WPP To Launch 150-Person, GroupM Unit Sports Rights Agency ESP

WPP has "stepped into the increasingly lucrative arena of sports rights, setting up a new agency" to represent the likes of the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers, Man City and the England & Wales Cricket Board, according to Malcolm Moore of the FINANCIAL TIMES. ESP will be a "150-person unit that sits within GroupM, WPP's media-buying arm." It "intends to take on the likes of IMG, Wasserman and Infront in selling sports rights across the world." ESP Properties Head of Strategy Jonathan Lenson said, "This is a meaningful number of people in terms of specialist capability. We have just started working with the Cleveland Cavaliers to help them sell outside North America in terms of global sponsorships and partners. City Football, which owns Manchester City, is also looking at global partnerships -- anything from sponsors on training kits to a global personal care provider, for example." The initiative is the latest sign of WPP's "ambitions to become a force in media and entertainment beyond advertising" (FT, 5/18).