Multiple reports state that Wayne Gretzky is heading to Turner Sports for its upcoming coverage of the NHL. The story, broken by the New York Post, says that Wayne Gretzky will serve as a lead analyst on Turner’s league studio show. The Hall of Famer announced Tuesday that he was stepping down as vice chairman of the Edmonton Oilers. The news is expected to be formally announced today. TNT and ESPN will take over NHL coverage from NBC beginning next season.
PROGRAMMING
CBS Sports saw its Sunday coverage of the PGA Championship swell to its most-watched final round of the vent in three years. Viewership grew 27% from last year, to average 6.583 million viewers, with viewership peaking at 13.053 million viewers.
Meanwhile, ESPN drew its second-largest audience of the 2020-21 NBA season for Friday’s telecast of the Grizzlies/Warriors State Farm NBA Play-In Tournament game. The telecast averaged 3,633,000 viewers and won the night in prime time across all of television, including in every key adult and male demo, according to Nielsen. Overall, ESPN’s three State Farm NBA Play-In Tournament game telecasts averaged 3,842,000 viewers, up 99% from the single Western Conference play-in game on ABC in 2020.
FOX Sports saw Baseball Night in America open its season with 2.589 million viewers for the franchise That marks an uptick of 48% over last year’s average for primetime games on FOX in addition to being up 10% over the program’s 2019 opener, according to Nielsen.
NBC Sports wrapped up its presentation of the 2020-21 Premier League season, which showcased 340 match windows and 914 hours of live match and studio coverage on the networks of NBCUniversal and Peacock. The five Championship Sunday matches on television registered a combined Total Audience Delivery of 1.4 million viewers (not counting the 10 matches streamed on Peacock). Premier League matches on NBC, featuring Sunday’s Liverpool/Crystal Palace match on Sunday averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 879,000 viewers this season – up 2% from last season. NBC Sports Group averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 414,000 viewers per match window for the 2020-21 season (does not include Peacock streaming or Spanish-language telecasts).
Around the dial, CBS Sports’ first full season of UEFA Champions League coverage culminates this week with the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final between Manchester City/Chelsea, airing on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ on Saturday at 3p. Peter Drury and Rob Green have the call. CBS Sports will introduce a new Star Cam as part of its coverage, with a dedicated camera tracking every movement and moment of one star player on each club. Each club’s Star Cam will be featured on Paramount+ as an additional viewing experience.
For the first time since its founding in 1891, the French Open will feature night sessions this year with Tennis Channel on deck to deliver them live to U.S. audiences as the network’s daily coverage of the 15-day major begins on the opening day of play on Sunday at 5a. Tennis Channel will provide 340 total hours of television coverage during its 15th year at the French Open. In addition to more than 140 hours of live matches, the network will show another 190-plus hours of encore replays and four-and-a-half hours of news-and-analysis show Tennis Channel Live at Roland Garros. Most days will feature at least 10 hours of live matches running from the start of play at 5a. Tennis Channel will also unveil a new Tennis.com website and complementary app on the eve of the French Open that gives users access to live matches embedded in scoreboards, a comprehensive tennis calendar that covers multiple tours, rankings, personalization features, gaming and a first-of-its-kind estimated-match-start-times function.
MLB Network announced that former MLB All-Star outfielder Chris Young joined its roster of on-air personalities as an analyst appearing across its programming. Young will make his debut on MLB Tonight on Memorial Day on Monday at 8p alongside host Greg Amsinger and analyst Sean Casey.
NBC Sports presents the 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Presented by Gainbridge from Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 30 at 11a on NBC. For the third consecutive year, the race will be called by Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Townsend Bell (analyst) and Paul Tracy (analyst). Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast, Dave Burns and Kevin Lee will serve as pit reporters.
NBC Sports also serve up live coverage of the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open across NBC, GOLF Channel and Peacock, beginning June 3 from The Olympic Club in San Francisco. In total, NBC Sports will provide nearly 25 hours of live championship coverage Thursday-Sunday. Microphne duties go to play-by-play host Rich Lerner with analyst Morgan Pressel; play-by-play host Grant Boone with analyst Paige Mackenzie; Tom Abbott in the tower; Karen Stupples, Jerry Foltz and Kay Cockerill as on-course reporters; and Amy Rogers providing interviews. In addition, NBC Sports will complement its comprehensive U.S Women’s Open coverage with live featured groups Thursday-Sunday, showcasing a morning group and an afternoon group each day of the Championship. Featured groups will be shown live on Peacock, USGA.org and the U.S. Women’s Open mobile app, and via DirecTV.
Meanwhile, GOLF Channel brings back “Golf’s Longest Day” on GOLF Channel on June 7, featuring live coverage and reports from U.S. Open Final Qualifying sites around the country. The following night, Tuesday, June 8, at 8 p.m. ET, GOLF Channel, in partnership with the USGA, will debut From Many, One: INSIDE THE 2021 U.S. OPEN. The three-part docuseries is headlined by 2020 U.S. Open Champion Bryson DeChambeau, San Diego native Xander Schauffele, and U.S. Amateur Champion Tyler Strafaci as they prepare for the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.
Telemundo Deportes’ Andres Cantor will call soccer matches in both English and Spanish at this summer’s Tokyo Olympics. Cantor will handle play-by-play for select matches in English in Tokyo. This summer’s Olympic soccer competition begins Wednesday, July 21 on the networks of NBCUniversal.
ESPN networks and ABC will combine to televise more than 140 live hours of the UEFA European Football Championship 2020 beginning June 11 with the opening match in Rome, through the Final on July 11 at Wembley Stadium in London. ESPN will televise 40 UEFA EURO 2020 matches, ESPN2 will air six, and ABC will broadcast five matches. ESPN+ will livestream all 51 matches via a second-screen experience with three different feeds – an aerial cam (tactical cam) and two additional feeds that provide fans with a combination of player and manager Iso-Cams, as well as audio from ESPN’s match commentators.
For the first time this season, MLB Network Showcase will feature an enhanced broadcast format from Statcast powered by Google Cloud when the White Sox host the Cardinals today at 2p. Called by Brian Kenny, Dan O’Dowd, Carlos Peña and MLB.com writer Mike Petriello, the broadcast will feature real-time data, game relevant analytics and thoughtful commentary all through the lens of Statcast. In-studio demonstrations and Statcast-focused essays written by Kenny will be part of the telecast.
CBS Sports revealed the announce team for live Concacaf Men’s Nations League Finals coverage from Denver, airing June 3-6. Analysts Clint Dempsey, Charlie Davies, Oguchi Onyewu, and host Kate Abdo will lead CONCACAF today, CBS Sports’ live pregame, halftime and postgame studio show, with contributions from Janelly Farias.
Triller Fight Club announced the ticket on sale for the Triller Fight Club June 19 event, dubbed “Fight Club-Greatest Showman,” which will mark the first time a world-class music festival line-up will perform a full concert prior to full boxing event. The first concert of the new Triller Live Concert Series presents Hip Hop superstar Meek Mill, Latin superstar Myke Towers, and Reggaeton sensation Lunay performing a full-set concert prior to the start of the June 19 Fight Club event at loanDepot park.
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Measurement & Data Virtual Conference
SESSION SPOTLIGHT | Targeting Niche Audiences
With an eye towards addressing a range of diverse constituencies, what should we be doing as an industry to better target and deliver to niche audiences – from both a programmer and marketer perspective. A look at microsegments and how they can be best combined. Hear from AARP, New York Interconnect, Telemundo, and ViacomCBS on
Wednesday, June 16 at 12:40pm.
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SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION
The PGA TOUR and the Charles Schwab Corporation announced an extension of the title sponsorship for the Charles Schwab Challenge, bringing the agreement’s tenure through 2026. The 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge will be contested this week, May 27-30, at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. “This tournament has such a significant place in golf – and Texas – history and Charles Schwab is honored to help continue its tradition during this historic 75th anniversary year – and now proudly through 2026,” said Jonathan Craig, senior executive vice president, Investor Services & Marketing at Charles Schwab. “The tournament has long held a deeper meaning given its history and is so important to the Metroplex community where our firm has a proud history and deep footprint of its own. We are honored to further our commitment to Colonial, its fans, and the Dallas-Fort Worth region, and as title sponsor, bring continued stability to this storied event.”
The U.S. Soccer Federation and Soccer United Marketing will not renew their commercial rights partnership when the current deal expires at the end of 2022. The USSF will now bring sponsorship and media rights deal in-house. By cutting ties with SUM, US Soccer will look to end talks of a potential conflict of interest between the national governing body and the country’s top soccer league.
SiriusXM is launching aa marketing initiative for the upcoming Indianapolis 500 this Sunday, both on the track and during the TV broadcast, serving as the co-title sponsor on two cars in the field for the Indy 500 on May 30. SiriusXM will adorn both the No. 06 Indy Car driven by three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and the No. 60 of Jack Harvey. SiriusXM’s sponsorship of both cars at the Indianapolis 500 will correspond with the company’s next free listening period, the SiriusXM Listen Free Event running May 26-June 8.
DIGITAL, DATA & TECH
The Associated Press and FanDuel Group announced an agreement that designated FanDuel the exclusive provider of sports odds across AP’s global sports report. Under the terms of the agreement, FanDuel Sportsbook odds will appear in AP’s daily sports odds fixtures, game previews, and other sports stories where odds are mentioned. AP will retain editorial control of all content. The parties will also look to integrate FanDuel widgets across the sports pages of APNews.com, as well as distribute select FanDuel content across the AP wire.
DDSports Inc. (ShotTracker) announced a new multiyear partnership with the Big 12 Conference and all of its men’s and women’s basketball programs to install and operate ShotTracker’s technology. “This partnership with the Big 12 Conference continues our upward growth not just in college basketball, but across the sports technology landscape,” said ShotTracker Co-Founder and President Davyeon Ross. “ShotTracker’s low latency data benefits coaches and teams while providing opportunities to drive production efficiency and revenue opportunities for additional partners. This includes utilizing the data to drive remote cameras along with expanded data capabilities to enhance the broadcasts and create more valuable content for the next season and beyond.”
Tappit unveiled a multi-year strategic relationship with Learfield IMG College. Tappit’s technology offers a “seamless” experience for fans to purchase food, drinks and merchandise, while colleges can use this data to understand their audience and personalize consumer engagement, bespoke offers, initiatives and communications.
ESPORTS
Riot announced plans to update and rebrand its co-streaming program with LCS returning on June 4. The LCS Watch Party Program will serve as a “new-look for the existing co-streaming initiative” with an eye to deepen the connection between LCS and program partners through more opportunities for content, more community engagement and more centralized communication with the LCS. Only members of the LCS Watch Party Program will be permitted to co-stream live LCS games and Academy games.
Team Liquid is extending its long relationship with SAP. The partnership, which began in 2018, has seen SAP support Liquid by implementing and co-developing innovative technologies that boost gameplay for the org’s Dota 2 and League of Legends teams. The company works closely with the squads, providing in-game data analytics and helping elevate match preparation routines and strategic insights. SAP will also support Team Liquid in its continued investment player growth and improvement, as well as recruitment of promising talent.
Anheuser-Busch InBev partnered with OpTic Gaming for the launch of esports viewing party platform TheCooldown.gg in the UK. The platform allows users to seek and request viewing parties at local bars, in addition to launching their own events., per EI.
FlyQuest unveiled a new logo and a fresh new visual look for the team’s brand. In that announcement, the team stated that “Now, ahead of the LCS Summer Split, it’s time to change things up, complete the rebrand we started in 2020, and reinforce our direction for the future.”
INDUSTRY & ROSTER MOVES
The NBA announced the formation of NBA Africa, a new entity that will conduct the league’s business in Africa, including the Basketball Africa League. The strategic investors include a consortium led by Babatunde “Tunde” Folawiyo, Chairman and CEO of Yinka Folawiyo Group; and Helios Fairfax Partners Corporation (HFP), led by Tope Lawani, Co-CEO of HFP and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Helios Investment Partners (“Helios”), HFP’s investment advisor. Lawani and Folawiyo will also join the NBA Africa Board of Directors, which is led by NBA Africa CEO Victor Williams and includes NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum.
Washington Football Team appointed Zaheer Benjamin as the organization’s first-ever VP of Business Intelligence & Analytics, reporting directly to team President Jason Wright. As part of Washington’s executive leadership team, Zaheer will oversee the organization’s data and analytics strategies to optimize marketing, brand performance and commercial success.
Learfield IMG College named Daniel Wittenberg as VP, branded content in its New York City office. Wittenberg spent eight years with Publicis Media in New York, most recently serving as vice president, content and partnerships, developing branded entertainment and integrated content marketing campaigns for leading brands.
Elevate Sports Ventures announced the acquisition of sports, live event and experiential design firm, Infinite Scale. “At Elevate Sports Ventures, we are hyper-focused on becoming the premier, full-service business strategy, property sales, and branding agency across global sports and entertainment; this new relationship with Infinite Scale, steeped in creative capabilities and solution-oriented deliverables, aligns perfectly with our goals. Additionally, people, culture and our commitment to be great teammates is at the core of who we are,” said Elevate Sports Ventures President Chip Bowers. “The new alignment with Infinite Scale further deepens our commitment to working alongside best-in-brand organizations operated by best-in-class people.”
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CYNOPSIS 2021 RESOURCE CENTER
An online asset for media execs looking for the latest in tech, streaming, network offerings, and tools to support their business initiatives.
www.cynopsis.com/resource-center |
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On this Day
1923: Inaugural 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race.
IN THE KNOW
Who was the first American women to win a gold medal at the Olympics? (Hint: it was in 1900 for golf.) (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city).
Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question
What is the nickname for Paul Brown Stadium? Answer: The Jungle. Kudos: Michael Ritz-Lenox Advisors/NY; Denis Barry-CBS Sales/NY; Michael Dittelman-Dedicated Sports Marketing/NY; Sam Pittman-Juniper & Berkeley/Raleigh; Mike May-R2 Innovative Technologies/Wellington; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton; Mark Lehman-Braves/Atlanta; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Greg Moloznik-GLM Media/Scottsdale; David Westberg-SAG•AFTRA Credit Union/Burban; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA
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PAID SOCIAL ANALYST >>
WARNERMEDIA/NYC or LA or ATLANTA or CHICAGO-currently REMOTE: Implement, plan, and measure paid social media campaigns for sponsored content across the WarnerMedia portfolio. Develop audience insights and analyze campaign performance. 1+ years working experience in paid social, digital marketing or social insights required. Full info HERE (6/9)
SVP, COMMUNICATIONS
OWN
WEST HOLLYWOOD
Design, lead, and manage all internal and external communication for the OWN brand. Work directly with talent, creatives, and more. Must have 15 years exp in comms/PR preferably with media (tv/streaming) exp. Full info HERE (6/8)
SR. MANAGER, PUBLICITY >>
PBS/ARLINGTON, VA: Develop and implement publicity campaigns for PBS primetime programs and digital initiatives. 6+ years exp in communications, publicity, and/or journalism. Broadcast/TV exp strongly preferred. Full info HERE (6/8)
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & REGIONAL MANAGER >>
NEXSTAR/IRVING, TX: Direct oversight of several markets and will report directly to the President of Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. Provide daily management and guidance of multiple General Managers and responsible for the achievement and growth of their assigned markets. Min. of 10 yrs in television management and sales required. Full info HERE (6/7)
QUALITY CONTROL TECHNICIAN – BROADCAST
A+E NETWORKS
STAMFORD
Bilingual Spanish Technician needed for the QC of AETN programs prior to Broadcast. Evaluate show and movie master files for technical quality, Standards & Practices, grammar, spelling and closed caption accuracy so AETN content meets network standards and air critical deadlines. Requires 2+ years of related experience and ability to read waveform/vector and audio scopes. Full info HERE (6/7)
CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT PRODUCER
MSG SPHERE
LOS ANGELES
Building, nurturing and managing creative talent partnerships for MSG Sphere, working under the direction of the VP Creative Development. Managing talent relationships for multiple simultaneous projects and overseeing relevant budget management. 10+ years’ creative digital experience required. Full info HERE (6/6)
PRODUCTION MANAGER & RESOURCE SCHEDULING
MSG SPHERE
LOS ANGELES
Manage the scheduling of all production and post-production staff and freelancers. Work with departmental leads to plan staffing needs and changes and maintain status of freelancer availability to meet short-term staffing needs. Min of 5 years of experience as a VFX, studio, network or post-production facility scheduler. Full info HERE (6/6)
GAME DIRECTOR
MSG SPHERE
NYC
Defining and ensuring that the creative vision is realized and translated for each project. Establish the creative design direction for all Interactive projects in collaboration with Art and Engineer directors and relevant MSG Ventures executives. Min 10+ years of Game Design Lead or Game Director experience required. Full info HERE (6/6)
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, AGENCY & BRAND SALES >>
KERV INTERACTIVE/CHICAGO AND LA: Build and grow relationships with key decision makers at agencies and brands. Develop and implement a revenue strategy for growing your territory and account list. Drive demand among buyers at agencies and brands. 3-5+ years in digital advertising (or related) sales role required. Full info HERE (6/5)
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, PUBLISHER PARTNERSHIPS >>
KERV INTERACTIVE/NYC AND LA: Develop key strategic partnerships with publishers, providers, and DSPs. Drive demand among partner sales teams and build and grow relationships with key decision makers, including sales and operations. 5+ years in digital advertising (or related) sales role required Full info HERE (6/5)
COORDINATOR, CREATIVE AFFAIRS
JIM HENSON COMPANY
LA
Manage substantial calendar and priority activity for the President of Television. Provide meaningful support to other television staff members. Code department invoices, maintain call sheet and process expense reports. Effective and tactful communication skills required. Full info HERE (6/5)
EXEC PRODUCER
TLC
NYC, LA or MD
Looking for a strong EP to create, produce and manage production across TLC programming. Must have 10+ years creative production experience in female-skewing long form unscripted content space. More info HERE (6/4)
SENIOR MANAGER, PROGRAMMING PAYMENTS
A+E NETWORKS
NYC
Review and process all executed media programming contracts for payment, including produced and acquired programming. Ensure that all payments are completed in a timely fashion per the agreements. Provide support to develop programming cash payment projections. Requires 6+ yrs experience working with contracts. Full info HERE (6/4)
AVID SYSTEM ENGINEER (Temporary)
A+E NETWORKS
NYC
Provide technical support for Production & Post-Production facility including installation, configuration and troubleshooting. Expert-level support experience for AVID Media Composer/Symphony workstations and expert-level support, installation, and configuration experience for the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite. Full info HERE (6/4)
COUNSEL (Temporary)
A+E NETWORKS
NYC
Provide legal and business affairs to unscripted content development, production, and sale for the domestic and/or global marketplace. Draft and negotiate various agreements relating primarily to nonfiction/real life/documentary projects and production. JD Degree with 4+ yrs legal experience in the entertainment field required. Full info HERE (6/3)
SENIOR PROGRAMMATIC DIGITAL BUYER
NY INTERCONNECT
NYC, NY
Responsible for the design, creation and execution of the NYI Trade Desk. Handle all hands-on programmatic media buying; design, launch and run trade platform and negotiate pricing for upcoming campaigns. 3-5 years’ experience in online Programmatic advertising min 1 year of hands-on programmatic buying experience required. Full info HERE (6/3)
PRODUCTION ATTORNEY (TEMPORARY)
A+E NETWORKS
NYC
Provide legal counsel to internal production groups on day-to-day production related matters. Pre-Broadcast and Production Counseling, Agreement Negotiation and Clearance Review, general Legal advice and Clearance review. 4-6+ years of legal practice required with preferred 2 years min of production firm legal experience. Full info HERE (6/3)
ACCOUNT MANAGER DIGITAL SALES
THE WEATHER GROUP
NYC, NY
Positively impact revenue, especially renewals, by building and delivering effective advertising service. Create media proposals, compile campaign and coordinate between departments. 3+ years proven work experience in digital video media required, experience in the OTT/FEP environment preferred. Full info HERE (5/28)
SALES PLANNER
E.W. SCRIPPS COMPANY
CHICAGO
Build, revise and maintain sales proposals, compile proposal requests and reweights and liaise with Sales, Pricing & Planning and Commercial Operations. 2+ years of industry related advertising experience required; college degree preferred. Full info HERE (5/28)
SALES PLANNER
E.W. SCRIPPS COMPANY
NYC
Build, revise and maintain sales proposals, compile proposal requests and reweights and liaise with Sales, Pricing & Planning and Commercial Operations. 2+ years of industry related advertising experience required; college degree preferred. Full info HERE (5/27)
AVP SENIOR COUNSEL – CONTENT >>
AT&T/EL SEGUNDO, CA: Partner with content distribution business clients to develop strategy, deal structure, desired rights and protections. Critically evaluate complex agreements. Clearly identify issues and opportunities to optimize DIRECTV’s position. Strong academic credentials from a highly recognized law school required. Full info HERE (5/27)
ASSOCIATE MANAGER, INTEGRATED MARKETING >>
INTERACTIVE ONE/NYC, NY: Concept and formulate both large- and small-scale ideas into innovative, marketable programs. Champion and help implement the vision and go-to-market strategy and digital sales positioning. Minimum 2-years of digital advertising sales marketing experience required. Full info HERE (5/27)
ASSOCIATE MANAGER, INTEGRATED MARKETING >>
INTERACTIVE ONE/NYC, NY: Lead and implement the strategic and creative development as well as management of revenue-generating marketing. Oversee the day-to-day management of all digital pre-sales and post-sales responsibilities. Minimum 2-years of digital advertising sales marketing experience required. Full info HERE (5/27)
MANAGER, INTEGRATED MARKETING >>
INTERACTIVE ONE/NYC, NY: help craft sales strategies and creative solutions in response to RFPs as well as help build a roster of off-the-shelf and custom program offerings to support and drive the sales process. Minimum 4-years of digital advertising sales marketing experience required. Full info HERE (5/26)
LEGAL OR BUSINESS AFFAIRS >>
BROADWAY VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT/NYC, NY: Negotiating, reviewing and drafting production and distribution agreements. Traffic outside counsel workflow including maintaining overall counsel budget and shepherding invoices. Law degree or paralegal or business affairs experience with demonstrated interest in Entertainment industry. Full info HERE (5/26)
ASSOCIATE PROGRAM PRODUCER >>
HEARST TELEVISION/WASHINGTON DC: Ideation, researching, booking, writing, field producing, script editing, studio producing, control room supervision, rights clearance, digital development and travel planning. Exceptional story-telling, conceptualization and visualization skills required. 7+ years of experience as a show or line producer. Full info HERE (5/26)
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