Sharman on how the digital space has adapted during COVID: It’s been fascinating for us to watch – a truncated adoption curve on many fronts. The bar for production aesthetic has gone way down, the emphasis on what qualifies as engaging content has gone up. Ultimately, with so many mainstream/linear TV execs forced to have digital content in their face, it’s FINALLY helped the tide turn in favor of digital as the legitimate forum it is. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that P&G pulled out of the upfronts, signaling a death knell to status quo in the way brands buy media. Consumer engagement in whatever form the consumer chooses, on whatever device they want, and when they want it, has been accelerated, and anyone who is looking back is going to get run over.

On the new opportunities for brand engagement with digital first properties: The pandemic, social justice, political divisiveness and economic challenges have created a perfect storm for brands to become much more nimble if they want to be relevant. It’s also underscoring the value proposition of purpose-driven brands and reinforcing that the best and most successful brands stand for something beyond product. Purpose marketing, done well, can be a gamechanger and conversely, the days of posting empathetic soap box-y statements is no longer considered “engagement”. There are no quick hits or short cuts, and we have been lucky to have been working with the folks at Minute Media to keep learning with them in this space as well. Brand engagement is a long game, built brick by brick by providing value to a community of fans around a topic in ways that provide meaning – whether discovery, humor, insight – that makes you feel part of something larger than yourself. I can’t help but notice the legion of major sports betting companies entering the fray with major media companies, yet Barstool Sports is sprinting out to a lead based on rallying their community.

On the Latino space: We see daily (through La Vida Baseball, the Latino baseball and culture company we own), firsthand, how a population that is nearly 1 out of every 5 Americans somehow is not given its due for the buying power it wields, when it comes to the majority of brands. Large media companies have missed the boat, usually using translated content in Spanish and telling themselves they’re serving the Latino community. Yet, the majority of US Latinos consume content in English. There may not be a bigger blue ocean for brands than the Latino community and we are proud to be hosting a live show every day that is growing, with some amazing talent in Jennifer Mercedes, Julie Alexandria and Jesse Menendez.

On lessons learned: We’ve learned a lot. COVID has shattered my preconceived notions of what an office means and what’s necessary to build content communities. Virtual workforces, virtual content creation and new ways of creating content more cost effectively all have been positive outcomes for us. We’re so excited as we feel COVID has been the disruption in content communities we’ve been waiting for to shake up status quo thinking.

PROGRAMMING

Formula One found its future, announcing that Stefano Domenicali will replace Chase Carey as Formula One’s president and CEO with the new year. Carey will move to the role of non-executive chairman. Domenicali is currently serving as chairman and chief executive of Lamborghini and also oversees the single seater commission at the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile. “I am thrilled to join the Formula 1 organization, a sport that has always been part of my life,” he said, per reports. “I was born in Imola and live in Monza. I look forward to connecting with the teams, promoters, sponsors and many partners in Formula 1 as we continue to drive the business ahead,” Domenicali said. “The past six years at Audi and then leading Lamborghini have given me broader perspective and experience that I will bring to Formula 1.”

The IOC and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee revealed a slate of 52 initiatives designed to ensure a safe Summer Games in 2021. Plans will see a streamlined version of the Games that include reducing the number of stakeholder personnel at the Games, eliminating the welcome ceremonies for arriving teams, and more. The duo state that they expect a 10-15% drop in the number of non-athlete participants at the Games as a result. The IOC is also hopeful that some spectators will be granted access to competition.

The Mountain West Conference became the latest conference to opt back in for football after its Board of Directors approved plans to resume football competition starting Oct. 24. The news comes following the Aug. 10 indefinite postponement of fall sports due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Conference will seek to play eight games, with the MW Football Championship Game set to take place on Dec. 19. All competition is still subject to state, county and local approvals, however. The Mountain West has partnered with Quest Diagnostics to implement testing protocols across all member institutions and will require all football student-athletes, coaches, trainers and other individuals that are on the field to undergo testing three times per week.

Major League Baseball will shift its 2021 Draft from June next year, where it will now be held from July 11-13 in Atlanta as part of the 2021 MLB All-Star Game festivities taking place there. The draft will now take place after the All-Star Futures Game and now allow college players and potential draftees to attend the event. “We are pleased to make our Draft the newest part of 2021 All-Star week festivities in Atlanta,” said MLB commissioner Rob Manfred. “The All-Star Game is a celebration of baseball, and the Draft will highlight the amateur levels of our great game and its future stars.”

Join us on the boss level! Riot Games, Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Turner Sports, ESL and more will join a feast of brands for this year’s virtual Esports Business Summit, running Oct. 27-29. Hear from these companies and more as the lay out their strategies in esports, what they look for in a partnership and how they are measuring results. Click here to register now!

ESPN serves up the new docuseries UFC Fight Island: Declassified on Oct. 2 on ESPN+. Clocking in at four episodes, content will expose “the determination, heartbreak and raw emotion of UFC’s challenge to produce a major sports event when much of the world was shut down,” and feature never before seen footage of UFC President Dana White, UFC athletes, coaches, UFC announcers, production crew, security personnel, medical staff, and more.

Bud Light Seltzer is tapping the LA Galaxy and Javier “Chicharito” Hernández for an agreement that makes the brand the exclusive hard seltzer of the LA Galaxy with Chicharito serving as an official ambassador of the beverage.

DIGITAL, DATA & TECH

FOX Sports named Kevin Jackson as Managing Editor for the newly redesigned FOXSports.com and FOX Sports app. Jackson, winner of four Sports Emmy Awards, comes to FOX Sports after 25 years at ESPN, where he was the founding editor of Page 2. He also built their first cross-platform storytelling unit, E-ticket, and oversaw local expansion and international strategies as well as soccer site ESPN FC and women’s-centric site, espnW.

Major League Baseball reports that the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts will finish the 2020 Championship Season with the most popular player jersey in MLB for the first time in his seven-year career. Betts is also the first Dodgers player to finish a season with the most popular player jersey in the Majors. Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper took up the next two spots, based on sales at MLBShop.com, with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Juan Soto rounding out the top five.

ESPORTS

Dignitas is restructuring its executive ranks, and named Robin “Fifflaren” Johansson as Vice President of Esports for its operations. Meanwhile, James “Bakery” Baker was upped to Director of Esports.

With more than a dozen categories, these companies reign supreme: Adobe, Amobee, Bell Media, Concert, Cuebiq, Dell, Disney, Dotdash, Discovery Engage, Gamut Total, GroundTruth, IBM, Imagine Communication, Jaguar Land Rover, ListenFirst, MagicLinks, NewsON, Nielsen, New York Interconnect, Premion, Publica, Realeyes, Roku, Simpli.fi, Spectrum Reach, Tap Native, The AI Exchange, TVSquared, Giant, Viamedia, Vistar Media, WarnerMedia, and Xandr.

Save the date for our virtual awards event on Dec. 1st to see who wins!

IN THE KNOW
Which NBA team (that has actually played in the NBA Finals) currently has the longest drought of returning to play in the series? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city).

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question
Who is the all-time leader in goals scored (not points) for the Blackhawks? Answer: Bobby Hull. Kudos: Denis Barry-CBS/NY; Holli Sarner-Home Team Sports/NY; Michael Ritz-Lenox Advisors/NY; Art Salisch-Nielsen/NJ; Mike Evranian-NASCAR/Richmond; Matt Deprey-C-SPAN/DC: Matt Sautter-WideOrbit/Harrisburg; Joe Lyons-ESPN/Dallas; Dory Petsrillo-CoxReps/Dallas; Barb Throm-Stealth Creative/St. Louis; Lisa Fikeys-NissanUnited/Chicago; David Hauptman/Denver; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Larry Hutchings/Nipomo; Bob Ramsey/Palm Springs