Entering the December snow season, the ski resort opened, and the top ski events returned to China.
The FIS Snowboard and Freestyle Skiing Big Air World Cup kicked off at the Shougang Big Air Ski Big Air in Beijing, and Su Yiming won the gold medal in the men's snowboard big air event. The Freestyle and Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup also restarted at Genting Snow Park in Chongli, with Gu Ailing winning the gold medal at the Women's Freestyle Skiing Halfpipe World Cup Genting Station.
On the digital front, NASCAR reached a $7.7 billion media rights deal, according to SBJ, the new agreement has increased by nearly 40% compared to the current media rights value (820 million per year), and the Premier League has also announced a new local broadcast agreement with Sky Sports and TNT Sports, including the BBC's current broadcast rights, the three-point agreement will bring a total of 6.7 billion pounds in revenue to the Premier League.
In terms of event sponsorship, Bridgestone will become the exclusive tire supplier to FE from 2026 to 2027 on a minimum four-year agreement. Former Formula E tyre sponsor Hankook will become the official tyre partner and supplier of the World Rally Championship in 2025 on a minimum three-year agreement, while gaming and sports betting platform Kaizen Gaming and its brand Betano will become the official global sponsors of Euro 2024, the first gaming industry sponsor in the history of the tournament.
In addition, AB InBev's Michelob Ultra is the official global beer sponsor of the 2024 America's Cup, with Macy's as the brand's global brand ambassador, and New Balance as the official performance apparel and footwear supplier for the Australian Open and the Union Cup from 2024 to 2026.
In terms of personal endorsements, Qin Haiyang has become the brand spokesperson of ANTA, and before the Asian Games cycle, Qin Haiyang has also become the brand spokesperson of Yili.
In terms of strategic cooperation, the Saudi Esports Federation signed an $8.5 billion memorandum of cooperation with Chinese esports event operator VSPO to promote cooperation at the esports level.
The following are the important events related to sports marketing at home and abroad in the past two weeks.
1. VSPO signed a memorandum of cooperation worth $8.5 billion with the Saudi Esports League
Type of cooperation: strategic cooperation
Collaboration Overview: On December 13, the Saudi Esports League signed an $8.5 billion memorandum of cooperation with Chinese esports event operator VSPO to boost cooperation at the esports level.
In February this year, Savvy Games Group, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, invested 1.8 billion yuan ($265 million) in VSPO, becoming VSPO's largest external investor shareholder.
2. The top ski event landed in China, and Su Yiming, a contracted skier from BURTON, won the championship
Type of Cooperation: Sponsorship
Cooperation Overview: On November 30, the 2023-2024 FIS Snowboard and Freestyle Skiing Big Air World Cup kicked off at the Shougang Big Air "Snow Flying Sky" in Beijing. Then, on December 6, the freestyle and snowboard halfpipe World Cup was restarted at Genting Snow Park in Chongli. Su Yiming and Anna Gasser won gold medals in the men's and women's snowboard big air events, while BURTON contractor Liu Jiayu also won silver medals in the women's snowboard halfpipe.
Lazy Bear Synopsis: As of February this year, BURTON has sponsored 64 top athletes such as Su Yiming and Liu Jiayu. The partnership with the Chinese national snowboard team continues, with BURTON becoming the sponsor of the Chinese snowboard team for 2022-2026 in March this year, and will continue to support Chinese snowboarders in the Milan 2026 Winter Olympics.
3. NASCAR reached a $7.7 billion media rights deal
Type of cooperation: Digital
Cooperation Overview: On November 30, NASCAR officially announced a seven-year, $7.7 billion media rights agreement with Fox Sports, NBC Sports, Amazon and Warner Bros., which will take effect in 2025 and end in 2031. According to SportsPro, the total copyright price of 7.7 billion includes the previous copyright agreement signed by CW Network with the Xfinity series.
Lazy Bear Synopsis: According to SBJ, the new agreement represents a nearly 40% increase in the value of current media rights (820 million per year). At the same time, it also means that NASCAR's top cup series will be broadcast exclusively on streaming platforms for the first time in the future.
4. The Premier League signed a £6.7 billion local copyright contract
Type of cooperation: Digital
Partnership overview: On December 5, the Premier League officially announced a new local broadcast agreement with Sky Sports and TNT Sports, in addition, BBC Sports extended the rights to broadcast match highlights, which will cover four seasons from 2025/26 to 2028/29 and will bring a total of 6.7 billion pounds (about 60 billion yuan) to the Premier League.
Lazy Bear Synopsis: It is understood that the two broadcasters, TNT Sports and Sky Sports, will broadcast at least 267 games in total from the start of the 2025/26 season, far exceeding the 200 games at this stage. Compared to the £5 billion price in the previous three years, the new rights fee has not been significantly increased.
5. Qin Haiyang became the brand spokesperson of ANTA
Type of cooperation: personal endorsement
Cooperation Overview: On December 11, ANTA announced the signing of the World Frog King Qin Haiyang as the brand spokesperson.
Lazy Bear Summary: At the 2023 Fukuoka World Swimming Championships, Qin Haiyang became the first player in history to win all the gold medals in the men's 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke at a single World Championships, and broke the world record in the 200m breaststroke. Previously, Qin Haiyang has become the brand spokesperson of Yili.
6. Michelo Beer sponsors the 2024 Copa America, with Messi as the image ambassador
Type of Cooperation: Sponsorship
Overview of the partnership: According to Business Consulting, on December 8, Messi became the global brand ambassador of Michelob Ultra, a subsidiary of AB InBev. The latter has also been announced as the official global beer sponsor of the 2024 America's Cup.
Sloth Bear Synopsis: Michelo is now the second-best-selling beer brand in the United States. During the America's Cup, in addition to revealing its rights, the brand will also hold a series of offline events.
7. Bridgestone became the exclusive tire supplier of FE
Type of Cooperation: Event Sponsorship
Collaboration Overview: At the World Motor Sports Council (WMSC) meeting on December 6, the FIA and Formula E jointly announced the standard component supplier for the next generation of Formula E cars, with Bridgestone succeeding Hankook as the exclusive tire supplier for Formula E. Under the agreement, Bridgestone will supply racing tires to Formula E for at least four years from the end of 2026.
Lazy Bear Synopsis: Hankook will become the official tyre partner and supplier of the FIA World Rally Championship in 2025 on a three-year agreement.
8. New Balance became a sponsor of the Australian Open and the United Cup until 2026
Type of Cooperation: Event Sponsorship
Partnership Overview: On 28 November, Tennis Australia announced that US sportswear brand New Balance has become the official performance apparel and footwear supplier for the Australian Open and the upcoming United Cup 2024-2026.
Lazy Bear Synopsis: Currently, New Balance's sponsors include American star Tommy Paul and Coco Gauff, who just won his first US Open title this year.
9. Libaiwen ® cooperated with Snowboya and signed two more snooker world champions
Type of cooperation: Individual sponsorship
Cooperation Overview: On December 8, China's top Taiwanese brand Liberty and the industry's well-known brokerage company Snowboya achieved cooperation again, and the two snooker world champions, Mark Selby and Luca Brecel, officially became the global brand spokesperson of Liberbaiwen ® ®.
Lazy Bear Synopsis: In the past six months, Libyan ® has signed with Neil Robertson, Ding Junhui, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Selby and Luca Brecel.
10. Betano becomes the first betting sponsor of Euro 2024
Type of Cooperation: Event Sponsorship
Partnership overview: On December 1, UEFA announced an agreement with gaming and sports betting platform Kaizen Gaming and its brand Betano, which will become the official global sponsor of Euro 2024. According to SportsPro, this is also the first betting sponsor in the history of the European Cup.
Lazy Bear Summary: Betano became the first betting sponsor of the Qatar World Cup in 2022. In 2021, Austrian bookmaker Bwin signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the Europa League.