A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM BIG TEN NETWORK
BTN is the premier national college sports network born from the nation’s most storied conference. With nearly half of its 180 football and men’s basketball games featuring a top 25 team & deeper coverage than anyone else, BTN delivers 450+ live events & Emmy-nominated programming yearly. The Big Ten’s eastward expansion means BTN will have over 60 million subs nationwide. And it’s all supercharged by BTN’s digital, mobile & social media extensions, including BTN2Go, the network’s TV-Everywhere app. This is today’s Big Ten Network.
CYNOPSISSPORTS
03.31.14 Good morning. It’s Monday, March 31, 2014, and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.
As tennis fans prepare for Slam season, beginning with the French Open on May 25, ESPN has been shoring up its own portfolio for the sport. In addition to adding Wimbledon in 2012 as well as the US Open for 2015, the company wrapped up ATP and WTA tennis action at the Sony Open in Miami over the weekend, the first time it has been carried on the ESPN networks, and unveiled a multiyear extension last week with WTA Family Circle Cup the largest women’s-only tennis tournament in the world that will offer continued TV coverage starting with the Round of 16 as well as an expanded weeklong schedule on ESPN3.
Cynopsis Sports spoke with Jason Bernstein, Senior Director, Programming & Acquisitions at ESPN, about the state and challenges of the sport, and what to expect in the year ahead.
Bernstein on ESPN’s approach to tennis: We are thrilled to have the collection of world class events that we have on the tennis side and it’s a testament to the 35 years of tennis that we’ve had on the air. Tennis has evolved for us by way of storytelling as evidenced by getting our foot in the door with the Davis Cup in 1979, and demonstrating those stories through pictures and obviously storylines through the years. Since then, we have focused on telling those stories in the right way and giving a single narrative for the sport in a new, unique way as well as develop the digital offerings that we have to bring tennis to fans on their terms. It is no long just a linear playout that fans had come to expect over the years and that evolution is what we pride ourselves on in terms of putting as many matches out as possible on as many devices as possible and trying to reach as many fans as possible.
On challenges: I think that tennis is a challenge in that you’ve got a 48-plus week season, so it’s a long season. It’s an individual sport so there aren’t natural teams to follow. Obviously with American tennis, where are the next crop of American stars? But fans continue to respond to respond to rivalries and great matches. What’s a challenge for us, if you want to call it that, is bringing new stories to light and navigating our fans to different platforms. But we do embrace that challenge. We’ve got the fairly significant offering throughout the tennis season, because there are so many events, that the onus is on us to help fans understand where they can find it.
On promotion: We’ve said that tennis requires a different approach because it’s a different sport than the tradition stick-and-ball sports. We’ve also said that we want to approach it in a different way for all of these major championships. That means bringing the Wimbledon trophies to the US for the first time. We delivered a Wimbledon poster opportunity that allowed American fans to touch a view Wimbledon in a new way. We wanted to continue to push the envelope and continue to evolve the experience and bring it across the Atlantic in a way that hasn’t been done before.
On the US Open: The most important thing for the US Open will be that we are not going to get in the way. The key for us with the US Open will be showcase the sport in a slightly different way, with new camera angles, technology and the advancements that fans have come to expect, but in the way that it impedes on the matches on the court. So we intend to continue to tell stories and do so in a way that maybe sheds light on a few folks who you may not have heard before and showcase all that the season delivers and the grind through the summer to the end of the Grand Slam season with the pinnacle in New York and do so in a way that brings fans closer.
Say what you will about the Final Four teams, but it is clearly the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament that is on a hot streak right now. Turner Sports and CBS Sports’ coverage of the Elite Eight on TBS on Saturday delivered the two most-viewed college basketball games in cable television history as the overtime nailbiter between Wisconsin and Arizona averaged 9.9 million total viewers, while the Cinderella story of Dayton facing Florida pulled an average of 7.2 million to rank first and second respectively, all time. Wisconsin/Arizona averaged a 5.8 household score, based on Nielsen Fast Nationals, with Florida/Dayton averaging a 4.3. Overall, through Saturday, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship is averaging 9.6 million total viewers, the highest viewership for the tournament in 21 years and up 2% over last year.
Anyway, CBS Sports and Turner Sports’ coverage of the Final Four on Saturday tips off at 6p with Florida/Connecticut on TBS at 6p. Wisconsin/Kentucky follows. Of course, the also begins the teamcasts/team-specific telecasts that will run on TNT and truTV as well. Coverage begins with The Final Four Show at 3p.
Josh Elliot is taking on sports full-time. Reports surfaced yesterday that the Good Morning America anchor is departing the show and will now join NBC Sports. Elliot, of course, has a long history with sports, having joined GMA from ESPN in 2011. At NBC, Elliott is expected to cover some of the company’s high-profile sports properties ranging from the NFL to the Olympics.
In a call with reporters on Friday with ESPN, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig noted that the sport’s revenues could top $9 billion for the first time this year, after hitting $8 billion a year ago. "I have hopes for $9 billion. I don’t know that we’ll make that this year, but we may," Selig said. "How high can it go? If this sport continues to make the progress at all levels, international and everything else… it can go a lot higher."
Speaking of which, it’s Opening Day. ESPN hits its 25th Major League Baseball season with a slate of games today starting at 1p with the Cubs/Pirates. The network unveiled some new content plans to celebrate the milestone as well as its new rights agreement with MLB that will include: The Sunday Night Baseball pre-game edition of Baseball Tonight being re-branded to Baseball Tonight: Sunday Night Countdown; Baseball Tonight roadshows; a return to the MLB Playoffs with a Wild Card game this season; and holiday games on Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day. In addition, ESPN has produced a series of 25th season commemorative vignettes, which will celebrate each Major League Baseball team.
Tickets to the Cynopsis Sports Media Awards are going fast. This event will once again sell out!! Come join me as I co-host with Campus Insiders’ Bonnie Bernstein to honor the year’s best and brightest work from across the sports industry. Special awards will be presented to NASCAR’s Brian France, NBC Sports Group’s Mark Lazarus and Turner Sports’ Christina Miller. Presenters will include some of the hottest names in sports as well as some of the most powerful people driving the business today. Don’t miss out! Click here for tickets.
NCAA President Mark Emmert made an appearance on Face the Nation over the weekend, noting that last week’s ruling to allow Northwestern University football players to unionize was a bad decision and adding that he believes case will wind up in the Supreme Court. "It so fundamentally changes the nature of what college sport is about, and it blows up what is one of America’s iconic activities," he said on the show, and later wondered "How do you recruit them? Do you hire them? Do you trade them?"
The NFL released the official game day date for the milestone Super Bowl L, which set to be played at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. The historic game will take place on Sunday, February 7, 2016.
Longtime ESPN college basketball analyst Jimmy Dykes is turning in his microphone and returning to the court as the head basketball coach for the Arkansas women’s team. This will mark the first time Dykes has served as a women’s coach. Dykes joined ESPN at the start of the 1995-96 men’s college basketball season as a game and studio analyst and had recently called the SEC Super Tuesday games.
NESN announced that its coverage of Thursday night’s Bruins win over the Blackhawks ranked as the network’s 2nd highest rated game of the season with a 7.8 average household rating in the Boston DMA, and nabbing a 13 share. That is also the 7th highest regular season game in NESN’s 30 year history.
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE
Deadline is FRIDAY
You don’t have to be a bracketologist for our March Madness Contest. Which school will win it all? Win a chance for a $50 Foot Locker gift card by answering our reader poll. The winner will be announced Tuesday, April 8th. ||| DEADLINE: FRIDAY!! ||| CLICK HERE TO ENTER |||The NHL made a special play toward its new Chinese fans on Saturday night, with local reports stating that the Red Wings/Maple Leafs’ game saw 11 rinkboards delivering special messages in Chinese. The messages showcased a company’s name or simple Chinese characters such as "Hello China" to viewers with partners that included: Avis, BlackBerry, Casino Rama, Dairy Queen, Hero Certified Burgers, Purolator, MasterCard, Norton Rose Fulbright, RedTag.ca, Scotiabank and Sun Life Financial. The game was being simulcast to viewers in China on CCTV5, with this season marking the first to be broadcast in the country.
NASCAR officially kicked off its second annual NASCAR Race to Green initiative with an eye to building awareness around the programs "the sanctioning body, industry, and a wide range of partners have in place to help reduce the sport’s carbon footprint." The program will call for donating trees that will be planted across the country as well as in a number of areas recently devastated by natural disasters. NASCAR has the largest recycling and tree planting programs in sports; has put more than five million miles on Sunoco Green E15, a biofuel blended with 15 percent American-made ethanol from American-grown corn; and has the largest renewable energy program in the world, among sports properties.
Opening Day. MLB action begins with Cubs/Pirates on ESPN at 1p.
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE
The Cynopsis Sports Media Awards Breakfast is set!
April 17 | 8:00-10:00am | Yale Club | NYC
Join award finalists, support your colleagues + network with the best in the industry!
…Register… Preview the list of finalists: http://www.cynopsis.com/?p=7260 Thank You to Our 2014 Sponsor – Electric Sheep
ON THIS DAY in 1975: UCLA basketball coach John Wooden wins his 10th national title.
In The Know: What MLB legend remains the all-time RBI leader? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: Only the second four correct answers from each time zone will be mentioned; and once you’ve been mentioned in any of the Cynopsis editions, you can’t be mentioned again that calendar week.)
Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: Who holds the record for most field goals made in a single NFL game? Answer: Rob Bironas with 8. Kudos: Michael Ritz-BucStar Consulting/NY; John Miller-NBC Sports Group/Stamford; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles local/LA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA.
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE
Later — Chris
Chris Pursell for Cynopsis | Sports @VegasandVine
03.31.14
Roberta Caploe: Editorial Director @robertacaploe
Diane K Schwartz: Senior Vice President, Media Communications Group
Cynopsis Ad Sales: Mike Farina | VP, Sales | 203-218-6480
Classifieds Sales: Trish Pihonak | Director of Operations | 203-899-8459
To subscribe to any Cynopsis edition(s) click here.
To unsubscribe from this edition, click here. Or for further assistance please email [email protected].
Cynopsis CLASSIFIEDS – For More classifieds, visit the Cynopsis.com classifieds page here.
JOB OPENING: TEMP MGR, ADV PLTFRM SCHED/AMC/NYC: Manage short & long form content scheduling across all adv pltfrms for AMC, such as VOD, TV Everywhere, and mobile. 10-14 week temp assignment. Submit HERE (4/4)
JOB OPENING: VP INSIGHTS & INNOVATION/THE WEATHER CHANNEL/NY: Min 8 yrs in media research, exp in mnging large initiatives with proven ROI & provide cross-platform research leadership for sales team.Resume to: [email protected] (4/4)
JOB OPENING: PROD ACCT/Conde Nast/NYC: Mng finance & maint financial records during prod as a key link between Finance & company’s Creative & Prgrmng teams. 3-5 yrs ent/prod acctng exp; GL exp a + Full info, Apply Here (4/4)
JOB OPENING: DIGITAL DESIGNER/NBC/LA/Universal City: Min 2 years digital design exp; Flash, After Effects, and ActionScript exp required. Apply: www.nbcunicareers.com JOB # 14040BR (4/4)
JOB OPENING: MGR INTEGRATED MKTG TELEMUNDO/NBCU/NYC: Develop & implement integrated mktg strategies and solutions. 5+ yrs. exp. in mktg. Full info/apply HERE: http://bit.ly/1h9TboS (4/3)
JOB OPENING: SR AE/PRESS MANAGER PR/FERENCOMM/NY: Develop and execute consumer & trade campaigns for leading series & specials. Prior TV publicity exp req’d. Resume and cover to: [email protected] (4/3)
JOB OPENING: RESEARCH ANALYST/Travel/GAC/NYC: Respond to data driven research requests, develop tracking reports and support sales research needs. For more detail www.scrippsnetworks.com #4058 (4/3)
JOB OPENING: SHOW PRODUCER/FOX Sports Live/LA: Lead daily content; format rundown/tape/graphic/presentation style. Work w/talent, writers; be creative/flex for brkng news. 7+ yrs exp Live TV/Sports/Line Prod. Full info/ Apply HERE http://bit.ly/1nUsaLn (FNG0003129) (4/2)
JOB OPENING: DIGITAL SALES PLANNER/OWN Digital/Oprah.com/NYC: Team oriented sales professional wanted! Help w/RFPs, ensure campaign’s success & client satisfaction. 2+ yrs media sales exp. Apply at: http://careers.own.tv/ (4/2)
JOB OPENING: HEAD OF CONTENT & MEDIA SALES/ Immersion Corp/San Jose: Launch new tech for mobile video where viewers can not only see & hear video but also feel video as they watch. Advertising or media exp req’d. Apply HERE (4/2)
JOB OPENING: SR SALES PLANNER/Outcast Media/NYC: Dvlp/execute media proposals, Monitor Campaigns, Coord btwn Client & Traffic Dept, Need BS + 3-5 yrs plan’g exp, Media math, Exp w/CPM Negotiations, highly orgnzd, strong excel. Apply HERE (4/2)
JOB OPENING: PR/AWARDS CAMPAIGN MGR/AMC/LA: Develop & manage award campaigns for scripted/unscripted prog’mng. Work w/PR & Events team in LA & NY. Talent agency or network exp desired. Submit res HERE (4/2)
JOB OPENING: PR/AWARDS CAMPAIGN MGR/AMC/LA: Develop & manage award campaigns for scripted/unscripted prog’mng. Work w/PR & Events team in LA & NY. Talent agency or network exp desired. Submit res HERE (4/1)
JOB OPENING: ART DIRECTOR, NCR NICK/Nickelodeon/NYC: Conceptualize/execute/dir design for Nick Live Action initiatives. Exc in animation, typography, layout, design, prod and use of color 7 – 10 yrs design. Full info /apply HERE (4/1)
JOB OPENING: PR DIRECTOR/GSN/Santa Monica: 5-7 yrs exp TV Publicity in a cbl network. BA Degree; strong relations in consumer media. Manage Nat. and Reg. media relations, PR strategy and campaigns. Trvl req. Send res/CL HERE: [email protected] (4/1)
JOB OPENING: SENIOR TV ACCT EXEC/El Rey Network/NY: Resp. for driving TV advertisers to Robert Rodriguez’s newly launched English Language Network. 5+ Years of experience in TV Ad Sales Apply: http://tinyurl.com/oyhcoew (4/1)
CASTING CALL: Companies can showcase their casting notices/casting calls here. For information on rates and specs for posting a casting notice, please email Trish at [email protected]
EXPERT SERVICES ADS: These ads are for companies or people who offer an expertise in the field of media by way of production, voice over artistry, writing, set development, etc. For information on rates and specs for posting an Expertise Service ad email Trish at [email protected]
EXPERT SERVICE: TV PRODUCTION: svcs available. Ghost & script writer, field prod, commercial acting as well as broadcasting career coach & more. Former LA TV news anchor & award winning reporter looking to work for you. Contact Terri: [email protected] (4/3)
INTERNSHIPS – These positions are for credit only – nobody gets paid here. These ads are always posted for free, and students work for school credit only. For more information on the specs for posting an Internship ad, email Trish at [email protected].
SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED… There is no charge for placing your Situation Wanted ad… for more information contact Trish Pihonak at [email protected].
E-mail [email protected] or call Trish Pihonak at 203-899-8459 for rates and specs for Job Openings.
Are you looking for a job? Post your Situation Wanted Ad here — Email [email protected] for specs.
Copyright Cynopsis 2014
All outgoing e-mails are scanned and sent out virus free. Copyright Cynopsis 2014
