Major League Soccer revealed the newest iteration of its brand campaign, “Our Soccer,” as the League continues its regular season play. The campaign features Matthew McConaughey with a spotlight on the growth of the soccer movement, highlighting MLS as “the League for a new North America” and depicts the story of its “25 Years in 25 Seconds.”

Hershey’s extended its long-term partnership with USA Track and Field and will continue as the presenting sponsor of Run Jump Throw through 2024. “Hershey’s support has been instrumental in teaching children the basics and importance of exercise while growing the sport of track and field at a young age,” said USATF CEO Max Siegel. “We are thrilled to see the success of Run Jump Throw since 2015 and are excited to continue growing the program.”

All Sports Television Network entered into a multi-year agreement with Verizon Business Services in a move that will give the new channel the ability to deliver a high-definition, linear television broadcast signal to its affiliates throughout the United States, as well as to broadcasters in Asia, Europe and other regions of the world. “Our primary goal is to assure that our affiliates are able to receive ALL SPORTS’ programming at the same level as if being delivered via satellite,” stated ALL SPORTS President Roger Neal Smith. “After considering many program delivery alternatives, which included satellite uplinks, we decided that Verizon will be able to provide us with the consistency and support we require. Whether we are sending our signal to a satellite or over the Internet, viewers expect a high quality, uninterrupted signal from their television broadcasters. I am confident that, with Verizon, we can meet those expectations.”

DIGITAL, DATA & TECH

The WNBA extended its partnership with Twitter and will see 10 games carried on the platform starting tonight at 10p with Atlanta/Seattle. “Twitter continues to be an integral part of the WNBA’s media landscape, providing innovation on their platform during this unique season will elevate fan engagement to a whole new level,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “This continued partnership enables our passionate supporters and fans to connect directly to our game and to experience WNBA basketball from wherever they are.”

NASCAR and BetMGM announced a multi-year sports betting partnership. As an Authorized Gaming Operator of NASCAR, BetMGM will collaborate with NASCAR to create and promote sports betting experiences, including introducing in-race betting options, for racing fans across the US. “Partnering with a best-in-class operator like BetMGM positions NASCAR to build on the positive energy and momentum we’re seeing around gaming and in particular the live in-race experience,” said Scott Warfield, NASCAR Managing Director, Gaming. “We’re excited to have such an iconic brand on board to expand our offerings and deepen our engagement with the most passionate fans in sports.” BetMGM will expand the portfolio of bet types offered on its mobile app throughout the NASCAR season, including pre-race and in-play bets. Bet types currently being explored include top-finishing drivers, driver matchups, stage winners and bets tied to the number of the winning car (over/under), among others.

CBC/Radio-Canada announced a new two-game partnership with Twitter Canada that will see the public broadcaster’s tweets featuring live content streams and clips from its coverage of Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 reach a wider Canadian audience through the use of Twitter Amplify. “We’re thrilled to continue working with Twitter Canada through this new two-game partnership that will provide Canadians with more opportunities to access CBC/Radio-Canada’s exciting coverage of the Olympic Games,” said Joe Gottfried, Director Sales & Marketing – Sports & Olympics, CBC/Radio-Canada Media Solutions. “With the Tokyo and Beijing Games scheduled only six months apart, our partner brands will have unique opportunities to create a continuous and lasting impact, and connect with an engaged audience around touchstone cultural moments.”

Strat-O-Matic baseball board and digital games set records for sales and engagement during the pandemic, according to numbers released. For the period of March through July 2020, Strat-O-Matic sales far surpassed the same time frame in 2019 with Baseball Board and Windows platform sales up over 70% while Baseball Board game product sales are more than 85% higher.

Cards depicting eight singles and doubles American Cornhole League World Championship winners were issued on the TOPPS NOW platform. Future TOPPS NOW cards will be produced for other major events sponsored by ACL, which promotes and develops cornhole as a sport for any age and any skill level. “The TOPPS NOW platform is a great way to introduce collectors to the personalities that have driven the growth and success of cornhole and the ACL,” said Jeff Heckman, Topps’ Global Director of Ecommerce. “The World Championships gained a lot of attention, and we are pleased that fans have been excited about our first foray into the sport.”

ESPORTS

Activision Blizzard recruited Major League Baseball deputy commissioner Tony Pettiti to oversee its esports and entertainment efforts, serving as President of Sports and Entertainment and reporting directly to CEO Bobby Kotick. “Tony is one of the most highly regarded executives in sports and entertainment,” Kotick said in the announcement. “His success in media and as Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer of Major League Baseball is the perfect blend of skills to help us realize our aspirations for esports and our related businesses. He is admired by owners, media executives, players, and fans.”

Buffalo Wild Wings is serving up some League of Legends Championship Series, locking in a multi-year partnership that will designate the sports bar brand as the Official Sports Bar of Riot’s North American league. The deal also creates the first-ever streaming deal between an esports property and a major restaurant chain to livestream events at scale. The first event live-stream at participating Buffalo Wild Wings will be the LCS 2020 Summer Playoffs beginning Friday, August 14 at 4p. As an Official Partner of the LCS and Academy League, Buffalo Wild Wings will have rights to activate the partnership throughout the leagues’ marquee events, including the Spring and Summer Playoffs. Beyond streaming, Buffalo Wild Wings will be able to use official trademarks for the LCS in both on-premise and digital marketing materials and to create unique menu items and customer merchandise. Buffalo Wild Wings and the LCS will also work together on a variety of co-branded initiatives such as promotions and broadcast integrations during LCS events.

The famed Ford Models is turning its attention to esports and gaming, with the launch of a new division at the agency Ford Models Esports and Gaming will rep esports and gaming talent and work with leagues, sponsors, and other stakeholders to promote one of the fastest-growing segments in tech, and with opportunities for cross promotion with other talent categories and clients. Among early clients are Hot 97’s and Logitech G’s gaming media personality and content creator, the “HipHopGamer.” He will be joined at by other recently signed leading gaming talent that includes “Games Award” nominee for “Best TikTok Gaming Creator,” OVERTFLOW, as well as ESPN ESPY winner professional Madden and NBA2K League player, Timothy “oLarry” Anselimo. Ford has signed gaming veteran, motivational speaker and content creator, Ivan “OG King Curt” Curtiss, professional Street Fighter gamer, Chris “Chris T” Tatarian and CGS alternate turned veteran shoutcaster and host of the Paladins Premier League, the Paladins Collegiate World Championship, the NBA 2K League, and NACL, Paul “Rabies” Santoro.

DreamHack announced the postponement of its remaining festivals in 2020: DreamHack Rotterdam, DreamHack Hyderabad, DreamHack Atlanta, DreamHack Winter and DreamHack Madrid as a result of the pandemic. “The goal for all of us at DreamHack is to provide great experiences at our events, which thrive by bringing communities together for these shared and beloved festival weekends all around the globe,” said DreamHack Co-CEO Marcus Lindmark. “We have never had to postpone events like this before — but these are extraordinary times, and the safety of our attendees and staff has never been more important than now.”

Team Liquid is launching Liquid+ into open beta, described as a “groundbreaking fan engagement platform to reward Liquid fans for regular online engagement with players, teams and the club and rewards fans for supporting the team and its more than 100 pro players and streamers. When fans connect Liquid+ to the sites and social media accounts they use to interact with Team Liquid—such as Twitch, Discord, Twitter, or Reddit—Liquid+ will award them points for the engagement they show. Those points can be redeemed for in-game currency, event tickets, Team Liquid swag and tailored fan experiences with Team Liquid personalities, to name a few.

Tempo Storm cemented a new partnership with Dr. Squatch, an organic, natural personal care brad for the grooming industry. This partnership marks Squatch’s first with an esports/gaming company. “It was really important to us to collaborate with a sustainable and all-natural company like Dr. Squatch during a time of such uncertainty and stress for people all over the world,” said Tempo Storm Senior Partnerships & Marketing Manager Ryan Turner. “We want gamers to take care of themselves and we see this partnership as a way to help to ensure that our community has access to products that make them look and feel good every day.”

INDUSTRY & ROSTER MOVES

A slate of sports industry executives announced the launch of NextUp Ventures and NextUp Partners. The multi-solution consortium offers strategic capital investment, sweat equity and access to an angel network to fuel startups and emerging brands in the sports betting, esports and sports technology spaces. “The distinctive strengths of these entities will provide unparalleled value for sports organizations at any stage, from early startups to established brands and organizations,” said Joe Dupriest, co-founder NextUp Ventures and NextUp Partners. “Our mission and talent fully align with the sports industry’s current trajectory and can help sports brands at all stages get to that next level and beyond.” Participants include Joe Dupriest, Jim DeMarco, Joe Flores, Derrick Heggans, Craig Heisner, Gerald Jones, Sabrina Jenkins, Scott Lewis. Rob Purvy, Sarah Uhran, Patrick Conreaux, Marc Calamia, Kerry Graue, TJ Lowden and Paul Omps.

FaceBank Group appointed renowned polo player, entrepreneur and investor Ignacio “Nacho” Figueras to fuboTV’s board of directors effective immediately. “Nacho does it all – he’s revered in the sports and entertainment worlds as an international athlete, entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. I’m looking forward to the unique perspective Nacho will bring to fuboTV,” said David Gandler, co-founder and CEO, fuboTV.