PROGRAMMING

FOX Sports continued to receive strong NASCAR numbers with Sunday’s race, which saw Brad Keselowski take the checkered flag, drawing 2,932,000 viewers on FS1, up 4% from last year’s Bristol race. That numbers marks the most-watched telecast on FS1 since the end of the 2019 ALCS as well as the most watched NASCAR Cup race on FS1 since 6/25/17. Meanwhile, NASCAR Race Hub drew an average of 1,084,000 viewers, according to Nielsen.

Top Rank on ESPN returns June 9, as WBO featherweight world champion Shakur Stevenson will take on Puerto Rican contender Felix “La Sombra” Caraballo in a 10-round super featherweight bout, marking the first of multiple events at The MGM Grand Conference Center Grand Ballroom in Las Vegas. ESPN will serve up multiple cards each week on its family of networks. Joe Tessitore will be calling the action from ESPN’s Bristol studios with analysts Andre Ward and Tim Bradley

The PGA TOUR is launching a new program designed to strengthen and elevate the path to pro. Titled PGA TOUR University, the initiative will reward elite collegiate play with varying levels of playing access to Tours operated under the PGA TOUR umbrella, “while upholding the principles and virtues of collegiate athletics.” Players eligible for the PGA TOUR University Ranking List will be NCAA Division I golfers who complete a minimum of four years in college. “With the level of immediate success from the top collegiate players in the last decade, our team has done extensive research over time and developed a plan to provide a pathway for those players as they begin their journeys into the professional ranks,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “By focusing our efforts on players who have completed a minimum of four years, PGA TOUR University will not deter from the college game while ensuring its graduates benefit from their maturity and experience.”

The college football season opener between Notre Dame and Navy will no longer take place in Ireland and will instead take place at the Naval Academy during the Labor Day weekend. The game was set to take place in Dublin on Aug. 29. “Our priority must be ensuring the health and safety of all involved,” Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk said, per the AP. “I am expecting that we will still be able to play Notre Dame as our season opener, but there is still much to be determined by health officials and those that govern college football at large.”

Jason Whitlock, host of Speak for Yourself, has departed FOX Sports and FS1, according to multiple outlets. The announcement came after the two sides weren’t able to reach a new contract deal. “Friday was Jason Whitlock’s last day with Fox Sports,” the network said in a statement to the New York Post. “We thank Jason for all of his hard work and dedication to the network, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

Major League Baseball reportedly discussed playing out a shorter schedule in which it would pay members of the MLB Players Association their full prorated salaries, CBS Sports reports. According to the story, players have held out for a full prorated portion of their salaries, based on a March 26 agreement with the league, and made a proposal on Sunday for a 114-game schedule that would cover 70.3% of their original salaries.

Meanwhile, Major League Soccer and the MLS Players Association are reportedly close to a labor agreement on economic concessions for 2020, as well as revised collective bargaining agreement terms. ESPN writes that if the agreement is completed and ratified, it will see the two sides avoid a lockout that had been threatened by the league last Sunday and pave the way for MLS teams to take part in a tournament in Orlando that will see the league resume play.

Speaking of soccer, the National Women’s Soccer League unveiled the full schedule for the preliminary rounds of the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup presented by P&G and Secret. The 25-game tournament will kick off on June 27 at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah.

Register for this conference and take a close look at an unprecedented year in collegiate sports with Pac-12, see visions for the future of esports with Riot Games, check out professional leagues’ new approach to competitive play with Athletes Unlimited and NBC Sports Group, learn from New Balance’s take on positive brand messaging, glimpse the future of the Olympics with the USOC and more.

NASCAR: “The NASCAR family like so many others is hurt and angered by the immensely troubling events that have taken place across our country in recent weeks. For us to heal and move forward as a nation, we all need to listen more and be united in the stand against racism, hatred and senseless violence and loss of life. And we must all hold ourselves accountable to driving positive change. While our sport has made progress over the years, there remains much work to be done and we fully embrace our responsibility to help bridge the racial divide that continues to exist in our country. We must do better and our commitment to promoting equality and inclusion continues and will never waver.”

The NHL: “As protests in both the United States and Canada in recent days have focused attention upon racial justice for the Black community, the NHL stands with all those who are working to achieve a racially just society, and against all those who perpetuate and uphold racism, hatred, bigotry and violence. We share the sentiments expressed by our players and Clubs in their calls for justice, and we encourage everyone to use their platforms and privilege for systemic change. In our own sport, we will continue to do better and work diligently toward culture change throughout hockey and endeavor to be mindful of our own shortcomings in this process”

Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren, announcing the Big Ten Conference Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Coalition: “As a Black man, I pray every day for the health and safety of my wife and children, especially during interactions with law enforcement. We continue to see inequality and deep divide regarding how members of the Black community are treated compared to the rest of society and too often, the results have been horrific and senseless. Such racism and inequality are pervasive, not just endemic in law enforcement. Meaningful change will only occur if, as a nation, we are united, resilient and determined to create difficult, uncomfortable dialogue and take significant tangible action. We all need to strive to make the world a better place. One person, one family, one city, one state, one conference, one country. George Floyd’s death cannot be in vain.”

Joint Statement from Pac-12 ADs & Pac-12 Conference: “Since the horrific and senseless death of George Floyd on May 25, we have all been struggling to come to terms with feelings of anger, frustration and an intense desire to find solutions to this latest, graphic testament to the injustice and racism that continues to exist in our society. Now, more than ever, we need to find the strength to stand up and become active participants in being a part of the solution to end racism and discrimination of all kinds, and to hold ourselves accountable not only to saying the right things, but more importantly, doing the right things, to get us there. The injustice before us is not just a problem facing African-Americans, nor a problem just facing minorities. It is an American injustice, one that we all must own and all must address head on if we wish to create a more humane, more caring and more empathetic society – one free of racism for all us here today and for our children and their children.”

DIGITAL, DATA & TECH

WWE unveiled the free version of WWE Network and unlocking a vast portion of its content library with more than 15,000 action-packed WWE titles now available for free, no credit card required. The Free Version of WWE Network includes: new shows including Raw Talk, streaming Monday nights each week immediately following Raw; original series including Monday Night War, Ride Along, Table for 3, Photo Shoot and Story Time; recent episodes of WWE’s flagship programs Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown and NXT; select historical WWE pay-per-views and NXT TakeOver events; and weekly WWE highlights, Top 10, WWE’s The Bump, WWE Now, The Best of WWE and WWE Timeline.

ESPORTS

BLAST locked in a deal with China’s DouYu to broadcast its BLAST Premier 2020 Counter Strike tournament with the platform receiving exclusive streaming rights in the Manadarin language for China. “Our partnership with streaming giant DouYu is further testament to the rapidly growing popularity of BLAST Premier in China,” said Alexander Lewin, VP Distribution and Programming. “The Chinese market continues to play an integral role in the global esports world, and we are delighted to team up with DouYu to entertain millions of BLAST fans in China”.

Visa and FACEIT are partnering with Gazprombank to launch the first esports card product for gamers actively engaged in Dota2 and CS:GO titles in Russia. As part of the global Visa and FACEIT partnership announced at the end of last year, this first program will provide the Russian esports community with a “new competitive experience through a series of online programs that will be open to all skill levels and a substantial prize pool designed to incentivize core gamers and new players alike.” Starting in June, $450,000 in prize money will be distributed among players within the first three months across several different tournament formats for CS:GO and Dota 2, both in FACEIT points and ruble cash prizes.

NACON and its development studio KT Racing, in collaboration with WRC Promoter, cemented TOYOTA GAZOO Racing as the presenting sponsor of the 2020 and 2021 eSports WRC seasons. The partnership between TOYOTA GAZOO Racing and NACON will extend into further promotions spanning WRC 8 as well as WRC 9,

INDUSTRY & ROSTER MOVES

Allied Sports named Greg Luckman as CEO and Co-Managing Director in partnership with existing Managing Director Sean Barror. “Greg is an exceptionally dynamic leader with a proven track record for building progressive sports and entertainment marketing organizations,” said Barror, who will become COO/CRO and Co-Managing Director. “His unique experience and deep network will help us further build upon our early momentum and achieve the ambitious goals we have set.”

Excel Sports Management named Erik Rask as Senior Director of Corporate Partnerships, Properties. Rask joins Excel within the Properties division. Prior to Excel, he held commercial partnerships and naming rights roles at KIN Partners/Inter Miami FC, Endeavor and Premier Partnerships.

In the Know
What is the name of Speed Racer’s car? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city).

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question
In 1995, which MLB team drafted Tom Brady? Answer: The Expos. Kudos: John Ferlazzo/London; Denis Barry-CBS/NY; Michael Ritz-Lenox Advisors/NY; Michael Dittelman-Dedicated Sports Marketing/NY; Sean Walker-Omnicom/NY; Tom Wetzel-MMSI/Warwick; Mike Seidel-CSI Sports/Jersey City; Mike May-R2 Innovative Technologies/Wellington; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; JT Ward-Coast Inc./Chicago; Tom Olson-Good Karma Brands/Milwaukee; Rich Wolfe-Lone Wolfe Press/Scottsdale; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank