We’re back for another edition of the Sports Business Round Up and there’s a lot to cover this week! Bundesliga titans Borussia Dortmund aim to boost their connection with the US. The UK and Ireland set their sights on joint-hosting a World Cup, The UFC continue riding the new sports crypto wave, and TikTok disturbs the sports streaming landscape. Lastly, but by no means least, Euroleague look to make some noise with a new marketing partnership.
Borussia Dortmund look to boost their reach across the US with BetMGM
Bundesliga titan, Borussia Dortmund, have signed a regional marketing partnership with gaming operator, BetMGM. The agreement entails collaborative marketing opportunities, fan-focused social media promotions alongside special Dortmund-themed sweepstake prizes.
BetMGM has achieved rights to player imagery, team logos and assets for marketing applications as an exclusive partner in the US. Their customers will receive exclusive offers, watch games through the medium and access co-branded content on Dortmund’s England Twitter account, @BlackYellow.
BetMGM is the first US betting firm to partner with a German football club. Since Walt Disney Co. gained long-term rights to the Bundesliga, this partnership is the most significant following from TopGolf, Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals and National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Philadelphia 76ers.
The UK and Ireland enter the race for the 2030 FIFA World Cup
UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, plans to ‘bring football home’ through a joint-hosting initiative with the Republic of Ireland for the 2030 FIFA World Cup. A government fund of £2.8m is committed for the tournament, and a feasibility process will be carried out before the bidding process commences in 2022.
Let’s bring football home in 2030.
I would love for the home of football to host the 2030 World Cup, and it would be a wonderful thing for the whole country to savour.
We want to do much more to encourage sport post-pandemic and see a bonanza of football in the years ahead. https://t.co/TsCmlKTLMW
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) March 2, 2021
2022’s World Cup will be presented in Qatar, while the 2026 edition will be shared amongst the US, Mexico and Canada. The UK and Ireland’s high ambitions will likely be challenged against Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Spain, Morocco, and Portugal for the 2030 occasion.
Premier League club, Aston Villa, have offered their full support to upgrade Villa Park if necessary to meet FIFA’s tournament guidelines if the bid were successful.
The UFC deepens its ties with sports crypto-betting
Leading MMA promotion, The UFC, forms a Latin American and Asian focused partnership with crypto casino platform stake.com. The two will improve the UFC betting experience by initiating exclusive promotions and VIP experiences to produced athlete-inspired content.
This January saw UFC top dog, Israel Adesanya, as the first-ever brand ambassador for stake.com. This move innovates the way the UFC will engage with their fans and experience the tournament’s excitement.
UFC Middleweight Champion, Israel Adesanya.
Stake.com was founded in 2017 and has become one of the world’s fastest-growing betting and crypto gaming sites. That growth will rapidly expand with the UFC on board, taking their brand to become a powerful competitor across the industry.
TikTok get serious about sports streaming
The short-form video content platform aspires to extend its live sports content. It’s enjoyed a partnership with the National Football League (NFL), which involved build-up content for the Super Bowl. Plus, the end of January saw TikTok agree on a deal with ESPN-owned X Games for a winter sports event.
Five live sessions were aired for the X Games through TikTok, garnering roughly 1.7 million viewers in one day. X Games’ follower count expanded from 83,000 to 405,000. 2021 content for X Games experienced double-digit viewership increases across ESPN and ESPN2 across 192 countries. 105 million video views were achieved throughout Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok.
TikTok’s involvement in sports content demonstrates the power creators have to support rights holders.
Euroleague ‘Elevate’ their marketing strategy through a new partnership
The European basketball tournament has joined forces with American sports consultancy, Elevate Sports Ventures, to innovate the leagues marketing strategy for the Final Tour.
The arrangement will involve cross-collaboration with the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers and Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment (HBSE). An international marketing, premium hospitality service and event management strategy will be devised for the competition.
Together, all parties will amplify fan activations, premium offerings and partnership opportunities to uplift Euroleague’s Final Tour as one of sports most extraordinary events.
That’s a wrap for the Sports Business Round Up! Will BetMGM’s collaboration with Dortmund prove to be their most significant partnership to date? Could we see the 2030 World Cup on UK and Irish soil? How will the UFC’s fan engagement experience alter under the wing of Stake.com? Is TikTok the new force to be reckoned with in the sports streaming space? Plus, will the Euroleague rise their competitive nature against the National Basketball Association?
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