Past, present and future

As we near the end of 2018 and Christmas approaches, some like to reflect on the past, present and future. It reminds me of Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol, first published in 1843 which has never been out of print ever since. A piece of original content and storytelling that has stood the tests of time you could say. In A Christmas Carol, it was the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come who ultimately persuaded Ebenezer Scrooge to change his miserly behavior and embrace the spirit of Christmas with kindness, generosity and compassion. It made me wonder who might live to regret some of their decisions and behavior in the sport business in the coming years…..

Some fans simply cannot get enough of their sporting heroes they are willing to pay for almost anything. Even a ticket to a ball game that does not include a seat or view of the court. With a season ticket waiting list of 44,000 Golden State Warriors decided to sell an In the Building Passwhich provides access to the arena’s bars and restaurants to watch games on TV in the club areas. A total of 200 passes will be available each month for $100 each…..

The launch of Otro also raised a few eyebrows. A group of 16 footballers, past and present, including Beckham, Cantona, Zidane, Lukaku, Messi and Neymar secured funding of $50 million to develop a digital service that will bring fans closer to the sport’s biggest stars. The app is available free but to access premium content, fans will have to pay $3.99 a month. With a combined 400 millionreach on social media, the players are hoping to share profits from the service. As Jeremy Dale, Otro’s CEO stated “There are 1.1bn people who like football and have a smartphone . . . we don’t have to convert many of them for this to be a success.” Indeed, if 1% were to sign-up for 12 months this would generate income of $39 million….

When it comes to digging-up the past, the film industry is not shy of shelling out a few pennies as well. At the risk of upsetting 140 million Netflix subscribers, the series Friends has been retained until the end of 2019 by paying Time Warner, the rights owner a fee of $100 million or $400.000,- per episode. The last episode that aired live for a show was 14 years ago! 

Trying to satisfy the appetite of LaLiga fans in the US with a match between FC Barcelona and Girona in Miami on 26 January 2019 has collapsed due to lack of consensus. Better news is the announcement of a seven-year agreement between UEFA and VISA. The partnership will support women’s football at all levels: the UEFA Women’s Champions League, the UEFA Women’s EURO, the UEFA Women’s Under-19 and U17 Championships and the UEFA Women’s Futsal EURO until 2025, as well as UEFA’s football marketing platform Together #WePlayStrong. With 21 million active female players across Europe, there is plenty of potential for growth. Congrats VISA and UEFA!

It is not often that people work in the same organisation for several decades. One of those who will be leaving his position as Chief Marketing and Communication Officer (CMCO!) after 35 years is Keith Weed of Unilever. Apart from being the brand guardian of many familiar products, Weed was instrumental in one of Unilever’s most important projects, the Sustainable Living Plan. Far from being a corporate slogan, the Sustainable Living Planbecame a cultural phenomenon embedded into the fabric of Unilever. I suspect in 35 years’ time the customers served by Unilever will still be reaping the kindness, generosity and compassion of Keith Weed and his CEO Paul Polman’s work. 

Enjoy the festive days, don’t be a Scrooge and best wishes for 2019!