PM confirms return of fans to live sport when lockdown lifts on 2 December November 23, 2020 Spectators will be allowed back to live sport when the second national lockdown is lifted in England next week. Prime minister Boris Johnson confirmed today that up to 4,000 fans will be able to attend sport outdoors in low-risk Tier 1 areas. Up to 2,000 will be able to attend outdoor sport in Tier 2 [...]
Cover story: How the Premier League ‘wrapped’ every stadium and hid the empty seats November 20, 2020 Football fans will by now be familiar with Premier League “stadium wraps” or “seat kills”, even if they don’t recognise the terminology. The vast seat coverings, typically emblazoned with club colours and slogans, have provided a backdrop to the action since English football returned to empty grounds in June. But who makes these displays and [...]
The Big Rebuild: Why sport must recognise importance of PR before it’s too late November 20, 2020 Covid-19 has ripped the sports industry to shreds, leaving a trail of bare-bones teams who are overworked and stretched. During a second lockdown it might seem hasty to think about rebuilding and planning for the coming months. But we know that one day sport’s fan ban will be lifted. Once it does, it will happen [...]
The Week in Sportbiz: Cricket meets hip-hop; Germany exports VAR; and the ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’ goes global November 19, 2020 Cricket and hip-hop aren’t obvious bedfellows but they cosied up this week when South Africa fast bowler Lungi Ngidi joined Jay-Z’s talent stable Roc Nation. Ngidi, South Africa’s player of the year in one-day and T20 internationals, is the first cricketer to sign with Roc Nation Sports. Roc Nation has snapped up mostly American athletes, [...]
ATP Finals prize money: Why payouts at one of tennis’s most lucrative events have been cut by up to 59 per cent November 17, 2020 What the ATP Finals lacks in prestige next to grand slam events it makes up for in prize money. Or at least it did. Because this year’s prize money fund at the men’s tennis showpiece has been cut by more than a third. And whoever claims the title on Sunday will bank barely half the [...]
UK beats US to be named most influential country for sports technology November 17, 2020 The United Kingdom has been named the most influential country in the realm of sports technology by a new report. The UK leads the way because it is home to Formula 1 and golf’s European Tour, organisations praised for innovation. The United States is the second most influential country, according to the inaugural Sports Technology [...]
Sport rights set for devaluation as the industry reaches its Napster moment November 2, 2020 Alongside all the other ways Covid has disrupted our economy and lives, it might be set to have a dramatic impact on the value of sport rights. Some 83 per cent of executives, representing 4bn sports fans globally, believe that media rights have reached a high-water mark, a recent Seven League study found. These executives [...]
The Week in Sportbiz: Rugby fans in ticket rush for Lions’ Japanese Test, plus Uefa’s Euro 2020 delay silver lining October 22, 2020 Demand for attending live sport remains very strong in the time of coronavirus, if the British and Irish Lions are anything to go by. Some 35,000 rugby fans have already registered interest in tickets for next July’s home Test against Japan, which was only announced yesterday, City A.M. has learned. That means Murrayfield’s 67,000 seats [...]
Sportswear giant Adidas ‘mulls Reebok sale’ October 22, 2020 German sportswear company Adidas is planning to sell its Reebok division, Germany's manager magazine reported today.
Here’s why sport is still a good bet in a recession October 19, 2020 There has been a re-awakening. Have you felt it? If you haven’t quite felt it, you’ll have certainly seen the force with which live sport returned to our screens as professional leagues worked hard to piece together a schedule to meet fans’ desire for relative normality. And boy was the audience growing impatient for it. [...]