09/26/18: Amazon makes broadcast history

Good morning. It’s Wednesday September 26, 2018 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

Amazon Prime Video is making history, announcing that Hannah Storm and Andrea Kremer will team up to provide commentary and analysis for its live streaming coverage of 11 Thursday Night Football games on Prime Video beginning Sept. 27 when the Los Angeles Rams host the Minnesota Vikings. The move will, according to the company, mark the first female duo to call NFL games. Amazon will produce multiple audio options to enable customers around the world to customize their viewing experience. Prime Video customers can choose between the Fox broadcast with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, and three separate Prime Video exclusive audio streams: Andrea Kremer and Hannah Storm; Spanish-language announcers; and a UK English language broadcast team.

“NFL fans will hear history made this season – bringing two female announcers together to call an entire NFL game has never been done before,” said Greg Hart, Vice President of Prime Video. “Our customers around the world love to stream football – we are thrilled to have Andrea and Hannah bring their

ON THE AIR

Seattle’s NHL future took a big step forward after the Seattle City Council approved lease and development agreements that will allow the Oak View Group to demolish the existing KeyArena and replace it with a new venue that would be the potential home of an NHL team by 2020. The Seattle Arena Company plans to spend $700 million building a new facility in Seattle Center and seat between 17,000 and 19,000 people, depending on the event.

ESPN re-signed college football analyst Todd Blackledge to a new multi-year deal, continuing the esteemed football voice’s long-term tenure with ESPN and ABC which originally began in 1994. He has been a staple of ESPN’s college football coverage since returning to ESPN and ABC in 2006, calling prime-time games regularly during the season.

NBC Sports Group, Grambling State University and Southern University locked in a deal to extend their three-decade partnership for another three more years, keeping the annual Bayou Classic on NBCSN through 2021.The 2018 game will mark the 45th consecutive meeting between the Tigers and Jaguars.

Diamond Resorts announced today the initial group of world-class sports and entertainment celebrities confirmed to play in the inaugural Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions from Jan. 17-20, 2019, at Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons Resort Orlando in Florida. Hall of Famers Ray Allen, Brian Urlacher, Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, John Smoltz and Marcus Allen; six-time Cy Young Award Winner Roger Clemens; Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lester; Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander; former NASCAR champion Michael Waltrip; NHL star Jeremy Roenick; and actors Alfonso Ribeiro and Jack Wagner will be among the celebrities playing alongside LPGA winners from the past two seasons at the event. The women will compete for $1.2 million in official prize money over 72 holes of stroke play with no cut, while the celebrities will compete for their own $500,000 purse. All four days will be nationally televised, with Thursday and Friday on Golf Channel, and Saturday and Sunday on NBC.

ONE WEEK away from the Esports Business Summit. Don’t miss the biggest esports business event on the planet! Time is almost up so get your seat today!

With more numbers in the books, NBC Sports Group’s final round coverage of the TOUR Championship on Sunday (drew a Total Audience Delivery of 7.8 million average viewers. The telecast’s TAD was up 212% vs. 2017 with TV viewership posting 7.18 million average viewers, up 192% to become the most-watched telecast in the history of the FedExCup Playoffs .

Meanwhile, viewership numbers saw ABC’s Saturday Night Football matchup between Stanford/Oregon draw a total live audience of 4,259,000 viewers to rank as its most-watched Pac-12 Conference game in nearly four years (

ESPN’s Monday Night Football game saw the Steelers win average 12.1 million viewers ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, according to Nielsen. On ESPN, Steelers/Buccaneers averaged a 7.2 US household rating and 12.0 million viewers.

TNT tips off NBA coverage on Oct. 2, with a preseason doubleheader featuring the Cavaliers/Celtics at 8p and the Nuggets/Lakers at 10:30 p.m. The night’s action – which will include Golden State’s ring ceremony – will begin with a one-hour TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by Autotrader pregame show at 7p.

Turner Sports also sees MLB on TBS wrap up the regular season on Sunday with the Yankees/Red Sox at 3p. Don Orsillo and Ron Darling will provide commentary for the game telecast.

Pac-12 Networks debuts of an all-new “Our Stories,” presented by Opus Bank, on Sunday at 9p PT on the channel. Hosted by Kate Scott, the hour-long episode will include feature stories on Timilehin Wusu, former football student-athlete and now team doctor for Stanford, Oregon’s Brianne Parsons who reflects on the loss of her family’s Santa Rosa home during the 2017 California wildfires and USC’s Ajene Harris and his journey from growing up nearby and attending Crenshaw High School to realizing his dream of playing for the Trojan’s football team.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

ANNOUNCING MODEL D FINALISTS & “IT LIST” HONOREES

Awards Breakfast: NOV 9 in NYC

Cynopsis is thrilled to announce the 2018 finalists for the Model D Awards and the “It List” Honorees . These companies and individuals have pushed the boundaries in all elements of the space, from infectious campaigns, to groundbreaking tech, to compelling content and much more. We invite you to take a look at these talented finalists and join us on Friday, November 9^th in NYC for an awards celebration like no other.

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

UFC announced a new multi-year licensing agreement with jeweler brand Bixler. The partnership, negotiated by IMG, grants Bixler the rights to manufacture and distribute UFC and MMA athlete-inspired jewelry in the United States and Canada, as well as globally via UFC Store.com. This collaboration offers a selection of rings, cufflinks, necklaces, bracelets and earrings for men and women.

The ECHL announced today that the league is teaming up with Nickelodeon to host a “Nickelodeon Takeover Experience” at 26 home games during the upcoming 2018-19 season. Teams will be able to choose from Nickelodeon properties that include Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, SpongeBob SquarePants, and more as the theme for their designated game. As part of the experience, OT Sports will produce a set of Nickelodeon-themed jerseys for teams to wear on their selected night, and teams will build their in-game promotions around the characters of their choice.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

Whistle Sports announced the third season of No Days Off, with new episodes airing every Tuesday. Episodes will be available on the Whistle Sports YouTube Channel and on the Facebook Watch page No Days Off. Curated episodes can also be found on the show’s Snapchat account every Tuesday by searching “No Days Off” on the Discover page.

ESPORTS

The German Football League is reportedly looking to launch a tournament for clubs in both the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. Play will see teams from the two tiers of the German football league compete in FIFA, anchored with the support of game publisher EA Sports, according to Esports Insider. Currently, 11 German clubs have signed players to represent them in esports.

ROSTER MOVES

SeventySix Capital, a sports tech venture capital fund led by former MLB star Ryan Howard, announced that NBA legend Ralph Sampson has joined the company’s Athlete Venture Group. “I’ve always been passionate about making an impact in the business world, just as I did on the court,” Sampson said, “Ryan and his team at SeventySix Capital are the ideal partners for me as I continue to expand my business ventures. This is a unique opportunity for me to use my network in a meaningful way, including the University of Virginia, the NBA and beyond.”

FOX Sports named David Katz as Executive Vice President, Digital. In this role, Katz will be responsible for managing the FOX Sports digital business, overseeing content and distribution for the group. Katz was most recently Founder and CEO of ThePostGame, a leading digital sports content and marketing agency, servicing leagues, teams, publishers, advertisers and athletes.

Brad Bernstein was named Associate Director, Communications for FOX Sports South, FOX Sports Carolinas, FOX Sports Tennessee and FOX Sports Southeast. Based in Atlanta, Bernstein will be responsible for managing the networks’ day-to-day public relations efforts.

THE MAIN EVENT

Dodgers/Diamondbacks on ESPN at 10p.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

The Tempest Esports Business Awards

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

CATEGORY SPOTLIGHT: ESPORTS TEAM ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR

From world-class organizations that touch every continent to new franchises who were quick to leave their mark – these teams not only showed a winning spirit this year, but also embraced their fans, invigorated sponsors and grew their brand recognition. Only one team will walk away with the win. But, all ten deserve a nod for their excellence in the space.

VIEW ALL FINALISTS REGISTER TODAY

ON THIS DAY in 1988: Ben Johnson is stripped of a 100-meter gold medal and leaves the Summer Olympics after testing positive for steroids.

In the Know: Which Diamondbacks pitcher holds the record for most wins on the team? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: What is Tiger Woods’ full name? Answer: Eldrick Tont Woods. Kudos: Chris Long-DraftKings/NY; Denis Barry-CBS/NY; Rick Ramage-United Talent Agency/NY; Peter Weinstock-Tennis Channel/NY; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton; Matt Sautter-WideOrbit/Harrisburg; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Joe Lyons-ESPN/Dallas; Lance Phegley-Texas Runner and Triathlete magazine/Houston; Rich Wolfe-RichCraft/Scottsdale; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Jeff Mirkin-Atari Studios/Santa Monica; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank; Jaymz Wooden-Bottelsen American Dart Lines/Santa Maria.

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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