Good morning. It’s Friday, May 13, 2011, and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.
NFL players again took to the courts yesterday, asking a federal judge for $707 million in damages as a result of the lockout. U.S. District Judge David Doty took the request during a two-hour hearing Thursday from attorney for both the owners and players. Doty admonished both parties during the hearing, stating “I’ll be honest with you. I didn’t think we would have this hearing, and I’m a bit disappointed we are having it.” In March, Doty ruled that the NFL did not maximize revenues for players during broadcast negotiations, harming payouts.
After slating primetime games for the Pac-12 and ACC earlier this week, ESPN gave the Big Ten its turn at the plate on Thursday, announcing that seven Big Ten Conference college football games would air this season in prime time on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 in 2011.
Among the highlights:
- Wisconsin will have four primetime games, beginning with UNLV on Sept. 1. Other matches include Ohio St. on Oct. 29, and Michigan St. on Oct. 22.
- The Big Ten’s newest member Nebraska will have their first two conference games on an ESPN network, facing Wisconsin on Oct .1 and Ohio St. the following week on Oct. 8.
- ESPN will televise the first-ever night game at Michigan Stadium when the Wolverines host Notre Dame on Saturday, Sept. 10.
Nice foreshadowing on Tiger Wood’s exit from Golf Channel Analyst Brandel Chamblee who predicted the Tiger Woods wouldn’t be ready for The Players Championship this week. On Wednesday, Chamblee told reporters, “It’s very likely that he’s going to reinjure himself playing this course and maybe just hobble out here. It’s kind of sad. We watched Tiger age so rapidly right before our eyes and maybe right before our eyes we’ll watch Tiger Woods play where he’s literally shuffling off the course.” Woods initially said his injured leg had recovered, but ended up limping off the golf course nine holes into the Championship after shooting a 42.
The NBC Sports Group will continue coverage of the event through Sunday, with Golf Channel running 17 hours of Live from The Players and 10 hours of golf re-airs to bring the total number of programming hours during the four days of the tournament to 49.
Tennis Channel is adding Mary Carillo to its roster, signing the award-winning sportscaster and former player to a deal that will make her a primary face of this month’s French Open. Carillo will also be part of the channel’s US Open telecast. Her duties in France will include hosting the network’s live tournament desk, conducting interviews, offering perspective and analysis, as well as taking occasionally play-by-play duties during select matches. Carillo will also produce human interest stories and segments for the network. This year will mark Tennis Channel’s fifth year broadcasting the French Open.
ESPN is taking men’s college basketball to a whole new field, literally. The network has reached an agreement with the Morale Entertainment Foundation that will televise the Michigan State vs. North Carolina game for the Carrier Classic 11-11-11, marking the first time a men’s college basketball game will be played on the deck of a United States military aircraft carrier. The game takes place on Nov. 11 at 7p and as part of the telecast, ESPN will televise a special halftime entertainment show and post-game concert organized by Morale Entertainment Foundation. The ship being used to host Veteran’s Day event is still being determined but will be positioned in the San Diego harbor.
The NBC Sports Group has locked in coverage for the NHL Conference Finals, which begin Saturday. VERSUS will begin airing the Eastern Conference Finals featuring the Lightening and Bruins with Game 1 at 8p. Western Conference Final action will start on Sunday with either the Sharks or Red Wings facings Vancouver. NBC’s coverage will begin on May 21, at 1p with game four of the Eastern Conference Final when Tampa Bay hosts Boston. Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick will handle play-by-play and Eddie Olczyk will serve as analyst of NBC and VERSUS’ coverage of the Tampa Bay-Boston series.
ESPN has locked in a slew of lacrosse programming. Beginning Saturday, the 2011 Major League Lacrosse season will begin, with all 36 regular-season games set to be streamed live on ESPN3.com. In addition, the 2011 Sports Authority MLL All-Star Game and the Sports Authority MLL Championship Weekend presented by Warrior will air on ESPN2 and ESPN3.com. Play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati and analyst Quint Kessenich will return to serve as the commentator team for the MLL telecasts on ESPN2.
The ESPN family of networks is also set to provide coverage of all 15 games from the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship. Programming will be in high definition across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU beginning Saturday and wrap up with the national title game on Monday, May 30. ESPN3.com and ESPN Mobile will also carry select games.
Other sports programming notes for this weekend:
- CBS Sports Spectacular will present the 2011 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships on Saturday at 3p. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships and Tim Brando, along with 1996 Olympic gold medalist Amanda Borden will call the action
- NBC will broadcast the Quarterfinals of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship presented by GoDaddy.com from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nev. on Sunday at Noon. NBC’s Craig Hummer, Ali Nejad and Leeann Tweeden will be behind the microphones.
- TLC premieres Off the Rez on Saturday at 9p, a film by Jonathan Hock and executive produced by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, about four generations of Native American women from the Umatilla Nation who seek to preserve their traditions in the world of American high school sports.
Wait… what? A British company is launching a petition that will make pole dancing a test sport for the 2012 London Games. Vertical Dance started the movement, which has already earned nearly 6,000 supporters thus far, and officials state that they hope an event will become an official competition by the 2016 Games.
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE
The Broadcast Market
Publishing May 16
Special Editions and more Upfront information are available at
Cynopsis.com Upfront Overview.
Stats – National Ratings for the week ending May 8
NBC’s coverage of the 137th running of The Kentucky Derby averaged a 6.7/16 for the network, drawing 11.2 million viewers to the race, but down 11% from 2010. The actual race earned the channel an 8.5/19 and rose to a 9.7/22 when Animal Kingdom overcame 20-1 odds to take the derby.
Ratings for the NBA Playoffs only reaffirmed earlier audience spikes for the league. Season-to date, the NBA post-season airings are up by double digits on all three networks telecasting the games, with ABC growing 27% to a 4.2 household score, ESPN up 30% to a 2.6, and TNT soaring 25% to a 3.0.
Select sports’ year to date averages:
Sport 2010 Household Rating 2011 Rating Difference
NBA Playoff (All) 2.4 3.1 +29%
NASCAR Sprint Cup 2.7 2.9 +7%
PGA Tour 2.2 2.3 +5%
NHL Playoffs (NBC) 1.1 1.2 +9%
NHL Playoffs (Versus) 0.5 0.5 0%
MLB Baseball (ESPN) 1.0 1.0 0%
Sponsorship & Promotion
The Women’s Tennis Association is launching a new global advertising campaign with the tagline “Strong is Beautiful”, which will initially feature 38 current and next-gen stars of the sport. The branding initiative is set to include TV, digital and print ads as well as social media applications. The “Strong is Beautiful” campaign will feature athletes detailing their personal stories and dreams in order to create a stronger engagement with fans. The spots and adverts will be utilized for WTA tournaments around the world in order to create a cohesive message for the sports.
NASCAR has announced the return of the NASCAR Wendell Scott Scholarship Program and the University of Central Florida, DeVos School of Management Scholarship for the second straight year. The programs, funded in part by long-time NASCAR partner UPS, was established to provide financial support to deserving African-American and Hispanic students currently enrolled in college who are pursuing degrees in areas of study related to motorsports, including marketing, engineering and public relations.
US Cellular has inked a three-year agreement with the Oklahoma City Thunder to become the official mobile sponsor of the team. As part of the deal, US Cellular will host interactive kiosk will offer interactive games during events as well as create the Thunder Text Alert Program which will provide text alerts to users on scores, team information, breaking news and promotions.
Digital Fields
While major leagues sports are often frowning on athlete’s tweeting, UFC is going the other way. Executives at UFC announced this week that they will now be rewarding fighters with bonuses for using Twitter. As part of the plan, the company will divide their fighters into four categories based on their Twitter follower count and every three months thereafter, reward three fighters from each category with a cool $5,000 based on how many followers they’ve gained, the biggest percentage of new followers added and the most creative tweets, which will be judged by UFC head Dana White.
Interactive sports programming provider Score Media has bought smartphone app SportsTap (well. not just the app, the whole company) in a move designed to boost the company’s global monthly unique mobile userbase to over 3 million. The ad-supported SportsTap app delivers box scores, team and player statistics and related news and information covering the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, Nascar and as well as other major sports leagues. SportsTap currently ranks as the third most popular free sports app in Google’s Android Market, behind Score Media’s own application ScoreMobile.
Tonight’s Main Event
Former home cities of Seattle and Vancouver mourn as the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Memphis Grizzlies on ESPN tonight at 9p in a potentially series ending matchup with the Thunder up 3-2 in the best of seven series.
In My Opinion:
First of all, I’m much obliged and grateful for all the kind words and show of support with the launch of Cynopsis Sports. There seems to be in infinite amount of material to cover and I’m thrilled with this opportunity.
What may be the biggest issue from this past week is one that is both baffling yet unsurprising. Last year, the Fiesta Bowl netted $15 million as a part of the BCS system, which included $2.9 million alone from Big East champion UConn for unsold tickets for their game against Oklahoma. That’s a lot of money from Connecticut taxpayers. So after the BCS came down with a $1 million fine, to be paid to Arizona’s youth, for potentially illegal reimbursements paid to employees for political donations as well as lavish spending by executives, bowl organizers were more than happy to pay the fee. In addition, the Fiesta Bowl was allowed to stay in the BCS.
With the Justice Department now involved in an investigation into the legality of the BCS system, and more states mulling lawsuits, a slap on the wrist wasn’t the right image for an already beleaguered organization, whether you like the BCS or not. What do you think should have been done? (Agree or disagree? Email your comments to chris [email protected] for inclusion under Emails to the Editor on Monday)
ON THIS DAY in 1983 – Reggie Jackson became the first major leaguer to strike out 2,000 times.
Answer to Yesterday’s Sports Trivia Question: What was the last team the Wizards beat in a series during the NBA playoffs? The Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls 4 game to 2 in 2005. Only one person was able to correctly answer this! Kudos: John Ward – NBC Sports Group/Chicago
In The Know: What female player won last year’s French Open? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: Only the second four correct answers from each time zone will be mentioned; and once you’ve been mentioned in any of the Cynopsis editions, you can’t be mentioned again that calendar week.)
Later — Chris
Chris Pursell for Cyn opsis | Sports
May 13, 2011
Cynopsis Ad Sales:
Mike Farina – VP/Business Development & Sales – 203-218-6480 / [email protected]
Classifieds – Trish Pihonak- 203-381-9096 / [email protected]
To subscribe to any Cynopsis edition(s) click here .
To unsubscribe from this edition, click here
Cyn opsis CLASSIFIEDS – For More classifieds, visit the Cynopsis.com classifieds page here .
JOB OPENING: DIR OF SALES/Cynopsis Media/NY/LA (2): 5+ yrs ent media sales exp w/established contacts within industry; able to dvlp new biz for all Cynopsis Media brands, exc comm skills. Resume and salary req: [email protected] (5/20)
JOB OPENING: RESEARCH MANAGER/Vh1 SUITE AD SALES/NY: Collect & analyze Nielsen, MRI, & other rsch data. BA, 5+ yrs rsch exp reqd. Strong Mcrsft Excel & PP & writ/comm skills. EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvnetworkscareers.com (5/20)
JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, PROGRAMMING RESEARCH/MTV 2/NYC. 7 + yrs TV ratings research/data analysis; Expertise in research methodology, competitive TV landscape & industry trends; B.A req. EOE/M/F/D/AAP apply www.mtvnetworkscareers.com (5/20)
JOB OPENING: PRODUCTION MANAGER/GSN GLENDALE, CA: Production Manager 5+yrs prod management exp. BA req. Right issues, Vendor and Talent negotiations. Industry practices and trends. Please send res and CL to [email protected] (5/20)
JOB OPENING: TEMP MKTG MGR/Rainbow-Global/NY: Execute mktg strategy. Partnr w/Intl affiliates. Deliver assets for distribtn. 5+yr digital mktg exp in Tv indstry. Rez:[email protected] (5/20)
JOB OPENING: SR COUNSEL/ABC/BURBANK: Work w/ co. execs on mktg/promotions matters (incl contests & sweepstakes) & assist w/ reality TV projects. Unscripted Prging, Mktg & Promotions 290563 http://corporate.disney.go.com/careers/ (5/20)
JOB OPENING: VP, BUS AFFAIRS/NY, LA or CLEVELAND/AGP: Resp for negotiating, reviewing & drafting agreements surrounding all of AGP’s ent, dig, & new partner relationships. More info: www.americangreetings.jobs (5/19)
JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, INTEGRATED MARKETING/NBCUniversal/NYC: Looking for a Director, Integrated Marketing with Telemundo. Please visit www.nbcunicareers.com for more information and go to Req#1687BR (5/19)
JOB OPENING: SALES PLANNER/Food Network & Cooking Channel/Detroit: 2 yrs exp. in advertising, buying and/or planning or w/ ad sales Co. Proficient in MS EXCEL/PP. Full details, www.scrippsnetworks.com Req. 2266 (5/19)
JOB OPENING: VP RESEARCH/ATL: Min. 10 yrs cable/tv exp. Report writing skills. Staff mgt & budget exp. Strategic & tactical exp req.Expert at Nielsen sys & software. See job posting at www.watchgmctv.com . Res: [email protected] (5/19)
JOB OPENING: PART-TIME MARKETING CONSULTANT/NYC/Global Multimedia Co.: Experienced, director-level proj. mgr. to oversee advertising, promotions, PR, soc. media, agency/vendor mgmt. 5 half-days in office. [email protected] (5/19)
JOB OPENING: WRITER/PRODUCER/SPORTSMAN CHANNEL/NY OR WI: Seeking an innovative thinker with strong writing skills and a keen eye to create and manage cutting edge promotional campaigns. Apply: www.thesportsmanchannel.com (5/19)
JOB OPENING: DELIVERABLES MANAGER/OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network/LA: MUST HAVE exp managing show deliverables, logs & QC. Detailed oriented, production & post expert. 6-month project. Apply at: http://careers.own.tv (5/19)
JOB OPENING: EXECUTIVE IN CHARGE/NEW YORK: Heavy hitter to run a portfolio of reality & doc series. Budgets, Schedules, Mgt — and more. Huge opptny at top prodco. [email protected] (5/19)
JOB OPENING: EXPERIENCED PRODUCERS/NYC: Needed for New Daytime Talk Show. MUST have Talk Experience. Looking for committed, detail-oriented, driven, multi-taskers. Must be a Team Player! APPLY TO: [email protected] (5/19)
JOB OPENING: AP’s and PA’s/NY: Needed for Daytime Talk Show. Must be great bookers, multi-taskers and team players.APPLY TO: [email protected] (5/19)
JOB OPENING: HBO FREELANCE MGR OF ADMIN/HBO: Prepare short form contracts. Create/update HBO TV prgrm avail. 5 yrs exp req’d pref media/ent. Strong analytical skills, Excel profic. Res&C/L: http://bit.ly/m0e9WE or www.timewarner.com/careers (5/18)
JOB OPENING: CONTENT SALES MGR (2)/Thought Equity Motion/NY & LA: World leader in video rights mgmt. Expert ideation, consultative & relationship sales exp. More info: http://corporate.thoughtequity.com/ Res: [email protected] (5/18)
JOB OPENING: PHOTO MGR/National Geographic Channel/DC: Acquire/edit photography and CGI related to the publicity and marketing of National Geographic Channels’ programming. Apply www.nationalgeographic.com to Job ID 4585. EOE. (5/18)
JOB OPENING: DIR AFFILIATE MRKT/ATL: Min. 5 yrs exp. in affiliate marketing. MSO contacts, strategic & innovative, events exp req.See job posting at www.watchgmctv.com . Res: [email protected] (5/18)
JOB OPENING: MANAGER, INTEGRATED STRATEGIC MARKETING/NBCUniversal/NYC: Manager, Integrated Strategic Marketing in the Women at NBCU group. Please visit www.nbcunicareers.com for more information and go to Req#1714BR (5/18)
JOB OPENING: SALES PLANNER/20th TV/NY: Min 1yr sls support exp. Exp w/Excel/Word/PowerPoint req. Will work closely w/AE in all aspects of AD Sls process. For more info/apply: www.myfoxla.com Email: [email protected] (EOE) (5/18)
JOB OPENING: ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR-AFFILIATE RELATIONS/AT&T Advanced Ad Solutions/NY: 2+ analy/media sales/research tools. Apply- https://att.taleo.net/careersection/10161/jobdetail.ftl?lang=en&job=1119903&ctx=1 (5/18)
JOB OPENING: DIR DNI CONTENT RSRCH/DISCOVERY/SS: mng rsrch team for content/strategy; create/analyze/inform/disseminate strategic projects; exp dvlpment in media rsrch field. www.discovery.com # 3917 (5/18)
JOB OPENING: SR DIR ONLINE PR/ SOCIAL MEDIA/NY:5-7+yrs Online PR, Social Media experience. Client facing, team mgmt, budget dev and pitch exp. Entrtnmt exp a plus. [email protected] (5/18)
JOB OPENING: PROJECT MANAGER, IT/NEW YORK: Day-to-day Project Management of projects aligned to the business needs of Advertising Sales & Traffic https://www.abso.com/jobboard/Default.aspx?JOBBOARDID=618&JobDetail=94274 (5/17)
JOB OPENING: MARKETING MGR/ABC FAMILY/BURBANK: Manage development & execution of consumer mkting campaigns. Work with multiple agencies & vendors. Digital & trad. adv. exp. required. disneycareers.com REQ 283127 (5/17)
JOB OPENING: COORD MULTI-PLAT PROGRAM/DISNEY XD/BURBANK: Create and maintain schedules, metadata, VOD plat, airline plat. 1 yr tv program/sched exp needed. Digital media/multi-plat exp prefer disneycareers.com REQ 296702 (5/17)
JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR MEDIA/Food Network/NY: Establish comm strategy & positioning for netwk priorities. 8-10 yrs exp in agency and/or ent media exp pref’d. Exp managing multi-million dollar budgets. www.scrippsnetworks.com #2345. (5/21)
JOB OPENING: ENGINEER (Contract)/New York: Employ corrective measures to mitigate technical problems both internal and external to Avid Interplay. https://www.abso.com/jobboard/Default.aspx?JOBBOARDID=618&JobDetail=96242 (5/14)
JOB OPENING: VP, RESEARCH/WE tv/NY: 15+yrs media research exp in cable/online/VOD environments, implementing research strat, tracking competitive trends+digital / brand performance. Must know Nielsen systems. [email protected] (5/14)
JOB OPENING: SR WRITER/PROD/TBS Inc/The Cartoon Network /ATL: 5yrs exp at ntwrk/agency/design firm. Strong writer (comedy writing essential) & exceptional creative thinker.Must know way around all prod. Apply: http://bit.ly/mEO7LN (5/14)
INTERNSHIPS – These positions are for credit only – nobody gets paid here. These ads are always posted for free , and students work for school credit only. For more information on the specs for posting an Internship ad, email Trish at [email protected].
SUMMER INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: INTERNSHIPS /OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network/LA: SCHOOL CREDIT ONLY. Opportunities in Research/Ratings, Legal & Scheduling. Must be a College Junior, Senior or Grad Student. Apply at: http://careers.own.tv (5/19)
ROOMMATE WANTED: Need Roommate,2Be/2Ba condo,Hollywood,$1250mth+util. Garage Pkg, Security, Pool, Gym, Laundry, AC,W-in Closets, Partially furnished. F, 29 w/sm dog, seeks professional/clean/friendly. July 1st [email protected] (5/19)
SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED … There is no charge for placing your Situation Wanted ad … for more information contact Trish Pihonak at [email protected]
SITUATION WANTED: CREATIVE MEDIA MIND Seeking to assist, Entry- Junior level positions, B.A. & Communications/Media background, 3-5 years of experience domestically & internationally. NY based. Please contact, [email protected] (5/20)
SITUATION WANTED: PRIME TIME EMMY DOCUMETARY. PRODUCER, DIRECTOR, WRITER in L.A. Credits: National Geo, PBS, Discovery, History CH, TLC and MSNBC. Contact email: [email protected] (5/19)
SITUATION WANTED: Fun, hard-working, quick-thinking domestic & international LINE PRODUCER/PRODUCTION MGR (NYC) w/12+years experience in Live Event, Competition/Reality, Formatted Series & Sports production. [email protected] (5/19)
SITUATION WANTED: Dedicated & Experienced ADV. SALES PLANNER (NYC) Sales proposals, resolving client discrepancies, quarterly post analysis, special sales service projects, expert computer skills. Contact- [email protected] (5/18)
SITUATION WANTED: POST PRODUCTION/NY: Recent Comm Arts grad with passion for children’s media seeking to asst entry-level positions for media or dist. co. Numerous experience. MS Off, Omniture ComScore inclined. [email protected] (5/17)
SITUATION WANTED: Looking for a STAR? LA-Based Media & Entertainment Partnerships Exec for Iconic Brands. Sales, Marketing & Branded Content pro w/Major Cable, Label, Agency, Digital, Non-Profit experience. MBA. [email protected] (5/17)
E-mail [email protected] or call Trish Pihonak at 203.381.9096 for rates and specs for Job Openings.
Are you looking for a job? Post your Situation Wanted Ad here — Email [email protected] for specs.
Cynopsis Media LLC
65 Lantern Road
Stratford, CT 06614
Ph: 203.381.9096
Fx: 203.386.8855
Copyright Cynopsis 2011
All outgoing e-mails are scanned and sent out virus free. Copyright Cynopsis 2011
To unsubscribe from just this Cynopsis Sports email, please click here.
