05/11/18: Matchroom/Perform spark billion-dollar deal

Good morning. It’s Friday May 11, 2018 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

Matchroom Boxing and Perform Group are making history with the launch of a $1billion joint venture that marks the biggest-ever deal in boxing. Spanning eight years, the joint venture will be titles Matchroom Boxing USA and stage 16 fights a year “featuring some of the sport’s biggest stars at the best venues across America.” DAZN will serve as the exclusive US broadcast partner for the 16 US fight nights plus Matchroom’s existing 16 fight nights in the UK.

Simon Denyer, CEO of Perform Group, said: “Perform Group has a rich history of long term strategic partnerships with the best rights holders in world. I’m excited about working with Matchroom; we share the same passion and vision for reigniting boxing in the US and it’s time for DAZN to provide an exciting new platform for these great events. It’s a better deal for everyone – especially fight fans.”

ON THE AIR

Dick Vitale will continue his long run with ESPN, signing on for a contract extension that runs through the 2020-21. Vitale will continue his work as a game analyst on key matchups each week during the regular season, as well as Champ Week. He will also remain a contributor on numerous ESPN platforms, including SportsCenter, ESPN.com and more.

In other ESPN talent news, the company formally announced its full Monday Night Football commentator team. Joe Tessitore handles play-by-play, Jason Witten and Booger McFarland will serve as analysts and Lisa Salters returns as reporter. Tessitore and Witten will be in the booth, while McFarland will bring a new perspective to the games each week as the first field-level analyst for the show.

Nickelodeon recruited Chris Paul to serve as the host of this year’s Kids’ Choice Sports 2018 for Nickelodeon. The year’s event will run on July 22 at 8p after being taped live on July 19, from Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. Nominations will be announced next month and kids will be able to cast their votes for their favorite athletes and all-star moments from the past year.

TNT is laying claim to its most viewed second round coverage for the NBA Playoffs since 2013, averaging 4.9 million viewers, up 6% over last year. That has propelled the network to rank as cable’s top network in prime for the past three weeks. Meanwhile, since the start of the NBA Playoffs, Inside the NBA is averaging its most viewed telecasts since 2014 with the show’s two million viewership average up 6% vs. 2017.

NBCUniversal hits Championship Sunday this weekend, with all 10 Premier League matches presented live simultaneously on 10 different NBCUniversal television networks at 10 a. In addition, Telemundo and Universo will each televise one match in Spanish, while all 10 matches will be streamed on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for mobile devices and tablets. Here’s the slate:

Liverpool v. Brighton & Hove Albion – NBC
Newcastle v. Chelsea – NBCSN
Manchester United v. Watford – USA
Southampton v. Manchester City – SYFY
Swansea City v. Stoke City – CNBC
Huddersfield v. Arsenal – MSNBC
Tottenham v. Leicester City – Bravo
West Ham United v. Everton – E!
Crystal Palace v. West Bromwich Albion – Oxygen
Burnley v. Bournemouth – Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, NBC Sports Regional Networks

NBA TV premieres Open Court: Families on Saturday at 9p, offering viewers a glimpse into the lives of the families of NBA players Magic Johnson, Chris Paul, Shannon Brown and Chris Bosh – told from their wives’ perspectives. During this intimate discussion, Cookie Johnson, Jada Paul, Monica Brown and Adrienne Bosh share “the many dynamics of their roles as wives, mothers, entrepreneurs and philanthropists.” Kristen Ledlow hosts.

UFC renewed of its partnership with the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF). “We are thrilled to renew our partnership and provide continued global support of IMMAF,” UFC Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Ike Lawrence Epstein said. “IMMAF has done a remarkable job of promoting the sport of amateur mixed martial arts from a grassroots level and serving as a conduit for higher safety and regulatory standards. UFC is proud to further its alignment with IMMAF as they consistently produce top tier amateur events around the world.”

NBC Sports Chicago is picking up retired Bears running back Matt Forte to serve as a game day studio analyst for the upcoming 2018 NFL season. In addition to his game day analyst role, Forte is also scheduled to make additional appearances throughout the NFL season on a variety of NBC Sports Chicago’s programs and cross-platform portals.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Before the weekend… Be sure to register for:

Cynopsis Social Good Awards Breakfast

Tuesday, May 22 – 8:15-10:30 a.m. | Yale Club NYC

Celebrating social responsibility in the TV & entertainment industry.

Space is limited and tables are selling out quickly. Register yourself and your team today!

VIEW FINALISTS & REGISTER NOW!

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

Visa, acting as the Official Payment Services Partner of FIFA, announced the face of Visa’s 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia global marketing campaign would be Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The brand’s campaign, “Visa’s Ultimate FIFA World Cup FOMO,” (fear of missing out) will document Zlatan’s journey to the tournament and his return to the World Cup stage, joined by a roster of global social media influencers to “ensure all fan FOMO is defeated.” Influencers will represent Germany (freekickerz), Japan (Kotaro Tokuda), Mexico (Pamela Allier), United Kingdom (Chris MD) and Russia (Tatiana Vasilieva).

The Ladies Professional Golf Association announced a five-year partnership with The Dow Chemical Company to launch a new official LPGA Tour event in Michigan’s Great Lakes Bay Region next summer. The Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, a 72-hole two-person team event, will debut at Midland Country Club from July 17-20, 2019., marking the first official team event for the LPGA Tour,

The International Surfing Association locked in a renewal with VISSLA, as the Title Sponsor of the World Junior Surfing Championship for three more years through 2020. In addition, the ISA has today announced that Huntington Beach, California, will host the 2018 edition from October 27 to November 4.

Menswear brand Mizzen+Main locked in a new partnership that will see Phil Mickelson serve as an official Brand Ambassador of the line. The long-term partnership makes Mickelson an equity holder in the company, joining Houston’s JJ Watt as a major partner.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

Sports Illustrated and Major League Baseball announced the first of two co-produced long-form documentaries in 14 Back, which will be directed by 11-time Emmy Award-winning director and producer Jonathan Hock and debut on Sports Illustrated TV (SI TV) this fall. “14 Back” will focus on the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry during the summer of 1978, which ended in a climactic one-game playoff, serving up interviews with players, writers and celebrities on both sides of the rivalry.

At its upfront presentation, Telemundo announced plans to partner with SportsManias to create a World Cup-themed keyboard, providing fans with animated soccer emojis for this summer’s FIFA World Cup. The keyboard will feature animated emojis of players scoring goals and celebrating, referees pulling out red cards, fans waving their country’s colors, and more.

ESPORTS

Team Dignitas hired former NBC Sports’ Michael Prindiville to serve as its new CEO, sources confirm following an ESPN report. Prindiville served as the co-creator and COO of the Universal Open as part of the company’s partnership with FACEIT. The team is applying for a franchise slot in the 2018 EU LCS, and seeking entry into the next Overwatch League season, according to the report.

Speaking of which, ESPN writes that Overwatch League is looking to expand next season by four to six teams, with franchise prices ranging from to $30-60 million each, depending on the location.

THE MAIN EVENT

The PLAYERS Championship on Golf Channel today from 1-7p, and Saturday and Sunday on NBC from 2-7p.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

The Cynopsis Measurement & Data Conference

Thursday, August 2^nd | 10am – 3:30pm | Dream Downtown, NYC

Sponsored by TV Time

Consistent measurement in the video world, regardless of device, remains the single most difficult puzzle in today’s media landscape, and is far from being solved. That’s why the Measurement & Data Conference will advance the conversation by having leading thinkers and doers examine the thorniest points in the discussion so we can all move forward – successfully.

VIEW AGENDA SPONSORSHIPS REGISTER

ON THIS DAY in 1977: Ted Turner manages a Braves game.

In the Know: Which NBA team was Dick Vitale a coach for? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: Who is Navy’s career leader in passing yards? Answer: Jim Kubiak (most popular answer: Roger Staubach). Kudos: Denis Barry-CBS/NY; Ken White-KWTV/Charlotte; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA

Later – Chris

Chris Pursell @VegasandVine
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