Industry News – Weekend Update – Sunday, June 25th, 2017

AFL

• THURSDAY night football has proven a ratings winner for Channel Seven, with an average of 731,000 free-to-air viewers switching on to its seven games in the timeslot this season.
• The delicate art sports sponsorships: AFL star Matthew Pavlich on the balancing act
• RICHMOND and Greater Western Sydney are pushing to play a game for premiership points in India next season.
• Essendon Football Club and Adelaide Football Club are in the process of forming a strategic partnership that will see both Clubs work together to grow the game of AFL in India.

NRL

• Former AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou has a blunt message for the NRL: underestimate players’ association boss Ian Prendergast at your peril.
• New Cronulla Sharks chairman Dino Mezzatesta provides blueprint for club.

Rugby Union

• NRL lure hard to resist for rising schoolboy stars, says Karmichael Hunt

Soccer

• Football Federation Australia chief David Gallop does not expect FIFA to intervene in the administration of the local game, despite the FFA’s looming failure to meet key deadlines for the transition to a more democratic membership.

General

• The English Football Association has ended its sponsorship deals with betting company Ladbrokes and confirmed it was ceasing all commercial agreements with gambling firms.
• The ASX-listed tech start-up founded by former Melbourne AFL player Joel McDonald, GetSwift, has raised $24 million, bringing on a range of new US-based investors including top-tier institutions, family offices and hedge funds.
• Basketball the big money spinner for Australians after NBA draft
• Data is becoming critical to the fan experience and provides a competitive advantage for brands, sponsors and sports clubs says Simon Farrant, Perform Group’s VP of content and corporate marketing.

Esports

• McDonalds signs Australian Starcraft sponsorship