Sport Forza goes exclusive with Sportradar’s ad:s service to boost revenue
February 12 – Sportradar has agreed a deal with Forza Football’s live scores app to exclusively manage its ad inventory via its ad:s ad server technology.
Football Marketing
LaLigaTV breaks new ground in UK with Amazon Prime channel deal
February 12 – LaLiga has added its 24/7 English-language tv channel to the Amazon platform as one of the Prime Video Channels in the UK only.
Roma go from digital to physical with Nigerian link
February 12 – AS Roma is to open their first youth academy on the African continent in Abuja, Nigeria, the Italian club have announced.
English football tells Twitter and Facebook to stop protecting racist abusers
February 11 – English football bodies have joined forces to send an open letter to Facebook and Twitter demanding action amid increased levels of abuse aimed at high-profile players and officials on social media.
TikTok signs sponsorship with UEFA in time for Euro 2020
February 11 – Short-form mobile video app TikTok has signed an official partnership with UEFA for the rescheduled Euro 2020 Championship that kicks off this summer.
Man City supersizes its perimeter boards with two-tier LED system
February 10 – Manchester City are going big with a new ‘Supersized LED’ perimeter board system that is currently being installed at its Etihad Stadium.
Serie A TV deals reach crucial point as CVC shows signs of cold feet
February 10 – The new Serie A deals for domestic and international broadcast rights – revenue that will underpin the league and its clubs – have reached crucial and sensitive stages at the same time.
AYX onboard with Roma to bring Asian focus as regional betting partner
February 10 – The market for betting sponsorship of Italian clubs may be drying up domestically as gambling authorities move in with new rules, but the appetite for promotion in international markets is still there.
Premier League’s data giants take ticketed fans to court for collecting stats
February 9 – The battle over who can collect match data from Premier League stadia took another ugly turn early this week when official data provider Genius Sports Group sued Sportradar in the UK saying it was illegally sending ‘data scouts’ to matches.
AFC adds new broadcasters in Asia and Europe for 2021-24 rights cycle
February 9 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has increased the pace of its broadcast rights sales with two new partners announced for its 2021 to 2024 rights cycle, one in Europe and one Asia.
Manchester and Liverpool clubs join for anti-racism message; FIFPro demands social media clean-up
February 8 – The four Premier League clubs from Manchester and Liverpool have joined forces to condemn the online racial abuse suffered by players in recent weeks.
Ozil’s new club Fenerbahce pushes beIN to limit, sparking fear over next SuperLig deal
By Paul Nicholson
February 8 – Mesut Ozil, no stranger to conflict and controversy in recent years, may not find Fenerbahce the calm and safe haven club he was looking for.
MLS pushes deadline on securing pay deal with players union, but key differences remain
February 5 – Major League Soccer (MLS) has again extended the deadline for negotiating a new pay deal with its players union. The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the MLS Players Association (MLSPA) has to be in place before the start of the new season in the Spring.
Canal+ throw LFP a €35m lifeline for more TV rights to end of season
February 5 – France’s professional leagues have been handed a badly needed lifeline to help them over their broadcast rights crisis after Ligue 1 reached an agreement with Canal Plus to screen the remainder of matches this season following the spectacular collapse of a record contract with Mediapro.
Fluminense signs online gambler Betmotion for one-year ‘shirt’ deal
February 5 – Brazil’s Fluminense have agreed a sponsorship with online gaming operator Betmotion that will see its logo on the club’s shirt in what is described as a ‘chest seal’ (see picture).