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Of course the IOC is making “secret deals”

Posted by ZA on October 25, 2009

The Olympics is a great spectacle, but it’s no longer just about amateur athletic competition.  The Olympics is big business these days with billions of dollars in sponsorship and television money on the line.  So naturally there is a lot of back room politicking going on in support of all that money.

A new book by the former Chinese sports minister details some of the arrangements that allowed China to secure the 2008 Olympics.  He claims that Chinese officials helped IOC President Jacques Rogge get re-elected in exchange for Rogge delivering the European vote in-favor of Beijing hosting the Summer Games.  Full article here at the Times Online.
The IOC is generating a lot of money, but they try to focus attention on the grandeur of their events rather than the cash.  But their secret ballot process allows their members to wheel and deal without fear of being exposed.  These type of secret deals are not the exception, but rather the norm when it comes to the IOC.

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Is Rio the most dangerous city to host the Olympics?

Posted by ZA on October 21, 2009

The IOC recently selected Rio de Janeiro to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.  Rio beat out an impressive field of candidates, including; Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo.  Rio de Janeiro was one of the host cities in Brazil that was selected by FIFA to host the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament.  Which means the two biggest sporting events in the world are coming to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Rio and Brazil are deserving hosts of these events, but one lingering question is will safety be an issue for these events?  Rio does have a history of violence and has been named as one of the most dangerous cities in the world.  The president of Brazil recently offered almost $60 million dollars to Rio de Janeiro; money that would be used to help curb the widespread gang violence in the city.  This was after a particularly violent weekend in Rio which saw 17 people murdered as drug gangs battled the police.

These questions that Rio is facing now are the same questions that South Africa faced when when they were awarded the 2010 World Cup.  In South Africa’s case those questions cannot be definitively answered until next Summer when the World Cup kicks off.  A few people I know who traveled to South Africa recently said there are areas that are very safe and a few areas that tourists should probably stay away from; essentially they gave South Africa a positive rating when it comes to safety.  So if South Africa can avoid any major violence, there is no reason to think that Rio and Brazil won’t be able to as well.

There is always lots of petty crime that follows these big sporting events.  The pickpockets in Italy for the Torino Winter Olympics were legendary.  So both South Africa and Brazil will have to work hard to keep crime to a minimum, but I don’t expect there will be much violence.  They will both spend whatever it takes to keep the violence from drug gangs and the like from marring their big events.  The memories of the murders at the 1972 Olympics in Munich and bombing in Atlanta in 1996 make sure they don’t forget what could happen if they let down their guard.

So although Rio de Janeiro is often in the headlines for violence, it is ultimately not likely to have any more violence during the Summer Games or World Cup than any other recent host city.

OlympicGames

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2016 Olympics awarded to Rio de Janeiro

Posted by ZA on October 2, 2009

I’m happy for the people of Brazil that Rio de Janeiro was selected.   I always think it’s a good story when a country, who has never previously had the opportunity, gets their shot on the world stage.  Now Brazil will get two chances to shine in-front of the world; as hosts of the 2014 World Cup and then the 2016 World Cup.  That’s quite a coup for them.

I am a bit surprised that Rio was selected.  I know they were the favorite (at least until Obama came into the bid process) but I never really thought the IOC would give them the Olympics.  I thought the IOC would view Brazil hosting the World Cup two years prior as a negative factor and ultimate award the games to someone else.  I figured the IOC wouldn’t want to play second fiddle to FIFA who will oversee their soccer tournament in Brazil two years earlier.

I’m also surprised that Chicago was voted out of the process first.  I wonder if the lack of support by Chicago residents was what ultimately did them in.  Or perhaps it was the world’s way of rejecting America by showing us the door first.  That last thought certainly shows my bias, but I thought Chicago was the best choice for the 2016 Games.  It certainly makes the most sense from a financial standpoint because corporate dollars and television contracts would have been much stronger.

The one thing I’m not surprised by is that the IOC did something unexpected.  It’s a tough organization to predict and once again they surprised me.

OlympicGames

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President Obama is the X factor on 2016 Olympics

Posted by ZA on September 28, 2009

I’ve been up & down about Chicago’s chances of landing the 2016 Summer Olympics.  Early on I was high on them because I thought the United States was due to host another Olympics and Chicago is the right choice, right now.  But soon after a dispute between the IOC and USOC changed my mind, I thought the USOC had ruined Chicago’s chances to host the Summer Games.  The USOC eventually decided to back down on their decision to launch the Olympic Network without the IOC support, so that initial issue was resolved.

But then a few weeks ago another big issue came up which made me sure that the Chicago 2016 Bid Committee had no chance to win the vote of the IOC.  A poll came out showing that less than half of Chicago residents were in favor of hosting the 2016 Olympic Games.  So I once again assumed that Chicago’s hopes of landing the Games were shot.  I even got plenty of comments from Chicago residents that all seemed to agree they didn’t want the Olympics in their town.

So what changed?  Why did I go from feeling that Chicago was out of this vote (not just once, but twice) to feeling they are the odds on favorite?  President Barrack Obama changed my mind.  It was confirmed by the White House that President Obama will travel to Denmark for to make the pitch for Chicago in-front of the voters of the IOC.  This is the same Barrack Obama who did what many thought would be impossible in winning the 2008 Presidential election.  The charismatic leader who has captured the attention of the entire globe.  He is almost always the coolest guy in the room wherever he goes, and certainly has a leg upon the PM of Japan, King of Spain or President of Brazil.

How can the IOC say ‘no’ to President Obama?  They can’t, he’ll show up and sway the vote in-favor of Chicago.  Much to the consternation of Rio de Janeiro, who was thought to be the front runner.  It’s called holding an ace up your sleeve and the Chicago Bid Committee waited for the perfect moment to play their trump card.  I would be shocked if the IOC doesn’t then vote Chicago as the host of the 2016 Summer Games.

Posted in Olympics | Tagged: , | 4 Comments »

Chicago residents don’t support the bid for 2016 Olympics

Posted by ZA on September 15, 2009

Whenever you are rolling out a new product or service you want to make sure you secure the support of some “anchor clients” who will help to provide early momentum.  These should be key individuals who will have some influence (direct or indirect) over the clients you are trying to sign.  Having anchor clients in your pocket make it easier to walk into any room and pitch your product, because you can throw their name around as someone who is already on-board.

The group who is running the Chicago bid to host the 2016 Olympics certainly followed this rule.  Early on they made sure they had the support of President Barrack Obama and a plethora of other Olympic athletes, Chicago businesses and local celebrities.  This assembly have helped make Chicago one of the four finalists in the bidding process to host the 2016 Summer Games.

But the Chicago 2016 Bid Committee forgot to gain the support of one key group of individuals.  The residents of the City of Chicago.  A Chicago Tribune poll found that only 47% of Chicagoans were in favor of the city’s bid for the Olympics.  A huge 84% said they do not approve of using public money (i.e.- tax payer dollars) to fund the 2016 Summer Games in their city.  Chicago residents do not want to be on the hook for cost overruns or other infrastructure costs which may fall back on them.

As AdAge points out, this is not the type of support you want to show just a few weeks prior to the IOC vote.  Less than half of the population of your city is in favor of hosting the Olympic Games?  That is not the recipe for success when bidding on a multi-billion dollar Games.  Surely the bid committees from Madrid, Rio and Tokyo will make sure these survey results wind up on the desk of every voting member of the IOC.  And after all of the money spent by the Chicago 2016 Bid Committee to land the games, this lack of public support might wind up being their downfall.  Here’s hoping they are scrambling to put together their own poll which will show a much more favorable result for the city.

OlympicGames

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Will Tiger Woods win an Olympic gold medal?

Posted by ZA on August 13, 2009

The organizers of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London have to be kicking themselves this morning.  As big as those Games are going to be (and they’ll bigger than Beijing) they are going to be missing one key ingredient that could make them even bigger, golfer Tiger Woods.   Woods won’t be playing golf in London for the 2012 Olympics, but he could be competing in the 2016 Olympics because his sport was just approved for inclusion.

The IOC voted today to add golf and rugby as the two newest Olympic sports.  Both sports will debut at the 2016 Olympic Games.  These picks shouldn’t come as any surprise, except maybe those rooting for baseball to be picked.  I predicted golf and rugby would be the finalists in an article I wrote a short time ago, although I did have a difficult time selecting between rugby & baseball for the second spot.  I think baseball would have brought more sponsorship dollars than rugby, but it’s splitting hairs.

But now back to the more important question, can a 40 year old Tiger Woods win a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics? Woods would be 40 years old in the Summer of 2016, but should still be in the late stages of his prime as a golfer.  So I wouldn’t put it past Woods to compete and win an Olympic gold medal in golf.  It would be another unique accomplishment for Tiger to put with the stack he’s already accumulated, so he’s got the motivation.  So I think Tiger Woods will be an Olympic gold medal winner.

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No chance for Chicago to host 2016 Olympics

Posted by ZA on August 11, 2009

I have always thought Chicago was a very strong contender to be selected to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.  Chicago is a fantastic option for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) because it is an American city that is rich in culture, has solid infrastructure, the necessary venues to host competitions and a wealth of corporate sponsorship opportunities.  So it already had a lot going for it, and then it got the cherry on top of the sundae when a Chicago Senator (Barack Obama) was elected President of the United States.  It makes for a compelling pitch when the most powerful man in the free world is in your corner.  I’m sure the host committee members from Chicago had to share my enthusiasm for their chances, they surely have been feeling pretty good about their bid against Madrid, Rio and Tokyo.

But their good feelings might now be changing to despair, because the latest feud between the IOC and United States Olympic Committee (USOC) is probably going to knock them out of contention.  Just like a runner that leads the entire race only to pull up lame in the final stretch, it appears Chicago’s hopes of hosting the 2016 Olympics are going to suffer the same fate.  The reason why I have moved Chicago from top contender to an also-ran in this competition has everything to do with the relationship of the USOC and IOC.

The relationship between these two sports governing bodies has been tenuous for awhile, but atleast it remained civil.  But the two organizations are now fighting over whether the USOC has the authority to launch their own Olympics Network and the bad blood is spilling over into the media.  A top IOC executive was quoted in the New York Times calling the USOC “arrogant” and saying they subverting the IOC.  A day later the IOC issued a written statement that condemned the television plans of the USOC.  The IOC statement said the USOC acted “unilaterally” in announcing their plans for an American Olympic Network.  The COO of the USCO said he would be flying to Switzerland later this month to work out things with IOC officials.

So what is the big deal about this particular feud between the IOC & USOC? As I said these two organizations have feuded before.  The problem here is the timing of this feud to the general assembly vote in November.  That vote from the IOC will decide which city is selected to host the 2016 Games.  Don’t think this latest act of defiance (in the eyes of the IOC) isn’t going to influence voters to select another country to host the 2016 Olympics.  I would bet their have already been phone calls and emails between IOC voting members from other countries, who are developing plans to teach the USOC a lesson by not voting for Chicago.

An ugly mess if you ask me, and one poorly timed by the USOC.  They project advertising revenue of $40-$50 million dollars per year from their new Olympic Network, but that is nothing compared to the billions an Olympics on US soil would have brought in.  Why not wait until after the general assembly vote to announce your network plans?  I’m sure there was a strategic reason for the announcement now, but I just can’t see any way for them to make this situation right in-time to salvage the 2016 Olympics bid of Chicago.  Sad deal, because I think Chicago would have hosted a great Summer Olympics.

OlympicGames

Posted in Olympics | Tagged: , | 2 Comments »

What sports should be in the Olympics?

Posted by ZA on June 20, 2009

There are currently 7 sports vying to be included in the Summer Olympics.  These sports are competing for two available spots that would begin to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games.  The sports under consideration to be added are: baseball, golf, karate, rollersports, rugby, softball & squash.  In order to be voted into the Summer Olympics, these sports will have to receive at least two-thirds majority vote of IOC (International Olympic Committee) members at a vote this Fall.

The IOC wants to add new sports that will appeal to young people and give a shot in the arm to their current lineup. I think the IOC needs to add sports that have potential to attract new sponsors to the games.  The Olympics was already being forced to compete for sponsorship dollars against a growing number of global sporting events; then their job got tougher to land new sponsors (or keep existing sponsors) when the World economy tanked.  So the IOC membership has to consider the sports they are looking to vote in as potential conduits to new sponsorship opportunities.

If they are taking that approach to this voting process than I think it immediately eliminates karate, rollersports and squash.  Those three sports are not big enough in the United States, where the largest pool of potential corporate sponsors are located, to attract much interest.  They also are not huge sports internationally, so they are out of consideration. You could probably also include softball, but I think that might buck the trend.

That leaves baseball, golf, rugby & softball.  As I said I think softball could be a sentimental favorite (like karate), but not a huge money maker by way of landing more sponsorship dollars.  Baseball, golf & rugby all have huge appeal around the globe.  Golf is probably most universally recognized, so I think golf will be the #1 most likely sport to get voted into the Summer Olympics.  The appeal of the sport globally, combined with the huge opportunity to bring marquee names to the Olympics like; Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia, will be too much to pass up.  So golf gets in to the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Deciding between baseball and rugby is probably a coin flip.  Rugby is not hugely popular in the United States, but is intensely popular throughout parts of Europe, the South Pacific (Australia, New Zealand particularly), Africa and even South America.  There would be plenty of new sponsor opportunities for the Olympics by adding rugby.  Baseball is “America’s national pastime” and opens up huge opportunities with the sponsors of Major League Baseball.  It is also a sport that has huge popularity in Central America and the Far East, where Japan & Korea would open doors to more large corporations that could become sponsors.  Baseball (and softball) also were sports that were recently included in the Olympics before being removed, so they might be more familiar to IOC members.

So my final assessment is that golf will get voted into the Olympic Games.  I think that either baseball or rugby will probably get the second spot available in Olympics for new sports.  If you made me choose then I’d probably pick baseball over rugby, but I’m probably a little biased as an American that is not a rugby fan.  Regardless it should be interesting to see how the IOC votes on this in the Fall; if they select any of the sports besides those three (or softball) I will be very surprised.

The sports currently included in the Summer Games:
Archery
Athletics (aka: Track & Field)
Badminton
Basketball
Boxing
Canoeing
Cycling
Diving
Equestrian
Fencing
Field Hockey
Gymnastics
Handball
Judo
Modern Pentathlon
Rowing
Sailing
Shooting
Soccer (aka: Football)
Swimming
Synchronized Swimming
Table Tennis
Taekwondo
Tennis
Triathlon
Volleyball
Water Polo
Weightlifting
Wrestling

If I were asked to modernize the Olympic games and had to select the best sports to include, here are the sports that I would include in the Olympics:

Future Summer Olympic sports:
Archery
Athletics (aka: Track & Field)
Auto Racing – One of most popular sports in World would replace Equestrian
Badminton
Baseball – Would bring huge sponsor opportunities in USA & Japan.
Basketball
Boxing
Canoeing – Removed.
Cycling
Diving
Equestrian – Removed.
Fencing – Removed.
Field Hockey – Removed.
Golf – Adding one of most popular sports in the World.
Gymnastics
Handball – Removed.
Judo – Would be combined into Mixed Martial Arts category.
Lacrosse – A sport growing in popularity that would offset loss of Field Hockey.
Modern Pentathlon
MMA – Combines all fighting disciplines under one roof.  Sports are still separated out.
Rowing
Rugby – Popular sport in many parts of World.
Sailing – Removed.
Shooting – Removed.
Soccer (aka: Football)
Softball – Bringing this one back.
Swimming
Synchronized Swimming – Removed.
Table Tennis
Taekwondo – Would be combined into Mixed Martial Arts category.
Tennis
Triathlon
Volleyball
Water Polo
Weightlifting
Wrestling – Would be combined into Mixed Martial Arts category.

What sports do you think should be part of the Summer Olympics? Which would you add & which would you subtract?

Seven sports pitch for Olympic inclusion

The seven sports vying for addition to the 2016 Olympic programme presented their case to the International Olympic Committee yesterday.

A maximum of two out of baseball, golf, karate, rollersports, rugby, softball and squash will be shortlisted by the IOC this August, with a final vote on their inclusion taking place two months later. The IOC is considering the new entrants as part of a broader goal of attracting younger audiences and refreshing the Olympic programme.

Posted in Olympics | 4 Comments »

Beijing Opening was most watched live event in TV history

Posted by ZA on May 11, 2009

If you added up the entire population of the countries that make up North & South America, they still would not equal the number of people that watched the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  The Times of London is reporting that nearly 1 billion people (984 million) tuned in to watch all or part of the kickoff event from the Summer Games in China. And the report from Futures Sport + Entertainment does not account for people that watched in public places, which easily pushes the number over a billion.

That makes the Beijing Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies the most watched live event in the history of television.  More people tuned in to the Birds Nest (venue that housed the event) than had ever watched a Super Bowl, World Cup Final or other sporting event in the past.  The billion viewers number also greatly surpasses the largest non-live television audience, which was approximately 100 million viewers for the final episode of M*A*S*H in 1983.

The folks at NBC must be pretty excited to be a big part of that historic event.  Even with technology enabling more of the World to have access to television, it is hard to imagine any upcoming event surpassing this record.  At least until 2012 rolls around and we have the Opening Ceremonies for the London Games.

[Assist: Sports Business Daily]

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Using sex to sell the AVP Tour

Posted by ZA on March 17, 2009

The AVP and Crocs have designed some eye catching advertisements to promote their upcoming AVP Tour beach volleyball tournaments.  The ads feature the posterior of some of the AVP’s female players in a tight bikini bottom.  Each one includes the logos of the AVP Tour sponsors, including: Bud Light, Crocs, Gatorade, Paul Mitchell, and Wilson.

avp_advertisement

So is it wrong for the AVP Tour to use sex to sell their events? In my opinion, no.  Beach volleyball, both on the professional circuit and in the Olympics, has for a long time been great athletes playing a tough sport.  But it is also about the atmosphere at the events which often includes plenty of skimpy bikinis and tan bodies, both on the court and in the crowd.  The players are at the peak of physical fitness and do not seem to be shy about showing off their sculpted bodies.  Even in the Beijing Olympics the Nike “uniforms” (aka: small bikinis) worn by beach volleyball’s most famous duo, Misty May and Kerry Walsh, were cut to reveal a lot of flesh to the NBC audience watching at home.  And it is not just the women, the guys of the AVP are running around the beach bare chested in-front of thousands of female viewers.

The key for the AVP is to not ever objectify the ladies or men of their sport.  If one woman wants to wear a one-piece suit or a cover up, then it has to be perfectly okay for her to do that.  If a guy wants to play with a shirt on (which they often do) then that has to be absolutely okay with everyone at the league.  No dress code should be implemented that requires the players to wear revealing swimsuits.  As long as the league and their marketers steer clear of anything that makes the athletes feel they are required to dress a certain way to participate or thrive in the sport, then it is perfectly okay to promote them in a manner reflective of the sport.  In this case they are using sex appeal, showing sexy body parts, in their ads to sell beach volleyball.  Their marketers are saying that this (i.e.- sexy bodies) is part of our experience, so come watch.

That sexy image on the posters truly does represent the sport.  The woman’s butt featured on the ad above is not a model, it is one of the female athletes who compete in the AVP.  She choose to wear a bikini.  My guess is that the California beaches, where most of the AVP players live and train, has influenced what the volleyball players wear.  And if the AVP players are proud of their bodies and comfortable with what they are wearing on the court, then it is perfectly acceptable for their league to market that image.

This topic was inspired by a piece that Darren Rovell at CNBC did on the subject.

Posted in Athletes, Olympics, Sports Brands, Sports Marketing | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

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