06/21/18: PGA TOUR swings with Facebook Live

Good morning. It’s Thursday June 21, 2018 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

The PGA TOUR liked a new deal with Facebook, announcing an agreement with the platform to distribute exclusive Saturday and Sunday live competition coverage, on a free basis, from eight tournaments leading into the FedExCup Playoffs for the 2017-18 season. Running on Facebook Watch in the US, the coverage will be produced under the PGA TOUR LIVE brand and, similar to the TOUR’s subscription OTT service, will follow two featured groups that tee off in the morning of the third and final rounds. The PGA TOUR will uniquely produce this coverage for Facebook’s social video platform, with interactive elements aimed to engage fans. For example, the coverage will incorporate fan questions and comments.

The Facebook Watch coverage will begin at the Travelers Championship on Saturday with other events that include: Quicken Loans National; A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier; John Deere Classic; RBC Canadian Open; World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational; Wyndham Championship; and THE NORTHERN TRUST.

ON THE AIR

ESPN unveiled nominations for The 2018 ESPYS presented by Capital One with fans able to vote at ESPYS.com up to the start of the show. The annual kudoscast airs on ABC for the fourth year on July 18 and will be hosted by Danica Patrick. Among the contenders this year in Best Male Athlete will three-time nominee Tom Brady along with category newcomers Alexander Ovechkin, James Harden, and Jose Altuve. Best Female Athlete sees Mikaela Shiffrin, Chloe Kim, the WNBA’s Sylvia Fowles, and Julie Ertz of USA women’s soccer in the running..

The NBA and AEG announced that the NBA London Game 2019 will feature a regular-season game between the Washington Wizards and the New York Knicks at The O2 on Jan. 17. The game will be broadcast by the NBA’s broadcast partners across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and on NBA League Pass International and feature a variety of interactive fan activities, NBA Cares community outreach initiatives and Jr. NBA basketball programming.

ESPN is reporting that SportsCenter has shown growth for four consecutive months of year-over-year viewership for its 6p edition. With Sage Steele and Kevin Negandhi taking over as consistent anchors on May 14, the program averaged 531,000 viewers through the rest of the month, up 19% over the 447,000 average for the same period in 2017.

NBC Sports continues coverage of the Professional Fighters League tonight at 9p on NBCSN from the Chicago Theatre in Chicago with two-time Olympic Judo gold medalist Kayla Harrison making her MMA against Brittney Elkin, in addition to a trio of lightweight showdowns. Todd Harris calls the action, joined by Randy Couture and Bas Rutten, alongside Yves Edwards and reporter Caroline Pearce. The bout will be televised nationally on NBCSN at 9p and on globally on Facebook Watch art 6p.

Pac-12 Networks carries 66 live women’s soccer games in 2018, beginning Aug. 17 with four matches highlighting opening night. All Pac-12 universities will appear on the Networks at least seven times in 2018, with Stanford leading the way with 13 appearances.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

What are industry people saying about Cynopsis Jobs?

“Cynopsis is an amazing resource for getting qualified candidates relevant and significant to the media and entertainment industry.” – Karla P., SR Director, Talent Acquisitions – Viacom

“ Cynopsis is one of the best platforms for media related recruitments. I have successfully found and hired good candidates. – Sanghamittra R. , HR Director – Zee Entertainment Enterprises

Email [email protected] for info on how to place a job ad.

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

The NBA detailed activation plans for the NBA Draft this week, with promotion that includes (but is not limited to):

American Express hosting an exclusive NBA Draft experience for approximately 140 Card Members and select executives, which will include a group photo on the NBA Draft stage, a private reception, and a Q&A/autograph/photo session with a star NBA player.
Anheuser Busch having an integration at Draft titled “Do you Know Your Bud Challenge”.
Cisco presenting live interviews with at least five top 2018 NBA Draftees via Cisco video conference from Barclays Center and sponsoring “Sounds of the Night” social posts, following Mohamed Bamba and Marvin Bagley III.
JBL hosting – a “first of its kind” Instagram podcast hosted by Hot 97 personality Laura Stylez, featuring interviews with Draftees.
Kia activating on the concourse with a NBA-branded Kia Stinger – fans can take a photo with the Kia Rookie of the Year trophy and can also receive NBA-branded premiums.
Mountain Dew’s Kickstart Green Carpet.
State Farm, in addition to serving as Draft title partner, presenting the “Draft Day Red Room”.
Verizon providing on-site Draft experiences to customers who claimed these Draft rewards in the Verizon App leading up to the event.

UFC and AirAsia announced that current “OnePride MMA Pro Never Quit” women’s strawweight champion of Indonesia, Linda Darrow has been selected as the first-ever student to be admitted into its UFC Scholarship program. As part of this scholarship, Darrow will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the United States to train at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas.

Pepsi, in partnership with The Players’ Tribune, released all-new animated content featuring a penned letter from Uncle Drew played by Kyrie Irving. The letter – titled “Dear Youngbloods” – features Uncle Drew teaching his “youngbloods” about the fundamentals of the game: be ready, there is no offseason, get tough and never quit. This is the first time Pepsi has commissioned a fictional character to pen an article, coming to readers ahead of the feature film Uncle Drew that will hit the big screen on June 29.

Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment inked a media and sponsorship sales representation agreement with Breeders’ Cup Limited, the organizers of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series and World Championships. VWSE will represent several brand categories for multi-platform sponsorship assets around the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, which features 26 televised races on NBC and NBCSN from June through October, and the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

UNICEF launches its latest global initiative, “What Excites Us, Unites Us.” Coming from creative agency 180LA the campaign seeks to show how sport can bring the world together in support of the rights and wellbeing of refugee and migrant children and is led by a two-minute film (that tells the story of Santi, an 8-year-old who migrated from Bolivia to Spain, had trouble finding friends, and ultimately found acceptance in his new home country through a shared love of football.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

New research conducted by Ipsos for the Fantasy Sports Trade Association found that 79% of fantasy sports players who are not current sports wagerers will likely participate in sports betting once it is legalized in their state. The results were unveiled June 20 at U.S. Bank Stadium during the FSTA Summer Conference and comes following the US Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. In addition, 89% of fantasy players said they support legalized sports betting. Of all the sports bettors who responded to the study, over half said they would bet on sports more often if gambling were legalized, with more than one third saying their wager sizes would increase.

The NBA Draft will see Sports Illustrated serve up Crossover TV NBA Draft Extravaganza, hosted by Ben Golliver, Andrew Sharp, Rohan Nadkarni and Matt Dollinger tonight at 7p on SI.com, Facebook, YouTube and FuboTV.

IMPACT Wrestling is partnering with Australian independent professional wrestling organization World Series Wrestling to feature past and future events on the Global Wrestling Network multi-platform digital service. WSW returns to iPPV on FITE.tv with a live tour from June 22 to June 25, beginning in Adelaide and concluding in Sydney.

ESPORTS

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

ELEAGUE heads straight for GO
PUBG Global Invitational opens the hatch
Call of Duty eyes franchises
LA Valiant heads home for partners
OWL sponsors see gains
PGL’s AR play
Newzoo’s gamer count
E3’s conversation starters

ROSTER MOVES

Karate Combat signed Jon Gerstel to serve as Executive Producer of the global professional martial arts league’s live events. The four-time Emmy winner and has worked across many sports, including the NFL, NBA, NCAA basketball, NHL, golf, tennis, boxing and MMA, not to mention his coverage of the Olympics for CBS.

THE MAIN EVENT

2018 NBA Draft at 7p on ESPN and ESPN2.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

JUST ANNOUNCED: INAUGUREL TEMPEST AWARDS

CALL FOR ENTRIES NOW OPEN

Presented by Cynopsis, Chief Marketer and Event Marketer

The Tempest Awards celebrate the brands, teams, leagues, players and business leaders driving the competitive gaming industry, with categories that span production, marketing, talent & technology.

Winners will be announced live on stage during the Esports Business Summit at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas Tuesday, October 2.

START MY ENTRY

ON THIS DAY in 1997: The WNBA played its first regular-season games.

In the Know: Who was the first player ever to be drafted by the WNBA? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: Name a country that is competing in the World Cup this year for the first time. Answer: Iceland/Panama. Kudos: Brian Traynor-Endeavor/Moscow; Matt Meachem-Gracenote/NY; Joe Isabella-WCBS-TV/NY; Nicki McIntyre-Showtime Networks/NY; Grace Kang-Endeavor/NY; Christian Matthews-Washington Redskins/DC; Cait Cohn-USA Diving/Indianapolis; Bill Graff-beIN SPORTS/Miami; Jacob Newton-Turner Sports/Atlanta; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Lance Phegley-Texas Runner and Triathlete magazine/Houston; Kevin Micklo-Pinnacle Advertising/Chicago; Alex Warrick-Skyview Networks/Scottsdale; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank; Anne Wettig-Fox Cable Networks S&P/LA; Willie Price-American Forces Network/Riverside

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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JOB OF THE DAY

MEDIA BUYER
Expedia
Seattle

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JOB OPENING: MEDIA BUYER/Expedia/Seattle: Seeking a talented Media Buyer. You are data driven, analytical, and dedicated to staying abreast of the latest industry trends. You will play an integral role in negotiating, buying, and executing both national and local TV media buy using a multi-million dollar annual budget. Full info/apply HERE (6/28)

JOB OPENING: VP HUMAN RESOURCES/Discovery/El Segundo: Motor Trend Group is seeking HR Leader to drive HR strategic leadership as part of SMT. Provide HR “Bus Partner” support to exec leadership/wider org. Dvlp & implement all HR areas to reflect/foster enthusiastic culture of the biz. 10+ yrs full-cycle HR exp w/in a media co. Apply (6/28)

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JOB OPENING: COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR/PAC-12/SF: In this critical role, you will drive corporate communications, executive communications and internal/stakeholder communications efforts for the Pac-12 Networks. Min 10 yrs exp in strategic communications, including corporate communications. For full posting/apply HERE (6/25)

JOB OPENING: MANAGER, RECRUITING/A+E/NY: Mng domestic recruiting function to identify, assess & hire the best & brightest. Oversee JD process, est candidate pipeline, mng ntwrkg & social media opps to enhance recruitment efforts. 5+ yrs recruitment exp within media. Strong HR ntwrk of recruiters. Apply HERE (6/25)

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