The ATP unveiled a new brand identity and details on a global marketing campaign built around its “Love It All” messaging with an eye to “transform the way that men’s tennis is promoted across the world.” The re-brand includes a new logo, “visually-distinctive assets that convey the energy and movement that epitomise world-class tennis”, and the shortening of ATP World Tour to simply ATP Tour. “These ambitious and innovative initiatives will enable us to better engage and inspire sports fans around the world – from hardcore tennis followers to the more casual fans, who might currently only follow our sport during the Nitto ATP Finals or Grand Slam tournaments,” said Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman & President. “This is about showcasing the fantastic entertainment and high-intensity action that is on offer all year round – raising awareness, driving engagement across digital and TV, and packing out stadiums wherever we go.”
Globe Life signed on to serve as title sponsor for the 2018 Conference USA Football Championship. The 2018 Globe Life Conference USA Football Championship will take place on Dec. 1 at 12:30p with CBS Sports Network carrying the game. In addition, Globe Life will also be the Official Life Insurance Partner for the collegiate conference and receive advertising opportunities with Conference USA at the 2019 basketball, baseball, and softball championships as well as other conference events.
Française des Jeux and the NBA revealed a new multiyear partnership that designates Francaise des Jeux – the operator of France’s national lottery – as the first official gaming partner of the NBA in France and the league’s first in this category in Europe. The exclusive partnership will be promoted in more than 27,000 retail locations in France and on ParionsSport’s and the NBA’s digital assets.
Newborn MLS club FC Cincinnati unveiled its brand identity, with the materials created in tandem with Interbrand after an intensive three-month process, and will be known as Football Club Cincinnati, aka FC Cincinnati. in addition, the club’s Orange and Blue color scheme remains in “brighter and bolder” tones, with a new crest developed as a representative of the city.
Bleacher Report expanded its relationship with WSC Sports to create and distribute video highlights of the UEFA games on Bleacher Report, the Bleacher Report app and Bleacher Report Live covering the Champions League and the Europe League. “Bleacher Report is constantly working to bring fans closer to the games and sports they love. WSC Sports’ platform enables us to create customized highlights of every key moment for UEFA fans in real time. Based on the success we’ve seen with pro and college sports, we are excited to bring the same technology to world football fans in the same short-form format we know they love,” said Bennett Spector, VP of Programming for Bleacher Report.
Soccer brand Goal locked in a two-year alliance with Chinese sports platform Sina Sports in a move to develop and amplify Goal’s presence across social platform Weibo. Goal will also become the official media partner for Sina’s 5×5 Golden League futsal competition. As well as covering the tournament, DAZN Group will hold third-party sponsorship rights.
National CineMedia and ScoreStream are partnering to bring local sports highlights to locqal movie theaters. After fans crowd source scores, photos and videos of their local teams, top user generated content from each local region will now be featured regularly in movie theater lobbies around the country across NCM’s Lobby Entertainment Network and also, when sponsored by a local advertiser, on the big screen in a new Noovie Local content segment.
NBC Sports Gold brings back Blazers Pass on Nov. 23, when the Blazers visit the Warriors. The streaming product allows fans living in team territory with access to 15 Blazers road games during the 2018-19 NBA season and features enhanced content, including pre- and post-game shows, full replays.
Ubisoft is tapping HyperX for a global partnership for the Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six 2018 Majors in an expanded deal. HyperX will serve as the official and exclusive mice, keyboards and internals partner through Aug. 2019 and spanning the Pro League online seasons and Worldwide Finals as well as the two next Major events: Six Invitational 2019 next Feb. and the second Six Major, next summer.
compLexity Gaming struck a partnership with WinStar World Casino and Resort to make the venue the exclusive casino of the esports team and marking the first time that a US-based esports organization has partnered a casino as its official sponsor, according to the announcement. “WinStar is a preeminent gaming and entertainment venue, and we are excited for them to become our exclusive casino partner,” said Jason Lake, CEO of Complexity Gaming, in a statement. “This partnership signals a significant shift in the esports sphere toward making competitive gaming entertainment even more mainstream.”
Intel Extreme Masters announced plans to return to Sydney in 2019, where 16 top CS:GO teams will compete for $250,000. Running from May 3-5, the event will again take place in Qudos Bank Arena, serving as one of a dozen majors orchestrated by ESL next year.
The 2018 Hearthstone All-Star Invitational is locked in for Dec. 28-30 this year, coming out of Taiwan. The three-day event will feature 16 of the top Hearthstone players with from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and around the world and will be sponsored by Google Play, and carried on YouTube in multiple languages, including Mandarin, English, and Thai.
Univision Communications announced the promotion of José Luis Los Arcos to Vice President, Sports Partner Solutions, where he will oversee the sales marketing function for Univision Deportes. Los Arcos first joined Univision in 2015, serving as Director, Sports Partner Solutions.
The Crown League, the first “professional fantasy football league owned by the fans and run by the experts,” announced a slate of additions, naming Jeff Kaiser as Chief Content Officer, Tim Ettus as Chief Marketing Officer and Casey Jacobs as Vice President, Business Development.
Steve Adler will shift from an advisor role into the position of Chief Technology Officer for the Fan Controlled Football League. The league begins in May 2019.
Michigan/Villanova on FS1 at 6:30p.
