The Briefing #094

The DataPOWA view on the most important talking points in the worlds of sport sponsorship and digital.

CR7 – INSTAGRAM UNCOVERED

A recent report from Business Insider stated that Cristiano Ronaldo makes more from Instagram than he does from his on- field earnings, US$47 million to US$34 million, respectively. That is staggering when you consider the Juventus star is at the peak of his profession, but also serves as a reminder to athletes everywhere of the power of social media. Seven League took a deeper look at Ronaldo’s Instagram over the past 12 months to analyse the performance across his channel. Our own POWA index data shows he’s the most followed footballer in the world across all social channels:

For more on this story, please visit SportsProMedia

ASIA NEEDS THE POWA

R.Sasikumar is a Singaporean former footballer, entrepreneur, angel investor, motivational speaker and business mentor and someone who speaks our language. He explains his vision how we now live in a world of opportunity, where companies can spend their sponsorship budgets in more efficient and niche ways. In the past, sports sponsorship was a relatively simple affair. It often came down to a logo on a shirt, pitch-side branding, signing up an athlete as a brand ambassador or just sponsoring a trophy.

For more on this story, please visit SportBusiness

CHINA CRISIS A WARNING FOR PREMIER LEAGUE

The Guardian’s Marina Hyde on why sticking to the principle of freedom of speech can be uncomfortable when commercial gain in China is at stake. For those who’ve missed the saga of the NBA’s travails in China, have no fear. It isn’t going away any time soon, with last weekend’s development being groups of fans wearing masks and “Stand With Hong Kong” T-shirts standing in protest at the Brooklyn Nets preseason finale at the Barclays Center, in a show of support unlikely to be looked on fondly by the People’s Republic. Tuesday night’s opening NBA games were duly blacked out by China’s state broadcaster.

For more on this story, please visit The Guardian

DAZN’S SNAPCHAT PLAY FOR YOUNGER SUBSCRIBERS

DAZN wants to make boxing mainstream again, so it’s turning to Snapchat and YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI. This week DAZN debuted the first of two Snapchat shows that it will use to promote a fight between professional boxers Canelo Alvarez and Sergey Kovalev on Nov. 2 and a follow-up match on Nov. 9 between YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI. “We want to reach new fans and make them aware of not just the amazing [fight] schedule that we have but also the talent of someone like Canelo and Logan. Snapchat provides that,” said Steve Braband, head of digital at DAZN.

For more on this story, please visit Digiday

THE INSIDE STORY ON LFC’S KIT BATTLE WITH NEW BALANCE

The Liverpool Echo’s Paul Gorst and Jonathan Humphries have covered Liverpool’s kit deal battle with New Balance in detail. Initially struck February 2015, New Balance took over from their off-shoot company, Warrior, after penning a record-breaking Anfield kit deal. The £45m-a-year contract has been a huge commercial and creative hit for New Balance since. The last two seasons have yielded the highest-selling Liverpool strips in Anfield history with the 2019/20 shirt also expected to break records too. Since inking the agreement with the 18-time league champions, New Balance’s stock has risen sharply, aided and abetted by the ongoing improvements Klopp has made to a squad that are now European champions.

For more on this story, please visit The Echo

THE HIGHEST RANKING WOMAN IN MEN’S PROFESSIONAL SPORT

USA’s National Lacrosse League (NLL) is an up-and-coming contender as a top sports league in the United States. in August the league announced the appointment of Jessica Berman, deputy commissioner and EVP of business affairs, making it the first professional men’s league to hire a woman in that position, making Berman the highest-ranking woman in men’s professional sports leagues. Her reputation within the industry originated at the National Hockey League (NHL) and when the opportunity to join the NLL presented itself, she knew she had to entertain the idea.

For more on this story, please visit Forbes

GOOD SHOUT

Unofficial Partner: Forget The Netflix For Sport Cliche

Prolific North: Man City sack PHD following influencer ad embarrassment

Soccerex: Budweiser NWSL campaign calls on more brands to sponsor league

ManUtd.com: Man Utd to stream all 2000 Premier League goals on social channels

Soccerex: Nou Camp becomes FIFA testing lab for data monitoring