Barton Gone

RANGERS and Joey Barton have agreed to terminate his contract with immediate effect. Neither Rangers nor Joey Barton will comment further.



http://rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/club-statement-72/

Short & sweet

Other news..

RANGERS have signed a new commercial partnership with sports social network platform Sportlobster.

Sportlobster offers dedicated social media feeds for sports fans which allows users to follow news specifically from and about their team.

London-based Sportlobster said Rangers recently launched its own verified account on the platform.

Announcing the tie-up, Sportlobster said: “Scotland’s most decorated club now offers its fans access into official goings on and a means to interact and engage with Rangers FC and it’s players in a pure sports environment.

“Additionally, with personalised news, fan chat, match day information and commentary - the Ibrox faithful can stay up-to-date around the clock with Sportlobster."

The financial details of the tie-up are not disclosed though Sportlobster said: “It’s a commercial partnership where Rangers will benefit from a shared revenue model through the ads served in the Rangers fan zones."

Sportlobster said Rangers have also created a “Prediction League" to build engagement with fans, billed as a “fun free-to-play game" where users predict the outcome of matches in the Scottish Premiership, Scottish FA Cup and Scottish League Cup for a chance to win prizes, including hospitality tickets.

Scott Williams, commercial manager at Rangers, said: “The Rangers community is very social, both on and offline.

“We exist across other social platforms but our objective is to serve content which delivers high engagement.

“Sportlobster is an environment where fans are unified by their love of sport.

“Working with the platform will enable our passionate following to stay connected with the club and access more Rangers content."

Andy Meikle, founder and chief executive of Sportlobster, said, “Much like Rangers, Sportlobster has been through numerous changes over the past few years, yet one thing has remained consistent, namely our goal to bring fans a platform where they can fully immerse themselves in the world of sport.

“We are delighted to be working with such a prestigious club like Rangers, who has always been forward-thinking in how they can bring their fans closer to the match-day action."

He added: “Rangers fans will now be able to access more content from the club and most importantly, fuel their passion for Glasgow Rangers Football Club.

“We are delighted that Rangers has recognised our expertise in serving our users the right content in a colloquial environment.

“This is substantiated with our high display ad click-through rates, which far exceeds all industry norms.

“A percentage of the advertising revenue that is generated within the Rangers fanzone will go to the club, a model we are looking to repeat elsewhere."

Sportlobster launched in 2013 and has yet to book revenues.

The company noted operating losses in the 2015 year to December narrowed to £4.38million, down from a £6.53m operating loss in 2014.