Larry Ellison Talks to ABC about Boats, Budgets and Bases.

The America’s Cup is back in America. Celebrations over the weekend marked the arrival of the Auld Mug via a first class seat and the lobbying for host city began.

BMW ORACLE boss Larry Ellison gave an interview to ABC that touched on some of the issues that will define AC 34 including the venue and what kind of boats might be used.

The interview reveals that if the America’s Cup community agree, then the format of the next event might be skewed towards being more commercial, more spectator friendly and less traditional. Ellison says he will consult with sponsors on some of the decisions, which will include where the racing will take place.

Perhaps BMW ORACLE have media figures that we haven’t seen. Ellison says that young people want to see extreme racing and that a lot of people enjoyed watching the event in Valencia because of the radical nature of the boats. It’s not like fans were ever given a choice of what boats they wanted to watch, and a lot more people watched AC 32 than tuned into the monster trimarans. While most would argue that professional yacht racing needs to provide compelling products, the (non New York Court) jury is still out as to whether the America’s Cup is the right platform to deliver that product.

The interview also talks about budgets, with Ellison throwing out a number of $2-3-4 million for a campaign in AC34.

See the complete interview here….

Yachtsponsorship.com Launches Dedicated America’s Cup News Page

Now that there is real interest in the America’s Cup again and the stories are a more palatable mix of sailing, personalities, competition and racing instead of the grotty detail of legal posturing, we have launched a standalone page for news about the 33rd Edition in Valencia.

As well as YachtSponsorship.com’s unique opinion and insight, the new channel will feature embedded video from the teams, live twitter updates from journalists, teams and other sources as well as the occasional input from some special America’s Cup guests.

Yachtsponsorship.com’s coverage of the 33rd America’s Cup in Valencia between Alinghi and BMW ORACLE will be presented by the DARK BLUE BOOK – the Who’s Who of Yacht Racing.

CLICK HERE to Visit the Dedicated America’s Cup Page.

During the week, the publishers of the essential reference for the sport of professional yacht racing, released it’s distribution figures for 2009.

Over 500 copies of the business to business tool were sold via the official website to buyers from around the world. In addition, more than 500 copies were distributed to C-Level executives of companies identified as being able to contribute to the growth of the industry either as sponsors or suppliers.

Sales of the DARK BLUE BOOK were predictably highest in countries where sailing is traditionally popular like the UK, USA, Spain, Italy, Australia and New Zealand; however a large number of the books were sold in emerging sailing markets including the Middle East, S. E. Asia and China.

David Fuller, CEO of Pilote Media and Editor of the directory is happy with the first year’s results.

“Like many sports, sailing at the elite level around the world is a relatively small industry, but it is growing and there is sense that there are opportunities that are untapped. The sport is becoming more commercial and more professional and the DARK BLUE BOOK aims to provide new and existing players with easier access to new business.”

Now that a solid base has been established, the publishers aim to increase the awareness of the directory and work with the leaders of the sport to position sailing as a competitor to more recognised global sports.

David Fuller says:

“Many in the yacht racing business know each other. They have sailed with or against one another, they have been at the same events as fans or suppliers and many have built up longstanding relationships, but many in the business are still competing amongst themselves for a share of the existing pie instead of working together to grow the sport by attracting new competitors, sponsors, suppliers and fans.”

“By collecting the industry together in a single reference, the DARK BLUE BOOK is one way of presenting yacht racing as a united global entity and increases the opportunities to develop individual events. It is also useful within the industry to identify key people or service providers.”

In 2010, the DARK BLUE BOOK will benefit from larger distribution through affiliate partners and increased visibility. The publishers are aiming in substantially increase the number of books sold in 2010.

The 2010 DARK BLUE BOOK closes for entries at the end of February. Listings can be created or updated online at: http://www.darkbluebook.com/

Video: BMW ORACLE Press Conference

Interest in the America’s Cup has never been higher? According to Larry Ellison, the fighting between the Defender and the Challenger is like two heavyweight boxers who hate each other before a fight.

How would that interest be translated into interest in future America’s Cups? Monohulls – but exciting monohulls, like the RC44, with lots of passing that is presented on TV in the right way.

This video comes from BMW ORACLE. We’re not sure how long it will be available or whether it will be replaced by more current videos, but here it is… the press conference is preceded by 5 minutes of video of USA sailing. Tom Ehman starts procedings at 4:41 into the clip.

America’s Cup coverage is presented by the DARK BLUE BOOK: The Who’s Who of Yacht Racing and Sailing.

Valencia Will Host the 33rd America’s Cup.

Pack your bags for Valencia. The NY Courts have spoken; again, and the final(?) appeal regarding the venue of the 33rd America’s Cup has been dealt with. It’s perhaps a shame that the Middle East won’t get to use the America’s Cup to showcase how the region can deliver world class infrastructure for sporting events, but given the trends in the wider sailing world, it won’t be long before yacht racing fans get to enjoy the benefits availed by a favourable economic and meterological climate.

On the other hand, with only weeks to go until the first race between these impressive multihull machines, Valencia is able to be reached by a large number of fans, journalists and other stakeholders. There should be enough flights, hotel rooms and bars to accomodate anyone who wants to make the trip at short notice to experience this one of a kind cup match.

The statements released by the respective parties continue the legalistic, antagonistic language that has marred the fight between BMW ORACLE and Alinghi. In stark contrast, the sailors; namely Russell Coutts and Brad Butterworth, spoke in a completely different tone at the World Yacht Racing Forum last week.

The last session of the event was a combination of awe-inspiring presentations about the engineering feats that are BOR 90 and Alinghi 5, and a panel discsussion that tried to plot a future for the cup once the DOG match is done and a winner is determined. A selection of the discussion can be viewed here…

Watch The Monsoon Cup Live.

Live streaming thanks to SAIL.TV

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