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League Sponsorship - How Much?


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and that Ray - and apologies for not saying your name earlier and just calling you another post - thats rude.

 

I dont watch speedway on sky regularly but havent noticed any specific speedway related advertisers

 

Sky Sports have incidently just dropped show UCMMA which is arguably one of the top 3 British mixed martial arts promotions and MMA/Cycling are the two fastest growing sports in the World - why? well Sky Sports are bidding for the rights to purchase the International rights to the UFC in the states which is ending its deal with ESPN.... in this country UFC is better known as its the biggest in the world.... what does this mean.... more pay per view nights

Whats UFC?

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UFC is Ultimate Fighting Championship, MMA is unfortunately also known as Cage Fighting. It is the fastest growing sport alongside Cycling in the World as I have already mentioned. More MMA gyms are springing up / expanding in the UK more than anything else barring kebab shops, corner shops, and charity shops of course.

 

Interestingly enough, at the end of 2012 the UFC was the only sport in the US which saw an increase in spectatorship... this is against the mainstream sports such as Ice Hockey, American Football, Baseball and Basketball.... all the mainstream sports saw a decrease in support. My company own a 50% stake in a UKMMA promotion which is only at its early stages but over the next 3-5 years its going to boom.

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UFC is Ultimate Fighting Championship, MMA is unfortunately also known as Cage Fighting. It is the fastest growing sport alongside Cycling in the World as I have already mentioned. More MMA gyms are springing up / expanding in the UK more than anything else barring kebab shops, corner shops, and charity shops of course.

 

Interestingly enough, at the end of 2012 the UFC was the only sport in the US which saw an increase in spectatorship... this is against the mainstream sports such as Ice Hockey, American Football, Baseball and Basketball.... all the mainstream sports saw a decrease in support. My company own a 50% stake in a UKMMA promotion which is only at its early stages but over the next 3-5 years its going to boom.

 

Aah, I see!!!!!! Were you interested in it before you became part of it (sponsored it)?

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I watched it on the odd occasion but would not have called myself a fan of it, fortunately for me though an old school friend competes and became a British Heavyweight champ and he approached me after losing contact for several years about going into a 50-50 partnership so it is part of my portfolio - obviously a difficult thing jumping into something you know little about but after two shows, I am now organising our next two events, matching fights etc. so my knowledge has increased and I would now say I am a fan.

 

We recently signed a TV contract with Sky Active (Fitness) Channel who will air all of our shows in an hours highlights package, its a start... another rival show has had 13 shows compared to our two and they were not on tv until show 12 and only get half an hour.

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Shouldnt really have to explain that one... if every sponsor got direct sales out of sponsorship then every company in the country would be doing it and splashing millions, sponsorship is a risk for any company, they buy into the EXPOSURE the sponsorship generates, everyone who dips a toe into sponsorship know full well it does not guarantee a flurry of direct sales from it.

 

I suspect a lot of sponsors in major sports do it for the corporate kudos rather than the direct returns from spectators/viewers. They use the corporate entertainment opportunities to impress clients and to do business.

 

The problem with speedway that no serious business in their right mind would want to entertain clients at a speedway stadium, probably not even somewhere like Cardiff.

 

Speedway also has this uncanny knack of shooting itself in the foot. The last serious sponsor of British speedway was Coal Products, but they came along at a time when use of coal for domestic heating was in steep decline because everyone had installed gas or oil central heating, not to mention that councils were introducing smokeless zones. :rolleyes:

 

Monster is probably the first sponsor in years that the average person might actually have heard of, and indeed actually go out and buy the product (even though it's ghastly stuff). We don't actually know what they're paying, if indeed anything, but yet within a few months of getting them on board, the SGP manages to lose television coverage in it's biggest market...

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I suspect a lot of sponsors in major sports do it for the corporate kudos rather than the direct returns from spectators/viewers. They use the corporate entertainment opportunities to impress clients and to do business.

 

The problem with speedway that no serious business in their right mind would want to entertain clients at a speedway stadium, probably not even somewhere like Cardiff.

 

Speedway also has this uncanny knack of shooting itself in the foot. The last serious sponsor of British speedway was Coal Products, but they came along at a time when use of coal for domestic heating was in steep decline because everyone had installed gas or oil central heating, not to mention that councils were introducing smokeless zones. :rolleyes:

 

Monster is probably the first sponsor in years that the average person might actually have heard of, and indeed actually go out and buy the product (even though it's ghastly stuff). We don't actually know what they're paying, if indeed anything, but yet within a few months of getting them on board, the SGP manages to lose television coverage in it's biggest market...

Not disputing your overall point, but where do you believe the biggest market for SGP television coverage is?! If you believe its the UK, then I think you are mistaken!!

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This is a good question and in all things it is only worth what someone is willing to pay.

 

Speedway as a marketing tool is very poor due to the nature of its followers.

 

We have sponsored, many Elite clubs, World champions down to riders starting. We have sponsored the SGP, Grand prix and World cups.In general everything top to bottom.

i would estimate our cost to be in the region of 1 million give or take. ( what do they say about a fool and there money LOL )

Our income from speedway in this time i would say is about 0, LOL.

 

The thing is i have found most sponsors do it as they like speedway. Sponsors coming into the sport with the promise of how many people watch it and go and the work they will get are mis lead and dont hang around long. Go back 10 years and see how many are still here.

 

No one who goes to speedway wants to by our products as they dont really need them. Maybe if the sponsor sold products the everyday person uses and can afford it would be differant. ( BIC razors or the like ) But you would never make a profit on speedway i dont believe.

 

The people running speedway , sgp or domestic believe the product is worth far more than it is. I would say with falling crowds an no young people comeing and no tv the sport is worthless, even with tv it is worth very little.

 

This is my opinion B4 everybody shoots me down as normal,dont get me wrong we have enjoyed our time doing it and would not change it but anyone coming into speedway sponsorship thinking they will make money are wrong.

 

Interesting, thanks. Considering the level at which you have supported the sport I am quite shocked that your outlay is not bigger bearing in mind you have sponsored at the pinnacle of the sport. it really does highlight there there is not a msssive pot of money in Speedway and certainly at UK League level riders costs and admission prices need to be dropped substantially.

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It is a common known fact that most business deals are actually done on the golf course which is why there is a lot of corporate interest in golf either via sponsorship or hospitality. I agree that it is probably not the best backdrop to do these deals in speedway as there are not a huge amount of clubs that can offer the facilities compared to other sporting arenas

 

for theknow - interesting looking at the cost of your speedway outlay, Tech 3 Yamaha have just signed a title sponsorship deal with a company that is linked to the nursing home sector in the UK... on first glance it is extremely an odd tie-up but the MD went on to state that he loves motogp, has a race foundation set up, and even though he wont get business or an influx of spanish/italian grannies in his homes... he said the exposure is still massive and he believes he is going to be supporting a future motogp champion in Danny Kent.

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It is a common known fact that most business deals are actually done on the golf course which is why there is a lot of corporate interest in golf either via sponsorship or hospitality. I agree that it is probably not the best backdrop to do these deals in speedway as there are not a huge amount of clubs that can offer the facilities compared to other sporting arenas

 

 

 

i think why one or two people have got a bit tetchy with you is that you don't really make yourself clear.

I don't really know what you're saying here.

the deals done on a golf course aren't usually about golf

deals done in the steel industry aren't done in the foundry

so why would speedway deals have to be done at a track

 

no i've re read it 4 times - don't get your point

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Not disputing your overall point, but where do you believe the biggest market for SGP television coverage is?! If you believe its the UK, then I think you are mistaken!!

 

I'd imagine that Poland may be the biggest national market in terms of actual speedway viewers, but the popularity of speedway there is over-estimated and from a sponsorship point of view it's also about latent/potential support.

 

From a commercial perspective, the UK has a larger population and much larger economy than Poland, thus more potential to sell cans of Monster or whatever.

 

If I were Monster, I'd certainly not be amused at a UK blackout.

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I'd imagine that Poland may be the biggest national market in terms of actual speedway viewers, but the popularity of speedway there is over-estimated and from a sponsorship point of view it's also about latent/potential support.

 

From a commercial perspective, the UK has a larger population and much larger economy than Poland, thus more potential to sell cans of Monster or whatever.

 

If I were Monster, I'd certainly not be amused at a UK blackout.

Hardly a black-out if Eurosport have it!?

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ch958 - the point is that most corporate deals are clinched at golf - yes you are correct these deals are probably not golf... but for corporate hospitality, golf offers more than speedway. Speedway deals are done outside of speedway of course but not many if any deals are brokered at speedway between two sets of corporate clients.

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It is a common known fact that most business deals are actually done on the golf course which is why there is a lot of corporate interest in golf either via sponsorship or hospitality. I agree that it is probably not the best backdrop to do these deals in speedway as there are not a huge amount of clubs that can offer the facilities compared to other sporting arenas

 

for theknow - interesting looking at the cost of your speedway outlay, Tech 3 Yamaha have just signed a title sponsorship deal with a company that is linked to the nursing home sector in the UK... on first glance it is extremely an odd tie-up but the MD went on to state that he loves motogp, has a race foundation set up, and even though he wont get business or an influx of spanish/italian grannies in his homes... he said the exposure is still massive and he believes he is going to be supporting a future motogp champion in Danny Kent.

 

It's always a nice story that, but does anybody really believe it. People play golf, but I think it is way out of date and not particularly relevant these days.

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