SHOWTIME Sports and Premier Boxing Champions revealed a lineup of nine boxing events that will span the first half of 2022 and featuring 21 undefeated fighters, along with two world championship unifications bouts one for all four world title belts and the coveted title of Undisputed Champion, and one for three world title belts. The action includes a battle on April 16 featuring Errol Spence, Jr. seeking to collect a third world title when he puts his WBC and IBF straps on the line against WBA World Champion Yordenis Ugas in the main event on SHOWTIME PPV at AT&T Stadium. The slate begins on March 26, anchored by Tim Tszyu against 2012 U.S. Olympian and top contender Terrell Gausha at The Armory in Minneapolis.

“It’s a good time to be a boxing fan and SHOWTIME viewer with so many high-level, consequential matchups on our schedule,” said Stephen Espinoza, President, Sports & Event Programming, Showtime Networks Inc. “We continue to grow the sport at every level, from our grassroots series SHOBOX to crowning unified and undisputed champions across boxing’s deepest divisions. When you consider the competitive nature of these fights, the star power of fighters like Errol Spence, Jr., ‘Tank’ Davis, David Benavidez, the Charlo brothers—and the youthful vitality of Stephen Fulton, Jr., Jaron Ennis and Brandun Lee—it’s never been clearer that SHOWTIME is the destination for the most compelling fights and will be for years to come. This SHOWTIME Boxing lineup is hands down the most potent of any network or platform in 2022.”

PROGRAMMING

FOX Sports reports that the company notched record highs for its coverage of the Big East and Pac-12 hoops tournaments. Saturday’s Big East championship between Villanova and Creighton drew 1,221,000 viewers on FOX to rank as its most-watched conference championship game since 2018 while the overall 2022 Big East Tournament on the networks averaged 386,000 viewers, laying claim as the most-watch Big East Tournament in FOX Sports history. For the Pac-12 Championship on Saturday, Arizona’s win over UCLA averaged 1,303,000 viewers and landing as the network’s most-watched Pac-12 game ever.

Meanwhile, the 2022 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament ranked the most-watched men’s tournament in BTN history with the network also claiming its most-watched men’s basketball game ever as Friday’s quarterfinal game between Michigan State and Wisconsin delivered 1.19 million viewers. Across the entire tournament, the audience grew by 25%, averaging 671,000 viewers per game and surpassing the 2021 men’s basketball tournament as the most-watched in network history.

Univision’s telecast of Real Madrid vs. PSG delivered the second most-watched UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Match Ever in the U.S. The match drew 990,000 viewership average with 484,000 among A18-49 on Univision.

The Formula 1 World Championship launches its 2022 schedule this weekend with ESPN Networks once again set to bring action from the full 24-race season to American viewers. The first race on the docket will be the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix from the Bahrain International Circuit on Sunday, running live on ESPN at 10:55a, following the 90-minute Grand Prix Sunday pre-race show that begins at 9:30a. ESPN’s F1 race weekend coverage will include Friday’s two practice sessions, practice and qualifying on Saturday and Sunday’s race. The Checkered Flag post-race show on ESPN3 will follow race telecasts with additional post-race interviews and analysis. The race telecasts will again be presented commercial-free with sponsorship from Mothers Polish, which also is the presenting sponsor of practice and qualifying telecasts and race re-airs. CrowdStrike returns as telecast presenter of Grand Prix Sunday.

Allen Media Group’s free-streaming digital platform, HBCU GO locked in a multi-year partnership with the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). This deal grants HBCU GO cable, linear, streaming, broadcast, VOD, and pay-per-view rights to premier NCAA Division I HBCU conference sporting events. Starting this fall, HBCU GO will distribute programming for the SWAC across all sports, including football, basketball, volleyball, and Olympic sports. The partnership will include live coverage of over 2,000 SWAC games and events. Some of these games and events will also air on AMG’s free-streaming digital platforms theGrio, Local Now, and Sports.TV.

The NBA and Rakuten Group announced that the Golden State Warriors and the Washington Wizards will play two preseason games in Japan in 2022. The NBA Japan Games 2022 Presented by Rakuten will take place Sept. 30 and Oct. 2 at Saitama Super Arena.

The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships return to ESPN networks with 19 hours of live coverage from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit this weekend, with programming including three nights of primetime wrestling action on ESPN. Coverage will also feature a ‘MATCAST’ viewing option on ESPN3, as well as a Command Center second-screen experience for every championship match on Saturday night. The action begins with three-and-a-half hours of first-round action on March 17, at noon.

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced the addition of five new broadcasters for programming across the 2022 Spectrum SportsNet LA broadcast and studio teams, the AM 570 LA Sports radio broadcast and the Spanish broadcast on KTNQ 1020 AM. The new hires include former Dodger All-Star first baseman Adrián González, Dodger legend Eric Karros, Jessica Mendoza, José Mota and Dontrelle Willis. González will serve as an analyst on SportsNet LA’s live studio programs, LeadOff-LA and Access SportsNet: Dodgers pregame and postgame shows. Karros joins the SNLA broadcast team and will call select home and road games alongside Joe Davis, while also appearing on LeadOff-LA and the Access SportsNet. Mendoza will be in the analyst chair and call select road games alongside Joe Davis on SNLA. Mota will call select games for both the Dodgers’ Spanish and English radio.

Meanwhile, NESN announced the talent roster for the 2022 Boston Red Sox season. The broadcast booth will feature returning play-by-play announcer Dave O’Brien, as well as Mike Monaco contributing to play-by-play duties. Color analysts throughout the season in the broadcast booth will include: Dennis Eckersley and newcomers Tony Massarotti, Kevin Millar, and Kevin Youkilis. Jahmai Webster will serve as sideline reporter.

The Varsity Network app – created for college sports fans by LEARFIELD company SIDEARM Sports – revealed plans to carry live audio streams of Westwood One’s coverage of March Madness. Under the terms of a multi-year agreement between LEARFIELD and Westwood One, all NCAA Championships broadcast by Westwood One will be available on the platform.

CYNOPSIS SPORTS: CMO EXCHANGE 2022
VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

Tuesday, May 24, 2022 @ 1:00pm ET

Join the best thinkers in sports marketing to discuss how they are reshaping their businesses in this shifting landscape.

Check out the agenda and join us!

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

FC Barcelona and Spotify reached an agreement for the Swedish company to become the Main Partner of the Club and the Official Audio Streaming Partner. The brand will appear on the front of both Men’s and Women’s team shirts beginning in the 2022/23 season and for the next four seasons. Spotify will also sponsor the training shirts beginning in the 2022/23 season for the next three seasons. The long-term agreement for the stadium’s title rights, begins in July 2022.

Hyland, a content services provider, signed a multi-year partnership with Formula One driver Valtteri Bottas ahead of the upcoming race season beginning March 18-20 in Bahrain. The deal makes Hyland an Official Partner of Valtteri Bottas, and Bottas will feature Hyland logo placements on his racewear both on the side of his fire suit and side of his helmet.

Yokohama Tire returned to the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach as an Official Sponsor. “For the second consecutive year, Yokohama is thrilled to be partnering with the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, which is one of the premier motorsports events in the U.S.,” said Fardad Niknam, Yokohama Tire’s senior director of product planning and product marketing. “With its famous festive atmosphere, the Grand Prix is an excellent venue to highlight our products, which fans can learn more about at the Yokohama interactive station in the Fan Zone. As always, it’s shaping up to be another exciting weekend and we’re glad to be part of it.”

Bose announced three new NCAA NIL athlete partners. South Carolina Gamecock power forward Aliyah Boston, Gonzaga Bulldog center Chet Holmgren and Duke Blue Devil forward Wendell Moore, who will all join Team Bose as they gear up to compete for the Women’s and Men’s National Championships.

DIGITAL, DATA & TECH

Challenger, an on-demand video game wagering platform, received a strategic investment from SeventySix Capital, Revel and Acies Acquisitions. Challenger’s technology automatically monitors a gamer’s gameplay and translates the video into data used for contest outcomes and behavioral insights. “The mass market of video game players still have no option to participate in skill-based contests at scale,” said Challenger CEO and Founder Chris Slovak. “In North America and Europe alone, there are more than 300 million gamers over the age of 18 who play regularly and have no solution to complement their gaming experience with cash-based contests. Challenger was launched to overcome this problem.”

DraftKings Marketplace introduced the Primetime NFT Series, with a first drop set to be the 2022 College Hoops Collection. “DraftKings is already deeply embedded within the biggest moments in sports, and the new Primetime NFT Series will further drive engagement while also providing rewards that bridge to our gaming offerings for the first time,” said Matt Kalish, Co-Founder and President of DraftKings North America. “Few times on the sports calendar can match the drama and spectacle of March’s college basketball tournament, which is why we chose this monthlong event to initiate this new digital collectibles program.”

Turner Sports and CBS Sports’ joint coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship will include the return of NCAA March Madness Confidential, providing exclusive, behind-the-scenes access to seven NCAA Tournament teams. This year’s Confidential series features Auburn, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Texas Tech, Providence, Memphis and Notre Dame. Production crews began embedding with the teams on Selection Sunday and will chronicle their NCAA Tournament journeys.

Phoenicia Sport and Entertainment CEO Chris Lencheski and Adrian Maurer, Co-Founder and CEO of Kubelt, announced the launch of MotorDAO, a community-driven organization designed to “democratize how racing drivers and teams receive funding to compete at the highest level of international racing across open wheel, stock cars and motorcycle racing.” MotorDAO is a membership-based platform for motorsports fans to directly participate in team ownership, driver sponsorships, events and more. In addition to retail perks, ticket packages, and race day NFT air drops, members of MotorDAO can influence acquisition decisions and participate in owner-related perks such as Hot Pit Passes.

The United States Hockey League and FanSaves Monday unlocked a new three-year partnership that will give USHL fans access to “all the best deals from USHL Member Clubs and their partners.” Teams can use “Triggered Deals Feature” to push a deal from a partner when an in-game event occurs such as a hat trick, four home team goals scored, a shutout, a third period goal or even a home team win to engage fans during and after the game.

ESPORTS

Call of Duty League is teaming with Aim Lab as the official first-person training sponsor – as well as the presenting sponsor – of the Call of Duty Challengers Scouting Series. During the 2022 Call of Duty League season, Aim Lab will introduce a Best Shot segment, featuring best shot from all of the weekend’s matches. Aim Lab will also present the Call of Duty Challengers Ticker, a new feature that appears at the bottom of viewers’ screens to update fans on the results of Challengers matches during the Call of Duty League’s broadcasts.

100 Thieves named former Barstool Sports executive Jen Simons to serve as chief content officer. Simons had been executive VP and head of production, development and programming at Barstool. She will now be charged with expanding the company’s original content, and working with its roster of gamers and talent to develop new series concepts.

The 2022 eMLS Cup reports that in-person attendance for its championship this year saw a 105% uptick over the previous in-person eMLS Cup in 2019. In addition, the 2022 eMLS Cup reached over 815,000 unique viewers on MLS’s Twitch channel – an all-time high for eMLS, with a 40% rise in average minute audience year-over-year from 2021 eMLS Cup. Official partners included Coca-Cola, Cheez-It, Pringles, PlayStation, and JLab.

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. announced that Razer signed on to become the official gaming chair partner of Knicks Gaming, MSG Sports’ official NBA 2K League team. Razer gaming chairs will be featured inside the Knicks Gaming training facility for the use of team players and staff. Razer will also receive significant brand inclusion across Knicks Gaming digital assets including the official website, video assets, and social media posts. Razer gaming chairs will also be integrated into Knicks Gaming-branded original digital content, including a “chair unboxing and assembly” tutorial video.

INDUSTRY & ROSTER MOVES

Danielle Brazil has been named the executive director of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. A former ESPN Events employee, Brazil returns to the organization and to the bowl game after spending the last five years as associate athletic director at The College of Idaho.

ESPORTS & GAMING NEWFRONTS
2022 VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

Wednesday, May 4th @ 10:00am ET

This by-invitation-only event is for brands or agencies activating or looking to activate in the highly engaged 18–35-year-old fanbase.

GET MORE INFORMATION

ON THIS DAY in
1994: Tonya Harding pleads guilty to felony attack on Nancy Kerrigan.

IN THE KNOW
Which baseball announcer uses the catchphrase “Adios pelota!”? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city).

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question
In which movie were we introduced to fictional wrestler Captain Insano (played by Paul Wight)? Answer: The Waterboy. Kudos: Michael Ritz-Lenox Advisors/NY; Greg Conner-WWE/Stamford; Louis Lewow-FITE/Atlanta; Kyle Krebs-CBS 42/Birmingham; Lance Davis-Good Karma Brands ESPN Milwaukee/Milwaukee; Travis Wacker-ESPN Chicago/Good Karma Brands/Chicago; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA

Cynopsis Team