The DataPOWA view on the most important talking points in the worlds of sport sponsorship, digital & AI.
DAZN TARGET 200 COUNTRIES & UK LAUNCH
A streaming service that is aiming to become a “Netflix of sport” is to expand to 200 countries, including the UK, and is targeting Premier League rights for the British market. The London-based Dazn, which is owned by the billionaire Sir Leonard Blavatnik, currently operates in nine international markets but the high cost of sports rights driven by Sky and BT has delayed a UK launch.
For more on this story, please visit The Guardian
THE ATHLETIC: CHANGING JOURNALISM FOREVER
Upstart US website the Athletic spent last summer snapping up the UK’s top journalism talent – offering head-turning wages – in preparation for its British invasion. But will the goal of creating the ‘Netflix of sportswriting’ also make Fleet Street obsolete?
For more on this story, please visit GQ
RUSSIAN PREMIER LEAGUE LAUNCHES PAID YOUTUBE
Russia’s top-flight soccer league has launched a paid-for membership offering on the social video platform YouTube, which allows subscribers in international territories to live stream all of the remaining matches from the ongoing 2019/20 season.
For more on this story, please visit Soccerex
NEW COMMERCIAL CIRCUIT FOR TRACK CYCLING
Following the creation of a new commercial circuit for track cycling by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in 2019, the UCI and Discovery are today launching a new UCI Track Cycling World League set to debut in the 2021-2022 season. By deepening its long-term relationship with the UCI, Discovery will harness its global scale, extensive media platforms and promotion expertise to help grow cycling around the world.
For more on this story, please visit EuroSport
MATCHROOM LAUNCH DARK MARKETS OTT
The Matchroom Sport agency and promoter is to launch a global streaming platform, offering access to its portfolio of events. Developed by sports streaming and technology company StreamAMG, the agency said Matchroom Live will launch in the spring, hosting a “unique selection” of its catalogue of sports to form a multi-sport offering.
For more on this story, please visit SportBusiness
XFL OFF TO A GOOD START
XFL commissioner Oliver Luck says he is satisfied with the progress of the revived spring-season American football league, but he admits that attendances in both Los Angeles and New York need to improve. Luck was speaking at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on February 29, where the New York Guardians drew a crowd of just 12,116 fans at the 82,000-capacity venue.
For more on this story, please visit SportBusiness
GOOD SHOUT
Soccerex: UK’s first 8k sports broadcast
BikeBiz: HSBC ending deal with British Cycling should be ‘warning’ to sports sponsors
SportBusiness: Six Nations refuses to rule out pay-TV future
Insider Sport: Spanish government reveals sports betting ban plans
BBC Sport: Premier League Hall of Fame to announce first inductees in March
Soccerex: FIFA to discuss rules on leagues taking games overseas