The British & Irish Lions and Rugby Australia have appointed Pitch International (Pitch) as its exclusive international media rights distribution partner.
The news comes as the two organisations begin the process of selling and distributing their international broadcast media rights for the 2025 Tour.
The partnership covers the Lions’ three Test matches against the Wallabies, as well as the pre-Test matches and the international broadcast rights for all the Lions’ behind-the-scenes documentaries since 1997.
The agreement covers worldwide rights for all live games excluding the UK, Ireland and Australia.
Ben Calveley, CEO of The British & Irish Lions, commented, “The British & Irish Lions has a global fan base of over 14 million and as we continue the countdown to 2025, it is important to ensure all our fans across the world have the opportunity to watch Andy Farrell and the team in action. We are delighted to be partnering with Pitch for our international media rights distribution and look forward to working with them to bring the eagerly anticipated 2025 Tour to even more fans around the world.”
Pitch International Managing Director of Rugby, Henri Kamerling, added, “We are excited to be working alongside the legendary Lions and Rugby Australia on what promises to be an incredibly exciting and hard-fought series. We believe that we can use our unique understanding of the rugby media rights landscape to further grow the popularity of this much-loved brand and take it to a truly global audience.”
The Milwaukee Bucks has partnered with Eleven Sports Media, marking the first-ever NBA partnership for the UK-based sports media agency.
As part of the partnership, the Bucks and Eleven Sports Media have created the Bucks Small Business Program, a first-of-its-kind initiative in the NBA that will ‘support and empower small businesses in the Milwaukee area.’
Matt Pazaras, Bucks Chief Business Development and Strategy Officer, said, “The Bucks’ global presence is constantly expanding, and we’re excited to add Eleven Sports Media to our growing list of international partners.
“Teaming up to create the Bucks Small Business Program will further our support for Milwaukee’s vibrant small business community.”
Matt Cairns, Eleven Sports Media Founder and CEO, added, “We’re thrilled to form our first-ever NBA partnership with the Bucks and continue our expansion into the United States sports market.
“Eleven Sports Media is committed to empowering small businesses and we’re proud to bring new opportunities to Milwaukee-area businesses.”
Aston Villa FC has announced that Acorns will appear on the front of the team’s shirts in Thursday’s UEFA Europa Conference League Last-16 tie at Ajax.
The children’s hospice has been a long-term partner of the club and its name previously adorned Aston Villa’s shirts between 2008 and 2010.
This relationship extends off the field with Villa’s first team players and management also making a regular visit to Acorns during the build-up to Christmas and Easter to distribute presents and gifts to the children.
Chris Heck, President of Business Operations at Aston Villa, said, “Aston Villa and Acorns have a relationship that is world-renowned, which was brought to global attention some 16 years ago when the hospice’s name appeared on the front of those famous claret and blue shirts for the first time.
“We are delighted to be able to continue to work together for such a noble and important cause and we hope this exposure to such a large audience will be hugely beneficial to Acorns.
“On our previous visit to the Netherlands earlier in this competition, we were proud to wear the Aston Villa’s Foundation’s branding on the front of our shirts and we are extremely pleased that we’ll be able to carry Acorns’ message in a similar way.”
EFL League Two football club Bradford City AFC has partnered with Ticketmaster, which will see the ticketing company provide the Bantams’ all-new ticketing operation.
A long-term agreement will see the introduction of a brand-new online ticketing platform, streamlining a supporter’s ticket purchase journey, both physically and online.
City’s Director of Ticketing and Supporter Services, Marco Townson, said, “Addressing the concerns raised by our supporters regarding our previous ticketing platform has been a top priority for us, and it is clear that a significant change is necessary to not only rectify these issues but also to enhance the overall ticket purchasing process.
“Our new partnership with Ticketmaster marks a pivotal moment in our journey towards making things more accessible and convenient for all our fans. We are extremely excited to introduce a state-of-the-art online ticketing platform that includes user-friendly features like an interactive stadium map and streamlined online purchasing for disabled supporters.
“Furthermore, we are embracing the digital age with the integration of digital ticketing solutions, such as Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. This not only modernises the way our supporters receive and store their tickets but also facilitates a smoother entry into the stadium, reducing queues, enhancing security, and promoting environmental sustainability by cutting down on paper waste.”
Sportradar Integrity Services, a unit of sports tech and data business Sportradar, has published its annual report, ‘Betting Corruption and Match-fixing in 2023’.
The report details the company’s findings into suspicious betting on global sport. Based on the monitoring of approximately 850,000 events and matches across 70 sports, the report highlights a total of 1,329 suspicious matches in 2023, occurring in 11 sports in 105 countries.
Compared to 2022, the data indicates the suspected manipulation rate in all sports remained steady at 0.21%, or one in every 467 matches in 2023. Similarly, the analysis has marked no single sport having a suspicious match ratio greater than 1%, confirming that 99.5% of sporting events monitored had no suspicious betting detected.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) assisted in detecting almost three quarters (73% or 977 instances) of all suspicious matches in 2023, representing a 123% increase when compared to 2022.
Andreas Krannich, EVP, Integrity, Rights Protection and Regulatory Services, said, “Continued investment in the development of technology is key to detecting otherwise hard-to-find occurrences of match-fixing. In combination with access to account-level data, collaboration across the industry and human experts, we have a suite of powerful tools to help both prevent and detect risks to sports integrity.
“Further advancements in the fight against match-fixing will be possible as the AI models continue to learn and we will keep honing our expertise to protect sport from manipulation.”
Dame Sarah Storey has accepted a nomination from the board of Lancashire Cricket Club to become the club’s next president.
The 46-year-old is Britain’s most decorated Paralympian and will join as president for a two-year term.
Storey will take on the role in place of former president Sir Howard Bernstein, who stepped down in 2023.
Storey, commented, “As a member and fan, to have this opportunity is very exciting.
“The next two years – and beyond – are going to be hugely exciting for everyone connected with Lancashire cricket. From my perspective, I know how keen the club is to win silverware and I’m also hugely encouraged to see the women’s game continue to grow at pace.
“I also want to support the club in its objective to make Lancashire the most welcoming and inclusive cricket club in the country.”
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