ESPN cracked open a deal with Dos Equis for a multi-year agreement to become the Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff. Dos Equis will “leverage the CFP on ESPN to bring unparalleled and interesting experiences to help fans Stay Thirsty throughout the college football season and Playoff.” The deal will see the beer brand nab rights to CFP marks, the opportunity to execute fan engagements on-site at CFP games, and logo usage rights on-pack for Dos Equis brands, as well as other content for the College Football Playoff Semifinals, College Football Playoff National Championship and the "New Years’ Six" bowl properties.

"Both Dos Equis and college football have seen tremendous growth over the past decade and working with the College Football Playoff and ESPN will be a bold platform for Dos Equis," said Nuno Teles, Heineken USA Chief Marketing Officer. "Millions of fans tuned in as part of last years’ record-setting championship telecast, and this is a remarkable opportunity to help our consumers stay thirsty during one of the biggest sporting events in America."

With CES just around the corner, Turner Sports announced that the company will go all in at the annual event. Turner Sports’ live on-site event offerings will include its first-ever Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Championship with partners WME/IMG, the inaugural Sports Business Forum, presented by Turner Sports in partnership with NextVR, and a live broadcast of TNT’s Inside the NBA from the show. The day-long showcase takes place on Jan. 7 beginning at 8:30a with the Sports Business Forum, which will include panel discussions with speakers that include NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and MLB Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr., discussing ways technology is evolving the sports marketplace and each of their respective businesses. At 12:30p, the company serves up live event coverage of the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Championship from CES in Las Vegas with the nabbing an invitation to participate in the newly formed “ELEAGUE,” the Turner Sports and WME/IMG competitive gaming league set to debut later in 2016.

The Steelers’ win over the Colts on SNF handed NBC with 12.2/19 overnight score in primetime, according to Nielsen. Top local markets: Pittsburgh 40.3/56; Indy 33.5/51; Las Vegas 17.5/27; Richmond 17.1/25; Norfolk 16.9/26.

Meanwhile, SNF also flexed its NFL schedule to pick up the Cardinals/Eagles for Week 15 on Dec. 20 at 8:30p. The addition means that the Bengals/49ers game will shift to CBS at 4:25p that day.

UConn continues to deliver for ESPN, which saw its coverage of the annual Jimmy V Women’s Classic presented by Corona, pitting UConn/Notre Dame, match the highest-ever overnight rating for a regular-season women’s college basketball game across ESPN networks with a 1.5. The game drew a 200% increase over the 2014 game with Hartford scoring a 9.3 overnight rating, the market’s highest overnight since Connecticut faced Baylor on Dec. 18, 2011.

ESPN Deportes debuted its new four-studio production facility in Mexico City yesterday. The studio is designed to “enhance the presentation of content, increase engagement and provide a better stage for on-air journalists to showcase their knowledge and personality.” The facility features a specially-designed curved 538-sq. foot HD screen and light design from Ferri Lighting, along with video feed technology also enriches branding opportunities as it allows advertisers to target audiences with unique, dedicated content from various countries at the same time. “The SportsCenter produced in Mexico City embodies ESPN’s history of innovation and being an industry forerunner,” said Rodolfo Martinez, VP of Production for ESPN International and ESPN Deportes. “At this new facility, we are able to seamlessly integrate the world-class production values and storytelling capabilities that the brand is renowned for around the world. This achievement was made possible thanks to the collaboration and passion of our colleagues and our commitment to better serve fans around the world.”

FOX Sports lined up “9 Days of Fury” starting tomorrow with more than 20 hours of live UFC programming spanning two weeks this month. Coverage includes back-to-back fight cards  The Ultimate Fighter Finale: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber on Friday and UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor on Saturday as well as the Dec. 19 FOX UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs. Cowboy 2. Coverage begins on FS2 on tomorrow night at 8p with UFC Tonight.
 
ESPN lined up its slate of presenters for The Home Depot 25th Anniversary College Football Awards, which is set to run live on Thursday at 7p.  Presenters are set to include: Dick Vermeil for the Chuck Bednarick Award; Desmond Howard for the Biletnikoff Award; Matt Stover for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place Kicker Award; Ray Guy presenting the Ray Guy Award; Danny Wuerffel with the Maxwell Award; Andre Ware for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award; Ross Browner for the Outland Trophy; Gov. Mary Fallin with the Jim Thorpe Award; Eddie George with the Doak Walker Award; JC Watts with the NCFAA Contributions to College Football Award and Home Depot’s Mike Hibbison with The Home Depot Coach of the Year.

The ATP and ATP Media announced this week that live match production at it will beef up its slate of tournaments in 2016 with more than 100 additional ATP singles matches will be produced, as well as increased coverage of doubles matches. Overall, 24 additional courts will be produced across eight of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments starting in 2016, beginning with the 2016 BNP Paribas Open in March.

ONE World Sports locked in Champions Again: The Story of the 2015 New York Cosmos, a 30-minute show recapping the New York Cosmos’ season and run for its second NASL championship in three years. The special airs on December 12 at 7p.

Pac-12 Networks is getting in the hockey game, announcing that it will carry two ice hockey games in 2016, marking the first NCAA hockey broadcasts for the network. With Arizona State launching its own hockey program, the schedule will feature two games with the school beginning with Arizona State/Yale at 7p PT on Jan. 8 with play-by-play announcer Matt McConnell and analyst Tyson Nash on the call. ASU then faces the United States National Under-18 Select team on Feb. 29 at 6p PT with Jason Knapp and Dave Starman on microphone duties.

NASCAR in Canada inked a deal with Pinty’s Delicious Foods for a six-year series entitlement sponsorship agreement of NASCAR’s Canadian-based series. Beginning Jan. 1, the series will become known as the NASCAR Pinty’s Series. In addition, NASCAR announced a three-year deal for the NASCAR Pinty’s Series to run as part of the Honda Indy Toronto weekend. “NASCAR is a global entity and we couldn’t be more excited to continue to grow this important series with the help of our new entitlement partner, Pinty’s,” said George Silbermann, Vice President, Regional and Touring Series, NASCAR. “The NASCAR Pinty’s Series is the premier motorsports property in Canada, characterized by the unparalleled competition that defines NASCAR racing.”

120 Sports announced today a digital-led partnership with Spark SMG focused on real-time brand integrations across the league-owned multi-sports network. The deal involves eight Spark SMG clients including Bass Pro Shops, which launched its campaign on 120 Sports at the beginning of November. The chain will work with 120 Sports to produce and deliver branded content in real time to “capitalize on the value of timely content around new and evolving news and stories, as well as deliver an authentic brand experience for users” that will include a branded interview series with athletes, coaches and more, entitled Inside/Out. Additional Silver Chalice companies, Campus Insiders and The ACC Digital Network, will also partner with brands in the Spark SMG portfolio.

FOX NFL insider Jay Glazer introduced his new social intiative, M.V.P. (Merging Vets & Players), during FOX NFL Sunday this week. The program looks to connect former NFL players with combat veterans to help them persevere through the challenges associated with their service to our country. “A lot of our vets and former NFL players, emotionally, they have a similar struggle so what I’ve started, is a program called M.V.P., which stands for Merging Vets & Players," said Glazer. "As you know, football players they look up to our veterans and our veterans look up to our football players. I’m having these guys go on empowerment retreats, coach them up and have them walk the walk together.”

Verizon signed on as the presenting sponsor of Super Bowl City, the San Francisco Bay Area Super Bowl 50 Host Committee’s free public fan village during Super Bowl Week from Jan. 30-Feb. 7. "Super Bowl City presented by Verizon will feature free family-friendly activities for locals and visitors alike to enjoy the extravaganza that is the sporting world’s biggest annual event," said Keith Bruce, CEO of the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee. "Our partnership with Verizon will help us to deliver on our promise of celebrating Super Bowl 50 in an unprecedented way."

On Location Experiences, the premium experiential hospitality business jointly owned by RedBird Capital Partners, Bruin Sports Capital and the NFL, announced a creative partnership and strategic investment with Jon Bon Jovi. The deal will see On Location Experiences take over Runaway Tours, the VIP hospitality business for premier music acts created by Bon Jovi. Runaway Tours will now serve as a new vertical for On Location Experiences to expand into the music and entertainment industry. 

The World Surf League launched its first global brand campaign with the moniker, “You Can’t Script This.” The campaign launched via digital and social last week, with the ninety-second Chaos Theory film debuting yesterday. Chaos Theory will run across WSL’s global broadcasting partners as a :30 spot including ABC (US), ESPN (Brazil), France (MCS) and Australia (FOX 5 Sports).

Mini-collectible sports figure company TeenyMates locked in their licensing agreement with WWE to bring WWE TeenyMates to the marketplace. The one-inch mini-figures will now be available in the forms of WWE Superstars and Legends with the first slate offering 28 names.

UFC Gym is taking its facilities to Australia. The company partnered with Ultimate Franchising Group to expand the brand throughout the continent. Since debuting in 2009, UFC GYM has opened more than 135 locations throughout the United States, Australia and Canada.

The GoPro Channel is hitting Amazon Fire TV this week, offering on-demand GoPro videos to millions of Amazon customers. Additionally, user-generated content from the GoPro community will be highlighted on The GoPro Channel on Amazon.

espnW unveiled its 2015 IMPACT25 list, marking 25 athletes and influencers who have made the biggest mark on women in sports this year. The division surveyed a panel of sports experts and luminaries, including women’s sports influencers, former players and ESPN’s own editors and executives on the 2015 sports landscape and divided the standout individuals into two categories, Athletes and Influencers. Making the list were Carli Lloyd, Misty Copeland, Jessica Mendoza, the U.S. Women’s National Team, Ronda Rousey, Serena Williams, Lauren Greenfield, Senators Kristen Gillibrand and Claire McCaskill, Becky Hammon, Loretta E/ Lynch, Simone Manuel, Dani Rylan, Simon Biles, Tamika Catchings, Lauren Chamberlain, Elena Delle Donne, Erica Enders, Chloe Kim, Lydia Ko, Dani Rylan, Diana Taurasi, Sarah Thomas, Jen Welter, Katie Ledecky, Olivia Quigley, Breanna Stewart and Serena Williams.

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: Saturday saw Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey set the all-time mark for career all-purpose yards. Whose record did he beat? Answer: Barry Sanders. Kudos: Ralph Sorrentino-NY; Bill Hirsh-Learfield Sports/NY; Deborah Kapetanakis-Universal McCann/NY; Daniel Lowenthal-Mindshare/NY; Ken Nice-TeamPeople/Falls Church; Seth Rubinroit-NBC Sports/Stamford; Jerehmy White-BusyBuddy Books/Glen Rock; Allison Lerer-Turner Sports/Atlanta; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Joe Lyons-Back Nine Productions/Dallas; Lance Phegley-Texas Runner and Triathlete magazine/Houston; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank; Curtis Nettles-CBS TV STATIONS/LA; Willie Price-American Forces Network/Riverside.

Later — Chris
Chris Pursell for Cynopsis | Sports @VegasandVine
12.08.15

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