Welcome back to the AST Wrap-up! This week revolves around a new content partnership for boxing, a pioneering venture in Ligue 1, a new streaming service launching in Asia and more!
Could Anthony Joshua’s marketability skyrocket under new content-based partnership?
Two-time heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua has penned a deal with PR company Soapbox London to deliver a new content studio and production home. Soapbox London currently manage AJ’s YouTube channel alongside producing content for renowned brands such as Hugo Boss, Turkish Airlines, Matchroom and DAZN.
The joint-venture aims to share Anthony Joshua’s sporting story to a broader audience through a powerful production; this could exist through a docuseries, live events, podcasts, brand campaigns alongside exclusive YouTube coverage.
The Watford local was recently named SportsProMedia’s 31st most marketable athlete of 2020 and who knows, with the right strategy and incentive, 2021 could see the Brit move higher up the ranks under the direction of Soapbox London.
AS Monaco sign groundbreaking ecommerce deal with Amazon
French club AS Monaco has become the first Ligue 1 club to establish an online shop under Amazon’s platform. Currently, the clubs portal is accessible for consumers across Europes top club footballing nations; the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
The clubs playing and training kit will be available for purchase with other branded accessories supplied by Italian sportswear firm and technical partner, Kappa. The collaboration between AS Monaco and Amazon is integral for the brand growth of the French club as they join the likes of Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspur with having exclusive agreements with the ecommerce giant.
The deal will undoubtedly underpin the international visibility of AS Monaco, which is healthy for Ligue 1 to challenge the current French football giants PSG off the pitch.
The Professional Fighters League aren’t playing games with their fan engagement strategy
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) aim to revolutionise fan engagement in sport with an exclusive blockchain fan token offer, in partnership with fan engagement platform Socios.com.
The agreement will see the PFL launch fan tokens as digital resources which provide consumers with the opportunity to engage in exclusive PFL initiatives, contests and polls throughout the fighting season. Fans will also have the chance to earn authentic and virtual prizes linked to the PFL x Socios.com initiative.
Socios.com has previously partnered and worked with iconic sports properties including PSG, Barcelona, Juventus, Atlético de Madrid, AS Roma and more! Their initiative with The PFL continues to drift the sports industry into a digital overdrive where technology is becoming a fundamental factor in optimising fan engagement in every shape and form.
Asia gets serious about boosting the profile of Rugby
UK TV channel Premier Sports, is launching an Over-The-Top platform called Premier Sports Asia to broadcast the Autumn Nations Cup over 22 national markets. Fifteen live games will be hosted through the OTT Service, which begins on the 13th November, plus, tournament coverage will be available on multiple devices including smart TV, iOS, android and desktop. Subscription fees for the innovative service are $59.99 for a six-month contract or $19.99 per week.
This marks as a new dawn of opportunity for Rugby in Asia, a chance to captivate a new audience through the influence of sports streaming.
Major League Baseball stays ‘on fleek’ with their new Snapchat features
Major League Baseball (MLB) has introduced exclusive, and new features with Snapchat which sees the social media channel integrated into the MLB Ballpark mobile app. MLB has also welcomed a feature with Snapchat’s camera kit allowing fans to interact with eight unique lenses across the globe.
MLB and Snapchat have entertained an illustrious relationship for over five years; it’s fundamental for this to continue considering the growth of tech-savvy youngsters being identified on short-form media platforms like Snapchat which boasts 238m daily active users, 100m users in the US and a 120% growth in India.
That’s a wrap! What impact will Anthony Joshua’s new content deal contribute to his marketability? How successful will AS Monaco’s ecommerce venture become in the long run? How soon until other MMA tournaments follow in the PFL’s footsteps to optimise fan engagement? How powerful will Premier Sports Asia be to entice new audiences to Rugby across Asia? Lastly, what outcomes can we expect with MBL’s joint-agreement with Snapchat?
Sharing lessons sports professionals can learn through sports content 
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