09/20/17: College heavyweights to form new major

Good morning. It’s Wednesday September 20, 2017 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

College sports’ top two multimedia and sponsorship holders – IMG College and Learfield – are on the cusp of a merger that would see the two entities lock in a 50/50 partnership that combines IMG College’s roster of nearly 90 universities and conferences with Learfield’s 130+ collegiate partners, according to Forbes and SBJ. IMG College Licensing also represents the trademark licensing and consumer product rights for some 200 schools, conferences and bowl games. The blended organization would subsequently represent more than 70% of Division I universities, including 85% of the Power 5 member schools. It is expected that Learfield’s current president and CEO, Greg Brown, would become head of the newly combined entity, although details of the framework are still being negotiated, according to the reports.

ON THE AIR

The PGA TOUR released its full 2017-18 season lineup with 49 FedExCup tournaments on deck for the next round, marking an addition of two events. Total prize money for the season will be a record of more than $363 million. Including the additions of The Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship from March 19-25 and The Puerto Rico Open moving to February 26-March 4, other significant changes include: The AT&T Byron Nelson (May 14-20) moves to the new Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, while two FedExCup Playoffs events change courses: THE NORTHERN TRUST (August 20-26) returns to The Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey and the BMW Championship (September 3-9) visits historic Aronimink Golf Club near Philadelphia for the first time. Additionally, the U.S. Open (June 11-17) returns to Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, The Open Championship (July 16-22) rotates to Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland and the PGA Championship (August 6-12) will be held at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis for only the second time (first being in 1992).

ESPN’s Week 2 Monday Night Football telecast, which saw that Lions topple the Giants, saw ESPN win the night among all networks in households, viewers and all key male and adult demos (18-34, 18-49 and 25-54). That game delivered a total live audience (TV + Streaming) of 12,741,000 average viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes. In Detroit, the game delivered an 11.3 rating on ESPN and a 17.4 rating on WXYZ-ABC, for a combined 28.7 rating in the market. In New York, the game delivered a 9.4 rating on ESPN and a 5.4 on WPIX-CW, for a combined 14.8 rating in the market.

NBC Sports reports that Sunday’s Packers/Falcons game on SNF posted a Total Audience Delivery of 20.5 million viewers for the game, marking the 12th consecutive September NFL game on NBC to top 20 million viewers. NBC’s Packers/Falcons TV-only audience (not including digital) averaged 20.2 million viewers while the digital version drew its most-viewed, authenticated SNF Regular Season Game Ever with 47.1 million live minutes; 816,000 unique devices and an average minute audience of 216,000 viewers.

FOX Sports announced that its coverage of Texas/USC now ranks as FOX’s most-watched college football game of the year, drawing over 4.9 million viewers. Meanwhile, its coverage of Ohio State’s win over Army drew 25 million, for an uptick of 11% over the channel’s 2016 Saturday college football average. Overall, college football on FOX and FS1 is off to its best start ever, averaging 1,778,000 viewers per game across the two networks, including 668,000 in the Adults 18-49 demographic.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino told reporters that he wants the next edition of the Women’s World Cup to break the billion TV viewer threshold across the world, according to the AP. The 2019 event will run from June 7 – July 7 and gather 24 teams in six groups.

Big Ten Network announced the first six campus locations for BTN Tailgate, the network’s Saturday morning pregame show. BTN Tailgate debuts Saturday from West Lafayette when Purdue hosts Michigan. Other campuses will include Michigan State, Northwestern, Maryland, Ohio State and Minnesota. In its second season, BTN Tailgate will expand to two-hours, beginning at 10a. Sponsor activations this season will include the Dairy Queen Fan Zone, music and touchdown celebration end zone presented by T-Mobile, a football skills and game zone presented by TIAA, a sign making station presented by Chase Sapphire and an LED screen presented by GEICO.

NBC Sports gears up for the hockey season this weekend with a pair of NHL preseason games, anchored by the 2017 Kraft Hockeyville USA matchup featuring the Blues/Penguins on Sunday at 8p on NBCSN. Coverage also includes the first-ever NHL preseason game played in China, when the Canucks face off against the Kings live from Shanghai on Thursday at 7:30a on the channel.

E! and WWE’s Total Divas has a return date, with the seventh season launching on Nov. 1 at 9p. Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Naomi (Trinity), Natalya (Nattie), Lana and Maryse will join newcomers Carmella, Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss in the new season.

Pac-12 Networks lined up its slate for 152 live men’s basketball broadcasts this season, culminating with live broadcasts of eight games during the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Each program will be featured at least 12 times: Arizona (15), Arizona State (18), California (22), Colorado (16), Oregon (14), Oregon State (16), Stanford (13), UCLA (13), USC (12), Utah (15), Washington (24) and Washington State (15). Coverage tips off with Utah’s annual “Night with the Runnin’ Utes” on Oct. 17 on Pac-12 Network, followed by Arizona’s annual McDonald’s Red-Blue Game live from McKale Center on Oct. 20 on Pac-12.

FOX Sports announced that UFC welterweight Alan Jouban will make his FOX Sports desk analyst debut with Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping, along with host Karyn Bryant and reporter Megan Olivi for UFC Fight Night: Saint Preux vs. Okami on FXX on Friday.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Who doesn’t love a good video?

The Cynopsis Short Form Video Festival & Conference | March 7, 2018

Honoring outstanding work in this emerging space, the Cynopsis Short Form Video Festival will showcase fresh and surprising storytelling across platforms. We define short form video as content that runs from 5 seconds to 10 minutes. Content on any platform is eligible. Watch our sizzle reel + start your submissions (deadline is 10/20)!

Submit your videos here!

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

DICK’S Sporting Goods locked in its official roster of US Winter Olympic and Paralympic athletes being supported by the company’s Contenders Program, with names that include Olympic figure skater Ashley Wagner and Team USA Women’s Hockey goalie Alex Rigsby, who will serve as ambassadors to the program. Overall, the program will provide 41 Winter Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls with flexible work schedules, competitive compensation and the necessary time to train for the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korea. In total, the Contenders Program employs 111 total Olympic hopefuls across summer and winter sports.

Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Sport Global CEO Mary Wittenberg detailed programming plans for the first-ever US-based, red-hot Festival of Fitness, Virgin Sport San Francisco, running Oct. 14-15. Headlined by the SF Bay Half marathon, Twin Peaks Mile hill climb and the Go Fit Yourself Lineup of fitness classes at Civic Center, the event will curate “unique workouts combined with local culture” and include local healthy food and beverage vendors from Off the Grid trucks, a Lagunitas beer garden, live music and art installations. “We are so excited to work with the City of San Francisco and our event partners to promote health, movement and community,” said Mary Wittenberg, Global CEO of Virgin Sport. “Our Festival of Fitness offers a weekend of fun and unique challenges for everyone, from workout warriors to first timers to fans. We hope you will join us in celebrating both sport and San Francisco.”

Reebok announced an experimental creative endeavor that blends the worlds of sport, fitness, fashion and innovation through a unique partnership with Savile Row tailor Huntsman & Sons. The two brands will collaborate on Reebok x Huntsman, launching a prototype suit that uses Reebok’s new Flexweave material; a versatile new textile that can be produced using an unlimited array of fabrics. “This a unique, creative and exciting proposition from Reebok. After closely examining Flexweave, we were both surprised and inspired by the challenge of using this non-traditional material to create a bespoke garment. The perfect suit is a fusion between fit, comfort and style – working with Flexweave to hit each of these essentials is an experiment we’ll relish,” said Campbell Carey, Head Cutter and Creative Director, Huntsman.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

FOX Sports will deliver the matchup between Notre Dame/Michigan State in social virtual reality on Saturday at 8p. Broadcast coverage will run on FOX at 8p but will also be available through the free FOX Sports VR app. The VR presentation comes through a partnership with LiveLike, with presenting sponsorship from Wendy’s. Viewers can watch pre-game festivities, team warm-ups, halftime band performances and post-game celebrations live via the c360 Skycam stream on social platforms, with multi-view, live game action available through the FOX Sports VR app. In addition, c360 footage is available for use in the FOX game broadcast.

The National Football League and 15 Seconds of Fame announced an exclusive multiyear partnership to deliver fans their on-camera appearances from all NFL game broadcasts this year. Fans at NFL stadiums who appear on TV during a game can receive that video moment on their phone through the 15SOF app. “We are thrilled to partner with 15SOF,” said Blake Stuchin, Vice President, Digital Media Business Development at the NFL. “This partnership will give our fans an exciting new way to capture gameday memories and share them with their friends across social and digital media.”

Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios announced the launch of its new, direct-to-consumer global streaming OTT subscription platform, titled SPORTS.TV. Entertainment Studios is projecting 50 million worldwide subscribers over the next five years on the platform, which will aggregate “high-profile and independent sports networks on one convenient platform, connecting real sports fans to their favorite regional, national, and global sports channels, teams, games, players, highlights, and scores on every device worldwide.”

ESPORTS

The Gfinity Elite Series announced that it will return for a second season starting on Oct. 6 and running through Dec. 9 with the series’ second champion crowned at the Gfinity Esports Arena at Fulham Broadway. Play will see Rocket League matchups shift to Saturday mornings, with CS:GO play running in the afternoon and evenings.

Blizzard announced that the Hearthstone stage at BlizzCon 2017 will play host to the Hearthstone Inn-vitational, described as a “unique team-based competition between three player groups of your favorite Hearthstone personalities, pros, and prodigies” Over the course of a series of round-robin matches in Standard, Wild, and other formats, teams will accrue relics that will afford them benefits in the final, yet-to-be-revealed portion of the competition.

THE MAIN EVENT

Indians/Angels on ESPN at 10p.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Harnessing the Power of the New Hispanic Demo

Thursday, October 12 @ 1:30 pm ET

In Cynopsis’ newest live online event, we’re examining the major shift in both what’s being watched and where with this demo that represents 18% of the country’s population. With buying power topping $1.5 trillion in 2017, it is critical for media industry players to craft programming that reaches this growing and influential group. Check out our expert panel here!

ON THIS DAY in 1953: Ernie Banks hits his first major league HR.

In the Know: Ernie Banks joined Johnny Bench and Joe Namath for a cameo in an episode of one of FOX’s early sitcom hits (not The Simpsons). What is the name of that show? (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 career rushing leader for the Georgia Bulldogs? Answer: Herschel Walker. Kudos: Aymon DeMauro-Discovery Communications/NY; Denis Barry/CBS; Scott Jenkins-Gracenote/NY; Michael Ritz-BucStar Consulting/NY; Tim Overmyer-20th TV/Atlanta; Robert Twilley-Jupiter Entertainment/Knoxville; Brianne Maciejowski-Miles/Sarasota; Mark Lehman-Atlanta Braves/Atlanta; Joe Lyons-SOS Global/Dallas; John Kukla-KDFW/KDFI/Dallas; John Tingue-CBS/Chicago; Tom Doherty-Starcom Media/Chicago; Matthew Shapiro/Denver; Judie Henninger-Valentine Productions/Santa Monica; Greg Dudsic/Venice; Steve Morrow-Eclipse TV/Mill Valley; Anne Wettig-Fox Cable Networks/LA

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

CYNOPSISJOBS – For More jobs, please visit Cynopsis.com

JOB OPENING: DIGITAL ACCOUNT MANAGER/FOX/Chicago: Ownership of post-sale client relationship. Responsible for creation of all proposals/media plans. 2-5 years’ operating in an Agency- Account Management role. Digital Advertising experience preferred. Full info/apply HERE (9/27)

JOB OPENING: MANAGER, SALES OPERATIONS/NBCU NBC Owned Stations/NYC: Responsible for managing various systems, tools and processes to support traffic, sales, research, finance & mktg users across our division. 2+ yrs at a station, similar sales operations function, or a related vendor role. Full info/apply HERE (9/26)

JOB OPENING: DIGITAL SPECIALIST/NYRA/NYC: Act as primary web editor for daily updates. Maint both NYRA.com & BelmontStakes.com. Asst Social Media team w/mngmnt of social media channels. BA deg & 2-4 yrs work exp req’d. Exp w/CMS Sys, SEO, SEM, basic HTML, Photoshop, InDesign & Illustrator. Full info/apply HERE (9/23)

JOB OPENING: DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER/ASPIRE TV/ATL: Dev. content strategy across digital platforms; understanding of digitl analysis; exp. w/using digitl platforms to drive brand awareness; 4+ yrs strategic content plning & exec.; prof. w/Google Analytics, Photoshp, WordPress. Res: HERE (9/23)

JOB OPENING: AD SALES PLANNER/Baby First TV/NY: Reports to AE & EVP Ad Sales. Home office flexibility. 2-3 Years Direct Response experience required. Detailed & organized. Entrepreneurial environment. Must have Excel experience. Reply to [email protected] (9/23)

JOB OPENING: MGR SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT/REELZ/Albuquerque: Develop, execute and report social media marketing campaigns for national television network. Engage fans. Relocation offered to Albuquerque, NM. 2 years social media marketing exp. Apply: HERE (9/22)

JOB OPENING: SR ANLYST RESEARCH & ANALYTICS/SPE/NY: Consumer/Industry/Program insights for SPT Research; supports sales, production and distribution across all platforms of television: Network, Cable, SVOD & Synd. Exp. In TV Research, Nielsen & MS systems. Resume & cover HERE (9/22)

JOB OPENING: MEDIA PLANNER/RPM/NYC: Dvlp overall mktg campaign objectives/strategy along w/internal team members. Monitor, analyze & optimize campaign performance and synthesize into client-facing reporting. 3+ yrs media plan’g exp & digital media planning exp req’d. Client mngmnt exp a +. Resume/cvr HERE (9/22)

JOB OPENING: SOCIAL MEDIA CORRESPONDENT TEMP/IMG/6 Locations: Work w/athletic dept social content teams to grow/engage college sports social/digital aud, while dvlpg new rev driving opps. Mng various social media accts daily. Creative story teller w/min 1 yr exp working in creative prod. Full info/apply HERE (9/21)

JOB OPENING: NAT’L SALES ASSISTANT/UP/NYC: Provide support to ad sales by working with AEs, Sales Plners & Pricing/Inv to service clients. Work w/agency buyers. Maintain order entry, inventory moves & allocations. Strong organizational skills and attn to detail. Send res HERE (9/21)

JOB OPENING: SEGMENT PRODUCER/MAD MONEY/CNBC/NYC: Dvlp/Produce live and taped guest segments. Generate orig content ideas daily, tapping into a broad array of sources. 5 yrs exp booking and segment producing in a live TV environment, with demonstrated writing, research and comm skills. Full info/apply HERE (9/21)