12/04/17: Shareablee’s new gameplan

Good morning. It’s Monday December 4, 2017 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

The recent launch of Shareablee Sports will look to expand and deepen the company’s roots of leveraging fan engagement, looking to “provide professional sports teams from all leagues worldwide with data and insight into fan engagement with their own social media properties, as well as those of competitors, including actions and activities related to paid and non-paid posts.” Recent reports showed that the Golden State Warriors led the NBA in total social media actions in October, notching more than 32 million overall, with categories that also measure content, actions per content, audience and shares. The Cavaliers came in second, followed by the Celtics, Thunder and Lakers. In the NFL tally, the league was led by the Steelers, with nearly 12 million actions, followed by the Patriots, Packers, Raiders and Eagles.

Cynopsis Sports asked Adam Holt, Head of Sales, EMEA for Shareablee and Managing Director of the new sports division, about the launch and how its numbers can be leveraged.

Holt on the launch of Shareablee Sports: The business and digital aspect of sports have become more and more prominent in recent years. With sponsorships for a soccer jersey being worth $50-60m per year, there is more demand than ever for teams, leagues and organizations to show a true return on investment. In the process of this Shareablee has been challenged by its current client base in Sports to help them become market leaders in terms of innovation and staying “ahead of the curve”.

On content: Shareablee sports will be providing unique insights into the world of sports through a social lens. The goal is to give the marketplace a unique perspective on the winners and losers on a weekly basis. In addition, Shareablee Sports will also be offering thought leadership and insights into how to optimize Branded Content and how to better work with sponsors.

On how teams can leverage rankings: Shareablee currently works with a number of teams and leagues throughout the world helping them to reach their fans in innovative and thought-provoking ways. I believe there is much more that can be done – the demand from the industry is to close the loop between online and offline behaviors. Shareablee is currently pioneering this process with a number of their partners and we can’t want to share this with other teams and leagues.

On the five year vision: Sport is ever-evolving: Year on Year teams are becoming more approachable than ever with a single tweet standing between a fan and their team. This connectivity gives teams and leagues a unique opportunity to create content to fully engage and serve their audience. Shareablee’s aim is to be the trusted third party that allows teams and leagues to get that better every single day. The reality is teams will win and lose but the fan base deserves to be served content and information that is always 10/10 and that is the aim of working with every single team.

ON THE AIR

The College Football Playoff committee locked in its matchups and bowl game assignments for the college football postseason, selecting two teams from the same conference for the first time with Georgia and Alabama getting slots, along with Clemson and Oklahoma. Semifinal action will open with Oklahoma/Georgia on Jan. 1 at 2p at the Rose Bowl, while Clemson/Alabama square off from New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl Semifinal at 5:45p. Other key matchups will see Auburn/UFC in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 1, with Penn State/Washington at the Fiesta Bowl and Wisconsin/Miami in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30 with Ohio State/USC in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 29.

In other bowl matchups…

Saturday, December 16

Celebration Bowl, 12p on ABC: Grambling vs. North Carolina A&T
New Orleans Bowl, 1p on ESPN: Troy vs. North Texas
Cure Bowl, 2:30p on CBSSN: Georgia State vs. Western Kentucky
Las Vegas Bowl, 3:30p on ABC: Boise State vs. Oregon
New Mexico Bowl, 4:30p on ESPN: Marshall vs. Colorado State
Camellia Bowl, 8p on ESPN: Arkansas State vs. Middle Tennessee

Tuesday, December 19

Boca Raton Bowl, 7p on ESPN: FAU vs. Akron

Wednesday, December 20

Frisco Bowl, 8p on ESPN: SMU vs. Louisiana Tech

Thursday, December 21

Gasparilla Bowl, 8p on ESPN: FIU vs. Temple

Friday, December 22

Bahamas Bowl, 12:30p on ESPN: Ohio vs. UAB
Potato Bowl, 4p on ESPN: CMU vs. Wyoming

Saturday, December 23

Birmingham Bowl, 12p on ESPN: USF vs. Texas Tech
Armed Forces Bowl, 3:30p on ESPN: Army vs. San Diego State
Dollar General Bowl, 7p on ESPN: Appalachian State vs. Toledo

Sunday, December 24

Hawaii Bowl, 8:30p on ESPN: Fresno State vs. Houston

Tuesday, December 26

Heart of Dallas Bowl, 1:30 p.m on ESPN: Utah vs. West Virginia
Quick Lane Bowl, 5:15p on ESPN: Duke vs. NIU
Cactus Bowl, 9p on ESPN: Kansas State vs. UCLA

Wednesday, December 27

Independence Bowl, 1:30p on ESPN: Florida State vs. Southern Miss
Pinstripe Bowl, 5:15p on ESPN: Boston College vs. Iowa
Foster Farms Bowl, 8:30p on FOX: Arizona vs. Purdue
Texas Bowl, 9p on ESPN: Texas vs. Missouri

Thursday, December 28

Military Bowl, 1:30p on ESPN: Virginia vs. Navy
Camping World Bowl, 5:15p on ESPN: Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech
Holiday Bowl, 9p on FS1: Michigan State vs. Washington State
Alamo Bowl, 9p on ESPN: Stanford vs. TCU

Friday, December 29

Belk Bowl, 1p on ESPN: Wake Forest vs. Texas A&M
Sun Bowl, 3p on CBS: Arizona State vs. NC State
Music City Bowl, 4:30p on ESPN: Kentucky vs. Northwestern
Arizona Bowl, 5:30p on CBSSN: New Mexico State vs. Utah State

Saturday, December 30

TaxSlayer Bowl, 12p on ESPN: Mississippi State vs. Louisville
Liberty Bowl, 12:30p on ABC: Memphis vs. Iowa State

Monday, January 1

Outback Bowl, 12p on ESPN2: Michigan vs. South Carolina
Citrus Bowl, 1p on ABC: Notre Dame vs. LSU

Meanwhile, CBS Sports’ coverage of the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 2, pitting Georgia and Auburn, rank as the highest-rated college football game to date on any network for the 2017 season, notching an 8.4/18 average overnight rating/share and up 20% over last year’s numbers, according to Nielsen. In fact, the SEC Championship Game was CBS’s highest-rated college football game in the metered markets since the 2013 SEC Championship game.

Around the dial, FOX Sports’ coverage of Ohio State winning its 36th Big Ten title over Wisconsin on Saturday night drew 12,919,000 viewers to the FOX broadcast network, according to Nielsen Fast Nationals, ranking as the network’s most-watched college football game since the 2013 Big Ten Championship. Meanwhile, Oklahoma’s victory over TCU for the Big 12 title delivered 5,901,000 viewers to the broadcast network.

In NFL ratings, the Cowboy’ win on Thursday Night Football averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 16.0 million viewers across all platforms – NBC, NFL Network, Amazon Prime Video, NBC Sports Digital, NFL Digital, and Universo, according to Nielsen Fast Nationa and Adobe Analytics and Amazon Prime Video. The NBC/NFL Network combined average of 15.6 million viewers for Redskins-Cowboys marks the highest TV viewership for Thursday Night Football this season.

The Pac-12 Conference unveiled the results of its pilot program to shorten the length of football games in a move designed to make football games more enjoyable for fans watching on-air, online and in-stadium. The game-shortening elements were comprised of shortened half-times from 20 minutes to 15 minutes, and restructured commercial formats including reduced commercial breaks and enhanced in-game advertising. Key results included: game length reduced on average from 3:19 to 3:14, with 33% more games (eight vs. six games) lasting less than 3:14; while bame broadcast windows were reduced on average from 3:28 to 3:20, resulting in less games being joined in progress in back-to-back game situations.

CBS announced the new one-hour special MVP: Most Valuable Performer, described as an interactive talent show to find the pro football player with the best off-the-field talent. The special will be broadcast live from the Avalon Hollywood on Jan. 25 at 9p. The MVP contest is now open with the first videos of the 32 participating players available online at si.com/mvp for fans to watch and vote for their favorite performer. Players who have entered the contest include Jonathan Stewart, Carolina Panthers (Piano); AJ Green, Cincinnati Bengals (Juggling); Mason Crosby, Green Bay Packers (Archery); Juju Smith-Shuster, Pittsburgh Steelers (Cooking); Domata Peko, Denver Broncos (Guitar); and Miles Killebrew, Detroit Lions (Drums).

AXS TV carries New Japan Pro Wrestling’s biggest show of the year – Wrestle Kingdom 12 – via a three-hour special on Jan. 6 at 8p. While NJPW has delivered some of the greatest matches in wrestling history over the past year, we’ve seen viewership growth on AXS TV thanks to New Japan’s expansion in the U.S. and our commitment to air matches closer to when they take place,” said Simon. “With Wrestle Kingdom as their marquee annual event, we thank NJPW and TV Asahi for their support and are proud to kick off 2018 with this historic primetime Saturday night special featuring the dream match-up of Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho,” said AXS TV FIGHTS CEO Andrew Simon.

Comedian Joel McHale has been tapped to host Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year event, which will be broadcast on NBCSN on Dec. 8 and Univision Deportes on Dec. 9.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

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SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

Feld Entertainment inked a deal that will see Monster Jam forge a multi-year, multi-million-dollar licensing and marketing agreement with Great Clips. In addition to the existing branded Great Clips Mohawk Warrior Monster Jam truck agreement, the enhanced three-year deal between will extend into additional markets throughout Monster Jam tours, expanding the reach of branded touchpoints such as traffic-driving brand integrations and high-impact signage in stadiums and arenas, as well as providing large-scale engagement opportunities in the Pit Party.

ESPN Events locked in Cheribundi Tart Cherry as the new title sponsor for the Boca Raton Bowl. Beginning with this year’s game on Dec. 19, the bowl will now be known as the Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl. Cheribundi will serve as the title sponsor through the 2019 season.

The Pac-12 added Maui Jim as a new official sponsor of both the 2017 and 2018 Pac-12 Football Championship Games, presented by 76, as well as the 2018 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament, presented by New York Life. The brand will receive a slate of media inventory across Pac-12 Networks linear channels along with in-stadium branding at the three flagship championship events. Maui Jim will also be provided with on-site activation opportunities at all three championship events and showcase the brand’s “Flying Jimmy” sunglasses setup. In addition, the Pac-12 also announced today that GEICO is continuing as a partner with a multiyear renewal. GEICO will have signage and on-site activation at the 2017 Football Championship Game in addition to being an official sponsor of the Pac-12 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments and Olympic Championship events.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

Olympic Channel announced the debut of Legends Live On, showcasing how Olympic heroes translate their success into careers and inspire future generations. Premiering on the Olympic Channel global digital platform, athletes to be featured include Manuela di Centa, Ian Thorpe, Jackie Silva, Katarina Witt and Shaun White.

ESPORTS

WorldGaming unlocked registration for players in Canada and the US for the WorldGaming Canadian Championship presented by PlayStation 4 featuring Call of Duty: WWII. Competitors in the WorldGaming Canadian Championship begin play with online qualifiers starting on Jan. 6. The top eight teams from the online playoffs will travel to Toronto for the National Finals at Cineplex’s Scotiabank Theatre Toronto on March 3 and 4. “This is our third national tournament featuring Call of Duty and it is clear that the gaming community in North America appreciates the supreme and distinctive competitive aspects of the game and of our tournaments,” says Wim Stocks, General Manager of WorldGaming. “Players and spectators alike will bring passion and truly impressive team combat strategies into the mix.”

Schick Hydro announced plans to “foster innovation” by spotlighting and investing in independent game developers. The brand’s efforts include a new, fan-choice award for The Game Awards 2017 (“The Best Debut Indie Game – Presented by Schick Hydro”), a consumer giveaway that puts break-out indie games in fans’ hands, an exclusive indie game jam in partnership with Playcrafting and a custom arcade experience at The Game Awards.

The Esports Championship Series cemented its talent lineup for the Season 4 Finals including new analyst, Jordan ‘n0thing’ Gilbert, and returning commentators James Bardolph, Dan Kapadia and more. The ECS Season 4 Finals take place at Hard Rock Hotel in Cancun, Mexico on Dec. 15-17, with each of the three days to be broadcast around the world exclusively on FACEIT’s official YouTube Gaming channel.

THE MAIN EVENT

Steelers/Bengals on ESPN at 8:30p.

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ON THIS DAY in 1997: The NBA suspends Latrell Sprewell for one year after attacking his coach.

In the Know: The attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 caused the Rose Bowl to temporarily change venues (and coasts) and play the game at which school’s stadium? (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 scoring leader for the Phoenix Suns? Answer: Walter Davis. Kudos: Michael Ritz-BucStar Consulting/NY; Denis Barry-CBS/NY; Aymon DeMauro-Discovery Communications/NY; Troy Perlowitz-ESPN/Charlotte; Rick Rosenfelt-New York Red Bulls/Harrison; John Langermann-WINK-TV/WXCW-TV/Fort Myers; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Deerfield Beach; Lance Phegley-Texas Runner and Triathlete magazine/Houston; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Judie Henninger-Valentine Productions Inc./Santa Monica; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA

Later – Chris

Chris Pursell @VegasandVine
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