Highlight Reel: Baller League Announces Kick-Off in UK and US with All-Star Lineup ⚽️

Plus, Bryson DeChambeau's Hole in One Challenge and X adds a new “NFL Portal” activation...

Nov 29, 2024

Welcome to Sports Pundit’s Highlight Reel – your go-to roundup of the latest sports business news, insights, and trends shaping the industry.

Each week, we bring you the key stories and developments that have captured the attention of sports executives and leaders across our global network.

In today’s email;

Baller League announces UK and US Kick-Off ⚽️
Bryson DeChambeau’s Hole-in-One Challenge ⛳️
X Adds a New ‘NFL Portal’ Activation 🏈

Happy Friday!

Andy 😊 🙏

P.S. Congrats to Peter Hutton, our latest ‘Contributor of the Week.’

Other honourable mentions go to Nick, Nathan, Peri, and Grant.

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SCORING BIG

Baller League Announces Kick-Off in the UK and US with an All-Star Lineup ⚽️

The Baller League, the six-a-side football sensation (which generated over 7.7 million Hours Watched during its inaugural season in Germany), is set to expand to the UK and US. Backed by content creation heavyweights KSI and IShowSpeed, the league is poised to make a significant impact in English-speaking markets.

With KSI heading up the UK league and IShowSpeed assuming the role of president for the US circuit, their involvement is expected to elevate the league’s international profile, building on its strong foundation among German-speaking fans.

Founded by entrepreneur Felix Starck alongside football legends like Mats Hummels and Lukas Podolski, the Baller League has drawn comparisons to other media-driven competitions such as Spain’s Kings League and Italy’s GOA7 League.

Known for its unconventional format—six-a-side matches, short halves, and one-on-one penalties—the league delivers a high-energy twist on traditional football. Adding to the excitement is the inclusion of football royalty such as Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, John Terry, and Luis Figo.

Iarfhlaith Dempsey, Editor at Esports Charts, highlights the league’s global potential:

What he says:

“While the German league was not as popular as the global Kings League circuit, its expansion to the UK and US could bring it close to the international status of Kings League. On YouTube, KSI and IShowSpeed have a combined following of over 58 million subscribers, making them two of the world’s most popular content creators. Within English-speaking spheres, these two are ubiquitous as the faces of content creation and live-streaming.
Speed is a well-known football fan, having previously hosted hundreds of thousands of viewers on his YouTube Live broadcasts concurrently for football content. At this year’s Ballon d’Or event, Speed’s stream of the awards ceremony received over 601K Peak Viewers, beating out the 548.3K PV he received during the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony. Earlier this year, Speed also joined the exclusive ranks of YouTube streamers to have hosted over 1,000,000 viewers on a broadcast concurrently.”

Saudi Pro League expands digital reach with OneFootball. Official video and editorial content covering the league will be featured across the digital platform 📲
DAZN has partnered with F.C. Como Women to bring you exclusive content and behind-the-scenes access, offering a closer look at FCCW’s thrilling season ⚽️
Newcastle Falcons have been put up for sale by long-term owner Semore Kurdi citing ‘investor fatigue.’ The club has engaged external advisors to run sales process 🏉
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) have announced a new partnership with BrewDog, who will serve as the official beer partner at Lord's Cricket Ground from January 2025 🍻
X (formerly Twitter) has added a new “NFL Portal” activation, which will make it easier for fans to track the latest news and chatter, while also contributing with their own thoughts and opinions 🏈
Over Thanksgiving, NBC's NFL coverage let fans shop while they watched, offering a QR code on-screen that linked directly to Walmart's online store for both linear and streaming viewers 🛒

SOCIAL CHALLENGE

DeChambeau Smashes Social Media (rather than his windows) with Golf Challenge ⛳️

For the past fortnight, like many others, I’ve been glued to golf’s most viral and unmissable content series: Bryson DeChambeau attempting to hit a hole-in-one over his multi-million dollar glass house.

The series has become so popular that it’s even been recreated as a game mode on golf simulators, with content creators trying to replicate the challenge.

Spoiler alert: after 16 days and 134 attempts, the 2x US Open winner nailed it. Pat McAfee, the former NFL punter turned podcaster, perfectly summed up the collective experience:

“I’m gonna miss these. We were all hoping for a blade thru the f***ing living room but instead, we watched you put 133 shots to with-in 6 feet and then WHAMMY... climax. What a journey. Congrats.”

Beyond the entertainment value, the series achieved staggering numbers, as highlighted by Owen Clouting, Social Media Manager at FootballCo:

What he says:

“On the 13th November, DeChambeau started a series where every day he tried to make a hole-in-one over his house, with the amount of shots increasing each day until he completed the challenge.
In total, it took 134 shots and was achieved without breaking a single window. Total views at the time of posting stand at a staggering 171.8m and will continue to rise.

By platform the results are incredibly interesting: TikTok (82.3m views), Instagram (81.5m views) and YouTube (7.98m views). On X, DeChambeau only posted his final day, which sits at 4.1m views currently. On Facebook, DeChambeau abandoned posting the series after two days, as the views sat at less than 80,000 per video. This could be considered by some (me), a clear representation of the platforms lack of strength in vertical video distribution.
This also translated into follower/subscriber growth, in the last 16 days DeChambeau's channels have increased by 341,000 on Instagram, 400,000 on TikTok, and 30,000 on YouTube.
So what does this tell us?
Series content is a great way to rapidly grow your audience.
Short-form video content is thriving and platforms which do this the best are a long way ahead of the competition.
Bryson DeChambeau is not bad at golf.
And to athletes, If you are not creating content like Ronaldo, Bellingham and Dechambeau, you are not only leaving money on the table, but you are potentially diminishing your legacy.”

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JOB BOARD

Partnerships Content Manager - Tottenham Hotspur (London, UK)
Senior Athlete Marketing Executive - B Engaged (London, UK)
Partnerships Roles - Aston Martin F1 Team (Silverstone, UK)
Director, Club Strategy - Major League Baseball (New York, US)
Communications Manager - League One Volleyball (New York, US)

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