09/24/18: NBC & Premier League feel Festive

Good morning. It’s Monday September 24, 2018 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

Saturday will see the launch of the Premier League Mornings Live fan fest, an activation from NBC Sports and Premier League that will see fans across the country welcomed for a series of full-day Premier League fan engagements. Stop number one takes place on Sept. 29 from Capitol View at 400 on N. Capitol Street, featuring the Premier League trophy and club mascots, along with NBC Sports’ Premier League Mornings studio team of host Rebecca Lowe and analysts Robbie Earle, Kyle Martino, and Robbie Mustoe broadcasting live from the event beginning at 7a on NBCSN. Other stops will include

Cynopsis asked Dan Palla, Director of Consumer Engagement, NBC Sports Group, about the tour, its goals and what fans can expect from the activation.

Palla on goals: We have a great partner in the Premier League. The quality of play is second to none. It’s the world’s best players in the world’s best league playing every Saturday and Sunday morning on the networks of NBCUniversal. Our primary goals are centered around exposure:

Ritualizing Premier League viewing for the American audience. We want viewers to wake up and start every weekend morning with Premier League Soccer week in and week out.
We want to draw in sports fans that may not have been exposed to the Premier League, make it relatable, create intrigue, and convert them into viewers that join us for Premier League Mornings.

On the genesis of the tour: The idea started from our internal NBC marketing team meetings last year with a notion of really wanting to get the American Premier League scene out of living rooms, basements, and pubs and into the open on display. We were able to pull off one event last year in New York City along with our on-air and production teams, and right away we knew we were onto something special. The Premier League was excited by the results from that event and are very committed to the U.S. market, so we teamed up for a fuller event series this season in multiple cities, beginning with the first celebration on Sept 29.

On stops: There’s no blue print here so we had to make a process. We went through strategic market research with the Premier League, reviewing data and insights on U.S. markets. We found target cities that had passionate scenes of Premier League supporters, fans, and viewership. So many cities across America have developed great morning soccer scenes now, so it’s our hope that we can put more of them on display with these efforts.

On the experience: The broadcast from the event will be appointment viewing. There’s nothing better in sports than the amazing reactions of the large crowds watching a game. The American fans will be watching eight different matches throughout the day, culminating in a clash of the two top clubs in the league right now: Chelsea v Liverpool. This is a day of celebrating the Premier League from coast to coast, so there’s special contests and social media shout-outs for fans & viewers to join in no matter where they are. It’s live sports in the morning over brunch. What’s not to love?

ON THE AIR

Tiger Woods’ run back to the top propelled NBC Sports’ third-round coverage of the TOUR Championship to big numbers as Saturday’s coverage delivered a 3.14 overnight rating to the company, up 142% over 2017 to mark the highest-rated round 3 TOUR Championship telecast in 15 years and highest-rated round 3 of any FedExCup Playoffs event on-record. Golf Channel’s round 3 lead-in coverage posted a .75 overnight rating ( up 63%) while Golf Channel and NBC Sports Digital accumulated more than 10.9 million streaming minutes of Saturday’s coverage at the TOUR Championship, a rise of 507%

In other ratings numbers, college football weeks once again proved fruitful. The SEC on CBS saw its Texas A&M/Alabama game generate a 3.5/8 average Nielsen number on Saturday to help CBS ranks as the highest-rated sporting event of the day and up 94% over last year. Top marketing saw Birmingham in at number one with a 44.5/66, followed by New Orleans, Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis.

Around the dial, ABC’s Saturday Night Football featuring Stanford/Oregon drew a 3.0 overnight, the best overnight featuring two Pac-12 teams on ESPN/ABC since Nov. 22, 2014 with Portland leading all markets. ESPN’s telecast of Georgia/Missouri at noon notched a 2.3 overnight to mark cable’s highest-rated noon window since the 2016, while its telecast of Arizona State/Washington earned a 1.4 overnight, up 17% from the same window last year. On Friday, the network saw Washington State/USC earn a 1.3 overnight while Florida Atlantic /UCF drew a 1.0.

Heading back to Thursday now. NFL Network reports that it scored its most-watched exclusive Thursday night game since December of 2015 last week as the Browns scored their first win since 2016. Overall, the game was up 17% in US HH rating and up 16% in overall viewership compared to NFL Network’s Week 3 Thursday Night Football game from 2017.

Univision Deportes’ 2018 UEFA Champions League telecasts drew record numbers on the first two days of live action, according to Nielsen. Univision Deportes delivered all 16 Group Stage matches on Tuesday and Wednesday, including 10 on its linear networks. The linear telecasts delivered 292 million minutes watched, making Univision Deportes’ coverage the most-watched opening week of the Champions League Group Stage on U.S. television. Liverpool’s victory over Paris Saint-Germain became the most-viewed Group Stage telecast in Champions League history, averaging 672,000 Total Viewers and 338,000 Adults 18-49 on Tuesday while F.C. Barcelona’s win over PSV Eindhoven scored 618,000 Total Viewers 2+ and 315,000 Adults 18-49 in its 12:30pm window on Univision and UDN.

beIN SPORTS announced a long-term content distribution renewal agreement with DISH and Sling TV. “This renewal, which allows beIN SPORTS’ availability across the U.S. via both satellite and over-the-top streaming, could not come at a more exciting time given the new soccer season and the kick-off of the Conference USA football season,” said Antonio Briceno, beIN SPORTS’ Deputy Managing Director for the U.S. and Canada. “These popular sporting events have proven to be fan favorites, and we’re thrilled that both our existing DISH and Sling TV viewers will be able to catch all of the action this fall.”

ONE WEEK away from the Esports Business Summit. Don’t miss the biggest esports business event on the planet! Tickets are going fast so get your seat today!

The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved rules changes in advance of the 2018-19 season. Beginning with the 2018 NBA preseason, the shot clock will reset to 14 seconds in offensive rebounding situations, as opposed to 24; the clear path foul rule will be simplified; and the definition of a “hostile act” will be expanded for purposes of triggering instant replay review.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

The 2^nd Annual Cynopsis Short Form Video Festival

[Accepting Entries Now Through October 10^th]

Illuminate your work, gain high-level exposure and join your short form peers for a festival like no other. Finalists will be announced in November and winners’ videos will be screened at the festival this March in NYC. This is your chance to have your work celebrated by industry leaders! ( Take a peek at our jurors ).

Questions? Contact Cathy Pearson at 203.899.8470

[ SUBMIT YOUR VIDEO ]

SPONSORSHIP AND PROMOTION

Hooters is expanding its ties with Hendrick Motorsports and driver Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team for three years. Hooters will be a primary sponsor of the No. 9 team for three races each season from 2019-2021. Hooters has made Elliott a fixture in its marketing efforts, launching the Hooters9 Crew website and serving up special offers to its customers based on the driver’s weekly on-track performance.

Richmond Raceway locked in an extension of its relationship with Go Bowling to return as the entitlement sponsor for the fall NASCAR Xfinity Series race in 2019. The Go Bowling 250, set for Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, marks the start of the 2019 NXS Playoff.

Meanwhile, the NASCAR Foundation partnered with Feed the Children to provide aid and relief to the victims of Hurricane Florence. As a result, trucks filled with food, hygiene products and cleaning supplies are deployed in needed areas beginning with Belhaven, NC. The NASCAR Foundation has also launched a Hurricane Disaster Relief donation page that provides NASCAR Nation with one place to band together and make donations to the many affected by Florence and its aftermath.

FOX Sports Carolinas and FOX Sports Tennessee, in partnership with the Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators, are also stepping up to support relief efforts in North Carolina for those impacted by Hurricane Florence. The team’s preseason game from Bridgestone Arena will be televised on both networks at 8p tomorrow with a focus on fundraising efforts throughout the telecast.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

Canadian Soccer Business acquired Stadium Digital – a full service digital media company and Canada’s leading fan engagement platform provider. This acquisition accelerates the roll-out of Canadian Soccer Business’ media and partnership strategy for Canada Soccer and the Canadian Premier League, set to debut in April 2019. The Stadium Digital team will now deliver all fan-facing digital technology and content for the Canadian Premier League including all league, club, mobile and venue platforms. The group will also be responsible for delivering CSB’s distribution strategy of live content.

ESPORTS

The rivalry between Northern and Southern California reaches new heights as the Los Angeles Valiant and San Francisco Shock, inaugural franchises in Blizzard’s Overwatch League, announce the formation of the California Cup. Unique to esports, the official home-and-home Overwatch League off-season event showcase begins on October 20 at the Esports Arena Santa Ana and finalizes on November 10 at the Esports Arena Oakland.Both locations will feature an intimate meet-and-greet with the new-look Shock and Valiant rosters, amateur and collegiate Overwatch tournaments, exclusive merchandise, free-to-play computers and more. Each event will culminate in a match between the Valiant and Shock to determine the guardian of the California Cup.

Gfinity and Ove Arup & Partners entered a partnership to design a “world-leading integrated esports facility,” combining their skills and resources to develop a blueprint for a scalable, specialist playing, watching, training, learning and broadcast venue. “We are delighted to be working with Arup to design the world’s most advanced integrated esports facility,” said Garry Cook, Executive Chairman, Gfinity. “The esports professional and aspiring amateur learning their craft have similar needs to their counterparts in a host of other sports. Environments that optimize their ability to play and train to their highest potential is the difference between winning and losing.”

THE MAIN EVENT

Steelers/Buccaneers on ESPN at 8p.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Cheers to the Tempest Finalists & “The Watch List” Honorees!

Winners to be announced at the Tempest Esports Business Awards Gala:

OCT 2 | 7PM – 9:45PM | The Luxor Esports Arena, Las Vegas

In addition to our talented category finalists, the event will spotlight “The Watch List” honorees. These are the esports executives whose creativity and innovation have put them at the forefront of the industry. Don’t take your eyes off these esports game-changers (click here to view “The Watch List”).

VIEW FINALISTS AWARDS EVENT REGISTER TODAY

ON THIS DAY in 1988: Jackie Joyner-Kersee sets a world record of 7,291 points to win the gold medal in the heptathlon at the Summer Olympics in Seoul.

In the Know: From which school was NFL RB Frank Gore drafted? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: The Ashes is the most important trophy in what sport? Answer: Cricket. Kudos: Sandy Haberman-Sojern/NY; Michael Ritz-BucStar Consulting/NY; John Regula-Manhattan Sports Business Academy/NY; Scott Jenkins-Gracenote/NY; Jon Miller-NBC Sports/Stamford; James J. Pepe-American Cancer Society/Bethlehem; Mike May-PHIT America/Wellington; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Joe Lyons-ESPN/Dallas; Rich Wolfe-RichCraft/Scottsdale; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank

Later – Chris

Chris Pursell @VegasandVine
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