Asian Sport Business Round Up 21st Jan 2012

China dominated the news this week with announcements in sponsorships, venue management and marketing.
The Chinese car maker GAC Group has increased its sports sponsorship portfolio in a deal with the International Table Tennis Federation. The company previously title-sponsored the 2011 version of the World Championships in Rotterdam.
The arrangement will allow the ITTF to offer an overall prize of USD $2.5 million for the new world tour as well as another $1 million for the Grand Finals.
A total of 16 open international tournaments make up this year’s GAC Group 2012 ITTF World Tour. The season opened January 17 in Budapest.

GAC Group also has sponsorship arrangements with the English soccer side Crystal Palace and the NBA’s Houston Rockets.

The sports and entertainment provider AEG China will operate a new 18,000-seat arena in the northeastern seaport city of Dalian. The venue, located about 10 km. from the city’s downtown core, is part of a world-class facility of 82 hectares including a 60,000-seat stadium, 40,000 square meters of baseball fields and a 43,000-square meter tennis center.
The Dalian arena , set to be completed this summer, will host various events during the 2013 China National Games. The city is the southernmost urban center of Northeast China and the second largest city in Liaoning province.
AEG China chief executive John Cappo says the facility will house 41 luxury suites, VIP lounges and an assortment of top-level  guest amenities.  The company is a main player in the country’s venue operation market having served as design consultant and manager of the basketball arena during the Beijing Games. AEG China formed a joint venture with the NBA in 2008 to develop American-style arenas across the country.


The Chinese marketing agency Shankai Sports has been appointed as the exclusive sales agent in that country for the Uefa’s Euro 2012 Club Prestige Hospitality Program. The deal was set up by Match Hospitality AG, the official sales agent of the Club Prestige Hospitality Program for Uefa Euro 2012 in most regions outside the 53 member countries of the Uefa.
Shankai Sports, the Chinese sales agent for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, will sell various hospitality packages for this summer’s main soccer event in Poland and Ukraine. Euro 2012 kicks off in Warsaw, Poland on June 8th with the final match set for Kyiv, Ukraine on July 1.

In more soccer news, the Uefa announced media sales for Euro 2012 in Hong Kong, Singapore and Myanmar. In Hong Kong, now TV will air all 31 matches on its group of sports channels while in Singapore, StarHub will screen the games through its Football Channel. In Myanmar, Shwe Than Lwin Media will broadcast all matches live on its pay-TV channels.

The week rounded off with news that sports equipment giant Reebok has taken on a host of celebrity athletes such as F1 driving ace Lewis Hamilton and Indian cricketer Mahenda Singh (MS) Dhoni as part of its new marketing campaign.
The campaign is based on the theme: “The Sport of Fitness Has Arrived” and highlights weightlifting, sprinting, gymnastics and rowing. The marketing initiative will be put out through TV, print, digital as well as consumer events and activities.
A company release says the new brand strategy is designed to change the way the public sees and appreciates fitness. A spokesperson said people are getting together to experience fitness in a community environment with shared goals and this campaign taps into this trend.

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Asian Sport Business Round Up 14th Jan 2012

Soccer was the news highlight last week along with sponsorships in Thai boxing and yacht racing.

The insurance company Great Eastern extended its co-title sponsorship of the S. League, Singapore’s top men’s professional association football.

The company will put in USD $775,000 until the end of the 2013 season. The arrangement also supports the S League’s Charity Shield to be held on February 5.
This year’s S League season debuts February 9. The league was launched in 1996 and currently includes 14 clubs. The S League’s other co-title sponsor is the food and beverage producer Yeo’s.
There was more soccer news from the Island State with a four-year agreement signed between StarHub and the Football Association of Singapore.
The telecommunications company will become the official broadcaster and main sponsor of the new Malaysian Super League team Lions XII.
The deal includes broadcasting all of Lions XII’s Malaysia FA Cup and Malaysian Cup matches on its pay-TV, online and mobile platforms. The StarHub logo will be displayed on the team jerseys.
Spokespersons for Lions XII announced the Singapore team was getting another sponsor. Hair care company SilkPro will put in USD $317,000 in 2012.

Soccer in Japan is getting a boost. That country’s top competition, the J-League will have its games aired in four Southeast Asian countries.
The Japanese news outlet Asahi reports that two games a month will be broadcast in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia. The J-League kicks off in March.
The league has set up a unique arrangement with the stations. The broadcasters agree to pay for media rights by offering advertising slots to Japanese companies that have focused on those particular Asian markets.
The idea of making J-League soccer available free of charge in Asian markets is to boost the growing popularity of Japanese soccer around the world. The sport has enjoyed considerable growth in recent years; the national women’s team won last year’s Fifa Women’s World Cup and many male players are top performers in the main European sides.

The Thailand brewery, Chang Beer has signed on as title sponsor of this year’s season of Friday Night Fights Muay Thai, the main venue showcasing Thai kickboxing in the US.
The Friday Night Fight series began in 1997 at New York City’s Church Street Boxing Gym with a series of various fighting styles and is now focused only on Thai kickboxing. This year’s season features about a dozen events including two in Spokane and Seattle, Washington.
The popular brewery is the official sponsor of the boxing stadium Lumpinee in Bangkok and has long been a supporter of Muay Thai.

The week rounded off with developments in the sport of sailing and news that the Chinese port city of Qingdao has increased its support of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
Organizers say the multi-million dollar deal will stimulate trade between China and the rest of the world and will build Qingdao’s brand as the Sailing City of China.
The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race was launched in 1996 and gives amateurs between 18 and 69 the chance to sail around the world. The event is held every two years.
The name was inspired by The Great Tea Race of 1866 when four small cargo sailing ships brought in the season’s first consignment of Chinese tea to London.

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Asian Sport Business Round Up 8th Jan 2012

Air Asia started off the year with a busy week announcing deals in F1 racing and Premier League soccer.

The low-cost carrier will invest almost RM 6.5 million in the Grand Prix racing team Caterham F1 for advertising and PR activities.
CEO & spokesperson Tony Fernandes told a media outlet in Kuala Lumpur he wants to spruce up the airline’s image; to elevate its brand perception to that of a high-end technology product associated with F1 racing.

In a recent interview with the team's own magazine, Team Lotus Notes, Fernandes said AirAsia needs to look at Caterham F1 as being more than just a ‘racing team'.
"If we break down what F1 really is, its about innovation."
AirAsia said it intended to use sports sponsorship and branding to drive consumer aspirations and build sports-related themes connected to sales campaigns for various flight destinations.
“This will enable the company to differentiate itself against its competitors which are only pushing low fares and also attract a different segment of customers wanting to associate themselves with F1,” said a company statement.
The arrangement includes a driver development program  to help train new drivers from across the region and encourage public awareness of the airlines. A company statement said the racing team was a Malaysian brand and the company’s involvement and support would generate local interest and goodwill.
The racing group, 1Malaysia Racing Team Sdn Bhd, formerly known as Team Lotus, will be competing in its third Formula One season this year under the name Caterham F1 Team.
Air Asia also announced a contract with the Premier League soccer team Queens Park Rangers that will see the airline’s logo displayed on the team’s away games jerseys. A Malaysian news source reports the deal is worth UK £350,000 and will last one year. Tony Fernandes bought the West London-based Premier League team last fall.
In tennis news, Indian pro Somdev Devvarman has signed a deal with the Indian branch of the direct selling company Herbalife.
Devvarman, who has a world ranking of 84, joins other Herbalife brand ambassadors such as Indian badminton player Saina Nehwal and the female boxer Mary Kom.

In media deals, Ten Sports announced it will broadcast International Cricket Council events in Pakistan for the next three years.
Ten Sports, through its Taj TV parent, bid US$15 million for the rights in a December tender and beat out a rival bid from Independent Music Group, which runs the Geo Super channel.
Independent Music Group had previously won the right to contest the tender through the Lahore High Court, after the Pakistani Television Corporation had originally indicated that Ten Sports would acquire the satellite and cable rights. The court directed PTV to hold a tender.
Ten Sports has been granted the satellite and cable portion of rights that were originally part of the exclusive package acquired last year by PTV from global rights holder ESPN Star Sports for US$30 million. PTV decided to sub-license the pay TV rights to another broadcaster because of the high cost of the initial rights fee.
The package includes media rights to the ICC World Cup and ICC Twenty20 World Cup.

The 2012 sport business deal flow is well underway.

Asian Sports Business Round Up Dec 2011

A round up of the whole year would be appropriate now, but time is short and the deals in 2012 are already starting to flow.  So here is a round up of the last month instead.
The last month of the year rounded off with lots of soccer and football and more news about the London Olympics. There was an assortment of golf and boxing as well as the usual run of new advertising contracts and media deals.

December started off with news that the Indian mobile phone maker Karbonn Mobiles was the title sponsor of the 2011 South Asian Football Federation championship.
India maintained its winning ways by taking the series for the sixth time. Competing teams included Afghanistan, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka as well as Pakistan and Bangladesh. The games were held in New Delhi.
The Suzuki Motor Corporation announced it will sponsor next year’s Asean Football Federation competition. Malaysia and Thailand will co-host the games from November 24 to December 22, 2012.

The AFF Suzuki Cup – held every two years – is the region’s largest international competition.
The American version of football, with the giants of the gridiron, is a going concern in Asia.
The Elite Football League of India signed up its first corporate sponsor with the equipment manufacturer Schutt Sports supplying about USD $1 million worth of protective gear.
The Malaysian soccer team Penang FC has been taken over by the Allianze College of Medical Sciences in a two-year agreement reported to be worth some USD $960,000.
The marketing campaign for the London Olympics is slowly warming up with with news that the state-owned Radio-Television Malaysia will broadcast the 2012 Games in that country.
The PC and notebook brand Acer is gearing up its promotion initiative for the Games by appointing Draft FCB China as its creative agency to work on its global sponsorship of the 2012 Olympic Games.
The month had a mix of other sports marketing news. There was golf: the global port operator International Container Terminal Services announced it was sponsoring the Philippine Open.
Asia’s oldest national golf championship will be held in Mandaluyong from February 9-12.

There was boxing news with the announcement of another million dollar deal with Top Rank Boxing. The global communications  firm AT&T will promote major bouts over the next year including those of Filipino world champion Manny Pacquiao.
In sailing news, Hannes Waimer and his crew aboard Team Premier, representing the United Arab Emirates finished first and second in two races to win the IRC Zero Class in this year’s Phuket King’s Cup Regatta.
The 25th anniversary of the event drew 170 competing boats and generated what local media reported to be about B370mn into the local economy.
In marketing news, the Malaysian brewery Tiger launched an online contest to reach football fans during the Barclays Premier League season. Prizes for the contests include a trip to the UK for two as well as electronic toys and Tiger Beer products.
In advertising news, the Nissan Motor Company appointed Just Marketing International to develop racing programs for the Nismo LEAF RC. The Essence Communications agency was appointed to handle next year’s Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon.
Media deals included the MP and Silva agency distributing broadcasting rights in Vietnam to La Liga football games.

Plenty of deals in the final month of the year, but plenty more to come.  Stay tuned.

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