Sunday, May 06, 2007

Sports globalization and IMG US-based IMG solidified its hold on the sports marketing and management sector with the recently announced acquisition of Collegiate Licensing Co., the #1 college trademark licensing agency. THE price of deal was not disclosed. CLC licenses the rights to the logos of many major US universities, from Notre Dame to the U. of Texas, along with such NCAA events as the Final Four and the Bowl Championship Series. It licenses these rights primarily to apparel companies above all. The move expands the reach of IMG, a rapidly growing sports and entertainment conglomerate. . Among the wide variety of sports events that the company acts as a licenser of promotional and media rights for are the Olympics, NASCAR, Major League Baseball, golf and tennis tournaments, soccer leagues, and cricket matches. It also manages the careers of such luminaries as Jeff Gordon, Roger Federer, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, and Venus Williams, among many others. It also runs sports academies in tennis, soccer, and football - even fishing. The company designs and manages golf courses. The company also represents some non-sports figures such as models and broadcasters and has a media arm that develops and produces video content. It also produces several publications, including the US-fashion publication The Daily. What the company is trying to do combine production, distribution, talent and rights management. The question is whether such a combination can be well managed for long, since the various operations may have conflicting agendas and profit streams. Forstmann Little & Co., a private equity buyout firm, bought IMG in 2004, and has steadily added more properties in the sports and media/entertainment areas. In recent years it has internationalized its holdings, reflecting the worldwide globalization of the sports industry. In 2006, the company bought UK.-based Tiger Aspect Productions, an independent production studio, which produces British comedy, drama, and nature programs. In 2007, it bought Quintus, a British sports and media promotion and marketing agency. It also bought CSI Sports, a major player in soccer and cricket representation and media production, Further it bought BSI Speedway, a London-based promoter of motor sport events. It also bought Tennis Week magazine. 1:18:12 PM

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