CBS is once again warming up for spring’s annual golf outing, detailing plans for coverage of The Masters for the 62nd consecutive year from Augusta National Golf Club. The network’s coverage begins with the third round starting April 8 at 3p, with final round play shown on Sunday at 2p. In addition, highlights of early-round play will be presented by CBS Sports on April 6-7 at 11:35p. Meanwhile, Jim Nantz hosts the tournament, joining Sir Nick Faldo in the 18th hole tower. Ian Baker-Finch calls the action at the 17th hole with Verne Lundquist, Peter Kostis, Bill Macatee, Dottie Pepper and Frank Nobilo also on the mic.

On the digital front, Masters Live will offer four channels of golf action for the Tournament, offering more than 110 additional hours of live online video, along with in-progress highlights throughout the week. Bill Macatee will tee off coverage of the 2017 Masters for the Featured Groups channel, joining Davis Love III on Thursday morning while Andrew Catalon, Brian Crowell, Mark Immelman, Billy Kratzert and Love III will also serve as announcers for the Featured Groups live streaming coverage of select pairings throughout their entire round each day. Amen Corner showcases the famed 11th, 12th and 13th holes with Grant Boone and Billy Ray Brown serving as announcers. The 15 & 16 channel spotlights the 15th and 16th holes, while Masters On The Range will feature highlights, interviews with players and analysis of the field.

Finally, for the fifth consecutive year, CBS Sports Network will replay CBS Sports’ live broadcasts of the third and final rounds of the 2017 Masters following the conclusion of coverage on CBS.

ESPN’s coverage of Wednesday’s Warriors/Spurs battle handed the channel with a 1.9 Nielsen metered market rating, marking the best NBA overnight rating on ESPN this season, excluding Christmas. In addition, the matchup delivered a top five ESPN NBA streaming audience this season, which included an average minute audience of 87,000 viewers, 287,000 unique viewers and 13.8 million total minutes viewed.
 
In other ratings news, Golf Channel notched its eighth consecutive quarter of year-over-year viewership growth as the first quarter closes, drawing 110,000 average viewers in Total Day for a 1% markup over the same period in 2016. Overall, 20.6 million unique viewers tuned into Golf Channel, increasing to 44.7 million unique viewers across Golf Channel and Golf Channel on NBC telecasts. Meanwhile, the network reports spikes in millennial viewership rising 33% over the fourth quarter in 2016.

Telemundo Deportes’ Rumbo al Mundial World Cup Qualifier between Trinidad & Tobago/Mexico, on Tuesday delivered 1.75 million total viewers and 937,000 adults 18-49, according to Nielsen. Meanwhile, the Panama/USA match that followed scored 1.4 million total viewers and 811,000 adults 18-49.

Courtesy of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, MLB Network reports several more viewership records including three of the channel’s four best weeks ever, including March 20-26 (WBC Championship Round), March 6-12 (WBC First Round), and March 13-19 (WBC Second Round). March also marked its most-watched month ever, topping the previous record in April 2014 by 17%.

Lifetime and the National Women’s Soccer League unveiled the broadcast schedule for the upcoming season under the new deal. The slate includes 22 regular-season matches, both playoff semifinals and the championship game, with play-by- play announcer Jenn Hildreth, analyst Aly Wagner, host and sideline reporter Dalen Cuff as well as analyst and sideline reporter Kate Markgraf on microphone duties. The NWSL Game of the Week on Lifetime will air every Saturday beginning at 3:30p with a 30-minute pregame show leading up to kickoff at 4p. The season opener on Lifetime will pit Portland Thorns FC hosting the Orlando Pride on April 15 at 3p.

Tony Gonzalez won’t be returning to CBS’ NFL coverage next season, according to SI.com. The analyst has worked with the network for three years. “I have had an incredible and rewarding three years at CBS and wish it could be more, but traveling to New York each week during the season is not what is best for my family at this time,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “While I hope to remain in broadcasting I will look to do so in the L.A. area. I can’t thank CBS enough for their support.”

In international news, the NHL announced that the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks will face off in the first-ever preseason games played in China as part of the 2017 NHL China Games presented by O.R.G. Packaging. Games will take palce on Sept. 21 at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai and on Sept. 23 at Huaxi LIVE Wukesong’s Le Sports Center in Beijing.

Sport1 GmbH inked a sublicensing agreement with DAZN that will bring broadcast rights for the MLB to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland for the coming three seasons through 2019 where games can be seen via SPORT1 US pay-TV, DAZN and on free-TV channel SPORT1. SPORT1 US will show at least 75 MLB games per season live with original US commentary while other games will also be shown for the first time on SPORT1 with German commentary.

The United Soccer League is gearing up to launch a third-division men’s professional league that will begin play in 2019. The USL will target communities ranging in population from 150,000 to one million for the league with a “focus on launching new third-division clubs in markets that possess strong local ownership groups, populations with broad-based diversity, a vibrant millennial and strong family base, established corporate support, and stadiums to properly showcase the sport for fans, partners and the public.” “We are in a unique position to lead the sport’s next phase of growth with a proven and exciting competition model, the same which has made the USL the top Division II league in North America,” said CEO Alec Papadakis. “With elite competition and strong ownership groups providing unrivaled fan experiences, the USL will continue shaping the future of professional soccer through a third-division league, cultivating and bonding local supporters through the ‘beautiful game’ for generations to come.”

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Spalding and the NCAA locked in an extension that will make the company the Official Supplier of Backstop, Backboard and Goal Equipment for both the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships. The partnership runs through August 2021 and will include use of Spalding’s basketball systems at all of the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Championship sites, as well as licensing rights to utilize the NCAA brand logo on Spalding basketball systems products sold at retail locations.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and King’s Hawaiian announced the addition of the Kings Hawaiian Grill to the lineup of elevated dining options at Dodger Stadium for the 2017 season. In addition, the brand partnered with Steve Garvey to hold special events at the Grill throughout the season which will provide fans an opportunity for meet-and-greets.

TuneIn is hitting the start of the MLB season with wall-to-wall coverage of all 12 Opening Day matchups to TuneIn Premium subscribers. In addition, MLB on TuneIn LIVE, Presented by Esurance will return for its second season with a special “Opening Day Marathon” edition offering more than 10 hours of live baseball coverage, tapping into live games happening around the league, providing highlights and instant analysis. TuneIn is also expanding its MLB content via a new partnership with The Ringer, founded by Bill Simmons that will see The Ringer MLB Show offered in April with two episodes per week, exclusively available on the platform.
 

WESA is adding another set of high-profile teams to its roster, announcing that SK Gaming and Renegades will join as full members, expanding the association’s presence in North America. “We’re thrilled that SK Gaming and Renegades have elected to add their esports brands to the growing collection of leading teams that comprise WESA,” said Ken Hershman, Executive Chairman and Commissioner of WESA. “These teams will be a positive influence within WESA, and their contributions in the months and years ahead will be an important part of enhancing our collective vision for the organization.”

Battlefy is lining up an online Splatoon tournament, dangling a trip to E3 2017 for contenders. The event will feature different game modes, including Turf War, Splat Zones, Tower Control and Rainmaker with the qualifying round (Turf War) slate for April 22 at 2p. The top 16 teams in the qualifying round will then move on to the finals, which begin on April 29.

Hi-Rez Studios is hunting for the next great caster, and is accepting audition videos for The Caster, an esports caster reality competition show that will see the winner receive $10,000 with an opportunity to get behind the mic at Hi-Rez Expo 2018, the annual esports world finals for SMITE and Paladins. More info can be found at TheCaster.Tv. Submissions close on April 10.

American Leisure Holdings finalized a merger with eSports media production company GG Media Network. Incoming management will now include GG Studios’ co-founder Christian Bishop as CEO for American Leisure.

VSiN named Bill Adee as the network’s Chief Operating Officer. Adee was previously VP of Business Development at tronc Inc. “There is no one better at monetizing digital content or creative deal making than Bill,” said Brian Musburger, founder and chairman of VSiN. “His understanding of the digital landscape and background in sports journalism make him the perfect choice to guide a sports gaming startup.”
 

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: Which broadcast legend holds the record for most years calling Yankee games? Answer: Most popular – Mel Allen. Correct – Phil Rizzuto. Kudos: Carl W. Schellenberger-VCA/NY; Kyle Helm-CBS Sports/NY; Rob Casalaina-ITN/NY; Chris Bartels-United Entertainment Group/NY; Randy Ingram-WISH-TV & MyINDY-TV/Indianapolis; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; John Kukla-KDFW/KDFI/Dallas; Gretchen Brady-KTVT/KTXA/Dallas; David. Hauptman/Denver; Jack Neumann-University of Calagary 5th Quarter Alumni Development/Calgary; Matt Sautter-Imagine Communications/Denver; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank; Gary Tarpinian-MorningStar Entertainment/Burbank; Alan Perris/Beverly Hills; George NeJame-NSQ Inc./Thailand.

Later — Chris
Chris Pursell for Cynopsis | Sports @VegasandVine
03.31.17

Roberta Caploe: Publisher @robertacaploe
Diane K Schwartz: Senior Vice President, Media Communications Group

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