Velon, the company behind eleven UCI World Tour Teams, has entered into a 10-year partnership with Infront Sports & Media, the leading international sports marketing company now integrated with IRONMAN as part of Wanda Sports.
The agreement will reportedly give Velon access to the ‘market leading technology, media production and sports marketing expertise of Infront, including its subsidiaries Host Broadcast Services (HBS) and Omnigon’. The aim is to enable Velon to ‘build a long-term and sustainable economic model for the sport, its teams and riders.’
Velon is a business venture formed by pro-cycling teams in 2014 to foster long term stability for its members and the sport. It is wholly owned and controlled equally by the eleven shareholding teams. Headquartered in the UK, the commercial organisation was founded by BMC Racing Team, Etixx – Quick-Step, Lampre-Merida, Lotto-Soudal, Orica GreenEDGE, Cannondale Pro Cycling Team, Team Giant-Alpecin, Team LottoNL – Jumbo Pro Cycling Team, Team Sky, Tinkoff, Trek-Segafredo.
‘Shared long-term vision’
The first phase of the partnership will provide live rider data to ‘revolutionise the fan experience during live broadcasts, as well as work on an enhanced digital appearance of Velon.’ This includes plans for a website re-launch and a dedicated app.
In a long-term view, the 10-year agreement is seen as a significant step towards Velon achieving its core goals, which include:
- Bringing fans closer to the riders, races and teams through technical and media solutions
- Aggregating the rights of eleven of the biggest teams to improve the financial stability of the sport
Infront as ‘all-round strategic partner to Velon’
Infront is now Velon’s strategic partner across all of Velon’s new and existing business opportunities. It has also been tasked with growing the commercial revenues for the teams and will work with key partners including event organisers, their partners and the UCI.
With its wide-ranging experience, Infront is expected to provide support across all areas of marketing, media rights distribution, production, digital as well as event management.
Graham Bartlett, CEO of Velon, said “This is an incredibly exciting announcement. We have spent over a year investigating potential partners that understood our goals and could assist us in achieving them. Infront have a vast amount of experience in this area and will be pivotal in developing a sustainable and long term future for pro-cycling.”
Stephan Herth, Executive Director of Infront Sports & Media, added “Cycling is a key sport in Infront’s long-term strategy and also an important pillar of the wider Wanda Sports Holding business. We are therefore proud to partner with Velon in revolutionizing the cycling experience of the fans, as well as the way that the sport is positioned and marketed in the digital sphere.
“Involving also our subsidiaries HBS and Omnigon, we will provide an extensive array of in-house marketing, production and digital experience to Velon, as we fully share the teams’ vision: to engage and grow the global cycling community, enhance the perception of the sport, and ensure long-term economic stability.”
Extensive data offering for broadcasters
Initially, the agreement will provide investment into a technology solution to bring racing alive in an ‘innovative and meaningful new way for the fans’. The agreement will result in the ability for bikes to carry the necessary technology to live stream performance data and video to feed into the broadcasters’ coverage.
Through on-board cameras, audio receptors and body sensors, extensive data will be captured across various streams, however what will be publically visible is subject to the outcomes of Velon’s discussions with all stakeholders (teams, riders, event organisers, the UCI, broadcasters, etc.).
All this data will be aggregated, interpreted and made available to broadcasters for use in their race coverage. Data will be ‘handled sensitively so as to respect rider privacy rights and use filters to ensure that live usage does not deliver a competitive advantage during a race.’
Graham Bartlett, CEO of Velon, added “We are delighted to be partnered with Infront Sports & Media. Our partnership enables us to make a major step forward to enable data to be shared with fans and it is going to be fantastic. Just imagine how great it will be for fans to see the performance of the riders as they follow races on their screens or see them at the race.
“This is something that has been available in other sports and now we’re bringing it to cycling so fans can better engage with the riders and get a much better experience.”
Infront Sports & Media is a leading sports marketing company, managing a comprehensive portfolio of top properties. Led by President & CEO Philippe Blatter, Infront covers a range of functions across sporting events – including distribution of media rights, sponsorship, media production and event operation – and has ‘won a reputation for its high standards of delivery.’
As the ‘number one player in winter sport ‘and with a leading role in football and summer sports, Infront enjoys partnerships with over 170 rights-holders and hundreds of sponsors and media companies. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Infront has a team of experienced staff working from over 25 offices across 13 countries, delivering 4,000 event days of sport around the world every year.
www.velon.cc
www.infrontsports.com
www.wanda-group.com
