Fan Engagement
Features
Sky looking to the future with YouTube Premier League highlights
SportBusiness talks to YouTube’s head of sport EMEA, Tomos Grace about Sky Sports' recent decision to make Premier League match highlights available on YouTube.
British horse racing needs ‘collaborative approach’ to overcome decline in media and betting revenues
With a decline in media and betting revenues associated with the closure of multiple retail bookmakers on the cards, Ben Cronin looks at how senior stakeholders in British horse racing will react to this threat.
Paddy Power’s Save Our Shirt campaign offers positive message but struggles to balance risk and reward
Never knowingly understated, Irish bookmaker Paddy Power's latest marketing activation ended up garnering a £50,000 fine for one of its partner clubs. Adam Nelson takes a look at the story behind the betting company's 'unsponsorship' of five UK football teams, and whether the campaign can maintain relevance and visibility throughout the season.
Las Vegas’s minor league teams confirm city’s place as major league sports town
The city of Las Vegas is not immediately recognizable for its reputation as a sports hub. Bob Williams looks at how it is transitioning "from the entertainment capital of the world to the sports and entertainment capital of the world".
NFL stadium designers look to social media, youth to guide next wave of new facilities
Stadium designers are increasingly turning toward psychological and anthropological research to guide the development the next generation of NFL facilities and create comfortable, as well as Instagram-able, venues. Randy Williams reports.
PGA Tour signs chat platform agreement with GameOn Technology
New PGA Tour Chatbot will allow fans to ask questions, gain instant access to tournament data
Facebook chooses Barcelona to develop new Fan Subscription platform
Spanish LaLiga football club Barcelona has said it will become the first partner for social media platform Facebook’s new Fan Subscription service.
Serie A considering promotional activity and Super Cup game in India
The Italian football league, Serie A, is looking at running promotional activity, potentially including a Super Cup game, in India to capitalise on burgeoning interest in the sport
MLB embraces Big Data to guide sold-out FoodFest
RFID bracelets worn by fans at the event allow for real-time monitoring of traffic patterns, food supplies
FIS goes digital-first in fan engagement push ahead of Beijing Winter Olympics
The International Ski Federation is ramping up its global engagement efforts as it builds towards Beijing 2022, with its secretary general, Sarah Lewis, describing China as “the biggest opportunity for winter sports in the last 50 years”. Adam Nelson reports on how FIS is using its digital strategy to encourage consumers to take to the slopes.
Surrey’s post-World Cup T20 sales fuel continuing ambivalence for The Hundred
Surrey County Cricket Club has seen a surge in ticket sales thanks to England’s victory in the ICC Cricket World Cup and a new family zone at the Kia Oval. Chief executive Richard Gould talks to Ben Cronin about the club's commercial successes and offers his take on the ECB Hundred.
Rights to beloved Phillie Phanatic mascot in dispute after more than 40 years
Legal battle revives tension that previously existed between the MLB club and the design firm that helped create iconic character.
ICC targets younger audiences with digital-first, data-led broadcasting approach
Adam Nelson reports on how the International Cricket Council revamped its broadcast coverage ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, focusing on storytelling to attract new audiences and break digital engagement records
NHL leverages Ovechkin’s pulling power to expand footprint in China
In order to develop their presence in China, the NHL have sent Alexander Ovechkin on a one-man ambassadorial trip to Beijing this week. Bob Williams talks to David Proper, executive vice-president of media and international strategy, about how ice hockey's governing body is leveraging its players' star power.
LaLiga and Bundesliga aim to make inroads on Premier League’s Asian dominance
The Premier League has long been the top international football league in Asia. As the 2019-20 season begins, SportBusiness Asia spoke to the Asian offices of Spain’s LaLiga and Germany’s Bundesliga about their work to challenge the English league’s position.
“Women’s football is about so much more than what happens on the pitch” | Fifa’s Sarai Bareman
SportBusiness speaks to Fifa's chief women’s football officer, Sarai Bareman, to get her reflections on the 2019 Women's World Cup in France and hear how she is hoping to leverage the momentum gained from that event to further develop women’s football around the world.
MLB aims to ‘democratize’ esports with inclusive push around Home Run Derby VR game
Major League Baseball's developing esports strategy, much more inclusive and based on a game title much simpler to play, veers heavily from other major US sports properties
Falcons and Rays go cashless to take fan experience ‘to an even higher level’
Cashless deployments in Atlanta, Tampa point the way toward likely broader adoption across the sport industry.
Minor League Baseball seeks to move national sales to “biggest levels in the market”
After more than three years of steady growth building a national sales operation, the affiliated minor leagues of baseball has growing ambitions
Liverpool goes it alone | Why an ‘independent’ US tour offered the club more than the ICC
Liverpool FC decided to arrange its own tour of the United States this summer, rather than compete in the pre-season International Champions Cup, because the club preferred to be "independent" and have more freedom to arrange opponents, dates and venues.
ECB hopes Cricket World Cup momentum fuels enthusiasm for The Hundred
The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup has demonstrated that there is a significant market for the ECB's new competition, The Hundred, according to its managing director, Sanjay Patel. He tells Adam Nelson how the ECB intends to capitalise on England's stunning World Cup victory and extend the sport's moment in the sun well beyond this summer.
“Gaming is statistically the fastest growing entry point into a sport” | Fan Engagement panel highlights, SDMS
Highlights of the Fan Engagement panel at the Sports Decision Makers Summit in London. Highlights of the Fan Engagement panel at the Sports Decision Makers Summit in London. The panel looks beyond cookie-cutter approaches to fan engagement and discusses the importance of creativity and technology in creating deeper and more profitable engagement with fans.
TikTok’s growth pushes platform into key engagement role for sports properties
As TikTok has grown into one of the world's most popular social-media apps during the past year, the short-form video-sharing platform has become an important tool for sports rights-holders to expand and engage their fanbases.
NBA uses Summer League to retain year-round relevance and extend its global footprint
Kim Bohuny, NBA senior vice-president of international basketball operations, spoke to Bob Williams about the Summer League's growing popularity and its increased role in the league's international expansion.
Philadelphia Phillies see large bump in business fortunes with Harper signing
Fan excitement over the acquisition of the star free agent has fueled the MLB club to what is by far the league's largest per-game attendance increase. But Paul Hagen examines how the organization is already thinking long-term and looking to sustain fan engagement over Harper's entire 13-year deal.
USTA hosts Fortnite World Cup finals to introduce new audiences to refurbished US Open venue
The United States Tennis Association's successful bid to host the inaugural Fortnite World Cup finals at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, is part of a wider strategy to introduce the refurbished facility to a new and younger audience. Story by Bob Williams.
Time to monetise | The football clubs turning Chinese engagement into revenues
Many European football clubs are aiming to convert their large Chinese fanbases into significant new revenue streams. However, they must adapt to this complex market in order to capitalise on its huge potential. Jonathan Dyson reports from Shanghai.
Washington Capitals’ inaugural Stanley Cup triumph leads to commercial uplift ‘across board’
NHL team broke e-commerce and in-venue merchandise records after first title in franchise history
TV ratings and digital streaming minutes on NBC Sports Washington up significantly year-on-year