The Hershey Company has joined the sponsor exodus from USA Gymnastics, according to multiple reports, following the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal. The company confirmed that it did not renew a two-year agreement to be the team’s exclusive confectionary sponsor, stating, “The decision was made not to renew. We continue to be a proud supporter of our Team USA athletes and are looking forward to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in a few short weeks.”
Valvoline extended its partnership with Hendrick Motorsports through 2022. The new season will see Valvoline become a primary sponsor of the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 of 24-year-old driver Alex Bowman for two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races annually over the next five seasons. Valvoline also will continue as the Official Lubricants Partner of Hendrick Motorsports and as a major associate sponsor of the team’s full lineup of cars and drivers.
NBC has launched “Best Feb Ever” to drum up excitement for the Super Bowl and Olympics. The initiative described as an interactive fan experience taking place from February 1-3 in four cities: New York, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Philadelphia. Each day, crowds will see a giant box with a timer counts down to zero at the designated locations. Once the box opens, special celebrity guests, musical performances and unique fan activities will be available where participants have the chance to win championship-level prizes such as tickets, Super Bowl and Olympics swag.
Amazon Prime Video is taking on the Super Bowl for the first time, announcing that it will spotlight upcoming series Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. The 60-second spot will run immediately after the halftime show. “Given the colossal scope and scale of the series coupled with the popularity of Tom Clancy’s novels, we knew Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan would be a natural fit for Prime Video’s first Super Bowl ad,” said Mike Benson, Head of Marketing for Amazon Studios. “The global nature of the audience provides us with a unique opportunity to give viewers a look at this thrilling new series coming to Prime.”
The Olympic Channel announced an agreement with Snap Inc. to provide the channel with original programming for Shows on Snapchat’s Discover page and assets for creative tools. In addition, Snapchat will produce Our Stories featuring archival footage provided by the Olympic Channel team, in collaboration with Olympic rights-holding broadcasters during the upcoming Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018. Already, Snapchatters can watch the worldwide premiere of the new Olympic Channel original series Far From Home on Snapchat’s Discover page.
For the first time in Super Bowl history, fans who appear on the U.S. Bank Stadium videoboard or on TV during NBC’s game broadcast can have that moment sent right to their phone, courtesy of the NFL’s new partnership with 15 Seconds of Fame. Fans at the game can download the Super Bowl LII app for free and check into the game through 15SOF. If they appear on camera, their clip will be delivered to their phone. Once they have the video clip, it can be shared across their social networks with the tap of a button.
The Open is partnering with QuintEvents, featuring major-event travel, hospitality and experiential ticket packages, and will launch TheOpenExperiences.com to feature access to The Open and exclusive playing privileges at some of the most famous golfing destinations in Scotland. The initiative will be promoted jointly by The R&A and QuintEvents International, which counts Formula 1, The Kentucky Derby, College Football Playoff, The Super Bowl, Pro Football Hall of Fame and The Players Championship among its partners.
OpTic Gaming is quickly entrenching itself in its new home state of Texas, announcing a new event with NGAGE Esports called OpTic Arena. The event will run from June 8-10 and feature a series of public esports activities taking place at A-Kon, a convention that accumulates 33,000+ attendees each year in Fort Worth. OpTic Arena will feature a series of gaming events including: Call of Duty, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Dragon Ball FighterZ and Street Fighter V in addition featuring Twitch and OpTic content creators.
NASCAR announced key leadership appointments, including the appointment of Jim Cassidy to the new leadership position of Chief International Officer, reporting into Steve O’Donnell, Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. Cassidy will be charged with growing the NASCAR brand of racing internationally and oversee all international competition and commercial operations, building on the success of NASCAR’s three international series with the NASCAR Pinty’s Series in Canada, NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series and NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. Meanwhile, Chad Seigler will now serve as the Vice President, International Business Development. NASCAR additionally announced that Ben Kennedy has been named to the leadership position of General Manager, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Flyers/Capitals on NBCSN at 8p.
