The Week in Sportbiz: ATP Tour omits Alexander Zverev from new campaign, Bundesliga courts private equity, Matchroom signs Campbell Hatton December 10, 2020 The ATP Tour launched its new marketing campaign this week, and tennis fans didn’t need Hawk-Eye to notice there was someone missing. Stars of the men’s circuit Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal naturally featured prominently in the promotional material. So did some less well-known names, including world No34 Hubert Hurkacz, No37 Jannik Sinner [...]
Wolfwalkers is a charming animated film for the holiday season December 10, 2020 The festive season is usually a prime time for family movie spectaculars, and Apple’s streaming service is offering the highly anticipated new film Wolfwalkers from Cartoon Saloon, the company behind Song of The Sea (2014) and The Breadwinner (2017). Wolfwalkers is an animated fantasy set in 17th Century Ireland, in a city occupied the English [...]
Sport at Christmas: Why the festive period is a gift for canny PRs seeking impactful coverage December 10, 2020 Did we take for granted just how much incredible sport usually takes place throughout the festive period? In football, we have Boxing Day and New Year’s Day fixtures. Rugby, meanwhile, sees the annual Big Game in which Harlequins head across the road to Twickenham for the ultimate booze-filled day out for 80,000 fans. Inevitably, it [...]
10 of the most popular shows of 2020 December 9, 2020 Following a record-breaking year for streaming services as a result of the pandemic and two national-lockdowns, we take a look at 10 of the most streamed shows of 2020. The Witcher (Netflix) The first season of The Witcher is Netflix’s most successful show of the year, with around 76 million views. The fantasy show is [...]
Post-Brexit transfer rules: How they work and why legal experts believe they are good for English football December 9, 2020 Post-Brexit transfer rules will be “easier and better” for English clubs and “a good thing for football”, according to a leading immigration lawyer. From January 2021, all overseas signings will have to prove their eligibility via a points system that takes into account factors including how many games they have played. In addition, English clubs [...]
Sky Sports attracts record viewing figures for second time in two months December 8, 2020 Sky Sports has thrived during the second national lockdown, breaking its audience records for the second time in two months. Sunday 29 November saw an average of 1.17m viewers and a peak of 4m tune in to the Sky Sports portfolio of channels. Drawing the record audience were a triple header of live football that [...]
DP World Tour Championship and Race to Dubai 2020 prize money: Up to $5m on offer to winner in European Tour finale December 8, 2020 Two of golf’s biggest prize money payouts will be settled this week when the DP World Tour Championship concludes the Race to Dubai. The winner of the former stands to bank $3m, the biggest single tournament winner’s prize in the sport. Whoever wins the Race to Dubai, the European Tour’s order of merit, meanwhile, will [...]
Christmas is cancelled: Five festive traditions scuppered by Covid December 7, 2020 Coronavirus has a lot to answer for, and while being able to enjoy a few frivolities over Christmas isn’t at the top of the list, it’s still likely to put a downer on December. Here are some of the popular Christmas activities that have been curtailed by the pandemic, and some suggestions on how to [...]
Banning betting companies from sport sponsorship will create a huge void that may never be filled December 7, 2020 A few months ago, football club Swansea City announced its university namesake as its new shirt sponsor and thereby broke ties with a betting company. They may be just the first of many football clubs to break away from gambling and, like Swansea City, they will take a financial hit from the switch. This year’s [...]
Ollie Phillips: England may have won but France were the real stars of the Autumn Nations Cup December 7, 2020 It was brilliant to see England claim the Autumn Nations Cup in such dramatic fashion on Sunday. Rugby fans have been missing that kind of competitive tension, so it was awesome that the competition was decided by a golden penalty. But while England took the silverware, much of the plaudits will rightfully go to the [...]