Anheuser-Busch is revealed plans for the Bud Light brand will have a presence at “all major NFL moments” this offseason, including becoming the official presenting sponsor of the 2022 NFL Draft which will take place in Las Vegas. The NFL Draft Experience and Draft Theater will be located behind the High Roller at the LINQ Promenade. As presenting sponsor, Bud Light will have prominent branding on the Main Stage, signage throughout the Draft and will take lead as part of the NFL Draft’s Concert Series in Las Vegas this year. In addition, the beer brand in the industry will have a fully integrated marketing campaign.

As a result of the exclusive, global, multi-year sponsorship deal, Bud Light will be activating around other notable moments including the 2022 NFL Kickoff Weekend. In addition, Bud Light is now the official sponsor of NFL celebrations, whether that be a touchdown celebration or a synchronized team dance after a game-changing play – all culminating for the first time ever with a Bud Light fan celebration following the Super Bowl LVII Champions being crowned.

“For years Bud Light has been a staple during the NFL’s regular season and we’re thrilled they will now be alongside us for some of the biggest moments during our offseason, and there is none bigger than the Draft,” said Tracie Rodburg, Senior Vice President, Sponsorship Management, National Football League. “We’re looking forward to the 2022 NFL Draft in Las Vegas and to having Bud Light there as the presenting sponsor.”

PROGRAMMING

The Premier Lacrosse League inked a deal with ESPN for a four-year media rights agreement that will span the network’s broadcast, cable and streaming platform. The League’s fourth season is scheduled to begin on June 4, playing 47 games across 13 US cities, including All-Star, Playoffs, and Championship Weekend on September 17. PLL games will air exclusively across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN+, with all 47 games available to stream on ESPN+.

After the men’s NCAA basketball tournament reports gains this year, the women’s tournament is also nabbing double-digit viewer increases over 2021. ESPN reports that the women’s tournament on ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, ESPNU and ESPNews is up 15% overall through the first two rounds, with the second round averaging 474,000 viewers, for a rise of 25% from last year. The Monday night matchup between Central Florida and Connecticut on ESPN averaged 1.13 million, making it the most-viewed, early-round women’s game since 2009. Sunday’s Creighton-Iowa contest on ABC averaged 993,000. Overall, ESPN reports that nearly 26 million hours have been viewed on their platforms.

Speaking of the tournament, CBS Sports and Turner Sports added Baylor University Head Coach Scott Drew as a guest studio analyst for Regional Semifinal coverage of the 2022 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship airing across TBS and CBS. Drew will join the Atlanta studio team with host Ernie Johnson and analysts Candace Parker, Seth Davis and Rex Chapman.

Don Mattingly gets the spotlight on MLB Network, which examines the “movie-like career of baseball’s ‘hit man’” in Donnie Baseball, the latest installment of the MLB Network Presents documentary series. The program will run on April 3 at 7:30p.

In talent news, Prime Video formally introduced play-by-play announcer Al Michaels and analyst Kirk Herbstreit as its new duo who will call the platform’s exclusive coverage of NFL Thursday Night Football. The inaugural season of the historic 11-year agreement kicks off Thursday, September 15. Fred Gaudelli, will also join Prime Video as executive producer of Thursday Night Football. Gaudelli will lead the Thursday Night Football production on-site each week, as part of a collaboration with NBC Sports.

Speaking of Kirk, ESPN has reached a multi-year contract extension with Herbstreit, who will continue his industry-leading studio and game analyst role on College GameDay Built by The Home Depot and in the booth on ABC Saturday Night Football. Herbstreit will remain the lead analyst on the College Football Playoff, in addition to contributing to ESPN’s extensive multi-platform programming surrounding the sport.

ESPN also secured a new deal with Mike Clay in a new multi-year contract extension. “Mike’s in-depth insights and innovative analysis reach football fans and fantasy players well beyond his bylines,” said Scott Clark, vice president, ESPN Fantasy and Betting Content. “There isn’t anyone whose work as a fantasy football analyst impacts fans in more ways, and we look forward to having Mike continue his vital contributions to ESPN’s NFL, fantasy and betting coverage.”

FloSports announced an all-new combat sports reality competition series, titled Who’s Next: Submission Fighter Challenge, that will debut in May. The show features submission fighters from around the world competing for a cash prize and a 3-fight contract with FloSports. The new series is a FloSports Originals production and is the first reality programming developed by FloSports. Episodes will stream weekly through the end of June culminating in a live finale in July.

The 2022 SBD World’s Strongest Man competition announced plans for this year’s event which features 30 of the world’s top strongmen facing off from May 24-29, 2022 at the Capitol Mall in downtown Sacramento. For the first time ever, this year’s event will also include a Fan Festival area that is free and open to the public with food trucks, tents showcasing local vendors, special events and giveaways, as well as a general admission viewing area so fans can catch all the action live.

With Formula 1’s Las Vegas announcement expected to be made shortly, the 2022 season for the Formula 1 World Championship on ESPN networks kicked off with a record audience watching the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday. The race saw an average of 1,353,000 viewers tuning in on ESPN as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc won the season opener, the largest audience for an F1 race on any of ESPN’s networks since the championship returned to ESPN in 2018. The top U.S. metered television markets for ESPN’s telecast of the Bahrain Grand Prix were Richmond, Va. (1.9 rating); Miami/Fort Lauderdale and Raleigh/Durham, N.C. (1.6); Charlotte, N.C. (1.5); and Indianapolis (1.4).

NBC Sports Chicago is partnering with PointsBet to deliver a three-game series of alternate sports-betting presentations, entitled BetCast, covering Chicago Bulls games. The schedule tips off with a dual-market BetCast covering the Bulls matchup at the Washington Wizards on March 29, which will be presented on NBC Sports Chicago Plus and NBC Sports Washington Plus. The other two BetCast telecasts, which will be exclusive to NBC Sports Chicago Plus, are scheduled for the Bulls against the Boston Celtics on April 6 and Charlotte Hornets on April 8. The BetCast coverage delivers on-screen live odds data powered by PointsBet – including Spread, Over/Under and moving Money Lines – along with futures odds and player props.

CYNOPSIS SPORTS CMO EXCHANGE 2022

Tuesday, May 24th @ 1:00pm ET

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SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

Through the first week of games, 2022 March Madness generated more than $165M in equivalent media value for brands exposed within telecasts of the Men’s and Women’s tournaments, not counting commercials, according to a study by Elevate Sports Ventures and Hive. Spalding ranked tops overall in brand exposure across the Men’s and Women’s tournament, with the most time on screen during the first week of games due to prominent placement on the basket stanchion arms. Other “highly exposed brands” included the Official NCAA Corporate Champions – AT&T, Capital One, and Coca-Cola – and uniform sponsors including Nike, Under Armour, and Adidas.

April 1 will see Arcade Fire headline the AT&T Block Party as part of the 2022 NCAA March Madness Music Festival in New Orleans. Friday night’s AT&T Block Party will also feature New Orleans natives Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and DJ Rusty Lazer. In support of New Orleans and the recent tornados that hit the community, Arcade Fire and AT&T will each donate $25,000 through SPB to assist in rebuilding the city and the homes of the victims of the devastating natural disaster.

NBC Sports and the LPGA Tour unveiled the new programming mark for its GOLF Channel tournament coverage, incorporating the LPGA Tour “swinging lady” with the classic GOLF Channel logo. This new logo will serve as the programming mark for NBC Sports’ more than 600 hours of LPGA Tour tournament coverage this season on GOLF Channel and will make its debut this week at the JTBC Classic Presented by Barbasol on GOLF Channel beginning March 24.

Adidas announced the launch of a nationwide NIL program with all athletes at Division I schools with Adidas partners eligible to partake, which encompasses more than 50,000 athletes at 109 schools across 23 sports. Athletes can earn a percentage of sales they drive through an affiliate program, according to Front Office Sports. They can also earn money based on crafting social posts.

Corona and Sue Bird teamed up to create the limited-edition Corona Fine Life Fridge, described as “a one-of-a-kind mini-refrigerator meant to keep coveted kicks and beer on ice.” Beginning Friday, and ending Monday, March 28, consumers will have a chance to win one of their own by replying to the Corona sweepstakes announcement on Twitter. “At Corona, our perspective is rooted in chill, and what better way to bring our refreshing optimism to basketball than with a legend like Sue and a new way to keep it cool, literally?” said Ryan Anderson, director of brand marketing at Corona. “The #CoronaFineLifeFridge is our way of reminding fans to live the fine life both on and off the court.”

ONE Championship announced a multi-year global partnership with TUMI, a premium lifestyle and luxury performance brands. The partnership includes live broadcast integrations and a line of bespoke travel solutions for the prestigious ONE World Championship belt. ONE and TUMI will also work together on various category-exclusive marketing and branding activations throughout the duration of the partnership.

DIGITAL, DATA & TECH

The YES Network and Jomboy Media entered into a content and marketing partnership that will see Jomboy produce its style of original content exclusively for the YES App, and additional Jomboy-produced content will also appear on both the linear YES Network and on the YES App. The two companies will explore new joint programming concepts, as well. New programming will include a David Cone Pitching Coach series; select Jomboy Watch Party shows and more.

ESPORTS

Dennis “Cloakzy” Lepore is joining GameSquare and Complexity as an official content creator in addition to becoming part-owner. As a part of Complexity, Cloakzy will host events, produce branded content, create limited-edition merchandise, and collaborate on unique experiences with Complexity Stars athletes, including former NBA star J.R. Smith and UFC fighter Sean O’Malley, and Complexity’s diverse roster of talent, including TimTheTatman and the Baka Bros. “Joining Complexity and GameSquare unlocks new opportunities for me to push the limits of what’s possible in content creation and build a deeper connection to my audience,” said Cloakzy. “I’m looking forward to working with TimTheTatman and Complexity’s diverse roster of talent in an environment that encourages creativity and supports professional development.”

Riot Games announced Coca-Cola as a worldwide founding partner of the League of Legends: Wild Rift esports slate in a multi-year deal. The deal will feature a weekly content series in addition to a slate of rewards and experiences for Wild Rift fans.

INDUSTRY & ROSTER MOVES

Major League Baseball announced that RCX Sports was selected as the official operator of MLB’s youth baseball and softball skills competitions – Jr. Home Run Derby and Pitch, Hit & Run. The youth-sports experiences business will handle all logistics – including registration, promotion and event execution – for local competitions, regional championships and the national finals that culminate at the MLB All-Star Game and World Series, respectively.

MEASUREMENT & DATA CONFERENCE

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ON THIS DAY in
1972: UCLA wins its 6th consecutive national basketball title.

IN THE KNOW
Pro wrestler Lenny Montana, aka the Zebra Kid, played what character in The Godfather? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city).

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question
Since we are on the subject, who does hold the record for most goals in a single NHL game, notching 7? Answer: Joe Malone. Kudos: Michael Ritz-Lenox Advisors/NY; Denis Barry-CBS/NY; Louis Lewow-FITE/Atlanta; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton; Daniel Rioux-PUSH 22/Bingham Farms; Joe Lyons-ESPN/Dallas; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; David Westberg-SAG•AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA

Cynopsis Team