News in Brief

France’s Ligue 1 set a new record for attendances over the 2023-24 season, with a total of 8.27 million spectators attending matches over the 34 matchdays.

The average attendance for the season, not including play-offs, was 27,113, an increase of 14 per cent compared to the 2022-23 season and the highest-ever figure for the French top flight.

The average occupancy rate was 85.4 per cent of stadium capacity, a 4-per-cent rise on the previous campaign.

Nine of the league’s 18 clubs – Olympique de Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain, Olympique Lyonnais, Lille, Lens, Nantes, Rennes, Toulouse and Strasbourg – finished with an average of more than 25,000 spectators.

Greenlight Television has retained one of its flagship contracts in a new five-year agreement to provide the host broadcast of motorcycling’s Isle of Man TT.

Greenlight’s previous agreement began in 2018. Last year, it facilitated a live host broadcast for a second consecutive year after a move to remote production and government funding helped to alleviate the financial burden.

Greenlight put in place the first live production in 2022 for exclusive streaming on the property’s TT+ subscription platform. During the 2023 race, the Isle of Man-based production company matched its 2022 set-up of 26 live camera crews and two helicams.

In the UK and Ireland, highlights continue to be shown by commercial free-to-air broadcaster ITV. International broadcast rights are distributed by North One Television, the UK-based company replaced by Greenlight as host broadcaster.

It was also announced this week that an Isle of Man TT docuseries and feature film will air next year. They will be produced by Channing Tatum’s Free Association, Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, Entertainment 360, Jason Keller and Box To Box Films, together with Mediawan.

Read this: Greenlight reprises live IOM TT role after production costs drop

Brazilian footballer Vinícius Júnior has been announced as an ambassador of sports drink and nutrition brand Gatorade.

The 23-year-old, who plays for Real Madrid, has agreed a multi-year deal with Gatorade. It comes after he recently announced an ambassador deal with deodorant and antiperspirant brand Rexona.

The Gatorade deal has been announced ahead of Real Madrid’s Uefa Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund tomorrow (Saturday). Vinícius will also feature for Brazil at this summer’s Copa América, which takes place from June 20 to July 14.

Other Gatorade ambassadors include Tottenham player Heung-min Son, NBA star Jayson Tatum and tennis player Coco Gauff.

The FIA World Rallycross Championship has revealed that it is in advanced discussions over hosting a street race in the English city of Coventry in 2025.

Rallycross Promoter is in talks with organisers of MotoFest Coventry over what would be a first street-circuit race in Britain since 1990.

A feasibility study, carried out by track designer Driven International, has determined a street circuit could be constructed in Coventry, subject to approval from the FIA World Motor Sport Council. A proposed layout has been drafted with support and input from Kevin Hansen, last year’s World RX runner-up.

A period of consultation will now take place with partners and local residents to determine how the project can be taken forward.

Formula 1 team McLaren has signed an expanded deal with technology company Cisco.

The global partnership now includes Cisco’s security solutions and names the company as McLaren’s official security partner, building on its existing role as official technology partner.

As part of the deal, McLaren will leverage solutions across the Cisco Security portfolio through a combination of on-premises hardware and cloud-based software.

Cisco first partnered with McLaren in 2021 and benefits from brand exposure on the side of the team’s cars, as well as on the race suits of drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has announced a global sponsorship deal with Aires Tech, a technology company designed to protect against electromagnetic radiation.

As an official partner of UFC, Aires Tech will receive brand exposure during the broadcasts of monthly pay-per-view events. The company will also be integrated into the UFC Live Weigh-In Show, where it will be highlighted with a custom segment entitled ‘Defensive Strategies’.

UFC and Aires Tech will also collaborate on original content that will be distributed on social channels, while the company will organise a range of activations such as in-arena promotions and viewer sweepstakes.

The deal was brokered by WME Sports, which has a wide-ranging agreement with Aires Tech to guide the company’s brand strategy across sports and entertainment.

Global sports streaming service DAZN has announced that its app is now available on Sky platforms in the UK and Ireland.

DAZN is accessible on Sky Q, Sky Glass and Sky Stream, and customers of the pay-television broadcaster will be able to sign up to DAZN through these platforms. A DAZN linear channel is already available on Sky.

DAZN is already pre-installed on Sky devices in Italy, where the two broadcasters have rights to the top tier of domestic football, Serie A.

In the UK, DAZN’s rights portfolio includes high-profile boxing and MMA matches, and football’s Saudi Pro League and Uefa Women’s Champions League. DAZN’s link-up with Sky has been announced ahead of tomorrow’s (Saturday’s) Matchroom vs Queensbury boxing event in Riyadh.

French Ligue 1 club AS Monaco has renewed its sponsorship deal with audio technology company Bang & Olufsen, which benefits from brand exposure on the back of the team’s shirts.

The new two-year deal will run until the end of the 2025-26 season. The Danish company has sponsored Monaco since the start of the 2023-24 campaign.

Bang & Olufsen also benefits from brand exposure around the Stade Louis II on match days, as well as promotion on the club’s social media channels. The new deal will see the company increase its output of exclusive club-focused content.

Bang & Olufsen also sponsors Formula 1 team Ferrari.

Scripps’ Sports ION broadcast on May 24 of the Indiana Fever and Los Angeles Sparks returned the network’s best viewership figures for a WNBA game since acquiring rights at the start of last season.

The game, which featured No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark of the Fever against No. 2 Cameron Brink of the Sparks, drew an average of 724,000 viewers and peaked at 981,000. The game, which took place in LA in front of a record 19,103 fans, tipped off at 10pm Eastern Time.

The ratings have followed Clark, whose WNBA debut drew 2.1m viewers for the league’s best viewership since 2001 and best ever ratings on ESPN for a WNBA game. Clark (pictured, below right) helped set record viewership of 18.7m for the title game during the college basketball championship tournament after setting records in the previous two rounds.

Global electronics company Samsung has announced its first deal in Major League Soccer with St. Louis City as the team’s official display partner.

The deal centres on the introduction of Samsung LED display technology at the team’s CityPark Stadium, featuring 375 TVs, three large video walls, in-stadium ribbon boards and two primary scoreboards. All screens will be in high definition and aim to increase the digital experience for fans at games. The screens will also provide further inventory for sponsors.

St. Louis City put a naming-rights deal on hold for its stadium when the team began playing in MLS in 2023 after terminating a 15-year naming-rights deal for its 22,500-person stadium after just eight months.

Samsung, a long-standing Olympic sponsor, earlier this year announced commercial backing for breaking, skateboarding and surfing at the Paris 2024 Olympics.