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July - December 2006
Only eight days to go for online voting
(December 13) Voting for the 2007 German
Sports Marketing Award reached its midpoint on Tuesday with
an estimated 1,500 people having voted so far. Online voting
started December 6 and ends December 20.
The countdown is now on with only eight days remaining! Readers
are urged to vote for their favorite sports marketing campaign
over the past year by visiting the awards site at www.sponsors.de/marketingpreis/abstimmung.
ITMS Sports and client Major League Baseball are in the running
to win the prestigious award for Play Ball!, baseball’s
grassroots marketing initiative in Germany.
Play Ball! is one of ten sports marketing campaigns chosen
out of over 40 candidates considered by a nominating committee
made up of sports and marketing experts. Amongst the other
nominees are: Adidas for their global campaign 10 + 1 –
Impossible is nothing; Coca-Cola’s It's your Heimspiel;
FIFA’s fan initiative, the FIFA Fan Fest; McDonald’s
campaign Children Love Soccer; und the Deutsche Telekom’s
link with the German national team.
The top three campaigns receiving the most votes will be
announced at a special ceremony during the ISPO Sports Sponsoring
Congress on February 5 in Munich.
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Anna Smashnova set to work with young
Israeli players
(November 29) Anna Smashnova was named as
an adviser to the Israel Tennis Federation and will work with
Israel's young Fed Cup players.
Smashnova, who holds the international record for the most
appearances in Fed Cup ties, 61, is currently ranked 63 in
the world. She has not played since the U.S. Open in September.
Although she has no plans to announce her retirement, she
is expected to make only limited appearances in the 2007 season.
"I will decide when and where to play," said the
Belarus-born Smashnova, who holds 12 career titles and at
her peak was ranked 15th in the world. "Now is my time
to give back to Israel, to Israeli tennis and to Israeli coaches
for the help I received throughout my career."
The 31-year-old is expected to delay her retirement until
at least after next season's Anda Open in October 2007. The
inaugural WTA event was due to have been held in Ramat Hasharon
this year, but was canceled in the wake of the Lebanon war.
"I have never played a match in front of Israeli fans.
I owe it to myself and the fans," Smashnova said.
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Major League Baseball owners approve
new TV contracts
(November 17) Major League Baseball owners
on Thursday unanimously approved television contracts with
Fox and TBS that run through 2013 and are worth more than
$3 billion.
Under the deals, which begin next season, the World Series,
All-Star games and Saturday afternoon regular-season broadcasts
remain on Fox. Turner Broadcasting System will show all first-round
playoff games, and the two networks will share the NL and
AL championship series, alternating leagues each year.
Fox will have the ALCS next year, while TBS will have the
NLCS. The start of the World Series also will be pushed back
three days next year, from Saturday to Tuesday.
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MLB plans to open 2008 season in China
(November 17) MLB hopes the sport will become
as popular in China as it is in other Asian nations, but a
suitable ballpark must be constructed. MLB recently announced
plans to open an office in China within the next month.
MLB has already played regular-season games in Japan twice.
The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Devil Rays opened the 2004
season there, and the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs played
in Tokyo Dome in 2000.
“We’ve talked about that,” Selig said about
holding the 2008 opener in China. “I certainly want
to open in as many countries as possible. ... China is the
next great horizon. The greatest potential in this sport is
international.”
If baseball opens the 2008 season in China, it would come
three months before the Beijing Games — the last Olympics
at which baseball will be played. The International Olympic
Committee took both sports off the program for the 2012 Games
in London.
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Citigroup's Mets stadium deal hits new
high
(November 15) The New York Mets held a groundbreaking
ceremony Monday to celebrate the 45,000-seat ballpark that
will replace Shea Stadium at the start of the 2009 season.
The US$800-million stadium will be called CitiField, part
of a 20-year sponsorship deal between the Mets and Citigroup
Inc. that is said to be worth an average of $20 million annually.
Mets owner Fred Wilpon declined to provide details on the
financial arrangement.
The design is reminiscent of Ebbets Field, the storied home
of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The stadium will include the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, which
will pay tribute to the former Dodger who broke the colour
barrier in professional baseball. The rotunda will tell Robinson’s
story and include a statue of him.
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MLB, Turner reach 7-year TV deal
(October 19) The new deal provides TBS the
exclusive telecasting rights to the National League Championship
Series in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013 and the American League
Championship Series in 2008, 2010 and 2012.
It also further expands Major League Baseball's relationship
with Turner Sports. Through 2013, TBS will telecast all regular
season tie-breaker games, all Division Series games and the
All-Star Game Selection Show each year.
In addition, beginning in 2008, TBS will telecast a window
of Major League Baseball games on 26 Sunday afternoons. TBS
will continue to air Atlanta Braves' games through 2007, a
year in which the new contract will co-exist with the previous
one.
Commissioner Bud Selig said: “Major League Baseball
is thrilled to strengthen our association with Turner Sports,
whose commitment to the game in both the regular season and
during the first two rounds of the postseason is an exciting
development for baseball fans.
“This new agreement, combined with our previously announced
deals with Fox, Turner and ESPN, further enhances our impressive
line-up of excellent television partners who share our great
enthusiasm about the future of baseball.”
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Top players cool toward on-court coaching
(October 18) Amelie Mauresmo wants tennis
coaches to stay in the stands. Maria Sharapova had no idea
coaches were even allowed on the court.
Both players are competing at the Zurich Open, one of five
tournaments where the WTA Tour is testing this rule change.
Coaching during matches has been barred from ATP, WTA and
Grand Slam tournaments. But in an attempt to make tennis more
fan friendly, the women's tour tried on-court coaching this
season in Montreal; New Haven, Connecticut; and Stuttgart,
Germany. The fifth event will be in Linz, Austria, next week.
Players may request their coach on court once each set as
well as during a set break. Coaching timeouts are conducted
during the time allowed for changeovers, and those called
between sets are limited to regular midset intervals.
Coaches wear microphones so TV viewers can hear the consultations,
but many top players dislike the concept altogether.
"I'm not favorable to that system,'' said Mauresmo,
who is ranked No. 1. "I think the very essence of tennis
historically - and perhaps I'm a little conservative when
it comes to changing the rules of tennis - is finding the
keys and solutions oneself on the court. It's what makes the
beauty of the sport. It's saying, 'I'm alone. What do I do?'
To have outside help is a bit of a shame for that aspect of
the game.''
Sharapova, like Mauresmo, said she would forgo help from
her coach this week unless she was "desperate.''
"I don't support it. Our sport is an individual sport
and you play by instinct,'' the No. 3-ranked Russian said.
"That's what makes it so good, is that you're the one
who has to decide what you're going to do. If you're calling
your coach down, it's a little strange. It's like you're telling
your opponent, 'I need some help.'''
Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded third in Zurich, was a little
more receptive to on-court coaching.
"It's something new and we need to test it,'' Kuznetsova
said. "It's good to try things that can bring more fans
to tennis and make it more fun to watch on TV.''
"But I'm not sure it will help,'' she added. "I
already tried it and it's really confusing. I'm there thinking
and worrying, 'Should I call my coach for help or not?' I
need to play a couple of tournaments like this.''
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Tennis is only growing sport
(September 29) If you think tennis courts
are more crowded lately, you are right. In fact, tennis is
the only sport that has grown in the United States, according
to numbers from the 2006 Superstudy from the Sporting Goods
Manufacturing Association.
Tennis, according to the study, boasted a 10.3-percent increase
as measured by sales and is the only traditional sport to
grow in the past five years. Adult racquet sales are up 21.6
percent, and youth racquet sales are up 41.2 percent with
premium racquet sales up overall 49 percent. As of June 30,
2006, this trend continues with racquet shipments up 4.8 percent
over 2005 and balls shipments up 10.2 percent.
All other sports posted decreases. Football had the smallest
decrease (-.6 percent), followed by swimming (-2.8 percent),
bicycling (-3 percent), soccer (-4.1 percent), racquetball
(-4.8 percent), fishing (-5.4 percent), baseball (-5.8 percent),
ice hockey (-6.4 percent), volleyball (-8.6 percent), gymnastics
(-11.5 percent), basketball (-14.9 percent), golf (-15.3 percent),
snow skiing (-18.3 percent) and softball (-23 percent).
These figures validate the findings that total participation
in tennis is up 1.1 million players - or a 4.1-percent increase
- over 2004 figures, according to the United States Tennis
Association and Tennis Industry Association's 2005 national
tennis participation study. This figure represents the largest
number of tennis players since 1992. The study reports growth
in tennis play was not only in total players but also among
frequent tennis players. In addition to an overall increase,
tennis players are becoming more ethnically diverse. One-third
of all new players are minorities.
The USTA study reports that the increase in total and frequent
participation also has fueled a significant increase in play
occasions, from 491 million in 2004 to 559 million in 2005.
USTA League play is the engine driving this increase. League
participation now stands at 585,611 nationally in 2005, up
from 390,000 in 2000.
Who plays in leagues? In 2005, the largest group of league
players (29 percent) identified themselves as employed in
professional occupations, followed by 14 percent who were
homemakers and 11 percent who were managers. Thirteen percent
of players said they were retired.
Tennis players are an educated group. Eighty-one percent
of players had completed college, with 52 percent having four-year
degrees and 29 percent with graduate school degrees.
More women than men play tennis - 62 percent as compared
with 38 percent. Eighty-four percent are over 40, with the
largest groups falling in the 40-59 age range. Eighty-one
percent of tennis players are married. Tennis players also
have children, with 80 percent having more than one child.
The majority of players (41 percent) have two children, and
26 percent have three or more.
Why do people play tennis? The reasons have not changed over
time. Forty-three percent say they play for the competition,
23 percent for fun, 15 percent for fitness and 15 percent
for social reasons.
Where do people play tennis? Twenty-two percent play at public
parks, and 61 percent play at private clubs.
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WTA Tour announces further on-court
coaching trials
(September 26) The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
said it would extend and expand its innovations program to
include the introduction of on-court coaching trials at events
during the autumn.
The introduction of on-court coaching trials are in addition
to other innovations such as electronic line calling and greater
player and coach pre- and in-match interviews previously unveiled
earlier this year.
The on-court coaching trial is designed to enhance the viewing
experience of fans by engaging a new actor in the drama of
a tennis match, while also adding an additional element of
strategy and content for broadcasters.
On-court coaching will be featured at the Porsche Tennis
Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Zurich Open in Zurich, and Generali
Ladies Linz in Linz. Players will only be able to call their
coach at set breaks and when the opposing player takes a medical
or bathroom break and television will be able to carry both
the video and audio from coaching timeouts live.
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Hochtief AG to build new Yankee stadium
(September 21) Germany-based construction
company Hochtief AG has won a US$617M order to build the new
Yankees ballpark. Turner Corp., Hochtief’s U.S. unit,
has “already begun work on the 50,800-seat stadium for
developer Tishman Speyer after providing feasibility studies
and estimates.” The project, which broke ground August
16, is expected to be completed by the ’09 season.
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Tennis enjoying record growth in Australia
(September 20) Record attendances at the
Australian Open and a sharp increase in sales of tennis racquets
in Australia have helped contribute to a seven per cent improvement
in the latest Tennis Health Index released by Tennis Australia
today.
The annual Tennis Health Index brings together data on four
key indicators of participation growth – total registered
members, total tennis ball imports, total attendances and
number of racquets sold.
Following a decline in 2004, the number of tennis ball imports
recovered in 2005 with almost half a million more balls brought
into Australia pushing the total in 2005 to over 10 million
balls (10,332,854).
Racquet sales saw a similar rise, reversing a decline seen
over the previous two years following a peak in 2002. Sales
in 2005 saw a 24 per cent rise on 2004 figures to 362,897
units valued at over $16.5 million.
The Australian Sports Commission’s most recent study
(2004) estimates that 1.3 million Australian adults (15 years-and-over)
play tennis, representing 8.4 per cent of the age group population.
The number of affiliated clubs (2,056) and registered players
(225,763) has remained fairly static over the past three years.
Tennis continues to be one of Australia’s most popular
sports in both summer and winter, with the sport among one
of the few that is appealing to both sexes, attracting almost
equal numbers of male and female players.
Those watching the sport also increased, with the record
550,550 visitors to Australian Open 2006 reflected in similar
increases in the other Australian tournaments leading into
the Grand Slam.
Tennis Australia CEO Steve Wood said, “Tennis is one
of the few sports in Australia enjoyed by both sexes and by
people of all ages.
“Our aim at Tennis Australia is to increase the number
of Australians playing tennis, attending tennis events, and
enjoying watching it on TV - and doing each of these more
often.
“The Tennis Health Index gives us an annual snapshot
of how well we are going in achieving these aims and it is
good to see that the sport is currently moving in the right
direction.”
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ISU awards ’09 Worlds to Los Angeles
(September 19) The Int’l Skating Union
today awarded L.A. the ’09 world championships, which
will be a qualifier for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. The Staples
Center will host the event, which will take place March 23-29.
L.A. won out over bids from Helsinki and Budapest.
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US Open sets two attendance records
(September 13) Ticket sales for the US Open
reached an all-time high this year before having to provide
ticket exchanges due to sessions that were rained out, and
the daily total attendance record was set on September 4 with
60,506 fans. Also, a record 23,736 fans attended the night
session on August 28, and all night sessions throughout the
tournament were sold out or at 99% of capacity. After factoring
in ticket exchanges, net attendance for the event is expected
to be around 640,000, the second-highest attended US Open
next to the ’05 tournament, which drew 659,538.
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Linespeople not so bad after all
(September 13) Instant replay at this year’s
US Open clearly delivered on the promise of adding intrigue
and drama to each match and it proved that the linespeople
are usually correct.
Players won their line-call challenges 32% of the time. Men
were correct 31% of the time, women 36% and doubles teams
29%. There were 2.44 challenges per match in the 88 matches
that utilized the Hawk-Eye technology, with men challenging
more than twice as much as women, 3.54 times per match compared
to 1.66. Challenges were limited to two per player per set,
with one added during a tiebreaker.
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott said players are “not
using the full number of challenges. It seems that there’s
something weighing on the players psychologically, especially
in a big stadium. It’s self-regulating.” Men’s
champion Roger Federer said, “I really don’t think
it’s necessary. But look, if the fans and the tournaments
like it, look, it’s not my problem.”
The technology and accompanying video boards allegedly cost
the USTA around $300,000. The replay system will be used during
the Australian Open in January, and tournament officials are
giving serious consideration to unlimited challenges instead
of the two incorrect challenges per set now given.
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ITF to honor Smashnova for all-time
record
(July 27) The International Tennis Federation
announced Tuesday that it would award ITMS Sports client Anna
Smashnova a special merit award for setting the all-time record
for Fed Cup appearances with 61.
Smashnova will have a chance to increase her total when Israel
next plays in the competition in early 2007. Captain Dedi
Jacob's team learned its potential opponent in World Group
II on Tuesday when the ITF released its new rankings. Israel,
which moved up four spots to 15, is not one of the seeded
teams in the group and therefore will take on either Slovakia
(9), Austria (10), Canada (11) or Germany (12).
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WTA Tour test will allow coaches on
court
(July 14) Tennis coaches will be allowed
to talk to their players during matches after the Sony Ericsson
WTA Tour agreed to an experiment in upcoming tournaments.
The concept — in which players will be able to summon
coaches courtside during changeovers and between sets —
will be tested next month by the WTA Tour at tournaments in
Montreal and New Haven, Conn. The tour expects to test the
system in singles and doubles.
It is part of a broader push to enliven the sport for television
audiences and fans by peeling back the inner workings of the
game.
"I think on-court coaching will be really interesting,
both for players and fans," former U.S. Open champion
Svetlana Kuznetsova said in a statement.
"This will add a new story to the match and I think
fans will enjoy this new element. I know that as players we
are all interested to see how this test works out."
With the exception of team events such as Fed Cup, coaching
during play is illegal. However, competitors have long circumvented
the rules with signals and other manners of rule-breaking
communication from thesideline.
Under the trial system, players will nominate a coach before
a tournament begins. Players can then request to speak to
that person once per set during a sit-down changeover, and
also in-between sets.
A player could thus receive strategic advice or encouragement
a maximum of five times in a three-set match.
In addition, if a player takes an injury timeout or a bathroom
break, her opponent can use the pause to talk with her designated
coach.
The conversations will be recorded and broadcast for viewers,
adding additional insights into the game.
The Montreal tournament starts on August 14 and the New Haven
event begins on August 21.
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Bud Selig: "Baseball is in a golden
era"
(July 13) Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig,
addressing a meeting of the Baseball Writers' Assn. of America
on Tuesday afternoon, stressed that by most indicators —
attendance, gross revenue and revenue sharing — baseballl
is in a "golden era.
"By any accepted yardstick today, this sport has never
been more popular,” said Selig, who also admitted that
baseball still faces a few challenges. He went on to discuss
subjects ranging from Giants LF Barry Bonds to performance-enhancing
substances to the next CBA, saying, “There are always
going to be problems”. But he added, “One thing
I’ve learned about baseball — I’ve learned
to live with it — we are held to a higher standard.
People are more critical of whatever the negative issues of
the day are than in other things“.
Selig said gross revenue is projected to increase to $5.2B
this season. On attendance Selig said: “We’re
at 40.4 million fans. That’s important to me, to hopefully
set another attendance record. We’re going to come very
close”.
Later, Selig announced details of a new television agreement
that will run through the 2013 season and a 10-year agreement
with USA Baseball that places the amateur organization's business
operations under Major League Baseball.
Fox will continue to carry the All-Star Game and World Series
as well as one League Championship Series from 2007 through
2013. In addition, the Fox Saturday afternoon schedule will
be increased from 18 games to as many as 26 starting next
season.
The starting date for the World Series will be changed from
Saturday night to the first Tuesday following completion of
the League Championship Series.
The Turner Broadcasting System will join Major League Baseball
next season, carrying 26 Sunday afternoon games (local telecasts
will not be blacked out), the four division series on TBS
and TNT and the All-Star Game selection show. The deal means
TBS will be carrying fewer Atlanta Braves games (70 in 2007
and 45 annually from 2008 through 2013).
Tuesday’s All-Star Game posted a 10.6/18 overnight
Nielsen rating in the US, an 8.2% increase over last year
and its first since ’01.
The 2008 All-Star game is still looking for a home (next
year's game is at San Francisco's AT&T Park), and while
Angel Stadium remains under consideration, most believe the
game will be played at Yankee Stadium in the final season
for that ballpark.
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Ryan Howard’s derby home run earns
fan half a million dollars
(July 12) Pittsburgh-area fan Bert Brooks
won MasterCard’s All-Star Game promotion last night
when Phillies 1B Ryan Howard’s final, event-winning
home run in the Century 21 Home Run Derby hit the “Hit
It Here -- 500 Flights” target in right field. Brooks
said that “he would opt for a $500,000 annuity spread
over 30 years instead of the airline flights”.
Charities will receive $294,000 as a result of 14 golden
baseballs, which were substituted whenever a player was down
to his final out, being hit out of PNC Park during the event.
Each golden ball home run was worth $21,000.
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Substantial ratings gains for MLB coverage
in US market
(July 11) ESPN and ESPN2 have seen ratings
gains of nearly 20% for MLB coverage this year, due in part
to more marquee teams on Sunday night and fewer primetime
blackouts on Monday. ESPN is averaging 1.4 million viewers
for 52 games through July 2, an increase of 15% over 1.13
million at the same point in ’05. ESPN2’s viewership
has jumped 21% for 18 games, to 923,000 average viewers this
year from 764,000 in ’05.
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ITMS Sports client involved in epic
Wimbledon match
(July 6) After two days of tennis, Daniel
Nestor and Mark Knowles just wanted their Wimbledon doubles
quarterfinal match against former ITMS Sports client Simon
Aspelin and Todd Perry to be over - one way or another.
"It got to the point where (you're thinking), 'Can we
arm-wrestle? Or can we do something else just to end this?
Play 2-on-2 hoops or something?"' Knowles said Wednesday.
"We thought we'd been in every position possible, but
we'd never been in this situation before." Nor had anyone
else.
Knowles of the Bahamas and Nestor of Canada beat long-time
ITMS Sports client Aspelin of Sweden and Perry of Australia
5-7, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 23-21 in 6 hours, 9 minutes, making
it the longest singles or doubles match ever played at the
world’s most famous tennis tournament – and the
longest doubles match at any Grand Slam tournament.
The fifth set alone lasted more than 3 hours, and the match
was played over two days; it was suspended by darkness Tuesday
night with the fourth set tied 11-11. "It definitely
wasn't humorous for me," Nestor said. "At times
I was wondering if it was ever going to end."
As for setting the record, Knowles said: "I'm excited
about it, especially since we won. It would have been different
if we lost." They saved six match points in the fifth
set. The previous record for longest doubles match at a major
was 5:29, when Pieter Aldrich and Danie Visser of South Africa
beat Scott Davis and Robert Van't Hof of the United States
at the 1990 Australian Open. That also ended 23-21 in the
fifth set.
On Court 2 at the All England Club, Knowles-Nestor and Aspelin-Perry
held serve through the first 26 games of the final set. Knowles
and Nestor earned the first break to go up 14-13, but Knowles
put an overhead into the net to let their opponents break
back. Later, Nestor-Knowles trailed 21-20, but won three consecutive
games, with Knowles' forehand winner earning the break of
Perry in the set's 43rd game. "I was just praying that
I was going to turn into Roger Federer at that point - just
be able to hit an ace," Knowles said. He and Nestor compiled
a 28-5 edge in aces, but also committed 45 unforced errors.
"We were praying for a tiebreaker at one point in the
fifth set," Nestor said. "I wasn't sure if we were
going to break again after that one time we did. They were
holding serve pretty easily." Aspelin's forehand went
long on match point, allowing Nestor and Knowles to advance
to a semifinal against No. 1 seeds Mike and Bob Bryan of the
United States. The longest previous match at Wimbledon in
time was Greg Holmes' 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 14-12 victory
over Todd Witsken in 5:28 in the second round of singles in
1989. The old record for longest Wimbledon doubles match was
5:05, when Heinz Gunthardt of Switzerland and Balazs Taroczy
of Hungary beat Paul Annacone of the United States of Christo
Van Rensburg of South Africa 24-22 in the fifth set in 1985.
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