09/07/17: CBS Sports reenlists with Army

Good morning. It’s Thursday September 7, 2017 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

CBS Sports and Army inked a multi-year extension that extends their partnership through 2022 and will see CBS Sports Network continue to televise all Army home football games with seven on deck this season. The network will also have the option to televise additional football games through the Patriot League, as well as select Army lacrosse and basketball games. “Army remains one of the cornerstones of our college sports coverage at CBS Sports and extending this partnership was an important priority,” said Dan Weinberg, Executive Vice President of Programming, CBS Sports. “We value the tradition and prestige that this relationship brings to CBS and look forward to further showcasing the programs of this unique and wonderful institution.”

ON THE AIR

With NFL Kickoff 2017 slated for launch tonight with the Chiefs/Patriots on NBC, the company is going big in promotion by leveraging its sports, news and entertainment assets to welcome the new season. NBCUniversal programs ranging from TODAY, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Access Hollywood, America’s Got Talent, American Ninja Warrior and more. Meanwhile, NBC Sports Radio is surrounding the NFL season with daily coverage across more than 425 radio affiliates, highlighted by highlighted by PFT Live daily from 6-9a and Safety Blitz with Rodney Harrison and Dan Schwartzman.

FOX Sports announced that 2017 college football season kicked off with its most-watched opening week ever, anchored by UCLA’s comeback against Texas A&M which drew an average audience of 3,190,000 on FOX on Sunday. Overall, college football scored its best opening week ever on FOX and FS1 in terms of viewership, with an average audience of 1,522,000 across the networks’ seven games. FOX and FS1 are up a combined 15% over 2015.

ESPN laid out the times and networks for this season’s Big 12/SEC Challenge presented by Sonic with play tipping off at noon on Jan. 27. Four of the 10 games will run on ESPN, four on ESPN2 and two on ESPNU. The matchups commence with Baylor/Florida on ESPN and Texas Tech/South Carolina on ESPN2. At 2p, Ole Miss/Texas square off on ESPN2 while Georgia/Kansas State play on ESPNU. Oklahoma/Alabama tips off at 2:15p on ESPN, with 4p offering TCU/Vanderbilt and Tennessee/Iowa State on ESPNU. The lineup completes the day with Texas/A&M/Kansas and Kentucky/West Virginia at 4:30p or &p on ESPN and Oklahoma State/Arkansas at 6p on ESPNU.

ESPN also announced that its new Monday Night Football red carpet open will get an overhaul with nearly 20 additional NFL players added to the open. Names include: Amari Cooper. Antonio Gates, AJ Green, Greg Olson, Matthew Stafford and Ndamukong Suh. The new open will debut Monday before ESPN’s season-opening MNF doubleheader. GMC returns as the MNF showcase sponsor.

Continuing the NFL theme, NFL Network announced plans for a revamped weekend programming schedule during the season, highlighted by a live show on Saturday and NFL GameDay Morning expanding to 7a every Sunday. Good Morning Football: Weekend airs Saturday at 10a from NFL Films in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, with host Colleen Wolfe, analyst Michael Robinson and reporter Mike Garafolo. The two-hour show – an extension of the Emmy-nominated Good Morning Football – offers the latest news and analysis from around the NFL heading into Sunday’s slate of games.

FOX Sports locked in the broadcast team for UFC 215: Johnson vs. Borg telecast on FS1 and FOX Deportes this Saturday. Michael Bisping and Tyron Woodley work as studio desk analysts from FOX Sports’ Los Angeles studios with host Todd Grisham. Reporter Megan Olivi interviews fighters on-site. Meanwhile, Daniel Cormier joins analyst Joe Rogan and blow-by-blow announcer Jon Anik to call the card.

The US Soccer Federation denied the North American Soccer League Division 2 status for 2018. The league started play in 2011 with second-tier status but saw the USSF elevate the United Soccer League from the third tier to the second in 2017. The NASL subsequently said in a statement that it “does not believe that the federation acted in the best interest of the sport” and that “the decision also jeopardizes the thousands of jobs created by the NASL and its member clubs.”

ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot will head to Ohio State on Saturday for its 16th visit in advance of Oklahoma/Ohio State at 7:30 that night on ABC. GameDay will originate from “The Oval” on OSU’s campus.

FOX Sports Arizona continued its record run, scoring a season best for the second consecutive day for the Diamondbacks and Dodgers. The game notched a 5.6 rating, which means an average of 105,845 Phoenix households were tuned into the 3-1 extra innings victory.

Finally, WFAN’s Boomer and Carton show radio personality Craig Carton was arrested Wednesday stemming from fraud charges that claim he and others used a Ponzi scheme and a concert ticket-selling scam to try to raise millions of dollars to pay off gambling debts. Local reports state that conspiracy, securities and wire fraud charges were unveiled in Manhattan federal court against the host.

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SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

The National Hockey League Players’ Association and the NHL unveiled hockey’s Declaration of Principles, designed to “advance policies, programs and initiatives, while inspiring fans, players and communities to create the best possible experience for the entire hockey community.” Including the NHL and the NHLPA, 17 hockey organizations from around the world have joined together for the initiative: American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA); American Hockey League (AHL); Canadian Hockey League (CHL); Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL); Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL); College Hockey Inc.; ECHL; Hockey Canada; International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF); National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL); North American Hockey League (NAHL); U SPORTS; United States Hockey League (USHL); and USA Hockey. “The Declaration of Principles represents the hockey world speaking with one voice: our game teaches life lessons that can guide a meaningful future,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “While not everyone who plays the game will have an NHL career, every player at every level — and the family and friends of every player — can enjoy rewarding experiences and share a common commitment to respect, inclusiveness and sportsmanship.”

Shriners Hospitals for Children signed a three-year extension that carries its commitment to the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas through 2020. “Shriners Hospitals for Children is an awe-inspiring organization that truly saves children’s lives,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “The PGA TOUR is honored to continue working with the Shriners to raise awareness of the wonderful work done at these hospitals.”

Bridgestone takes on the new NFL by partnering with Jon Gruden for a new, nationwide marketing campaign. The season-long initiative focuses on showcasing and celebrating elite performance and centers on Pep Talk, a new television execution starring Gruden that will debut during the NFL Kickoff broadcast on Sept. 7. Other activation includes a digital extension with Gruden; social content with many of the NFL’s top rookie players; a presence on NFL television programming, NFL.com digital platforms, and around several key events.

The University of Hawai‘i Athletics Department announced a 10-year multimedia rights agreement with IMG. Under the agreement, IMG will manage and market the sponsorship and multimedia rights associated with the school’s 21 athletics programs.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

Global Force Wrestling, a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp., announced a slate of global and digital expansion initiatives, including: plans to launch the Global Wrestling Network, a multi-platform digital service; the launch the IMPACT Wrestling Channel on Pluto TV; an extension with Pop TV in the U.S. to continue airing its flagship weekly show IMPACT on Thursday nights at 8p; and a dstribution deal with 7Sports, the sport business unit of the ProSiebenSat.1 Group, to bring IMPACT back to screens in Germany, Austria and Switzerland via ran FIGHTING. “These digital initiatives and broadcast agreements are a significant step forward for the Global Force Wrestling organization as we continue to expand the brand globally, making it available on more platforms and in more countries,” said Ed Nordholm, president of Global Force Wrestling. “Anthem is committed to broadening Global Force Wrestling’s footprint, as we work alongside international broadcast partners, digital platforms and professional wrestling promotions to bring our passionate fans a high-quality product that not only stands out in today’s media landscape, but continues to thrive into the future.”

Bungie, Activision, NBC Sports Group and Whistle Sports are all teaming up on a new short-form original digital video that will debut within NBC Sports’ live stream of NFL Kickoff 2017 tonight at 8:30p. Content pits Antonio Brown against Chad Ochocinco to find the ultimate ‘Football Legend’ of Bungie and Activision’s new Destiny 2 video game and be streamed during commercial time of NFL Kickoff 2017 coverage on NBCSports.com for desktops, and the NBC Sports app for tablets and connected TVs.

Meanwhile, NBC Sports Digital and Above Average’s sports comedy website, The Kicker, are teaming up for Draftsville, a new short-form original digital video series starring a Darrell Hammond. The series reimagines NBC’s popular television series Friday Night Lights with the head coach in charge of a fantasy football team and incorporates NBC Sports Digital’s Rotoworld for the three-episode run.

The Players Tribune is launching a now content series, OUT OF CONTEXT, starring Richard Sherman. The series will feature first-person video narratives self-recorded by Sherman exclusively using the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note8. And launch today with weekly eps throughout the NFL season.

ESPORTS

In this week’s edition of Cynopsis Esports & Gaming…

Hi-Rez Studios partners for Paladins push
Riot groups up with double draw
NBC Sports’ Rocket League results
Blizzard/Twitch warm up for Oktoberbrawl
Ubisoft energizes Assassins Creed push
PUBG tops 10 mil

THE MAIN EVENT

Chiefs/Patriots on NBC at 8:30p.

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ON THIS DAY in 1979: ESPN makes its debut.

In the Know: Which NFL team has the longest active winning streak on Opening Day? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: This sports movie featured the tagline, “His people needed a leader. He gave them a champion.” what is the name of the movie? Answer: Invictus. Kudos: Traci Liner-WME/IMG/NY; Nate Hammond/NY; Michael Ritz-BucStar Consulting/NY; Ken White-KW TV/Charlotte; Brianne Maciejowski-Miles/Sarasota; John Langermann- WINK-TV/WXCW-TV/Fort Myers; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Deerfield Beach; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Will Allmendinger-Clear Channel Outdoor/Chicago; Lance Phegley-Texas Runner and Triathlete magazine/Houston; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank

Later — Chris

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