Tough Mudder is teaming up with Amazon, the “Official Online Retailer” for Tough Mudder’s 2017 events season, to launch an online health and personal care resource. The agreement will include unique and engaging health, training and wellness content produced by Tough Mudder, an Amazon.com/ToughMudder storefront and on-site event presence at Tough Mudder’s North American events in 2017.
ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike earlier launched its “Mike & Mike’s Dream Finals” sweepstakes, presented by Dell for Small Business, encouraging listeners around the country to tune in for a daily NBA-themed “Winning Word” for an opportunity to receive a grand prize trip to the NBA Finals 2017. For the first time ever, Mike & Mike will give away a different grand prize package each week of the campaign. Each grand prize will feature a “unique, one-of-a-kind fan experience” at an NBA Finals 2017 game, including attending all games of the NBA Finals, one game for the winner and seven friends and the winner attends one NBA Finals Game with $7,000 cash in-hand.
PGA Golfer Paul Casey is launching the “Paul Casey’s Pledge for UNICEF” campaign to give fans the opportunity to join him in pledging for each birdie Casey hits this year. Paul is partnering with PLEDGE IT – the nation’s first and only performance-based crowdfunding platform for the effort.
FanDuel named TuneIn as the company’s exclusive streaming audio partner. FanDuel integrated a custom “TuneIn Button” onto its desktop platform and mobile app, which appears when TuneIn enabled games are being broadcasted and listeners can access an array of sports coverage. “We are dedicated to elevating the game-day experience for sports fans and making that experience more immersive on our platform,” said Mike Pine, Head of Integrated Partnerships, FanDuel. “Content and sports go hand-in-hand and this partnership represents our first big step to bring live sports content directly into the fantasy sports environment.”
The Telemundo Deportes EN VIVO app is now available on Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV, in addition to being Chromecast enabled. The launch of the app, according to the company, marks the first time a US network has offered a stand-alone, fully-dedicated Spanish-language sports app on connected TV devices. “We are committed to continue enhancing Telemundo Deportes’ multiplatform offerings, so fans can have access to their favorite sports events whenever they want and on the screen of their choice,” said Joaquin Duro, Director of Digital Sports for Telemundo Deportes. “As the Telemundo Deportes EN VIVO app continues to attract our viewers, we are excited to offer them more ways to consume our content across all devices.”
The Players’ Tribune is launching The Rematch, a podcast hosted by 11-year NBA veteran Etan Thomas that “explores the dynamics of how athletes are portrayed in the media, and challenges the nature of popular opinion.” The eight-episode series will be available on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s Injustice 2 is getting a big esports play via the Injustice 2 Championship Series Presented by PlayStation 4. The event sees Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment team with ESL, Gamelta esports Professional League, GameStop, PlayStation 4 entertainment system and Twitch to build the fighting game community with players contending for a portion of a $600,000 prize pool. The best players from a slate different programs will qualify for the Injustice™ 2 Championship Series grand finals that will take place this autumn. Programs include: the Injustice 2 Pro Series; Injustice 2 GameStop Hometown Heroes; Injustice 2 Path to Pro Tournament and the Injustice 2 Liga Latina.
Team Liquid is once again teaming with Dell gaming brand Alienware for 2017-2018, marking the sixth consecutive year of their partnership. Alienware will offer Team Liquid gaming laptops, desktop computers and additional Dell technology. “Team Liquid and Alienware both have long histories in esports and when you think of high-performance gaming PCs, Alienware stands out in the market,” said Steven Arhancet, Co-CEO of Team Liquid.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross are reportedly among the first to purchase franchise slots for the upcoming Overwatch League, according to a report from Richard Lewis and Dot Esports. Lewis’ sources say that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick secured the deals personally, noting that “at this time it isn’t clear if the teams will compete under their existing brands or whether new ones will be created but with the focus on regional franchises it’s clear which territories the teams will cover.”
2K announced that NBA 2K will feature Shaquille O’Neal on the cover of the NBA 2K18 Legend Edition. “I want to thank NBA 2K for their continuous support of my basketball and broadcast career,” said O’Neal, whose Hall of Fame enshrinement late last year celebrates a storied 19-year career. “I’m excited to be on the cover of the NBA 2K18 Legend Edition and I hope my fans have a blast playing it up big man style and re-creating my most legendary in-game moments!”
VSiN is appointing Rick Jaffe as Executive Producer for the new network. Most recently, jaffe served as Senior Vice President for News at FOX Sports. In this newly created position at VSiN, he will oversee content production both on-air and online at VSiN. “Rick’s more than 16 years at FOX Sports make him uniquely qualified to help us take VSiN to the next step in its evolution,” said Brian Musburger, founder and chairman of VSiN. “We’ve made great progress as we approach 90 days on the air, and there’s no one better than Rick to accelerate our video efforts and oversee the significant expansion of our programing in anticipation of football season. We’re proud to add such an innovative and experienced media executive to the VSiN team at this key moment.”
David Bertram is leaving JMI Sports and his role as Vice President of Campus Marketing and Digital Media for UK Sports & Campus Marketing to launch Bertram Marketing Group, which will look to provide business development services for companies seeking to enter the collegiate marketing space, specifically technology companies with innovative solutions for athletics.
Wizards/Celtics on TNT at 8p.
