Great Clips signed on as the official retail salon sponsor of the X Games in 2019, which includes X Games Aspen and X Games Minneapolis. As an official X Games sponsor, Great Clips will receive on-site branding spanning the X Games app and spectator guide, jumbotron, billboards and athlete bibs at X Games Aspen, as well as a consumer-facing brand experience at X Games Minneapolis’ X Fest. Great Clips will also receive branding and integrations during X Games event telecasts on ESPN and on XGames.com. Great Clips will also provide fans with insights and commentary from some of the biggest names competing at the X Games through custom video content that will air on ESPN and online channels leading up to and during events in Aspen and Minneapolis.
The NHL finalized its entertainment lineup for the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game, slating platinum-selling recording artist Lauren Jauregui, country music star Chad Brownlee and the Stanford Band have joined the entertainment lineup for the event. Jauregui and Brownlee will perform the U.S. and Canadian National Anthems, respectively. As previously announced, Bebe Rexha will headline the entertainment with a performance in the second intermission.
ASICS announced multi-year sponsorship deals with female distance runners Emma Bates and Allie Kieffer. This announcement comes on the heels of ASICS renewed brand focus centered on running. With a heritage deeply rooted in running, the brand is making investments in 2019, including the expansion of athletes on their roster to re-instill that commitment at all levels within the sport. As new additions to the ASICS family, both athletes will support the brand’s focus on running through activations and campaigns that will be rolled out over the course of the year.
The LA Kings are extending and expanding their partnership with HockeyShot and as a part of the agreement, brokered by AEG Global Partnerships, the Kings and HockeyShot built a state-of-the-art “Off-Ice Training Center” at the team’s practice facility, Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo. As the presenting sponsor of the facility, HockeyShot will have a designated retail space where visitors will have the opportunity to sample and purchase equipment aimed at helping players with their technique-focused, off-ice training progress.
ESPN and Caffeine announced that portions of the X Games Aspen 2019 will be available on the Caffeine platform with around ten hours of content available on an X Games-branded channel on the platform. Caffeine users can also host their own interactive streams featuring X Games content and be able to watch and chat during shows on Caffeine hosted by Maddie Bowman, Brita Sigourney, and Scotty Lago. “Working with companies like Caffeine provides the X Games exposure to potentially new audiences while giving X Game fans another innovative way to experience the event,” said Tim Reed, VP of the X Games. “Caffeine’s mission to bring fans together complements our company mission to serve sports fans, anytime, anywhere.”
Epic Games is bringing Fortnite to ESL, with the tournament organizer announcing a partnership to bring the game to ESL’s flagship event. The ESL Katowice Royale – Featuring Fortnite will take place at IEM Katowice Expo 2019 with action spanning two weekends,. First, $100,000 in prizes will be up for grabs at the Polish Edition from Feb. 23-24 while players will battle it out for a $500,000 prize pool at the International Edition, taking place on March 1-3. “Fortnite is a global game, and there are amazing, passionate players all around the globe,” added Rob Hodson, Esports Manager at Epic Games. “Partnering with ESL in Katowice gives us the chance to showcase some of these incredible international competitors.”
PUBG Corporation mapped out a slate of initiatives designed to support the professional esports teams associated with the game and its tournaments with perks that include profit-sharing on team and league-branded digital items, direct support of team operating costs, and event sponsorship. To directly bolster team participation in PUBG’s North American and European leagues, PUBG Corp. will help offset expenditures associated with team operation costs with expenses that include costs associated with team travel, housing subsidies and local transportation fees. Additionally, NPL and PEL-specific in-game items will be created starting with Phase 2 of each league with 25% of all in-game item sales dedicated to each of the teams in their respective leagues. Financial support will continue with hosted by official PUBG partners later in the year where exclusive in-game items will be created for each of these global events and 25% of sales will go directly to the participating teams.
Team Liquid landed the keys to a new Honda deal, with the auto brand signing on as the team’s official automotive sponsor. Team Liquid’s League of Legends team will arrive at their first match of the LCS in a Team Liquid-branded Honda Odyssey minivan and will have access to a fleet of branded Civics. The partnership was brokered by livestreaming platform Twitch, while the Honda logo will appear on jerseys.
Overwatch League franchise Washington Justice signed a partnership with Events DC as its founding partner and signature sponsor. Company branding will be displayed on the front of team jerseys in addition to activations via watch parties and content.
DOJO Madness locked in a deal with Sportradar to launch Bayes Esports Solutions, a joint venture that leverages esports data products for business customers, including betting companies, esports broadcasters and general media. “This will put us in a perfect position to take advantage of the projected 36% annual growth rate of the esports market from about USD 655 million in 2017,” said Martin Dachselt, Managing Director of Bayes Esports Solutions.
Marquette University announced plans to launch a varsity esports team in fall 2019, which will serve as “the first in the nation run by a major conference Division I athletics program.” When it launches in fall 2019, Marquette’s varsity esports team will be run like any other varsity sport: tryouts, a coach will be hired, regular practices will be held and the team will represent Marquette at esports tournaments. The new varsity team will be managed by the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, in close collaboration with the Division of Student Affairs, the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences, and the Office of Admissions. “ Marquette has had an esports club team since 2015.
FOX Sports named Brad Zager as Executive Producer, EVP/Head of Production & Operations effective Feb. 1. In the new role, Zager will oversee all live event production, pre- and post-game shows, all operations and creative services. Most recently, Zager led operations across all productions airing on FOX Sports, FS1 and FS2.
THE MAIN EVENT
NFL Pro Bowl on Sunday on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ABC and Disney XD at 3p.
