Asian Sport Business Round Up 26th May 2012

The third week of May had motor sports news with plenty of football, soccer and a media deal.

Formula One's initial public offering is set for June in Singapore and could raise some $2.5 billion; one of the largest flotations this year .
Formula One’s majority shareholder, CVC Capital Partners, has reduced its share of the company by selling $1.6 billion worth to a group of investors. The deal gave the buyers, BlackRock, Norges Bank Investment Management and Waddell & Reed, a 21% stake in F1. Reuters has estimated the business is worth around USD $9.1 billion.

Local media source Sky News reported that Unilever’s Jean-Marc Huet will join the F1 board as independent non-executive director. Unilever became an F1 sponsor this year in a $15 million deal that will see Rexona and Clear brand logos displayed on Lotus vehicles.
Other board members include Nestle chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe and representatives of F1 teams Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren as well as FI chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.

In football news, global sportswear maker Nike has extended its relations with the Asian Football Confederation and will become an official partner.
The agreement will touch on all AFC national competitions, including the AFC Asian Cup - Asia's top sporting event - as well as the qualifying tournaments for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016

Olympic Games and the AFC Club programme, which includes the fast-growing AFC Champions League.
The Oregon-based company is the leading designer, marketer and distributor of sports clothing and equipment.

The new Adidas basketball shoes are taking to the skies. The sportswear company introduced its new brand of Crazy Light 2 shoes by tying them to balloons and floating them over Beijing in a bid to show how light they are.
The balloons were tracked by GPS and fans who recovered them were entitled to a free pair. Chinese basketball players Zhang Qingpeng and Meng Duo appeared as spokespersons in the launch.

In soccer news, Barclays Premier League club Queens Park Rangers has extended its sponsorship deal with AirAsia. A sharing arrangement with Malaysia Airlines was called off earlier this month.
The Business Times reports the new deal – worth RM12.393 million – will make AirAsia the club’s official playing kit sponsor and main club partner. The airline’s logo will be displayed on QPR’s playing kits for the rest of the season.

The week rounded off with a media deal. One World Sports has extended its role as the exclusive North American multi-platform rights holder to Asia’s top domestic soccer leagues.
Under the terms of a deal with World Sport Group, the 24-7 English-language broadcaster of Asian sports will air games from Japan’s J. League, the Korea Professional Football League (K-League) and the Chinese Football Association Super League for the next three years.

Each weekend, OWS will feature three matches from the J. League, two from the CSL and one from the K-League, adding to its current weekly coverage of two games from the Australia’s A-League.

www.sportsfestivalasia.com

Asian Sport Business Round Up 19th May 2012

Sports marketing news midway through May touched on motorsports, the Olympics, track and field, news from the Asian Grand Prix as well as media deals.


The 2012 Grand Prix Macau has found a title sponsor. The casino and gambling firm Sociedade de Jogos de Macau will sponsor the Formula Three race and the World Touring Car Championship.
The event is known as a training ground and has included the participation of F1 world champions such as Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinenand Ayrton Senna.

Company spokesperson Ambrose So said his company has been rooted in the former Portuguese colony for more than 50 years and has seen the race develop from a local experience to an international sports festival.
The 58th Macau Grand Prix, the last race of the Formula Three calendar, runs from 17 to 20 November.

In Olympics news, producers of the carbonated sports drink 100Plus have set up an initiative encouraging Malaysian involvement in the London Summer Games.
The campaign, using the tagline: “United for Success – 1Malaysia, 1 Goal", involves consumer road shows and digital initiatives inviting locals to support the country’s athletes.
The campaign’s road show will run at major shopping malls to collect cheers of support by Malaysians.
The cheers will be uploaded onto the 100Plus Facebook page and set up as part of a 100Plus world show reel.
The campaign will also have in-store packs featuring the photos of leading athletes such as Datuk Lee Chong Wei, Azizulhasni Awang, Pandalela Rinong and Khairul Fahmi Che Mat on the packaging.
Selected packs will carry codes worth as much as RM500,000 with the grand prize being a trip to London.

In track and field news, the Asian Grand Prix Series got underway without a title sponsor. The news source Today reports that the Singapore-based events company Trax Global never delivered the USD $150,000 it had agreed to furnish back in March.
The Asian Athletics Association treasurer Maurice Nicholas was quoted as saying the company was unable to fulfill their obligations but the event was going ahead as planned.

The Asian Grand Prix got underway earlier in the week in Conburi City, Thailand despite weather problems. Veteran Filipino athlete Marestella Torres won the long jump event in the final leg of the Grand Prix while Vietnam’s Truong Thanh Hang won the 800 metre event.

The week rounded off with a media deal. Regional sports content provider ESPN Star Sports secured exclusive rights to broadcast the Spanish La Liga football games across Asia for the next three years
Coverage will be provided through its channels on its television, online through its ESPN player and mobile ESPN.
ESPN Star Sports partnered with Grey Group Singapore earlier this year to set up a digital campaign for Singapore football fans for the start of the FA Cup. ESPN is also the official broadcaster of the London 2012 Olympic Games and will be providing round the clock coverage.

www.sportsfestivalasia.com

Asian Sport Business Round Up 12th May 2012

Last week’s news had marathon running, cricket, soccer and motor sports as well as a few media deals.


One of Malaysia’s premier athletic events, the Shape and Men’s Health Night Run is back again this year with the support of an impressive group of health and lifestyle sponsors. The run – organized by the media group BluInc – is backed by Spritzer, Fitness First, Skechers, Milo, Nivea and Rexona with GNC as the title presenter.
The Shape and Men’s Health Night Run is set for July 14 in Putrajaya.

The lifestyle brand Sher Singh has finalized a licensing deal with the Indian Premier League cricket team Kings X1 Punjab.
The firm will put out a line of official leisure wear for players, staff and supporters in connection with the Cricket by Sher Singh collection launched last year.
The Kings X1 Punjab team is in fifth place with four games left to play in the IPL regular season.

In motorsport news, Toyota USA has renewed its sponsorship agreement with the AMA Monster Energy Supercross championship for the next two seasons.
The Japanese car maker will continue as official vehicle of the series. Toyota will present each of the 17 races scheduled in this year’s calendar.

In soccer news, the UAE-based airline Emirates will be the presenting sponsor of the Arsenal club’s pre-season tour of Asia and Africa.

The Arsenal 2012 tour kicks off in Kuala Lumpur against Malaysian X1 on July 24 and will include a game at the Bird’s Nest in Beijing against Premier League rivals Manchester City on July 27. More games are set for Hong Kong and Abuja, Nigeria.
Arsenal head for West Bromwich Albion later this week for the final match of the 2012-2013 Premier League season. The team is looking for a win to clinch a third-place finish and qualification for the group stage of next season’s Uefa Champions League.

The week rounded off with media deals. The UK-based radio outlet talkSPORT is set to expand its coverage to key Asian markets including Jakarta, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. The station plans further expansions to India, the Philippines and China.
The 24-hour FM news station recently joined up with Barclays Premier League as official audio partner. This agreement gives talkSPORT exclusive radio rights outside Europe as well as Internet broadcasts across Asia in English, Spanish and Mandarin starting this August.

The Asian Rugby Football Union has made a series of broadcast deals for the Asian market.
Agreements were made with Al Jazeera in the Middle East and North Africa; Star Sports across Asia; Eurosport Asia and J-Sports in Japan; Korean channel SBS; Sky Networks in New Zealand; Kazakhstan Sports; Sri Lanka's Carlton Sports Network; and ABS-CBN Philippines will all broadcast games from the 2012 tournament.

UStream.tv was named as a pay-per-view broadcaster in selected territories.
This year's tournament has Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, and the United Arab Emirates competing in the top division.


www.sportsfestivalasia.com

Asian Sport Business Round Up 5th May 2012

April had plenty of rugby, football and soccer news along with marathon running, motor sports and the usual bunch of media deals.


The Chinese IT firm Huawei was busy last month. The telecom company signed a two-year contract to sponsor the Canberra Raiders National Rugby League team reportedly worth some USD $1.77 million.
Huawei Australia spokesperson John Lord said the move would help build brand awareness in mobile handsets and enterprise IT. Huawei also made a deal with Atletico Madrid to become the club’s front of shirt sponsor for their game against Real Madrid.


Track and field was a big item. Adidas announced it was bringing back its King of the Road marathon to Malaysia. The 14th annual edition of the event is a regional effort of Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia. Some 10,000 participants are expected at the run to be held on September 9.

The Adidas ‘All In’ campaign is in full swing. The company’s ‘Ready to Run’ promotion signed up pop icon Katy Perry and a couple of big name athletes to advertise the new line of Adidas ClimaCool running gear. The ‘Ready to Run’ campaign will be held in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.


More track news had the fitness and wellness firm True Group announcing it would return as sponsor of SPH Magazine’s Shape Run. The all-female event is planned for July 15 in Singapore.


In racing news, Budweiser announced as its first venture in Asian racing a project to sponsor the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia for the current season.
The race celebrates its 10th season as the region's premier one-make championship.

In motorcycle racing, Air Asia extended its sponsorship agreement with the MotoGP World Championships and series organizer Doma Sports.
The airline will serve as title sponsor of the Japanese Grand Prix 2012 and 2013 as well as this year’s Australian Grand Prix and an option for next year’s event.
Air Asia holds the title rights to the British leg of the series to be held June 15 to 17th.


There was more Olympics news with the dairy brand Dutch Lady announcing it would support four Malaysian athletes at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

The month rounded off with the usual run of media deals. The sports marketing firm MP and Silva signed a contract with the Football Association for broadcasting rights to English soccer games across Asia.
The International Cricket Council announced that Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation will be its official broadcast partner for this year’s World Twenty20.
Eurosport secured air rights to the US Open Grand Slam in several Asian regions for the next four years while the Chinese video website made a deal with CCTV to stream a series of Olympics programmes online.
The series will provide viewers with an overall look at the Games with news, interviews, documentaries and content sharing between viewers.
www.sportsfestivalasia.com