DAZN and Golden Boy sealed a multi-year, multi-fight partnership designed to “deliver championship boxing and unearth the next generation of boxing talent.” The venture expands on the relationship first inked in 2018 with a five-year deal. The partnership will include championship fight nights alongside a new prospect development series titled Golden Boy Fight Night on DAZN, a monthly boxing series hosted by boxing broadcaster Beto Duran and boxing Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins. Additional events to follow in 2022 will include the return of undefeated superstars Jaime Munguia, Ryan Garcia, and Vergil Ortiz, Jr. in June, July, and August, respectively.

“We are delighted to extend our partnership with Golden Boy,” said Ed Breeze, EVP Rights, DAZN. “Golden Boy has an excellent stable including some of the hottest prospects in boxing, and their shows always feature non-stop action from the first bell to the last. As part of our new partnership, we will be looking to unearth the next generation of boxing talent in our new development series ‘Golden Boy Fight Night on DAZN’.”

PROGRAMMING

TNT saw its coverage of the 2022 NBA Western Conference Finals Game 1, featuring Golden State’s blowout victory over Dallas, average 6.5 million total viewers on Wednesday night to deliver the network’s most-watched NBA Conference Finals Game since 2018. The network’s Mavericks/Warriors telecast is up 21% over TNT’s presentation of the 2021 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 1. Overall, TNT’s 2022 NBA Playoffs coverage has led the network to win the night on cable in primetime 18 times. TNT continues to deliver its most watched NBA Playoffs coverage since 2018, averaging 3.8 million total.

Around the dial, Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, in which the Heat topped Celtics 118-107, was the most-watched Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 since 2018, according to Nielsen. The ESPN telecast averaged 6,070,000 viewers, and was up 13% from last year’s Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 In Boston, Game 1 generated a 14.0 rating, making it the highest-rated Conference Finals game in the market since Game 7 in 2018. In Miami, Game 1 delivered an 8.2 rating.

ESPN also saw upticks as it launched Round 2 of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, with Game 1 of the Rangers/Hurricanes matchup averaging 1.7 million viewers for a 10% uptick over the comparable game a year ago, while its coverage of the Oilers/Flames notched 894,000 viewers, up 40%.

NBC Sports serves up coverage of 2022 Roland-Garros matches, beginning with the first round in Paris on Sunday at 1p on NBC and Peacock. Live coverage culminates with the women’s final on June 4 at 9a and the men’s final on June 5 at 9a on NBC and Peacock. Dan Hicks handles play-by-play alongside analysts Mary Carillo and John McEnroe. Over the course of the next three weeks, NBC Sports EDGE will provide Roland-Garros betting content, including daily best bets advice from analysts Drew Dinsick and Kenny Ducey.

Meanwhile, Tennis Channel will add two former top-ranked tennis champions to its roster during its French Open coverage. Pam Shriver and Caroline Wozniacki will be in Paris for the network for the first time. Matches will run all day on Tennis Channel again this year, with additional competition live and on-demand on streaming service Tennis Channel Plus, select Bally Sports regional networks around the country, and new Samsung TV Plus channel T2. Shriver will call matches for the network during the tournament.

NBC Sports is also taking on the 2022 NCAA Women’s and Men’s Golf Championships with nearly 80 hours of coverage Presented by Stifel and Geico on GOLF Channel over the next two weeks from Scottsdale, beginning with the Women’s Individual and Team Match Play Championships on May 23-25. GOLF Channel will present close to 30 hours of live Championship coverage for both the Women’s and Men’s Championships (May 30-June 1). Play by Play will be handled by Bob Papa with analyst Paige Mackenzie.

The Pac-12 conference instituted a change to how it will determine the teams that qualify for the Pac-12 Football Championship Game. Starting in 2022, the two teams with the highest conference winning percentage will now face off in the championship game. This change would have resulted in a different Pac-12 Football Championship matchup in 5 of the past 11 years. The current Pac-12 conference football schedule, based upon two divisions, will remain in place for the 2022 season. Scheduling scenarios for seasons beyond 2022 will continue to be reviewed.

Turner Sports detailed more info for Capital One’s The Match – headlined by a foursome of Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers teaming up to face Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen – on TNT, starting at 6:30p on June 1 with simulcasts available on truTV and HLN. Fans watching outside the U.S. will also be able to watch the star-studded event through Warner Bros Discovery Sports channels and platforms, marking the first time Turner Sports and its international sports partners have collaborated to deliver true global distribution and audience reach for a sports event. Ernie Johnson will host the live telecast, alongside Charles Barkley, J.J. Watt, Trevor Immelman and Amanda Renner.

The BIG3 announced its fifth season will tip off on June 18 at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago for 12 weeks of FIREBALL3 action. The regular season will include two weeks in Chicago and seven in Dallas before the playoffs and Championship Game. Following the Championship Game, the BIG3 will debut an All-Star Game at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas. “With so much game changing news from our league over the last month, we are thrilled to be sharing our schedule for this summer,” said BIG3 CEO, Chris Hannan. “Our fans in Chicago, Dallas, and Atlantis brought the fire last year and we can’t wait to welcome them back this summer for our best season yet.”

UFC is set to hit Paris on Sept. 3, at the Accor Arena, marking the organization’s first-ever event in France. Following formal recognition of MMA by the French Ministry of Sport in early 2020, the French Broadcast Authority (ARCOM) authorized the broadcast of MMA events in France and the National Gaming Authority (ANJ) began allowing betting operators in France to offer wagering on UFC bouts.

The Big Sky Conference locked in a deal with The E.W. Scripps Company for Scripps stations in markets with Big Sky schools to broadcast football games and men’s and women’s basketball games beginning in the 2022-23 academic year. The Big Sky Conference will retain rights to digitally distribute and stream programming via the ESPN+ app both within and outside the league’s footprint, and these broadcasts on Scripps will not be subject to any blackout restrictions.

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SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

The Carrier Dome is no more. Syracuse University and JMA Wireless announced a 10-year partnership for naming rights of the university’s famed indoor stadium, which will now be called the JMA Wireless Dome. The university also announced that JMA Wireless will install the advanced connectivity offerings inside the dome. The university announced in April that Carrier Global Corp. had agreed to end Carrier’s claim on naming rights to the venue.

Relevent Sports Group announced that Ally, a financial services company will serve as the presenting sponsor for the 2022 Women’s International Champions Cup. This is the third year for Ally as a sponsor of the annual summer soccer tournament featuring the top clubs from Europe and the US. “Ally has been a long-time supporter of the Women’s International Champions Cup and of women’s soccer, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to expand that relationship even further with them as the presenting sponsor of this summer’s tournament,” WICC head Susie Fiore said. “Ally truly is an ally in promoting equality on and off the field.”

DIGITAL, DATA & TECH

MLB.TV set numerous records for streaming through the first part of the 2022 season. Overall, fans watched more than 2.8 billion minutes of live games on MLB.TV, the most-watched 40-day period in the history of MLB.TV. Total games watched are up 9% compared to last season’s previously record total on MLB.TV over the same time period. This season has also marked the three most-watched games ever and seven of the top 10 most-watched games ever, led by Red Sox/Yankees from April 8.

Premier Rugby Sevens, the new North American league that will launch nationwide in multiple cities this July, announced that Fubo Sports Network acquired the exclusive rights to stream all major PR7s tournaments in 2022. Fans in the United States and Canada can stream each tournament live on Fubo Sports Network for free on LG Channels, Samsung TV Plus, The Roku Channel, Vizio Channels, Sports on Tubi, Plex, Hisense Smart TVs, and XUMO.

StellarAlgo unlocked a partnership with the ECHL, the professional developmental hockey league to the NHL and AHL. This deal will provide all 28 ECHL teams with “secure, efficient and reliable access to their customer data, enabling them to better understand and engage with their fans, and provide league executives with a comprehensive, in-depth view of each team’s performance.”

ESPORTS

FaZe Clan appointed Zach Katz as President and Chief Operating Officer. Katz, who has over 20 years of experience in the music content and talent business, will oversee FaZe Clan’s content, talent, merchandise, consumer goods, sponsorships and esports businesses. “FaZe Clan sits at the intersection of gaming, creator economy and culture, all of which we believe is leading the growth of Web3,” says Lee Trink, CEO of FaZe Clan. “We are squarely focused on building the future and by adding Zach to our team, we are gaining a proven leader who has extensive experience in working with innovative, cultural brands. Through my long standing relationship with Zach, I trust that he will help catapult our company into the next phase of growth, and bring operational excellence to FaZe as we become a public company.”

The Overwatch League hits Texas for the Dallas Fuel Kickoff Clash on June 2-5 at Esports Stadium Arlington. Eight teams from the West region, which spans North America and includes the hometown favorites the Dallas Fuel, will qualify to compete at the tournament for a prize pool of $225,000. Texas-based on-demand delivery service Favor signed on as presenting sponsor of the event, with Jack Link’s and Aim Lab also sponsoring.

NYXL and SPORTFIVE are partnering up with SPORTFIVE serving as the exclusive worldwide commercial sales agency for NYXL and supporting the commercial development of the recently rebranded NYXL’s esports and gaming initiatives. “NYXL is both a proven esports entity and a forward-thinking lifestyle property, committed to reaching the casual gaming community here in the New York metropolitan area,” said Ryan Polun, Head of Esports and Gaming, Americas for SPORTFIVE. “We are excited for the opportunity to help cement the company as a top lifestyle and entertainment brand.”

DreamHack Dallas, the three-day, immersive gaming lifestyle festival, revealed more of its schedule, including live music concerts, Fortnite, panels, teams competing in the Collegiate Rocket League World Championship, and more. Three acts will be taking the main stage to provide live music concerts during DreamHack Dallas including Motionless in White, Jonathan Young with special guest Caleb Hyles and CMD81.

Psyonix and Nissan announced the launch of the Nissan Z Performance Bundle available in Rocket League on all platforms from May 26-June 7. As part of its broader gaming strategy, Nissan is also sponsoring a variety of Rocket League Esports events including the upcoming Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) North American Regional event, dubbed “the Nissan Classic,” from May 27-29. Nissan is also the presenting sponsor for both the Collegiate Rocket League (CRL) World Championship, beginning June 3, and the upcoming Fall 2022 CRL Season.

Multiple FIFAe esports finals are coming together with three key tournaments coming to Copenhagen, for the single largest event ever hosted in FIFAe history this July. Events will include the FIFAe World Cup 2022 from July 14-17; FIFAe Club World Cup 2022 from July 20-23 and the FIFAe Nations Cup 2022 from July 27-30.

SNK CORPORATION is announced the official KOF XV ICFC Weekly will kick off on May 26. The series is an official online tournament for KOF XV, jointly organized by SNK and ten/o LLC. The online tournament will be held every Thursday in three regions: Asia, North America, and Europe.

INDUSTRY & ROSTER MOVES

The Professional Fighters League announced the completion of a $30 million Series E equity round to fund global expansion and launch its new PPV Super Fight Division, with investors that include Alex Rodriguez. The Series E funding round was led by Waverley Capital, the media and digital focused venture capital firm co-led by Edgar Bronfman, Jr. and Daniel Leff. As a result of the financing, both Alex Rodriguez and Daniel Leff have joined the PFL Board of Directors.

U.S. Soccer and the men’s and women’s national teams announced a collective bargaining agreement that will see the teams’ athletes receive equal pay. The deal kicks in on June 1 and runs through 2028, and will see World Cup prize money pooled between the two teams and then split equally. Female players will now have the same pay-to-play payment structure as the men and the teams will also split revenue made commercially (10% of revenue between $55 million and $75 million and 15% above $75 million) and at events.

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ON THIS DAY in
1997: Frank Thomas reaches base safely for the 15th straight time.

IN THE KNOW
Name a pro quarterback who appeared in one of the Cannonball Run movies. (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city).

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question
In 2000, who was voted as the greatest female athlete in the 20th century by Sports Illustrated? Answer: Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Kudos: Luke Tarby-A+E Networks/NY; Denis Barry-CBS/NY; Michael Ritz-Lenox Advisors/NY; Roger Furman-Sports Marketing Communications/Greentown; Louis Lewow-FITE/Atlanta/Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG•AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank

Cynopsis Team