Monthly Archives: October 2020

Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 on the Sports Industry

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Earlier this year, Deloitte published a white paper focused on “Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 on the Sports Industry”

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They state:

“The effects of COVID-19 continue to flow through the world’s health, educational, financial, and commercial institutions, and the sports ecosystem is no different. Matches and competitions are being cancelled or postponed, disrupting governing bodies, organisers, teams and athletes — as well as the non-stop live sports content we have come to expect. Owners, broadcasters, and sponsors are trying to navigate the impacts and implications of event cancellations and modifications.”

This, of course, leads to lots of questions:

“How do you simultaneously manage fan expectations, minimise operational disruption, and plan for a future that, in both the short and long term, may not look anything like the past? Can new technologies and channels help engage fans during suspended or modified league operations? With the pandemic looking likely to be with us for some time, the entire sports ecosystem will need new ways to deal with threats to financial and business continuity arising from disrupted cash flows, legal and insurance challenges, and possible impacts on longer-term attendances and engagement.”

Follr answers many of these questions. For the full report, click here.

ESPN+ Acquires Rights to Scottish Premiership

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October 16th, 2010 (ESPN Press Room) ESPN+ has acquired the U.S. media rights in both English and Spanish to the Scottish Premiership, the top professional soccer league in Scotland. As part of the agreement, the direct-to-consumer sports streaming service will carry at least one Scottish Premiership match per week, beginning October 17, and will also have coverage of select matches from the Scottish Championship, Betfred Cup (Scottish League Cup) and Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Cup (Scottish Challenge Cup).

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Scottish Premiership coverage on ESPN+ will kick off Saturday, October 17, with Celtic F.C. hosting rivals Rangers F.C. at 7:30 a.m. ET, live from Celtic Park in Glasgow, Scotland.

“The Scottish Premiership on ESPN+ will offer fans tradition, intensity, rivalries and some of the most passionately supported clubs in the world – and will add further to the most comprehensive lineup of soccer available in the U.S.,” said Russell Wolff, executive vice president and general manager, ESPN+.

The Scottish Premiership is one of the oldest and most-storied leagues in football, and features one of the most intense rivalries in any sport – the “Old Firm” rivalry between Celtic F.C. and Rangers F.C. The first competitive derby between the two was in 1888, two years before the launch of the Scottish League in 1890. Rangers have a slight lead in the matchup with 162 wins. Celtic has 159 victories, and there has been 99 ties for a total 420 competitive matches between the clubs. The “Old Firm” will become a hallmark of the Scottish Premier League on ESPN+.

ESPN+ is home to the most comprehensive collection of live soccer available on one platform in the United States, offering over 2000 matches per year from Bundesliga, Serie A, the English FA Cup and Carabao Cup, Spanish Copa Del Rey, Scottish Premiership, Dutch Eredivisie, Major League Soccer, EFL Championship, USL and more.

About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service offering fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, as well as exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 8.5 million subscribers.

Programming on ESPN+ includes exclusive UFC events, hundreds of MLB and NHL games, college sports (including football, basketball and nearly a dozen other sports from 20 conferences), top domestic and international soccer, Golf (coverage from PGA Tour, The Masters and PGA Championship), Top Rank Boxing, Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby and cricket, exclusive ESPN+ Original series and studio shows (including ESPN+ NFL PrimeTime, Peyton’s Places, Detail, Bettor Days, ESPN FC, Our Time, Dana White’s Contender Series, and many more), plus exclusive access to the entire library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films.

Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $5.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) at ESPNplus.com, ESPN.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle offer that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu (ad-supported) — all for just $12.99/month.

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Media Contacts

ESPN: Mac Nwulu mac.nwulu@espn.com

ESPN+: Paul Melvin paul.melvin@disney.com