New venue selection model delivers £4.5m of revenue growth for Rugby League World Cup
Ahead of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, David Walmsley talks to RLWC2021 chief executive Jon Dutton about the strategy behind England's winning bid and how it secured a ten-fold increase in the value of match hosting rights over the figures achieved when the event was last staged in the UK.
The commercial pros and cons of World Rugby’s Nations Championship concept
Rights marketing experts assess the commercial implications of World Rugby’s proposals for a new Nations Championship.
The Long Read | How big are the commercial opportunities in athlete biometric data?
Harvesting and monetising athlete biometrics looks to be the ultimate ambition of sport’s obsession with data. Early movers in this space discuss the opportunities and risks ahead.
Blockchain ticketing experiments show value of digital, but simpler solutions may be available
Open golf championship looks to follow Uefa in trialling blockchain ticketing
Experiments are adding weight to the case for more digital ticketing
IMG hedges its bets with OTT safety net
IMG launches own direct-to-consumer distribution platforms for Italian and Spanish football rights
Ascot digs into customer data to help double hospitality revenues
Ascot digs into customer data to help double hospitality revenues in five years, adopting a data-driven approach to fine dining.
Data insights allow ICC partners to maximise digital activations
Two years ago the International Cricket Council hired data-driven sports marketing agency Two Circles help meet the rising demand that rights-holders demonstrate measurable impact against brand objectives. David Walmsley investigates how they did it.
The OTT report | Chapter three: Barriers to growth
3: Clinging to the Cord: Barriers to OTT Growth
The OTT report | Chapter two: Audiences and data
2: Audiences and Data: Not Just a Number
The OTT report | Chapter one: The story so far
2017 was the year in which OTT video became a demonstrably mainstream platform as viewership of its services extended into a majority of US homes for the first time. David Walmsley sets the scene in the first part of our in-depth report into the state of the growing sector of OTT broadcasting.
The OTT report
The next big thing in almost any market is reliably hailed “the Netflix” of whatever sector is being disrupted by its new distribution model. Th
Newcastle Falcons follow analytical approach to revive flagging attendances
A deep-dive into how rugby union’s Newcastle Falcons used a new CRM and corresponding data-driven approach to marketing communications as a means of reinvigorating its attendances.