02/08/18: TBS gets first Selection

Good morning. It’s Thursday February 8, 2018 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

The 2018 NCAA March Madness Selection Show is heading to TBS, as the exclusive live first-time announcement of 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship pairings are revealed on March 11 at 6p. The shift this year comes as TBS is poised to carry this year’s NCAA Final Four National Semifinals on March 31, as well as the National Championship on April 2. This year’s two-hour Selection Show, produced in partnership between Turner Sports and CBS Sports, will be carried live from Turner Studios in Atlanta with Greg Gumbel and Ernie Johnson hosting the show, joined by analysts Clark Kellogg, Charles Barkley, Seth Davis and Kenny Smith.

CBS will broadcast the NCAA Final Four National Semifinals, National Championship and Selection Show in 2019, with the events alternating between Turner and CBS each year throughout the partnership.

Ahead of the Selection Show, Turner Sports and CBS Sports will present NCAA March Madness Bracket Preview on Feb. 11, at 12:30p on CBS, with the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Selection Committee offering an in-season look at the NCAA Tournament brackets.

ON THE AIR

MLB Network is calling up former MLB player and manager and four-time World Series champion Joe Girardi as the network’s newest on-air personality, where he will serve as an analyst appearing across the network’s studio programming. MLB Network President Rob McGlarry said, “Joe has spent more than 25 years on the field and in the dugout as part of some of the greatest teams in Major League history, and we’re excited for him to join MLB Network’s expert lineup of Hall of Famers, All-Stars, award-winners and veteran players. Having just stepped off the field with success as a player and manager at the highest level, we know Joe will bring insightful analysis to his work at MLB Network.”

Ahead of tonight’s primetime coverage, NBC Olympics and Comcast announced that they will partner with Descriptive Video Works to offer video description services (VDS) for viewers with visual disabilities watching coverage of the Winter Games in PyeongChang. Overall, NBC Olympics will offer video description to accompany 18 primetime telecasts of the PyeongChang Games, including the Opening Ceremony and Closing Ceremony. Descriptive video will be incorporated into the live broadcasts, as well as NBC’s Video On Demand offerings.

NASCAR detailed the 2018 official stage lengths for its three national series for season two of the race format. In the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, all 2018 stage lengths will remain consistent with 2017. Meanwhile, following feedback from NASCAR Xfinity Series race teams, the org will change stage lengths at both ISM Raceway in Phoenix and Dover International Speedway. Meanwhile, in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, both Las Vegas Motor Speedway races are scheduled for 134 laps, with stage lengths set to end at Lap 40, Lap 80 and Lap 134. “Our primary goal every season is providing the best race for our fans, and to that end, we will remain consistent in terms of stage lengths for the majority of our national series events,” said Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition. “Last year’s debut of the race format was a strong one, and we look forward to building on that foundation in 2018, starting with Speedweeks at Daytona.”

ESPN will carry the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl victory parade live today. Kevin Negandhi and Sal Paolantonio will co-host a two-hour SportsCenter Special at 11a on ESPN2 with Paolantonio reporting from the start of the parade route near Lincoln Financial Field while Negandhi will be at the Philadelphia Art Museum, where the parade concludes. ESPN’s NFL Nation Eagles reporter Tim McManus will also contribute to the coverage from Philadelphia. During the parade, Eagles outside linebacker Mychal Kendricks will take over ESPN social media accounts.

Locally, NBC Sports Philadelphia offers fans with non-stop victory parade coverage beginning at 5a on NBC Sports Philadelphia and NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com with live celebratory parade coverage at 10:30a. NBC Sports Philadelphia+ will then replay the parade for 24 straight hours, beginning at 6:30p Thursday. Michael Barkann, Ray Didinger and Barrett Brooks host NBC Sports Philadelphia’s parade coverage.

Speaking of the Super Bowl, ESPN reports that First Take viewership was up 16% for Wednesday, Jan. 31, through Friday, Feb. 2, while Stephen A. Smith was live from Minnesota for Super Bowl LII, averaging 461,000 viewers, according to Nielsen. Monday then saw the show match its top-rated show ever with a 0.6 household score.

ESPN and the NBA today announced the celebrity coaches and rosters for the 2018 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented by Ruffles, which takes place on Feb. 16, at 7p. Rachel Nichols and Katie Nolan will serve as celebrity coaches for the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented by Ruffles. Team Clippers will include: Anthony Anderson, Brandon Armstrong, Miles Brown, Win Butler, Common, Andre De Grasse, Stefanie Dolson, Jamie Foxx, Paul Pierce, Dascha Polanco, Bubba Watson and Jason Williams. Team Lakers sees: Sterling Brim, Nick Cannon, Terence Crawford, Rachel DeMita, Jerry Ferrara, Marc Lasry, Tracy McGrady, Caleb McLaughlin, Candace Parker, Nate Robinson, Drew Scott and Kris Wu.Ruffles, the Official Chip of the NBA unveil the game’s first-ever 4-point line, dubbed “The RIDGE” during the second half of game.

The Ultimate Sumo League is slated to debut in Las Vegas when the world’s finest Rikishi hit Park Theater at Monte Carlo Resort and Casino on April 28. Overall, the US and World Tour League plans to hold competitions in New York, Orlando, London, Paris, Los Angeles, Hawaii, Seattle and other major cities with an eye to distributing content on live television, streaming on the internet, or taped broadcasts.

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SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

FOX Sports revs up for the Daytona 500, lining up Daytona Day viewing opportunities in nearly 20 states ahead of the race that runs on FOX on Feb. 18 at 2:30p. In partnership with Xfinity, FOX Sports is supporting 250 Daytona Day House Parties in select markets while nine NASCAR race tracks are hosting viewing parties at various locations, and FOX Sports and Toyota are partnering to host a viewing party from Fort Campbell. Each of the private house parties receives a branded Daytona Day party kit. Meanwhile, celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay again offers a special Daytona Day menu, with new recipes for the 2018 season, and UberEATS returns with Daytona Day initiatives in 11 markets, including new markets Charlotte and Washington, DC.

NBC Olympics is partnering with Uber to offer custom in-ride video experiences to US Uber riders during the Olympic Winter Games. Riders will be able to access Olympic athlete interviews and highlights, curated each day of competition by NBC Olympics. As part of the series, NBC Olympics will produce exclusive “in-car” interviews for Uber riders featuring US athletes and broadcast announcers.

The NBA announced that Team LeBron selected After-School All-Stars Los Angeles while Team Stephen selected Brotherhood Crusade, as the community-based organizations they will play for during the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 18 at 8p. The winning team will donate $350,000 and the losing team will donate $150,000 to their selected organization.

Major League Baseball celebrates Black History Month this year with efforts that include two Breaking Barriers: In Sports, In Life visits by Sharon Robinson and continue with a collegiate baseball tournament designed to promote Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In addition, MLB’s Youth Programs group will host its first official “Play Ball” event of 2018 in Nashville. Every day throughout the month of February, MLB Network offers vignettes across its studio programming that honor African-American Hall of Famers – including Lou Brock, Roy Campanella, Andre Dawson, Barry Larkin, Eddie Murray, Kirby Puckett, Jim Rice, Ozzie Smith, Billy Williams and Dave Winfield.

RBC announced its newest brand ambassador – professional golfer Dustin Johnson, who joins the like of Matt Kuchar, Ryder Cup Captain Jim Furyk, Brandt Snedeker and Brooke Henderson at the brand.

Buffalo Wild Wings will look to capitalize on gold fever this month by offering #WingBling, described as “a one-of-a-kind gold topping, sprinkled on any boneless or traditional wing order, regardless of the sauce.” Fans visiting Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the world’s biggest winter competition can request the special, limited-time item by saying “can I have some bling on my wings?” or even, “bling my wings!” when they order.

LIDS Sports Group inked a partnership with WWE to snag right to create on-demand WWE headwear. The new licensing agreement allows for LIDS to embroider the names, logos, and autographs of WWE Superstars and Legends on WWE-licensed headwear within its stores and upon orders online. LIDS’s WWE on-demand customization program launched a select assortment of logos and autographs ahead of WWE’s Royal Rumble event, and LIDS will continuously add new WWE Superstars and Legends on a monthly-basis.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that the company’s new ESPN streaming service, ESPN Plus, will launch later this spring and carry a price tag of $4.99 a month. According to Iger, ESPN Plus will run as an add-on included within the redesigned ESPN app, and not a standalone service with its own mobile and smart TV software. Users will gain access to thousands of live sporting events “not available” on current channels.

Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, launched El 12 (“The 12th”), a bilingual digital initiative to search for the next generation of top soccer influencers in partnership with soccer media company COPA90. The first stage of the campaign will kick off with a call to fans via Telemundo and Telemundo Deportes social media platforms and the COPA90 network to submit content that showcases what fuels their passion for their national team.

fuboTV, in agreement with NBCUniversal, announced a multiplatform content offering for NBCU’s coverage of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games. Coverage will begin today (February 8) and run through Sunday, February 25. Subscribers to the fuboTV live streaming TV service will have access to NBCU’s 2,400 hours of Olympic programming, including coverage of all competition sessions, on-demand. fuboTV also launched a new feature, updating its Sports navigation bar to include a break-down of Olympic programming, sorted by sport, in order to help viewers find specific live events more easily.

Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, today announced the launch of “El 12” (“The 12th”), a new, bilingual digital initiative to search for the

Wood Brothers Racing, which fields the No. 21 Ford Fusion in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, is partnering with NASCAR Digital Media to oversee the design and development of the new woodbrothersracing.com, which launched in January. On February 12, Motor Racing Network (MRN) will launch its new digital presence, also developed by NDM, leading up to the 2018 Daytona 500.

ESPORTS

In this week’s edition of Cynopsis Esports & Gaming…

ESL plots perks of Facebook partnership
Evo 2018 locks up titles
Capcom’s early bouts
Twitch lays out 2017 legacy
Dr DisRespect returns with a bang
Scarlett shakes up SC2 World Order
E3 winds its clock

ROSTER MOVES

Excel Sports Management hired Eric Eways as Vice President of Business Development. Eways joins Excel from City Football Group ad will now lead endorsement and partnership efforts for Excel’s NBA roster and will provide sales leadership across the agency’s talent and property clients.

rEvolution hired Mikel Hartman as Senior Vice President, Operations for the company. Hartman previously spent a collective 12 years in leadership positions at JMI.

THE MAIN EVENT

NBC begins live primetime coverage of the Winter games at 8p with figure skating, and qualifying in both the men’s and women’s moguls as well as men’s ski jumping.

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ON THIS DAY in 1986: Spud Webb wins the NBA’s Slam Dunk contest.

In the Know: (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: The Nordic combined blends what two sports for Olympic competition? Answer: Cross country skiing and ski jumping. Kudos: Michael Ritz-BucStar Consulting/NY; Denis Barry-CBS/NY; Evan Noonan-CBS Sports Digital/NY; Jamie Euster-Endeavor/NY; Larry Kahn-Golf Channel/Orlando; Stephanie Ann-Inside Lacrosse/Baltimore; Wayne “World B.” Otto-Pro-Am Sports /Boone; Heidi Mallin-Lucas Oil Stadium/Indianapolis; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Joe Lyons-SOS Global/Dallas; Tom Doherty-Starcom Media/Chicago; Dory Petsrillo-CoxReps/Dallas; Peter Steckelman-Tennis Channel/Santa Monica; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA

Later – Chris

Chris Pursell @VegasandVine
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