twitter, it’s exactly the kind of<br />
franchise that sponsors can plan<br />
their activation against - without it<br />
needing to deliver one-off ratings<br />
spectaculars.<br />
The full 2009 F1 season’s viewing will<br />
be released in the Yearly Sport Key<br />
Facts Special Report from Eurodata<br />
TV Worldwide/Mediametrie.<br />
Driven by Passion, Powered by People.<br />
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SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 53
MOTORSPORT:<br />
FORMULA ONE<br />
FUELLED BY<br />
CONTROVERSY<br />
As the world’s most-watched annual sport, and with no other<br />
single-seater racing series in close competition, Formula One<br />
has built itself an almost unassailable position. Scandals don’t<br />
dent it; in fact the sport seems to thrive on them. With the<br />
twists and turns of the past 12 months it is in its heyday.<br />
By Christian Sylt and Caroline Reid.<br />
Going on strong -<br />
Getty Images Sport<br />
ON THE FACE OF IT F1 seems to have had a<br />
dreadful time over the past year. As if a recession<br />
wasn’t enough to deal with, the sport has also<br />
faced the threat of a rival series, the departure<br />
of Honda and BMW and the ousting of Renault<br />
team boss Flavio Briatore after it was revealed that<br />
he influenced the outcome of last year’s Singapore<br />
Grand Prix. Despite all this, possibly because of<br />
some of it, the finances of F1 are rosier than ever.<br />
F1 had a record year financially in 2008. The<br />
addition of a race in Valencia as well as the new<br />
Singapore night race drove the turnover of Delta<br />
3, the sport’s UK holding company, up 13 per cent<br />
to an all-time-high of $1 billion. These two races<br />
alone are reportedly paying combined annual<br />
fees of $82.5 million and F1 is building on that<br />
this year with November’s inaugural Abu Dhabi<br />
Grand Prix, another blockbuster event which will<br />
pay $45 million every year.<br />
This year a record 41 per cent of F1’s races<br />
are in Asia compared to 12.5 per cent a decade<br />
ago. Next year the balance will tip even further<br />
as South Korea joins the F1 calendar with India<br />
following in 2<strong>01</strong>1. There is good reason for F1’s<br />
drive into emerging markets.<br />
Race hosting fees bring in around a third of<br />
the F1 Group’s revenues but the teams prevent its<br />
chief executive Bernie Ecclestone from increasing<br />
the number of races. In order to raise revenues,<br />
Ecclestone has taken the sport to countries which<br />
are prepared to pay more instead.<br />
Emerging markets such as Singapore, South<br />
Korea and Abu Dhabi pay top dollar since their<br />
governments bankroll the hosting fees in order to<br />
use the race as a flagship to drive tourism. Getting<br />
an F1 race puts them on a calendar alongside<br />
developed and exotic nations such as Monaco,<br />
Malaysia and Australia. It puts them on the global<br />
sporting map and gives the country publicity to<br />
F1’s 600m annual viewers.<br />
However, since Europe is still F1’s biggest<br />
single TV market, the new Grands Prix in Asia are<br />
being held at night so that they can be broadcast<br />
live in Europe at peak time. Singapore was the<br />
first night race and Abu Dhabi takes it to a new<br />
level as it will begin at sunset and finish under<br />
floodlights. After Korea and India, Ecclestone has<br />
plans to move further into Asia. “We keep talking<br />
about Moscow but I don’t know if they are going<br />
to do anything. Probably yes,” he says.<br />
F1 isn’t immune to the economic downturn<br />
of course. It is believed to have dented the sport’s<br />
corporate hospitality revenues by as much as 30<br />
per cent this year as sponsors and their clients<br />
shied away from public displays of excess.<br />
Nevertheless, F1 has a trick or two under its<br />
bonnet to mitigate the impact of this revenue loss.<br />
Cleverly the race hosting contracts all contain<br />
an escalator clause which increases the cost by<br />
10 per cent annually. Accordingly, F1’s turnover<br />
is likely to increase by a few per cent this year<br />
despite the drop in corporate hospitality demand.<br />
F1 has also been well prepared for the<br />
downturn by being extremely lean. Staff<br />
payment is one of the biggest cost items for any<br />
company but F1 only employs 249 people with<br />
its headcount rising by 10 last year in contrast<br />
54 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
MOTORSPORT:<br />
FORMULA ONE<br />
“Hospitality revenues have been<br />
dented by as much as 30 per cent<br />
this year as sponsors and their clients<br />
shied away from public displays of<br />
excess. Nevertheless, F1 has a trick<br />
or two under its bonnet to mitigate<br />
the impact of this revenue loss.”<br />
to the cuts made by most businesses. Indeed,<br />
the sport’s employees are so productive that,<br />
according to research by F1’s industry monitor<br />
Formula Money, they each generate more revenue<br />
than those at any company in the FTSE 100, the<br />
<strong>International</strong> Olympic Committee, <strong>FIFA</strong> and<br />
leading entertainment rights holders such as<br />
Marvel and Nintendo.<br />
One cost which F1 couldn’t keep down was<br />
the amount of prize money paid to the 10 teams.<br />
This accelerated 52.3 per cent to $521 million<br />
under a new agreement which gives the teams 50<br />
per cent of F1’s underlying profits. This doubled<br />
their previous take from the sport and was a key<br />
condition they demanded to prevent them from<br />
leaving the sport.<br />
It served its purpose as in August the teams<br />
signed an extension to the Concorde Agreement,<br />
the contract committing them to F1, until 2<strong>01</strong>2.<br />
The increased team payments sent Delta 3’s<br />
operating profit down from $206 million in 2007<br />
to $86.4 million last year.<br />
The biggest risk to F1 of course comes from<br />
the teams and their not quite annual threat to<br />
quit the sport. In response to the question of<br />
how he can prevent teams leaving F1 Ecclestone<br />
bluntly says “you can’t. The manufacturers won’t<br />
commit. Are they going to write that they commit<br />
to race for seven years, or ten years, five years<br />
They won’t. They don’t know what they’re going<br />
to do next week,” adds Ecclestone.<br />
The teams themselves have put in place a cost<br />
reduction programme, due to be implemented<br />
over the next few years. Ecclestone says that<br />
“it’s not in the Concorde Agreement that’s been<br />
signed...they’re doing it amongst themselves.”<br />
One of the best indications of the outlook on<br />
F1 is its debt price. When private equity firm<br />
CVC bought F1’s commercial rights-holder in<br />
2006 it used $2.8bn of debt from Royal Bank of<br />
Scotland (RBS) and Lehman Brothers. This must<br />
be paid back by 2<strong>01</strong>4. That debt has since been<br />
sold by the banks and the price of the debt gives<br />
a good indication of the sport’s health. The better<br />
the sport is perceived to be doing, the higher the<br />
price of its debt.<br />
After Honda pulled out the debt price<br />
plummeted reaching a low of 48.7p in the Pound<br />
at the end of March according to Markit Group,<br />
which charts credit pricing. This level was lower<br />
than the mean price on Markit’s iTraxx LevX<br />
Index, a gauge of high-risk, high-yield loans<br />
in Europe, which fell to a record low of 68p in<br />
March over debt default concerns. However, the<br />
signing of the Concorde Agreement boosted<br />
F1’s debt price by 9.2p to 84.1p at the end of<br />
August. Since then the debt price has<br />
risen further hitting 90.8p at the<br />
beginning of October - its highest<br />
price in 12 months.<br />
Clearly the scandal<br />
surrounding Flavio Briatore,<br />
which engulfed F1 in September, had<br />
no impact on investor confidence in<br />
the sport. In fact, it seems it may just<br />
have had the opposite effect.<br />
Why Well perhaps the<br />
answer lies in the response,<br />
back in 2005 to an FIA survey<br />
of 93,000 fans. When asked,<br />
amongst other questions,<br />
‘what attributes are perceived<br />
as essential to F1’ some 56<br />
per cent of the surveyed fans<br />
replied ‘intrigue’. No wonder<br />
then that F1 has gone from<br />
strength to strength.<br />
Photos cour tesy of Netball Singapore, Lexus Cup (IMG) & Singapore Spor ts Council<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 55
MOTORSPORT:<br />
RALLY<br />
ON<br />
THE<br />
RIGHT<br />
TRACK<br />
Rallying now has two thriving series, the World Rally Championship<br />
and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. Despite the economic<br />
downturn, both series have developed and innovated in 2009 and,<br />
for different reasons, finish the year in pretty good shape.<br />
IN DECEMBER last year it looked<br />
like the wheels were coming off<br />
the World Rally Championship.<br />
Within a 24-hour period it lost<br />
two manufacturers as Suzuki<br />
and Subaru announced that they<br />
would pull their teams out of the<br />
series. That left WRC with just<br />
two manufacturer teams, Ford and<br />
Citroen, puncturing its pride but<br />
not exhausting it.<br />
In fact, it gave WRC a clean slate<br />
to create a path to fortune. Learning<br />
from some of the problems in<br />
Formula One, which has more<br />
manufacturers than podium places,<br />
Neil Duncanson, chief executive<br />
of North One, the production<br />
company which owns ISC, made a<br />
crucial decision.<br />
“I decided I didn’t want more<br />
than four significant manufacturers<br />
because any more than that and<br />
they can’t win,” he said, adding:<br />
“I’ve got one or two who I think will<br />
come in.”<br />
Fiat recently entered one<br />
round of the Rally Finland with<br />
Ferrari’s F1 driver Kimi Räikkönen<br />
who famously rolled the car and<br />
Duncanson says “if we mix it up<br />
with Fiat and Volkswagen, and<br />
whoever else coming in, they need<br />
to win rallies.”<br />
To give its chances an added<br />
boost, WRC will introduce a<br />
1600cc turbo engine in 2<strong>01</strong>1. “This<br />
brings WRC in line with the way<br />
the automotive industry and public<br />
opinion is moving towards more<br />
energy efficient engines,” says<br />
ISC’s chief executive Simon Long.<br />
“At the same time, this will<br />
further support our efforts to<br />
attract new manufacturers and<br />
car brands into our sport with the<br />
prospect of more cost effective and<br />
relevant WRC car regulations.”<br />
“Subaru were a real part of our<br />
DNA and that [their departure]<br />
really hurt us. I’d like to think they<br />
will come back to WRC at some<br />
point,” says Duncanson.<br />
As the road to economic<br />
re<strong>cover</strong>y becomes smoother<br />
there are good reasons why car<br />
companies may pull in to WRC.<br />
“Manufacturers can subscribe to<br />
World Rally at much less cost than<br />
F1,” says Duncanson.<br />
Running a top rally team costs<br />
a car manufacturer around $20<br />
million annually - around five per<br />
cent of the investment required for<br />
an F1 campaign.<br />
“I think the future of World<br />
Rally is very positive and the<br />
reasons are because it is not<br />
Formula One, it is real cars with<br />
real drivers in real locations.”<br />
The cars in the series are roadlegal<br />
and race on tracks which are<br />
more akin to everyday conditions<br />
than F1 circuits. That means<br />
manufacturers can legitimately<br />
use success in WRC to advertise<br />
the quality of the everyday vehicles<br />
they sell.<br />
These attributes are also<br />
attracting other companies to<br />
WRC. We will not go far away from<br />
last year’s very small operating loss<br />
for the next financial year and in<br />
the current climate that is a very<br />
significant advertisement for what<br />
we are doing,” says Duncanson.<br />
Motorsport’s governing body<br />
the Fédération <strong>International</strong>e de<br />
56 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
MOTORSPORT:<br />
RALLY<br />
l’Automobile (FIA) seems satisfied<br />
with ISC’s trajectory since, in<br />
February this year, it was reappointed<br />
as global promoter of<br />
WRC until the end of 2020.<br />
“With our new powers as global<br />
promoter we now set the calendar.<br />
We’ve just signed a five year deal<br />
with Rally Finland and others will<br />
follow shortly,” says Duncanson.<br />
Freedom trail<br />
ISC has given promoters more<br />
creative freedom when it comes to<br />
the format of races.<br />
“We need to make more of<br />
a virtue of the sheer variety of<br />
experience and geographical reach<br />
which WRC can offer,” says Long.<br />
“By allowing organisers more<br />
flexibilty over the make-up of their<br />
event we anticipate being able to<br />
Ordinary cars... extraordinary action - Getty Images Sport<br />
connect with a wider landscape of<br />
communities, places and fans. The<br />
prospect of mixed surfaces will<br />
only add to the unpredictability and<br />
challenge which characterises the<br />
sport of rallying.”<br />
This particular opening up of<br />
the calendar may be something<br />
that the WRC has learned from<br />
its increasingly successful rival<br />
series, the Intercontinental Rally<br />
Challenge (IRC) which fans forums<br />
praise for its geographical range,<br />
varied calendar and roughly 50-50<br />
mix of asphalt and gravel rallies.<br />
For the IRC, 2009 certainly<br />
kicked off with a bang with the<br />
legendary Monte Carlo Rally, an<br />
emblematic event on the world<br />
sporting calendar and the most<br />
prestigious of all rallies. Monte-Carlo<br />
made the switch from the WRC to<br />
the IRC this year and will stay with<br />
IRC for 2<strong>01</strong>0, again providing a<br />
buzz to start the season.<br />
Since its inception in 2007, IRC<br />
has attracted a lot of attention not<br />
only from the public, but from rally<br />
promoters and car manufacturers<br />
(it now has seven on board).<br />
Manufacturers like the series,<br />
in part because of the number of<br />
rallies that are run per season (10<br />
in 2009 and 12 for 2<strong>01</strong>0) and in<br />
part because the series is less costly<br />
for them and for their drivers.<br />
Organisers like it because<br />
the IRC is less restrictive than<br />
the WRC and organisers,<br />
manufacturers and fans alike say<br />
the series retains the spirit of rally,<br />
harking back to what they perceive<br />
as the ‘good old days.’<br />
The 2009 IRC calendar<br />
continued the tried and trusted<br />
formula of combining well-known<br />
classic rallies with new events in<br />
emerging markets and next year<br />
will see new rallies in Argentina,<br />
Sardinia and Cyprus for the season<br />
finale. These geographical changes<br />
reflect the increasing prominence<br />
of the IRC in world motorsport<br />
after a successful and highly<br />
competitive 2009 season.<br />
For Geraldine Filiol, director<br />
general of Eurosport Events which<br />
created, owns and promotes the<br />
IRC, the series is a key plank of the<br />
company’s events portfolio.<br />
“We created the series because<br />
we saw a gap in the market, an<br />
opportunity to create a property to<br />
showcase and promote a number<br />
of rallies that were lacking in<br />
exposure. We created an umbrella<br />
brand and, through its promotion<br />
on Eurosport and elsewhere,<br />
we have healthy, growing,<br />
commercially successful and<br />
profitable series.”<br />
Next year will be season four<br />
for the IRC and it has grown to<br />
the point where Eurosport is now<br />
talking to potential title sponsors.<br />
Up until now, each individual rally<br />
promoter has had local sponsors,<br />
Filiol explains, but the series has<br />
not had a main partner.<br />
“We are now in a position where<br />
we are offering a mature, attractive<br />
property, with three seasons of<br />
growth and exposure behind it.”<br />
With Eurosport Events as<br />
its owner and promoter, a high<br />
quality of TV <strong>cover</strong>age and wide<br />
exposure were never in doubt. But<br />
2009 has seen a clear step change<br />
in innovation in terms of IRC<br />
broadcast and production.<br />
Broadcast innovation<br />
“We have the helicopter camera,<br />
the on-board cameras and this<br />
year we introduced live split times<br />
for each stage, as you would get<br />
in skiing. That means the viewer<br />
really has all the information to go<br />
with what they are seeing unfold.<br />
This year we have also produced<br />
more live <strong>cover</strong>age than ever<br />
before, with multiple stages<br />
<strong>cover</strong>ed live at three events in<br />
our calendar. Next year, five or six<br />
events will benefit from this live<br />
<strong>cover</strong>age of stages.”<br />
And the 2<strong>01</strong>0 Calendar will also<br />
see Eurosport providing a world<br />
premier with fully live <strong>cover</strong>age of<br />
all 14 stages of the Rally of Monte-<br />
Carlo, a feat so-far unprecedented<br />
in rally <strong>cover</strong>age.<br />
Filiol says that for Eurosport<br />
as promoters, the end game is to<br />
see IRC distributed worldwide via<br />
broadcast and online platforms,<br />
beyond Eurosport itself.<br />
This happens with another<br />
Eurosport property, the FIA WTCC.<br />
Filiol is confident that that scenario<br />
is not too far off.<br />
“In just three seasons, we have<br />
created a big buzz around our brand<br />
and around the series.<br />
“That has driven attendances<br />
and, of course, TV viewing and a<br />
wider exposure. It has really been a<br />
truly virtuous circle.”<br />
IRC viewing<br />
Year Events Total Reach (Different European viewers)<br />
2008 10 16.2 million<br />
2009 10 (so far this year) 25 million<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 57
MOTORSPORT:<br />
NASCAR<br />
for fans, has been delayed.<br />
So has construction of new ticket<br />
and merchandise sales buildings.<br />
“We’re a small state with a small<br />
population and we need all the help<br />
we can get,” Dover Motorsports<br />
president Denis McGlynn said.<br />
“With the economy the way it is<br />
and the finance industry so slow<br />
to lend money, we’ve got to wait a<br />
little while. Maybe another year or<br />
two, but we’re going to do it.”<br />
HITTING THE NUMBERS<br />
Barry Wilner says the surge in popularity and revenues experienced by Nascar earlier<br />
in the decade has subsided and the tough economy has inflicted some damage. But<br />
the stock car series remains one of America’s top sports.<br />
IT HAS BEEN an awful year for the<br />
US auto industry, with bankruptcy<br />
filings, rising unemployment, weak<br />
sales and a distrust of General<br />
Motors, Ford and Chrysler among<br />
the American public.<br />
Some of that negativity has<br />
filtered over to Nascar, yet the<br />
series still keeps company with<br />
baseball, college and pro basketball<br />
and college football in the US<br />
sporting landscape. All chasing the<br />
NFL of course.<br />
But there have been some<br />
setbacks for Nascar and heading<br />
into 2<strong>01</strong>0, they are issues the sport<br />
is attempting to address.<br />
“We’re always looking at ways<br />
to lower costs for the teams related<br />
to travel and everything that that<br />
means,” Nascar chairman Brian<br />
France said, noting that more twoday<br />
weekends might be scheduled<br />
to save on expenses.<br />
“The schedule has already been<br />
announced. The testing policy is<br />
out. We saw some (changes), but it<br />
won’t be dramatic.<br />
“We have people in every<br />
division that understand everything<br />
from the team owners’ direct cost<br />
to the per-event cost and everything<br />
in between. We have quite a<br />
command of that.’’<br />
On the sponsorship side,<br />
Nascar has had to adjust to<br />
sponsor defections more often<br />
in the last two years than anyone<br />
would have projected. For 2<strong>01</strong>0,<br />
Richard Childress Racing has lost<br />
Jack Daniels, the famed bourbon<br />
distillery and a loyal participant<br />
in the sport for years. “While it is<br />
difficult for us to end our formal<br />
relationship with RCR, the current<br />
economic environment has<br />
compelled us to re-evaluate our<br />
spending, and we’ve concluded<br />
that other areas in the marketing<br />
mix require additional investment,”<br />
said Tim Rutledge, vice president<br />
and brand director for Jack Daniels.<br />
Investments on hold<br />
Petty, the most successful driver<br />
in stock car history and Nascar’s<br />
resident icon, searched long and<br />
hard for a partner who could keep<br />
his company afloat.<br />
RPM had not won since 1999,<br />
but when it merged with Gillett-<br />
Evernham Motorsports to begin<br />
2009, Petty’s group got star driver<br />
Kasey Kahne into one of its cars.<br />
Kahne won at Sonoma in the<br />
spring, then qualified for the Chase<br />
for the Sprint Cup, a first for any<br />
Petty-associated driver.<br />
But Chrysler’s deep financial<br />
problems plagued all of the RPM<br />
teams, with the Dodge brand<br />
offering less and less factory support<br />
throughout the season. Finally, in<br />
October, Petty agreed a merger with<br />
the Yates team for 2<strong>01</strong>0.<br />
Dodge though remains<br />
committed to the sport.<br />
Ralph Gilles, the new head<br />
of Dodge’s car brand, says the<br />
manufacturer will remain in<br />
Nascar because development and<br />
marketing of Dodge vehicles “still<br />
works’’ through its participation<br />
in Nascar.”<br />
Then there were the tracks.<br />
Even Nascar’s most popular<br />
track, Bristol Motor Speedway<br />
in Tennessee, had issues in the<br />
sponsorship area this year.<br />
“We had a lot of corporate<br />
sponsors actually cut their<br />
allocation because of the economy,<br />
so a lot of fans who had been<br />
wanting to come to our race<br />
for years but hadn’t been able<br />
to get tickets actually had that<br />
opportunity,” said BMS spokesman<br />
Kevin Triplett.<br />
“We’ve had to spend more in<br />
advertising than we ever have. We<br />
haven’t advertised Cup tickets in 13<br />
years. But we had to do that.”<br />
Darlington Raceway, which<br />
has a Cup race on Mother’s Day<br />
weekend in May, has already cut<br />
ticket prices on more than half<br />
of its seats for the Southern 500.<br />
Darlington executives surveyed<br />
customers and found that many<br />
planned to stay away because ticket<br />
costs were too high.<br />
“We’ve faced hardships before,”<br />
Darlington president Chris<br />
Browning said. “We always seem<br />
to be able to adjust. Hopefully,<br />
the whole country will adjust and<br />
move on.”<br />
Some racetracks have put<br />
upgrades, whether for fan comfort<br />
or racing considerations, or both,<br />
on hold.<br />
At Dover Downs, where the two<br />
Nascar weekends each year are the<br />
only significant sporting events<br />
held in Delaware, work on a new<br />
garage, including rooftop viewing<br />
On-site gambling<br />
One intriguing way for the tracks<br />
to enhance revenue streams could<br />
be through on-site gambling.<br />
Dover is considering it, with live<br />
gaming tables to go with slot<br />
machines that already exist.<br />
Nascar has yet to pass judgment<br />
on such a proposal, and McGlynn<br />
notes that Las Vegas is a regular<br />
stop on the circuit.<br />
Plus, Delaware has legalised<br />
sports betting on a limited basis.<br />
“I think the sports betting could<br />
have had the ability to draw new<br />
people into Nascar just to give<br />
them some other reason to watch,”<br />
McGlynn said.<br />
Not as many eyeballs are<br />
watching on TV, although no<br />
trends are certain because some<br />
races just before and early in the<br />
Chase saw increases in viewership.<br />
Nascar’s contracts with Fox,<br />
ESPN/ABC, Turner and SPEED<br />
have four more years to run and<br />
net $4.48 billion for the eight-year<br />
deals. That makes one area where<br />
stock car racing is in excellent<br />
shape, although make-goods to the<br />
broadcasters are possible should<br />
ratings slip excessively - something<br />
NBC has done in the past for lowrated<br />
Olympics.<br />
As for the folks in the stands,<br />
well, when you are still averaging<br />
six-figure crowds, how negative<br />
a slant can anyone place on your<br />
sport Yes, some tracks have<br />
struggled to fill up, particularly<br />
those outside racing hotbeds. But<br />
others venues remain touch tickets.<br />
“This year, obviously, everyone<br />
has seen changes in attendance,<br />
but we’re still averaging about<br />
110,000 fans per event,” said<br />
Nascar spokesman Ramsey Poston.<br />
“Two or three years ago, the<br />
average was closer to 120,000.<br />
“But given where we are in<br />
the country with the economy,<br />
we think this shows how strong<br />
Nascar is. To keep hitting those<br />
numbers is very reassuring.”<br />
58 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
As one of motor racing’s top-3 and fastest growing events, the<br />
production bike series FIM Superbike World Championship (SBK)<br />
features the world‘s leading manufacturers Aprilia, BMW, Ducati,<br />
Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha. It stages 13 rounds in<br />
12 countries, making it a truly global event with two billion TV<br />
contacts every year.<br />
SBK is arguably the most exciting form of motor sports offering a<br />
format of two races plus the FIM Supersport World Championship<br />
and its support classes.<br />
With superstars like Max Biaggi (ITA), Troy Corser (AUS), James<br />
Toseland (GBR) or Nori Haga (JAP) and fast newcomers including<br />
Max Neukirchner (GER), Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam<br />
(both GBR), SBK is really a fantastic viewing. All Superbikes are<br />
competitively engineered to boost performance, with top speeds<br />
exceeding 300 km/h.<br />
As promoter of the FIM Superbike World Championship and<br />
partner of the Fédération <strong>International</strong>e de Motocyclisme (FIM),<br />
Infront Sports & Media exclusively holds all types of commercial<br />
rights to the FIM Superbike World Championship and provides<br />
clients with a top TV product, a first class sponsorship platform<br />
and high quality event services.<br />
Infront – Racing action at its best.
MOTORSPORT:<br />
MOTORCYCLING<br />
Rossi rides high - Getty Images Sport<br />
Both MotorGP and World<br />
Superbikes continue to<br />
defy the downturn with<br />
new TV deals and the<br />
addition of new sponsor<br />
partners. But is MotoGP,<br />
at least, basing too much<br />
of its value on its biggest<br />
star, Valentino Rossi<br />
By Richard Gillis.<br />
IN THE HECTIC HOURS after<br />
Valentino Rossi secured the 2009<br />
MotoGP World Championship<br />
in Malaysia, his fourth with the<br />
Yamaha Racing team and ninth<br />
overall, Lin Jarvis, the team’s<br />
managing director was hedging<br />
questions as to the future.<br />
It’s not news that Yamaha are<br />
desperate to keep him: “I don’t<br />
think I can convince Valentino to<br />
continue racing (after 2<strong>01</strong>0, when<br />
his contract runs out), that’s up to<br />
him, but I’ll certainly do my best to<br />
make sure he’s on a Yamaha if he<br />
does,” said Jarvis.<br />
Rossi is arguably the greatest<br />
ever, reaching the rarefied air<br />
occupied by that small group of<br />
stars for whom history can talk<br />
louder than money. Ahead of him<br />
is Giacomo de Agostini’s record of<br />
123 grand prix career wins, a mark<br />
that Rossi, who has amassed 102<br />
career victories, has admitted to<br />
‘thinking out loud about’.<br />
To keep their man, Yamaha are<br />
making a legacy play, with talk of<br />
a brand ambassador role and long<br />
term tie-ups: their hunch is that<br />
the Italian will sell bikes long after<br />
he’s stopped riding them.<br />
But Rossi’s future is not just an<br />
issue for the Japanese motorcycle<br />
industry. It holds the key to<br />
commercial future of the entire<br />
sport. “It’s hard to overstate how<br />
important Rossi is to motorbike<br />
racing,” says David Emmett,<br />
editor of motomatters.com, the<br />
influential website. “He’s a oncein-a-generation<br />
type, combining<br />
riding genius with real charisma.”<br />
When energy drinks brand<br />
Monster consolidated its move into<br />
motorsport, it was Rossi they chose<br />
as their Trojan horse, signing up a<br />
two year deal worth in the region<br />
of $3.2 million to the rider, plus an<br />
extra $650,000 for claiming this<br />
year’s MotoGP title.<br />
But Rossi’s retirement date,<br />
2<strong>01</strong>1 is mentioned regularly,<br />
For now at least, the sport<br />
continues to reap the benefit of<br />
his participation. In 2008, rights<br />
holders Dorna hired IMG to sell<br />
media rights outside the core<br />
markets of Italy, Spain and UK,<br />
which Dorna handles in-house.<br />
This led to a spate of TV deals<br />
in key markets, with free-to-air<br />
terrestrial a significant component<br />
of the strategy. In the UK, the BBC<br />
bought five years of MotoGP’s<br />
full inventory, including exclusive<br />
rights to show all races - 125cc,<br />
250cc and MotoGP itself, plus<br />
qualifying sessions.<br />
60 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
MOTORSPORT:<br />
MOTORCYCLING<br />
Of these, only MotoGP races<br />
will be shown live on the BBC’s<br />
main free-to-air channels, with<br />
the rest shown on their interactive<br />
service and online. Additional<br />
<strong>cover</strong>age of MotoGP races will<br />
also be available on the hugely<br />
successful BBC iPlayer.<br />
Filling the gap<br />
In France, the AB Groupe and<br />
Eurosport France signed for<br />
three years 2<strong>01</strong>1, with the digitalterrestrial<br />
channel NT1 taking all<br />
18 MotoGP races while cablesatellite<br />
channel Eurosport France<br />
screening practice and qualifying<br />
sessions and all three races live<br />
on Sunday. Likewise, in Germany<br />
DSF committed to 170 hours of<br />
<strong>cover</strong>age per year.<br />
From a sponsorship point of<br />
view, MotoGP can also look back at<br />
the end of 2008-09 with at a roster<br />
of new partners. The credit crunch<br />
came at a time when motorsport<br />
was still weaning itself off tobacco<br />
money, and new categories of<br />
partner - betting, insurance,<br />
finance and most recently, energy<br />
drinks such as Monster - have<br />
helped fill the gap.<br />
But there does remain a gap,<br />
something Dorna Sports have<br />
never been afraid to acknowledge.<br />
Part of the answer may lie in cost<br />
cutting. But cost cutting is a trigger<br />
issue for MotoGP. Slash budgets to<br />
suit the new economic reality and<br />
the series runs the danger of losing<br />
its bleeding edge image, narrowing<br />
the gap between MotoGP and<br />
Superbikes, its perennial rival.<br />
The annual cost for a<br />
manufacturer team in MotoGP<br />
varies between 5 million and<br />
10 million per annum and<br />
beyond. The smaller, privately<br />
owned teams budget for up to<br />
2 million. For Superbikes, team<br />
costs are considerably lower due to<br />
harmonisation of parts and tyres,<br />
and the fact they race on-road bikes<br />
rather than prototypes.<br />
One obvious place where cost<br />
cuts may come in is in the riders’<br />
contracts. Along with Rossi,<br />
the front of the MotoGP grid is<br />
dominated by Jorge Lorenzo, Casey<br />
Stoner and Dani Pedrosa - all tied<br />
to multi-million Euro contracts.<br />
But from fifth place down - there<br />
is often twenty seconds between<br />
fourth and fifth place - the salary<br />
cuts might be deep.<br />
“The riders were paid crazy<br />
amounts,” says Herve Poncharal,<br />
team owner of the Monster Tech<br />
3 Yamaha team, who suggests the<br />
market, rather than legislators, will<br />
deal with the issue.<br />
The riders that are coming to<br />
the end of their contract in 2009,<br />
he says will see sharp falls in<br />
fees. ‘Apart from the Untouchables<br />
- it will be 50, 60, 70 per cent<br />
down. That will be a big, big<br />
saving. We always talk about the<br />
bike, but the riders department is<br />
sometimes bigger than the cost of<br />
the bike.”<br />
As Formula One has shown,<br />
with the Brawn GP team in<br />
particular leading the way,<br />
lowering costs means that the price<br />
demanded of sponsors for title<br />
partnerships, the key commercial<br />
revenue stream for most teams, is<br />
lowered, raising hopes of drawing<br />
a broader constituency of brands<br />
into the sport.<br />
This is something that should<br />
perhaps be the aim of both<br />
MotoGP and Superbikes.<br />
As ever, broadcast exposure<br />
will be critical in determining<br />
sponsor revenues and in October<br />
2009, Infront Motor Sports,<br />
the commercial rights owner of<br />
Superbikes, struck an important<br />
and wide ranging TV deal with<br />
Eurosport Group, which gave the<br />
pan-European broadcaster the<br />
TV and digital rights to the FIM<br />
Superbike World Championship<br />
(SBK) for the 2<strong>01</strong>0, 2<strong>01</strong>1 and 2<strong>01</strong>2<br />
seasons. The deal includes the<br />
support classes FIM Supersport<br />
World Championship and FIM<br />
Superstock 1000 Cup.<br />
This pan-European agreement<br />
includes all 59 territories <strong>cover</strong>ed<br />
by Eurosport which promises<br />
an increased number of live<br />
broadcasts and that 24 out of 26<br />
races will be shown live or delayed<br />
on either Eurosport or Eurosport 2.<br />
Superbkes - Getty Images Sport<br />
“We have not only signed a very<br />
significant TV agreement with<br />
Eurosport, but also secured<br />
additional media <strong>cover</strong>age across<br />
Europe and Asia during the last<br />
two years,” explains Stephan Herth,<br />
executive director of Summer<br />
Sports, Infront Sports and Media.<br />
“The sponsorship market has<br />
been slower, but is looking brighter<br />
for 2<strong>01</strong>0 although our targets for<br />
hospitality remain conservative.”<br />
Hospitality matters<br />
The hospitality side of the<br />
business, he says, is a real point of<br />
difference for Superbikes, allowing<br />
VIPs to get very close to the teams<br />
down in the pit. This informality is<br />
attractive, and broadens the appeal<br />
of the sponsorship.<br />
On the key difference between<br />
motorcycling’s top two series,<br />
Herth says. “MotoGP is more<br />
about R&D while Superbikes<br />
is about marketing for the<br />
manufacturers, that’s why all major<br />
brands are in the series, compared<br />
to say four of the manufacturers<br />
who remain in MotoGP. For the<br />
manufacturers, World Superbikes<br />
offers greater benefits in terms of<br />
a direct link between what fans see<br />
on TV and the type of bikes they<br />
can go and buy on the high street.<br />
“The great advantage we have<br />
is that we have seven major<br />
manufacturers in the series, which<br />
is a tangible sign that they see<br />
value in Superbikes.<br />
“For MotoGP, Rossi is very<br />
outstanding and the TV rights<br />
market responds quickly to<br />
personalities,” says Herth,<br />
“Without local heroes it makes<br />
the job of selling media rights<br />
more difficult. It is up to Dorna<br />
to find a new Rossi, and that is a<br />
formidable challenge.<br />
It certainly is and with the man<br />
himself, aged 29, stating, “I will<br />
ride until I’m 31 or 32 at most,”<br />
earlier this year, the curtain calls<br />
on the great rider’s career will be<br />
watched closely by a varied group<br />
of stakeholders, from fans and<br />
rival team members, through TV<br />
executives and sponsor directors<br />
through to the rights owners of<br />
both MotoGP and Superbike series.<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 61
RIGHTS FOCUS:<br />
JUMP RACING<br />
JUMPING FOR<br />
SUCCESS<br />
The National Hunt horse racing season is in full swing, attracting large<br />
crowds and betting revenues. As Adrian Hill explains, British Jump racing<br />
is in rude health.<br />
BY ANY REASONABLE MEASURE the British<br />
Racing industry is at the forefront of the UK<br />
sporting and leisure markets, and the Jump<br />
racing sector plays a major part in that success<br />
story. The quality and breadth of the National<br />
Hunt scene in the British Isles is unrivalled<br />
anywhere else in the world.<br />
The Grand National and the Cheltenham<br />
Festival are renowned as two of the UK’s<br />
top sporting events, attracting extensive TV<br />
<strong>cover</strong>age. While 5.7 million spectators attended<br />
the 60 tracks operating in Britain in 2008, a<br />
figure second only to football among UK sports.<br />
Bearing in mind that the highlights of the<br />
National Hunt season occur during the winter<br />
and early spring months, a tally of two million<br />
people going through the gates to see steeple<br />
chasing is some achievement.<br />
According to the British Horseracing<br />
Authority’s Economic Impact report, UK<br />
racecourses produced revenue of £456 million<br />
in 2008 - a sum bettered only by football and<br />
£90 million more than the third-placed sport,<br />
rugby union.<br />
“I think British racing is in a pretty healthy<br />
state,” says Alan Switzer, director of the Sport<br />
Business group at Deloitte which produced the<br />
study. “Our report relies mostly on data from<br />
2008. Due to the recession, in some instances<br />
the figures might show peaks for some time. But<br />
attendances, the number of racehorse owners<br />
and media <strong>cover</strong>age are all in a healthy state.<br />
Crowds in 2009, up until the end of September,<br />
were marginally up too.”<br />
The report also reveals that the UK<br />
government was handed £325 million in tax<br />
income from British racing and its role as a<br />
very significant employer. Only a handful of<br />
British rugby stadia could accommodate the<br />
18,600 working full-time within the core racing<br />
industry, while if those who earn a living from<br />
related fields, such as betting, are included<br />
even Twickenham would not be big enough. An<br />
estimated 100,000 people directly or indirectly<br />
look to racing for their livelihoods. Success<br />
comes from investment and £706 million<br />
worth of capital resources were spent on the<br />
racecourses from 2004 to 2008. This added<br />
to the annual £400 million that the 50,000<br />
racehorse owners contribute, a significant<br />
proportion of which is inbound from major<br />
overseas benefactors.<br />
The effect of the recession has made the<br />
loyal band of owners dwindle slightly. Racing<br />
is an expensive sport, although unlike its Flat<br />
counterpart, Jump racing at the highest level,<br />
is not the sole playground of the extravagantly<br />
wealthy. Switzer reports that owners are feeling<br />
the pinch.<br />
“The number of owners has gone down this<br />
year, but has by no means fallen off the cliff.<br />
Where we have seen a marked decline is in<br />
bloodstock, the buying and selling of horses.<br />
However, the big yearling sales in October held up<br />
reasonably well, thanks to the support of wealthy<br />
benefactors such as the Maktoum family.”<br />
Affluent patriarchs<br />
The seriously affluent racing patriarchs tend to<br />
concentrate on the Flat, where the long-term<br />
bounty available from the breeding of champion<br />
racehorses dwarfs prize money. A top-class<br />
stallion earns a five-figure stud fee, with recently<br />
retired Derby and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe<br />
hero Sea The Stars expected to attract nearly<br />
£100,000 every time he is matched with a mare.<br />
The practice of gelding top-class National<br />
Hunt performers means that avenue is not<br />
open to its owners and a major attraction<br />
of the winter sport is the continuity<br />
provided by its top horses returning<br />
season after season. Followers identify<br />
with them and there is a clear structure<br />
to the campaign, with Cheltenham and<br />
Aintree providing a rousing climax.<br />
Take the two superstars of the respective<br />
racing codes in Europe this year. Sea The Stars<br />
has been packed off to stud after a career of only<br />
two years while Cheltenham Gold Cup winner<br />
Kauto Star aims to retain his crown next March<br />
to round off a sixth campaign in the UK, having<br />
previously raced in France.<br />
“It’s a fantastic storyline for broadcasters<br />
and the public at large,” says Peter McNeile,<br />
Cheltenham’s sponsorship director. “If Channel<br />
4 were to ever lose the Festival, their interest<br />
in racing would probably wane. If a horse wins<br />
a race in December there is always talk about<br />
which race at the festival it is being aimed at - it<br />
engages the occasional viewer.”<br />
Cheltenham - Getty Images Sport<br />
62 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
Thanks to Channel 4, whose racing output is<br />
paid for by the sport to the tune of £3 milion per<br />
year, Jump racing has two hours of terrestrial<br />
broadcasting time every Saturday during the<br />
winter, a regular audience of 1m viewers<br />
each week. Add in nearly 15.7 million<br />
watching the BBC’s <strong>cover</strong>age of the Grand<br />
National meeting and the cumulative reach<br />
for Jumping each year is in excess of 46<br />
million viewers.<br />
In addition to that, Racing UK (Sky 432, Virgin<br />
536, Corus ntl 411) broadcasts more than 650 live<br />
flat and jump meetings a year, with commentary,<br />
debate and tipping from 30 of the UK’s top<br />
racecourses. The specialist channel is indicative<br />
of the enduring appeal of horse racing. Despite<br />
reverting to independent status following the<br />
departure of Pay TV partner, Setanta, from the UK<br />
in May, it now boasts more than 38,000 residential<br />
subscribers, 5,000 more than it had as a standalone<br />
channel pre-Setanta.<br />
During a recession, racing more than ever<br />
needs the stimulus that the characters of the<br />
jumping game provide. The Levy (the sport’s<br />
revenue from betting) has fallen, due in large<br />
UK Racecourse Revenues<br />
2005<br />
£m<br />
2008<br />
£m<br />
Admissions 98 120<br />
Catering (raceday) 80 100<br />
On-course betting 11 9<br />
Media 42 57<br />
Sponsorship 16 20<br />
Other commercial 51 61<br />
Levy distributions 89 89<br />
Total revenue 387 456<br />
Source: BHA; Racecourse financial statements and BHA<br />
returns; Deloitte estimates.<br />
part to external influences at work, which<br />
Switzer believes need to be challenged. “It’s<br />
down to three factors,” Switzer explains. “Firstly,<br />
there has been an increase in online offshore<br />
betting operators (who are not compelled to<br />
contribute to the Levy). Secondly, there’s the<br />
so-called `high roller effect` - the large punters<br />
who have not been participating as much as in<br />
previous years - and lastly the underlying general<br />
decline in betting.<br />
“Racing really needs to address this, perhaps<br />
by creating new bets where punters do not<br />
require a great knowledge of the sport but gives<br />
the prospect of a low stake-high return.<br />
“The on-course Tote has suffered due to a<br />
fall in the level of average stake, rather than the<br />
number of bets made. People are still going<br />
racing; they are just putting less money on per<br />
bet. Corporate hospitality is down by 20-25%, as<br />
has happened with other sports. Companies are<br />
being more cautious about being seen to make<br />
this kind of spend these days.”<br />
Corporate sales<br />
Racing is certainly not alone in seeing a<br />
downturn in corporate sales, but it is only one<br />
of the instruments racecourses use to generate<br />
their impressive revenue streams. Admissions,<br />
catering, broadcasting, advertising and betting<br />
all add to the pot and the average day’s racing<br />
offers half-a-dozen gilt-edged opportunities<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 63
RIGHTS FOCUS:<br />
JUMP RACING<br />
for sponsors to put their names against races,<br />
earning local <strong>cover</strong>age but also national and<br />
international visibility through the vast network<br />
of betting shops and the web and print media.<br />
The majority of racing’s backers are in related<br />
fields but the sport in anxious to widen its net.<br />
“My nirvana is to have sponsors for most<br />
of our races who are not directly connected<br />
with racing,” McNeile confirms. “It’s great to<br />
have the bookmakers and others in the racing<br />
industry, but they don’t always have to be the<br />
lead partner. We need to garner sponsors from<br />
other walks of life. They will open doors for new<br />
opportunities for sale.<br />
“Our relationship with Ryanair (sponsor of a<br />
top race at the festival) is an example.<br />
Selling bundles<br />
“I often sell bundles of races to a sponsor, races<br />
that are not necessarily held at Cheltenham or<br />
other Jockey Club racecourses - so it benefits the<br />
sport at large. The Pertemps series has one race<br />
in Ireland, four in France and two outside of the<br />
Jockey Club Racecourses group.”<br />
Another example of that strategy is the<br />
Jewson Novices Hurdle Series - 16 races across<br />
6 months, which impresses the Jewson brand<br />
on the racing audience through newspaper and<br />
television. UK Jump racing’s wide geographical<br />
spread; with courses as far apart as Perth and<br />
Newton Abbot and Bangor and Folkestone, offers<br />
companies backing such series a chance to easily<br />
reach customers in a variety of locations.<br />
There are also options beyond event activity.<br />
“Obviously, the advertising and sponsorship<br />
market has been turbulent over the past year,”<br />
says Racing UK commercial director Nick<br />
Mills. “Overall we are very pleased with our<br />
retention. We have a very defined audience –<br />
predominantly male, 35-65, ABC1 – and our<br />
partners see clear benefits in maintaining open<br />
communication, regardless of the recession. We<br />
are also starting to see momentum in the market<br />
again, which is a reassuring sign.”<br />
A criticism of racing is that its public profile<br />
is all about a select few races in the calendar. The<br />
sport in the UK is slowly recognising this, with the<br />
Racing for Change initiative putting a particular<br />
focus on the complex web of Flat fixtures that is<br />
impenetrable to all but regular fans.<br />
Jump racing’s focus on the Cheltenham<br />
festival and Aintree’s Grand National meeting<br />
provides it with a better structure but efforts<br />
have been made to strengthen the ‘undercard’<br />
events - valuable race days that signpost towards<br />
the end-of -eason championship races.<br />
Cheltenham has made a push to promote its<br />
November `Open` meeting, which marks the<br />
start of a sequence of big occasions leading up<br />
to Christmas at Kempton Park - the traditional<br />
mid-season bookmark that incorporates the<br />
valuable King George VI Chase on Boxing Day.<br />
The narrative of talented horses building their<br />
campaigns to peak in the spring is clearly laid<br />
out. McNeile is keen to put further exclamation<br />
marks against the key events.<br />
Cheltenham Statistics 2002-7 (millions)<br />
“As a racecourse operator, the best way to make<br />
money is to stage a fixture,” McNeile adds. “We<br />
get money from the Levy board, so there’s not<br />
the need to get people through the door. The<br />
bread and butter fixtures during the week are<br />
really betting shop products with a localised<br />
market. The big events need to be given that<br />
‘wow!’ factor, making it a social occasion.<br />
“If you have a quality product people will<br />
tend to oscillate towards it. Our job is to<br />
make as many of the best events as we can<br />
and encourage everyone to enjoy the sport by<br />
watching it close up.<br />
Watching on TV is great but there’s nothing<br />
like seeing what these guys go through - it’s a<br />
very exciting experience.”<br />
Up against the present tough economic<br />
background, marketing becomes all the more<br />
important. However, it doesn’t matter how slick<br />
the promotion if there isn’t the raw material to<br />
engage the punters. McNeile’s biggest concern<br />
comes down to brass tacks - quality competition<br />
on the track.<br />
“The biggest challenge feeding through this<br />
recession is the number of horses in training<br />
and how that impacts on the number of<br />
fixtures,” he says. “Animals may not be replaced<br />
as they reach the end of their careers, and that<br />
would feed down the food chain. When the<br />
economy picks up people may come back into<br />
the sport but there may not be the quality of<br />
animals to buy, and that would cause inflation in<br />
the value of bloodstock.<br />
“At Cheltenham we have a concern about<br />
what is happening in Ireland. The `Celtic Tiger`<br />
has caught a cold in a bad way. All-bar-one of our<br />
Festival sponsors have renewed but it makes us<br />
more vulnerable than other courses.<br />
However, it looks likely that more Irish horses<br />
will come over here to race, as the prize money<br />
in Ireland has taken a severe hit. People are<br />
saying they may as well come to the UK - the<br />
money may at least pay for the boat across the<br />
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007<br />
Prize Money 4,038 4,072 4,268 4,662 4,675 5,613<br />
Race Sponsorship 1,452 1,295 1,495 1,928 2,204 2,7<strong>01</strong><br />
Source: Jump Racing Focus 2009-2<strong>01</strong>0 edition<br />
Jump racing...never a smooth ride - Getty Images Sport<br />
Irish Sea.” Cheltenham is synonymous with the<br />
Irish invasion. - it just wouldn’t be what is without<br />
them - but there’s no resting on laurels at the<br />
UK’s premier Jump racing track.<br />
The industry’s Jump Racing Focus report,<br />
issued last month, states that National Hunt<br />
appeals to `virtually the entire age and sociodemographic<br />
profile of the UK at large` but it’s the<br />
young audience that needs to be strengthened.<br />
The Flat has chased the youth pound with<br />
top musical artists performing after racing, on<br />
hoped- for blissful sunlit summer evenings.<br />
Such schemes have transformed run-of-the-mill<br />
race days into events.<br />
The dark winter days seen in Britain are not<br />
conducive to such outdoor entertainment, but<br />
there are other ways to lure twenty-somethings<br />
into the enclosures.<br />
“Our core audience may be 35-55, but at the<br />
big events there is a significant 20-30 presence,”<br />
McNeile claims.<br />
“We went through a focus group exercise a<br />
few years ago which led to us to re-brand our<br />
junior tickets as 18-24. The research told us that<br />
this group is motivated to come racing but also<br />
wants it to be a big occasion.<br />
Thrilling proposition<br />
“Where we start and finish, and what makes us<br />
attractive to the younger audience, is the quality<br />
of the sport and our heritage. But we widen the<br />
experience for them with our retailing, with a<br />
vast array of shops on course,” said McNeile.<br />
The spirit of Jump racing is literally the<br />
thrill of the chase, the edge of the seat drama<br />
as mighty animals launch themselves over<br />
fearsome obstacles with the bravest of the brave<br />
- the jockeys - risking serious injury every time<br />
they saddle up.<br />
It’s always been a staple of the British winter<br />
and, in turbulent times, is more than holding its<br />
own. However, it must move with the times to<br />
maintain its position in the sporting firmament.<br />
64 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
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INTERNATIONAL FOCUS<br />
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66 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
INTERNATIONAL FOCUS<br />
MIDDLE EAST<br />
STRATEGY BEHIND THE SPEND<br />
Matthew Glendinning looks at the broader economic and strategic aims behind<br />
the spectacular event hosting success of the Gulf states.<br />
THE SPORTS INDUSTRY may occasionally<br />
feel like it rules the universe, especially when<br />
bankers are having a bad day. But the sheer scale<br />
of the global tourism industry puts even the<br />
sports sector in the shade.<br />
The United Nations states that sport accounts<br />
for as much as three per cent of global economic<br />
activity. Impressive enough, but the UN’s World<br />
Tourism Organisation estimates that tourism<br />
makes up 10 per cent of world GDP.<br />
Small wonder that the new country or city<br />
entrants to sports event hosting in the Middle<br />
East see the promotion of tourism as a major<br />
part of their brief.<br />
At the tourism industry trade show ‘World<br />
Travel Market’, staged at London’s Excel<br />
Centre in November, those UN numbers were<br />
supported by the thousands [50,000 attended in<br />
2008] of delegates swarming the eye-catching<br />
exhibition stands.<br />
In the Middle East section, a falconer in<br />
traditional Arab dress held out a hooded bird on<br />
a gloved arm to intrigue passers-by in front of<br />
the Egypt stand. The Abu Dhabi desk next door,<br />
staffed, admittedly, by three London girls in<br />
flowing golden robes, was located in front of an<br />
artificial waterfall.<br />
On the first floor of Abu Dhabi’s mobile<br />
exhibition unit - the one with the waterfall -<br />
SportBusiness caught up with Ahmed Hussein,<br />
who heads up sports and events marketing for<br />
the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA).<br />
It had been a good few weeks for the<br />
marketer. Yas Island, the $40 billion leisure and<br />
entertainment development containing the Yas<br />
Marina F1 track, had just been selected as the<br />
‘World’s Leading Tourism Development Project’<br />
by the World Travel Awards, the so-called travel<br />
industry ‘Oscars’.<br />
Yas Marina itself had won rave reviews for the<br />
inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, not least from<br />
Bernie Ecclestone who hailed the track as the<br />
best ever. “What they’ve done is unbelievable,”<br />
said F1’s impresario.<br />
In a month when the UK government<br />
baulked at a request of £5 million funding for<br />
the England 2<strong>01</strong>8 <strong>FIFA</strong> World Cup bid, the<br />
Emirate’s spending of a minimum $400m on<br />
Yas Marina seems from another world.<br />
But there are sound strategic reasons for the<br />
outlay, Hussein explains. “A world-class event<br />
like the F1 Grand Prix was always top of our wish<br />
list and with the right timing and hard work we<br />
have been able to make it happen, “he said.<br />
“The [F1] strategy comes from the<br />
government, which always backs initiatives for<br />
cultural heritage, economic diversity and so on.<br />
“Awareness [of Abu Dhabi] is one of the<br />
priorities and although an F1 Grand Prix sounds<br />
like a one-off, from this kind of activity we can plan<br />
a whole year of intentional motorsports events.<br />
“Before the F1 event, for example, we had three<br />
support races which provide the right seeds to start<br />
promoting the track and motor sports in general:<br />
the Chevrolet V8 Supercar Championship, the<br />
Porsche Supercup and GP2 Asia.<br />
“From F1 to production car racing, to more<br />
training and track days, we’re growing a new<br />
business very fast and in a couple of year’s time<br />
you will see a lot more events here.”<br />
While the event owner, Abu Dhabi<br />
Motorsports Management, a joint venture<br />
between the Government of Abu Dhabi and<br />
ALDAR Properties, has yet to measure the<br />
economic impact of the race, Hussein adds that<br />
“the feedback from normal public access the<br />
feedback from clippings from media and so<br />
on has been amazing. There was a lot of work<br />
done before and a there’s a lot of echo to come -<br />
harvesting the results after the race.”<br />
Ferrari World<br />
Then, of course there is Ferrari World, the<br />
Ferrari-branded theme park on Yas Island,<br />
which is set to open next year. “It’s a one of a<br />
kind,” says Hussein.<br />
“We will create a theme park around<br />
motorsport and Ferrari especially. After football,<br />
motor sport is a priority in Abu Dhabi and F1<br />
provides an opportunity for the industry to grow.<br />
It’s a good start for motor sport in Abu Dhabi.”<br />
If this understatement highlights the almost<br />
fantasy quality of the Emirate’s ambitions, the<br />
Gulf states in general are nevertheless shrewd<br />
operators in the sports industry with an eye on<br />
the big picture.<br />
“To compete in [the wider] economic sense,<br />
we need these kind of activates as a catalyst to<br />
build more infrastructure for better growth,”<br />
says Hussein.<br />
Coming up on the event radar, there is the<br />
<strong>FIFA</strong> Club World Club, hosted by Abu Dhabi at<br />
two venues, which have been upgraded for the<br />
event, the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium and<br />
the Zayed Sports City.<br />
Having hosted the AFC Asian Cup in 1996<br />
and with plans for future events in the pipeline,<br />
showcase football is also part of the overall<br />
strategy. “On the tourism side, we leverage on<br />
these kind of events which relate to the Abu<br />
Dhabi government’s strategy and we have a lot<br />
of big plans to get more of them,” says Hussein.<br />
But it’s not just motorsport and football. The<br />
Emirate’s major golf event, the Abu Dhabi Golf<br />
Championship, leads off the so-called ‘Desert<br />
Swing’ series at the start of the year en route to<br />
Doha and Dubai.<br />
So how does Abu Dhabi differentiate this<br />
event from those of its ambitious neighbours<br />
“Being in Abu Dhabi is the point of difference,”<br />
says Hussein bluntly.<br />
“There’s a different feeling here and without<br />
comparing, we complement the region. It’s a<br />
very healthy environment and we would wish<br />
to have a fourth or fifth big tournament held in<br />
the Gulf.<br />
“The golf events are more prestigious, more<br />
B2B, with more government involvement and<br />
stakeholder engagement over four wonderful<br />
days in Abu Dhabi and 12 days in the region.”<br />
As for the longer term, the strategy will be to<br />
keep looking at world class events and building<br />
up infrastructure, perhaps with the intention of<br />
bidding for the Olympic Games, as Qatar did for<br />
the 2<strong>01</strong>6 Games.<br />
But the Abu Dhabi Sports Council is also<br />
pursuing other avenues -creating events of its<br />
own like the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge<br />
and Abu Dhabi Triathlon, events that are not<br />
shared with any governing body or organisation.<br />
The Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge, for<br />
example, is a multi-sports race for teams of four,<br />
who race over six consecutive days across six<br />
disciplines: sea kayaking, cross orienteering,<br />
mountain biking, adventure running and rope<br />
activities (e.g. abseiling).<br />
The aim, says Hussein, is to spread<br />
awareness of the Emirate’s natural assets, from<br />
its water frontage and islands, to its sand dunes<br />
and mountains. This year, he adds, the race will<br />
attract 47 teams, up from 36 last year, and 25<br />
nationalities, up from 11 last year.<br />
Given the marketing savviness of the<br />
interviewee, it seemed reasonable to ask one<br />
more question about Abu Dhabi as a sports<br />
destination. What does the national brand<br />
represent The response was immediate.<br />
“Respect: our brand essence is respect, you will<br />
find more than 180 nationalities with us, and for<br />
visitors, locals, people of any ethnicity or religion,<br />
it’s about respect. It’s our main message.”<br />
Coherent, strategic and high-spending,<br />
western commentators are now anything but<br />
dismissive of the Middle East sports programme,<br />
in general, and Abu Dhabi’s F1, in particular.<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 67
INTERNATIONAL FOCUS<br />
MIDDLE EAST<br />
Alan Switzer, director in the Sports Business<br />
Group at Deloitte, is one analyst who believes<br />
the trend could be a win-win for both the region<br />
and sporting organistions.<br />
“In recent years, emerging nations and<br />
particularly those in the Gulf region have sought<br />
to use sport as a way to raise the profile of<br />
their city, country or region. There is no more<br />
prestigious global sporting event that a country<br />
can host over a single weekend than a Formula 1<br />
Grand Prix,” says Switzer.<br />
“Staging a Grand Prix brings many visitors to<br />
a region, both individual tourists drawn by the<br />
race and commercial visitors from race teams,<br />
sponsors or other partners.<br />
This provides a direct opportunity to<br />
showcase what a country has to offer. Television<br />
<strong>cover</strong>age of the race brings an indirect<br />
opportunity and the Middle East is well placed to<br />
maximise exposure in prime European markets<br />
with the race starting at 5 pm local time, or 1pm<br />
in the UK.”<br />
Looking forward, Switzer is confident the<br />
investement story will run and run. “The trend<br />
for international sporting events taking place in<br />
emerging nations is here to stay, and may even<br />
increase. Sport is being used as a way to market<br />
the hosts to potential new investors or tourists<br />
while bringing new audiences to the sports.”<br />
Giving credit where its due, however, it was<br />
the UAE neighbour Dubai which instigated the<br />
sport tourism revolution in the Gulf with events<br />
like Dubai Duty Free tennis, which is now 17<br />
years old. It has grown up to become an ATP<br />
World Tour 500 series event. Dubai will also<br />
host next year’s SportAccord Convention.<br />
New ground<br />
And Dubai continues to break new ground<br />
with the building of Dubai Sports City, which<br />
includes a 60,000 capacity outdoor stadium, a<br />
25,000 capacity cricket stadium, a 10,000-seat<br />
indoor arena and a 5,000-seat hockey stadium,<br />
all coming on stream within the current<br />
Olympic cycle.<br />
In addition, the multi-billion dollar 60,000<br />
capacity Meydan Racecourse in Dubai is set to<br />
open in 2<strong>01</strong>0 and promises to boast the best<br />
facilities of any racecourse in the world. It will<br />
stage the richest race in the world, the Dubai<br />
World Cup.<br />
Dubai is also hosting the PGA European<br />
Tour’s season-ending World Championship,<br />
while another prestige event for the sports<br />
industry, the annual SportAccord Convention<br />
will be hosted in Dubai next April - the first time<br />
the event has been hosted in the Middle East.<br />
Over 1,500 leading representatives of<br />
international sport, including IOC president<br />
Jacques Rogge, the IOC executive board and<br />
over 100 international sports federations will<br />
gather at the Atlantis resort, host venue for<br />
the event. As Mattar Al Tayer, VC of the Dubai<br />
Sports Council, enthuses, “This is a wonderful<br />
opportunity for Dubai to welcome our existing<br />
sporting partners as well as to showcase, to<br />
new audiences, our advantages as a sporting<br />
community and host location.” But if Dubai has<br />
already made its name as an event and tourist<br />
destination, it’s the small gas-rich peninsula<br />
state of Qatar which continues to astonish with<br />
the scale of its event hosting ambitions.<br />
Although Doha failed to make the<br />
Candidate city cut for its Olympic 2<strong>01</strong>6 bid,<br />
Qatar is bidding with renewed energy for the<br />
right to host the <strong>FIFA</strong> World Cup in 2022.<br />
Doha’s staging of the Brazil versus England<br />
international friendly football match in<br />
November is just one of the initiatives seized<br />
upon to boost the campaign message.<br />
According to Professor Simon Chadwick, a<br />
consultant to sport businesses on the economic<br />
and commercial impact of sporting mega-events,<br />
Qatar’s major event strategy embraces tourism<br />
and economic development but also addresses a<br />
number of national development goals.<br />
“Qatar is getting it right: top-level support,<br />
a coherent national strategy, recognising the<br />
multiple roles that sport fulfils, investing<br />
appropriately, promoting a sporting culture - all<br />
are important in working towards the success of<br />
sport in its broadest terms,” he says.<br />
Indeed, Professor Chadwick argues that the<br />
Middle East is leading the way in terms of a new<br />
integrated sports strategy paradigm, which the<br />
world can learn from.<br />
“Given what I perceive to be a 21st century<br />
global mega-shift eastwards in the world’s<br />
sporting power base, I think the west has to<br />
pay much much more attention to Asian sport<br />
and can, indeed, learn a great deal from the<br />
integrated strategic models of sport now being<br />
implemented across the Middle East,” he says.<br />
“What is required of nations is for them to<br />
integrate the multiplicity of roles that sport<br />
fulfils. To do this requires national political<br />
intervention; this doesn’t mean state-run sport;<br />
it does mean that governments have to stimulate<br />
the creation of an environment … where the<br />
social, economic, cultural, education and health<br />
roles of sport co-exist and mutually strengthen<br />
one another.”<br />
Within this context, he would even advocate<br />
that Qatar tries again for the Olympic Games, as<br />
well as the 2022 World Cup. “I think it [Qatar]<br />
would bring an expertise and a competence,<br />
The England v Brazil friendly in Doha, a campaign coup for the Qatar 2022 bid - Getty Images Sport<br />
as well as a level of investment that would add<br />
a significant new dimension to the industrial<br />
architecture of world sport.<br />
Broad strategy<br />
“I particularly liked the way in which Qatar<br />
had considered how staging the Olympic<br />
Games would contribute to the nation’s broader<br />
strategic objectives.<br />
“In my view, if sport is not to lose its way,<br />
it has to demonstrate that it has a clear and<br />
tangible role to play in the 21st century.”<br />
The speed with which these Gulf states are<br />
turning theory into practice by hosting major<br />
events may be the most difficult for westerners<br />
to comprehend.<br />
The Sony Ericsson Championships, the<br />
season-ending tournament of the WTA Tour, for<br />
example, was successfully held in Qatar for the<br />
second time this year.<br />
In another move more explicitly about<br />
promotion of the country, in October, Qatar<br />
sponsored flat racing’s prestige Qatar Prix de<br />
L’Arc de Triomphe for the second year, a race<br />
won by the phenomenal ‘Sea The Stars’, a result<br />
which also worked wonders for the sponsorship<br />
in terms of international media profile.<br />
Of course, should Qatar or one of the other<br />
Gulf states succeed in a bid for one of the global<br />
mega events that would further increase the<br />
region’s sphere of influence.<br />
But even if they do not, in the medium term,<br />
no one can doubt that then Middle East model<br />
of a state-sponsored sports strategy aligned to<br />
tourism and economic diversity, but also nationbuilding,<br />
health, education and many other<br />
benefits, is here to stay.<br />
“I am not sure that westerners, in particular,<br />
know what is happening in the Middle East,”<br />
Chadwick concludes.<br />
“Indeed, when people here in the UK discuss<br />
Asian sport, they instinctively refer to China,<br />
then India and often don’t consider what is<br />
happening in places like Qatar.<br />
“But patience and perseverance will<br />
ultimately yield the desired outcome [for the<br />
Gulf states]. The strategic intent is there, the<br />
investment is there, and the justification for<br />
wanting to do it is there.”<br />
68 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
SIR CRAIG REEDIE<br />
IOC EXECUTIVE BOARD<br />
MEMBER<br />
THE SPORTBUSINESS DEBATE<br />
“Golf was the last great, international<br />
game not to be in the Olympics. It is<br />
set to become a significant part of the<br />
Games and that will give a particular<br />
boost to women’s golf.”<br />
“Which incidents, decisions and<br />
developments have had the<br />
greatest impact on the business<br />
of sport during 2009 and how will<br />
they influence the future”<br />
THE DECISION TO AWARD the 2<strong>01</strong>6 Games to<br />
Rio means that Brazil will now hold the world’s<br />
two biggest sporting events - the Olympic Games<br />
and <strong>FIFA</strong> World Cup - in quick succession. That<br />
is real evidence of the country’s emergence from<br />
Third World status and of the way that our world<br />
is changing.<br />
Elsewhere the World Swimming<br />
Championships in Rome provided evidence of a<br />
governing body facing up to a major issue and<br />
making the right decision.<br />
For some time swimming has been dogged<br />
by issues around swimwear. As with any sport,<br />
the difference between success and failure can<br />
be measured in millimetres and thousandths of<br />
seconds and swimming was, to an extent being<br />
determined by swimwear technicians and fabric<br />
developers as well as athletes.<br />
This is one of the world’s great natural sports<br />
and I am delighted that FINA has decided to take<br />
steps to return it to its natural state.<br />
The World Athletics championships in Berlin<br />
provided a fantastic showcase for the phenomenal<br />
talents of Usain Bolt whose exploits on the track<br />
has surely helped to move the sport of athletics<br />
forward. The event itself was very TV friendly.<br />
It looked distinctive and, of course, it helps<br />
when the home team does well. But it was two<br />
magic moments from Bolt which defined the<br />
athletics year and will do so much for the sport.<br />
I am pleased that the IOC completed its journey<br />
from Singapore to Copenhagen by adding two<br />
sports to the programme to replace those lost.<br />
I think golf was the last great international<br />
game not to be in the Olympic programme and<br />
its inclusion will be of an enormous benefit to<br />
the sport. It is set to become a significant part of<br />
the Games and that will give a particular boost to<br />
women’s golf.<br />
Likewise, the inclusion of Rugby Sevens<br />
will help the development of the rugby code<br />
worldwide. The 15-a-side game would be<br />
impossible to accommodate during an Olympic<br />
Games but Sevens will provide a global platform<br />
for some of the emerging rugby nations such as<br />
Kenya, to show what they can do.<br />
On the face of it, 2009 may not go down as a classic sporting year. Of course<br />
there were many, many highlights among the hardy perennials which<br />
decorate the sporting landscape, but it was a year which lacked either of the<br />
two sporting mega-events, the Olympic Games or <strong>FIFA</strong> World Cup.<br />
Yet 2009 remained an important year for sport in many other ways. It<br />
was a year which saw sport breaking new ground in key areas and one<br />
which saw the potential revival of an elemental sporting discipline which<br />
has been too long in the doldrums.<br />
This will go down as a year in which the geography of sport continued to<br />
change. The shock elimination of Chicago in the first round of voting for<br />
the host city of the 2<strong>01</strong>6 Olympic Games sent out a signal that nothing<br />
would ever be the same again.<br />
American influence appears to be on the wane within the Olympic<br />
Movement while that of emerging nations continues to grow. That Rio won<br />
and will be the first South American host of the Greatest Show may be seen<br />
as evidence of a New World Order.<br />
That view is given further credence by the energy and enthusiasm being<br />
demonstrated by the State of Qatar in the sports sector. The tiny but hugely<br />
wealthy Gulf State is busy with an ambitious but ultimately credible bid to<br />
host the 2022 <strong>FIFA</strong> World Cup while news of a bid for the 2020 Olympic<br />
Games has also emerged.<br />
Were the IOC to adopt a more relaxed policy to the timing window for<br />
the Games, the door would be open to serious bids not only from Qatar but<br />
also from the other Gulf States whose stupendously hot summers would<br />
otherwise preclude them.<br />
The IOC also voted to include Golf in the Games, a move which brought<br />
an instant response in China which has embarked on a massive talent<br />
development and course building programme. Anybody prepared to bet on<br />
the next golfing megastar being from China rather than the US<br />
And then there’s athletics. In Berlin this summer, Usain Bolt put on a<br />
one man show which rolled back the years for a sport that had been in the<br />
doldrums. Bolt has helped breathe fresh life into the sport at the right time.<br />
With the new Diamond league set to debut in 2<strong>01</strong>0, track and field may be<br />
on its way back to sport’s top table.<br />
Each of these events and decisions ultimately had an impact on the<br />
business of sport and the opportunities and challenges it faced this year. We<br />
asked our experts for their personal points of view.<br />
70 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
PETER HUTTON<br />
CHIEF OPERATING<br />
OFFICER, TAJ TV<br />
PAUL SAMUELS<br />
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,<br />
AEG SPONSORSHIP<br />
KEVIN ROBERTS<br />
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR,<br />
SPORTBUSINESS GROUP<br />
“The new format [Twenty20] has<br />
certainly led to some huge deals, but<br />
it’s also created problems for the<br />
value of the traditional game.”<br />
“Teams, governing bodies and owners<br />
are going to have to perform, behave<br />
and play by the rules - they need to<br />
make the sponsorship sell easier,<br />
not harder.”<br />
“Whenever government interferes in<br />
the sports market, something goes<br />
wrong. Just look what happened<br />
when the European Union decided<br />
Sky had to give up part of its Premier<br />
League TV package.”<br />
IT’S BEEN A TOUGH YEAR. Even the Indian<br />
cricket board rights have decreased in value. The<br />
one-off tournaments that normally spring up<br />
every month have simply failed to find buyers.<br />
Currency fluctuations in our core markets in<br />
the Indian sub-continent also played a major role.<br />
Most rights were bought in US Dollars, most<br />
income was in Indian or Pakistani rupees, whose<br />
fall increased the pressures.<br />
The Champions League cricket was the most<br />
notable economic failure. ESPN-Star’s ten year,<br />
billion dollar acquisition, failed to excite<br />
advertisers or viewers to the degree expected and<br />
has considerable ground to make up. It was<br />
perhaps a reality check for the value of Twenty20<br />
cricket. The new format has certainly led to some<br />
huge deals, but it’s also created problems for the<br />
value of the traditional game. The smaller cricket<br />
boards have now realised, perhaps too late, that<br />
the IPL’s riches are based on the same<br />
advertisers that have brought them such<br />
increases in their own incomes over the years.<br />
The current arguments over cricket’s next<br />
five-year fixture plan sum up the consequences of<br />
overcrowding in the mind of the viewer and<br />
advertiser. The actual or effective windows for the<br />
ICC or IPL based events mean that the big four<br />
boards (India, England, Australia, South Africa)<br />
increasingly just want to play each other in the<br />
few months that remain.<br />
The power base of cricket has further shifted as<br />
the likes of the West Indies or New Zealand<br />
boards became more reliant on the hand-outs<br />
and favours from the ICC or the Indian board.<br />
Away from cricket, the developments in our<br />
Middle East backyard have been fascinating. Pay<br />
TV has made no business sense in the area.<br />
Rights figures have escalated way beyond the<br />
potential income from a small pay market.<br />
Showtime and Orbit have consolidated the<br />
English speaking audiences. ART and Al-Jazeera<br />
have consolidated the major football rights.<br />
Yet, Abu Dhabi media’s purchase of the Premier<br />
League and development of a major media hub in<br />
the UAE’s capital has led to the potential<br />
emergence of a new force in the region’s<br />
television game. The Abu Dhabi decisions on<br />
distribution and future strategy may well be a<br />
story to watch in 2<strong>01</strong>0.<br />
IT IS MAJOR INCIDENTS off the pitch which have<br />
rocked sport in 2009 - from the allegations of<br />
cheating by Briatore to the Harlequins Bloodgate<br />
scandal. These incidents along with the economic<br />
downturn will have corporate organisations<br />
revaluing their sponsorship spend.<br />
This hit to sponsorship revenue streams, along<br />
with the change to the major sporting television<br />
rights, could stunt sports investment.<br />
The industry needs to weigh up whether a<br />
greater audience watching a sport will lead to<br />
more interest and excitement in that sport, and<br />
ultimately participation at grass roots level.<br />
If it doesn’t, the lack of big money which was<br />
previously poured into sporting bodies through<br />
the purchase of TV rights will be hugely<br />
detrimental. Reducing investment in this area will<br />
see a lack of development across the board - and<br />
we only have to look back at the success of<br />
Beijing to realise how much direct investment in<br />
athletes can achieve.<br />
I am strong believer in naming rights and have<br />
no doubt this will be high on the agenda in 2<strong>01</strong>0.<br />
Spurs, Everton and Liverpool have all talked<br />
about new stadiums and the selling of naming<br />
rights offers brands strong opportunities to reach<br />
new audiences - but this is still in the very early<br />
stages. With established clubs like Chelsea and<br />
Newcastle looking for potential naming rights<br />
partners, they need to take into consideration the<br />
failings of The BT Cellnet Riverside Stadium and<br />
the Friends Provident St Mary’s Stadium, which<br />
have made me wonder if some owners and<br />
management teams really understand what<br />
naming rights is all about. Sports Direct.com @ St.<br />
James Park really sums this up.<br />
Commercially it is going to be another tough<br />
year, so players, teams, governing bodies and<br />
owners are going to have to perform, behave and<br />
play by the rules - they need to make the<br />
sponsorship sell easier not harder.<br />
With greater accountability we need to<br />
demonstrate ROI and the entire industry needs to<br />
be responsible for demonstrating its effectiveness<br />
to keep us at the forefront of marketing decision<br />
maker’s minds.<br />
IT WAS, ON THE FACE OF IT, a meaningless match.<br />
A dead World Cup qualifying rubber between<br />
Ukraine and an England team which had already<br />
qualified for the finals in South Africa.<br />
In fact it was so dead that no UK broadcaster<br />
was willing to meet the asking price for the rights,<br />
an unheard of situation in a football mad nation.<br />
So up stepped digital media company Perform to<br />
stream the game live over the internet at £4.99<br />
($6.30) a pop. The move created ripples<br />
internationally. While some sports events have<br />
routinely been streamed for years, this was the<br />
first time that a webcaster had stepped in to<br />
replace the anticipated television service for a<br />
major football international in quite this way.<br />
Perform claimed an audience of around 500,000<br />
and reviews of the service were distinctly mixed.<br />
But this is a Genie which can never be put back in<br />
its bottle. It provided proof absolute that the rights<br />
market for live sport is no longer a simple<br />
competition between established broadcasters and<br />
that - for certain properties in certain<br />
circumstances - there are new kids on the block.<br />
While this provided a glimpse into the future,<br />
2009 also saw the past re-emerging in the form of<br />
fresh Listed Events recommendations in the UK.<br />
These are the sports events which have to be<br />
shown live on free-to-air television, driving a coach<br />
and horses through the notion of free competition.<br />
The England and Wales Cricket Board is furious<br />
that there are moves for its Crown jewel event - the<br />
home Ashes tests against Australia - to be<br />
returned to the free domain from Sky Sports which<br />
shows ALL its other properties….even the less<br />
popular ones... The Board reckons it may cost<br />
them £100 million which would otherwise be<br />
ploughed back into sport.<br />
Whenever a government interferes in the sports<br />
market, something goes wrong. Just look what<br />
happened when the European Union decided<br />
BSkyB had to give up part of its Premier League TV<br />
package. Fans had to pay more and Setanta<br />
couldn’t make their minority interest work. And<br />
went bust.<br />
The result... chaos and financial misery for the<br />
people in football who can least afford it. So a<br />
memo to governments re 2<strong>01</strong>0: Back Off….Please.<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 71
THE WORLD’S TOP 20 … MOST INFLUENTIAL<br />
INDIVIDUALS IN THE SPORT BUSINESS<br />
Here are the results and analysis of the first SportBusiness poll to identify the individuals who<br />
have done most to shape the business of sport in 2009. The list has been complied from the<br />
results of voting in our readers’ poll on sportbusiness.com and the analysis of an expert panel.<br />
Of course, such lists always engender strong opinions, so we expect you to fully debate the final<br />
Top 20 at www.sportbusiness.com/poll.<br />
SportBusiness<br />
<strong>International</strong>’s<br />
take each<br />
month on<br />
the 20 most<br />
influential<br />
people or<br />
factors within<br />
specific sectors<br />
of sport...<br />
20. Casey Wasserman (WMG)<br />
As CEO of the company bearing his<br />
name, Wasserman is at the reins<br />
of the beast challenging IMG in the<br />
realm of sport representation through<br />
a series of mergers and acquisitions.<br />
Wasserman Media Group represents<br />
high-profile athletes in many US<br />
sports as well as golf, rugby, football<br />
and extreme sports. But management<br />
is only one arm of a company that<br />
also extends notably into the sale of<br />
naming rights. Wasserman set up his<br />
agency in 1998 and, around a decade<br />
later, it has annual revenues that<br />
approach $100 million.<br />
19. Mohamed Bin Hammam (AFC)<br />
As AFC President, Bin Hammam has<br />
overseen the creation and subsequent<br />
revamp of the AFC Champions<br />
League for the top clubs in Asia and<br />
the move of Australia into the AFC. In<br />
the words of no less an authority than<br />
Richard Scudamore, Bin Hammam’s<br />
vision for football development in<br />
Asia is both “progressive and exciting,<br />
providing opportunities to help the<br />
game flourish throughout the AFC<br />
for the benefit of football right across<br />
the region.” Also a member of <strong>FIFA</strong>’s<br />
executive committee, Bin Hammam<br />
has been heavily involved in sport<br />
in Qatar, a small gulf state with big<br />
sporting ambitions.<br />
18. Silvio Berlusconi (AC Milan)<br />
Into his third term as Italy’s prime<br />
minister, Berlusconi’s influence<br />
is undimmed. His investment<br />
company controls Italy’s three biggest<br />
private TV stations and in office,<br />
his appointees run the three public<br />
ones. His private business empire<br />
also spans advertising, insurance,<br />
food, construction and Italy’s most<br />
successful football club, AC Milan. His<br />
investment in the club ushered in the<br />
most successful period in its history,<br />
with seven domestic championships<br />
and five European Cups.<br />
17. Herbert Hainer (adidas)<br />
Under Hainer’s management, adidas<br />
has undertaken the titanic task of<br />
challenging Nike in the American<br />
market through sponsorships of the<br />
NBA, MLS, NFL and NHL, the latter<br />
two through subsidiary brand Reebok.<br />
Hainer was at the forefront of one of<br />
adidas’ finest moments two years ago<br />
when he survived a challenge from<br />
Nike to sponsor the German football<br />
federation, securing the sponsorship<br />
instead for adidas for under half the<br />
cash put on the table by its rivals.<br />
16. Ted Forstmann (IMG)<br />
The chairman and CEO of one of<br />
the world’s leading sports and<br />
entertainment groups, Forstmann’s<br />
influence stretches through<br />
investments in academies for<br />
young sports talent, to ownership<br />
of sports events, to elite athlete<br />
representation. Since acquiring IMG<br />
in 2004, Forstmann has expanded its<br />
business beyond sports and under<br />
his leadership, IMG helped create the<br />
Indian Premier League and signed a<br />
long-term joint-venture with CCTV to<br />
develop sports in China.<br />
15. Richard Scudamore (EPL)<br />
Scudamore heads up the richest and<br />
most powerful football league in the<br />
world. Chief executive since 1999, he<br />
has overseen growth in popularity of<br />
the league on an almost exponential<br />
scale, particularly in the Far East.<br />
Despite being shot down for his idea<br />
of a 39th game played outside of the<br />
UK, Scudamore came out of the latest<br />
domestic TV rights bidding smelling<br />
of roses having achieved a £1.782<br />
billion deal and is set to comfortably<br />
exceed the current international<br />
rights revenue, all despite a faltering<br />
domestic and global economy.<br />
14. Lalit Modi (IPL)<br />
As chairman and commissioner of the<br />
IPL, Modi oversees all that he surveys.<br />
One of the scions of Modi Enterprises,<br />
the industrial conglomerate founded<br />
in 1933, he is currently believed to be<br />
sitting on an empire worth around<br />
$1.5 billion. In 2005 he became the<br />
youngest vice-president of the Board<br />
of Control for Cricket in India and<br />
used this influence to put forward<br />
a proposal for the IPL. Set for its<br />
third season in 2<strong>01</strong>0, the league has<br />
become a by-word for innovative<br />
marketing in the launch of a new<br />
sports property.<br />
13. Philip Anschutz (AEG)<br />
Owner, among other interests, of<br />
the Anschutz Entertainment Group,<br />
Anschutz has built and created some<br />
of the world’s top sports venues,<br />
including the Staples Center and the<br />
Home Depot Center in Los Angeles,<br />
the O2 in London, and O2 World in<br />
Berlin. Through AEG he also owns<br />
stakes in an impressive list of sports<br />
ventures, including basketball teams<br />
the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los<br />
Angeles Sparks; football teams Los<br />
Angeles Galaxy, Houston Dynamo<br />
and Hammarby IF Fotboll; and ice<br />
hockey teams the Los Angeles Kings,<br />
the Manchester Monarchs, Eisbären<br />
Berlin and the Hamburg Freezers.<br />
12. Dick Ebersol (NBC Sports)<br />
As chairman of NBC Universal Sports,<br />
Ebersol is widely known as US TV’s<br />
‘Mr. Olympics’. He has been inducted<br />
into both the US Olympic Hall of Fame<br />
and the Broadcasting & Cable Hall<br />
of Fame. He oversees every aspect<br />
of NBC Universal’s Olympic Games<br />
<strong>cover</strong>age and his most significant<br />
achievements have been establishing<br />
NBC as the home of the Olympics<br />
and negotiating the six-year NFL deal<br />
which through to the 2<strong>01</strong>1 season with<br />
Super Bowls in 2009 and 2<strong>01</strong>2.<br />
11. Roger Goodell (NFL)<br />
Goodell is the top guy at the top<br />
sport in America, making him a<br />
very big fish in a very big pond. He<br />
manages one of the most sprawling<br />
and complex businesses in sports<br />
and is answerable to 32 franchise<br />
owners. The NFL is by far the biggest<br />
TV sports property in the US and its<br />
annual revenues are over $6 billion.<br />
Like the other Major League, US<br />
sports, his imperative of late has<br />
been in spreading the NFL message<br />
overseas. Under Goodell, the NFL<br />
has hosted regular season games<br />
in London and introduced a stripped<br />
down version of the sport into Chinese<br />
schools - moves the Commissioner<br />
hopes will win over new fans.<br />
10. Florentino Pérez (Real Madrid)<br />
A building magnate by ‘trade’,<br />
Florentino Pérez’s marketing vision<br />
for Real Madrid has seen him reprise<br />
72 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09
his role as club president with a new<br />
generation of ‘Galacticos’. Pérez<br />
famously signed Zidane, Figo and<br />
Beckham in his first term, but may<br />
have trumped their marketing power<br />
with new signings Kaka and Ronaldo.<br />
On signing with Real, players must<br />
submit to a clause that allows the<br />
club to take fifty per cent of every<br />
endorsement they receive whilst<br />
under contract at the club.<br />
9. Philip Knight (Nike)<br />
Philip Knight and Nike co-founder<br />
Bob Bowerman spawned a revolution<br />
in athletic footwear and a worldwide<br />
marketing powerhouse. Through<br />
astute marketing, including groundbreaking<br />
tie-ups with top athletes<br />
such as Michael Jordan, they built<br />
the company into the world’s leading<br />
athletic shoe and sports apparel<br />
maker. As Nike’s largest shareholder,<br />
Knight continues to take an active role<br />
in the company, overseeing continued<br />
growth, finding new markets and new<br />
products to push out.<br />
8. David Stern (NBA)<br />
Head of the NBA since 1984, Stern<br />
has overseen a period during which<br />
the world’s leading basketball league<br />
has added seven new franchises,<br />
increased revenues fifteen-fold, and<br />
established a full-time women’s<br />
league. The NBA credits Stern<br />
with having a hand in “virtually<br />
every matter that has shaped the<br />
league”. Achievements include the<br />
1976 settlement between players<br />
and league, the introduction of the<br />
salary cap and revenue-sharing,<br />
and the creation of the league’s<br />
media management organisation<br />
NBA Entertainment. Stern has<br />
also overseen the NBA’s $2 billion<br />
investment in NBA China, capitalising<br />
on the sport’s popularity in the world’s<br />
most-populous country.<br />
7. George Bodenheimer (ESPN)<br />
Under his tenure, ESPN has grown<br />
into a multi-media powerhouse<br />
with more than 40 business<br />
entities, including seven US and 25<br />
international networks. Bodenheimer<br />
has notably embraced technology<br />
and is responsible for a variety of<br />
projects focusing on interactive TV,<br />
broadband technology and wireless<br />
products. He can also boast making<br />
ESPN the first TV company in US<br />
history to own rights for all four major<br />
US professional sports leagues at the<br />
same time and has reportedly set his<br />
sights on snatching the rights to the<br />
2<strong>01</strong>4 and 2<strong>01</strong>6 Olympics from rival<br />
network NBC.<br />
6. Rick Dudley (Octagon)<br />
As President and CEO of Octagon,<br />
Dudley has worldwide responsibility<br />
for all functional disciplines of<br />
Octagon, including marketing and<br />
event production and of course,<br />
athlete representation, meaning he<br />
has some of sports biggest names<br />
under his wing, including Michael<br />
Phelps. With clients including brands<br />
such as Sony, BMW and MasterCard<br />
on the roster and a big presence in<br />
South Africa (Octagon SA is one of the<br />
country’s biggest sports sponsorship<br />
groups), Dudley and his team will have<br />
a lot of say in where money is spent in<br />
the global sport market in 2<strong>01</strong>0.<br />
5. Rupert Murdoch (News Corp.)<br />
Murdoch’s broadcasting empire is<br />
a colossal size and through News<br />
Corporation, he has varied interests in<br />
the global sports market including the<br />
National Rugby League in Australia<br />
and pay-TV operators Fox Sports,<br />
BSkyB, Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland<br />
as well as the ESPN Star Sports joint<br />
venture in India. At the age of 78, he is<br />
as ambitious as ever, forever seeking<br />
to expand his business. Murdoch<br />
continues to wield a huge global<br />
influence in sport and he remains the<br />
most progressive mover-and-shaker<br />
in the media business.<br />
4. Bernie Ecclestone (Formula One)<br />
Without question, Ecclestone remains<br />
the most important component in the<br />
global success of Formula One and,<br />
as such, one of the most influential<br />
sporting powerbrokers. A master<br />
marketer, he re-invented the sport’s<br />
relationship with brands when its<br />
marriage with the tobacco industry<br />
timed out and adeptly plays countries<br />
off against each other in the bid to<br />
host grands prix. As UK newspaper<br />
The Guardian put it, Ecclestone’s real<br />
masterstroke has been ‘to persuade<br />
presidents and prime ministers that<br />
no state could look itself in the mirror<br />
unless motorised billboards travelled<br />
round its racetrack at 190mph.<br />
3. Michel Platini (UEFA)<br />
The second-biggest power-broker<br />
in the world’s biggest sport gets a<br />
place on the list due to the European<br />
dominance of football in terms of<br />
the money and talent in its leagues.<br />
Platini often speaks out and has been<br />
vocal in his condemnation of the<br />
commercial ambition of England’s<br />
Premier League, particularly around<br />
the 39th game proposal and the<br />
levels of debt in the English game. He<br />
does not always see eye-to-eye with<br />
<strong>FIFA</strong> President Sepp Blatter, most<br />
significantly disagreeing with him on<br />
the home-player quota plan.<br />
2. Jacques Rogge (IOC)<br />
Re-elected unopposed to another<br />
four years in office, 2009 also saw<br />
Rogge cement his influence within the<br />
IOC and his legacy beyond. Both the<br />
election of Rio as host city for the 2<strong>01</strong>6<br />
Olympic Games and the inclusion of<br />
golf and rugby on the 2<strong>01</strong>6 Olympic<br />
programme were proof of his<br />
influence. He does not vote in bid city<br />
elections, but it seems clear that his<br />
desire to extend the Olympic brand to<br />
emerging world powers was followed<br />
by the membership and Rogge now<br />
stands firmly at the head of an IOC<br />
that moves the way that he leads.<br />
JAPPO<br />
www.jappo.org<br />
AFRICA INTERNATIONAL SPORT CONVENTION ( CISA )<br />
"Sports for Education and Development"<br />
CISA 2<strong>01</strong>0: 22 – 24 April, Ekurhuleni (Johannesburg) Emperors Palace Hotel<br />
The Africa <strong>International</strong> Sports Convention (CISA) , inaugurated in 2007 is an initiative<br />
of JAPPO (www.jappo.org), an Events and Sport Management Company based in Dakar,<br />
Senegal. After Dakar in 2007, Abuja in 2008 and Alexandria in 2009, the City of<br />
Ekurhuleni (Johannesburg) is hosting the 4th edition of CISA from 22—24 April 2<strong>01</strong>0<br />
just few months before South Africa welcomes the world the first ever <strong>FIFA</strong> World Cup<br />
organised in Africa.<br />
Registration and information:<br />
info@cisaconvention.org<br />
Website: www.cisaconvention.org<br />
Do not miss THE ONLY SPORTS BRAINSTORMING SESSION IN AFRICA<br />
CISA represents a unique opportunity for international sport organizations<br />
to meet and network with leaders, decision makers of African sport.<br />
The programme of the Convention includes:<br />
- DISCUSSION FORUM<br />
- A SPORT EXIHIBITION<br />
- The publication of the 400 pages AFRICA SPORTS DIRECTORY book<br />
- The INDUCTION TO THE AFRICA HALL OF FAME during a gala night scheduled<br />
on the last evening of the convention programme<br />
- A CHILDREN SPORT DAY on the opening day of the event<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 73
#1<br />
A MATTER OF INFLUENCE<br />
THE MARGIN of Sepp Blatter’s victory<br />
in the SportBusiness poll to find the<br />
‘Most Influential’ person in the sport<br />
business in 2009 was significant.<br />
He came in ahead of IOC President<br />
Jacques Rogge and both were well<br />
ahead of all other contenders.<br />
What is of greater consequence<br />
to those who study the international<br />
world of sport is that the result<br />
reaffirms accepted wisdom - that<br />
is that when it comes to sport, the<br />
World Cup and Olympic Games stand<br />
head and shoulders above any other<br />
property –above the NFL, NBA and<br />
Premier League, and above even the<br />
UEFA Champions League.<br />
All of which leads to this question:<br />
Is influence in sport to do with<br />
personal qualities and characteristics<br />
or simply a reflection of the scale and<br />
importance of the properties which an<br />
individual represents<br />
In the case of Sepp Blatter, the<br />
answer lies somewhere between the<br />
two poles. His personal influence is<br />
naturally bolstered by the fact that he<br />
oversees the ‘Global Game’ and that<br />
the <strong>FIFA</strong> World Cup is undoubtedly<br />
the greatest single sport event in<br />
the world, generating massive TV<br />
audiences and huge amounts in<br />
commercial sponsorship.<br />
Sir Martin Sorrell, head of<br />
WPP, the global marketing and<br />
communications giant, regularly talks<br />
of the role that major sports events,<br />
notably the Olympic Games and<br />
<strong>FIFA</strong> World Cup have in creating real<br />
economic upturn - not only in the host<br />
country but way beyond.<br />
The fact is that the World Cup,<br />
<strong>FIFA</strong>’s Blue Ribband Event, rocks<br />
the world. Even in those countries<br />
where the national team has not<br />
qualified for the final 32, the television<br />
audiences reach near record levels<br />
and the water cooler conversation<br />
is dominated by the exploits of the<br />
teams and individuals who have<br />
become household names thanks to<br />
the ‘Beautiful Game.’<br />
So how much has Blatter’s<br />
personal influence contributed to the<br />
phenomenal power of football<br />
To come close to an answer it is<br />
important to understand a couple<br />
of things. First that football has two<br />
faces - the public and private side.<br />
<strong>FIFA</strong> is unremittingly political and few<br />
prisoners are taken in the scrabble<br />
for power.<br />
Blatter is master of the politics.<br />
He’s a former PR man and journalist<br />
who speaks four languages likes a<br />
native and who made a seamless shift<br />
from paid <strong>FIFA</strong> employee to elected<br />
President when he succeeded the<br />
Brazilian Joao Havelange in 1998.<br />
The politician<br />
According to his official <strong>FIFA</strong><br />
biography, Blatter decided to stand<br />
for President as a result of the<br />
interest shown by numerous national<br />
associations from around the world.<br />
That in turn was the result of his<br />
innate ability to ‘work the room’<br />
making friends and influencing people<br />
during his time on the other side of<br />
the fence, first as Director of Technical<br />
Development, then as General<br />
Secretary and then as CEO.<br />
Ask almost any football insider and<br />
they will tell you that Sepp Blatter has<br />
never stopped working the room. It’s<br />
just that the rooms have got bigger<br />
and their inhabitants more important<br />
as he has scaled the ladder.<br />
Now into his third term, Blatter<br />
has learned on the job and his<br />
accumulated knowledge is probably<br />
unsurpassed. He is, by all accounts,<br />
the consummate politician -<br />
somebody who knows how to get<br />
things done but who is careful to<br />
deliver on his promises to those who<br />
have helped him.<br />
Blatter’s record at <strong>FIFA</strong> suggests<br />
that he has been smart enough to<br />
alienate as few people as possible<br />
in a 34 year career. In his time he<br />
has seen the World Cup grow to its<br />
all-encompassing 32 team scale and<br />
taken it to Asia (Japan and Korea) for<br />
the first time.<br />
Next year is scheduled to deliver<br />
what may be seen as his crowing glory<br />
- the first World Cup to be staged<br />
in Africa. Delivering a tournament<br />
to the Continent became an article<br />
of faith for Blatter and helped him<br />
win essential African votes down the<br />
years. The draw for the 2<strong>01</strong>0 World<br />
Cup will be held in Durban early this<br />
month and, despite some frantic<br />
paddling beneath the waterline, the<br />
event is expected to be given a clean<br />
bill of health.<br />
South Africa’s success in winning<br />
the right to host the World Cup was<br />
due to Blatter’s ability to push through<br />
a - now abandoned - policy of rotation<br />
which ensured that various continents<br />
would share <strong>FIFA</strong>’s Blue Ribband<br />
event. It was a policy which won him<br />
a lot of friends and built alliances<br />
which have helped him through some<br />
stormy times when his leadership and<br />
even integrity have been in question.<br />
While he has been associated with<br />
many successes he has also been<br />
at the heart of a number of apparent<br />
scandals, although he has walked<br />
away from each with his reputation<br />
officially untarnished.<br />
Despite that, some sections of the<br />
media remain distrustful of the most<br />
powerful man in football and Blatter<br />
is under constant scrutiny from those<br />
who believe there are still questions<br />
to answer over the collapse of ISL,<br />
allegations of voting irregularities<br />
and of his handling of the switch<br />
between Mastercard and Visa as<br />
<strong>FIFA</strong> sponsors. This last drama led to<br />
<strong>FIFA</strong>’s commercial director Jerome<br />
74 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09
Valcke leaving the organisation, only<br />
to return some time later in the role<br />
of Secretary General, a position which<br />
Blatter himself had occupied during<br />
his accent of the top office.<br />
But despite the ceaseless attacks<br />
and innuendo, Blatter remains in<br />
position and there is little doubt that<br />
<strong>FIFA</strong> has taken tremendous strides<br />
on his watch. Since assuming the<br />
presidency he has overseen the<br />
re-structuring of <strong>FIFA</strong>’s competition<br />
portfolio, seen women’s football gain<br />
an unprecedented degree of exposure<br />
and credibility and moved the<br />
organisation into a shiny new palace<br />
of a headquarters in Zurich.<br />
All in all that’s not bad going for a<br />
former Swiss amateur league player<br />
who started his professional career<br />
as head of PR for his local tourist<br />
board in Switzerland before becoming<br />
General Secretary of the Swiss Ice<br />
Hockey Federation.<br />
He developed a career in<br />
journalism and PR, ultimately getting<br />
his first shot at the international<br />
sports scene at the Olympic games<br />
of 1972 and ’76 as Director of Sports<br />
Timing and PR for the Swiss watch<br />
brand Longines.<br />
Extra responsibility<br />
It was the springboard to a career<br />
which has shaped <strong>FIFA</strong>, football and,<br />
some would say, the world.<br />
And it is the way that <strong>FIFA</strong> has<br />
reached out beyond football to<br />
harness the power of the sport to a<br />
range of causes and projects which<br />
demonstrate the most positive<br />
exertion of his influence.<br />
“<strong>FIFA</strong> is no longer merely an<br />
institution that runs our sport,” he says.<br />
“It has now taken on a social, cultural,<br />
political and sporting dimension<br />
in the struggle to educate children<br />
and defeat poverty. At the same<br />
time it has also become a powerful<br />
economic phenomenon. The 208<br />
national associations affiliated to <strong>FIFA</strong><br />
represent 260 million people actively<br />
connected to the game, including<br />
players, coaches and administrators.<br />
Based on the reasonable assumption<br />
that each of them has three or four<br />
family members or friends with an<br />
interest in the game that figure rises<br />
to one billion, a seventh of the Earth’s<br />
population. The football family has a<br />
major responsibility and must set an<br />
example.”<br />
The history books<br />
That responsibility is being discharged<br />
in a number of different ways, not<br />
least of which is the Football for Hope<br />
movement which aims to use the<br />
power of football to drive sustainable<br />
social development around the world.<br />
Football for Hope supports and<br />
sustains a wide range of innovative<br />
and imaginative football based<br />
projects on every continent.<br />
These projects are set up to deal<br />
with social issues ranging from<br />
encouraging children to stay in<br />
education to providing a focus and<br />
incentive for long-term unemployed<br />
youngsters. Some promote peace<br />
and conflict resolution, others health<br />
awareness, particularly in relation to<br />
AIDS in Africa.<br />
When historians come to review<br />
Sepp Blatter’s personal contribution,<br />
he will inevitably be regarded as a<br />
controversial character who built<br />
influence and a fiefdom on a mixture<br />
of easy charm, hard bargaining and<br />
tough politics.<br />
But in the villages of Asia, the<br />
townships of Africa and the favellas<br />
of Latin America - places where the<br />
name Blatter probably means next to<br />
nothing - the social work instigated<br />
and supported by his <strong>FIFA</strong> may well<br />
prove to be life changing. And that’s<br />
real influence.<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 75
CONFERENCES www.sportbusiness.com/marketplace/conferences<br />
SAILING ON<br />
A FAIR WIND<br />
world yachT racIng forum<br />
monTe -carlo - monaco<br />
09-10.12.09<br />
Yacht racing and sailing are today<br />
attracting some of the biggest<br />
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as the sport continues to<br />
innovate, grow and reach out to<br />
new global audiences.<br />
The second edition of the World Yacht Racing Forum aims to capitalise on this interest<br />
and offer strategies, case studies and best practice in sailing sponsorship and major<br />
yacht racing events around the world to help grow the sport globally and increase its<br />
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Leading speakers from inside and outside the sport will present case studies and<br />
challenge some of the sports most current issues including the value of sailing<br />
sponsorship, cost cutting measures for major events and developing new audiences and<br />
fan-bases for the sport.<br />
Highlights for the 2009 event include: over 40 international speakers and panel<br />
members; eight market driven panel sessions/debates with audience participation; over<br />
nine hours of networking sessions scheduled; over 35 exhibition showcase stands of<br />
cutting edge solution and technology providers and three evening social functions.<br />
Confirmed speakers include: Peter Gilmour, chairman, World Yacht Racing Forum;<br />
Mark Turner, CEO, OC Events; Knut Frostad, CEO of Volvo Ocean Race and Bruno<br />
Troublé, who founded the Louis Vuitton Cup. As last year, the World Yacht Racing Forum<br />
will be co-located alongside the Motorsports Business Forum.<br />
The annual conference on SporTS law<br />
london- uk<br />
02.02.10<br />
2<strong>01</strong>0 marks the beginning of what some have<br />
called a “Golden Decade” for British Sport.<br />
In addition to the 2<strong>01</strong>2 Olympic Games, Britain<br />
will host the 2<strong>01</strong>5 Rugby World Cup, the 2<strong>01</strong>3<br />
Rugby League World Cup, the 2<strong>01</strong>4<br />
Commonwealth Games and perhaps even the<br />
2<strong>01</strong>8 <strong>FIFA</strong> World Cup.<br />
Sport and the business of sport will take an<br />
ever more prominent place in national affairs and<br />
this conference, chaired by Richard Verow, Head<br />
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legal issues which affect sport and which will<br />
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implementation of the Golden Decade.<br />
legacy lIveS<br />
london, uk<br />
03.-05.03.10<br />
Legacy Lives is back and is returning to London.<br />
Firmly established in the annual conference<br />
calendar, the event is a ‘must attend’ for<br />
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Among the topics for discussion are: What<br />
positive impacts will bidding bring to our city<br />
How do we ensure that we deliver legacy<br />
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event;How do we put economic, social and<br />
environmental sustainability at the core of our<br />
planning When and how can we create long<br />
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community empowerment, the environment and<br />
culture And what best practice examples can<br />
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Delegates will represent bidding cities; cities<br />
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daTe evenT locaTIon organISerS conTacT<br />
decemBer 2009 - SepTemBer 2<strong>01</strong>0<br />
Dec 8-9 Motor Sport Business Forum USA Orlando - USA IM2 GmbH +44 207 313 9180<br />
Dec 9-10 Motor Sport Business Forum Europe Monte-Carlo, Monaco IM2 GmbH + 351 91 917 2287<br />
Dec 9-10 World Yacht Racing Forum Monte-Carlo, Monaco Informa Yacht Group +44 20 8871 2354<br />
Feb 2 Annual Conference on Sports Law - A Year in Sports Law London - UK Management Forum Ltd +44 1483 730071<br />
Feb 22-23 ISPO SpoBiS Sport Business Summit Munich - Germany ESB Event Sport Business + 41 712237882<br />
March 2-3 Soccerex European Forum 2<strong>01</strong>0 Manchester, England Soccerex +44 208 742 7100<br />
March 3-5 Legacy Lives 2<strong>01</strong>0 London - UK PMP Legacy +44 207 6315500<br />
March TBC Sport and Social Responsibility Summit London - UK SportBusiness Group +44 207 954 3439<br />
April 21 Sport and New Media Manchester - England SportBusiness Group +44 207 954 3439<br />
July 5 <strong>International</strong> Sports Tourism Conference Johannesburg, South Africa SportBusiness Group +44 207 954 3439<br />
July 5-9 The World Sport Destination Expo Johannesburg, South Africa World Sport Destination Expo/SBG +44 207 925 0000<br />
Sept TBC Sports Marketing 360 London- UK SportBusiness Group +44 207 954 3439<br />
76 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 12.09
PEOPLE MOVES www.sportbusiness.com/marketplace/peoplemoves<br />
The SporTBuSIneSS guIde To who’S goIng where In The world of SporT and BuSIneSS ThIS monTh<br />
doug arnot was appointed by the London<br />
Organising Committee of the Olympic Games<br />
(LOCOG) to be responsible for the overall<br />
planning, co-ordination and delivery of London<br />
2<strong>01</strong>2’s Games Time Operations. The position will<br />
include integrating venues, sport, village,<br />
security, games services and broadcast<br />
functions. Arnot, who reports directly to CEO<br />
Paul Deighton, joined LOCOG at end October.<br />
Jean Todt was elected President of the FIA for a<br />
four-year term by the FIA General Assembly at<br />
its annual meeting in Paris. The FIA<br />
membership voted for Todt by a margin of 135<br />
votes to 49 for his rival Ari Vatanen. There were<br />
12 abstentions/invalid votes.<br />
lord mawhinney, Chairman of England’s<br />
Football League informed the League Board of<br />
his decision to stand down from the<br />
Chairmanship on in March 2<strong>01</strong>0, after more<br />
than seven years in the role. Ian Ritchie, the<br />
Board’s independent director will oversee the<br />
process to select a new Chairman, which will<br />
include consultation with League clubs.<br />
mark hargreaves and Steve robinson were<br />
appointed to the management team of boutique<br />
sport and media management consultancy -<br />
Knowledge MGI. Hargreaves will become Chief<br />
Operating Officer and Robinson becomes Chief<br />
Technology Officer. Hargreaves joins from<br />
Manchester United, where he was General<br />
Manager of Man Utd Interactive. Robinson was<br />
an international WebSphere consultant and has<br />
previously been a consultant for both IBM Lotus<br />
Notes and Microsoft.NET technologies.<br />
peter kenyon, former Chief Executive of<br />
Chelsea FC and Manchester United, joined CAA<br />
Sports to lead its international efforts. Kenyon<br />
joins CAA Sports’ leadership team and will be<br />
responsible for guiding the agency’s growth<br />
overseas in areas including athlete<br />
representation, endorsements, sports<br />
properties for sales and sponsorship, media<br />
rights, and corporate consulting, among others.<br />
Additionally, Kenyon will develop CAA Sports’<br />
London operations, helping to build a dedicated<br />
international sales and management team.<br />
michael whan was appointed as the new Ladies<br />
Professional Golf Association (LPGA)<br />
Commissioner. Whan, most recently President<br />
and Chief Executive Officer of Mission-Itech<br />
Hockey, has a background in golf, including<br />
serving as Executive Vice President and General<br />
Manager (North American Region) for<br />
Taylormade-adidas Golf. Whan will officially take<br />
the Commissioner’s office in January 2<strong>01</strong>0.<br />
Jon Teeman was appointed Partner<br />
Development Director for TEAMORIGIN, the<br />
British challenger for the America’s Cup headed<br />
by Air Miles founder Sir Keith Mills. Teeman, a<br />
former Head of Partnership Marketing at<br />
Arsenal FC, will be responsible for securing<br />
commercial partners for TEAMORIGIN.<br />
Suresh kalmadi, the Indian Olympic Association<br />
President was re-elected unopposed as the<br />
president of the Asian Athletic Association (AAA).<br />
He was elected for another four-year term, from<br />
2009 to 2<strong>01</strong>3, at an AAA Annual General Meeting.<br />
He will serve his third consecutive term in office.<br />
Manchester United chief executive david gill,<br />
ex-Birmingham director karren Brady, Sports<br />
Minister gerry Sutcliffe, Sir keith mills, Sir<br />
martin Sorrell and the English Football<br />
Association’s former chief operating officer<br />
Simon Johnson stood down from England’s<br />
2<strong>01</strong>8 World Cup bid team in order to make the<br />
decision-making process more efficient. They<br />
will continue to advise the board. Former FA<br />
chairman geoff Thompson has been added to<br />
the new-look seven-man board, chaired by<br />
current FA chairman Lord Triesman.<br />
magnus malmros joined sport agency IEC in<br />
Sports, to work on special projects. Earlier this<br />
year, IEC agreed a deal with IAAF on World<br />
Athletics Series for Europe and Africa 2<strong>01</strong>0-13.<br />
Malmros formerly worked with major events at<br />
the EBU. The first project for Malmros will be<br />
the international club team tournament in<br />
Marbella, Copa del Sol, where top teams from<br />
Scandinavia, Russia and Ukraine will compete<br />
for at total prize purse of SEK 2 million.<br />
archie norman, a former Conservative MP and<br />
Asda chief executive was named chairman of UK<br />
commercial broadcaster ITV – ending the<br />
two-month search for a successor to Michael<br />
Grade. Norman, who will take up the post in<br />
January, will start by overseeing the search for a<br />
new chief executive.<br />
dr. chungwon choue was elected for a third<br />
term as president of the World Taekwondo<br />
Federation at the General Assembly in October.<br />
Dr. Choue garnered 104 votes against 45 for<br />
Thailand’s Nat Indrapana, with one vote invalid.<br />
ouT and aBouT...<br />
enTrepreneurS are, By naTure, always<br />
looking forward. But, as people often remind<br />
me, it is important to reflect on what has been<br />
achieved. So, as 2009 comes to a close, it<br />
seems an appropriate time to look back at<br />
where we were at the beginning of this year.<br />
UR7s.com was very much a work-inprogress<br />
as 2009 began. Most of my typical<br />
week was spent chasing after every last detail<br />
prior to the site’s soft launch. With the aim of<br />
creating a portal that the Rugby Sevens<br />
community around the globe could call home,<br />
a first-class website was by far the most<br />
important job at hand.<br />
Early on, I had assembled the team of Tom,<br />
Robin and Stewart and at the turn of the year<br />
we moved into our first office after months<br />
rotating between coffee shops. How times have<br />
changed. A year on, we are preparing to move<br />
Diary of a Sport Business Entrepreneur<br />
office again and a typical week recently has<br />
seen me rushing from meeting international<br />
sports broadcasters, discussing the future for<br />
Sevens and their interest in this TV-friendly<br />
format of the game, to dinners with some old<br />
heroes of the game.<br />
I’m in touch with the RFU on an almost<br />
day-to-day basis, collaborating on plans to<br />
bring more structure into the UK Sevens<br />
season, and the press has become a significant<br />
part of my schedule too. Interest is growing<br />
considerably as we move forward.<br />
Add to this conference calls with the IRB<br />
and a number of tournaments around the<br />
world, a reception at the Australian High<br />
Commission, meetings with potential investors<br />
and plans for a business tour of Australia and<br />
New Zealand in Q1... and I should probably not<br />
leave out the smooth running of a global Rugby<br />
Sevens website! One valuable lesson that I have<br />
learned is that patience is key amongst all of<br />
the excitement and drama involved with being a<br />
sports entrepreneur. It is often not until you go<br />
through this process of reflection that you<br />
realise just how far you have come.<br />
Considering the tangibles - whether<br />
financial, our products, website traffic and<br />
employees - and the intangibles - such as<br />
goodwill, relationships, brand positioning and<br />
PR - I can see that giant strides having been<br />
made in an encouragingly busy 2009. We are<br />
still merely in the foothills and can’t climb the<br />
mountain fast enough. But we must take stock,<br />
if just for a moment, and acknowledge how<br />
well we’ve done to get here. Then, I can look<br />
ahead to next year’s ascent with confidence.<br />
Tim Lacey, founder, Ultimate Rugby Sevens<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09 77
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INTERFUSE<br />
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KHP<br />
www.khpconsulting.com<br />
OCTAGON<br />
www.octagon.com<br />
MICHEZONET<br />
http://michezonet.org<br />
MTA MEDIA<br />
www.mtamedia.co.uk<br />
PERFORMANCE PR<br />
www.performancepr.com<br />
TWO UP FRONT<br />
www.tuf.com.hk<br />
VERTICAL BANNER<br />
www.event360.co.uk/vertical_banners<br />
CONSULTANCY<br />
BTD INTERNATIONAL CONSULTING<br />
www.btd.de/btd-consulting/en<br />
FAST TRACK<br />
www.fast-track-events.com<br />
GRAPEFRUIT GRAPHICS<br />
http://grapefruitgraphics.co.uk<br />
IMG<br />
www.imgworld.com<br />
Connecting<br />
ambitious host cities<br />
with progressive<br />
sports federations<br />
www.tseconsulting.com<br />
We help cities, LOC’s and<br />
national federations bid,<br />
win, plan and deliver major<br />
sporting events.<br />
Contact: Peter Mann<br />
petermann@pmpgenesis.com<br />
www.pmplegacy.com<br />
INFRONT<br />
www.infrontsports.com<br />
JON TIBBS ASSOCIATES<br />
www.jtassocs.com<br />
LEXIS SPORT & ENTERTAINMENT<br />
www.lexispr.com<br />
PMPGENESIS<br />
www.pmpgenesis.com<br />
Q SPORTS<br />
www.qsportsonline.com<br />
SPONSORSHIP CONSULTING<br />
www.sponsorshipconsulting.co.uk<br />
SPORT STRUCTURES<br />
www.sportstructures.com<br />
VERO COMMUNICATIONS<br />
www.verocom.co.uk<br />
WITH-HINDSIGHT ASSOCIATES<br />
www.with-hindsight.com<br />
DESIGN, LICENSING & BRANDING<br />
GRAPEFRUIT GRAPHICS<br />
http://grapefruitgraphics.co.uk<br />
IMG<br />
www.imgworld.com<br />
OCTAGON<br />
www.octagon.com<br />
SENTIO PRINT AND MULTIMEDIA LTD<br />
www.sentio-pm.co.uk<br />
SME EUROPE<br />
www.smebranding.com<br />
SPRINGETTS<br />
www.springetts.co.uk<br />
VERTICAL BANNER<br />
www.event360.co.uk/vertical_banners<br />
PHOTO & VIDEO<br />
CREATIVE TECCREATIVE TECHNOLOGY<br />
www.creative.com<br />
EUROSPORT<br />
www.eurosport-tv.com<br />
GETTY<br />
www.gettyimages.com<br />
IMG<br />
www.imgworld.com<br />
RED PHOTOGRAPHIC<br />
www.red-photographic.com<br />
RESEARCH & EVALUATION<br />
APPLIED IMAGE RECOGNITION<br />
www.air-ltd.com<br />
JON TIBBS ASSOCIATES<br />
www.jtassocs.com<br />
OCTAGON<br />
www.octagon.com<br />
SPONSORMETRIX<br />
www.sponsormetrix.net<br />
SPORTS MARKETING & SPONSORSHIP<br />
ACTION HOUSE INTERNATIONAL<br />
www.actionhouseintl.com<br />
BAT PARROT MARKETING<br />
www.batparrot.com<br />
BRABNERS CHAFFE STREET<br />
www.brabnerschaffestreet.com<br />
BRAND RAPORT<br />
www.brand-rapport.com<br />
CITY OF MANCHESTER<br />
www.visitmanchester.com<br />
DORNA SPORTS<br />
www.dorna.com<br />
EVENT 360<br />
www.event360.co.uk<br />
“Connecting<br />
customers with your<br />
brand”<br />
• Strategic Consulting<br />
• Brand Promotions<br />
• Retail Marketing<br />
• Event Management<br />
• ROI Modelling<br />
• Research & Evaluation<br />
Media Village,<br />
131-151 Great Titchfield St,<br />
London W1W 5BB<br />
Tel: +44 (0) 203 008 7640<br />
londoninfo@teamvelocity.com<br />
www.teamvelocity.co.uk<br />
EVENT SCOTLAND<br />
www.eventscotland.org<br />
EXPERIENCE<br />
www.experience-worldwide.com<br />
FAST TRACK<br />
www.fast-track-events.com<br />
FEI<br />
www.fei.org<br />
FOUR COMMUNICATIONS<br />
www.fourcommunications.com<br />
GRAPEFRUIT GRAPHICS<br />
http://grapefruitgraphics.co.uk<br />
HALLY SPORTS INTERNATIONAL<br />
www.hallysports.com<br />
HAVAS SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT<br />
www.havas.com<br />
ILUKA<br />
www.iluka.co.uk<br />
IMG<br />
www.imgworld.com<br />
INFRONT<br />
www.infrontsports.com<br />
INTERFUSE<br />
www.interfuse.net<br />
JARDINE INTERNATIONAL<br />
www.jardine-international.com<br />
KENTARO<br />
http://kentaro.hdlab2.de<br />
KHP<br />
www.khpconsulting.com<br />
78 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09
CLASSIFIED www.sportbusiness.com/marketplace/organisations<br />
LEXIS SPORT & ENTERTAINMENT<br />
www.lexispr.com<br />
PLUS EVENT MARKETING<br />
www.plus-em.com<br />
PMPGENESIS<br />
www.pmpgenesis.com<br />
PROMO SEVEN<br />
www.promosevensports.com<br />
RELAY DUBAI<br />
www.relayworldwide.com<br />
RESULTINC<br />
http://resultinc.co.uk<br />
RT MARKETING<br />
www.rtltd.com<br />
POPULOUS<br />
www.populous.com<br />
TICKETING, CRM & SMART CARDS<br />
IMG<br />
www.imgworld.com<br />
MIKE BURTON SPORTS TRAVEL<br />
www.mikeburton.com<br />
UK T & I<br />
https://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk<br />
EDUCATION & TRAINING<br />
EDUCATION & TRAINING<br />
RECRUITMENT<br />
ISM<br />
www.ismsearch.com<br />
RESULTINC<br />
http://resultinc.co.uk<br />
SPORT STRUCTURES<br />
www.sportstructures.com<br />
SPORTING APPOINTMENTS<br />
www.sportingappointments.com<br />
UK T & I<br />
https://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk<br />
UNITED MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT<br />
www.umegroup.net<br />
KHP<br />
www.khpconsulting.com<br />
MICHEZONET<br />
http://michezonet.org<br />
MIKE BURTON SPORTS TRAVEL<br />
www.mikeburton.com<br />
PLAYMAKER<br />
www.playmaker.com.tr<br />
PLUS EVENT MARKETING<br />
www.plus-em.com<br />
PROSKE GROUP<br />
www.proskegroup.com<br />
RUSHMANS<br />
www.rushmans.com<br />
SCHILLINGS<br />
www.schillings.co.uk<br />
EVENTS<br />
CONFERENCES, EXHIBITIONS & VENUES<br />
SHEFFIELD CITY COUNCIL<br />
www.sheffield-lightingtheflame.com<br />
SELA SPORT<br />
http://sela-sport.com<br />
ACC LIVERPOOL<br />
www.accliverpool.com<br />
SLS GROUP<br />
www.sls-group.com<br />
SINE QUA NON<br />
http://sinequanon-intl.com<br />
BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL<br />
www.birmingham.gov.uk<br />
SPORT EVENT SOLUTIONS<br />
http://sporteventsolutions.com<br />
SPONSORSHIP CONSULTING<br />
www.sponsorshipconsulting.co.uk<br />
CITY OF MANCHESTER<br />
www.visitmanchester.com<br />
SPORTSMARK EUROPE<br />
www.sportsmark.com<br />
SPONSORSHIP IDEAS<br />
www.sponsorshipideas.com<br />
SPORT DRIVEN LTD<br />
www.sportdriven.co.uk<br />
SPORTBIZ<br />
www.sport<strong>sbi</strong>z.gr<br />
UCD MSc Sport & Exercise<br />
Management<br />
LEISURE INDUSTRY WEEK<br />
www.liw.co.uk<br />
SHEFFIELD CITY COUNCIL<br />
www.sheffield-lightingtheflame.com<br />
THE CO-OPERATIVE<br />
www.co-operativetravel.co.uk<br />
SPORTSWORLD<br />
www.sportsworld-group.<br />
comswgsportsworldindex.html<br />
THE CO-OPERATIVE<br />
www.co-operativetravel.co.uk<br />
SECURITY<br />
SPORTFIVE<br />
www.sportfive.com<br />
UK T&I<br />
https://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk<br />
THE SPORTS CONSULTANCY<br />
www.thesportsconsultancy.com<br />
UK T & I<br />
https://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk<br />
VERO COMMUNICATIONS<br />
www.verocom.co.uk<br />
VERTICAL BANNER<br />
www.event360.co.ukvertical_banners<br />
WITH-HINDSIGHT ASSOCIATES<br />
www.with-hindsight.com<br />
WORLD SPORT GROUP<br />
www.worldsportgroup.com<br />
CAPITAL PROJECTS<br />
ARCHITECTS, CONSTRUCTION &<br />
ENGINEERING<br />
FRANKLIN + ANDREWS<br />
www.franklinandrews.com<br />
NUSSLI GROUP<br />
www.nussli.com<br />
POPULOUS<br />
www.populous.com<br />
POYRY ARCHITECTS OY<br />
www.architects.poyry.fi<br />
SERVICE & EQUIPMENT PROVIDERS<br />
AGGREKO<br />
www.aggreko.com<br />
ES GROUP<br />
www.esgroup.uk.com<br />
NUSSLI GROUP<br />
www.nussli.com<br />
Sport, Golf and Exercise<br />
Management Streams<br />
www.ucd.ie/css<br />
Ph+353 1 7163430<br />
AISTS<br />
www.aists.org<br />
BIRKBECK UNIVERSITY<br />
www.bbk.ac.uk<br />
BRABNERS CHAFFE STREET<br />
www.brabnerschaffestreet.com<br />
<strong>CIES</strong><br />
www.cies.ch<br />
ESSEC GROUPE<br />
www.essec.eduhome<br />
INSTITUTO DE EMPRESA<br />
www.ie.edu<br />
MIDDLESEX UNI<br />
www.mdx.ac.uk<br />
NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY<br />
www.ntu.ac.uk<br />
SCOTTISH UNIVERSITIES SPORT<br />
www.susport.org.uk<br />
SPORT STRUCTURES<br />
www.sportstructures.com<br />
SPORTS MANAGEMENT WORLDWIDE<br />
www.sportsmanagementworldwide.com<br />
STREET LEAGUE<br />
www.streetleague.co.uk<br />
EVENT MANAGEMENT & CORPORATE<br />
HOSPITALITY<br />
BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL<br />
www.birmingham.gov.uk<br />
CITY OF MANCHESTER<br />
www.visitmanchester.com<br />
CORPORATE LEISURE LIMITED<br />
www.corporateleisureltd.com<br />
DORNA SPORTS<br />
www.dorna.com<br />
EVENT 360<br />
www.event360.co.uk<br />
EVENT SCOTLAND<br />
www.eventscotland.org<br />
FAST TRACK<br />
www.fast-track-events.com<br />
FEI<br />
www.fei.org<br />
GB CREATION & ADVICE CONSULTING<br />
www.gbpresentaciones.com<br />
GRAPEFRUIT GRAPHICS<br />
http://grapefruitgraphics.co.uk<br />
IMG<br />
www.imgworld.com<br />
INFRONT<br />
www.infrontsports.com<br />
INNOVISION<br />
www.innovision.eu<br />
KENTARO<br />
http://kentaro.hdlab2.de<br />
In today’s environment it has become<br />
essential for federations, sporting bodies<br />
and organisations to focus on reducing<br />
the risk and exposure on athletes,<br />
executives, assets and their reputation.<br />
Shodan Security partners with numerous<br />
bodies to achieve this outcome.<br />
• Team Security & Logistics<br />
• Travel Security and Risk Assessment<br />
• Event Security Planning<br />
• Risk Management<br />
• Close Protection Services<br />
• Asset Protection<br />
• Crisis Management<br />
Contact: Mark Saliba<br />
Director of Operations<br />
+61 (2) 9907 3800<br />
Email: mark_saliba@shodan.com.au<br />
www.shodan.com.au<br />
SPORT EXPERIENCES<br />
GLOBAL GAMES ONLINE<br />
http://globalgamessports.com<br />
MEDIA<br />
DATA & INFORMATION SUPPLIERS<br />
EURODATA<br />
www.eurodatatv.com<br />
SPORTS STATISTICS & INFORMATION<br />
SYSTEMS<br />
www.sportstat.co.uk<br />
STATS<br />
www.stats.com<br />
SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09 79
www.sportbusiness.com/marketplace/organisations CLASSIFIED<br />
MEDIA OWNERS<br />
We analyze<br />
all Sport TV ratings<br />
worldwide<br />
Contact<br />
Florent SIMON<br />
fsimon@eurodatatv.com<br />
We speak TV<br />
BRABNERS CHAFFE STREET<br />
www.brabnerschaffestreet.com<br />
EUROSPORT<br />
www.eurosport-tv.com<br />
NEW MEDIA<br />
DIGITAL INK SOLUTION LTD<br />
www.digital-ink.co.uk<br />
INFRONT<br />
www.infrontsports.com<br />
STATS<br />
www.stats.com<br />
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES<br />
ATHLETE MANAGEMENT<br />
UK T&I<br />
www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk<br />
LAWYERS<br />
BRABNERS CHAFFE STREET<br />
www.brabnerschaffestreet.com<br />
CLARKE WILLMOTT<br />
www.clarkewillmott.com<br />
DAVIES ARNOLD COOPER<br />
www.dac.co.uk<br />
DLA PIPER<br />
www.dlapiper.com<br />
EATON SMITH LLP<br />
www.eatonsmith.co.uk<br />
HAMMONDS<br />
www.hammonds.com<br />
RAJAH & TANN LLP<br />
www.rajahtann.com<br />
ROCKSTAR LEGAL<br />
www.rockstarlegal.co.uk<br />
SCHILLINGS<br />
www.schillings.co.uk<br />
SPORT RESOLUTIONS<br />
www.sportresolutions.co.uk<br />
THE SPORTS CONSULTANCY<br />
www.thesportsconsultancy.com<br />
KENTARO<br />
http://kentaro.hdlab2.de<br />
PGA EUROPEAN TOUR<br />
www.europeantour.com<br />
PROSKE GROUP<br />
www.proskegroup.com<br />
UFC<br />
http://uk.ufc.com<br />
UK T & I<br />
https://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk<br />
VERO COMMUNICATIONS<br />
www.verocom.co.uk<br />
WORLD SPORT GROUP<br />
www.worldsportgroup.com<br />
SPORTS APPAREL<br />
HIGH STYLE MANUFACTURING<br />
www.hi-style.com<br />
GREEN LIGHT TV<br />
www.greenlight.tv<br />
HOST BROADCAST SERVICES<br />
www.hbs.tv<br />
IMG<br />
www.imgworld.com<br />
MICHOZENET<br />
http://michezonet.org<br />
WORLD SPORT GROUP<br />
www.worldsportgroup.com<br />
SERVICE & EQUIPMENT PROVIDERS<br />
AERIAL CAMERA SYSTEMS<br />
www.aerialcamerasystems.com<br />
BOWTIE<br />
www.bowtietv.com<br />
CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY<br />
www.creative.com<br />
EVS BROADCAST<br />
www.evs-global.com<br />
MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC EUROPE<br />
www.diamond-vision.com<br />
SPORTS STATISTICS & INFORMATION<br />
SYSTEMS<br />
www.sportstat.co.uk<br />
STATS<br />
www.stats.com<br />
CLOVER MARKETING<br />
www.cmlsports.co.uk<br />
MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS<br />
TRAVEL & TOURISM<br />
IMG<br />
www.imgworld.com<br />
INTER SPORT CLUBE<br />
www.internacional.com.br<br />
KENTARO<br />
http://kentaro.hdlab2.de<br />
MICHEZONET<br />
http://michezonet.org<br />
PACE SPORTS MANAGEMENT<br />
www.pacesportsmanagement.com<br />
TYLER SPORTS<br />
http://tylersports.co.uk<br />
FINANCIAL SERVICES & ACCOUNTANTS<br />
FX4SPORT<br />
www.fx4sport.com<br />
GRANT THORNTON<br />
www.grantthornton.com<br />
PROSKE GROUP<br />
www.proskegroup.com<br />
SAFFERY CHAMPNESS<br />
www.saffery.com<br />
INSURANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT<br />
AIRTON RISK MANAGEMENT<br />
www.airtonrisk.com<br />
MARSH SPORTS PRACTICE<br />
www.marsh.co.uk<br />
TAKE FIVE SPECIAL RISKS<br />
www.takefiveinsurance.com<br />
IT, SOFTWARE, TECHNOLOGY<br />
INTERFUSE<br />
www.interfuse.net<br />
COFFEY COMMERCIAL ADVISORY<br />
www.coffey.com<br />
JON TIBBS ASSOCIATES<br />
www.jtassocs.com<br />
PMPGENESIS<br />
www.pmpgenesis.com<br />
STRATEGIC LEISURE<br />
www.strategicleisure.co.uk<br />
TRANSLATION AND LOCALISATION<br />
KOMMUNICERA<br />
http://corporate.kommunicera.se<br />
PROPERTIES<br />
RIGHTS HOLDERS<br />
DORNA SPORTS<br />
www.dorna.com<br />
ENGLAND & WALES CRICKET BOARD<br />
www.ecb.co.uk<br />
EUROSPORT<br />
www.eurosport-tv.com<br />
EVENT SCOTLAND<br />
www.eventscotland.org<br />
FAST TRACK<br />
www.fast-track-events.com<br />
FEI<br />
www.fei.org<br />
IMG<br />
www.imgworld.com<br />
INFRONT<br />
www.infrontsports.com<br />
JON TIBBS ASSOCIATES<br />
www.jtassocs.com<br />
SPORTS TELEVISION<br />
DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES &<br />
SYNDICATORS<br />
APPARENT GRAVITY MEDIA<br />
http://apparentgravity.com<br />
COTTERILL & ASSOCIATES<br />
www.cotterillassociates.com<br />
EUROSPORT<br />
www.eurosport-tv.com<br />
GREEN LIGHT TV<br />
www.greenlight.tv<br />
IMG<br />
www.imgworld.com<br />
INFRONT<br />
www.infrontsports.com<br />
PRODUCTION COMPANIES<br />
APPARENT GRAVITY MEDIA<br />
http://apparentgravity.com<br />
FAST TRACK<br />
www.fast-track-events.com<br />
LOGISTICS: AIR, COACH, RAIL<br />
AIR PARTNER<br />
www.airpartner.com<br />
DUBAI DUTY FREE<br />
www.dubaidutyfree.com<br />
MIKE BURTON SPORTS TRAVEL<br />
www.mikeburton.com<br />
THE CO-OPERATIVE<br />
www.co-operativetravel.co.uk<br />
SPORTS TRAVEL MANAGEMENT<br />
GULLIVERS SPORTS TRAVEL<br />
www.gulliverstravel.co.uk<br />
TRAVELEADS<br />
www.traveleads.co.uk<br />
TOURIST BOARDS<br />
ACC LIVERPOOL<br />
www.accliverpool.com<br />
CITY OF MANCHESTER<br />
www.visitmanchester.com<br />
EVENT SCOTLAND<br />
www.eventscotland.org<br />
SHEFFIELD CITY COUNCIL<br />
www.sheffield-lightingtheflame.com<br />
80 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No.152 • 12.09
THE GLOBAL SPORTS SERVICES DIRECTORY<br />
Over 340 pages of<br />
information, analysis and<br />
contact details for the global<br />
sports industry<br />
THE<br />
GLOBAL<br />
SPORTS<br />
SERVICES<br />
DIRECTORY<br />
Country by country<br />
listings of federations,<br />
government agencies, stadia,<br />
broadcasters and many more<br />
Order your printed version of<br />
the Marketplace Directory for<br />
only £95 today<br />
Editorial content provides<br />
a unique insight into<br />
the “business of sport in<br />
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TV viewing, rights summaries,<br />
sponsorship deals and<br />
commercial partnerships<br />
Contact: brian.williams@sportbusiness.com<br />
+44 (0) 207 954 3415
PEOPLE<br />
hard work. On a personal level I would have to<br />
choose attending the two UEFA Champions<br />
League winning finals in 1999 & 2008.<br />
And the worst<br />
Two come to mind: pulling some exhausting<br />
all-nighters to complete the foreign language<br />
web sites in time for the team’s Asia Tour in<br />
2007 and on a personal note, seeing the huge<br />
disappointment on my daughter’s face after the<br />
FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea at Wembley.<br />
MR INTERACTIVE<br />
Mark Hargreaves, COO, Knowledge MGI, on the new challenge<br />
of working within the wider sport and technology space and the<br />
joys, after over 12 years spent working at Manchester United, of<br />
reverting to being simply a fan.<br />
Mark Hargreaves has headed south to join the<br />
London-based consultancy company Knowledge<br />
MGI as Chief Operating Officer after over a<br />
decade’s service with the reigning Premier<br />
League Champions.<br />
At Manchester United he headed up the New<br />
Media division, becoming the General Manager<br />
of Manchester United Interactive where he ran<br />
ManUtd.com one of the world’s most successful<br />
sports websites for over seven years.<br />
He also spearheaded the development of four<br />
sister multi-lingual sites for Asia and the Middle<br />
East, working with major brands, support<br />
service companies, major domestic and global<br />
sponsors, licensees and the club’s charity arm,<br />
the Manchester United Foundation.<br />
What was your introduction to the world of sport<br />
and business<br />
My transition to the new media arm of sports<br />
business was a natural segue from the telecoms<br />
industry where I began my career in the mid<br />
80’s - a time that saw exponential growth year on<br />
year in the technology space. Then the attraction<br />
to work for the football club that I also supported<br />
was an enormous draw and I found Man Utd’s<br />
aspirations both on and off the field irresistible.<br />
Being able to now take that accumulated<br />
sports industry and new media acumen, and<br />
work with a boutique management consultancy<br />
within the wider sport and technology space is<br />
my latest irresistible challenge.<br />
Who would you say has had the biggest<br />
influence on your career<br />
Having worked for the club for over 12 years and<br />
witnessed the CEO, David Gill, at close quarters,<br />
I would have to pick him. The dignified way in<br />
which he has managed the business over the<br />
years and especially during the contentious<br />
period of transition when the club went from<br />
being a public company to Glazer-family private<br />
ownership has always been very inspiring.<br />
What has been the best moment in your career<br />
in the sport industry<br />
From a business perspective - winning a Webby<br />
Award. The Webbys are the leading international<br />
awards that honour excellence on the Internet.<br />
ManUtd.com won one in 2007 and I flew over<br />
to New York receive it on behalf of the club. A<br />
fantastic experience if a surreal one too - getting<br />
to share the stage with David Bowie and the You<br />
Tube founders. The win was a huge boost for all<br />
involved in the gargantuan build of ManUtd.com<br />
and a terrific acknowledgement of everyone’s<br />
How was the experience of working for such an<br />
expressive football brand as Manchester United<br />
Well during this halcyon period for the club I<br />
have accumulated six Premier League titles, two<br />
European Cups, two FA Cups, two League Cups<br />
and numerous other trophies! It goes without<br />
saying that to work for Manchester United was<br />
an honour and a fantastic experience. I am<br />
however now looking forward to being able to<br />
watch a match without obsessively checking<br />
the digi-boards, looking at my phone for alerts,<br />
or monitoring the website to make sure that<br />
everything is working and instead become a<br />
fan again. I’ll let you know how long it takes to<br />
reverse the process.<br />
What is on the horizon for you in the next phase<br />
of your career at Knowledge<br />
Knowledge is an ideas driven service. We analyse<br />
business problems, then tactically problem-solve<br />
to create strategy and operational improvements<br />
through objective business insight and<br />
mentoring, ultimately making positive changes<br />
for our clients.<br />
Straight out of the gate I am working on<br />
a project for a client called Ve Interactive, a<br />
company delivering online efficiency solutions<br />
(CEM - Customer Experience Management)<br />
which has developed a patent-pending shopping<br />
cart/form abandonment software. Abandonment<br />
is one of the biggest problems that website<br />
operators face in terms lost online revenues.<br />
What do you see as the biggest challenges and<br />
opportunities for sports in the interactive arena<br />
Two of the biggest challenges and opportunities<br />
for sports and new media remain those of how to<br />
monetise content (ie. turn fans in to customers)<br />
and how to transact abroad. Knowledge is<br />
working with a client, Krores which is a global<br />
supplier of bespoke technology-based financial<br />
services, (including payment technologies) that<br />
is breaking into this very space.<br />
Another area of opportunity is the harnessing<br />
of social media from fan base, marketing<br />
reach, brand awareness and online revenue<br />
perspectives. The benefits of which can leak into<br />
other areas of a sport’s brand too, for example<br />
boosting sponsorship opportunities.<br />
82 SportBusiness <strong>International</strong> • No. 152 • 12.09
Because Sport<br />
Reflects Society<br />
Jorge Andreu, A. Bahi – Cimo.<br />
The Global Sports Forum Barcelona 2<strong>01</strong>0 will once again<br />
unite over 1000 delegates and media representatives<br />
from around the world, to encourage and provoke<br />
debate, action and reaction on today’s hottest issues<br />
facing sport: sustainability, education, politics, culture<br />
and business.<br />
Juan Antonio Samaranch<br />
Together we will produce considered policy<br />
recommendations to be shared by the wider<br />
international sporting community.<br />
Donna de Varona<br />
Join us in Barcelona<br />
8-10 March 2<strong>01</strong>0,<br />
and become a player<br />
for change.<br />
Samuel Eto’o<br />
For information and registration visit us at:<br />
WWW.GLOBALSPORTSFORUM.ORG<br />
MAIN PARTNER INTERNATIONAL MEDIA NATIONAL MEDIA<br />
<strong>Network</strong>ing area
PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA - JUNE 18: Gilberto Silva of Brazil battles with Jonathan Spector of USA during the <strong>FIFA</strong> Confederations Cup Group B<br />
match between USA and Brazil at the Loftus Versveld Stadium on June 18, 2009 in Pretoria, South Africa.<br />
88561627, Mike Hewitt/<strong>FIFA</strong> via Getty Images<br />
SINGAPORE - SEPTEMBER 26: Heikki Kovalainen of Finland and<br />
McLaren Mercedes drives during qualifying for the Singapore<br />
Formula One Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit on<br />
September 26, 2009 in Singapore.<br />
91168528, Clive Mason/Getty Images Sport<br />
VAL D'ISERE, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 04: Lars Elton Myhre of Norway<br />
competes during the Men's Super G event held on the Face de Bellevarde<br />
course on February 4, 2009 in Val d'Isere, France.<br />
84621915, Clive Mason/Getty Images Sport