Copa90 creates unique Euro 2016 animations

Content creators in sport don’t need broadcast rights to be successful, and the remarkable rise of Copa90 is testament to this.  The global football network – owned by Bigballs Media – prides itself on telling stories from outside the 90 minutes by focusing on fan culture around the world.

With 1.1 million subscribers in more than 200 countries, Copa90’s alternative approach to sports media makes it stand out from the crowd and attract brand partnerships with the likes of Nissan, Adidas, Turkish Airlines, and most recently Coca-Cola.

But whilst the network has acquired small packages of broadcast rights with the MLS, it has no plans to use expensive rights to boss others out of the game.

Instead, Copa90 has chosen to continue its unique approach to footballing story-telling through stunning animation:

These beautiful animations are a collaboration between Copa90 and London based animation production company Grizzle. The videos are created within 45 minutes of the goals going in, distributed across social media and included in The Fans Daily, produced in partnership with ITV. As soon as a team scores, Grizzle’s squad of four animators take a different aspect each; the cross, shot and goalkeeper’s movements, as well as adding finer details such as the curvature of the ball and player’s celebrations.

DSC_0057 (1)

A Grizzle animator puts the final touches on Wayne Rooney’s celebration at Euro 2016

“Copa90 have been great, they’re raving mad football fans”, said Tom Carpenter, Director of Grizzle. “When we add extras like targets & ball trajectories they get giddy like children. We share that same excitement which is ace.”

“The animated version of Albania’s 43rd minute goal vs Romania had 1.4 million views on Twitter over 12 hours. It was a perfect storm, being their first ever in major tournament and having the animation drawn before the final whistle was blown. To see your work shared at that rate is a buzz.”

Grizzle-Gareth-Bale-Dragon-Sequence

These wonderful animations and the rate at which they are produced means Copa90 not only cover the fans at Euro 2016, but can also include coverage of the games themselves, further proving that traditional broadcast rights are no longer essential for quality sports content.

About author

Toby Marriott
Toby Marriott 91 posts

Toby is an Account Executive at Snack Media and Editor of Digital Sport. Follow him on Twitter @TobyMarriott

You might also like

SPORTEL 2021: Day One Recap

This year’s prestigious SPORTEL convention kicked off in sunny Monaco today, welcoming a host of familiar faces as well as plenty of new ones. Doors opened at 8:30am with businesses

Six Founding Riders Set To Bring The Vision Of The UCI Track Champions League To Life

Olympic Champions, UCI World Champions and World Record holders join the new track cycling competition debuting in November 2021 The UCI Track Champions League is delighted to announce that six

Sports related spending to soar this summer as pre-pandemic life resumes

New insights from eBay Ads UK reveal the potential for brands to engage with an excited but nervous nation as sports events get back on track  As pubs and indoor