03/13/18: Laying out TV’s college hoops docket

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Good morning. It’s Tuesday March 13, 2018 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

Tonight will see the first stop for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship as the First Four begin play, opening the door for Turner Sports and CBS Sports’ coverage over the next three weeks. Programming will include NCAA March Madness Confidential, offering exclusive, behind-the-scenes access to seven NCAA Tournament teams: Auburn, Clemson, Loyola-Chicago, Nevada, Ohio State, Rhode Island and Tennessee. Production crews have been embedded with the teams beginning with Selection Sunday and will chronicle their NCAA Tournament journeys, with features running during studio coverage across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV, as well as on digital channels. In addition, a special documentary titled “10 Years of March Madness Confidential,” highlighting the best moments from the series over the past decade, will air on CBS on Sunday at noon.

Here are opening channel assignments for the games:

THURSDAY, MARCH 15:

10-Oklahoma/7-Rhode Island, 12:15p (CBS)
14-Wright State vs. 3-Tennessee, 12:40p (truTV)
13-UNC-Greensboro/4-Gonzaga, 1:30p (TNT)
16-Penn/1-Kansas, 2p (TBS)
15-Iona/2-Duke, 2:45p (CBS)
11-Loyola-Chicago/6-Miami, 3:10p (truTV)
12-South Dakota State/5-Ohio State, 4p (TNT)
9-N.C. State/8-Seton Hall, 4:30p (TBS)
16-LIU/Radford/1-Villanova, 6:50p (TNT)
12-Davidson/5-Kentucky, 7:10p (CBS)
11-San Diego State/6-Houston, 7:20p (TBS)
14-Stephen F. Austin/3-Texas Tech, 7:27p (truTV)
9-Alabama/8-Virginia Tech, 9:20p (TNT)
13-Buffalo/4-Arizona, 9:40p (CBS)
14-Montana/3-Michigan, 9:50p (TBS)
11-St. Bonaventure/UCLA/6-Florida, 9:57p (truTV)

FRIDAY, MARCH 16:

10-Providence/7-Texas A&M, 12:15p (CBS)
15-Cal State-Fullerton/2-Purdue, 12:40p (truTV)
13-Marshall/4-Wichita State, 1:30p (TNT)
15-Georgia State/2-Cincinnati, 2p (TBS)
15-Lipscomb/2-North Carolina, 2:45p (CBS)
10-Butler/7-Arkansas, 3:10p (truTV)
12-Murray State/5-West Virginia, 4p (TNT)
10-Texas/7-Nevada, 4:30p (TBS)
9-Kansas State/8-Creighton, 6:50p (TNT)
14-Bucknell/3-Michigan State, 7:10p (CBS)
16-N.C. Central/Texas Southern/1-Xavier, 7:20p (TBS)
13-Charleston/4-Auburn, 7:27p (truTV)
16-UMBC/1-Virginia, 8:20p (TNT)
11-Arizona State/Syracuse/6-TCU, 9:40p (CBS)
9-Florida State at 8-Missouri, 9:50p (TBS)
12-New Mexico State/5-Clemson, 9:57p (truTV)

ON THE AIR

ESPN has its lineup for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament, anchored once again by Connecticut as the top seed, along with Notre Dame, Louisville, and Mississippi State as fellow #1s. Play begins on Friday at noon with Louisville/Boise State, DePaul/Oklahoma, Oregon State/Western Kentucky and Maryland/Princeton on ESPN/ESPN2. The channels will present regionalized telecasts with home market protection through the first two rounds. ESPN3 will offer first- and second-round games in their entirety as a supplement to ESPN and ESPN2’s coverage. The final 15 games, beginning with the Regional Semifinals, will have national telecast windows on ESPN or ESPN2.

Meanwhile, the NIT tips off as 32 teams look to contend on ESPN’s family of channels with Baylor, Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Southern California earning the four No. 1 seeds. The action begins tonight at 7p with Northern Kentucky/Louisville on ESPN and Baylor/Wagner on ESPN2. The NIT concludes in New York City at Madison Square Garden with the semifinals on March 27 starting at 7p on ESPN and the championship on March 29 at 7p ESPN2.

The PGA TOUR and SiriusXM reached a four-year extension to their broadcasting agreement, which will continue extensive tournament coverage on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio for subscribers nationwide through 2021.“PGA TOUR coverage is a very important part of our sports programming lineup, and we are very pleased to extend our long-term relationship with the TOUR to continue to give our listeners an extensive schedule of in-depth tournament broadcasts,” said Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM’s President and Chief Content Officer. “No other audio or streaming broadcaster can match SiriusXM’s level of golf programming, and whether it is via our radios or our app, we continue to deliver it to fans anywhere across the country.”

Speaking of which, Cynopsis Sports announced that Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer of SiriusXM, and Katrina Adams, Chairman of the Board & President for the United States Tennis Association, will be this year’s recipients of the Legacy and Vision Awards respectively, honoring their work in transforming sports media during their careers. The seventh annual Cynopsis Sports Media Awards Breakfast will take place on April 12 at the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan, with Greenstein and Adams joining Showtime’s Stephen Espinoza and Intel as this year’s luminaries. Be sure to click on the link above to view our category finalists. Congrats to all and get your seats now as this event always sells out!

ESPN reports that this season’s ACC Tournament Championship Game on ESPN between North Carolina and Virginia on Saturday drew a 2.1 overnight to the network equaling last year’s ACC Tournament Championship between Notre Dame and Duke, while the Big 12 Tournament Championship between West Virginia and Kansas earned a 1.7 in overnight Nielsen numbers, up 42% from last year’s Big 12 Tournament Championship. Sunday saw the SEC Tournament Championship between Kentucky and Tennessee notch a 1.6 overnight, up 7% from last year’s SEC Tournament Championship game.

In other ratings news, Sunday’s final round coverage of the Valspar Championship on NBC drew a 5.11 in overnight numbers, a markup of 190% year-over-year to become the highest-rated non-major PGA TOUR broadcast in nearly five years, Sunday’s final round Overnight also is the highest-rated golf telecast (outside of the Masters) since the 2015 PGA Championship (5.14) according to data released by Nielsen. Golf Channel’s final round lead-in coverage earned a 1.65, becoming the highest-rated Golf Channel PGA TOUR “lead-in” telecast on record.

ESPN will tackle NFL Free Agency on Wednesday with a 4.5-hour block of specials beginning with SportsCenter Special: NFL Free Agency Countdown at 1:30p on ESPN. That will lead into NFL Live: Free Agency at 3:30p on the network and SportsCenter Special: NFL Free Agency Kickoff at 5p on ESPN2.

Meanwhile, the WNBA locked in April 12 as the date for the WNBA Draft at the Nike New York Headquarters. ESPN2 will air the first round beginning at 7p followed by coverage of rounds two and three on ESPNU at 8p. Several top draft prospects and invited guests will be on hand for WNBA Draft 2018 presented by State Farm at the Nike New York Headquarters, where they will be immersed in an interactive, experiential atmosphere. The Las Vegas Aces (formerly the San Antonio Stars) hold the No. 1 overall pick after winning the WNBA Draft Lottery presented by State Farm in November.

Golf Channel is launching Shotmakers, an “innovative new golf competition where precision shotmaking meets intense strategy in a fast-paced format.” The format debuts on April 9 at 9p and will take place at Topgolf in Las Vegas, blending entertainment, golf and technology throughout the competition. Nine co-ed teams of two will pair up in head-to-head competitions that test precision, distance and control, all while facing intense pressure and strategic decision-making. Production will utilize Toptracer by Topgolf, the leading technology used on PGA TOUR televised broadcasts that immediately shows players their ball’s flight, speed, distance and curve on screen. Shotmakers is co-hosted Amanda Blumenherst and golf host Shane Bacon, along with Golf Channel reporter Chantel McCabe and social media correspondent Alexandra O’Laughlin.

ESPN Radio renewed its license of the Veritone aiWARE platform for its sports talk programming and live event coverage. The platform transforms ESPN’s media with AI in near real time, with enhanced ad and content tracking, comprehensive analytics, faster content extension and smarter media management.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

The Results Are In

The Cynopsis Sports Media Awards Finalists Have Been Announced!

Our finalists are a talented group of professionals crossing the spectrum of television, radio, and online platforms; encompassing all the corners of the industry, and we are pleased to recognize their achievements over the past year at the 7th annual
Sports Media Awards Breakfast.

VIEW FINALISTS REGISTER YOUR TEAM

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

MetroPCS signed a multi-year partnership with Texas Motor Speedway beginning immediately, according to ESPN, driven by the two major NASCAR race weekends at the venue. MetroPCS will see signage and branding during April’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 NASCAR doubleheader weekend as well as November’s AAA Texas 500 NASCAR Playoffs tripleheader.

The LPGA announced that LEADERS Cosmetics, a global leader in facial masks and skincare products, extended its relationship with the LPGA through 2020, and the brand has now been named the Official Cosmetics Partner. As part of the deal, a ‘LEADERS Top 10’ competition has been launched, with the LPGA player who records the most top-10 finishes at the end of the season taking home a $100,000 bonus.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

Elsewhere in gold, the PGA TOUR launched PGA TOUR AR, a new augmented reality app the delivers live AR tournament coverage to fans around the world on their iPhone and iPad. Live AR coverage will begin with the opening round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard on Thursday, allowing fans to interact with 3D featured holes and live 3D shot trails on any flat surface right in front of them. On featured holes throughout the season, fans will be able to select their favorite player on the golf course, compare shot trails from each round and compare the shots of different players.

CBS Sports HQ will live stream bracket analysis leading up to the start of the tournament, featuring bracketology expert Jerry Palm as well as writers and analysts Gary Parrish, Matt Norlander, Reid Forgrave, and Chip Patterson delivering insight around the clock.

ESPORTS

Facebook continues to gobble up esports rights. Gfinity is the latest company to announce a partnership, streaming digital broadcasts of the Gfinity Elite Series esports tournaments exclusively on Facebook throughout 2018. The arrangement covers the UK and extends to new territories which are part of Gfinity’s global expansion plans with the exception of Australia and starts with immediate effect with the Gfinity Elite Series Season Three in the UK.

FACEIT detailed plans to bring its FPL Circuit to North America to “create a new CS:GO competitive space for seasoned professional players, as well as a system for players to climb the ranks on a clear path to becoming a professional player.” Structured similarly to the FPL in Europe, the FACEIT Pro League North America will have a $20,000 prize pool every month, in addition to the FPL Challenger League which will have a prize pool of $3,000 and act as a venue for amateurs and established professionals to play together.

ESL is partnering with Gameflip, a marketplace for gaming digital goods, that makes Gameflip an exclusive partner for ESL Pro League Season 7, the key Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament run by ESL. In addition to working together with ESL to drive awareness for the Gameflip marketplace and its FLP crypto-token to an audience of more than 180 million gamers, Gameflip will sponsor the Preshow for the entire online season as well as the finals at Verizon Theatre in Dallas.

ROSTER MOVES

Longtime Sports Illustrated sports media voice Richard Deitsch announced that he will be leaving the publication to take a job at The Athletic starting late next week. On a Twitter post, he noted that he will continue to cover sports media as well as “hopefully” women’s basketball.

THE MAIN EVENT

The First Four tips off on truTV tonight at 6:40p with LIU Brooklyn/ Radford, followed by St. Bonaventure/UCLA.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

TOMORROW!

The Cynopsis Top Women in Digital Awards Breakfast

Sponsored by Horizon Media

Wednesday, March 14^th | 8:30am – 10:30am | Espace, NYC

At a time when it is more important than ever to shine a light on the incredible accomplishments of women in every field, we are proud to honor excellence in digital content, marketing, advertising, social media and online content. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with digital’s game changers, rising stars, corporate visionaries and industry leaders!

[REGISTER]

ON THIS DAY in 1960: The NFL’s Chicago Cardinals move to St Louis.

In the Know: Name two schools in the NCAA Men’s Tournament who are known as the Aggies. (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: Which school in this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has Stephen Curry as an alumnus? Answer: Davidson. Kudos: Katie Cifarelli-ESPN/NY; Greg Conner-Tennis Channel/NY; Bill Hirsh-Learfield/NY; Ged Young-GC Marketing/NY; Rick Hensley-WCYB/Bristol; Steve Nason-Simmons Research/Deerfield Beach; Rob Keith-Partnership Sports/Tampa; Jon Miller-NBC Sports/Stamford; Travis Wacker-Good Karma Brands/Milwaukee; Lance Davis-ESPN/Milwaukee; Karl Hoium-Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks/Fargo; Carly Dasso-Saatchi & Saatchi/Oakbrook Terrace; Bruce Trotter-Cox/LA; Don Surath-CBS360/San Francisco; Dani Beaulieu-Group Nine Media/LA; Keith Dobkowski-NFL Media/LA

Later – Chris

Chris Pursell @VegasandVine
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