06/15/17: FOX’s kicks off Cup canvas

Good morning. It’s Thursday June 15, 2017 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

FOX Sports is beefing up awareness for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia next year courtesy of new cross-functional marketing efforts across broadcast, digital and social media platforms that kick off with a promo featuring the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona. Meanwhile, yesterday saw FS1, FS2, FOX Sports Regional Networks, FOX Affiliates and FOXSports.com commemorate the occasion with a dedicated World Cup countdown and promotional placement on their shows, among other activations.

“Today, the countdown begins marking 365-days of celebration leading to the greatest sporting event in the world, the 2018 FIFA World Cup,” said Robert Gottlieb, FOX Sports Executive Vice President, Marketing. “We couldn’t be more excited to kick off the celebration, this is just the beginning of a robust marketing campaign as we pull together all our resources to promote and engage fans ahead of June 14, 2018.”

ON THE AIR

Floyd Mayweather and UFC star Conor McGregor are officially on. The two fighters agreed to a deal that will see two different worlds of fighting collide on Aug. 26 from Las Vegas. The PPV event will be distributed by Showtime PPV and UFC President Dana White, appearing on SportsCenter, said the fight would be at the boxing junior middleweight weight limit of 154 pounds at the T-Mobile Arena.

In addition, FOX Sports saw the US Men’s National Team’s 1-1 draw against Mexico deliver 2,052,000 viewers to FS1, marking the most-watched World Cup Qualifier in the network’s history, according to Nielsen Viewership peaked at 2.8 million viewers from 10-10:15p. Meanwhile, Sunday’s match delivered an average minute audience of 58,413.

NBA TV scored an all-time best of 270,000 average viewers for its postgame coverage of this year’s NBA Finals, marking an uptick of 5% over last year’s comparable coverage. Overall, viewership for the network was up 15% during primetime for this year’s NBA Playoffs, with gains across all key demos over 2016 numbers.

In other ratings news, Outdoor Channel reports that – during Q1 2017 – the network grew its coverage ratings during Total Day with Persons 2+ (+1%), Men 18-34 (+67%), Adults 18-34 (+103%) and Adults 18-49 (+5%) from a year ago. “As we continue to invest significant resources to support and grow this unique and exciting series, we are excited to see the continued growth of Major League Fishing,” said CEO and President of Outdoor Sportsman Group Networks, Jim Liberatore. “It has been amazing to watch this series grow year-after-year.”

Michael Phelps was selected to the Legend Award at this year’s Kids’ Choice Sports 2017. Phelps will receive the award in recognition of his world record-breaking achievements, unrivaled talent and outstanding sportsmanship in and out of the pool. This year’s show will be hosted this year by Russell Wilson air July 16 at 8p on Nickelodeon.

ESPN announced that New Orleans Saints superfan Jarrius “JJ” Robertson – who is battling a chronic liver disease called biliary atresia – will be honored with the Jimmy V Perseverance Award sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb on July 12 at The 25th ESPYS presented by Capital One on ABC. The Jimmy V Perseverance Award was named after, and inspired by, the late Jim Valvano who, while battling cancer, gave an emotional acceptance speech at the 1993 ESPYS. “Jarrius is such an inspirational young man,” said New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. “His strength, determination and resolve along with his infectious energy and attitude should be an example that no matter the circumstances or adversity with a positive outlook and embracing the motto of ‘Don’t Give Up… Don’t Ever Give Up’ there isn’t a challenge that cannot be conquered.”

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, including the NFL, Big Ten Network, the 76ers and Mindshare, 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.

MLB Central celebrated its episode 300 last week for MLB Network and will mark the occasion today with a special edition today that will highlight some of the best moments on the show to date. Co-hosts Matt Vasgersian, Mark DeRosa and Lauren Shehadi will look back at their best guests, analysis, and some of the show’s outtakes.

Telemundo Deportes detailed plans for the opening ceremony for the FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017 on Saturday with programming starting at 9a. Andres Cantor and Maria Celeste Arraras host with the Opening Ceremony featuring the sound of Igor Stravinky’s famous Russia ballet, The Firebird, and “a colorful presentation of Russia’s traditions, history, culture and nature, with a special focus on the four cities hosting the tournament: Saint Petersburg, Kazan, Sochi and Moscow.” Overall, more than 1,500 performers will be involved.

NBC Sports Films debuts Courageous, a documentary chronicling media pioneer Ted Turner’s quest to win the 1977 America’s Cup, on Saturday at 2:30p on NBC immediately following coverage of the 2017 America’s Cup Match. Courageous features interviews with Turner, his America’s Cup crew members, and sailing historians. Additionally the film includes archival footage from the 1977 America’s Cup and Turner’s multifaceted career, an interview with Braves legend and current Atlanta Braves Senior Vice President Hank Aaron, as well as never before seen footage and interviews.

On the international front, 2014 WNBA Rookie of the Year Chiney Ogwumike joined ESPN to serve as the co-host of SportsCenter across sub-Saharan Africa. Ogwumike joins co-host Phil Murphy on SportsCenter in Africa, bringing sports fans across 19 sub-Saharan nations a nightly look at the latest in International and American sports news, highlights and updates in the program’s signature fast-paced format.

Meanwhile, UFC and RS Thailand announced a multi-year content deal renewal to bring localized premium UFC content to the platform including live international events and original programming such as UFC Countdown, Road to the Octagon, UFC Unleashed and Ultimate Knockouts. “Thailand is a growing market where UFC programming has eight times more hours viewed than the next largest MMA promotion. We see this renewal as a positive indicator of the increased interest from fans and brands in MMA,” UFC Senior Vice President of International and Content Joe Carr said. “RS Thailand has been a valued partner and we look forward to continuing our relationship and working together in give fans easy access to the best in MMA content.”

SiriusXM offers coverage of the 2017 NCAA Men’s College World Series starting Saturday with programming running through the CWS Finals on June 26-28. Live play-by-play of every matchup will be produced and provided by Westwood One and air on SiriusXM College Sports Nation. In addition to the live play-by-play, SiriusXM College Sports Nation’s college baseball show, Perfect Game, will air live from Omaha during the first week of the tournament.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

You can’t afford to ignore the esports explosion

Register for our June 27 Webinar: How Sports Brands Can Leverage the Esports Explosion , as sports executives at the NFL , Big Ten Network , Mindshare NA and the Philadelphia 76’ers cover:

What esports players have learned since their investment that can help shape your strategy
• How the sports and esports industries can help each other
• How to leverage the gaming craze with complementary programming
• The kinds of data potential partners should review and so much more!

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

New Era Cap announced that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott signed on to be a brand ambassador for the company, joining athletes that include Le’Veon Bell (Pittsburgh Steelers), Khalil Mack (Oakland Raiders), Greg Olsen (Carolina Panthers) and Sterling Shepard (New York Giants). New Era will launch its first 2017 on-field campaign leading into NFL Training Camp kicking off in early Summer.

Major League Baseball announced the national launch of Summer Slugger, a free baseball-themed educational course designed to prevent students from losing critical math and literacy skills during the summer months. MLB worked with EVERFI to create the interactive course that targets fourth and fifth graders. As part of the new relationship, EVERFI becomes an “Official Education Partner of Major League Baseball,” with 14 MLB Clubs joining the initial promotion of the initiative.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

Outdoor Sportsman Group is offering the first-ever outdoor global subscription video-on-demand service for “outdoor lifestyle enthusiasts” titled MyOutdoorTV. MOTV will offer hunting, fishing and shooting content 24/7/365 around the world featuring a library to series from Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel and World Fishing Network. “Outdoor Sportsman Group is the exclusive aggregator of the best global, outdoor lifestyle programming on the planet,” said Jim Liberatore, CEO and President of Outdoor Sportsman Group Networks. “With MOTV, we are now able to engage our incomparable assets and showcase the best-in-class producers, television talent, writers, print publications and original programming as a one-stop-shop solution for enthusiasts around the world.”

DraftKings is back in the saddle with the CFL, whose season begins next week. The extended partnership will bring back the weekly CFL fantasy contests and offer users the chance to test their skills and knowledge in free-to-play contests or a buy-in preference. They also will be able to play privately with friends or with other fans globally to win prizes, tickets and exclusive VIP CFL experiences.

ESPORTS

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

Who were E3’s winners?
Blizzard forecasts the Overwatch Open Division
WESA picks up a pair
Disney Channel plans summer gaming block
Intel/ESL exchange vows
Esports fans give five to live programming

THE MAIN EVENT

US Open action tees off on FS1 at 11a.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Cynopsis Measurement & Data Conference

August 3 |Dream Downtown, NYC |11:30AM – 4:00PM

Despite all the chatter and change about ad loads, undefined currencies, metrics and more, there has yet to be a smart, focused conversation on where we are (and aren’t) and the necessary steps to get there. This conference is that conversation. Leading the discussion will be industry experts from Facebook, NBCU, ABC, Hulu, Quigley-Simpson, 22squared, one2one Media and more.

Seating is limited, so be sure to register your team today

ON THIS DAY in 1983: The Cardinals trade Keith Hernandez to the Mets.

In The Know: What color is NASCAR’s rookie stripe? (Email Erik Matuszewski ‎at [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: Nolan Ryan made his MLB debut with which team? Answer: The Mets. Kudos: Phyllis McQuillan-MSG Media/NY; Emmett Loughran-Metropolitan Opera/NY; Rick Ramage-UTA/NY; David Kalan-MLB Advanced Media/NY; Tom Lopez-UPS/Atlanta; Tim Buckman-Comcast Spectacor/Philadelphia; Marlon LeWinter – NRGized Media/West Palm Beach; Rick Rosenfelt-New York Red Bulls/Harrison; Matt Fumagalli-Levy Restaurants/Chicago; Micah Maurin-Raycom Media/Montgomery; Gretchen Brady-KTVT/KTXA/Dallas; Kevin Micklo-Pinnacle Marketing Group/Chicago; Jack Neumann-University of Calgary Dinos 5th Quarter Alumni Development/Calgary; David Hauptman/Denver; Matt Sautter-Imagine Communications/Denver; Matt Estrada-Whistle Sports/LA; Rick Pike-InterMedia Advertising/Woodland Hills; Larry Hutchings/Nipomo; Gary Tarpinian-MorningStar Entertainment/Burbank; Jack Simmons-US Army Reserve/LA

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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