Best signs up with BT.

 BT Sport are set to strengthen again by recruiting Grant Best, as senior channel executive producer. Best is one of the most highly regarded directors of live sport directing and producing more than 1,000 live sports events worldwide winning a Sports EMMY for his work on the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

This also comes in the wake of BT poaching Jake Humphrey from the BBC, as presenter for the telecoms giant's Premier league football coverage. BT won the rights to show 38 live games a season for three seasons, including 18 of the best quality ‘first pick’ games,  which is the first time anyone but Sky has won any of the prime live Premier League matches. This comes in the wake of the mega £3Billion deal brokered in the summer, in which BT will be paying £246 million per season beating ESPN for the rights

Best will begin his new role on November 1 and will report to Simon Green, director of BT Sport.

Simon Green said: “We are delighted to have secured someone of Grant’s quality to help to mould the new sports channel. We know that we have to make this a top quality channel that sports fans feel they can’t afford to ignore. That is why we are bolstering the in-house talents at BT with some of the finest TV talents to work behind the scenes and in front of the camera. Grant’s quality and pedigree cannot be questioned and we are very happy that he’s decided to join us to be involved in this incredible opportunity to build a brilliant new sports channel.”

With BT set to step into the world of football broadcasting next season, we at Total Digital Football will be looking on with interest. It's also just been announced that the company have signed deals with MLS, Ligue 1 in France, Serie A in Italy & the Brazilian championship to broadcast over the next three seasons.

The brand will have to pull out the stops to prove itself as a credible rival to Sky Sports dominance in the arena, whilst the poaching of Humphrey and the hiring of Best seem wise additions to the telecoms behemoth's fledgling football broadcast team.  

Newcastle to end Virgin Money deal with Wonga waiting in the background.

Newcastle United is set to end it's association with Virgin Money canceling the deal with the Richard Branson owned company a year early.

The two year deal, which is estimated to be worth £10million will be cancelled early at the clubs request. Virgin Money came in early last January as the clubs principle kit sponsor in the wake of the Northern Rock banking bailout scandal.

The Magpies will now be on the look out for a new sponsor, with the club revealing a new deal should be announced soon. Controversial owner Mike Ashley has recently secured significant capital from the beleaguered sports retailer JJB. With the Wigan based company officially  going to liquidation yesterday. Ashley's company Sports Direct is set to secure the JJB brand, website and 20  existing stores in a £24m deal.

Of course this is not the first time that Newcastle have experimented with new sponsorship deals, the club renamed the iconic St James Park to the Sports Direct Arena in November 2011 with the club saying at the time the change is a temporary measure to "showcase" the sponsorship opportunitys to "interested parties". However little interest seems to have emerged on the deal, which was seen as an incredible PR mistake from the Newcastle hierarchy.

Speaking of the breakdown of the deal Jayne-Anne Gadhia, chief executive of Virgin Money said: "We were delighted to sponsor Newcastle United given the club's importance to the North East and had hoped that this would be a relationship that would flourish for years to come.

"However, they have found a different option and we have to respect that.We remain sponsor until the end of the current season and the Virgin Money name will continue to be worn on the iconic black and white shirts until then."

Speculation will now be rife as the potential new & stadium sponsors being lined up, recent reports linking the payday loans company Wonga with an £8million pound deal potentially on the cards. The company who already have a sponsorship with Championship side Blackpool, are the purveyor of loans which are payable back at extortionate rates of interest. Although the prospect of the Magpies of running out at the Wonga stadium is pretty funny, it's hardly the best example for a Premier League club of Newcastle's stature to take.

Newcastle have in the past have had a long and successful relationship with Newcastle Brown Ale in the past. With many of the kit designs transcending that tricky football stand to fashion boundary (well at least in Newcastle!) The awkward image below sums up the status of the kit in the late 90's of the shirt of choice for many North Eastern gents. With the bloke at the center of the picture, the toast of his friends.

Regardless of what happens with the deal, the powers at be should consider what to do in terms of the clubs next sponsorship opportunity. If all being well the club could have the potential to sell itself to a whole new world of fans, however if the proposed Wonga deal was to go through it could spell another PR disaster for the Toon Army.

Manchester City Link up with Hugo Boss.

Manchester City  has today announced yet another new partnership with Hugo Boss that will see the global fashion brand become the Club’s exclusive fashion and clothing partner of the first team. This goes along with a number of new deals signed by the Champions of England with Forsquare  &  Nike which have been covered in this humble blog.  

The partnership between Manchester City and Hugo Boss will ensure the first team squad, which includes stars such as Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany, Joe Hart, Mario Balotelli and Yaya Toure look just as sharp off the pitch as they do on it. As part of the partnership, Hugo Boss will design the player’s Club suits which are worn during official Manchester City engagements and Cup Finals. 

 Hugo Boss will also work closely with the Club and players on a range of photo-shoots, video content and money can’t buy experiences. Speaking of the Partnership, Tom Glick, new Chief Commercial & Operations Officer for Manchester City Football Club, said:

“We are delighted to welcome Hugo Boss to our family of partners at what is a very exciting time in the Club’s history.  Hugo Boss is not only one of most respected brands in the world, but their reputation for innovation and creativity within the fashion industry, is unparalleled. The opportunity to collaborate on a range of activities beyond simply the design of the player’s suits makes this a particularly compelling partnership.”

The deal is yet another example of the clubs development off the pitch, as they look to cement the clubs reputation as one of the best in Europe.  With the impending financial fair play rules being implemented many of Europe's elite teams are penning long term lucrative sponsorship deals. 

On the pitch City take on the German Champions Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday at the Etihad, as they look to get out of a tough group in the Champions League containing Ajax & Real Madrid.