05/04/17: Verizon wins London game

Good morning. It’s Thursday May 4, 2017 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

Verizon
stepped up to snag rights to stream London’s Raven/Jaguars game on Sept. 24, paying a reported $21 million in the deal with the NFL. The contest, according to the WSJ, will be showcased via three of Verizon’s platforms, including the likes of AOL, Complex and go90, as well as Yahoo if the pending $4.5 billion deal for that company is finalized. The London matchup will be shown on the NFL Mobile app to Verizon Wireless customers, as well as the NFL app on Xbox One and Windows 10. TV telecasts will be limited to team markets in Baltimore and Jacksonville.

ON THE AIR

Speaking of deals, t
he AVP and long-time beach volleyball media partner NBC Sports Group are renewing vows, agreeing to a television partnership for a third consecutive season. NBC Sports Group will offer coverage of all eight AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour events of the season on NBC and NBCSN, with additional content offered across digital and social platforms including AVP.com and across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and more. “We are pleased to team up with NBC Sports as our broadcast partner,” said Donald Sun, managing partner, AVP. “They have been involved in our industry for a very long time and their extensive knowledge about the game of beach volleyball and how to best showcase it to a broad audience is truly valuable. We can’t think of a better network to be affiliated with.”

NBC Sports’ coverage of the AVP Tour begins in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Sunday at 5p on NBCSN, with Chris Marlowe serving as play-by-play announcer for all AVP telecasts on NBC and NBCSN, joining Kevin Wong, Dain Blanton and Tanith White. Meanwhile, the AVP season will include social media content, a AVP Spotify Station featuring set playlists from AVP athletes and the official DJ of the tour, DJ Roueche, as well as an AVP Live Experience and a new AVP Beach Volley: Copa Mobile Game.

TNT’s
coverage of Tuesday’s Wizards/Celtics game averaged 4.8 million viewers, up 29% over 2016 numbers. The network’s doubleheader on Tuesday led the net to win the night on cable and ranked as the most viewed night to-date of the 2017 NBA Playoffs

Speaking of audiences, ESPN is touting that
First Take’s
shift to the flagship channel on Jan 3 has resulted in an audience boost of
12% for the show while its “reach” – the total number of people who watch the show – has grown 63% larger. The series has averaged 445,000 viewers on its new channel, up 12% from 397,000 for the show on ESPN2 in same time period a year ago.

With the deadline to the
Cynopsis Rising Star Awards
a little over a month away, submissions are flooding in and we’re getting excited to honor this group of young professionals who have demonstrated great work in the media industry over the past year.
Nominate your star today
– and join us as for a celebratory awards reception this September in NYC.

Can the Minions produce a winner?
NBC Sports Group’s Kentucky Derby Week
coverage will include predictions from a lineup of celebrities, including America’s Got Talent’s Simon Cowell, Mel B, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and Tyra Banks, the Minions, Andy Cohen and Jim Cantore. Their picks will be revealed during NBC’s Kentucky Derby broadcast on Saturday. Meanwhile, Ashley Judd will be the voice of NBC Sports’ show open as well as select scene-setting vignettes for the 143rd Kentucky Derby this Saturday, marking the third year that the University of Kentucky graduate joins NBC Sports for the event.

Following the recent layoffs at ESPN, ACC Commissioner John Swofford sent a memo that leaked on social media channels to conference representatives reassuring them that the league’s upcoming network was still on track, stating that he had conversations with ESPN chief John Skipper, who gave confirmation that the ACC/ESPN linear network launch is still at “full speed” and was unaffected by the cuts.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

How to Program & Market a Winning Social Good Strategy

May 23, 2017 Webinar

Social good initiatives can be a powerful connector between networks, viewers and brands, but it’s crucial for companies to champion causes and produce social good content that align with their brand values.
Our expert panel, including Young & Rubicam’s: Chief Client Officer,
Shelly Diamond
, and Chief Strategy Officer,
Belle Frank
, as well as AT&T’s Senior Manager of Corporate Responsibility,
Brynne Dunn Jones
,
will
share insights and case studies on how doing good can be good business.

Register

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

NFL Experience Times Square
,
created by Cirque du Soleil and in partnership with the NFL
and opening up in Times Square In November, revealed details about some of the experiences available at the interactive attraction. The attraction will offer fans “a chance to step into the shoes of an NFL player through various physical challenges, augmented reality, immersive elements and a 4D cinematic experience with exclusive content from NFL Films to give fans the ability to step inside the huddle.” Fans will be able to:
participate in a series of interactive challenges – including a vertical leap test and blocking obstacles; receive o
ne-on-one instruction from a hologram of a NFL legendary coach and learn an actual play in a space that replicates a coach’s classroom; test their skills by throwing a real football to their favorite receiver, feeling the thrill of a Super Bowl victory by completing the game-winning pass; and share the stage with the
Vince Lombardi
Trophy
and experience the iconic trophy up-close just like a Super Bowl victor.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

Hulu
announced the launch of the company’s new live TV streaming beta service, to watch live and on demand programming from more than 50 sports, news, entertainment and kids’ channels — plus Hulu’s deep existing premium streaming library —for $39.99 per month. The service includes 50 hours of recording storage, up to six individual profiles and two simultaneous streams per account. National sports offerings include ESPN, FS1, FS2, NBCSN, BTN, TNT, Golf Channel and CBS Sports Network, along with regional offerings.

FEI TV
unveiled a new look and improved functionalities, partnering with NeuLion to bring a fully redesigned user experience online at www.fei.tv and on mobile through the new FEI TV app. The new service is now available, with live action starting today with the top 4* Eventing FEI Classics. FEI TV broadcasts live competition action from around 100 events annually across the globe.

espnW
in conjunction with ESPN Audio is launching a new podcast, titles Free Cookies, in which espnW writer Kate Fagan and Kathryn Budig co-host and interview guests to discuss topics that include sports, fitness, wellness and lifestyle with a guest each week.

NBC Sports Group begins coverage of the IAAF Diamond League this Friday with the first event of the season in Qatar at noon on Universal HD and streamed live on NBC Sports Gold’s “Track and Field Pass.” As a part of its coverage, NBC Sports Gold will present multiple streams, including every event from Doha, highlights, replays, and an exclusive 30-minute preview of the event.

Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo became the first male and the first athlete to reach 100M followers on Instagram yesterday. Over the past year, his account has grown by an 43M followers where he now joins Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Beyonce and Taylor Swift as members of the 100M+ club.

ESPORTS

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

ESL and Wonderworld VR deepen the connection
Clash Royale’s seven-figure tournament
Bethesda maps out E3 plans
Rocket League enters WWE ring
Blizzard delivers on Gnomes
GG Media Network appoints top brass

THE MAIN EVENT

Celtics/Wizards on ESPN at 8p.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Entries are open for The Cynopsis Kids !magination Awards

For the sixth consecutive year, Cynopsis is honoring the best in children’s, tween and family programming across platforms, technology, marketing and prosocial campaigns. Winners will be recognized at the 6th annual awards event on September 19, 2017 in New York City.
Enter NOW (while early rates apply)

ON THIS DAY in 1973: Secretariat wins the 99th running of the Kentucky Derby.

In The Know
: What is the name of the jockey who rode Secretariat at the Kentucky Derby? (Email
[email protected]
with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: What was the name of the last filly to win the Kentucky Derby? Answer: Winning Colors. Kudos: Steve Kantscheidt-THREE/Saratoga Springs; Rick Rosenfelt-New York Red Bulls/Harrison; Brittany Neu-Bandy Carroll Hellige/Louisville; Troy Perlowitz-ESPN/Charlotte; Ken White-KWTV/Charlotte; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Nick Monroe-Monroe Photography/San Diego

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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