Molten bounces into pan-European market with Europa League deal
October 23 – Japanese manufacturer Molten Corporation has signed a three-year agreement to become the official match ball supplier for the Europa League.
Football Marketing
LA Galaxy go full STEAM ahead with education programme
October 23 – LA Galaxy and Southern New Hampshire University are launching their first week-long Galaxy STEAM programme at the StubHub Center with the aim of improving the educational experience of 250 local middle-schoolers across Los Angeles.
PSG and Rolling Stones find satisfaction in merchandising hook-up
October 20 – Iconic rock band The Rolling Stones have combined with Paris Saint Germain to launch a limited-edition capsule collection which will launch exclusively withinthe legendary Parisian fashion boutique Colette.
Barcelona and Verizon’s go90 to launch weekly TV show aimed at US market
October 19 – Barcelona are the latest of Europe’s giant clubs to announce a behind-the-scenes TV show with a media partner. The club and US streaming service Verizon go90 have announced the launch of Inside Barça which will air weekly.
Booking.com checks in with UEFA for 4-year national competitions deal
October 19 – Booking.com has become the UEFA’s official accommodation booking partner for national team football competitions in a four-year global deal running from 2018 to 2022.
Perform builds performance data powerhouse with Scout7 acquisition
By Paul Nicholson
October 19 – Perform Group has bought sports technology company Scout7 adding a deeper level of sports data to its media and professional services businesses. Scout 7 will work closely with Perform’s OtpaPro, developing new “product set” of performance data and scouting solutions.
OM expand Orange deal with shirt sponsorship added to naming rights
October 17 – French Ligue 1 side Olympique de Marseille who started the season without a shirt sponsor, have now filled the space with an expansion of their partnership with telecommunications company Orange.
UAE Pro League partners with Sportradar regionally for data-driven fan engagement
October 16 – The UAE Pro League Committee (PLC) has engaged sports data and technology company Sportradar to collect and build stats-based content with the objective of building the fan base for the league in the country.
Amazon joins the US feasting on Euro club docuseries with Man City deal
October 16 – Facebook have one, Netflix announced they are making one, and now Amazon Prime are joining the US OTT broadcast entry into fly-on-the-wall football docuseries with a Manchester City biopic.
Swiss feds probe beIN Sport and Valcke over World Cup TV rights deals
By Andrew Warshaw
October 13 – In a stunning twist to their anti-corruption football probe, Swiss federal prosecutors have opened a criminal case against the Qatari boss of Paris St Germain, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, for suspected bribery linked to World Cup broadcasting rights.
Sky and BT viewing for Premier League has strong start to 2017-18 season
October 13 – Viewing figures for Premier League football in the UK are showing a rebound in interest from the start of the season, after summer data showed that viewing figures for Sky’s Premier League coverage had slumped to their lowest point in seven years last season.
Nike hot foots Portugal extension as trans-Atlantic battle with Adidas heats up
By Mark Baber
October 12 – Nike and the Portuguese Football Federation have extended their long-term partnership until 2024. No value was announced for the deal.
Serie A switches overseas TV rights agency to IMG in €371m deal
October 12 – Sports agency IMG has won the international TV sales rights to Italy’s Serie A in a three-year deal reportedly worth €371 million per season. The price marks a doubling of the value of the Italian overseas rights as well as a switch in agency.
Dangdai Lifan brews a beer for its fans, while Li Tie tasked to get Wuhang Zull cooking
October 12 – You can tell that a country is getting serious about football when a beer company launches a special brew for the club’s fans.
Netflix to debut Juventus fly-on-the-wall docuseries in 2018
October 11 – Netflix have entered the European football documentary market announcing a fly-on-the-wall series with Italian champions Juventus that will debut on the streaming service in 2018.