A giant thank you to everyone who entered, judged, attended and presented at the third annual Cynopsis Sports Media Awards Breakfast on Thursday, April 17 at the Yale Club in NYC. A special thank you to Bonnie Bernstein, VP of Content & Brand Development and Host for Campus Insiders for co-hosting the program.

An additional thank you not only to all of our judges as well as our presenters: Rick Hendrick, founder of Hendrick Motorsports; NBA TV, CBS and Turner Sports analyst Greg Anthony; NBC Sports’ Premier League host Rebecca Lowe; 120 Sports host Michael Kim; Matt Yallof, co-host of MLB Network’s The Rundown; and FOX Sports’ Kenny Albert.

Also, we honored three executives who have changed the way their sports entities connect with fans around the country. Brian France, CEO & Chairman of NASCAR  received the Vision Award as Sports Executive of the Year. Christina Miller, NBA Digital’s SVP & GM for Turner Sports  received the Navigator Award as the Sports Network Executive of the Year, and Mark Lazarus, Chairman of the NBC Sports Group received this year’s Legacy Award.

cynsports-meetluminaryhonorees

The awards honored outstanding work in the sports media industry over the past year and had categories that included television series, radio and live events as well as digital and marketing campaigns.



 Thank You to Our 2014 Sponsor 

     Electric Sheep_cropped


2014 Winners & Honorable Mentions List

B2B Program

Winner: NASCAR – NASCAR Fuel for Business

Honorable Mentions:

Bloomberg Sports LLC – Bloomberg Sports

Ogilvy & CDW – Winning on the Road

Brand Activation at Live Events

Winner: MELT – Coke Zero Section Zero

Honorable Mentions:

A&E Network – Duck Dynasty at the Daytona 500

Big Ten Network (BTN) – BTN Big 10K

Havas Media – Sears Shooting Stars

NASCAR – NASCAR After The Lap Sponsored by Ford and Coca-Cola

NBC Sports Group – NBC Sports Group’s Sunday Night Football Bus

NFL Network – Leon Sandcastle Campaign

The Coca-Cola Company – Coca-Cola North America 2014 NCAA Final Four Activation

Brand Extensions/Licensing

Winner: ESPN: College Football Consumer Products – ESPN College Football Licensing Program

Honorable Mentions:

NASCAR – Touch by Alyssa Milano

NBC Sports Agency – 2013 Stanley Cupcakes

Digital Executive

Winner: FOX Sports – Pete Vlastelica

Honorable Mentions:

ESPN – John Kosner

NBC Sports Group  – Rick Cordella

Network A / Bedrocket – Brian Bedol

Pac-12 Networks – David Aufhauser

PlayOn! Sports – David Rudolph

USA TODAY Sports Media Group – Dave Morgan

Documentary Series

Winner: MLB Productions & FOX Sports – Being: Mariano

Winner: Universal Sports Network – Rugby Rising

Honorable Mentions:

Big Ten Network (BTN) – The Journey: Big Ten Basketball 2013

FOX Sports – BEING: Mike Tyson

FOX Sports  – BEING: The Finest

Pac-12 Networks – The Drive: Pac-12 Football

Documentary Special

Winner: ESPN – Carry On

Honorable Mentions:

Big Ten Network (BTN) – Tiebreaker

CBS Sports – LT: The Life & Times

ESPN – The Lady Jags: Losing to Win

NBC Sports Group – Costas Tonight – “No Day For Games: The Cowboys and JFK”

NBC Sports Group/St. Sophia Productions – The Good Son, The Life of Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini

Turner Sports – The Blind Sisters

Fantasy game

Winner: MLB Advanced Media – MLB.com Beat The Streak

Honorable Mentions:

CBSSports.com – CBSSports.com Fantasy Football

ESPN – ESPN Fantasy Football

Golf Channel – Golf Channel Fantasy Challenge

NFL Media – NFL.com Fantasy

Turner Sports – NCAA March Madness Bracket Challenge

Integrated Campaign for Brands

Winner: OMD – State Farm (NBA) & State Farm (NFL)

Honorable Mentions:

Anheuser-Busch – Bud Light Celebrates NFL Superstitions with Fan-Centric Campaign

Atlanta Falcons – Atlanta Falcons Rise Up

Campbell Soup Company – Campbell’s Chunky 2013-14 Mama’s Boy Campaign

FedEx – FedEx Golf Club Shipping – The Ultimate Caddy

Ogilvy & CDW – Winning on the Road

Weber Shandwick with Milk Processor Education Program – Chocolate Milk: From the Grid Iron to IRONMAN

Integrated Campaign for Networks

Winner: NFL Network – Leon Sandcastle Campaign

Honorable Mentions:

Big Ten Network (BTN) – BTN2Go Mini-Mascots

Big Ten Network (BTN) – TIEBREAKER: Cast Your Vote

Comcast Cable – 2013 NFL Honors Awards Show Partnership

ESPN – Basketball Capitals presented by Turkish Airlines

NBC Sports Agency – Premier League 2013

Perry Ellis International, Inc. – PGA TOUR Apparel “Win a Day with Jason Dufner” Campaign

Live Coverage of Sporting Event (National)

Winner: Turner Sports – 2013 NBA Playoffs

Honorable Mentions:

CBS Sports – The Masters

Discovery Channel – Skywire Live with Nik Wallenda

FOX Sports – World Series Game 6 on FOX

IMG Productions – 2013 ING New York City Marathon

NBC Sports Group – Sunday Night Football – Peyton Manning’s Return to Indy

Telemundo Media – Rumbo al Mundial: Costa Rica vs. Mexico (aired on October 15, 2013)

Live Coverage of Sporting Event (Regional/Local)

Winner: IMG Productions – 2013 ING New York City Marathon

Honorable Mentions:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – Hockey Night In Canada Stanley Cup Final – Game 6

FOX Sports South – Atlanta Braves vs. Chicago Cubs (April 6, 2013)

FOX Sports South – SEC College Football  “Kentucky @ South Carolina” – 10/5/2013

YES Network – Mariano Rivera’s Last Game at Yankee Stadium

Live Stream Presentation

Winner: CBSSports.com – Super Bowl on CBSSports.com

Honorable Mentions:

AT&T – AT&T U-verse 2013 Interactive Masters Application

MLB Advanced Media – MLB.TV

NBC Sports Group – NBC Sports Live Extra – Sunday Night Football: Peyton Manning’s Return to Indy

Turner Sports – 2013 NCAA March Madness Live

Turner Sports – PGA Championship LIVE

Univision Deportes – 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS – New Zealand vs. Mexico

Marketer

Winner: The Coca-Cola Company – Sharon Byers

Honorable Mentions:

CSE – Adam Zimmerman

NBC Sports Group – John Miller

NFL – Mark Waller

NHL  – Brian Jennings

Marketing Campaign for Brands

Winner: FedEx – FedEx Golf Club Shipping – The Ultimate Caddy

Honorable Mentions:

Ogilvy & CDW – Winning on the Road

Orion Entertainment – RAM Trucks Drive to the Outdoors

Packaged Sports & Entertainment – EA SPORTS MADDEN NFL 25 GMC TEST DRIVE

Packaged Sports & Entertainment – EA SPORTS Madden NFL 25 Pepsi Max /Madden Legends Sweepstakes

The Coca-Cola Company – Coke Zero 2014 ESPN College GameDay Program

US Olympic Committee – US Olympic Committee’s Road To Sochi Tour

Marketing Campaign for Networks

Winner: NBC Sports Agency – 2013 Formula 1

Honorable Mentions:

ESPN Creative Works – Cheez-It “AmaZingZ Fan Zone”

NBC Sports Agency – 2013 Wednesday Night Rivalry

NBC Sports Agency – Sochi Winter Olympics

NBCUniversal – Barclays Premier League Affiliate Marketing Launch and Continuity Campaign

NFL Network – Leon Sandcastle Campaign

Turner Sports – 2013 NCAA March Madness Live

Marketing Initiative

Winner: Big Ten Network (BTN) – BTN2Go Mini-Mascots

Honorable Mentions:

FOX Deportes – Almost Human UFC

FOX Deportes – Sleepy Hollow Champions League

NBC Sports Agency – An American Coach in London

NBC Sports Group – Stanley Cup Cupcakes

Mobile App – Live Streaming

Winner: Turner Sports – PGA Championship LIVE

Honorable Mentions:

MLB Advanced Media – MLB.com At Bat

NASCAR Digital Media – NASCAR RACEVIEW MOBILE ’13

NBC Sports Group – NBC Sports Live Extra

NeuLion & Big Ten Network (BTN) – BTN2Go

NFL Media – NFL Mobile from Verizon

The NFHS Network – The NFHS Network iPhone and Android Apps

Turner Sports – 2013 NCAA March Madness Live

EVS – Sporting Innovation’s Uphoria

Mobile App – News/Entertainment

Winner: Golf Channel – Golf Channel Academy App

Honorable Mentions:

ESPN – ESPN SportsCenter App

MLB Advanced Media – MLB.com At The Ballpark

Spike TV – Bellator App

Sporting News Media – Sporting News Universal iOS app 3.0

theScore, Inc. – theScore

Turner Sports – Bleacher Report Team Stream

Network Sports Branding Campaign

Winner: ONE World Sports – ONE World Sports Network Branding

Honorable Mentions:

NBC Sports Agency – Premier League 2013

NBC Sports Group – Wednesday Night Rivalry

NFL Network – Leon Sandcastle Campaign

ONE World Sports – ONE World Sports Network Branding

Turner Sports – NBA Opening Night: Justin Timberlake “Take Back the Night”

Turner Sports – NCAA Muse “Madness” Campaign

New Sports Show

Winner: FOX Sports – FOX SPORTS LIVE

Honorable Mentions:

ESPN – Colin’s New Football Show

ESPN – SC Featured

Golf Channel – In Play With Jimmy Roberts

MLB Productions – Mission October

MLB Productions & MLB Network – The Next Knuckler

NBC Sports Group – FNIA Coach’s Clicker

On Air Technical Innovation

Winner: YES Network – YES View

Honorable Mentions:

ESPN Creative Works – SportsCenter – Iron Man III – Virtual Set

Turner Sports – MLB Truss Cam

Overall Social Media

Winner: National Basketball Association – NBA Social Media

Honorable Mentions:

ESPN – #StephCenter

Marina Maher Communications – Head & Shoulders “Season of the #Whiff”

NBC Sports Group – NBC Sports Group

NFL Network – Leon Sandcastle Campaign

Turner Sports – NCAA March Madness Real Time Highlights

Partnership with an Athlete

Winner: The Coca-Cola Company – Coca-Cola and Lebron James

Honorable Mentions:

Chandler Chicco Agency – EpiPen (epinephrine) Auto-Injector 25th Anniversary with Adrian Peterson

NFL Network – Leon Sandcastle Campaign

The ACC Digital Network, Silver Chalice – The ACC DIgital Network Analyst – Clinton Portis

Turner Sports – Hardwood Classics Twitter Takeover

Turner Sports – Pain & Gain Lift Off

Weber Shandwick with Milk Processor Education Program – Chocolate Milk: From the Grid Iron to IRONMAN

Pro-Social Campaign

Winner: ESPN – 2013 Jimmy V Week for Cancer Research

Honorable Mentions:

AARP (United States of America) – Drive to End Hunger

Atlanta Falcons – Rise Up Atlanta

FOX Sports South – FOX Sports South Tribute to the Troops

M3 Creative – One World Futbol Project

Spike TV – Save Wrestling PSA

Turner Sports – #ThanksgivinginMay

Proprietary Asset

Winner: NASCAR – NASCAR Fuel for Business

Honorable Mentions:

Alianza de Futbol – Alianza U

NBC Sports Agency – Premier League Team Picker

Public Relations Campaign

Winner: NBC Sports Group – Sunday Night Football

Honorable Mentions:

NBC Sports Group – NBC Sports Group’s Premier League Launch Campaign

FOX Sports – FOX Sports 1 Announcement & Launch

EPIX – Multi-tiered Campaign To Create Debate on The Issue of Paying College Athletes

Radio Program

Winner: CBS RADIO – WFAN-AM/FM’s Boomer and Carton

Honorable Mentions:

CBS RADIO – WFAN-AM/FM’s “Mike’s On” hosted by Mike Francesa

FOX Sports Radio – Jay Mohr Sports

Univision Deportes – LOCURA DEPORTIVA

Retail Activation

Winner: The Coca-Cola Company – Coca-Cola Company 2014 NCAA March Madness Retail Activation

Honorable Mentions:

Anheuser-Busch – Bud Light Hotel

Perry Ellis International, Inc. – PGA TOUR Apparel “Win a Day with Jason Dufner” Campaign

Sesame Workshop/USOC – Team USA Sesame Street

Sports Blog

Winner: USA TODAY Sports Media Group – USA TODAY Sports’ For The Win

Honorable Mentions:

FOX Sports – Outkick the Coverage

NBC Sports Group – ProFootballTalk

Spot – 30 Seconds

Winner: ESPN Creative Works – Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – BCS Bowl game TV spots

Honorable Mentions:

Atlanta Falcons – Falcons Locker Room

Big Ten Conference and TeamWorks Media – B1G Hockey Smile PSA

FOX Deportes – FA Cup

National Basketball Association – NBA Jingle Hoops

NBC Sports Agency – “All or Nothing”

NBC Sports Agency – Rockstar

Spot – Over 30 Seconds

Winner: NFL Network – Leon Sandcastle :60 Spot

Honorable Mentions:

M3 Creative – One World Futbol Project

Red Bull – Red Bull Media House YouTube Spot

Troika – Charlotte Hornets Brand Identity Reveal

Turner Sports – Justin Timberlake “Take Back the Night” Spot

Turner Sports – NCAA March Madness Muse “Madness”

YES Network – Yankees 2013 “Blessed” Promo

Studio Show

Winner: FOX Sports – FOX NFL SUNDAY

Honorable Mentions:

Golf Channel – Big Break NFL Puerto Rico

Litton Entertainment – Game Changers with Kevin Frazier Presented by EA SPORTS

MLB Productions – MLB Player Poll

Telemundo Media – Titulares Telemundo

Turner Sports – Inside the NBA

Universal Sports Network – Countdown to Sochi

Talk Show

Winner: Golf Channel – Feherty

Honorable Mentions:

FOX Sports – FOX FOOTBALL DAILY

FOX Sports – Crowd Goes Wild

Sports Illustrated – SI Now

Turner Sports – Open Court

Tune-In Promotion

Winner: NFL Network – Leon Sandcastle Campaign

Honorable Mentions:

ESPN Creative Works – Ride Along movie campaign: 60-second In-game spot

NBC Sports Agency – 2013 Sunday Night Football

Spike TV – Bellator Fire Tune in

Troika – MSG Promotional Campaign

Turner Sports – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis “Wings”

Turner Sports – NCAA March Madness Muse “Madness”

Use of Facebook

Winner: NBC Sports Group – NBC Sports Group

Honorable Mentions:

ESPN – This Is SportsCenter

FOX Sports – FOX COLLEGE SATURDAY & FOX NFL SUNDAY

Intersport – Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year

OMD – State Farm (NBA) & State Farm (NFL)

Use of Integrated Sponsorship for Broadcast

Winner: Turner Sports – Pain & Gain Lift Off

Honorable Mentions:

ESPN Creative Works – Cheez-It “AmaZingZ Fan Zone”

ESPN Creative Works, in association with Chiat – Nissan Heisman House – “Flashback” Spot

Home Team Sports, a division of FOX Sports – Head & Shoulders’ MLB #WHIFF/Season of the Whiff Platform

Turner Sports – After Earth “This Place”

Turner Sports – Growns Ups 2 – Basketball

Univision Deportes – FANATICOS DEL FRIO

Use of On-Air Design

Winner: Red Bull – Red Bull Media House Signature Series Open

Honorable Mentions:

Fight Sports ID – Fight Sports

ESPN – Basketball Capitals presented by Turkish Airlines

MLB Network – On Air Design: MLB Network 2013 LDS Game Open – “A Field of Dreamers”

Troika – HBO Boxing Rebrand

Use of Technical Innovation in a Sponsorship

Winner: National Basketball Association – SAP and the NBA for NBA.com/Stats

Honorable Mentions:

ESPN Creative Works – SportsCenter – XBOX One Ultimate Highlight

Turner Sports – NCAA March Madness Real Time Highlights

Turner Sports – NBA Opening Night Social Vending

Use of Twitter

Winner: Pac-12 Networks – Pac-12 Digital-SnappyTV use for Twitter

Honorable Mentions:

ESPN – @SportsCenter

National Basketball Association – NBA Twitter

NBC Sports Group – NBC Sports Group

NFL Media – NFL Twitter

OMD – State Farm (NBA) & State Farm (NFL)

Turner Sports – Seat 140

Webisode series

Winner: Campus Insiders – The Seth Davis Show

Honorable Mentions:

CBS Sports – LT: The Life & Times Webisodes

NBC Sports Agency – Premier League Team Profiles

Pac-12 Networks – Pac-12.com’s Statisfaction

Sports Illustrated – Sports Illustrated’s 10 Greatest NCAA Tournament Moments

The Weather Channel – Unstoppable

Universal Sports Network – The Last 26

Website

Winner: ESPN – ESPN Digital Media

Honorable Mentions:

Big Ten Network (BTN) – TIEBREAKER: Cast Your Vote Promotion

FOX Sports – FOXSports.com

Pac-12 Networks – Pac-12.com

Turner Sports – NCAA.com

 


Questions? Don’t hesitate to contact us: Pete Romas, 203.899.8483

 

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