US women national soccer team players landed an agreement with the US Soccer Federation that will end a six-year legal battle over equal pay and includes $24 million plus bonuses that match the men’s team. That figure includes a fund with $2 million to benefit players in their post-soccer careers and charitable efforts aimed at growing the sport for women in addition to $22 million received by the 61 players in the plaintiff class.

“For our generation, knowing that we’re going to leave the game in an exponentially better place than when we found it is everything,” midfielder Megan Rapinoe told the AP. “That’s what it’s all about because, to be honest, there is no justice in all of this if we don’t make sure it never happens again.”

PROGRAMMING

The 2022 Winter Olympics wrapped up as the least watched ever for on NBCUniversal, according to Nielsen, with the Games averaging 11.4 million viewers across all of NBCU’s platforms in primetime. Digital numbers, however, saw upticks as streaming across Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, the NBC Sports app had an average primetime viewership of 516,000 viewers, up 8% over the Summer Games. NBCUniversal presented a record 2,800+ hours of Winter Games coverage. Overall, the company is touting that 160 million Americans watched NBC’s Beijing Olympics presentation across all platforms. “NBCUniversal’s presentation of the Beijing Olympics dominated across all platforms and once again showed that nothing captivates Americans for 18 consecutive days and nights like the Olympic Games,” said Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “The power of the NBC broadcast network delivered large audiences every night, while USA Network registered the best two-week stretch of any sports and entertainment cable network. With sharply increased signups, usage and awareness, Peacock streamed every Olympic moment for the first time ever and delivered a user experience that was greatly enhanced from just six months ago. Over the course of the Games, we delivered what was promised to our advertising partners and delivered unmatched promotion for our company.”

Up north, the CBC is promoting that over 70% of Canadian audiences engaged with the company’s Olympics coverage, accounting for 26.5 million unique viewers. “For the entirety of Beijing 2022, Canadians spent more time with CBC than any other network in Canada. Day after day, strong and sustained audiences peaking at well over a million tuned in, with half of all viewers spending more than 100 minutes watching each night,” said Chris Wilson, Executive Director, Sports and Olympics, CBC. “In addition to strong broadcast audiences, digital viewing soared, with Canadians streaming nearly half a billion minutes on CBC’s digital platforms and record time spent on CBC Gem. We’re proud that millions of Canadians united around our coverage from early in the morning to very late at night. Despite everything going on in the world, these numbers represent the enduring appeal and relevance of the Olympics in Canada.”

The XFL revealed plans to partner with the NFL on “select innovation programs to further expand the game of football and create increased opportunities for player development both on and off the field.” Health and safety will be a principal area of focus in both learning and innovation, with the XFL working with the NFL on physical and mental fitness programs for players, the study of playing surfaces and equipment and the sharing of game trends and data. Additional avenues for collaboration may include international football development and scouting, as well as officiating, including the testing of different game rules for player protection and enhanced overall play, and of different technologies to enhance officiating.

The College Football Playoff will run out the clock on expansion, opting to stick with four teams through the remainder of their deal. “Even though the outcome did not lead to a recommendation for an early expansion before the end of the current 12-year contract, the discussions have been helpful and informative,” said Bill Hancock, Executive Director of the CFP. “I am sure they will serve as a useful guide for the Board of Managers and for the Management Committee as we determine what the Playoff will look like beginning in the 2026-2027 season.”

Turner Sports is taking on Music City as NHL on TNT will exclusively present its second outdoor game of the season, the 2022 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series on Saturday, pitting the Lightning and Predators at Nissan Stadium. Kenny Albert will provide play-by-play for the game, along with commentary from Eddie Olczyk, Keith Jones and Jackie Redmond. 2022 NHL Stadium Series® coverage will begin at 6:30p with an hour-long NHL on TNT Face Off Presented by Verizon pregame show.

In talent news, ESPN re-signed NBA host and reporter Cassidy Hubbarth to a multi-year contract extension. Hubbarth will continue to serve as one of ESPN’s lead hosts and reporters on its NBA property. Hubbarth regularly appears as a sideline reporter for NBA games on ESPN and ABC, including in the regular season and NBA Playoffs.

Meanwhile, ESPN hired Matt Miller as a multi-platform contributor for its year-round NFL Draft coverage. Miller, Bleacher Report’s former lead NFL Draft writer from 2010-21, will also be a regular on ESPN studio shows including Get Up!, SportsCenter, and NFL Live leading up to the NFL Draft each year. Viewers can also expect appearances from Miller on multiple Mock Draft specials, ESPN Radio and more, including expertise on NFL free-agent storylines.

DraftKings is tapping Mike Golic, Sr. to host a weekly one-hour podcast video show alongside Meadowlark Media personality Jessica Smetana. On the podcast, Golic and Smetana will cover the intersection of sports news and culture and include interviews with special guests.

The World Golf Hall of Fame has announced that David Feherty will serve as host of its 2022 induction ceremony, which will air live on Golf Channel at 7p on March 9. The ceremony will celebrate four inductees: Susie Maxwell Berning, Tim Finchem, the late Marion Hollins and Tiger Woods, and will take place on the eve of THE PLAYERS Championship at the PGA TOUR’s ‘Global Home’ headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is gassing up its international presence, announcing that the series will be carried in more than 200 countries and territories around the globe during the 17-race 2022 season. “The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is a truly global product with athletes hailing from 14 nations and partnerships extending across major countries and continents,” said Mark Miles, president & CEO of Penske Entertainment Corp. “We’ve prioritized relationships that expand both our reach and visibility, bringing our racing action to new audiences and expanding our fan base. We’re pleased to welcome back more than two-thirds of our 2021 partners while adding exciting new ones to our growing lineup, as well.”

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SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

Disney Advertising has sold out of inventory for the 2022 NCAA DI Women’s Basketball Tournament, which will air across ESPN networks from March 16-April 3, landing 14 sponsors and 22 advertisers across a variety of categories, with Capital One, Invesco and Werner Ladder all returning. Other brands jumping in include: Adidas, Buick, Capital One, CarMax, Champion, Cooper Tires, Invesco, Nissan, Orgain, Principal Financial Group, Sirius XM, Target, Unilever and Werner Ladder. Capital One is returning as the presenting sponsor, with numerous feature integrations throughout the telecast, whi;e Unilever has joined as the Halftime Entitlement Sponsor. Target will sponsor alternate camera angles and Werner Ladder will sponsor the net-cutting ceremony during the postgame show.

The Football Association and UEFA inked a new partnership with LinkedIn for the 2022 Women’s European Championship national team tournament, set for July. In the build-up to Euro 2022, LinkedIn will launch the ‘make work work for women’ campaign and will produce content that highlights the success stories of ‘trailblazers’ in the women’s game.

The DC United struck a three-year partnership with blockchain technology provider XDC Network. As part of the deal, XDC Network will be the front-of-jersey sponsor on the Black-and-Red’s home and away kits beginning with the 2022 MLS season, in addition to their training tops.

MPB will become the headline partner of the 2022 World Sports Photography Awards the first major sponsor of the awards program. The new partnership will see a series of content developed to help photographers take better sports pictures and better understand the equipment and techniques needed. The partnership will also include the launch of a dedicated amateur sports photographer award campaign.

DIGITAL, DATA & TECH

The Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator – alongside NASCAR, PGA TOUR, WWE and three U.S. Olympic sports organizations: U.S. Ski & Snowboard, USA Cycling and USA Swimming – announced the 10 startups selected to join the second class. Finalists were chosen from over 800 applicants across 44 countries. Over the next 12 weeks, founders will have the exclusive opportunity to work one-on-one with SportsTech’s mentors to further develop their business ideas and find creative approaches to challenges in their industries. “We launched Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech to find, fund, and fast-track the top sports technology startups challenging the status quo and creating new innovations that will impact how we participate in, view, and celebrate sports,” said Jenna Kurath, Vice President, Startup Partnerships and Head of SportsTech. “Our first cohort set a high bar and attracted PGA TOUR and WWE to join as SportsTech advisors, a direct result of how the accelerator delivers tangible business value, both to founders and to our partners. This next class is surrounded by a team of leaders who will help these founders build revenue-sustaining businesses and offers us and our network of partners an early-lens into next-gen developments in sports tech. I’m excited to see what partnerships develop during the program and beyond.”

Rebus, the fan activation engine, and LiveLike, a technology company dedicated to boosting digital experiences, are partnering to bring new interactive features and gamification to sports fans. Through this partnership, Rebus will integrate LiveLike’s audience engagement platform into its widget to encourage fans to connect with their favorite teams, leagues, or sponsors through a series of Personalized Missions to collect first-party data in a “fun and interactive way for the user.”

Pandora’s UNINTERRUPTED Radio LeBron James to curate LeBron James Mode which launched yesterday. The platform sees James select some of his favorite songs and explains why each is special to him and will be available on UNINTERRUPTED Radio until the end of the NBA Playoffs.

ESPORTS

Twitch dropped its plans for TwitchCon in 2022, locking in locations and dates for the return of its events in both North America as well as Europe. The first event will be held in Amsterdam on July 16-17, while the event comes back to San Diego from Oct. 7-9. This will mark the first in-person TwitchCon since September 2019, when the convention was held at the San Diego Convention Center.

Riot Games launched a new logo and media site, with the new visual branding slated to be first out of the gate as a larger Riot Games brand redesign takes place during 2022. “As Riot enters its second decade, we felt the timing was right to update and expand the Riot Games visual system to set us up for success long-term,” the company said in the announcement, adding “The change to the logo was an output of building a more cohesive visual system including the creation of additional unique assets (like typography) that will help players recognize us more easily where we show up. “

INDUSTRY & ROSTER MOVES

Katie Haas was named CEO of the Western & Southern Open. Haas, who joined the Western & Southern Open as its first COO in 2018, will oversee all aspects of the event in her new role, including all business operations, broadcast operations, player relations and the overall fan experience.

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ON THIS DAY in
1985: Indiana’s Bobby Knight makes headlines for throwing a chair during a game.

IN THE KNOW
The Bill Russell Trophy is presented annually to what player? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city).

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question
Which brand sponsored Felix Baumgartner’s extreme space jump ten years ago, watched by millions around the world? Answer: Red Bull. Kudos: Brandon Morales-TelevisaUnivision/NY; Michael Ritz-Lenox Advisors/NY; Matt Sautter-WideOrbit/Harrisburg; Mike Evranian-NASCAR/Richmond; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton; Rick Dascher-WarnerMedia Studios/Atlanta; Creed Heilskov-ImOn Communications/Cedar Rapids; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Joe Lyons-ESPN/Dallas; John Kukla-KDFW-KDFI/Dallas-Fort Worth; Amelia Enberg-E.W. Scripps/Las Vegas; Andy Babb-Super League Gaming/Santa Monica; Greg Dudsic/Palmdale; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo

Cynopsis Team