09/25/18: Tiger Woods’ win propelled NBC Sports to a record TOUR Championship.

Good morning. It’s Tuesday September 25, 2018 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

With Tiger Wood’s back in front of the line, NBC Sports Group saw its final round coverage of the TOUR Championship on Sunday deliver a 5.21 Nielsen overnight rating, as Tiger Woods claimed his 80th career victory, and his first in five years. The telecast was up 206% over 2017 and ranked as the highest-rated telecast in the history of the FedExCup Playoffs. Sunday’s lead-in coverage on Golf Channel also earned a .74 Overnight rating to become the highest Sunday lead-in telecast of the TOUR Championship ever.

“Tiger Woods’ win at the TOUR Championship was an unforgettable event in golf,” said Mike McCarley, President, Golf, NBC Sports Group. “The massive gallery following Tiger up the 18th fairway was matched by record viewership across NBC Sports’ platforms. Golf is experiencing a surge in momentum with Tiger and the young stars of the Tiger-inspired generation atop leaderboards. We look forward to this momentum continuing this week at the Ryder Cup.”

ON THE AIR

Speaking of NBC Sports, coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season will feature its largest commentary team to date, tapping the talents of more than 40 game and studio commentators this season, including Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, who returns for his 14th season as NBC Sports’ lead NHL play-by-play commentator, joining member Eddie Olczyk and Pierre McGuire to comprise NBC Sports’ lead NHL game commentary team for the 13th consecutive season. Liam McHugh and Kathryn Tappen serve as the primary hosts for NBC Sports’ NHL studio team, alongside analysts and former players Mike Milbury and Keith Jones. Mike Milbury, Joe Micheletti, AJ Mleczko, Keith Jones, Brian Hayward, Andy Brickley, Jim Fox, Brian Engblom, Shane Hnidy, and Mike Johnson will also serve as game analysts for NBC Sports’ NHL coverage this season. Play-by-play commentators will include Kenny Albert, John Forslund, Chris Cuthbert and Gord Miller, Brendan Burke, Dave Goucher, Rick Peckham, Alex Faust, and Ken Daniels.

FOX Sports took the top spot on Sunday for its telecast of America’s Game of the Week, reporting a score of 15.3/30 in metered markets and up 11% over last year’s comparable Week 3 matchup.

Meanwhile, the Patriots/Lions on NBC’s Sunday Night Football ranked as Sunday’s top primetime show with 13.6/23 overnight (not including digital) – up 18% from last year’s Week 3 and marking the best Week 3 overnight for NBC SNF since 2015.

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CBS Sports locked in its SEC on CBS football game for Oct. 6, adding LSU/Florida to the lineup at 3:30p. Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson and reporter Jamie Erdahl call the contest from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville.

In other programming news, Turner’s multi-platform coverage of the UEFA Champions League will continue with Matchday 2 of the 2018UEFA Champions League Group Stagefrom Oct. 2-3 with live match coverage available through B/R Live and TNT at 12:55p and 3p. B/R Football Matchday will preview the action each day at noon, with studio coverage also including B/R Football Halftime, B/R Football Extra Time andB/R Football Post match available on B/R Live and TNT.

ESPN selected five games for its slate for the final week of the 2018 MLB regular season, which now features three doubleheaders on ESPN with Postseason implications. The action starts today with the Yankees/Rays at 7p on ESPN, telecast. In the nightcap, the network serves up Dodgers/Diamondbacks at 9:30p. ESPN’s Wednesday Night Baseball concludes for the season with the Brewers/Cardinals, followed by Dodgers and Diamondbacks. On Friday, the week’s second ESPNMLB Postseason Impact Game, the Cardinals/Chicago Cubs play at 2:20p on ESPN, joining Red Sox/Yankees at 7p.

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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

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

The PGA TOUR and opendorse announced an expansion of their relationship that will allow PGA TOUR marketing partners to maximize their relationships on social media alongside professional golfers. With opendorse, TOUR marketing partners will have the ability to automate communication and share content with PGA TOUR players, making it easy to activate relationships with the game’s top athletes.

Minor League Baseball revealed an expanded roster of 72 teams that will participate in its “Copa de la Diversión,” a season-long event series in 2019. The initiative offers a new platform connecting MiLB teams with their diverse communities, embracing the culture and values that resonate most with Hispanics/Latinos nationwide. Retail sales of “Copa”-specific licensed merchandise via MiLB ballparks’ team stores and MiLB teams’ online stores far exceeded participating teams’ preseason goals, with current sales projected to be more than 500 percent higher than pre-campaign estimates.

AVPFirst announced the induction of AVP champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor into the AVPFirst Wall of Champions for her lifetime contributions to beach volleyball. Joining fellow inductees 92-time AVP champion and Olympian Sinjin Smith, and Olympic gold medalist Todd Rogers, the official ceremony will take place at the third annual AVPFirst Serving Up Style Fashion Show on Nov. 4 at the Pasea Hotel & Spa in Huntington Beach.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

ESPN and Thirty Five Media, owned by NBA star Kevin Durant and business partner Rich Kleiman, are teaming up to create The Boardroom– a new project that will examine the ins and outs of sports business and “illuminate the world of sports far beyond what fans ordinarily see.” The six-episode series will be hosted by ESPN’s Jay Williams withJordan Schultz as a correspondent, and featuring Durant and Kleiman, who also serve as the show’s executive producers. The Boardroom will be available exclusively on ESPN+.

ESPN+ drops the puck on its inaugural NHL season starting Oct. 4, leading into more than 180 live games, with up to nine games each week during the regular season including two games per day on Thursdays and Saturday. The season opener sees a battle between the Capitals and Penguins with the October schedule also set to include a number of division rivalries, with multiple appearances by many teams including the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, and more.

Fan Controlled Football League, which described itself as the first professional football league where fans call all the shots, announced that Hall of Fame NFL quarterback and venture capitalist Joe Montana will join the league as Chief Strategic Advisor and as an investor. In Montana’s role as FCFL’s Chief Strategic Advisor, he will be a driving force in the formation and development of the league’s brand messaging, integral in football and technical innovations and will provide invaluable expertise from front office operations to fan engagement.

The Olympic Channel serves up Heroes of the Future on Monday, a twelve-episode original series that features 12 young athletes from 10 different countries who are already considered amongst the best in their respective sports.

ESPORTS

Tencent Games and PUBG Corp. unveiled PUBG MobileStar Challenge, a new tournament that will feature teams from six regions competing for a $600K prize pool. Teams will represent Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Japan/Korea, and China with the event sponsored by Samsung Galaxy Note9. Finals will take place in Dubai at the end of this year. Meanwhile, the first stop of the global tournament circuit will be the European region final in Kiev from Sept. 29-30. Players will be made up of celebrities, professional gamers, and internet personalities.

Cheddar announced a new series titled Cheddar Sports. The weekly program will be dedicated to the latest and most significant news and events in esports going live on Twitch on Thursdays at 3:30p. As part of its coverage, Cheddar will also be livestreaming interviews and stories from a dedicated on-site location all day on October 27 during TwitchCon 2018 with Cheddar CEO and Founder Jon Steinberg anchoring the broadcast.

ROSTER MOVES

USA Diving CEO Lee Walsi Johnson is departing the organization after 16 months on the job. The national governing body said Monday that Lee Walsi Johnson will be leaving on Oct. 5.

Learfield announced that veteran communications and public relations expert William Palen will become its Chief Communications and Marketing Officer effective Oct. 2. Palen joins Learfield after nearly 24 years with public relations and communications firm FleishmanHillard.

THE MAIN EVENT

Yankees/Rays on ESPN at 7p.

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ON THIS DAY in 1989: The Red Sox’ Wade Boggs recorded 200 hits for a major league record-seventh straight season.

In the Know: What is Tiger Woods full name? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: From which school was NFL RB Frank Gore drafted? Answer: The University of Miami. Kudos: Kyle Helm-CBS Sports/NY; Mike Polvere-Optimum Sports/NY; Rick Ramage-UTA/NY;Tim Morrison-SendtoNews/NY; Joe Schreiber-3 Penny Films/Bethesda; Willy Gibson-WTG Sports/Columbus; Patrick Caulfield-ESPN/Bristol; Kevin McIntyre-Boston/Amayse Inc.; Travis Wacker – ESPN Milwaukee/Milwaukee; Matt Fumagalli-NBC/Chicago; Kevin Micklo-Pinnacle Advertising/Chicago; John Tingue-CBS/Chicago; Greg Moloznik-GLM Media/Scottsdale; Rich Wolfe-Lone Wolfe Press/Scottsdale; Steve Morrow-Eclipse TV/Mill Valley; Greg Dudsic/Venice; Jaymz Wooden-Bottelsen American Dart Lines/Santa Maria; Mike Adams-National Sports Forum/San Diego; Jim Himmel-TCB Media/San Clemente

Later – Chris

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