New Action Sports Venture Combines AST Properties, Other Events
NBC Sports and MTV today announced the creation of the Alliance of Action Sports (Alli), which will combine AST properties, including the Dew Tour, Winter Dew Tour, Free Flow Tour and the China Invitational, with several other action sports events, including the Maloof Money Cup skateboard event, the AMA Motocross Championship and the King of Wake wakeboard series. The brand will offer a total of seven national and int'l action sports tours and events (Alli). SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Tripp Mickle reports each competition in the Alli portfolio "will be known by its own name such as Dew Tour or Maloof Money Cup, but each will be considered a member of Alli and Alli signage will be visible at events." The company's new Web site, allisports.com, "will include social-networking pages, athlete pages, pages for each sport in the Alliance (skateboard, BMX, FMX, snowboard, ski, wakeboard, surf, motocross) and competition pages" for the various events. Alli President Wade Martin said that the name change, new properties and enhanced Web site are "all part of Alli's efforts to grow beyond the Dew Tour to become 'the common touch point for fans looking to follow and consume action sports.'" Mickle notes in support of the new properties and Web site, Alli "will hire two to three sponsorship sales and partnership employees and two to three digital employees." Alli has already hired Doug Kirk, who previously worked at the NBA, SI and ESPN.com, as VP/Digital. Meanwhile, the Alli logo "won't be the only new one visible this year," as the Dew Tour logo "also got a makeover." The logo's "green, starlike explosion behind the word Dew Tour has been discarded in favor of a green loop in the shape of a 'D'" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 12/1 issue).
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