Getty Images
Top Story
Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned sparkling wine brand Babe has been named as the inaugural official wine sponsor of the National Football League (NFL).
Babe, which is served in a can, will be available at 12 NFL stadiums across the United States, including the Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos.
In addition, the brand will have the right to activate the partnership for the remainder of the season, as well as during the Pro Bowl and champion-crowning Super Bowl.
The deal further strengthens AB InBev’s relationship with the NFL, which lists Bud Light as its official beer sponsor and Bon & Viv as its official hard seltzer.
“Wine hasn’t typically been a top pick when it comes to sporting events in-stadium or at home, but Babe is changing all that by bringing a fun, easy, and portable option to game day,” said David Oliver Cohen, co-founder of Babe. “Building on Anheuser-Busch’s long-standing relationship with the NFL, we have seized a unique opportunity for BABE to become the football wine the world has been waiting for.”
Along with Cohen, Babe was founded by Tanner Cohen and influencer Josh Ostrovsky, who is more commonly known by his Instagram handle as ‘The Fat Jewish’. The company was taken over by AB InBev in June.
Sponsorship
US sportswear brand New Balance is appealing the High Court decision to allow English soccer giants Liverpool to sign a new kit deal with rival apparel company Nike. The court ruled in favour of the Premier League outfit despite New Balance claiming a renewal clause in its existing contract with the club should have allowed the company to extend the deal beyond 2020.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has named Anta as its official sportswear uniform supplier until the end of 2022 in a deal covering the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics in Beijing two years later.
Italian soccer giants Inter have unveiled pasta company La Molisana as an official supplier until 2021.
Udinese, another top-tier Italian soccer side, have extended their back-of-shirt sponsorship with energy company Bluenergy Group for the 2019/20 Serie A season.
Second-tier English soccer outfit Preston North End have extended their partnership with their official nutritional supplier, Science in Sport.
Australian rugby league side the Brisbane Broncos have named South Korean car manufacturer Kia Motors as their new major partner until the end of the 2025 National Rugby League (NRL) campaign.
Asian gambling company LeTou has teamed up with esports organisation Fnatic to support its Kuala Lumpur-based Dota 2 team.
North America’s National Lacrosse League (NLL) has renewed its long-running partnership with Team 22, the exclusive manufacturer of Under Armour lacrosse equipment.
Go Bowling has agreed a multi-year extension with Watkins Glen International to retain the title sponsorship of the annual Nascar Cup Series race held at the race track.
Elsewhere in Nascar, food manufacturer Oscar Mayer is staying onboard as the primary sponsor of Roush Fenway Racing driver Ryan Newman for multiple races during the 2020 and 2021 Cup Series seasons.
English rugby union team Harlequins have signed a three-year deal with digital and technology giant Philips that will lead to the installation of digital signage and TV screens throughout the Premiership Rugby club’s Twickenham Stoop home.
Home improvement and gardening company Bauhaus will be and official sponsor of the men’s and women’s EHF European Handball Championship in 2020.
Seattle’s National Hockey League (NHL) expansion franchise has agreed a partnership with the local Muckleshoot Casino, according to the Seattle Times.
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) has announced a marketing partnership with global travel programme Marriott Bonvoy covering the season-ending ATP Finals, which takes place at London’s O2 Arena from 10th to 17th November.
Agencies
Endeavor Global Marketing, the marketing division of the US-based agency giant, has rebranded as 160over90, taking on the name of the Philadelphia agency it acquired in 2018.
Pacers Sports & Entertainment has named brand and technology agency Schafer Condon Carter as its Agency of Record. The company will be responsible for driving creative and strategy for all of Pacers Sports & Entertainment’s affiliates, including the NBA’s Indiana Pacers and the Indiana Fever of the WNBA.
Media Rights
French free-to-air commercial broadcaster TF1 is anticipating a loss of more than €1 million (US$1.1 million) from the cancellation of three matches at the ongoing Rugby World Cup in Japan due to Typhoon Hagibis.
Nigerian sports marketing company Integral has agreed a sublicensing deal with Infront for rights to broadcast one game from English soccer’s Premier League per week on free-to-air television in Nigeria until 2021. The coverage will air on the Nigeria Television Authority, the country’s national terrestrial broadcaster.
Investment
The NFL’s Carolina Panthers have a deal in place to buy Waterford Golf Club, according to the Charlotte Business Journal. The course, which is located just four miles from the site of the franchise’s planned US$200 million headquarters and training facility in Rock Hill, would apparently be used by the team but would also be open to public play.
Major League Soccer’s (MLS) FC Cincinnati have become the latest to throw their hat into the ring for a potential National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) expansion franchise, with Jeff Berding, the club’s president and general manager, telling the Cincinnati Enquirer that the team has “been in conversation” about joining the league.
Bidding & Hosting
Saudi Arabia has landed another major sporting event in the form of a round of Extreme E, the new SUV electric racing series that aims to draw attention to climate change. The series is the brainchild of Alejandro Agag, the founder and chairman of Formula E, which already stages a race in the country.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) new Performance Institute in Shanghai will host the first ever Asia edition of Dana White’s Contender Series, the MMA fight series that showcases up-and-coming talent in the sport
