The San Francisco 49ers and SAP are partnering to “transform the way that professional sports organizations use data and analytics to enhance the in-venue sports and entertainment experience.” The project, called Executive Huddle, is powered by SAP Leonardo and Analytics and is designed to offer the business strategy and analytics team with real-time data and visualizations spanning multiple data sources, to track, sense and respond in the moment during games to optimize operations and enhance the fan experience. Executive Huddle pulls real-time data from nine different sources, including attendance, parking, food and beverage, retail, ticketing, social media and more. Displayed on interactive screens, team officials can see and monitor data visualizations and identify an issue or opportunity, act on it, and see immediate results across venue operations and the fan experience.
ASICS announced a multi-year sponsorship deal with Spanish football star Andres Iniesta. The deal was announced at a press conference today in Tokyo, Japan, as part of the brand’s vision to expand its football business and reach more audiences across Asia. The football player will support the brand through product placement and promotions, as a nod to the brand’s growing focus on the football category across the region.
With the World Series off and running tonight, Twitter reports that since the MLB Postseason began on October 2, there have been nearly 10 million playoff related Tweets. The Red Sox David Price is the most mentioned World Series player on Twitter with over 152,000 mentions since the playoffs began. Twitter and MLB will live stream two special playoff pre-shows this during the Fall Classic, offering playoff highlights, matchup breakdowns and analysis.
Olympic Channel serves up “the personalities, camaraderie and underdog journey behind the Argentinian men’s basketball victory” at the Olympic Games Athens 2004 in The Golden Generation, the third film in the Olympic Channel’s signature series Five Rings Films. The feature-length documentary directed is available on the digital channel and its mobile apps. It will also debut in the US on NBCSN on Oct. 31.
FloSports and the Big 12 Conference announced that fans can access live and on-demand coverage of the Big 12 Conference Cross Country Championship exclusively on FloTrack.com. This marks the third consecutive year that FloTrack has partnered with the Big 12 Conference to broadcast both the men’s and women’s races, which take place on Oct. 26, at the Iowa State Cross Country Course.
PBR and INFR are offering a full slate of coverage for the 43rd annual INFR Finals on Oct. 23-27 at South Point Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. RidePass, the PBR’s western sports digital network, will bring fans live coverage of the ten rounds of competition each day of the five-day. Anthony Lucia will serve as lead play-by-play announcer.
SB Nation and the Vox Media Podcast Network launched It Seemed Smart, SB Nation’s first storytelling podcast series. Hosted by SB Nation Editor-at-Large Spencer Hall, listeners will enter the world of sports trickery and mayhem in six different episodes: absurd stories of stolen bats, pirated play calls, renegade cross-country road racers, and fantasy football’s own insider trading scandal.
FOX Sports unveiled new esports programming for new acquisition Caffeine, announced that FS1 and the FOX Sports app along with social broadcasting platform will air the Continental Cup 2018 presented by PlayStation. The event will see global gamers compete for a FIFA 19 championship during Paris Games Week 2018. FOX Sports Reporter Alex Curry hosts the live event, which runs on Sunday at 10a. In addition, FOX Sports will also celebrate the journey to the tournament with the series, “eSports Athletes Rising,” a behind-the-scenes look at gaming pros. The program follows “underdog FIFA 19 players from the US as they look to upset the competition on international turf.
Hershey’s announced plans to partner with top streamers Ninja and DrLupo at TwitchCon 2018. The deal marks the brand’s first foray in the gaming world as the duo will teams up for a Twitch stream ahead of TwitchCon 2018. Ninja and DrLupo will be partnering with Hershey’s to promote the launch of the new Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar with Reese’s Pieces candy by live streaming together on Oct. 23 at 4p on their own respective Twitch streams. Fans will be able to visit both personalities at the Hershey’s booth on Oct. 27 from 10-11a where samples of the new candy will be distributed.
Psyonix is partnering with Tespa to launch the first-ever live Collegiate Rocket League National Championship. Set to take place on Dec. 8 at Arlington’s new Esports Stadium, the CRL National Championship will pit the top four collegiate teams from across North America to compete for their share of a $25,000 scholarship prize pool.
NHL player Zach Hyman announced plans to launch new esports team E11 Gaming. The squad will be based in Toronto, with Oliver Silverstein serving as the COO. NHL.com writes that E11 Gaming has now signed three players, Garvin “BlooTea” Chen, Jake “Vicaros” Lyonns, and Chris “TheGeneral” Lee.
Monumental Sports & Entertainment named a slate of key promotions and new hires across the company. Moves include Monica Dixon now serving as Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff, Kelly Skoloda as Chief People Officer, Quentin Addison, Vice President of Technical and Broadcast Operations, Ketsia Colimon as Vice President of Communications, Jeff Newman as Vice President of Global Partnerships, Grant Hastings, Vice President of Network Operations, Monumental Sports Network, Cassidy Lien as VP of Game Entertainment and Amanda Tischler as VP of Marketing, Washington Capitals.
Dodgers/Red Sox on FOX at 8p.