Fenway Sports Management President and Red Sox Exec VP & COO Sam Kennedy appeared on Bloomberg TV Thursday to discuss the new partnership between Fenway Sports Group's FSM and LRMR Marketing & Branding, and he said the opportunity to "partner with an iconic global athlete like LeBron James and his partner Maverick Carter was too good of an opportunity to pass up." Kennedy said making marketing inroads in Asia is a "huge part" of the partnership, and FSM would "not have been in a position to get the chance or the at bat with Maverick and LeBron to work with them if we did not have a company that had a strong foothold in Asia like Liverpool Football Club." Kennedy noted Liverpool's shirt sponsor, Standard Chartered, is "one of the largest banks in Asia." Kennedy: "There is an opportunity for us together to work on business development opportunities over in the U.K. and, of course, in the United States, not to mention several other countries around the world." Bloomberg TV's Michele Steele asked, "How much of the business plan for LeBron at FSG is contingent on the Heat winning a championship?" Kennedy: "We certainly hope that LeBron and the Miami Heat have a great run in the playoffs. But given what LeBron has achieved and his influence in the global marketplace, we think that there'll be opportunities regardless of how deep they go in the playoffs. To be clear, winning is extremely important for all of our properties, and that's why we're together" ("Fast Forward With Lisa Murphy," Bloomberg TV, 4/7).
