AXA step up to ensure future of Swiss women’s league
June 8 – AXA is to become the title sponsor for the Swiss women’s league after signing a two-year deal with the Swiss Football Association (SFA).
Football Marketing
Stay at home: UK viewers to get a free-TV feast of Premier League football
June 4 – The Premier League clubs meeting today are expected to rubberstamp a domestic TV schedule that will see 33 of the remaining 92 fixtures broadcast free to air.
Nike made to wait as Liverpool complete season in New Balance kit
June 3 – New Balance, who are being replaced by Nike as Liverpool’s kit supplier from next season, have agreed a short-term extension to their current contract that will see them through to July 31 and the likely crowning of Liverpool as Premier League champions.
Besiktas ring the changes with return of Beko as main shirt sponsor
June 3 – Vodafone are giving up the shirt sponsorship of Turkish giants Beşiktaş from next season, but are retaining the naming rights to the club’s stadium that were agreed as part of 10-year $145 million deal in 2013.
Mediapro and TF1 to debut dedicated Telefoot channel in France with August restart
June 2 – French professional football will return in August with a large bulk of matches broadcast on a dedicated football channel – Telefoot – as Mediapro Group makes its debut in France in a joint venture with TF1 Group.
Bournemouth cash out of M88 shirt deal
June 2 – Premier League Bournemouth have ended their shirt sponsorship with Asian online bookmaker M88 following the launch of a Gambling Commission investigation into the betting site and associated brands operated by parent company Mansion Europe.
FC Midtjylland score with drive-in but fail to net in the match
June 2 – Weeks after announcing a novel scheme for allowing fans to watch games, Danish Superliga leaders FC Midtjylland stuck to their word and organised a movie-style Drive-In to compensate for fixtures played behind closed doors as a result of Covid-19.
LFP agrees reported €16.5m with beIN to settle season’s international TV rights
June 1 – Amid growing scrutiny over the French decision to cancel the season, the LFP and rights-holding broadcaster beIN Sports have reached a compromise over the outstanding international broadcast rights fee payments.
KAMO opens doors to online Liverpool club shop
June 1 – Liverpool will soon be back in business in the Premier League, in Japan they have opened a new business, with the club having unveiled its first online official club store in Japan.
Remote Cheerer app to deliver ‘live’ crowd noise to J. League matches
May 27 – With all football played behind closed doors when it returns, Japan is turning to technology to generate atmosphere by developing a smartphone app that will allow fans to cheer remotely.
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.
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.