Could Sky sponsorship end?

[Koronin]

Re:

I'm more likely to take the bait and look into getting a Sky subscription than I am to nip down to my local Middle Eastern nations dealer and pick up a Bahrain or a UAE; or to start doing price comparisons on where to buy a Katusha or an Astana on-line. Or even to buy a French, Belgian or Dutch lottery ticket.

Most of the sponsors that are companies aren't even in the US so half the time it's look it up on the internet to find out what the heck it is in the first place.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re: Re:

I'm more likely to take the bait and look into getting a Sky subscription than I am to nip down to my local Middle Eastern nations dealer and pick up a Bahrain or a UAE; or to start doing price comparisons on where to buy a Katusha or an Astana on-line. Or even to buy a French, Belgian or Dutch lottery ticket.

Most of the sponsors that are companies aren't even in the US so half the time it's look it up on the internet to find out what the heck it is in the first place.

Weirdly today was the first time in my life I’ve ever seen Quickstep products for sale.

 

[fmk_RoI]

Re:

I'm more likely to take the bait and look into getting a Sky subscription than I am to nip down to my local Middle Eastern nations dealer and pick up a Bahrain or a UAE; or to start doing price comparisons on where to buy a Katusha or an Astana on-line. Or even to buy a French, Belgian or Dutch lottery ticket.

UAE, Bahrain, Katusha, they're politics, international relations, soft power. Astana, to an extent the same, only more of a vanity project. Anyone who mocks Sky's financial model without reference to the bigger problem of those teams is blinkered.

 

[dastott]

Re: Re:

The 'model' if you want to call it that, is not far removed from most European football leagues, the most commercially successful sports leagues on the planet.

Mega rich owners, pumping mega money into clubs to buy success.

A decade or so ago, it seemed grossly unfair, only a small handful of clubs had these rich owners, they were spending silly money to buy up the best talent and buy success. Sound familiar.

Fast forward to now, every self respecting club in the top European leagues has a billionaire owner pumping fantasy money into the club.

The big TV money has followed.

Now there's a debate that money has ruined football..but the multi millionaire players ain't complaining. The majority of fans attending matches at space age stadiums ain't complaining.

Cycling isn't football for sure.... but in a sport where only a very small handful of world level pros are truly rewarded for exceptional talent and hard work, where most teams live from year to year? Scratching around for new sponsors or disappearing altogether....maybe we need more Sky"s not less.

Exactly.

 

[Singer01]

Re:

Please explain what Sky's business model is, exactly?
One mega-sponsor that pours in money for a decade? You think that is going to work for 20-30 cycling teams?

it works in many other sports.

 

[fmk_RoI]

So much humour to be found here...

 

[the delgados]

Re: Re:

I'm more likely to take the bait and look into getting a Sky subscription than I am to nip down to my local Middle Eastern nations dealer and pick up a Bahrain or a UAE; or to start doing price comparisons on where to buy a Katusha or an Astana on-line. Or even to buy a French, Belgian or Dutch lottery ticket.

UAE, Bahrain, Katusha, they're politics, international relations, soft power. Astana, to an extent the same, only more of a vanity project. Anyone who mocks Sky's financial model without reference to the bigger problem of those teams is blinkered.

*Edited by mod*
For once I am in 100 percent agreement with you.

 

[42x16ss]

Re: Re:

I'm more likely to take the bait and look into getting a Sky subscription than I am to nip down to my local Middle Eastern nations dealer and pick up a Bahrain or a UAE; or to start doing price comparisons on where to buy a Katusha or an Astana on-line. Or even to buy a French, Belgian or Dutch lottery ticket.

Most of the sponsors that are companies aren't even in the US so half the time it's look it up on the internet to find out what the heck it is in the first place.

Weirdly today was the first time in my life I’ve ever seen Quickstep products for sale.

Funnily enough, after all their years sponsoring cycling, Mapei is only starting to appear on the Australian market over the last few years. Same with Rabobank

 

[Nirvana]

At least here if you went to a building products shop you could have easily found Mapei and Quick-Step products already 15/20 years ago, it's not something new and are amongst the most selłed in that department. But also Deuceunink windows aren't a new appeared product, even if aren't so popular because the cost is pretty high.

Something cycling related that I've started to see only recently are Credit Agricole banks.

 

[tobydawq]

Re:

At least here if you went to a building products shop you could have easily found Mapei and Quick-Step products already 15/20 years ago, it's not something new and are amongst the most selłed in that department. But also Deuceunink windows aren't a new appeared product, even if aren't so popular because the cost is pretty high.

Something cycling related that I've started to see only recently are Credit Agricole banks.

How do you accidentally type a crossed l?

 

[VO2 Max]

Re: Re:

Cycling isn't football for sure.... but in a sport where only a very small handful of world level pros are truly rewarded for exceptional talent and hard work, where most teams live from year to year? Scratching around for new sponsors or disappearing altogether....maybe we need more Sky"s not less.

Clearly true. And you'd expect that's why we've seen the UCI be quite 'friendly' with them over the years. One Team Sky is a disaster for the viewing public, eighteen Team Sky's would sort out of all pro cycling's problems.

But

I actually want to know what exactly a telecommunications company like Sky gets out of the sponsorship? What exactly is their return on investment?

In terms of equivalent ad spend it's over 10 to 1.

I've heard 3-400% roi from someone who had a vested interest in overstating it as much as possible. Even at the lower end of that scale, why aren't companies queuing up? Some big optimism bias worked in to all the calculations as far as I can see, post-rationalising the fact that someone senior in a firm just wants to get inside his favourite sport. Once there was a local rich guy called Jack Walker that 'bought' the league for Blackburn Rovers; last year's winners are owned by a guy from the other side of the world who's worth $4.9bn. It's all sustainable for exactly as long as you can keep finding richer and richer patrons.

Hence the actual sponsor make-up in cycling after Sky raised the €€€ stakes. A bunch of national lotteries and fronts for 'questionable' national regimes.

UAE, Bahrain, Katusha, they're politics, international relations, soft power. Astana, to an extent the same, only more of a vanity project. Anyone who mocks Sky's financial model without reference to the bigger problem of those teams is blinkered.

Sky have been good for Sky and for the riders who've made more money and had more secure careers because of them. Ten seasons with a single consistent title sponsor is a big deal at basically any time in pro cycling history, and they've won quite a lot of stuff too. I hope their departure doesn't lead to a wage contraction.

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

UAE, Bahrain, Katusha, they're politics, international relations, soft power. Astana, to an extent the same, only more of a vanity project. Anyone who mocks Sky's financial model without reference to the bigger problem of those teams is blinkered.

Sky have been good for Sky and for the riders who've made more money and had more secure careers because of them. Ten seasons with a single consistent title sponsor is a big deal at basically any time in pro cycling history, and they've won quite a lot of stuff too. I hope their departure doesn't lead to a wage contraction.[/quote]

Interesting question. It will to a point. It's known that Sky offered riders they wanted anywhere from 2 to 4 times what other teams could offer. The Izagirre brothers have said they were offered by Sky about 3 times what Movistar could pay them and they choose to stay at Movistar. They later went to Bahrain with a promise of leadership, but not for much more money. Landa has said that he took a big pay cut to go to Movistar from what he was making at Sky. I'm not entirely sure Sky actually has raised the salaries of riders who aren't racing for Sky.

 

[Nirvana]

Re: Re:

At least here if you went to a building products shop you could have easily found Mapei and Quick-Step products already 15/20 years ago, it's not something new and are amongst the most selłed in that department. But also Deuceunink windows aren't a new appeared product, even if aren't so popular because the cost is pretty high.

Something cycling related that I've started to see only recently are Credit Agricole banks.

How do you accidentally type a crossed l?

I don't know, the US english keyboard i use on the iPad didn't even have that letter. Maybe the autocorrection went crazy, sometimes happens that a correct word becomes a wrong one or a totally nonsense.

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

At least here if you went to a building products shop you could have easily found Mapei and Quick-Step products already 15/20 years ago, it's not something new and are amongst the most selłed in that department. But also Deuceunink windows aren't a new appeared product, even if aren't so popular because the cost is pretty high.

Something cycling related that I've started to see only recently are Credit Agricole banks.

How do you accidentally type a crossed l?

I don't know, the US english keyboard i use on the iPad didn't even have that letter. Maybe the autocorrection went crazy, sometimes happens that a correct word becomes a wrong one or a totally nonsense.

A US English keyboard shouldn't have that letter. It's definitely not on my laptop keyboard. I'm sure autocorrect wasn't happy with selled. (Correct word is sold. )

 

[Bot. Sky_Bot]

Re: Re:

At least here if you went to a building products shop you could have easily found Mapei and Quick-Step products already 15/20 years ago, it's not something new and are amongst the most selłed in that department. But also Deuceunink windows aren't a new appeared product, even if aren't so popular because the cost is pretty high.

Something cycling related that I've started to see only recently are Credit Agricole banks.

How do you accidentally type a crossed l?

I don't know, the US english keyboard i use on the iPad didn't even have that letter. Maybe the autocorrection went crazy, sometimes happens that a correct word becomes a wrong one or a totally nonsense.

Nirvana, I think your Florence is łocated here:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/87-325+Florencja/@53.2211629,19.2680371,14z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x471d209cac779d9f:0x23655d999bdaa252!8m2!3d53.221987!4d19.2722429

and you have on your keyboard some more interesting łetters like: ó, ż, ź, ą, ę...

 

[King Boonen]

Re: Re:

At least here if you went to a building products shop you could have easily found Mapei and Quick-Step products already 15/20 years ago, it's not something new and are amongst the most selłed in that department. But also Deuceunink windows aren't a new appeared product, even if aren't so popular because the cost is pretty high.

Something cycling related that I've started to see only recently are Credit Agricole banks.

How do you accidentally type a crossed l?

I don't know, the US english keyboard i use on the iPad didn't even have that letter. Maybe the autocorrection went crazy, sometimes happens that a correct word becomes a wrong one or a totally nonsense.

Are you sure it doesn't? It won't be visible by default on the keyboard but if you hold down the l key it should pop up as a choice. it's on the iPhone UK keyboard.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re: Re:

I'm sure autocorrect wasn't happy with selled. (Correct word is sold. )

Potato patota.

 

[King Boonen]

Saw this, thought a few here would enjoy it

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrXcnXTFKQd/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=15g9vnhnyds0d

 

[SHAD0W93]

On my US Samsung, it comes up when I hold the L key, almost ever letter has something. Otherwise if you are on a computer or laptop it shouldn't do that.

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

I'm sure autocorrect wasn't happy with selled. (Correct word is sold. )

Potato patota.

 

[Robert5091]

Re:

Saw this, thought a few here would enjoy it

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrXcnXTFKQd/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=15g9vnhnyds0d

The link does not connect but does play "Wichita Lineman" ...

 

[Tonton]

Bluntly put: good riddance. As some here put it, Sky didn't trigger a Golden Age of better pay...except for Sky's riders. Good for them...soon they will be paid at market price,which isn't too shabby for the top-50 in the peloton.

Sky's model is that of the NY Yankees of the '90s...nothing new there. Maybe their budget hurt less cash-loaded teams who could have had their share of glory and keep sponsors if it wasn't for Sky's dominance. And actually, Sky may have convinced smaller sponsors that they couldn't compete...so why bother?

If nothing else, Sky gone will make GTs more exciting. It's the super-team, and I'd rather see its off-spring less about being a super-team, and more about a British team.

Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy said about France what I'd say about Sky: I love Sky so much that I want to see five mini-Sky (kinda mean, no?)....in a way, what if Froome had a team, and Thomas had a team? To me, cycling would be better off next July and moving forward.