Posts tagged formula one
The fans don’t follow F1… they follow the Brands and Atheletes
Nov 18th
Formula One television audiences in Spain and Italy fell drastically this year, reflecting disappointing performances by Spanish driver Fernando Alonso and Italian car manufacturer Ferrari, which suffered its worst season in 16 years.
According to the latest sports viewing survey from TV Sports Markets and Eurodata TV Worldwide, the big falls in Spain and Italy were partly counterbalanced by a significant lift in UK audiences. Viewership in the other two top European markets, France and Germany, remained broadly stable.
Audiences in Spain dropped 29 per cent on 2008, with Alonso’s worst-ever season coinciding with coverage shifting from what was the country’s leading commercial broadcaster, Telecinco, to smaller rival La Sexta. La Sexta’s live coverage averaged just under three million viewers per race and drew an audience share of 31 per cent.
Audiences for Italian public-service broadcaster Rai fell 21 per cent against 2008, when Ferrari won the championship, averaging 5.6 million viewers per race. Further analysis shows, perhaps surprisingly, that almost 40 per cent of the audience was female. Just under 50 per cent of the audience was aged over 55.
In the UK, Jenson Button’s championship season provided a perfect start for public-service broadcaster the BBC, which took over the rights at the start of this year after commercial rival ITV opted to concentrate its limited resources on Champions League football. Audiences were 16 per cent on ITV’s audiences last year and the highest since the BBC last had the rights in 1996.
In France, audiences for commercial broadcaster TF1 rose less than one per cent to 3.1 million. Some 33 per cent of the audience were women, slightly lower than the gender split for Champions League football, where women accounted for 35 per cent of TF1’s average audience last season. Forty-nine per cent of the Formula One audience in France is over 50 years of age, the same proportion for the Champions League. In Germany, RTL averaged 5.2 million viewers per race, with the penultimate race of the season in Brazil attracting the season-high of 7.2 million viewers and a 28-per-cent audience share.
Sources: TV Sports Markets, Eurodata TV Worldwide, Mediametrie – BARB – AGF/GfK Fernsehforschung – AUDITEL – TNS Audiencia de Medios – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Korea and Canada on FIA’s F1 2010 calendar
Sep 22nd
Formula One racing’s governing body, the FIA, has released the calendar for the 2010 world championship. The addition of the Korean Grand Prix, and a return to Canada (subject to race contract), will make for a 19-round season – two more than in 2009. The Bahrain Grand Prix will kick off proceedings on March 14, followed by the Australian race two weeks later. The Malaysian and Chinese races will take place in April, with the Sepang event getting underway an hour earlier than this year, with a revised start time of 1600 hours local time.
In May, the championship heads to Europe for rounds in Spain, Monaco and Turkey, before the teams make their way to Canada for the first time since 2008, subject to the completion of contractual negotiations with Formula One Management. If these are not completed, then the Turkish Grand Prix will be moved to June 6.
Following the completion of the European season, the teams will fly out to Asia in late September for back-to-back races in Singapore and Japan, followed by the inaugural Korean Grand Prix. Abu Dhabi will be the penultimate round, with the championship finale returning to its familiar home of Brazil in mid November.
2010 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar
14 March – Bahrain
28 March – Australia
4 April – Malaysia
18 April – China
9 May – Spain
23 May – Monaco
30 May – Turkey
13 June – Canada*
27 June – Europe (Valencia)
11 July – Great Britain
25 July – Germany
1 August – Hungary
29 August – Belgium
12 September – Italy
26 September – Singapore
3 October – Japan
17 October – Korea
31 October – Abu Dhabi
14 November – Brazil
*Subject to the completion of contract negotiations with Formula One Management. If these are not completed then the Turkish Grand Prix will be moved to 6 June.
Note: The race in Australia will start at 1700 local time, in Malaysia at 1600 local time, in Singapore at 2000 local time, and in Abu Dhabi at 1700 local time.
F1 – what goes around comes around!
Sep 16th
Team Lotus will be back in Formula One next season – and the Norfolk man draughted in is Mike Gascoyne, ex Toyota, Jordan and Tyrrell designer. Malaysian entrepreneur and new team principal Tony Fernandes is involved in the project – something which brought with it backing from the Malaysian government and a consortium of investors from the country.”It is different from what Lotus was, obviously, as the company is now owned by Proton and this is very much a Malaysian backed initiative. But that backing is exciting and great for Formula One, and to tie that in with the heritage of Lotus has a very nice synergy.” said Gascoyne.
Lotus F1 will initially be set up in the RTN centre at Hingham, a 50,000 square foot facility most recently used by Bentley for its Le Mans programme. Works will eventually move to Lotus’ new operations base at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit. Sponsorship announcements are anticipated and driver line-up is due to be revealed next month.
Lotus F1, based in Norfolk joins Manor Motorsport, based in Buckinghamshire, as two of the four new teams in Formula One in 2010 boosting the motorsport industry in the UK. The other teams are from the USA, Team US F1, and Campos from Spain – more good news is the return of Cosworth as an engine supplier. BMW Sauber also has a new owner having been sold to Swiss-based Qadbak Investments.
It seems the auto manufacturers are pulling out gradually as teams – leaving more independant teams to fill the F1 grid… isn’t this how it used to be?? What goes around comes around!
SportsPro ranks the world’s 200 most valuable sports properties
Jun 19th
SportsPro magazine has published the world’s first ranking of sports properties in its July issue. Unsurprisingly, the National Football League (NFL) is ranked as the world’s most valuable sports property, with a value of US$4.5 billion. It is followed at the top of the table by three other American properties – Major League Baseball (MLB) (US$3.9 billion), the NBA (US$3.35 billion) and Nascar (US$1.9 billion).
The newest property in the list is the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is valued at US$1.6 billion – a staggering achievement for a two-year-old property.
The highest ranked European team property is the Ferrari Formula One team (7th) at a value of US$1.55 billion, followed by Manchester United Football Club (8th) at US$1.495 billion. The most valuable American sports club is the Dallas Cowboys (10th), the NFL team, valued at US$1.278 billion.
Tiger Woods (11th) is the highest rated athlete property with a value of US$1.25 billion, followed by Jack Nicklaus (16th) at US$1 billion. Golfers dominate the athletes’ table because of the high earnings from designing golf courses; Tiger Woods is expected to earn over a billion dollars from designing courses in the next decade and will almost certainly eclipse his on-course earnings. David and Victoria’s Beckham Brand Ltd property (88th) is valued at US$375 million.
Many single annual events appear, led by the Wimbledon tennis championships (22nd) valued at US$900 million.
Unsurprisingly, the most valuable competition is the Fifa World Cup (5th) valued at US$1.7 billion, ahead of the Summer Olympic Games (15th) at US$1.04 billion. The Uefa Champions League (13th) is valued at US$1.1 billion, eclipsing the Summer Olympics due to its annual status.
Ends
OVERALL TABLE (200) (Top Ten tables below)
Source: SportsPro Magazine
1 National Football League; 32 NFL franchises Football - US$4.5 billion
2 Major League Baseball; 32 MLB franchises Baseball – US$3.936 billion
3 National Basketball Association; 30 NBA franchises Basketball – US$2.344 billion
4 Nascar France family; Motorsport – US$1.9 billion
5 Fifa World Cup; Fifa Soccer – US$1.7 billion
6 Indian Premier League BCCI (India) Cricket US$1.6 billion
7 Scuderia Ferrari; Fiat Motorsport – US$1.55 billion
8 Manchester United FC; Malcolm Glazer Soccer – US$1.495 billion
9 Formula One; CVC/Royal Bank of Scotland Motorsport – US$1.45 billion
10 Dallas Cowboys Jerry Jones Football US$1.278 billion
11 ETW Corp/Tiger Woods Design Tiger Woods Golf US$1.25 billion
12 New York Yankees George Steinbrenner Baseball US$1.19 billion
13 Uefa Champions League Uefa Soccer US$1.1 billion
14 Real Madrid Club Members Soccer US$1.073 billion
15 Olympic Games (Summer) International Olympic Committee Multi-Sports US$1.024 billion
16 Nicklaus Design and Golf Equipmt Jack Nicklaus Golf US$1 billion
17 Washington Redskins Daniel Snyder Football US$999 million
18 PGA Tour PGA of America Golf US$970 million
19 New York Giants John Mara/Steven Tisch Football US$932 million
20 New York Jets Robert Wood Johnson IV Football US$927 million
21 Arsenal FC Stan Kroenke Soccer US$910 million
22 The Wimbledon Championships All England Lawn Tennis Club Tennis US$900 million
23 US Tennis Open United States Tennis Association Tennis US$880 million
24 New England Patriots Robert Kraft Football US$861 million
25 World Wrestling Entertainment McMahon Family Wrestling US$837 million
26 Miami Dolphins Wayne Huizenga/Stephen Ross Football US$828 million
27 Liverpool FC George Gillett/Tom Hicks Soccer US$801 million
28 Arnold Palmer Design Arnold Palmer Enterprises Golf US$800 million
29 Great White Shark Enterprises Greg Norman Golf US$800 million
30 Uefa European Championship Uefa Soccer US$800 million
31 FC Barcelona Club Members Soccer US$793 million
32 AC Milan Silvio Berlusconi Soccer US$774 million
33 National Hockey League 30 NHL franchises Ice Hockey US$760 million
34 Rugby World Cup Rugby World Cup Ltd/IRB Rugby Union US$750 million
35 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club Golf US$750 million
36 Michael Jordan Michael Jordan/Nike Basketball US$725 million
37 Houston Texans Robert McNair Football US$725 million
38 Philadelphia Eagles Jeffrey Lurie Football US$723 million
39 FC Bayern Munich Club members Soccer US$721 million
40 ICC World Cup International Cricket Council Cricket US$700 million
41 ATP World Tour Assoc. of Tennis Professionals Tennis US$700 million
42 Indianapolis Colts James Irsay Football US$699 million
43 Chicago Bears McCaskey Family Football US$692 million
44 Baltimore Ravens Stephen Bisciotti Football US$690 million
45 Denver Broncos Patrick Bowlen Football US$689 million
46 Tampa Bay Buccanneers Malcolm Glazer Football US$685 million
47 Carolina Panthers Jerry Richardson Football US$676 million
48 Cleveland Browns Randy Lerner Football US$673 million
49 New York Mets Fred Wilpon Baseball US$665 million
50 Green Bay Packers Shareholders Football US$664 million
51 Kansas City Chiefs Hunt Family Football US$660 million
52 Pittsburgh Steelers Rooney Family Football US$659 million
53 Seattle Seahawks Paul Allen Football US$657 million
54 Boston Red Sox John Henry/Thomas Werner Baseball US$651 million
55 Chelsea FC Roman Abramovich Soccer US$634 million
56 Cincinnati Bengals Michael Brown Football US$612 million
57 New Orleans Saints Thomas Benson Football US$608 million
58 St Louis Rams Chip Rosenbloom/Stan Kroenke Football US$603 million
59 Detroit Lions William Clay Ford Football US$597 million
60 Arizona Cardinals William Bidwell Football US$594 million
61 Team McLaren-Mercedes; Mercedes/Mumtalakat/Ron Dennis/Mansour Ojjeh Motorsport – US$580 million
62 San Diego Chargers Alexander Spanos Football US$577 million
63 Buffalo Bills Ralph Wilson Jr. Football US$574 million
64 Tennessee Titans Kenneth Adams Jr. Football US$569 million
65 Atlanta Falcons Arthur Blank Football US$567 million
66 San Francisco 49ers Denise DeBartolo York Football US$561 million
67 Oakland Raiders Allen Davis Football US$559 million
68 Minnesota Vikings Wilf Family Football US$545 million
69 Monaco Grand Prix; Automobile Club de Monaco Motorsport – US$520 million
70 Olympic Games (Winter) International Olympic Committee Multi-Sports US$504 million
71 America’s Cup Société Nautique de Genève Sailing US$500 million
72 Golden Boy Promotions Oscar de la Hoya Boxing US$500 million
73 Ryder Cup PGA of America/PGA European Tour Golf US$500 million
74 Jacksonville Jaguars Wayne Weaver Football US$497 million
75 Internazionale Massimo Moratti Soccer US$481 million
76 Juventus Agnelli Family Soccer US$476 million
77 Los Angeles Dodgers Frank McCourt Baseball US$469 million
78 Chicago Cubs Tom Ricketts Baseball US$455 million
79 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games Federation Multi-Sports US$450 million
80 New York Knicks Cablevision Systems Basketball US$405 million
81 Australian Open Tennis Australia Tennis US$400 million
82 LeBron James LeBron James Basketball US$400 million
83 Six Nations Six Nations Rugby Ltd. Rugby Union US$400 million
84 Chicago Bulls Jerry Reinsdorf Basketball US$399 million
85 Phoenix Suns Robert Sarver Basketball US$381 million
86 WTA Tour Women’s Tennis Association Tennis US$380 million
87 Los Angeles Lakers Jerry Buss/Philip Anschutz Basketball US$379 million
88 Beckham Brand Ltd. David Beckham/Victoria Beckham Soccer US$375 million
89 Detroit Pistons Karen Davidson Basketball US$374 million
90 Boston Celtics Wycliffe Grousbeck Basketball US$353 million
91 Major League Soccer MLS Soccer US$350 million
92 Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation Cycling US$350 million
93 Hendrick Motorsports; Rick Hendrick Motorsport – US$335 million
94 AS Roma Sensi Family Soccer US$331 million
95 FC Schalke 04 Club members Soccer US$331 million
96 MotoGP; Dorna Sports Motorsport – US$330 million
97 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Arturo Moreno Baseball US$330 million
98 Toronto Maple Leafs Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Ice Hockey US$325 million
99 Philadelphia Phillies William Giles Baseball US$322 million
100 St Louis Cardinals William DeWitt Jr. Baseball US$315 million
101 Roush Fenway Racing; Jack Roush/John Henry Motorsport – US$313 million
102 Asian Games Olympic Council of Asia Multi-Sports US$310 million
103 Indianapolis 500; Tony George Motorsport – US$310 million
104 Cleveland Cavaliers Daniel Gilbert Basketball US$310 million
105 San Francisco Giants William Neukom/Susan Burns Baseball US$305 million
106 Houston Rockets Leslie Alexander Basketball US$304 million
107 Dallas Mavericks Mark Cuban Basketball US$304 million
108 Copa America Conmebol Soccer US$300 million
109 French Open French Tennis Federation Tennis US$300 million
110 PGA European Tour PGA European Tour Golf US$300 million
111 Ultimate Fighting Championship Zuffa LLC Martial Arts US$300 million
112 Chicago White Sox Jerry Reinsdorf Baseball US$292 million
113 New York Rangers Cablevision Systems Ice Hockey US$291 million
114 Atlanta Braves Liberty Media Baseball US$289 million
115 Houston Astros Robert Drayton McLane Jr. Baseball US$288 million
116 Seattle Mariners Nintendo Baseball US$277 million
117 San Antonio Spurs Peter Holt Basketball US$269 million
118 Washington Nationals Theodore Lerner Baseball US$264 million
119 Texas Rangers Tom Hicks Baseball US$262 million
120 Singapore Grand Prix; Ong Beng Seng/Singapore Government Motorsport – US$261 million
121 Baltimore Orioles Peter Angelos Baseball US$260 million
122 Cleveland Indians Lawrence Dolan Baseball US$260 million
123 San Diego Padres John Moores Baseball US$260 million
124 Toronto Raptors Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Basketball US$260 million
125 Panathinaikos Giannis Vardinagiannis Soccer US$254 million
126 Arizona Diamondbacks Ken Kendrick Baseball US$253 million
127 The Open Championship Royal & Ancient Golf US$252 million
128 Tottenham Hotspur FC Daniel Levy Soccer US$250 million
129 Colorado Rockies Charles Monfort/Richard Monfort Baseball US$241 million
130 BMW-Sauber F1 Team; BMW Group Motorsport – US$240 million
131 Detroit Tigers Michael Illitch Baseball US$240 million
132 Philadelphia 76ers Comcast Spectacor Basketball US$234 million
133 Utah Jazz Miller Family Basketball US$233 million
134 Minnesota Twins James Pohland Baseball US$232 million
135 Toronto Blue Jays Rogers Communications Baseball US$229 million
136 Washington Wizards Abe Pollin Basketball US$229 million
137 Sacramento Kings Maloof Family Basketball US$227 million
138 Orlando Magic Richard DeVos Basketball US$226 million
139 Milwaukee Brewers Mark Attanasio Baseball US$225 million
140 Cincinnati Reds Robert Castellini Baseball US$222 million
141 Renault F1 Team; Renault Motorsport – US$220 million
142 Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Tendulkar Cricket US$220 million
143 Golden State Warriors Christopher Cohan Basketball US$217 million
144 Montreal Canadiens George Gillett Ice Hockey US$217 million
145 Denver Nuggets Stan Kroenke Basketball US$213 million
146 Tampa Bay Rays Stuart Sternberg Baseball US$208 million
147 Oakland Athletics Lewis Wolff/John Fisher Baseball US$207 million
148 Kansas City Royals David Glass Baseball US$204 million
149 Manchester City FC Abu Dhabi United Investment Group Soccer US$202 million
150 Australian Football League AFL AFL US$200 million
151 English FA Cup English Football Association Soccer US$200 million
152 FC Porto FCPorto SAD Soccer US$200 million
153 Atlanta Hawks Atlanta Spirit Basketball US$199 million
154 Portland Trail Blazers Paul Allen Basketball US$199 million
155 Miami Heat Micky Arison Basketball US$196 million
156 Detroit Red Wings Michael Illitch Ice Hockey US$196 million
157 Indiana Pacers Herbert Simon/Melvin Simon Basketball US$196 million
158 Los Angeles Clippers Donald Sterling Basketball US$195 million
159 Aston Villa FC Randy Lerner Soccer US$195 million
160 Minnesota Timberwolves Glen Taylor Basketball US$195 million
161 Oklahoma City Thunder Clay Bennett Basketball US$195 million
162 Memphis Grizzlies Michael Heisley Basketball US$191 million
163 New Jersey Nets Bruce Ratner Basketball US$191 million
164 Werder Bremen Werder Bremen and Co. Ltd. Soccer US$190 million
165 Fenerbahce Fenerbahce S.K. Soccer US$190 million
166 Toyota Racing; Toyota Motor Corp. Motorsport – US$190 million
167 Volvo Ocean Race; Volvo Event Management UK Sailing – US$190 million
168 Pittsburgh Pirates Robert Nutting Baseball US$188 million
169 Charlotte Bobcats Robert Johnson Basketball US$184 million
170 New Orleans Hornets George Shinn/Gary Chouest Basketball US$184 million
171 Milwaukee Bucks Herbert Kohl Basketball US$180 million
172 Florida Marlins Jeffrey Loria Baseball US$179 million
173 Philadelphia Flyers Comcast Spectacor Ice Hockey US$178 million
174 Dallas Stars Tom Hicks Ice Hockey US$177 million
175 Celtic FC Dermot Desmond Soccer US$172 million
176 VfB Stuttgart Club members Soccer US$171 million
177 Boston Bruins Jeremy Jacobs Ice Hockey US$170 million
178 Hamburger FC Club members Soccer US$165 million
179 Galatasaray Galatasaray SK Soccer US$160 million
180 Vancouver Canucks Francesco Aquilini Ice Hockey US$153 million
181 Borussia Dortmund Borussia Dortmund GmbH Motorsport US$150 million
182 Colorado Avalanche Stan Kroenke Ice Hockey US$150 million
183 Olympique Lyonnais Jean-Michel Aulas Soccer US$150 million
184 New Jersey Devils Jeffrey Vanderbeek Ice Hockey US$144 million
185 Olympique de Marseille Robert Louis-Dreyfus Soccer US$141 million
186 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing; Teresa Earnhardt Motorsport – US$140 million
187 Minnesota Wild Craig Leipold/Philip Falcone Ice Hockey US$140 million
188 Los Angeles Kings Philip Anschutz Ice Hockey US$136 million
189 Everton FC Bill Kenwright Soccer US$133 million
190 Ottawa Senators Eugene Melnyk Ice Hockey US$133 million
191 Chicago Blackhawks Wirtz Family Ice Hockey US$132 million
192 Anaheim Ducks Henry Samueli/Susan Samueli Ice Hockey US$131 million
193 Calgary Flames Calgary Flames LP Ice Hockey US$131 million
194 Tampa Bay Lightning Oren Koules/Len Barrie Ice Hockey US$130 million
195 Glasgow Rangers FC Sir David Murray Soccer US$126million
196 Pittsburgh Penguins Mario Lemieux/Ronald Burkle Ice Hockey US$126 million
197 Newcastle United FC Mike Ashley Soccer US$120 million
198 Kobe Bryant Kobe Bryant Basketball US$120 million
199 San Jose Sharks Kevin Compton/Greg Jamison Ice Hockey US$116 million
200 Penske Racing; Roger Penske Motorsport – US$115 million
Source: SportsPro Magazine
TOP TEN LEAGUE PROPERTIES
Rank Property Owner/Majority Shareholder Sport Value
1 (1) National Football League 32 NFL franchises Football US$4.5 billion
2 (2) Major League Baseball 30 MLB franchises Baseball US$3.936 billion
3 (3) National Basketball Assoc. 30 NBA franchises Basketball US$2.344 billion
4 (4) Nascar France family Motorsport US$1.9 billion
5 (6) Indian Premier League BCCI (India) Cricket US$1.6 billion
6 (9) Formula One CVC/RBS/Ecclestone Motorsport US$1.45 billion
7 (13) Uefa Champions League Uefa Soccer US$1.1 billion
8 (18) PGA Tour PGA of America Golf US$970 million
9 (33) National Hockey League 30 NHL franchises Ice Hockey US$760 million
10 (41) ATP World Tour Association of Tennis Prof Tennis US$700 million
Source: SportsPro Magazine
TOP TEN TEAM PROPERTIES
Rank Property Owner/Major Shareholder Sport Value
1 (7) Scuderia Ferrari Fiat Motorsport US$1.55 billion
2 (8) Manchester United FC Malcolm Glazer Soccer US$1.495 billion
3 (10) Dallas Cowboys Jerry Jones Football US$1.278 billion
4 (12) New York Yankees George Steinbrenner Baseball US$1.19 billion
5 (14) Real Madrid Club Members Soccer US$1.073 billion
6 (17) Washington Redskins Daniel Snyder Football US$999 million
7 (19) New York Giants John Mara/Steven Tisch Football US$932 million
8 (20) New York Jets Robert Wood Johnson IV Football US$927 million
9 (21) Arsenal FC Stan Kroenke Soccer US$910 million
10 (24) New England Patriots Robert Kraft Football US$861 million
Source: SportsPro Magazine
TOP TEN INDIVIDUAL ATHLETE PROPERTIES
Rank Property Owner/Major Shareholder Sport Value
1 (11) ETW Corp/Tiger Woods Design Tiger Woods Golf US$1.25 billion
2 (16) Nicklaus Design Jack Nicklaus Golf US$1 billion
3 (28) Arnold Palmer Design Arnold Palmer Golf US$800 million
4 (29) Great White Shark Enterprises Greg Norman Golf US$800 million
5 (36) Michael Jordan Michael Jordan/Nike Basketball US$725 million
6 (72) Golden Boy Promotions Oscar De La Hoya Boxing US$500 million
7 (82) LeBron James LeBron James Basketball US$400 million
8 (88) Beckham Brand Ltd David and Victoria Beckham Soccer US$375 million
9 (142) Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Tendulkar Cricket US$220 million
10 (198) Kobe Bryant Kobe Bryant Basketball US$120 million
Source: SportsPro Magazine
TOP TEN ANNUAL TOURNAMENT PROPERTIES
Rank Property Owner/Major Shareholder Sport Value
1 (22) The Wimbledon Championships All England Lawn Tennis Club Tennis US$900 million
2 (23) US Tennis Open United States Tennis Association Tennis US$880 million
3 (35) The Masters Augusta National Golf Club Golf US$750 million
4 (69) Monaco Grand Prix Automobile Club de Monaco Motorsport US$520 million
5 (81) Australian Open Tennis Australia Tennis US$400 million
6 (83) Six Nations Six Nations Rugby Ltd. Rugby Union US$400 million
7 (92) Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation Cycling US$350 million
8 (109) French Open French Tennis Federation Tennis US$300 million
9 (120) Singapore Grand Prix Ong Beng Seng/Singapore Government Motorsport US$261 million
10 (127) The Open Championship Royal & Ancient Golf US$252 million
Source: SportsPro Magazine
McLaren’s sponsors get nervous…
Apr 23rd
The Daily Telegraph has learnt that agents acting on behalf of key sponsors have approached the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone’s Formula One Management company to impress upon them the gravity of the situation if McLaren are suspended by the FIA’s world council at a hearing in Paris next Wednesday.McLaren have been summoned by the sport’s ruling body to answer five charges that they lied to race stewards in Australia and Malaysia – cheating Toyota out of third place – and procured world champion Lewis Hamilton into supporting that deception. The team have already been disqualified from the Australian Grand Prix and stripped of the points they won in that race, while sporting director Dave Ryan, on whom all blame was apportioned, has been sacked.
Ron Dennis, the executive chairman of McLaren Automotive, has also withdrawn from the sport in a thinly-veiled attempt to placate the FIA, with whom he has had a difficult relationship. However, the FIA are continuing to investigate the chain of events that led to Hamilton issuing an emotional apology to the world in Sepang three weeks ago.
A source close to one of McLaren’s key sponsors said: “I can say that if a disproportionately large penalty were given to McLaren on April 29 then the sponsor that I am associated with might leave. But the punishment must fit the crime. If there is an irrefutable case of corporate deception then fair enough.
“I think we all know the subtext here; the FIA wanted to oust Ron Dennis. I believe the governing body have allowed this situation to escalate and it is doing no one any good – not McLaren, not the FIA and certainly not the sport. Apart from anything else, it is dissuading other potential sponsors from entering Formula One.”
A two-race suspension similar to the one handed to BAR in 2005 could mean McLaren being ruled out of the Barcelona and Monaco grands prix. Spain is a key market for Banco de Santander, one of McLaren-Mercedes’ major sponsors, while Monaco is the most important race of the season from a sponsor’s perspective. A four-race suspension would include the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on June 21.
If McLaren are found guilty under Article 151c, it would be the second time in three years that they have been found guilty of bringing the sport into disrepute. The last time they were up before the world council, over the Ferrari-Spygate affair in 2007, they were handed a $100 million fine, the largest in sporting history.
If 151c was deemed to have been breached again, clauses in the contracts of the team’s major sponsors, such as Vodafone and Diageo, which owns the Johnnie Walker whisky label, would allow them to walk away from McLaren, leaving one of the sport’s largest teams without full financial backing during a worldwide recession.
It is understood that Vodafone’s 10-year deal with McLaren-Mercedes, signed in 2007 and with an opt-out clause after five years, is worth $800 million. Diageo’s deal is believed to be worth $45 million per year. Exxon Mobil and Banco de Santander are the team’s other major sponsors.
At jeopardy would be more than 1,000 jobs. McLaren Racing comprises roughly 600 employees, while many of the McLaren Group’s other departments, such as marketing and sponsorship acquisition, depend on the F1 operation to survive.
McLaren Automotive, which Dennis is to splinter off from the main McLaren Group, comprises another 500 employees and would also be placed in serious jeopardy if its major advertising platform was wound up.
F1 grids to increase from next year – a definate maybe!
Apr 23rd
Following the sport’s moves to cut the operating costs of teams and a promise of a £30m aid fund for new outfits, as many as eight new teams are reportedly vying for three additional places on next year’s grid including British firms Lola and Aston Martin.The importance of bringing new teams into the sport has been emphasised by Ecclestone whose Formula One Management will plough almost £7m as seed capital into each new team and then pay at least £3m more for their travel costs for a season.
Aston Martin, under the leadership of David Richards the former Benetton & Renault team principal, have long been linked with a return to the sport. ‘This is a great time to come in. If budgets are capped to a sensible level, everybody will benefit. Instead of F1 being a contest of the teams with the most money, it will become a championship for engineers with ingenuity and great drivers who can show their skill, as it was years ago.’ said Richards.
Additionally Lola, one of a number of organisations considering an entry into F1.‘The announcement that F1 teams may opt for a prudent, financially responsible cost-capped regime from 2010 has resulted in us deciding to fully evaluate the opportunity to develop a car to compete in the FIA F1 World Championship,’ said Lola Group executive chairman Martin Birrane. Lola was a consistent presence in the F1 paddock from the 1960s, and has entered discussions with several parties over the development of a car for next year.
Outside of Aston Martin and Lola, a US-based team is also in the process of being formed while a host of other car manufacturers are eyeing up the opportunity. www.sportindustry.biz
Virgin win for BRAWNGP
Apr 1st
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, which spent an estimated US$250,000 sponsoring the BrawnGP Formula One team at the Australian Grand Prix where Jenson Button drove to victory – the team’s first at their first ever event, achieved global TV coverage worth US$10.428 million according to figures compiled by SportsPro magazine. SportsPro, which uses the Margaux Matrix Digital Eye scanning system that minutely analyses every brand featured in the host TV feed, calculates that the BrawnGP team was on screen for 42 minutes 38 seconds during the qualifying and race broadcasts. The Virgin logos were fully exposed for 8 minutes 56 seconds. The Virgin deal is expected to end after this week’s Malaysian Grand Prix… but if they podium again who knows? http://twitter.com/BrawnGP
Current thinking on sports sponsorship
Feb 13th
Sports sponsorship spending is likely to dip in Europe in 2009 after years of growth, according to a survey published by Italy’s sport marketing group StageUp, stating the European sports sponsorship market is expected to fall by 11.3% at 4.7bn euros ($6bn) in 2009.The European sponsorship market, which is second only to the US in terms of investment, predicts Britain will be the most affected, while Germany and Italy will be respectively helped by long-term naming rights deals and soccer sponsorships. “The market will suffer from the lack of high-visibility events such as the Olympic Games or the World Cup, which are true detonators for communication,” said Giovanni Palazzi, president of StageUp, Sports&Leisure Business.
Hartmut Zastrow, executive director at Sport+Markt sports marketing group, predicts a 5-10% drop in sponsorship income in 2009, but top sports, especially soccer, may even gain 5-10%. “Times will be difficult for trend sports such as kite surfing, skateboarding, etc,” Zastrow added.
In Formula One, one of the world’s most marketable sports, Renault’s title sponsor ING said it would reduce its spending and Credit Suisse will not renew its sponsorship of BMW-Sauber. A more consumer-based approach, along with a case-by-case evaluation, are also leading companies to sign deals. European banking group Unicredit has became an official partner of the UEFA Champions League through 2012. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which also backs the Williams Formula 1 team, renewed its sponsorship of the Six Nations rugby competition last month, only 10 days after reporting the biggest loss in British corporate history! “Executives are focusing on events whose impact on consumers is clearly measurable,” explained Colin Grannell, executive vice president, partnership and marketing at Visa which backs the Olympic Games.
Spending on sports sponsorships in the United States will also fall this year as companies look to trim costs in a recession that has hurt most sports. “Look, we’d all like to see spending in (sports) sponsorship grow, but that’s not the environment that we’re living in,” said David Abrutyn, a senior vice president with sports, entertainment and media company IMG, whose clients include Coca-Cola Co (KO.N), Kia Motors Corp (000270.KS), Visa Inc (V.N) and Allstate Corp. (ALL.N) – “I would definitely say we’re seeing a belt tightening,” he added. “To say whether it’s 5 or 10 percent, I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable with a blanket characterization. It’s fair to say that companies are definitely looking at spending as little as they can.”
North American companies are expected to increase their spending on sponsorship, including sports, by just 2.2 percent this year to $16.97 billion, according to IEG, a research firm owned by advertising giant WPP Plc(WPP.L). Corporations are looking for ways to get their message out to consumers while reducing spending. “With NASCAR, if you’ve got a car that’s running toward the front of the pack every week, maybe it enables you to spend a little bit less in some other marketing functions,” Abrutyn said. Coke, for instance, has special NASCAR packaging designed exclusive to Kroger Co (KR.N) stores in January and February in celebration of the Daytona 500. Making the sponsorship relevant and engaging with the consumer is key. www.reuters.com
LG – Turning crisis into opportunity
Feb 2nd
‘We view the recession period as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,’ says LG Electronics’ Yong Nam – Despite the bleak prognosis, Nam, LG’s global chief executive and vice-chairman, says the company has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take market share.
“We view this recession period as an opportunity. For example – we have a big opportunity in Australia because NEC, Philips and others have pulled out. In sports marketing we have the Formula 1 sponsorship that includes Melbourne. Formula 1 pursues technological innovation and stylish design. The image that we are trying to build is a perfect match with what Formula 1 is trying to achieve. Formula 1 suits our image and brand objectives. Our sponsorship renewal with the International Cricket Council will include Australia. The global sponsorship is for all ICC events over the next seven years. Events for this year include the Women’s World Cup Finals, World Cup qualifier and Twenty20 World Cup. Most of our competitors have been cutting, but we’ve been increasing. Research and development and brand building are two of our most important areas and we will not stop.”
Castellino takes UB Group’s Sports Marketing role
Jan 30th
Indian Premier League team Rajasthan Royals’ former CEO, Fraser Castellino has been appointed Chief Operating Officer Sports Marketing Business of UB Group which owns Bangalore Royal Challengers.UB Group Chairman, Vijay Mallya, says Castellino will be responsible for all commercial, administrative and sponsor-promotion activities of UB Group’s sports concerns including Force India Formula One. www.hindu.com