08/08/17: Octagon’s new endeavor

Good morning. It’s Tuesday August 8, 2017 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

Octagon is getting into the global media rights consulting practice launching a new division to provide “strategic consultation to major domestic and international rights holders, broadcasters, emerging distribution platforms and the sports investment community” by leveraging the Octagon network and the analytics of IPG’s Futures Sport & Entertainment to advise clients on the valuation and optimization of content assets across linear TV, digital and OTT platforms. The new offering will be led by sports media executive Daniel Cohen who will serve as SVP, Octagon Media Rights Consulting.

“Everyone from the largest rightsholders to niche properties, established social media platforms to digital start-ups, and VR companies to VC investors are trying to figure out what’s next in the rapidly evolving media space,” said Octagon CSO Simon Wardle. “By providing a data-based end-to-end solution, Daniel and his team can help all of these constituents evaluate content and drive value across broadcast and digital platforms.”

ON THE AIR

NBC Sports saw the RICOH Women’s British Open Final Round coverage on NBC on Sunday notch a .86 in Nielsen’s overnight numbers, for a rise of 15% YOY, and marking the highest-rated overnight telecast for women’s golf since the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open, as well as the highest-rated women’s golf telecast on NBC since 2014. The comparable final five hours of the tournament’s coverage across Golf Channel and NBC culminated with a .64 average, which makes it the highest overnight rating for a women’s major 5-hour telecast this year.

Jay Cutler is pressing pause on his broadcast career, which was supposed to begin at FOX Sports with the new NFL season. However, a $10 million contract offer from the Miami Dolphins has changed his mind as he will now return to the playing field. “We loved our time working with Jay and wish him the best back on the field this year with the Dolphins,” a Fox Sports spokesman told the Sporting News about his decision. Cutler was supposed to team with play-by-play-announcer Kevin Burkhardt and game analyst Charles Davis to form a three-person booth on Sundays.

ESPN selected its exclusive the Mets/Nationals battle to anchor the national Sunday Night Baseball presented by Taco Bell telecast on Aug. 27 at 8p. Dan Shulman’s on the call with analysts Jessica Mendoza and Eduardo Perezand reporter Buster Olney.

Telemundo Deportes detailed plans for the new season of Premier League with action starting Saturday at 9:30a with Chelsea/Burnley. Lead play-by-play commentators Andres Cantor and Manuel Sol will travel to Old Trafford Stadium to cover the match from site and provide in-depth coverage around the opening weekend.

SiriusXM takes on the 2017 PGA Championship with play-by-play and talk coverage of the tournament from Aug. 10-13 with programming on Sirius channel 208 and XM channel 92. Live hole-by-hole coverage, which SiriusXM will co-produce with Westwood One, will run from noon-7p for a total of 28 hours of live coverage. Taylor Zarzour hosts and handles play-by-play with Charlie Rymer serving as the analyst in the booth.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

How to connect with:

GENERATION Z

Gen Z is the largest, most diverse group of media users ever and their attention is a massive opportunity for networks and marketers. Learn how to reach these young but savvy decision-makers in Cynopsis Digital’s newest webinar: How to Connect and Engage with Gen Z, on Tuesday, September 26.

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

The United States Tennis Association is serving up the first-ever US Open Experience, a two-day festival running Aug. 24-25 from 10a-8p that will serve as one of the anchors of US Open Fan Week. The site at NY’s Seaport District will be transformed into a modified version of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center featuring a recreation of the famed Unisphere at one end of Schermerhorn Row and anchored by a performance stage and “roofed” court at the north end. Activations include player appearances, autograph signings, photo opportunities, food tastings and musical performances.

IMG College Licensing locked in a five-year extension of its global partnership with the University of Colorado to continue managing the university’s trademark licensing program. “Our goal is to ensure the University of Colorado is a top brand at retail across, and we believe IMG College Licensing is the right partner to continue helping make that happen,” said J. T. Galloway, Assistant Athletic Director for Trademark Licensing at Colorado. “After reviewing competitive bids, we believe IMG College Licensing’s vision for the future of the Colorado brand and the resources they bring to the University will best-position us for future brand and revenue growth.”

DIGITAL & STREAMING

NBC Sports Group is adding Revolution Golf to its house, with the platform boasting nearly 2 million subscribers and offering video-based instruction, travel content, and integrated e-commerce. The agreement boosts NBC Sports’ digital monthly users aggregated across all platforms to 15 million active golfers. “A pioneering spirit has fueled Golf Channel’s growth since Arnold Palmer founded the company 22 years ago and that spirit continues today as Revolution Golf joins the NBC Sports Group,” said Mike McCarley, President, Golf, NBC Sports. “From a business standpoint, as we continue to evolve for the future, Revolution Golf adds another subscription-based business that is not dependent on rights fees. We look forward to integrating Revolution Golf into our portfolio of digital golf lifestyle products, amplifying progressive e-commerce opportunities and offering unique content to more golfers around the globe.”

The upcoming Floyd Mayweather/Conor McGregor PPV is expected to be the most widely distributed PPV event of all time, according to Showtime. The showdown will now be available for purchase through cable, DBS, telco and streaming providers nationwide, as well as UFC.tv (in addition to movie theaters and at select bars and restaurants), plus Showtime will make the boxing event available directly to consumers on ShowtimePPV.com and through the Showtime PPV application.

ESPORTS

Gfinity is set to mine Australia, announcing plans to expand its Elite Series into the country via Gfinity Esports Australia courtesy of a five-year license deal with HT&E Limited. The Australian Elite Series will see city-based professional franchise teams battle it out weekly, with each event broadcast live online and across other TV and media platforms. In addition the Gfinity Challenger Series will launch later this year. The deal marks the first license of the Gfinity Elite Series format and technology to a region outside UK.

ROSTER MOVES

San Francisco Super Bowl 50 CEO Keith Bruce was named President of QuintEvents International, a newly-formed unit of QuintEvents that will house the company’s Formula One business.

THE MAIN EVENT

For a change of taste, have a sample of “The Ocho” with off-beat competitions throughout the day on ESPN8, aka ESPNU.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Join us as we celebrate Media’s Rising Stars!

September 15, 2017 | Midtown Lofts| NYC |3:00 – 5:00 PM

Tickets for the 3^rd Annual CYNOPSIS Rising Stars Awards are now available! For the third consecutive year, we’re honoring stand-out performers, innovators and emerging leaders in the media industry. Companies represented on Friday include E! Entertinament, Epix, Mediacom, ABC, NBCUniversal, Zenith, Discovery Communcations, Viacom Velocity, Nielsen, Nickelodeon and many more (click here to view all honorees)!

Secure a seat for your team

ON THIS DAY in 1992: The Dream Team clinches gold at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

In the Know: Who captained the US Dream Team in 1992? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: Who was the last MLB player to lay claim to the league’s Triple Crown? Answer: Miguel Cabrera. Kudos: Aymon DeMauro-Discovery/NY; Michael Dittelman-Dedicated Sports Marketing/NY; Luke Tarby-A+E Networks/NY; Frank Costa-CBS/NY; Brianne Maciejowski-Miles/Sarasota; Tom Wetzel-MMSI/Warwick; John Douglas Miller-NBC Olympics/Stamford; Wayne “World B.” Otto-Pro-Am Sports/Boone; Matt Fumagalli-Levy/Chicago; Lance Davis-ESPN/Milwaukee; Travis Wacker-Good Karma Brands/Milwaukee; Mark Stulberger-Stully’s Broadcasting School/Houston; Larry Hutchings/Nipomo; Judie Henninger-Valentine Productions/Santa Monica; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA

Later — Chris

Chris Pursell @VegasandVine
Roberta Caploe Publisher @robertacaploe	Diane K Schwartz Senior Vice President Media Communications Group	Cynopsis Ad Sales Mike Farina \| 203-218-6480 VP, Sales	Cynopsis Job Listings Sales Trish Pihonak \| 203-899-8459 Director of Operations

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