Paris Saint-Germain locked in an agreement with the iconic Jordan Brand, launching a world exclusive collection of over 90 performance, training and lifestyle products. Subsequently, the Jumpman makes its UEFA Champions League debut, featuring the Paris Saint-Germain home and away jerseys during their European campaign. “Jordan Brand and Paris Saint-Germain share a distinct position in sport and style, so to partner with the club is a natural fit,” said Michael Jordan. “We’re excited to unite these two passionate communities by putting the Jumpman on the chest of Paris Saint-Germain to continue fueling the energy for sport and style globally.”
The Players’ Tribune and Hennessy are teaming up for a four-part video series, The Art of Mastery, featuring former NBA players Gary Payton and Penny Hardaway, profession surfer Albee Layer and BMX athlete Nigel Sylvester. The series focuses on life lessons and personal anecdotes that have “propelled the athletes to the upper echelon of their sports, focusing on examples of persistence and diligence.” As part of the partnership, TPT will additionally host an official Hennessy tasting event in The Players’ Lounge at TPT’s New York headquarters this September.
IMPACT Wrestling signed an agreement with COMDA Advertising Connections to serve as the presenting sponsor for the annual pay-per-view event Bound for Glory, which takes place on Oct. 14 in NYC. The sponsorship agreement includes event branding, production of custom content and product integration. Fans will also have the opportunity to receive free prizes and giveaways, and to be included in a lottery for ringside seats for IMPACT Wrestling’s television tapings in Las Vegas.
In golf news, GR Live and Tavistock Group announced Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of two-wheelers, extended its title sponsorship of the Hero World Challenge. The 2018 Hero World Challenge will be played at Albany, Bahamas, Nov. 29 – Dec. 2, and will feature tournament host Tiger Woods and an invitation-only field comprised of the top ranked golfers in the world.
TRIA has signed a sponsorship agreement with the NWHL and Minnesota Whitecaps to become the team’s “official healthcare partner.” The deal will see the Whitecaps have an entirely female medical staff, – believed to be the first-ever in professional sports in the US and Canada, according to the release. The partnership deal runs for three years through the 2020-21 season and a TRIA logo will now adorn all of the Whitecaps’ game jerseys, along with apparel sold at team pop-up stores, including hats, shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies. Among other deal points, the club and TRIA will collaborate on seminars, special events, and player visits to hospitals and TRIA locations.
Vivid Seats extended and enhanced its relationship as the official ticket provider for ESPN. The new agreement will provide deeper digital integrations to help ESPN fans transform on-screen sports moments into in-person live event memories through the Vivid Seats platform. “By aligning with ESPN, the most ubiquitous brand in sports, we have been able to showcase our best-in-class services to millions of fans over the last year alone,” said Geoff Lester, Chief Commercial Officer at Vivid Seats. “Vivid Seats looks forward to continuing to evolve our robust relationship with ESPN to provide even more fans with easy access to the live sports they want to see.”
CBS Sports Fantasy is now offering voice-enabled lineup advice for the Google Assistant. Fantasy players can ask the Assistant, on smart speakers like Google Home, phones and other devices with the Google Assistant built in, for week-to-week guidance on who to start, pick up, or trade. CBS Sports Fantasy Football players will also have the ability to get personalized lineup advice and information tailored to their teams beginning in October, including score updates, value comparisons of players in different positions based on league settings, reports on bench or waiver wire players projected to outscore starters, and trade valuations.
In the UK, Sky Sports is picking up rights to carry the FACEIT London Major and will broadcast the final matches from the UK’s first CS:GO Major. The partnership marks the first time Sky Sports has ever broadcast competitive CS:GO. Sky will air multiple programs with content that includes an exclusive one hour documentary outlining the road to the Major on Sept. 21 on Sky Two and the live broadcast of the finals on skysports.com, and Sky Sports’ YouTube and Facebook channels, from the 20th to 23rd September. The partnership comes after the Minors and Challengers stages of the tournament which both saw unprecedented viewing figures on Twitch and YouTube.
Blizzard laid out details of the Hearthstone Championship Tour Fall Championship, running Oct. 11-14, and featuring two days (Oct. 11 and 12) of broadcast only, followed by two days (Oct. 13 and 14) of broadcast with a live studio audience on the Hearthstone Twitch channel. Live audience experiences are set to include games against developers, playing a pro and a Fireside Gathering against other attendees.
NRG is going deeper into the streaming realm, announcing a deal to bring The Click Crew under its umbrella. The group is a collection to top streamers that include Muselk, Loserfruit, Crayator, BazzaGazza, Prestige, Lazarbeam, and Lachlan, who will all now stream under the NRG banner. Terms of the deal were not disclosed
Grass Valley announced that its live video production solutions will power the new Esports Stadium Arlington. Grass Valley’s solutions will provide professional grade broadcast production, delivering live gameplay and competition action to audiences around the globe via online channels, such as Twitch and YouTube. The $10-million, 100,000-square-foot space will host premier, high-action ‘experiential’ events for thousands of fans each year from leading gaming companies.
ELEAGUE spotlights the return of legend Olof ‘Olofmeister’ Kajbjer during its CS:GO Premier 2018, the fourth episode of ELEAGUE’s documentary series. The ep runs tonight at 11p at TBS.
Patriots/Jaguars on CBS on Sunday at 4:25p.
