| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | General Motors Building New York, United States |
IMG, originally known as the International Management Group is a global sports and media business headquartered in New York City.[1]
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IMG was founded by Mark McCormack. McCormack was an American lawyer who spotted the potential for athletes to make large incomes from endorsement in the television age, and signed golfer Arnold Palmer as his first client. McCormack died in 2003. In 2004 Forstmann Little led by Theodore J. Forstmann acquired the company and Mr. Forstmann was chairman and CEO until his death in late 2011.
In 2006, IMG Media acquired nunet AG,[2] a provider of Mobile TV services to Mobile Network Operators globally. Clients of nunet's Mobile TV CMS currently include: Vodafone Global, Proximus, Vodacom, Mobilkom A1. Content distributed currently includes MTV, Fashion TV, Eurosport and Discovery Networks.
In November 2007, IMG acquired Kentucky-based Host Communications, which had multiple business units with services ranging from sports marketing and broadcasting to the management of associations and non-profit organizations. The sports-related businesses were combined with the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) to form IMG College, while the association management division was renamed IMG Associations.
IMG was founded and headquartered in Downtown Cleveland in a 1965-built complex diagonally across the street from Erieview Tower. When the IMG Center was built, it originally housed the Cuyahoga Saving Bank, which was acquired by Charter One Bank in 1998. In 1997, IMG renovated the Cuyahoga Savings Bank Building and renamed it IMG Center. At street level they have a projection screen showing their businesses, events and clients, with images ranging from F1 racing to professional golfers. Following the acquisition of IMG by Forstmann Little, the headquarters remained in Cleveland for several years until officially relocating to its new parent company's existing offices in New York, in 2010. The firm continues to operate its major U.S. office at the former Cleveland headquarters.[3]
On October 15, 2010, IMG acquired ISP, the Winston-Salem, NC based multimedia rights holder for more than 50 universities. As a result of the acquisition, IMG College retained ISP's former headquarters in Winston-Salem.[4]
IMG is a privately owned company.
TWI, IMG's television division, is the largest independent distributor and producer of televised sports, managing a library of more than 150,000 hours. TWI annually produces and distributes 6,500 hours of original programming to more than 200 countries covering 200+ sports, and also has involvement in digital sports and entertainment.
IMG is also commercially involved in an average of 11 major sports and cultural events around the world every day; represents the interests of major corporations; is the world's largest non-character licensing firm, and is a literary agency and book packager.
In addition, IMG Artists is a performing arts management firm; IMG owns and operates Florida-based sports and fitness academies under the name IMG Academies; and IMG Models is a model management firm. IMG Consulting works with many corporations on marketing and sponsorship programs, and IMG's stadium and arena group works with leagues and franchises world wide. The association management division, IMG Associations, provides management and administrative services to trade associations, professional societies and foundations. IMG Speakers[5] books talent for Fortune 500 companies, associations, healthcare organizations, lecture series and colleges and universities throughout the world.
Trans World International (TWI) is the event arm of IMG. It is the largest independent producer, packager and distributor of sports programs in the world. TWI produces over 5,000 hours of original programming each year for distribution to more than 200 territories.
In late 2007 IMG acquired Host Communications and the Collegiate Licensing Company to form IMG College. In 2010 IMG acquired Winston Salem, NC based ISP Sports.[6] All together, IMG College holds the licensing rights to over 150 colleges and universities, 9 collegiate conferences, 15 bowl games and 7 other athletic institutions in the United States. Additionally, they hold the multimedia marketing rights to the following US schools and institutions:
IMG College also publishes Dave Campbell's Texas Football, a magazine dedicated to covering all levels of football in Texas and runs its related event, the Toyota Tundra Texas Football Classic.
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