08/04/17: BAMTech’s English accent

Good morning. It’s Friday August 4, 2017 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

The English Football League has found a new home stateside, locking in a deal with BAMTech to showcase live games in the US this season for the second, third and fourth divisions of English football — the Championship, League One and League Two — as well as the Carabao Cup. ESPN then reached a separate agreement with BAMTech to carry the games, which will primarily be shown on digital platforms through WatchESPN, ESPN3 and the ESPN App with the first game set to run on Friday. Contests has previously run on beIn Sports.

ON THE AIR

It is finally time for The Ocho. Tapping into the movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, ESPN announced that ESPNU will become ESPN8: “The Ocho” on Aug. 8, if only for one day. The move will see the network- which held a motto of “Bringing You the Finest in Seldom Seen Sports” in the film – will feature a line-up of unconventional sporting events ranging from Disc Golf to Ultimate Trampoline Dodgeball to Arm Wrestling beginning at midnight with the 2016 American Disc Golf Championship.

Speaking of ESPN, the network offers up the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony for the 23rd year on Saturday at 7p. Trey Wingo hosts with analyst Herm Edwards and Chris Mortensen. Meanwhile, Chris Berman will emcee the Enshrinement Ceremony for the 18th year. Leading into the weekend, ESPN’s NFL Live is airing segments that reflect on the careers of some of inductees in the 2017 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

Golf Channel locked in programming plans for the 99th PGA Championship running Aug 7-13 from Charlotte and anchored by Golf Central Live From the PGA Championship with more than 60 total hours of live news programming throughout the week. Golf Channel’s on-site news presence will feature multiple strategic camera locations, including adjacent to the driving range, short game area and putting green to give viewers an inside-the-ropes perspective as players in the field prepare for competition. Rich Lerner, Kelly Tilghman and Ryan Burr will rotate hosting duties on the show, while Notah Begay, Michael Breed, Brandel Chamblee, David Duval, Jim Gallagher Jr., Frank Nobilo, Arron Oberholser and Mark Rolfing will serve as analysts.

This weekend will see MLB on TBS showcase a battle of first place National League teams as the Nationals and Cubs battle it out on Sunday at 2p. Don Orsillo handles play-by-play and will be joined by analyst Ron Darling to call the TBS telecast, which will be available in the Washington, D.C. market.

Speaking of baseball, THIRTEEN’s American Masters series announced a new documentary about Hall of Famer Ted Williams that will be co-produced with Major League Baseball, Albert M. Tapper, David Ortiz’ Big Papi Productions, and Nick Davis Productions. The film is slated to premiere summer 2018 on PBS in honor of Williams’ centennial.

Now is the time to catch up and learn from the experts from ESL, Twitch and Nielsen! We are proud to be partnering with ESL for the Cynopsis Esports Master Class, a unique opportunity to pull back the curtain and experience for yourself what the competitive gaming industry is made of. Featuring not only lectures from some of the most successful executives in the space today, who will break down the ABCs of the business and its players, attendees will also go behind-the-scenes of ESL One New York at Barclays, and receive tickets to the weekend’s festivities for the largest esports tournament on the east coast (if you register early)! Get ahead of the learning curve and register today.

The United Soccer League is expanding the league’s regular season to 34 games per team in the 2018 season, with the regular season will be extended to 31 weeks. The decision was approved by the USL Board of Governors at the league’s Mid-Season Meetings in Chicago and will bring the USL regular season tally to 500 total games for the first time in its history. “We are very pleased the Board of Governors has approved the decision to expand the USL regular season to 34 games per club,” said USL President Jake Edwards. “The league’s commitment to club services, broadcast and various strategic initiatives combined with the continued investment of our owners into the clubs have produced record attendance this season. An additional home match now provides a significant revenue opportunity as attendance continues to grow.

United World Sports is adding to its lineup of international rugby competitions with the launch of Silicon Valley 7’s, scheduled to run Nov. 4-5 at Avaya Stadium in San Jose. “It is exciting to establish Silicon Valley 7s as a season-opening annual tournament that will set the pace for the 2017-2018 rugby campaign,” said Jeff McDowell, EVP/CMO of United World Sports. “With 12 of the top rugby 7s teams in the world coming to San Jose, we anticipate a high-level of interest in this high-performance competition. Silicon Valley 7s brings the world’s fastest growing Olympic sport to a whole new audience, in a way that allows even the most casual of sports fans to see close-up the power of rugby 7s.”

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The Stars are Aligning in Midtown!

The 3^rd Annual Rising Star Awards | 9.15.17 |Midtown Lofts| NYC

Cynopsis Rising Star Awards Reception is honoring stand-out performers, innovators and emerging leaders in the media industry. The experience of these young execs spans research, sports, digital, content, and marketing and their future’s look bright! Stars are joining us from Mediacom, Epix, Maxus, E! Entertainment, Discovery, NBCUniversal, Horizon Media, Nielsen, Smithsonian Channel, Turner and many more!

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

NASCAR and ExxonMobil are renewing vows to designate the Mobil 1 brand as the “Official Motor Oil of NASCAR”. The newly signed agreement will extend the successful partnership to 20 years. “Mobil 1 is one of the most recognizable brands in the world and we are pleased to continue our longstanding partnership for years to come,” said Lou Garate, vice president, partnership marketing, NASCAR. “Our partner utilizes its official status as a powerful part of its marketing mix through advertising, packaging, point-of-sale and promotions, helping market NASCAR to millions of Americans.”

EA Sports signed on to become an Official Partner of the EFL, locking in a six-year agreement in place to become the organization’s on-screen data partner and the first sponsor of the new digital streaming service, iFollow. The partnership will also see EA Sports use the EFL as a marketing platform to promote EA Sports FIFA 18, and engage a global audience of football fans.

The Harlem Globetrotters announced a new licensee and a new partner, as well as continuing its license agreement with Simon & Schuster. New deals a partnership with The Dunk Collection to produce branded products that include a Harlem Globetrotters “Dirty Dunk” laundry hamper as well as an agreement with Suited Brands to release branded apparel items in the athleisure retail category. On the book side, the Globetrotters will release the first of a series of “Ready to Read” titles, called Here Come the Harlem Globetrotters on Aug. 29.

Revo sunglasses was named the sunglass provider for the United States team at this year’s Solheim Cup, which runs from Aug. 18-20. “We are proud to work with the LPGA and the Solheim Cup,” said Cliff Robinson, President of Revo. “Women today seek both fashion AND performance, as well as the best protection when choosing their sunwear, so Revo has become a natural choice for women spending time outdoors.”

DIGITAL & STREAMING

NBC Sports Gold locked in its roster for this season’s Premier League Pass, lining up 130 exclusive matches live and on-demand and this year’s pass priced at $49.99. The service includes an extensive suite of daily and weekly news shows, as well as classic archive programming never available before in the US.

EA announced that WNBA teams and players will be playable as part of NBA Live 18 this fall on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The WNBA will be available via WNBA Play Now, and teams and player skills have been specifically balanced to reflect the unique playstyle of the league and skills of its players. This marks the first time the official WNBA’s roster of teams and players will appear in a video game.

Yahoo Fantasy Football is teaming up with SnapChat to mark the launch of the new season with a “first-of-its-kind” Lens for our Fantasy Football fans. According to the announcement the company is “celebrating our No. 1 Mobile App status by putting users directly in to the game! Snap or tap to unlock the lens and start to #FeelTheWins with Yahoo Fantasy Football.”

Aug. 10 sees the launch of a new weekly digital show, BIG EAST Shootaround, on the FOX Sports Go app, as well as on the BIG EAST Facebook and Twitter pages. Ep one features Seton Hall seniors Angel Delgado, Desi Rodriguez, Khadeen Carrington and Ismael Sanogo from the BIG EAST Conference offices in midtown Manhattan. John Fanta hosts with new episodes featuring behind-the-scenes stories and guests that include athletes, coaches and more, running weekly throughout the coming season. .

ESPORTS

FACEIT’s Esports Championship Series returns for Season 4 with the ECS Open Qualifiers and Development League. The Open Qualifiers run Aug. 19-20 and 26-27 with the top two teams of each qualifier progressing to the Development League. Meanwhile, the ECS Season 4 Development League for Europe and North America will begin on Aug. 29, with four teams coming from the Open Qualifiers and four more teams directly invited to participate

ROSTER MOVES

Marcia Keegan was named VP, National Radio Programming and Production at ESPN where she will oversee all talk programming content on the ESPN Radio national network. Keegan retains responsibility for ESPN’s packaged show productions.

Matt Campbell is joining The Players’ Tribune as Senior Vice President of Product and Technology. There, he will oversee the company’s technology and product strategy and will be responsible for building and managing a team of product and engineering professionals focused on innovation and scale.

fuboTV appointed Ben Grad as North American head of content strategy and acquisition – a new position at the company. Grad will be responsible for content acquisition strategy, packaging, affiliate relations and contract negotiations with fuboTV’s North American content partners.

Sports props app WinView hired Mark Richman as its Chief Financial Officer, and Yugesh Naicker as its Chief Architect. Both new hires will be based in WinView’s headquarters in Redwood City.

THE MAIN EVENT

Nationals/Cubs on TBS on Sunday at 2p.

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ON THIS DAY in 1985: The Angels’ Rod Carew records his 3,000th career base hit.

In the Know: In the movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Patches O’Houlihan touts that the 5 D’s of dodgeball are: Dodge, duck, dip, dive and what? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: What school is Jesse Owens’ alma mater? Answer: Ohio State. Kudos: Michael Ritz-BucStar Consulting/NY; Denis Barry-CBS/NY; Jay Goldstein-AdMore/NY; Matt Lipson-Iconic Faceoff/NY; Brianne Maciejowski-Miles/Sarasota; Willy Gibson-WTG Consulting/Columbus; Mark J. Crepeau-Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame/Springfield; Robert Minor-Comcast Spotlight/Fort Myers; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Eric Steele-WITI/Milwaukee; Mark Stulberger-Stully’s Broadcasting School/Houston; David Hauptman/Denver; Brian Broughton-BET Networks/LA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank; Judie Henninger-Valentine Productions/Santa Monica; Jim Himmel-TCB Media/San Clemente

Later — Chris

Chris Pursell @VegasandVine
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