| WWE locked in three additions to the organization’s senior leadership team, including the appointment of Jamie Horowitz as Executive Vice President, Development & Digital, where will oversee much of WWE’s original content including scripted and unscripted programs for digital and social media and be responsible for WWE Studios in Los Angeles. Most recently, Horowitz served as Executive Vice President, Global Content at DAZN. WWE also named Samira Shah as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, and Matt Drew as Senior Vice President, International.
Finally, WWE announced that Steve Koonin, Connor Schell and Nick Khan have been elected to its Board of Directors.
PROGRAMMING
Leading with some talent news today, Triller Fight Club is tapping the talents Jim Lampley as its new lead play-by-play voice. Lampley will open his multi-fight deal with the June 19 Triller Fight Club card at Miami’s loanDepot park, which will feature both men’s and women’s undisputed world title fights for the first time. “I am impressed that Triller Fight Club is aggressively seeking to put together the best telecast possible, and it is that mentality that makes Triller the best possible platform for my return to ringside,” said Lampley. “This first telecast features Teofimo Lopez, conqueror of the great Vasiliy Lomachenko and an exciting new talent who has already made a historic mark on the sport. That says it all for me.”
Sportscaster Brian Custer joined ESPN as an anchor for SportsCenter in addition to serving as a play-by-play commentator for college football and basketball. Custer will begin his SportsCenter duties in July and begin calling college sports in the fall. He joins ESPN from Fox Sports, where he had called college football, college basketball and boxing since 2014. He also has been co-host of a program on SiriusXM NBA Radio. In addition to his ESPN duties, Custer will continue his role as host for Showtime Championship Boxing.
Athletes Unlimited landed deals with CBS Sports Network, FOX Sports, Facebook and YouTube to become the primary broadcast and streaming partners for the upcoming debut of Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse, which offers a 30-game inaugural season from July 23-Aug. 22. CBS Sports Network delivers seven games including each week’s matchup of the top two teams by draft order as well as the final game of the season. FOX Sports carries 15 games with 11 on FS1 and four on FS2.
NBC Sports serves up live coverage of the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open across NBC, GOLF Channel and Peacock starting tomorrow with more than 25 hours of live championship coverage Thursday-Sunday. Throughout the week, GOLF Channel surrounds the U.S. Women’s Open with live pre- and post-event coverage on GOLF Central Live From the U.S. Women’s Open. 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. In total, there will be approximately 30 hours of additional digital coverage in 2021.
WWE will deliver SummerSlam on August 21 from a summer destination location that will be revealed during the 2021 Belmont Stakes’ pre-race show on NBC on Saturday. The event will stream live exclusively on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else. WWE also announced its next 21 live events as part of the company’s touring schedule this summer.
Cage Fury Fighting Championships is launching FURY Professional Grappling, “a new high-level showcase for elite grappling competitors and fighters from around the world.” FURY Professional Grappling’s debut event takes place July 1, at Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena. Tickets.
FOX Deportes landed 858,000 viewers for Cruz Azul’s win over Santos laguna on May 27. That is up 73% over last year’s Torneo Apertura final first leg match on cable.
Bally Sports West and the LA Clippers will televise the first-ever augmented broadcast of a live sporting event on a regional linear platform with “Clippers Kids Cast powered by Bally Sports” tonight. Second Spectrum will drive the technology behind the broadcast as Noah Eagle, Corey Maggette and 10-year-old sports reporter Pepper Persley offer commentary. The program will feature graphics layered on by machine learning in real-time will include player-specific animations like Kawhi Leonard hitting 3s from Moreno Valley, Paul George fishing and Reggie Jackson’s “Reggie Vision” goggles, plus lightning bolts and logos that punctuate big plays. Eagle, Maggette and Persley will narrate the game while integrating fun facts about the players and themselves, highlighting Gen Z members of Clipper Nation and relating to fans through the Xs and Os of basketball.
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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
MLB revealed a collection of activities to celebrate the inaugural “Lou Gehrig Day” today with efforts that include special moments at Major League ballparks and a series of fundraising efforts aimed at supporting charitable organizations, notably the Expanded Access Protocol (EAP) program at the Sean M. Healey and AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital (Healey Center for ALS). ALS Advocate Steve Gleason will be featured in a special ballpark moment highlighted during the 4th inning of all Lou Gehrig Day games. Plus, MLB Clubs home on Lou Gehrig Day will host special ceremonies and activities at their ballparks and each home Club also will display “4-ALS” logos in ballparks, commemorating Gehrig’s uniform number “4.”
The Pac-12 Conference is beginning its celebration of Pride Month by announcing its partnership with LGBT SportSafe, an organization that helps athletic leadership champion a culture of respect and inclusion through policy-making, inclusion training, and public awareness initiatives. The Pac-12 has been consulting and working with members from the organization for the last year leading up to the partnership, and LGBT SportSafe has also partnered with several Pac-12 member institutions. “The Pac-12 Conference takes PRIDE in our LGBTQIA+ student-athletes, coaches, staff, fans and community,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott. “We stand in solidarity with those that embrace individuality, diversity and equality. Inclusion is a core value at the Pac-12 and its member universities. All human beings should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear, regardless of who they are or whom they love.”
MotoAmerica announced that GEICO signed on as an official partner of the MotoAmerica Championship through the 2023 season. In addition to its series sponsorship, GEICO will also return as the title sponsor of the GEICO Motorcycle MotoAmerica Superbike Speedfest of Monterey, July 9-11, at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. “GEICO’s partnership shows their belief in MotoAmerica and road racing, as well as support for motorcycling in general,” said MotoAmerica President Wayne Rainey. “We also look forward to having GEICO as the title sponsor of our event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. After racing without fans last year, this year promises to more than make up for that. Stay tuned for information on what we have planned for Laguna as it’s going to be a spectacular event for our fans in attendance.”
The NHL All-Star and Stanley Cup Champion Alex Pietrangelo and his wife, Jayne drive a Honda Odyssey minivan in Honda’s new TV spots starring the brand’s light trucks. The creative will air on NBC and NBC Sports Network in the United States during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs and 2021 Stanley Cup Final. Along with multiple national broadcast TV spots, the creative will also run on Honda social media channels, including Twitter and LinkedIn.
DIGITAL, DATA & TECH
Candy Digital is entering the NFT space and sealed an exclusive long-term agreement with its first content partner Major League Baseball. Candy is building MLB’s official NFT ecosystem where fans and collectors will be able to purchase, trade and share officially licensed NFTs. Candy and Major League Baseball’s first release will be a 1-of-1 NFT of Lou Gehrig’s famous “Luckiest Man” speech that he delivered on July 4, 1939, after being diagnosed with ALS.
NBC Olympics and Tunity will partner to measure “Out-of-Home” (OOH) viewership for NBCUniversal’s primetime coverage of the Games of the XXXII Olympiad from Tokyo. Tunity will provide OOH viewership figures for all NBCUniversal linear networks presenting the Tokyo Olympics in primetime, which includes NBC and multiple cable networks. The OOH figure will be incorporated into NBCUniversal’s holistic measurement of the Tokyo Games, which will also include traditional linear and digital metrics.
The National Basketball Association announced the unveiling of NBA Launchpad, the league’s latest initiative to “source, evaluate, and pilot emerging technologies that advance the NBA’s top basketball priorities across all levels of the game” and addressing one of four priority areas: Elevating Health and Wellness in Youth Basketball, Enhancing Elite Youth Player Performance, Innovating Ankle Injury Prevention and Recovery, and Advancing Referee Training and Development. Selected applicants will participate in a six-month R&D pilot within the NBA’s platform of elite and grassroots programs.
Life Time opened an exclusive two-year partnership with FloSports to serve as the exclusive Official Media Partner broadcasting the UNBOUND Gravel event weekend in 2021 and 2022 on its FloBikes platform, During the upcoming gravel race on June 4-6, FloSports’ broadcast of UNBOUND will mark the first time a US gravel race has been delivered live and on-demand to cycling enthusiasts worldwide.
Liga MX team Club Necaxa introduced the “Ol Professional Sports NFT,” the first-ever sale of an equity ownership interest in a major professional sports team through a NFT. The opportunity will be offered through an auction open to the public, with the highest bidder receiving a 1 of 1 token, which represents a 1%, permanent equity ownership interest in Club Necaxa, minted on the blockchain forever.
 ESPORTS
Sony announced plans to launch open-format fighting tournaments ahead of Evo 2021, titled the Evo Community Series. The announcement dubs the event as “a global celebration of the fighting game community,” and will run from June 10-August 3 with over 120 tournaments around the world. Three PlayStation-hosted tournaments will also take place during the ECS, starting with the PlayStation Tournaments FGC Arcade: Evo Edition
FaZe Clan is teaming with DC for the “Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point x FaZe Clan Deathrun” event that will see a custom made, Deathrun map inside Fortnite’s Creative Mode created by JDuth to celebrate the release of the Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point six-issue limited comic book series. The week-long event consists of a speedrun contest where Fortnite players can upload videos of themselves completing the deathrun.
KitKat is extending and expanding their partnership with the League of Legends European Championship, European Masters competition, and European Regional Leagues that will see the candy brand continue to be a Main Partner of the LEC and EU Masters through to 2023. KitKat is also extending this partnership to become a Main Partner for the League of Legends Continental League (LCL) and 12 ERLs for the 2021 Summer Season. “It’s a pleasure to be working with a team that is truly passionate about esports. KitKat pursues a clear esports strategy in which the community is approached in a media-appropriate and authentic style on all relevant channels,” says Georg Fischer, Marketing Manager for KitKat Europe.
Team Liquid and Garena, one of the leading global online games developers and publishers, announced the first U.S. community Free Fire tournament: The Liquid Free Fire Series, an open qualifier 24-team tournament, with the goal of introducing U.S. esports fans to Free Fire, one of the world’s most popular and fast-paced esports. June 5-6 will see open qualifiers, with continued events running until June 26-27 where a champ will be crowned. All regular season and Finals matches will be live streamed at twitch.tv/teamliquid.
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The 2021 Cynopsis Digital Awards & It List Awards are Back!
Throw your hat in the ring for this award saluting digital innovators, honoring the best in online video content, and advertising, talent. The It List is shining the spotlight on the cutting-edge executives behind the work too, nominate yourself or a colleague.
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On this Day
1941: Lou Gehrig dies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in New York City.
IN THE KNOW
Lou Gehrig and what other player both won the MLB Triple Crown as Yankees? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city).
Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question
How many cars race in the Indianapolis 500? Answer: 33. Kudos: Michael Ritz-Lenox Advisors/NY; Evan Williams-Roger Wilco Productions/New Canaan; Matt Sautter-WideOrbit/Harrisburg; Paul Brewer-TV Talent Agents, Inc/North Augusta; Mike May-R2 Innovative Technologies/Wellington; Creed Heilskov-ImOn Communications/Cedar Rapids; Bob Ramsey/Merida; Jason Brist-Outdoor Sportsman Group/Chicago; Jack Neumann-University of Calgary Dinos 5th Quarter Alumni Development/Calgary; Larry Hutchings/San Luis Obispo; David Westberg-SAG•AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo
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CAMPAIGN MANAGER – NATIONAL >>
AMPERSAND/NYC, NY: Input and transmit all new orders for the National business. Facilitate communication amongst stakeholders regarding order details, copy and traffic and collaborate with MVPD contacts on order confirmation and campaign activation to ensure all platforms are live. BS/BA Degree required. Full info HERE (6/15)
SALES ASSISTANT >>
REELZ/NYC, NY: Maintain agency accounts including upfront and scatter order entry, campaign changes, and product allocations. Assist Account Executives and work closely with the Director of Inventory Control. Bachelor’s Degree required. Proficient in Excel & PowerPoint. Full info HERE (6/14)
SR. SALES PLANNER >>
REELZ/NYC, NY: Create/revise upfront/scatter media plans, account stewardship & serve as agency liaison. Should be comfortable presenting and cultivating agency relationships. A min. 5 yrs ad sales exp. Strong written and verbal communication skills, strong media math skills. Proficient in Wide Orbit, MS Suite. Full info HERE (6/14)
DIRECTOR GROWTH MARKETING-CONSUMER MARKETING
A+E NETWORKS
NYC, NY
Data-driven digital marketer needed to acquire and retain viewers for the A&E, HISTORY, and Lifetime apps. Own strategy and implementation for retention tactics including email, push notifications, and digital video house ads. Requires 7-10 years of experience, product marketing experience is a plus. Full info HERE (6/14)
LOCAL ACCOUNT MANAGER >>
AMPERSAND/LOS ANGELES, CA: Assist Account Directors with preparation of sales proposals, and work across functional groups such as MVPD’s, Partners, Research, etc. to assist in the creation of client proposals, presentations, and Media Plans. 2-3 years advertising related experience and thorough knowledge of Microsoft Office required. Full info HERE (6/11)
DIGITAL CAMPAIGN MANAGER >>
AMPERSAND/NYC, NY: Review and validate online insertion orders (IO) and obtain all creative materials from Sales and/or Advertisers. Process and transmit all digital orders through Ampersand applications and streamline communication to publishers. Knowledge of ad-serving and verification vendors and Bachelor’s degree required. Full info HERE (6/11)
SALES ASSISTANT
UP ENTERTAINMENT
NYC/NY
Maintain agency accounts including upfront and scatter order entry, inventory moves, and product allocations and Electronic Data Interchange. Assist Account Executives, Sales Planner and Pricing Inventory and compile information for Sales team. B.A. in Communications or equivalent required. Full info HERE (6/10)
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)
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