LaLiga’s Espanyol and Leganés reward season ticket holders with free passes
May 27 – Spanish clubs Espanyol and Leganés will compensate season-ticket holders for the game’s shutdown by handing out free passes for the 2020-2021 campaign.
Football Marketing
Bundesliga boosts real-time broadcast stats as Amazon Web Services deal kicks in
May 27 – The first fruit of the Bundesliga’s recently announced co-operation with Amazon Web Services (AWS) has gone live with real-time stats being available for matchday 28 of the restarted season.
Live streamer MyCujoo opens up its tech platform to give users more video options
May 27 – Live football video streaming platform MyCujoo has opened up its streaming platform with a tech toolbox that will allow use users to take greater control of the video streaming output and create their own video experiences beyond just the streaming of games.
TV rebates: Champions League broadcast rights in limbo in France
May 26 – The Champions League broadcast bubble took a pin prick at the end of last week when French telecoms giant Altice said it was demanding a rebate on its broadcast rights.
Man Utd lose £15m as Premier League rebates up to £300m to broadcast partners
By Paul Nicholson
May 21 – Manchester United’s third quarter financial release has revealed that the loss of broadcast revenue due to a broadcaster rebate following failure to complete fixtures is about £15 million, putting the overall Premier League rebate at about £300 million.
Hummel enter Premier League with record Everton deal
May 20 – Danish sports and leisurewear brand hummel has signed a club-record technical partnership with Premier League Everton.
First mover Bundesliga renews Japanese TV deal; rejigs Eurosport/DAZN rights
May 20 – The gentle trend towards longer term broadcast rights agreements in international broadcast markets has been continued with the Bundesliga announcing a five-year extension to its SkyPerfecTV! (SPTV) deal in Japan.
Sevilla reportedly opens €5m discussion with Betway, despite Spanish gaming re-regulation
May 19 – Seasons may be struggling to complete but already bookmakers are starting to make sponsorship plays for next season.
Global sports sponsorship spend to drop by 37% to $28.9bn, says report
By Paul Nicholson
May 18 – The global sports sponsorship spend looks set to fall by $17.2 billion, from $46.1 billion in 2019 to $28.9 billion (37% year-on-year decrease) in 2020 as the result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
LaLiga boosts Chinese operations with Mediapro/Super Sports joint venture
May 14 – LaLiga, Mediapro and Asia-based Super Sports Media have formed a joint venture in China to promote the Spanish league’s commercial assets.
Hibernian give shirt position to NHS solidarity campaign as virus heads north
May 7 – Scottish top tier club Hibernian have donated next season’s premium front of shirt sponsorship position to the NHS and is launching a series of events and activities that will raise money for the health service in Scotland.
Ayr United go virtual with body-painted models for lockdown kit launch
May 5 – Scottish Championship club Ayr United, who in previous years have hit the headlines with body-painted models showcasing their new season kit launch, have not been put off by the restrictions of lockdown.
Sponsors hammered by pandemic, but long-term business will hold strong, finds ESA survey
May 1 – With clubs and leagues scrambling to keep sponsors engaged, new research from the European Sponsorship Association (ESA) finds that while sponsors are changing their approaches during lockdown, there is confidence in the long-term health of the sponsorship industry despite short term uncertainty and a root and branch disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
LAFC harvests Farmer John deal and kicks off with Instagram broadcast
May 1 – The Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) has unveiled a multi-year partnership with Farmer John, making the specialty meat brand the ‘Official Packaged Meat Partner of LAFC’ beginning with the 2020 season.
Spanish law change gives LaLiga more flexibility in TV deal making
April 28 – LaLiga will have more flexibility in negotiating its broadcast deals following the Spanish government’s scrapping of a three-year licensing restriction on TV rights contracts.