A lot is going on in the Sports Marketing front. First and foremost FIFA’s controversial decision to extend 2026 World Cup Rights without consulting with former right holders Univision and ESPN. What are the implications of this decision? Plus Vince Doria retires, Kingsford Charcoal new bags and more…
DOWNLOAD our just released 2015 Soccer Marketing Guide!: Portada’s 2015 Soccer Marketing Guide!
Is FIFA trading 2022 Winter in Qatar for a 2026 World Cup in the U.S?
We recently reported that FIFA extended the Soccer World Cup broadcast rights for Telemundo (Spanish) and Fox (English) to the 2026 World Cup. At the time it was pretty clear that the FIFA decision would not go exactly “unnoticed” by Soccer Marketing stake holders. The New York Times asks: “Why, 11 years before the tournament was to be played, did the agreement need to be made, especially if the United States had a chance to host the Cup? The article continues by asking why if Fox and Telemundo have not broadcasted a single match yet, are they being rewarded with the broadcast rights of an additional World Cup? Former right holders Univision and ESPN were not consulted by FIFA spokespeople for both media companies said.
As we reported in a prior article, the main motivation by Fifa to extend the rights is to appease Fox, and to a lesser degree Telemundo, because it is moving the 2022 Qatar from Summer to Winter, a time when the Soccer World Cup competes with more sport events than in the Summer. Juan Carlos Rodriguez, president of Univision Deportes, told the New York Times that FIFA failed to maximize the value of the United States rights in its deals with Fox and Telemundo and that the agreements jeopardized the possibility of the 2026 World Cup coming to America.“If the rights are already fixed,” he said, “there’s little incentive to FIFA to award 2026 to the U.S.” He added: “If we had been asked to bid, we would have taken it very seriously.”
Kingsford Charcoal bags feature Ed O’Bannon
Don’t expect to see any Kingsford Charcoal signage during the NCAA tournament next month. The company likely killed all hope of that last week when it unveiled special-edition bags of charcoal trolling the NCAA. The image on the front of the bag is that of Ed O’Bannon, the former UCLA star who last August won a lawsuit challenging the NCAA’s unwillingness to pay athletes for the use of their names and likenesses. The bags also feature the hashtag #PayEd and the slogan “Lights 25% faster. Doesn’t burn athletes.””Kingsford Charcoal has become one of the many companies to use the likeness of a famous amateur basketball player for marketing purposes during that mad, mad month of March,” a press release revealing the limited edition bags read. Kingsford is just adding a surprising twist: the charcoal brand is actually going to pay that player— Ed O’Bannon— for placing him on the front of a limited bag of charcoal.” One way in which Kingsford intends to compensate O’Bannon is through its #PayEd hashtag. For every tweet that includes that hashtag, Kingsford will pay O’Bannon $1, up to $25,000.
Vince Doria exits ESPN
Vince Doria, director of news at ESPN, is retiring from ESPN. Doria is ending one of the most remarkable careers in sports journalism. As sports editor of the Boston Globe during the 1980s, he oversaw one of the greatest sports sections ever with writers such as Peter Gammons, Will McDonough, Leigh Montville, Bob Ryan and many others. Then he got to work on an even greater section as a senior editor for Frank Deford’s The National. When the grand experiment for a national sports newspaper flamed out, Doria moved over to ESPN. When he arrived in 1992, the network’s fledgling sports news coverage consisted mainly of scores and highlights. Under Doria, the news operation has grown to what he terms as a “cross-platform behemouth” with hundreds of staffers. “I’ve been fortunate,” Doria said. “I don’t know if anybody has gotten all the chances I have.”
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Entravision to broadcast 2015 CONCACAF Copa Oro and CONMEBOL Copa America
Entravision Communications Corporation announced that radio broadcasts of the 2015 CONCACAF Copa Oro and CONMEBOL Copa America Tournaments will be broadcast live on 16 Entravision radio stations in 15 markets across the United States from June 12, 2015 through July 26, 2015. These games are part of a comprehensive rights agreement with Futbol de Primera providing Entravision with the radio broadcast rights to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Following the enormous ratings success of the 2014 FIFA World Cup radio broadcasts, which delivered as much as a 30 share in Hispanic Men 18 to 49 years of age, Entravision is in a unique position to deliver live match broadcasts on its radio stations and offer extensive digital and mobile coverage through real-time updates, news and special soccer programming content. “Soccer is an integral part of Latino culture and we are thrilled to provide our audiences with premiere coverage of these marquee tournaments and connect advertisers with soccer’s most passionate fans,” said Mario M. Carrera, Entravision’s Chief Revenue Officer. Entravision will bring more than 30 Copa matches to Spanish-language audiences on all of the company’s owned and operated Univision and UniMas affiliate television stations, in addition to the following radio stations:
Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, CA – KLYY 97.5 FM / KDLD 103.1 FM
Stockton, Modesto, CA – KXSE 104.3 FM / KTSE 97.1 FM
Sacramento, CA – KXSE 104.3
Palm Springs, CA – KLOB 94.7 FM
Monterey, Salinas and Santa Cruz, CA – KSES 107. 1 FM
Phoenix, AZ – KBMB 710 AM, KVVA 107.1 FM and KDVA 106.9 FM
El Centro CA – Yuma, AZ – KSEH 94.5 FM
Reno, NV – KRNV 102.1 FM
Denver- Colorado Springs, CO – KJMN 92.1 FM
Las Vegas, NV – KRRN 92.7 FM
McAllen, TX – KNVO 101.1 FM
El Paso, TX – KSVE 1650 AM and KINT 93.9 FM
Lubbock, TX – KBZO 1460 AM/KAIQ 95.5 FM and KAIQ 95.5 FM
Albuquerque, NM – KRZY 105.9 FM
DOWNLOAD our just released 2015 Soccer Marketing Guide!: Portada’s 2015 Soccer Marketing Guide!
