Bellator inked a deal with Boost Mobile that will kick in with Saturday’s Bellator 192 in LA and running on Paramount Network. In addition to being featured throughout Bellator broadcasts, the long-term deal will see the wireless carrier as a key partner in the launch of unique virtual reality and digital content opportunities. The two brands are offering exclusive VR content and viewing experiences during televised events and Boost Mobile will also be featured prominently throughout the broadcast, including on-screen integration and placement inside the Bellator cage.
NBC will run five spots “that play like mini-movies” on Super Bowl Sunday with each 60-second promo featuring the life story of an Olympic athlete designed to drive interest in the Pyeongchang Winter Games that begin on the network starting Feb. 8. According to a USA Today report, the spotlight will focus on skier Mikaela Shiffrin, snowboarders Chloe Kim and Shaun White as well as skier Lindsey Vonn. In addition, the ads will debut one at a time on Today on the weekday mornings leading up to the Super Bowl and through each of those days on a variety of other NBC platforms.
The BIG EAST Conference launched a cross-channel marketing campaign to promote and sell tickets for the 2018 BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Tournament presented by the Jeep at Madison Square Garden from March 7-10 with #MarchToMSG. The campaign includes national and local television, social, digital, SEO, out-of-home, partnership & grassroots marketing. Television spots will air nationally and locally on the FOX family of networks plus the Conference’s social & digital platforms
Conference USA locked in a deal with athlete marketing platform opendorse that makes C-USA the first conference to invest in “building the brands of its players and partner universities on social media.” The deal will allow C-USA and member universities to share content on social with their entire athletic ecosystem —through the social channels of current student-athletes, athlete alumni, coaches, sports administrators, and university athletics accounts creating access and opportunities no other NCAA conference has been able to offer before and will launch the partnership by using the opendorse platform to promote the 2018 C-USA Basketball Championships.
IMPACT Wrestling is boarding the Twitch train, with the Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp. subsidiary launching a new channel on the platform that will feature a 24-hour live stream and exclusive weekly programming. The channel debuts today and feature exclusive content, including monthly live events and house shows featuring top stars in professional wrestling. The channel will also feature lifestyle programming showcasing IMPACT Wrestling stars outside of the ring.
FloSports unveiled a partnership with USA Wrestling to launch a new competition titled Final X. FloWrestling will provide exclusive live and on-demand coverage of the three-event series that will determine the 2018 US Senior World Teams in men’s and women’s freestyle. Final X will be held over three consecutive weekends and in three different cities beginning June 9. “Final X is not just an event series but a status,” FloSports co-founder and CEO Martin Floreani said. “Only the best American wrestlers of our generation make it to Final X, and those that become Final X have the opportunity to represent the most glorious country on earth.”
ESL is bringing PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds to Poland for a PUBG Invitational at IEM Katowice. The event will take place adjacent to Spodek Arena at the International Conference Center, as part of the IEM World Championship 2018 in Katowice where 16 teams from regions around the world will battle for their share of a $50,000 prize pool throughout the weekend of February 24-25. 9 teams will be directly invited from North America (3), Europe (3) and Asia (3). The remaining 7 teams, from North America (3), Europe (3), and South America (1) will fight their way through a series of regional qualifiers that starts with a 512 team open qualifier that will start Jan. 20 on ESL Play.
In related news, ESL announced that Intel will serve as the official headline sponsor of the ESL Premiership, the UK’s national esports league. As part of the deal, Intel will work with Currys PC World to spotlight its processors.
The British Esports Association announced first details of its inaugural British Esports Championships, designed specifically for school and college students. Competition will get underway with a pilot in February, running across three games: League of Legends, Overwatch and Project CARS 2. Weekly matches will take place, with fixtures pre-arranged, and time will be allowed for schools and colleges to hold their own internal trials, in order to put together their most competitive teams. British Esports will be working with the teachers, school leaders, representatives from the Department for Education and academics specializing in esports to monitor the pilot and demonstrate impact and best practice.
Galen Gordon joined NFL Media as Vice President, Talent Management where he will be charged with for leading the company’s talent department, whose duties include providing consistent feedback and coaching to NFL Media personalities, overseeing on-air presentation and scheduling, and identifying and recruiting new talent. In addition to all talent dealings, Galen will also work closely with NFL Media’s senior production team and show runners, playing a key role in show and content development across all platforms.
Intersport unveiled plans to open a satellite office in Detroit and named Michael Kraft as VP, strategic partnerships. Kraft will be responsible for bringing Intersport’s ideas, content and experiences to Detroit’s brand marketers and agencies across the sports, entertainment, lifestyle, culinary and media landscape in addition to helping open the Detroit office.
FanDuel named marketing veteran Mike Raffensperger Chief Marketing Officer. Mike will lead all marketing efforts for the company, developing new growth strategies and overseeing customer acquisition and retention channel and joins from l from Amazon, where he served as Head of Marketing for Amazon Advertising.
Ohio State/Northwestern on BTN at 9p.
