06/14/19: NBC sings the Blues

Good morning. It’s Friday June 14, 2019 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

The Blues made gold for NBC on Wednesday night as the team’s win in the Stanley Cup Final Game 7 to claim the Cup delivered a 6.2 overnight rating on the network, marking the highest overnight score for an NHL game on record (since overnights began in 1994). That topped the previous NHL overnight record by 6% (2010 CHI-PHI Cup-clinching Game 6, 5.84), was up 8% vs. the most recent SCF Game 7 (2011 BOS-VAN, 5.72) and up 33% vs. Game 6 of this series on Sunday night (4.66). St. Louis delivered a 41.8 local rating, NBC Sports’ highest-rated Blues game ever in the market, topping Game 6 by 27% (33.0).

Meanwhile, Game 7 also averaged 6.7 million OOH viewers peaking at 8:55p with 8.3 million OOH viewers, according to Tunity Analytics. That drew what was by far the largest OOH audience for a single game of the 2019 Finals, up 136% over game six. The game’s audience skewed 57% A25-54 and 73% male.

PROGRAMMING

FOX Sports’ Women’s World Cup run continued on Wednesday as France’s win over Norway delivered a 22% uptick over the 2015 non-US Group Stage average on FOX, according to Nielsen. Through match day 6, FOX Sports metered market group stage averages are up 1% overall over 2015 averages and up 49% over 2011, the last time the event was held in a European time zone. Top local markets so far are Kansas City with a 1.34, San Diego with a 1.29 and Austin and Richmond both pulling a 1.11.

Rounding out ratings news, Tennis Channel’s 15-day live coverage of the French Open averaged 266,000 viewers in 2019 according to Nielsen, up 42% over the 187,000 average viewers in 2018. Tournament coverage led to live tune-in growth across key demographics for Tennis Channel as well, with 35% rise in adults 18-49, 41% increases in adults 25-54 and 55% increases in adults 35-64. The French Open also generated more revenue for Tennis Channel’s streaming service than any tournament in the subscription platform’s five-year history. With a record high of up to 12 live courts per day, Tennis Channel Plus took in more than $1 million in subscriber revenue from the first day of qualifiers to championship Sunday. This marks a 25% uptick vs. 2018.

Turner Sports and the NBA announced that NBA Awards: Red Carpet LIVE will take place on June 24 at 8p ahead of the 2019 NBA Awards Presented by Kia on TNT. For the first time, NBA Awards: Red Carpet LIVE will stream across multiple platforms, including NBA on TNT’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages, B/R Basketball’s Facebook and Twitter handles and NBA.com. Hosted by comedian Tony Rock, Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks and Turner Sports’ Allie LaForce, the show will provide complete coverage of the red carpet, including real-time fan reactions, an up-close look at the night’s fashion, celebrity interactions and more. Ro Parrish will serve as the DJ for the red carpet. Additionally, celebrities will be able to show off their fresh footwear with the “Kick Cam,” a close-up camera displaying attendees’ stylish kicks for the night.

Former Pro Bowl defensive back DeAngelo Hall is heading to NFL Network. Beginning in July, Hall will serve as an in-studio analyst on various NFL Network shows such as NFL Total Access and Good Morning Football, as well as on NFL Network’s on-location coverage of such events as the Super Bowl.

ESPN mapped out the Road to Omaha for its coverage of the 2019 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship concludes with the College World Series Presented by Capital One on Saturday and Sunday, beginning with Texas Tech/Michigan on ESPN. Two commentating teams will include play-by-play commentator Tom Hart, analysts Chris Burke and Ben McDonald, and field analyst Mike Rooney teaming up for the third consecutive year while reporter Kris Budden joins play-by-play commentator Karl Ravech and analysts Kyle Peterson and Eduardo Perez. For the sixth year, ESPN will offer an “ESPN3 Surround” presentation of every College World Series game with coverage that also includes a 4D look at replays for viewers.

Combate Americas announced its return to Fresno, carried live on both Univision and UDN at midnight on Aug. 2 In the flyweight (125 pounds) main event, former world champion and superstar Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto (14-5) will square off with three-time Central American Judo champion, Reina Cordoba (9-1).

FOX Sports Midwest will televise the St. Louis Blues’ Championship Parade and Rally live throughout the region on Saturday at noon CT. FOX Sports Midwest, the television home of the Blues since 1995, will present its coverage in partnership with KTVI-FOX2 with coverage that will feature the Blues play-by-play announcer John Kelly, Hall-of-Famer Bernie Federko, TV analyst Darren Pang, Blues Live host Scott Warmann, former Blues defenseman Jamie Rivers and reporters Erica Weston and Andy Strickland, alongside the hosting and reporting team from FOX2.

MSG Networks announced a complete lineup of special programming running today to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Rangers’ Stanley Cup victory. Starting at noon, the day-long programming will be highlighted by an episode of “Connections,” featuring Rangers legends Brian Leetch, Adam Graves and Mike Richter.

Cumulus Media and ESPN Audio will launch a new sports/talk radio station for the nation’s capital on July 1 – ESPN 630 on WMAL-AM. The new sports/talk station will be the home for ESPN Radio weekday talk programming in Washington, D.C.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

CYNOPSIS TECHFRONTS

News, Solutions & Deals Disrupting Marketing, Advertising, & the 2019-2020 Upfront Season.

Read all about…

Facebook presents Showcase

Google Targeting Shoppers with New “Discovery” Ads

How AI and Machine Learning are Impacting Media

Mobile Video: How to Create a User Experience That Drives Revenue

Twitter Testing GIFS, Emoji on its TweetDeck App

http://www.cynopsis.com/techfronts/

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

The Home Depot and Major League Soccer locked in an extension of their partnership through the end of the 2022 season with the multi-year agreement coinciding with the launch of a joint digital brand campaign this summer highlighting the league’s stars and the home improvement company’s home appliance product innovation from LG Electronics. As part of the renewal, The Home Depot continues to be the exclusive home improvement retailer of the MLS and the Mexico national team and it will be a 2019 partner of Campeones Cup.

BIG3 announced that State Farm signed a major sponsorship deal with the league to become the exclusive official insurer and will see State Farm branding throughout BIG3 arenas in all 18 cities the league visits this summer, including on basket stanchion pads, center court jumbotrons, and courtside LED signage. The insurer will also present BIG3 games played at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on July 7.

CBS Sports Digital announced the launch of its MVP Sports Marketing initiative designed to help brands “build strong and sustainable engagement in local sports communities around the country.” Leveraging CBS Sports Digital’s community connections through its nationwide coverage of high school and college sports, a dedicated in-house MVP Sports Marketing team will partner with brands to develop unique multi-faceted sponsorships that build brand equity, deepen consumer relationships and drive revenue. The team will be led by Andy Beal, President and Founder of MaxPreps.

The Blues’ claim on the Stanley Cup will see Bud Light celebrate their first ever Stanley Cup victory in franchise history with limited edition Blues championship bottles. The bottles feature the iconic Blues logo, “2019 Champs” and “Gloria Gloria” stamped on the side. Andy Goeler, Vice President of Marketing at Bud Light stated, “We’re so proud of our hometown Blues for bringing home their first Stanley Cup. We plan on celebrating with special championship Bud Light bottles during the parade and have a few more surprises brewing for Blues fans and the city of St. Louis that we’ll be announcing later this week. Go Blues and Play Gloria!”

DIGITAL, DATA & STREAMING

FloSports announced the launch of its new apps on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku. The user experience is designed to streamline the ability to explore live events and content across the entire FloSports network of 20+ sports, or to dive deeper into favorite sports. Improvements have been made to navigation, stream switching capabilities, instant auto-play, content automation, and more.

SuperSport has Olympic Channel content on their digital platforms, available on supersport.com offering fans Olympic-themed programming from across the globe, with an emphasis on local athletes, teams and sports under the “Olympic Channel” brand.

ESPORTS

Complexity Gaming announced a partnership with the U.S. Army Installation Management Command’s Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation program to integrate esports into its Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program, with activation kicking off at Fort Bliss this weekend. The program will create shared experiences and onsite activations both at Complexity’s headquarters and on Army installations to immerse U.S. Army soldiers into the world of competitive gaming and vice versa. Through June 16, Complexity athletes will live and train like U.S. Army soldiers at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. During a three-day intensive boot camp, players will participate in military-style drills alongside active-duty service members, Then on June 28-30, select U.S. Army personnel will join Complexity athletes for a gaming bootcamp at Complexity’s GameStop Performance Center (GSPC) at The Star in Frisco.

DreamHack and Doritos locked in a new partnership that will see the snack brand activate at DreamHack Summer, running June 15-17 out of Jönköping, Sweden. In addition to the sponsorship, Doritos will also have a large booth in the Expo where visitors will have the opportunity to play together with and against some of the world’s top professional players within CS:GO and Fortnite under the concept, “Are you bold enough to face a pro?” “We are very happy about this new partnership with Doritos and, at the same time, proud to be involved as they enter the Swedish esports world — we are convinced Doritos will fit perfectly into our event and look forward to future collaborations with them,” said DreamHack CEO Marcus Lindmark.

INDUSTRY/ROSTER MOVES

The XFL will again partner with The Spring League to scout talent, test potential rule adjustments, and experiment with potential in-game technologies it as prepares for kick-off in February 2020. The Spring League will take the field with the XFL this summer to conduct two four-day scouting events in Southern California, the first of which will take place June 17-20 at Mission Viejo High School. The second will run July 28-31 at a location to be announced soon.

THE MAIN EVENT

A potential massive Sunday could see Game 7 of the NBA Finals (as of press time) at 8p on ABC, along with Round 4 of the U.S. Open on FOX, while the US Women’s Team faces off against Chile at 9a.

ON THIS DAY in 1992: The Bulls complete a comeback to win back-to-back championships.

In the Know: In the NBA, who was known as The Microwave? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city).

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: What were the most recent seasons in which the franchises with the most NHL championships hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup? Answer: Detroit 2007-08, Toronto 1966-67, Montreal 1992-93. Kudos: Art Salisch-CBS-TV/NY; Jim Bono-NBCUniversal Hispanic Sports/Hispanic Group/NY; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg–SAG–AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank

Later — Chris

Chris Pursell @VegasandVine
Kerry Smith Division President Access Intelligence Roberta Caploe Publisher @robertacaploe	Cynopsis Ad Sales Mike Farina 203-218-6480 Albert Nassour 917-545-3129	Cynopsis Job Listings Sales Trish Pihonak 203-899-8459 Director of Operations

CynopsisJobs
Check out more jobs in Cynopsis Classifieds »

Job of the day

SR ANALYST, SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS
Viacom
NYC

Monitor/report/analyze performance of content across VIMN properties on digital media platforms, primarily social. Provide regular reporting & analysis of short-form/social media content. 3-5 yrs of exp providing digital/social rsrch analytics & data to Sr partners.

Full info HERE

DIRECT RESPONSE, VP/ION TV/NYC: Oversee/manage all aspects of the Direct Response (DR) business. Deep knowledge of DR marketplace. 8+ yrs of DR selling exp in media or a related field. 3+ yrs of exp managing people or leading a sales team. Full info HERE (6/28)

DIRECT RESPONSE SALES, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE/ION TV/NYC: Responsible for selling direct response air time for ION TV, and achieving quarterly and annual revenue goals. Min 5 yrs of DR exp. Excellent oral presentation, oral & written comm skills. Full info HERE (6/28)

NETWORK SALES, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE/ION TV/NYC: Dvlp/grow new and growing business among major agencies via strong relationships and superior client service. 5+ yrs sales exp w/national cable, brdcst ad sales or media buying background req’d. Full info HERE (6/28)

ACCOUNTANT/A+E/NY: Perform acctg functions (i.e. monthly accruals, prod royalty statements, compile audit info, ensure financial reporting is accurate) within the Licensing Revenue & Digital Media divisions. BS/BA in Acctg, advanced Excel skills, familiarity w/Acctg software, detailed oriented, strong comm skills. Full info HERE (6/27)

SR ACCOUNT EXEC/VideoAmp/NYC: Unlock insights & value for Fortune 500 marketers & their agencies about their entire mktg investment portfolio to improve campaign efficiency & increase sales. 3-5+ yrs exp. It is fundamental to have industry exposure w/in Video, Digital, and/or TV exp is ideal OR AdTech exposure. Full info HERE (6/27)

SALES DIRECTOR/VideoAmp/Chicago: Unlock insights and value for Fortune 500 marketers and their agencies about their entire mktg investment portfolio to improve campaign efficiency & increase sales. Previous exp in one or more of the following: digital video, OTT, or TV advertising is a must. Full info HERE (6/27)

DIRECTOR, ENTERPRISE CLIENT SUCCESS/VideoAmp/NY: Client Success leader w/technical expertise in ad tech & TV to support the success of our clients on the platform to lead a team of Enterprise Client Success Mgrs. 6+ years of client services exp (3 yrs mng team of relevant tech acct support). Full info HERE (6/27)

CAMPAIGN OPTIMIZATION MGR/VideoAmp/NY: Mng portfolio of campaigns to ensure a timely launch, successful performance & full delivery. Strong knwldg programmatic industry & 2+ yrs working in Ad Tech. Video specific background pref’d. Expertise mngng campaigns of different sizes & goals in major DSPs, or working w/SSPs on publisher’s side. Full info HERE (6/27)

MARKETING DATA ANALYST/VideoAmp/Chicago/NY/LA: Analyze critical data from both linear & digital sources to help our customers plan, execute, and measure highly effective campaigns. 3+ yrs of analyst/scientist looking at Linear or Digital Ad Data. Full info HERE (6/27)

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE/VideoAmp/NY/Boston/Dallas/Chicago: Dedication to value-based solution selling and delivering value for clients. 3+ yrs exp. fundamental to have industry exposure within Video, Digital, and/or TV exp is ideal OR AdTech exposure. Full info HERE (6/27)

SR DIRECTOR, GLOBAL CONSUMER INSIGHTS/Viacom International/NYC: Resp for dvlpng a deep understanding of Viacom audiences around the world, then disseminating those findings within the company & beyond. 10+ yrs primary rsrch exp, pref in the media field. Exp w/working in an international envir. BA deg. Full info HERE (6/27)

TALENT COORDINATOR (FREELANCE)/Paramount Network, TV Land, Comedy Central/NYC: Resp for booking, mngng, updating & maintaining travel & itineraries for on-air network talent across the three channels. 2 yrs+ providing team support for prod, talent, events, publicity or mktg. Full info HERE (6/27)

SR ANALYST, SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS/Viacom/NYC: Monitor/report/analyze performance of content across VIMN properties on digital media platforms, primarily social. Provide regular reporting & analysis of short-form/social media content. 3-5 yrs of exp providing digital/social rsrch analytics & data to Sr partners. Full info HERE (6/27)

SENIOR ANALYST RESEARCH/Sony Pictures Entertainment TV/Culver City CA: Create and maintain regular reports, from start to end. 3 to 5 yrs of exp working in media research and analysis. Fluency in Spanish is pref’d. Exp w/Nielsen NNTV, MediaView, NPower. Full info/apply HERE (6/26)

ANALYST/Sony Pictures Entertainment TV /Culver City CA: Operate within a cross-functional research team in LA, as part of the greater US and Worldwide Research team, as it supports of all lines of SPT Businesses. 1+ yr professional exp in media & ent. Strong comm skills w/ability to and work well with others; flexing between lead and support roles as necessary. Full info HERE (6/26)

MGR, PRODUCTION RESEARCH & STRATEGY/Sony Pictures Entertainment TV/Culver City: Provide support to the research team, primarily in its efforts to conduct test screenings, in addition to commissioning/distributing brand positioning and creative testing studies. 4+ yrs exp ent mkt research and/or prod. Full info HERE (6/26)

PRODUCER/EDITOR/NBC Sports/Stamford CT: Resp to collaborate on the creation of promotional content. Candidate to bring an exciting, vibrant approach to the content creation team. Min 5 yrs broadcast or cable network editing exp. Firm technical grasp on the editing process a plus. Full info HERE (6/26)

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR/Nickelodeon/NYC: Review most scripted brand creative content. Provide copywriting direction to writer/producers. 5+ yrs of exp editing/writing on-air promotional/brand content. Able to handle a large volume of different projects at one time. Full info HERE (6/26)

TRAFFIC OPERATIONS COORDINATOR/Tennis Channel/Culver City CA: Freelance position. Serve as liaison between Prod, Master Control, Traffic and Ad Sales to ensure Airtime and Separation compliance. 5-7 yrs operations or traffic exp. Exp w/broadway or sintec exp pref’d. Full info HERE (6/22)

SR COUNSEL DIRECT TO CONSUMER & DIGITAL ENTERPRISES/NBCU/NYC: Serve as a legal point of contact & provide legal support for all aspects of content acquisition by the Direct-To-Consumer prgrmng team. 7+ yrs relevant legal exp in digital/new media, incl understanding of & demonstrated proficiency w/the tech & dist agreements. Full info/apply HERE (6/21)

SR COUNSEL DIRECT TO CONSUMER & DIGITAL ENTERPRISES/NBCU/Universal City: Serve as a legal point of contact & provide legal support for all aspects of content acquisition by the Direct-To-Consumer prgrmng team. 7+ yrs relevant legal exp in digital/new media, incl understanding of & demonstrated proficiency w/the tech & dist agreements. Full info/apply HERE (6/21)

AD SALES – SALES SERVICE EXECUTIVE, DIRECT RESPONSE/REELZ/NY: Maintain/grow business, input & maintain orders. Act as a liaison for the Sales team in key areas of sales development – marketing, traffic, finance and research. BA/BS req & Min 2 yrs exp. Digital & VOD exp preferable. Apply HERE (6/20)

SR PROJECT MGR, ANIMATION/Nickelodeon/NYC: Responsible for the project management of all marketing and creative promotion for Nickelodeon animated properties. Min 7-9 yrs of project mngmnt or prod mngmnt experience in a TV network capacity. Prior exp working in animation a +. Full info HERE (6/20)

SR TALENT BOOKER/The Paley Center/NYC: Identify/invite/secure talent for exclusive screenings, unique exhibitions, A-list premieres & star-studded events. Proven track record & 10+yrs prgrmng exp securing high profile talent for ent/sport & media programs & other special events on time & within budget. Full info HERE (6/20)

SR PRODUCER, PROGRAMMING/The Paley Center for Media/NYC: Responsible for all aspects of producing live productions which includes securing and producing NY Public Programs. 10+ yrs of producing live productions within ent, sports and other media. Exp producing exhibits or other special events. Full info HERE (6/20)

CREATIVE DIRECTOR/Science/NYC: CD w/ strong eye for branding to oversee creative dev of promo cmpgns, branding and cross-promo mktg initiatives for Science Channel. Create viewer loyalty & build ratings through brand character and personality. Inspire staff and freelancers to strengthen ntwrk voice. 10+ yrs promo/mktg exp req’d. Full info/apply HERE (6/20)

ACCOUNT COORDINATOR, ACCOUNT DIRECTOR/VP, SAE ACCOUNT SUPERVISOR/Beck Media/Santa Monica: All positions are open and looking for qualified candidates. Please click on each title for full job description and how to apply. Account Coord Account Director/VP SAE Account Supervisor (6/19)

AD SALES- SALES PLANNER/Crown Media Family Networks/CA: This position is responsible for providing support to the Ad Sales team by working with Account Executives to service clients on a daily basis. BA/BS req & Min 2 yrs exp. Apply HERE (6/19)

DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION & TRADE MARKETING/Viacom International Media/NYC: Plan & mng trade events. Mng Viacom’s international B2B branding. Min 7 yrs mktg exp within Product Licensing, Trade Marketing or Business to Business (B2B) mktg. Full info HERE (6/18)

DIRECTOR, TALENT DEVELOPMENT/PAC-12/SF: Identify, evaluate, and recruit on-air talent for the Pac-12 Networks. Full info/apply: HERE (6/18)

MARKETING RESEARCH MGR/ION/NYC: Arm the sales team with network performance metrics, competitive advantages, and thoughtful research stories. The ideal candidate for this role has a hybrid skill set of both data analysis and storytelling ability. Exp w/Nielsen research & other research tools. Full info HERE (6/18)