Tough Mudder’s new media partnership with Sky Sports "highlights the surging popularity and commercial opportunities which mass participation fitness events present for brands and sponsors," according to Tony Connelly of THE DRUM. The video content partnership will present an "in-depth look into all the action from the brand’s most extreme event, the World’s Toughest Mudder, which consists of a 24-hour endurance race featuring more extreme obstacles and elite athletes than the mass participation events held around the world." Starting Jan. 24, Sky Sports’ available to all channel, Sky Sports Mix, "will launch its coverage" of the '16 race with a preview show. The growth of mass-participation fitness regimes such as Tough Mudder and CrossFit has "attracted a lot of business from brands looking to capitalise on the commercial opportunities around them." Reebok has "positioned itself as one of the leading sports brands for such sports having agreed a 10-year sponsorship of the CrossFit Games" in '11. M&C Saatchi Sports & Entertainment Dir Neil Hopkins warned that "brands will have to tread carefully if they plan on moving into the space though." He said, "Brands like Reebok already have an established presence in and around events like Tough Mudder and Spartan Race as they were quick to innovative from a product perspective and have gained market leadership and credibility as a consequence" (THE DRUM, 1/20).
TOUGHEST MUDDER: Sky Sports Mix will broadcast this year's World's Toughest Mudder adding to the schedule that has seen 33 different sports since the new channel launched to all Sky TV customers in August. For the first time on U.K. TV, viewers will be able to follow all the action as competitors battle it out in an extreme 24-hour endurance race to become the World's Toughest Mudder champion. In addition to the World's Toughest Mudder, Sky also agreed to show two more Tough Mudder series in '17. A six-part series focusing on three "every day" Tough Mudder competitors will air in February on linear and on Sky's digital platforms (Sky Sports).
