08/25/17: FOX Sports gets back in the NYRA saddle

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM CBS SPORTS NETWORK

The entire 2017 college football season kicks off TOMORROW on CBS Sports Network

Oregon St. at Colorado St.

2:30 PM ET

The 24-hour home of CBS Sports

Good morning. It’s Friday August 25, 2017 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

The New York Racing Association is renewing vows with FOX Sports, inking a three-year extension of its programming deal to broadcast NYRA’s flagship TV program Saratoga Live on FS2 through 2020. NYRA launched Saratoga Live during the 2016 summer meet at Saratoga, which included 80 hours of live coverage. This year, FOX Sports expanded the schedule to include Saturdays from Belmont Park and Aqueduct Racetrack. “There’s no place like Saratoga and FOX Sports is delighted to be headed back to the Spa for three more summers,” said Michael Mulvihill, FOX Sports Executive Vice President, Research, League Operations and Strategy. “We are very excited to extend and expand our partnership with NYRA, which provides high-quality live programming for FS2, and gives our fans access to insightful and entertaining daily coverage of the best race meet in North America.”

ON THE AIR

This year’s the 2017 Enshrinement Ceremony at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has its roster of presenters for the Sept. 8 event with members of the Hall of Fame Class of 2017 asked to select a previous inductee to accompany and present them to their peers. Inductees and presenters are set to include: Zack Clayton, presented by Earl Monroe; Nick Galis, presented by Bob McAdoo; Robert Hughes, presented by Sheryl Swoopes; Mannie Jackson, presented by Jerry Colangelo, Lynette Woodard, Russ Granik; Tom Jernstedt, present by John Havlicek, Ann Meyers, and Geno Auriemma; Jerry Krause, presented by Jerry Reinsdorf; Rebecca Lobo, presented by Geno Auriemma; George McGinnis, presented Artis Gilmore, Reggie Miller, Bobby Leonard and Spencer Haywood; Muffet McGraw, presented by Ann Meyers; Tracy McGrady, presented by Isiah Thomas; and Bill Self, presented by Larry Brown.

Speaking of basketball, ESPN carries five NBA preseason games this October, including back-to-back doubleheaders. The slate begins on Oct. 8 with Lakers/Kings in Las Vegas, and will also include the Cavs/Bulls and Jazz/Lakers on Oct. 10, and Hornets/Celtics and Rockets/Grizzlies on Oct. 11.

The NFL announced that April’s 2017 NFL Draft in Philadelphia drummed up $56.1 million in direct spending to result in an estimated$94.9 million in economic impact for the city, according to the NFL Draft Event Impact Report, commissioned by the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau. The event saw attendance of 250,000 for the three-day affair. “Philadelphia served as a phenomenal host for the 2017 NFL Draft and created a memorable experience for our fans, incoming players, and teams,” said Peter O’Reilly, NFL Senior Vice President of Events. “We are grateful to Mayor Kenney, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, and all of our partners for helping make the event a resounding success.”

You gotta walk before you can run! Learn the essential elements of doing business in esports and hear from Nielsen, ESL, Twitch, Team Dignitas, the Esports Ad Bureau and more at 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 next episode of Feherty will feature David Feherty joined by former Hootie and the Blowfish front man, Darius Rucker on Aug. 28 at 9p on Golf Channel. The interview was filmed in Nashville and cover the origin of his popular “Monday After the Masters” golf event, his friendship with Davis Love III, and a crash course in song writing.

The SEC Storied film series has its next subject, announcing King George will run on SEC Network, on Sept. 5 at 9p. Produced by ESPN Films in association with NFL Films and directed by James Weiner, the one hour documentary will go deep into the playing career of the Gamecocks’ first and only Heisman Trophy winner, George Rogers.

DISH is opening the doors for a free preview of Outdoor Channel starting Aug. 31. The channel will be available to all DISH customers, regardless of programming package, through Oct. 3. “We look forward to this time of year annually,” Outdoor Sportsman Group President and CEO, Jim Liberatore said. “As the air gets a little cooler and the sun starts to set a little earlier, we know hunting season soon will follow. DISH’s free preview will get us in the mood for what we hope will be a bountiful fall season.”

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Early Bird Rates Expire in 5 Days!

Cynopsis Esports Master Class | Friday, Sept. 15 | Barclays Center, BKLYN

Cynopsis is partnering with ESL One to bring you the most insightful minds in the esports business who will have thought provoking sessions with executives from companies such as: ESL, Nielsen, Team Dignitas, Twitch, as well as esports influencers while going behind-the-scenes of the east coast’s biggest esports tournament!

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

Xfinity is on-board as sponsor for Olympic Channel’s celebration of the 25th anniversary of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics with “Dream Team Week.” All eight original broadcasts will run on eight consecutive nights in primetime starting Monday at 8:30p. Every Dream Team game from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics will feature the original commentary teams that called the action. The Xfinity sponsorship includes branding within billboards, bumpers, opens and closes, as well as presenting sponsorship status during Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA’s eight nights of Dream Team broadcasts, live streams, and social media content.

Globe Life And Accident Insurance Company extended its partnership with the Texas Rangers through 2048 with a naming rights deal for the team’s future retractable-roof ballpark to be built adjacent to the existing Globe Life Park in Arlington, and located next to the AT&T Stadium. The new home of the Texas Rangers will be named Globe Life Field and is scheduled to be completed by April 2020.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

New sports platform Stadium announced that it is up and running on WatchStadium.com, Twitter and PlutoTV. Auds can watch for free and programming will run 24 hours a day with content that includes three signature studio shows: Inside the League, Campus Insiders and The Rally, along with live games and specials. “We’re excited to be a part of this innovative launch bringing Stadium’s 24/7 sports programming to Twitter,” said Anthony Noto, COO at Twitter. “Sports fans on Twitter will enjoy free access to Stadium’s mix of live sports, live original studio programs and on demand events and be able to join the real-time conversation around this premium content.”

DraftKings is expanding its content, announcing the hiring of Pat Mayo as a fantasy analyst and host. Mayo previously produced content and served as a host for FNTSY and will now be providing expert analysis and exclusive content for fans across the DraftKings platform. In addition, Thomas Rigia will join DraftKings overseeing all video operations beginning Sept. 11, while Tom Glennon will join as a Senior Producer.

FIBA launched the free EuroBasket 2017 app presented by Global FIBA Partner Tissot. The app was developed by OMNIGON and is described as being both quicker and slicker than before with the option to select and follow up to 3 favorite teams and 10 favorite players.

Speaking of OMNIGON, the company also designed and developed the all new Champions Hockey League website and suite of iOS and Android apps ahead of the league’s new season. The new digital properties were built with OMNIGON’s Corebine platform with features that include dedicated team pages with complete schedule information, robust team and player statistics, and historical information, latest news and video hubs and league schedule and standings.

ESPORTS

ELEAGUE’s next edition of its four-part episodic series, ELEAGUE | Road To The International Dota 2 Championships, will feature special behind-the-scenes access with current NBA player and Dota 2 fan Jeremy Lin in the final installment of the show. The ep runs on TBS tonight at 10p and will see Lin, an avid Dota 2 player whose brothers first exposed him to the game, reflect on his affinity for the title, the similarities between it and basketball, his respect for its star players and the prestige of The International stage.

Bethesda and DreamHack revealed that Quake Champions is adding two tournaments this year, with a $75,000 tournament – The DreamHack Denver Quake Championship – and the Quake Champions Invitational, a major tournament slated for DreamHack Winter in Sweden with a prize pool of $350,000. Additional esports events for Quake Champions will be announced in the future. The DreamHack Denver Quake Championship runs Oct 20-22 while The Quake Champions Invitational at DreamHack Winter spans Dec 1-4.

THE MAIN EVENT

Sure, we have Mayweather/McGregor on Showtime PPV on Saturday at 9p, but don’t forget about the start of college football season with early games that include a doubleheader on CBS Sports Network on Saturday pitting Oregon State/Colorado State at 2:30p and USF/San Jose State at 7:30p, along with ESPN’s coverage of Portland State/BYU at 3p and Stanford/Rice at 10p.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

50+ media organizations

77 impressive Rising Star Honorees

Unlimited networking opportunities

AND

a one-of-a-kind awards reception!

Cynopsis Rising Star Awards | September 15 | NYC

Kick off the weekend with a networking and cocktail reception filled with promising, young innovators in media and the brands they represent. Click here for event information and a full list of this year’s Rising Stars.

Get your tickets today!

ON THIS DAY in 1996: Tiger Woods wins the 96th US Golf Amateur Championship.

In the Know: Who portrayed third baseman (and former dance hall bouncer) Doris Murphy in the movie A League of Their Own? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: What was the name of the play Boise State used to beat Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl? Answer: Statue of Liberty. Kudos: Denis Barry-CBS/NY; Brian Traynor-WME/IMG/NY; Chris Bartels-United Entertainment Group/NY; Alex Falk-IMG/NY; Christian Matthews-Washington Redskins/DC; John Hein-Baltimore County Golf/Baltimore; Phil LoBue-NBC Sports/Stamford; Pete Schlossmacher-NCC Media/Atlanta; Lance Davis-ESPN Milwaukee/Milwaukee; Travis Wacker-Good Karma Brands/Milwaukee; Tom Doherty-Starcom Media/Chicago; Danny Payne-Starcom/Chicago; Miriam Aardahl-OMD/LA; Larry Hutchings/Nipomo; Anne Wettig-Fox Cable Networks/LA; Jaime Martinez-KMEX/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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