Lap of Luxury

Big brands have always had a love affair with traditional sports, and they’re now starting to see the growth potential in esports. Louis Vuitton is headlining a host of luxury brands looking to partner with Chinese gamers—a result the country’s burgeoning growth in both sectors. Red Bull a brand with plenty of success in esports, has revealed how much it actually costs to run their global sporting empire and highly-successful F1 team.

Ambassador Crossover

Basketballers have always been exceptional brand ambassadors (think: Like Mike), but there is one legend who stands clear at the top among marketing minds - Shaquille O'Neal. His former teammate Dwyane Wade is also making a big splash post-retirement, as he was announced as Chief Cultural Officer for CAA Sports. The NBA’s modern big man, Joel Embiid is making a big splash with Under Armour. Meanwhile, lifelong Chipotle fan & soccer phenom Christian Pulisic just became the brand’s first international athlete ambassador.

Feather in Their Cap

NBC’s new streaming service, Peacock, is poised to be an interesting alternative for cord-cutters with their base service coming in at no cost...but there’ll be plenty of ads. While leagues like UFC are finding big numbers on digital platforms like Facebook, broadcast networks like CBS are nabbing TV rights to new properties like 3ICE pro hockey. Reddit activity suggests NBA interest may be waning, but over 25M tuning in for the College Football’s National Championship game shows TV still reigns supreme in sports.