ITV and Coral Launch New Sports Series
Sports betting brand Coral has co-produced and funded a new sports documentary, which will be aired by ITV later this month. “Against the Odds” takes a look at the lives of athletes that have excelled in their chosen sports. Viewers can look forward to insights into the careers of flat jockey Hollie Doyle, racehorse Desert Orchid and darts champion Gerwyn Price, to name a few.
One episode will delve into the life of World Darts Champion Gerwyn Price. ©Hasan Albari/Pexels
Top Sports Personalities
Sports fans will be able to watch Coral’s brand new ten-part series soon on ITV, as it debuts on October 19th. The series will be presented and narrated by the channel’s top roster of sports broadcasters, which includes Gabriel Clarke, Francesca Cumani, Mark Pougatch, Ed Chamberlain and Oli Bell.
Each episode will focus on a different athlete, delving into their individual journeys to success and the highs and lows of their sporting careers. Viewers can look forward to the first documentary of the series, which will recount the career of champion flat jockey Hollie Doyle.
In 2019 Hollie Doyle set a new record for winners ridden in a British season by a female jockey. The following year she went on take fourth place in the Flat Jockey’s Championship, the highest result for a woman in the competition to date. In 2020, she was selected as The Sunday Times sportswoman of the year and came third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.
The following episodes will cover an array of sporting personalities, including fellow riders Guy Disney and Johnny Murtagh. A special episode is set to air before the Cheltenham Festival, and will tell the story of legendary racehorse Desert Orchid. A documentary on World Darts Champion Gerwyn Price is also part of the lineup, and more names are to be announced.
The episodes will be released to coincide with upcoming major sporting events, such as The Ashes, the Six Nations, the FA Cup and the Cheltenham Festival. In this way, they will help to ramp up excitement ahead of the events and boost support for British athletes.
Coral has collaborated with ITV to produce “Against the Odds”, a series that promises viewers unique insight into some of most inspiring names in the UK sport. Many of the athletes have overcome adversity to rise to the top of their fields and get their names in the records books.
Advertiser Funded Programming
The sportsbook has funded the series, which has been developed by the7stars content team and Supernova. Commercial creative output, including for the idents and activation, is being overseen by creative agency DRUM. ITV Sport also helped to produce the series, which will air from October 2021 until July 2022.
As part of Coral’s partnership with ITV on the project, the bookmaker will receive a full activation package. ITV and Coral will work together to show off the new series across an array of platforms online as well as out and about in the real world. Viewers will be able to catch the documentaries on their TV sets on ITV and ITV4. Episodes will also be made available to stream online via the ITV Hub.
Sports fans will be able to view exclusive behind the scenes footage on Coral’s platforms. The betting operator will also provide in-store promotions and branding, alongside signed merchandise to be given away in competitions.
Coral is excited to be embarking on what is a brand-new format for its brand. It hopes that the series will cement its position as a leader in sports entertainment, whilst showcasing the inspirational stories of athletes that have defied the odds to rise to the top.
ITV is equally pleased with how the project has turned out. Speaking on behalf of the broadcaster, ITV Commercial’s Deputy Managing Director Simon Daglish described working with Coral as a positive experience. He praised the bookmaker for being ahead of the curve with its innovative advertising strategy. According to Daglish:
“We have been delighted to work with Coral on this exciting series of sport insight programmes. Increasingly Advertiser Funded Programmes are being used to help create a more engaged form of dialogue with consumers and Against The Odds is an excellent example of this. It has been a great experience working with Coral and we are excited to broadcast the series.”
Engaging with Customers
ITV Sport Executive Producer Phil Heslop had equally glowing praise for Coral and the documentaries produced through the collaboration. He said that the ten-part series offered an honest insight into what it takes to make it in sport and what everyday life is like for athletes.
Taylor Barr, Sports and Partnerships Lead at the7stars spoke about how ad-funded programming is growing as a tool for brands to reach their customers. By aligning itself with the UK’s top sporting personalities, Coral has tapped into the interests of its users and offered them fresh and engaging content.
DRUM, a London-based creative agency has crafted a series of sponsorship idents to support the programs as they air on ITV’s channels. The idents celebrate the collaborative spirit that went into producing the series, while monthly social content brings the stories of sporting champions directly to consumers.
Coral is a UK sports betting brand run by world-leading operator Entain. Since starting out as an independent bookie in 1926, the business has grown to become one of Britain’s best-loved betting providers. It was acquired by competitor Ladbrokes in 2016, which was then bought up by Entain, then operating as GVC Holdings, in 2018.
Coral is now firmly part of the Entain family, which consists of a variety of betting and gaming brands, both operating in the UK and around the world. Alongside Ladbrokes, Entain also runs betting brands including bwin, BetMGM and Sportingbet. Online gaming brands include partypoker, Foxy Bingo and CasinoClub.
Entain’s marketing team are hard at work, as the operator recently announced plans to revamp its high-street shops. A number of specially selected UK shops are set to be given a digital makeover, tying in its online branding with its bricks and mortar shops.
