08/16/17: CBS, FOX lineup showcases new faces for NFL season

Good morning. It’s Wednesday August 16, 2017 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

The NFL on CBS is set to make history this season, as the network unveiled its talent roster for its games. In addition to the previously-announced lead team of Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and Tracy Wolfson, CBS Sports added play-by-play announcer Beth Mowins to the 2017 NFL lineup. The move makes Mowins the first woman to ever call play-by-play for the network’s NFL games, where she will join game analyst Jay Feely starting Sept. 24 to call Cleveland/Indianapolis. Of course, she will actually begin the season by calling a Monday Night matchup for ESPN for the Chargers/Broncos matchup. CBS groupings this year will also include: Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts//Evan Washburn; Greg Gumbel/Trent Green//Jamie Erdahl; Kevin Harlan/Rich Gannon; Andrew Catalon/James Lofton; Spero Dedes/Adam Archuleta; and Tom McCarthy/Steve Tasker/Steve Beuerlein.

Around the dial, FOX Sports also detailed its broadcast talent for the new season, anchored of course by Joe Buck and Troy Aikman along with reporter Erin Andrews. Rounding out the teams will be: Kevin Burkhardt/Charles Davis/Pam Oliver; Kenny Albert/Ronde Barber/Kristina Pink; Chris Myers/Daryl Johnston/Laura Okmin; Dick Stockton/Mark Schlereth/Shannon Spake; Thom Brennaman/Chris Spielman/Peter Schrager and Sam Rosen/David Diehl/Jennifer Hale.

ON THE AIR

The PGA TOUR detailed plans for the front of its 2017-18 schedule with a seven-week stretch through mid-November that features four official domestic and four official international tournaments. The season tees off on Oct. 2-8 with the Safeway Open in Napa before hitting Asia for three straight tournaments, including the CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Oct. 9-15. The inaugural CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges, the PGA TOUR’s first-ever official event in Korea, from Oct. 16-22 and the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai from Oct. 23-29. The TOUR also returns to the mainland that week with the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, which will be followed by the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas (Oct. 30-Nov. 5), the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Mexico (Nov. 6-12), and concludes with The RSM Classic at St. Simons Island from Nov. 13-19. All eight tournaments will be televised by Golf Channel.

ESPN announced plans to give the season opening game between Ohio State/Indiana the MegaCast production treatment on Aug. 31 at 8p. The multi-network offering will include the traditional telecast on ESPN as well as six alternate offerings for fans on ESPNU, ESPNEWS and ESPN3. The traditional program will see Kirk Herbstreit with Dave Flemming and Laura Rutledge on microphone duties. Meanwhile, ESPNNEWS will feature the Coaches Film Room while ESPNU delivers the Homers Telecast. ESPN3 will serve up choices that include All-22, Command Center, Data Center and Sky Cam.

The United Bid Committee of Canada, Mexico and the United States began outreach for cities interested in serving as Official Host Cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The group sent Requests for Information to 44 cities across the three nations with a total of 49 stadiums located in or around those 44 candidate cities set to be considered for inclusion. The Bid Committee plans to include 20-25 venues in its final bid to FIFA with at least 12 locations that could ultimately serve as Official Host Cities. In the US, 34 cities were in the mix spanning the country, ranging from New York City, DC and Philadelphia in the east to LA, Seattle and Las Vegas in the west, with most major markets sporting a large stadium on the list.

SHOWTIME Sports unveiled that it will showcase the 2017 Naval Academy football team with weekly installments of the all-access documentary series A Season with Navy Football this season, marking the third edition of the franchise. The series debuts on Sept. 5 at 10p on the network, four days after Navy begins its season on the road against Florida Atlantic University.

Now is the time to catch up and learn about esports directly from the experts at ESL, Twitch, the 76ers, Nielsen, brands and more! 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 get your hands on some 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 PGA TOUR will air an hour-long special titled PGA TOUR 2017: A Sporting Life presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods on CBS Sports on Sunday at 2p. Produced by PGA TOUR Entertainment, the show will document how youth sports helped to shape the future for current stars on the PGA TOUR.

Pac-12 Networks laid out its talent lineup of broadcasters who will cover over 200 Olympic events this fall on the network, spanning men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, field hockey, men’s water polo and cross country. Returning names are set to include Aaron Heinzen, Ann Schatz, Anne Marie Anderson, Christian Miles, Daron Sutton, Elise Woodward, Greg Mescall, Jim Watson, Joe Castellano, Kate Scott, Kevin Barnett, Kevin Danna, Krista Blunk, Leah Secondo, Mark Rogondino, Matt McConnell, Neil Sika, Rich Burk, Rich Cellini, Thad Anderson and Troy Clardy.

Speaking of talent, Vegas Golden Knights President Kerry Bubolz announced the team’s first-ever television and radio broadcast teams, naming Dave Goucher to serve as the team’s TV play-by-play announcer, while Shane Hnidy takes on analyst duties. Meanwhile, Dan D’Uva will be the team’s radio play-by-play announcer.

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SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

IMG is debuting the Tailgate Club, described as “a premier tailgate and hospitality experience for IMG College’s partner universities and their fans.” Operated in partnership with IMG’s experiential marketing agency, IMG LIVE, Tailgate Club will debut at The University of Kansas, The University of Washington and West Virginia University for the 2017 football season, allowing fans to reserve a premium location without waking up before dawn with packages that include a premium reserved location near the action, customizable tent, seating, catering and entertainment options, and gameday concierge service to handle requests.

Speaking of IMG, IMG College and the University of Arkansas Department of Intercollegiate Athletics locked in a deal to extend its multimedia rights partnership through 2028 and set to include corporate sponsorships, signage, at-event hospitality, radio and television programming, digital advertising, media guides and playbills. As part of the 10-year agreement, IMG College will make a significant investment in technology enhancements for Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Bud Walton Arena and Baum Stadium.

The International Surfing Association announced that Stance agreed to continue their dedicated support of Adaptive Surfing and continue as Title sponsor of the Stance ISA World Adaptive Surfing Championship for two more years. The 2017 edition of the World Adaptive Surfing Championship runs Nov. 29-Dec. 3 in La Jolla.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

EA Sports announced that Madden Mobile has been updated to include new stadiums and uniforms, better graphics, as well as new features like Welcome to the Greatest Season which offer access to training drills at Brady Camp. Meanwhile, Longshot will serve as the first narrative storyline in a mobile sports game as users play through Devin Wade’s prequel story in Madden Mobile before jumping into the full journey in Madden NFL 18 on Aug. 25.

The Weekly Standard announced the relaunch of Tuesday Morning Quarterback from Gregg Easterbrook. The football column will debut on The Weekly Standard website on Aug. 22. In addition to the column, TMQ will be featured on a weekly podcast featuring Easterbrook and occasional guests, hosted by TWS editor-in-chief, Steve Hayes.

ESPORTS

Ninjas in Pyjamas announced that it was ending its partnership with Betway as main sponsor of the team, noting that – due to its entry to the League of Legends European Championship series – it would be forced to end its affiliation with the company. “It is no secret that entering League of Legends comes with a new set of regulations related to the league as it is a different competition in a different competitive landscape,” the team said in a statement.

Monumental Sports & Entertainment hired Grant Paranjape to serve as its new Director of Esports Business and Team Operations. There, Paranjape will report to Zach Leonsis and will direct strategy and business initiatives for MSE’s esports business operations, including for its forthcoming NBA 2K esports team. He joins the company from Splyce, where he secured partner relationships, lead strategic business initiatives, and worked with team managers to create an experience for players across 11 titles.

THE MAIN EVENT

Yankees/Mets on ESPN at 7p.

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ON THIS DAY in 1948: Babe Ruth dies of throat cancer in New York City at age 53.

In the Know: In what city was Babe Ruth born? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: What number did the Orioles retire to honor Earl Weaver? Answer: #4. Kudos: Eric Wright-DS Simon Productions/NY; Denis Barry-CBS/NY; Bob Dudelson-Leverage Agency/NY; Steven Gold-Nielsen/NY; Mike May-PHIT America/Wellington; Rick Rosenfelt-New York Red Bulls/Harrison; Rich Dubroff PressBoxonline.com/Baltimore; Tom Lopez-UPS/Atlanta; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Jack Neumann-University of Calgary Dinos 5th Quarter Alumni Development/Calgary; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Judie Henninger-Valentine Productions/Santa Monica

Later — Chris

Chris Pursell @VegasandVine
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