06/01/17: USA Swimming’s Peacock plunge

Good morning. It’s Thursday June 1, 2017 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

USA Swimming is diving into a new agreement with NBC Sports Group, handing them exclusive television and digital streaming rights through 2024. The deal will see NBC Sports Group present extensive annual coverage of the six-stop arena Pro Swim Series, Phillips 66 USA Swimming National Championships and Winter National Championships, as well as the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships across NBC, NBCSN, and Olympic Channel.

“Swimming has provided countless signature moments at the Olympics, most recently in Rio with the astonishing and historic performances of Katie Ledecky, Simone Manuel, and, of course, Michael Phelps,” said Jim Bell, President, NBC Olympics Production and Programming. “With this deal, we’re excited to now be able to share even more of the sport that so many Americans love during the Games, and get to know some of the future stars in the pool.”

“Partnering with NBC through 2024 ensures that we can continue to grow TV and digital coverage of the sport,” said Mike Unger, USA Swimming Interim Chief Executive Officer. “NBC is a partner that has a shared interest in growing Olympic and swimming coverage and this extension helps us bring more swimming coverage to fans on TVs, computers, mobile devices and beyond.”

ON THE AIR

FOX Sports carved up its fall college football buffet plans, with the new season anchored by games from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 conferences with battles that include Ohio State/Michigan (Nov. 25), Texas/USC (Sept. 16) and Oklahoma/Oklahoma State (Nov. 4), as well as the Big Ten and Big 12 championship games. “By adding the best games from the Big Ten Conference to our already impressive portfolio of top contests from the Big 12 and Pac-12, and putting more of those games on broadcast television than ever before, FOX Sports truly solidifies itself as a leader in the college football landscape,” said FOX Sports President, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Producer Eric Shanks. “With the MLB Postseason and the best NFL regular-season schedule of any network, we are thrilled to be the top destination for sports fans this fall.”

ESPN College GameDay’s Lee Corso locked in a multiyear deal to remain on college football’s longest-running pregame show. Corso will also play a role on ESPN’s College Football Playoff programming. Corso originally joined ESPN in 1987 and is the only remaining original College GameDay on-air personality.

Meanwhile, John Clayton confirmed a Sporting News report that – after 23 years – he would no longer be contributing to ESPN. The move comes as part of the channel’s recent layoffs. On Twitter, Clayton wrote, “ I guess you saw the news. After 23 years I won’t be contributing to ESPN. Two words. Thank you. My bosses and co-workers are the best.”

Continuing the ESPN news, the company revealed its brackets for the 16-team, early-season men’s college basketball tournament PK80 presented by State Farm. The two eight-team brackets will run simultaneously in the Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland from Nov. 23-24 and Nov. 26, with all games televised on ESPN networks. The “Motion” bracket will feature Butler, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Ohio State, Portland State, Stanford and Texas in play while the “Victory” bracket will spotlight Arkansas, UConn, Georgetown, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon and Portland.

Kids’ Choice Sports 2017 is bringing back a familiar face, announcing that Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback Russell Wilson as host for Nickelodeon. The event airs on July 16 at 8p and will be taped live on July 13 from UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion in LA. .Overall, 12 categories will be up for grabs, with Serena Williams and Katie Ledecky leading the pack with three nominations each. Sponsors include Airheads, Capri Sun, Chrysler Pacifica, Crest, Nationwide’s Make Safe Happen, Popsicle and Verizon.

Following a year that saw a slew of deals between sports and esports entities, how are these new partnerships actually benefitting the brands? What have these sports powerhouses learnt about esports fans? How is competitive gaming being leveraged? Hear from some of the innovators from the sports world who took on esports and learn from their experiences at our latest webinar “ How Sports Brands Can Leverage the eSports Explosion ,” taking place on June 27. Book your spot now by clicking here .

ESPN takes on the 2017 Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma with an up to 17-game season finale from OGE Energy Field at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium starting today. The best-of-three WCWS Finals begins June 5, and concludes either June 6 or 7 with the crowning of this season’s national champion. Florida opens the tournament against Texas A&M at noon, followed by LSU/UCLA at 2:30p with both games on ESPN. ESPN will utilize two commentating teams during the round-robin portion of the tournament, with WCWS veterans Jessica Mendoza (analyst), Michele Smith (analyst), Beth Mowins (play-by-play) and Holly Rowe (reporter) calling the majority of the prime-time games.

Pac-12 Networks today announced its broadcast schedule for the Conference’s first three weeks of programming this season, including seven games set to air in week one. Overall, the networks will broadcast 15 live football games over the first three weeks with 35 live regular season games overall on the season, including 20 conference games. Kickoff week on the Networks will include USC facing Western Michigan on Sept. 2 along with Southern Utah/Oregon, Northern Arizona/Arizona and Portland State/Oregon State. Sept. 1 sees Colorado battle Colorado State at Mile High Stadium. Opening the season will be North Dakota/Utah and New Mexico State/ASU.

Eleven Sports is tweaking its coverage of the Rockland Boulders baseball game against the Ottawa Champions tonight by giving kids the chance to take-over the broadcast of the match as part of a wider programming strategy aimed at delivering fun content “created for kids, by kids.” Y oung sports fans will provide full in-game commentary as well as running the pre- and post-game shows and get to interview players, preview the action, discuss the key moments and more.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

How Sports Brands Can Leverage the Esports Explosion

Register for Cynopsis’ June 27 webinar and discover the best business plays for sports brands looking to leverage this rapidly expanding industry. In it, you’ll learn:

What brought current players into the space and what they’ve learned.
How the sports and esports industries can be mutually beneficial.
Ways you can use complementary programming to maximize your impact.
What data is crucial to research before building your strategy.

Register today

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

The PGA TOUR nailed down a pair of deals, announcing two new sponsors. First, the org announced a multi-year marketing relationship with Arby’s to serve as the “Official Restaurant of the PGA TOUR” in the Quick Service Casual Restaurant category. Arby’s plans to activate at various tournaments as part of the new relationship, including a digital campaign on PGATOUR.com as well as with Skratch. In addition, Italian premium automotive brand Alfa Romeo became the third Global Partner of the Presidents Cup, joining Citi and Rolex. As a Global Partner, Alfa Romeo will gain exposure through PGA TOUR media and marketing assets, including advertising and in-program enhancements on Golf Channel and NBC during television coverage of the Presidents Cup; onsite branding and hospitality; and extensive exposure on TOUR-related media.

The NBA laid out its partner activation plans for the NBA Finals. Among the bevy of promotions are:

Taco Bell will be teaming up with the NBA for the “Steal a Game, Steal a Taco” promotion if a road team wins a game in the 2017 NBA Finals.
Gatorade producing a Snapchat geo-filter that will run during the NBA Finals.
The NBA 2K18 cover announcement
State Farm and Kaiser Permanente co-presenting the NBA Cares Finals Legacy Projects,
SAP executing an NBA Finals digital activation titled the “Simple Report.”
Kia extending their seasonlong social media program, “Kia Who Ya Got”,
FanDuel hosting the NBA Fantasy Playoffs presented by Bud Light.
Mountain Dew developing a championship can for the team that wins the NBA Finals.

Esurance named Josh Duhamel as the first ever Esurance MLB Celebrity All-Star Game Ballot Ambassador, where he will “rally fans for the 88th Midsummer Classic throughout the ballot voting period” by submitting his votes, sharing posts on social media, and helping fans get an inside look at MLB All-Star Week. Duhamel will also make an in-person appearance at MLB All-Star FanFest on July 9 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

TEN: The Enthusiast Network announced partners for Dew Tour’s summer skateboard competition and festival from June 15-18. Mountain Dew returns as the founding partner, along with lead partners U.S. Army, Motorola, Verizon, Frontier Communications, and Circle K. New partners are set to include STANLEY and Courtyard Marriott Downtown Long Beach.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

WWE announced that the first-ever women’s Money In The Bank Ladder match will take place on June 18 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, streaming live around the world on WWE Network at 8p. Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Carmella, Natalya and Tamina competing for the opportunity to receive a contract to challenge for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship anytime within the next year.

NBA TV studio analyst Steve Smith signed on as a backer of SportsCastr.Live, a video platform that allows users to take on the role of color commentators and call games. Smith joins SportsCastr.Live’s team of advisors and investors, which includes names such as David Stern and Jim Boeheim.

ESPORTS

In this week’s edition of Cynopsis Esports & Gaming…

Lagardere feels the esports Love
ROG widens the pool
The International on pace for another new record
Dreamhack’s Royale treatment
Street Fighter’s mobile play
Mousesports connects to Vodaphone
Twitch’s E3 plans

ROSTER MOVES

Scott Novak has named Head of Global Communications for Bruin Sports Capital, where he will oversee global internal and external communications for the company and will work with the firm’s portfolio companies to enhance their communication strategies. Novak was previously SVP Communications and Brand Development for Time Inc.

THE MAIN EVENT

Cavaliers/Warriors on ABC at 9p.

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ON THIS DAY in 1988: John Madden Football debuts for the Commodore 64 and Apple II.

In The Know : What metal band is shown on John Clayton’s t-shirt underneath his mock suit on his famous “This is SportsCenter” commercial? ( Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: Who portrayed Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams? Answer: Ray Liotta. Kudos: Ed Casey-BBC Worldwide/NY; Jackie Mahon-Freelance/NY; Mike Polvere-Optimum Sports/NY; Jeff Spaulding-Spaulding & Associates Media Consulting/NY; Randy Ingram-WISH-TV/MyINDY-TV/Indianapolis; Bill Graff-beIN Sports/Miami; Andy Siegel/Charlotte; Michael Goodman-Radio One-Atlanta/Atlanta; Will Allmendinger-Clear Channel Outdoor/Chicago; John Kukla-KDFW/KDFI/Dallas-Fort Worth; Kristin Staskowski-Spectrum Reach/Birmingham; Mark Stulberger-Stully’s Broadcasting School/Houston; Matt Sautter-Imagine Communications/Denver; Jeff Mirkin-Phoneatics/Santa Monica; Steve Bradbury-Deep Sports/Marina Del Rey; Dennis Treleven-Fox Networks Group/LA; Jim Himmel-TCB Media/San Clemente

Later — Chris

Chris Pursell @VegasandVine
Roberta Caploe Publisher @robertacaploe	Diane K Schwartz Senior Vice President Media Communications Group	Cynopsis Ad Sales Mike Farina \| 203-218-6480 VP, Sales	Cynopsis Job Listings Sales Trish Pihonak \| 203-899-8459 Director of Operations

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