October 25 – Budweiser who activated a sponsorship of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the US with its post-World Cup #WontStopWatching campaign to boost attendances and profile of women’s pro clubs and players, has given the league another push forward by challenging other brands to become ‘future’ sponsors.
October 25 – Manchester City has brought on Nestlé Professional as the club’s Official Coffee, Vegan and Vegetarian Partner in what is described as a multi-year deal.
October 23 – The sports rights geo-political battle being waged in the middle east between Qatari broadcaster beIN Sport and Saudi Arabian-supported channels and broadcast rights interests, has taken a new twist.
October 22 – UEFA has signed three start-up businesses as part of its business innovation drive to develop new technologies and products that will significantly impact the commercial management and promotion of football and its assets.
By David Owen
October 21 – India’s Reliance Industries is mulling bidding for Indian streaming rights for the English Premier League and other top-notch sports competitions in future. Nita Ambani, a Reliance board member, told the Financial Times: “I would be very interested to get the digital rights of some of these games to be shown on digital in India.”
October 16 – Health and wellness brand Vejo have announced a partnership with a second of Europe’s biggest clubs. It will become the Official Sports Nutrition Smart Blending Device in North America, Germany, Austria and Switzerland of FC Bayern Munich.
October 14 – The revelation last week that middle eastern broadcaster beIN Sport will now, as a result of piracy, be treating all its sports rights acquisitions as non-exclusive, and will be dropping prices accordingly, is a wake-up call to football’s rights owners.
October 14 – AB InBev brand Budweiser has been named as the official beer of the Italian giants Juventus in a deal running through to the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
October 11 – Dentsu will replace French agency Lagardere Sports as the sales agency for Japan’s J-League international broadcast rights between 2020 and 2022.
October 11 – UEFA have added global fashion brand Esprit as the Official Branded Apparel Partner of UEFA Women’s Football in deal running through to 2021.
October 10 – Los Angeles fashion brand 424 has become the Official Formal Wear partner of Premier League Arsenal in a two-year partnership.
By Paul Nicholson
October 9 – Football only has itself to blame for the bombshell dropped by beIN Media Group CEO, Yousef Al-Obaidly yesterday at the Leaders in Sport conference in London, who outlined a future of dramatically reduced rights fees from broadcasters worldwide, even for premium leagues and events.
October 9 – They are fierce city rivals on the pitch yet they share a stadium, want to jointly build a new one, and now share a sponsor. Italian club giants AC Milan and Internazionale have jointly announced A2A Energia as their official energy partner.
By Paul Nicholson
October 8 – The warning signs have been there for a while, the reality may only just be starting to hit home to a football business that is “still sleep-walking to a financial cliff”. Broadcast and media rights revenues that underpinned football’s massive growth are about to burst, and spectacularly so.
October 8 – The Welsh FA has announced BT as its exclusive lead partner in a deal that will run until 2024.