| SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION
NASCAR and Advance Auto Parts announced a multiyear official partnership, designating Advance Auto Parts as the series entitlement sponsor. As part of the agreement, Advance also becomes the Official Auto Parts Retailer of NASCAR.”
The Atlanta Hawks launched Hawks at Home, an online program created to educate and help youth stay active during this time of social distancing.
The Yankees Gleyber Torres has partnered with PSD Underwear, becoming the first MLB player to endorse the brand.
DIGITAL, DATA AND TECH
LeBron James and a group of other prominent black athletes and entertainers started “More Than a Vote,” a new group aimed at protecting African-Americans’ voting rights. The group will include James and other current and former basketball players, including Hawks G Trae Young, WNBA Phoenix Mercury G Skylar Diggins-Smith and ESPN’s Jalen Rose. The group will be organized as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization and therefore not engage in specific advocacy for a candidate; James and business partner, SpringHill Entertainment CEO Maverick Carter, are funding.
New York Sports Tours’ announced their first-ever virtual experience, a Yankees exclusive set for June 25 in recognition of the 100th anniversary of Babe Ruth’s first Yankees season. The virtual tour will include insider stories about the baseball legend, and examine how he was honored on Babe Ruth Day in 1947 with a special guest, Larry Cutler, who was selected to introduce a noticeably ill Ruth at the Yankee Stadium event. Cutler will publicly address his Yankees story for the first time.
Strat-O-Matic announced the Baseball 365 and Football 365 platforms will give commissioners the tools to manage leagues of recent and all-time great rosters, with games simulated daily, like regular fantasy sports. Baseball 365 Commissioner leagues can choose from the 2019 season, a new “All-Time Greats 9” set of more than 5,300 cards, additional single-seasons of 1982, 1986, 1999, 2007 through 2018, or mystery card sets from every decade from the 1960s through the 1990s. Football featured cards include the 2018 season, as well as an All-Time Franchises set with greats dating all the way back to the 1940s.
The NFLPA, through its for-profit arm NFL Players Inc., has invested in TendoNova, an Atlanta-based company that develops medical devices for microinvasive orthopedic procedures.
ESPORTS
Riot Games’ League of Legends Championship Series has partnered with Samsung, which “will supply the league with PC hardware and sponsor a new broadcast segment.”
Canada’s only professional Call of Duty franchise, the Toronto Ultra, and SCUF Gaming (SCUF) announced a new partnership. The two brands will work together on content, marketing and advertising initiatives and SCUF will also be part of the online Toronto Ultra Home Series presented by Bell on July 24-26, 2020.
HyperX announced the HyperX Showdown, a series of online gaming events that will feature celebrities from the worlds of entertainment, music, sports and gaming. Well-known streamers are also scheduled to participate and play. The eight weeks of will include music, sports and gaming stars playing games like Call of Duty: Warzone, NBA 2K, Fortnite, Madden, and others. The first gaming event is scheduled to air on Tuesday, June 16 at 3 p.m. ET featuring two music stars, Afrojack vs. Nicky Romero, paired with two pro players from the London Royal Ravens playing Call of Duty: Warzone. The series will feature music artists like Afrojack, Nicky Romero, Offset, Future, Young Thug and sports stars like Gordon Hayward (Boston Celtics), JuJu Smith-Schuster (Pittsburgh Steelers), Dele Alli ( Tottenham Hotspur F.C.), Philip Forsberg (Nashville Predators), DeMarcus Cousins (NBA All Star), Mikal Bridges (Phoenix Suns), Onyeka Okongwu (2020 NBA Draft Prospect), Cole Anthony (2020 NBA Draft Prospect), and Joc Pederson (Los Angeles Dodgers), along with more to be announced.
INDUSTRY AND ROSTER MOVES
Regardless of who wins the Stanley Cup, and when and where it is awarded, the 2019-20 NHL season will forever be remembered for an awakening of the collective consciousness of the hockey community and communities across the world to issues of race, bias, and privilege,” says Kim Davis, NHL Senior Executive VP of Social Impact, Growth Initiatives, Legislative Affairs. For more on why Davis says the NHL is “poised ot become the most inclusive sport in the world,” go to Cynsiders.
USTA Chief Exec of Professional Tennis Stacey Allaster was named the new Tournament Dir of the U.S. Open.
Futbol Sites Network Group announced Jordan Gnat, Robin Chhabra and Andy Clerkson, have acquired a significant interest in the Group; Gnat has been appointed as Vice-Chairman.
Mesabi Range College running back Taquarius Wair will be honored with the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at The 2020 ESPYS presented by Capital One, airing June 21 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
SPORTS BROADCAST JOURNAL w/David J. Halberstam
Decades long network voice Tim Ryan, tells us this about the NFL: “I fear for the sport I love. In my judgment the game cannot last another generation unless it acknowledges and confronts its concussion/brain damage issue.” Ryan, who covered just about any support you can imagine, from the NFL to the Stanley Cup, the U.S. Tennis Open, boxing and college basketball, also suggests that the national anthem shouldn’t be played before every sporting event, only on special occasions that he identifies in his opinion piece.
Versatile Tim Ryan, a network TV voice for decades, speaks out on NFL injuries and the anthem at games
Three-time gold medalist Rowdy Gaines, swimming analyst on NBC’s coverage of the Olympic Games since 1992, shared this about the one year delay of the games to 2021 “It will certainly affect the athletes in many ways but the key in all of this is everyone is affected the same exact way. Everyone had pointed to the summer of 2020 and now everyone will have to point to 2021, so I think by the time we get there it will be an even playing field.”
2020 Olympics in 2021: NBC’s Rowdy Gaines, the Voice of Swimming, looks ahead and reflects
Sean McManus, Chairman of CBS Sports, talks the complexity of presenting golf this weekend with a reduced crew and commentators who will be contributing remotely. “This tournament is one of the most important events in my broadcast career given the current landscape.”
Golf is back this weekend! CBS Sports’ boss Sean Mcmanus touts significance; Others weigh in too
Happy Birthdays and happy returns:
Marv Albert, June 12th Turner NBA announcer
Tony Bruno, June 13th SiriusXM, ex-ESPN and Fox Sports host
Sal Paolantonio, June 13th ESPN NFL reporter
Hannah Storm, June 13th ESPN anchor
Len Berman, June 14th WOR Radio, ex-NBC Sports
Terry Smith, June 14th Los Angeles Angels radio
Al Jaffe, June 15th Former ESPN executive
Holly Rowe, June 16th ESPN reporter
Grant Napear, June 18th Ex-Sacramento Kings
Much more in this week’s Sports Broadcast Journal including a profile of Hannah Storm and her comeback from a fire eight years ago when flames erupted from her grill, African-American sportscasters speak out on social injustice and a list of job titles in sports affected by Covid-19. |
