03/22/18: IndyCar’s new ride

Good morning. It’s Thursday March 22, 2018 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

IndyCar landed a new ride for 2019 and beyond, landing a deal with NBC Sports Group that will keep all races, qualifying, practices, and Indy Lights races on NBCU platforms beginning in 2019. The Indianapolis 500 and seven additional Verizon IndyCar Series races will now be broadcast annually on NBC, ending a long run on ABC, with all remaining races televised on NBCSN. In addition, NBC Sports Gold will offer a package to IndyCar fans that features all qualifying and practices not televised live, all Indy Lights races, and full-event replays.

“We’re excited to have NBC Sports serve as the exclusive home of INDYCAR, which represents the most competitive open-wheel racing in the world,” said Jon Miller, President, Programming, NBC Sports and NBCSN. “We’re honored to bring the Indianapolis 500, one of the most prestigious events in all of sports, to NBC, further enhancing NBC Sports’ Championship Season. We’ve seen consistent growth for IndyCar on NBCSN in the past decade, and we hope to continue that growth throughout the series by leveraging the television, digital, production and marketing assets that make NBC Sports a powerful media partner.”

“This arrangement brings all of IndyCar to one home, increases our exposure and includes our first direct-to-consumer offer for our fans,” said Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Company, which owns INDYCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “We couldn’t be happier to have start-to-finish coverage of INDYCAR’s season with the NBC Sports Group.”

ON THE AIR

The NFL’s draft board just got a lot bigger, with the league unveiling a new broadcast arrangement that will see NFL Network and FOX will team up to simulcast live coverage of Rounds 1-3 of the 2018 NFL Draft. Additionally, the league has expanded its partnership with ESPN/ABC whereby ESPN2 will supplement ESPN’s coverage of Round 1 with a separate and unique college-themed production in addition to a simulcast of ESPN’s live coverage of Rounds 4-7 airing on ABC. This year’s event runs April 26-28 out of AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The expanded coverage marks the first time ever that the entirety of the live three-day event will air on broadcast television. NFL Draft coverage simulcast on NFL Network and FOX will be produced by NFL Network and feature co-branding, as well as a mixed team of NFL Network and NFL on FOX on-air personalities.

April 26-27 sees College GameDay serve up a pre-draft show in the afternoon in addition to being part of a college-themed option of Round 1 in prime time on ESPN2 in addition to the traditional pick-by-pick coverage on ESPN. On Thursday, April 26, Rece Davis will host a special two-hour edition of the show from the NFL Draft Experience outside AT&T Stadium prior to the draft’s opening round. At 8p, the GameDay-themed draft telecast will offer reactions and analysis to the picks from college and NFL experts on ESPN2.

FOX Sports reports that it scored its most-watched season of college basketball during the 2017-18 season, with a year-over-year increase on the FOX broadcast network and FS1. Men’s basketball games on the channels averaged 262,000 viewers per game during the season, up 27% over the 2016-17 period, according to Nielsen. FOX Sports GO also saw year-over-year increases, with an average minute audience per game increase of 88% over 2016-17 and viewers consuming 77 million minutes of college basketball on FOX Sports GO and FOX Now this season.

Meanwhile, ESPN continues coverage of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship presented by Capital One on ESPN and ESPN2 on Friday with the regional semifinals and finals. The action tips off at 7p with the Kansas City and Lexington regional semifinals, and continues Saturday with the Albany regional semifinals at 11:30a and the Spokane regional semifinals at 4p. The remaining matchups in the women’s championship will be full national telecasts, and available to stream via the ESPN App.

Back to racing. After an absence of more than 20 years, the FIA Formula One World Championship returns to the ESPN family this weekend with the launch of the 2018 season in Australia. ESPN and ABC will carry all 21 races in the championship as part of the multi-year linear and digital partnership. The Rolex Australian Grand Prix kicks off the season and will air live on ESPN2 at 1a on Sunday, ESPN, Sky Sports and Formula 1 have joined forces to bring Sky Sports’ presentation of the championship to viewers in the United States, with the Sky Sports coverage of races, practice and qualifying sessions to air on ESPN networks.

NBC Sports Group will deliver more than 200 hours of coverage from the 2018 World Women’s and Men’s Curling Championships over the next month across NBCSN, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA., and its digital platforms. The World Women’s Curling Championship will take place through March 25 in North Bay while the World Men’s Curling Championship will be held in Las Vegas from March 31 – April 8. Jason Knapp, Pete Fenson and Kevin Martin will combine to provide commentary throughout the 2018 World Curling Championships.

beIN Sports filed a program carriage complaint against Comcast, claiming that the operator violated program carriage rules and the non-discrimination condition attached with the FCC’s approval of its purchase of NBCU by discriminating “against the programming of beIN and in favor of NBC Sports ’ and NBC Universo’s similarly situated sports programming.” “Comcast has not discriminated against beIN Sports. Instead, beIN has demanded substantial increases in fees and carriage that make no business sense for our company and our customers,” the company said in a statement. Meanwhile, beIN SPORTS stated that “Comcast has ignored its obligations as a vertically integrated network and favor their own soccer content and other sports-related programming, to the detriment of the beIN services and the audiences we serve.”

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Recognizing Short Form Video Awards Finalists…

The Cynopsis Short Form Video Festival

TOMORROW, March 22^nd | 9:15am – 3:55pm | SVA Theatre, NYC

In addition to the awards program, winner screenings, and networking with others who are passionate about short form, hear from the experts in these thought-provoking panels:

The Brands Speak

Building your Blueprint for Revenue Success

Short Form Behind the Scenes

[GET TICKETS]

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

ESPN detailed its plans for this year’s upfronts, announcing two events this year beginning May 2 with the ESPN Newfront from 12-2p at Cedar Lake in Manhattan. That will be followed by the ESPN Upfront on May 15 from Minskoff Theatre. Both events will share a common theme: “ESPN F1RST.” “We have led the industry as it relates to innovative ad experiences – both on traditional and digital platforms,” said Ed Erhardt, President, ESPN Global Sales & Marketing. “‘ESPN F1RST’ speaks to that leadership, which makes us a natural fit for participation in the NewFronts. Together with the Upfront, this gives us the opportunity to educate the marketplace holistically on the power of the ESPN platform.”

Speaking of the upfronts, Cynopsis Esports, in partnership with the Esports Advertising Bureau and Player 2, is producing the 2018 Esports Upfront presentation on April 24 at Yale Club in NYC. Select brands, agencies and media buyers only will be shown a slate of opportunities for partnerships from around the industry to activate and engage with this key demo, from platforms to leagues to teams to mobile to streaming influencers and beyond. Presenters include Activision Blizzard’s MLG, Counter Logic Gaming, ESP Gaming, Press X, StreamHatchet and with more announced next week! Invitations have been sent out, but if you are from a brand or agency and we missed you, email [email protected] to express your interest. See you there.

The LA Galaxy and the StubHub Center are extending their partnership with beverage alcohol company Constellation Brands, courtesy of a new multiyear agreement. The partnership, brokered by AEG Global Partnerships, designates Modelo Especial as the exclusive import beer sponsor of both the StubHub Center and the LA Galaxy. Constellation Brands will also be named a founding partner, a premium designation, of the StubHub Center.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

Sportradar inked a strategic partnership with HYPE Sports Innovation, a global platform which facilitates connections and investments among the sports innovation ecosystem. Sportradar will also support HYPE Sport Innovation’s global competitions, held in conjunction with leading global sports events, via judging roles and hosting workshops.

ESPORTS

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

Heroes of the Dorm bunkers in Burbank
Esports Arena hits the Strip
PUBG heads to Austin
Fortnite to showcase stars at E3
Valve set to deal $1 million Artifact
Amazon, Facebook, Snap upgrade gaming plays
Ubisoft defends the point

THE MAIN EVENT

The Sweet Sixteen tips off at 7p with Loyola/Nevada on CBS and Texas A&M/Michigan on TBS at 7:30p, followed by Kansas State/Kentucky and Florida State/Gonzaga, respectively.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Are your job ads reaching the right candidates?

The best way to be sure is to list your jobs with Cynopsis Jobs . That guarantees your postings are seen by the finest candidates in the medida industry. Using Cynopsis Jobs means you are using the optimal recruiting tool to find the matches for the jobs you want to fill.

For info on how to place a job ad – contact [email protected]

ON THIS DAY in 1989: Pete Rozelle announces his retirement as NFL Commissioner after 29 years.

In the Know: Who is the all-time leading scorer for Major League Soccer? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: Continuing the animation/sports theme, which franchise featured the song, “What Would Brian Boitano Do?” Answer: South Park. Kudos: Barry Blyn-ESPN/NY; Marissa Sunio-Columbia University/NY; Nicole Correnti-Fuse Media/NY; Scott Jenkins-Gracenote/NY; Brianne Maciejowski-Miles/Sarasota; Jonny Codalata-CSM Sport & Entertainment/Zionsville; Vanessa Simm-The Nielsen Company/Oldsmar; Matt Sautter-WideOrbit/ Harrisburg; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Matt Fumagalli-Levy/Chicago; David Westberg-SAGAFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank; Bob Ramsey/Palm Springs; Randy Hastings-360i/LA; Jim Bernard-VER/LA

Later – Chris

Chris Pursell @VegasandVine
Roberta Caploe Publisher @robertacaploe	Diane K Schwartz Senior Vice President Media Communications Group	Cynopsis Ad Sales Mike Farina \| 203-218-6480 VP, Sales	Cynopsis Job Listings Sales Trish Pihonak \| 203-899-8459 Director of Operations

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