Cynopsis: Sports
08.05.13

Good morning. It’s Monday, August 5, 2013, and this is your first early morning Sports briefing. 

This week the PGA Championship tees off starting Thursday at 1p on TNT and running through Sunday on TNT and CBS Sports. One key component for the fourth golf major in recent years has been its digital coverage on PGA.com, which is managed by Turner, and this year will offer an upgraded version of PGA Championship LIVE with multiple streams not offered on the networks. PGA.com’s announce team will feature host Brian Katrek, along with analyst Michael Breed, featured reporter Matt Adams, course reporters Craig Sager and Ted Tryba and media center reporter Amanda Balionis.

Cynopsis Sports spoke with Gary Treater, Turner Sports’ Senior Director of Business Operations for PGA.com, about the new elements fans will see this year, his biggest challenges and the long relationship between Turner Sports and the PGA.

On this year’s coverage: One of the big focal points of the digital coverage is a product we call PGA Championship Live and it’s a live video programming that we do. This year we have a new video player, a responsive design player that is designed to go cross-platform and design sizes so fans will get the same experience whether they are watching on desktop or on a handheld device, whither they are watching on portrait or landscape. While we’ve always had content across all platforms, this new live player allows us to provide a larger, higher-quality stream. In the past there were a lot of interactive features. You could open up a live leaderboard, you could roll out a player scorecard and more. Previously, there had been a lot of overlay so you had to drag them around while you were watching the video. This year, we’ve removed all of that and put them around the video experience so the user can interact with that content without disrupting the actual video when you are watching it.

On programming content: We’ll have three live channels on PGA Championship Live. We’ll cover a marquee group in the morning and afternoon each day. Of course, we are not just taking a feed from a linear platform, we are actually producing a show. We have our own cameras, our own talent, our own truck, our own studio, and what’s different about it is that it is a compliment to the broadcast. Instead of watching the whole tournament unfold and seeing lots of shots, our marquee group will be followed for all 18 hours and our viewers will be immersed in that four hours of coverage and feel that they are actually walking with the group and seeing everything as it unfolds. There is a lot of down time where they are talking with their caddies, walking, etc. and we have three cameras on that group but we also have a compliment of all the broadcast cameras as well that we can use to produce this show. We also have a live channel that also shows all the Par 3 action and then our third channel is a live press room. On the weekend, we will have bonus coverage and show the broadcast simulcast on our live video player. Overall, we are on a long time, about 37 hours on digital over the four days.

On the PGA/Turner Sports relationship: There is a long relationship with the PGA and the level of trust we’ve built in that span allows us to understand at what we are trying to do. Sometimes it’s good to be first, and sometimes it’s good to be last and being fourth in the rotation of the four majors gives us a unique perspective to see what else has been done and to do things differently. The PGA has always been innovative from a technical perspective. They were the first ones to stream live from a major and the first one to do all four days. We have a whole list of things that we’ve done first and because of that, they have an attitude that it’s all about the fans. They allow us to do different things such as this year’s “Pick the Hole” challenge and it may be the first time that fans are actually participating in how the venue is being set up. We’ve already got a lot of activity and a lot of votes.

On challenges for digital in the future: One of the biggest is creating that ultimate experience for the fan when they are at the event. Every sport whether it be professional or collegiate, or in a stadium or golf course, we are limited on home much content we can provide the fan based on the Wi-Fi and cell capabilities. Golf presents unique challenges because there is this huge area and with the exception of one major, moves around from area to area. An NFL stadium owner is able to invest in millions of dollars of infrastructure but it’s much harder for the people who put on these golf events to be able to invest in that. We at Turner are trying to help our partners and one of the things that will be new this year at the PGA Championship is that we are partnering with leading technology companies to build an expanded fan Wi-Fi area. It won’t cover the whole course but it will be in strategic areas where a lot of people congregate. We are taking steps to try to improve that experience for the fan. We have specific features in our content and mobile apps specifically for spectators at the course such as a player locator, spectator alerts, and more to connect with the fans at the facility.

The other opportunity is how we continue to show more golf and bring the fan that’s watching on a digital platform closer to the action and we are doing more of that with social and we will have something this year at the PGA Championship that will mark another first at a major golf event. We are partnering with Twitter and we will have what they call the Twitter mirror which has been used at the NBA All-Star Game and the Grammys and the Oscars. It is basically a mirror where the players can walk up to it grab a shot and post it on Twitter.

On the Air

Speaking of the PGA Championship, the CBS/Time Warner standoff looked to hits its fourth day on Monday at press time with an estimated 3.5 million customers with viewers in markets that include New York, Los Angeles and Dallas blacked out from seeing Tiger Woods brilliant play in the Bridgestone Invitational over the weekend. A continued showdown would obviously impact viewership for this week’s tournament.

FOX Sports’ not-so-secret launch of FOX Sports 2 in the (very) near future is already getting some blockbuster events. The channel, currently FUEL TV and expected to hit the lineup alongside the launch of Fox Sports 1 on Aug. 17, will feature a battle of UFC middleweights Mark Munoz and Michael Bisping on Oct. 26, according to FOXSports.com and the UFC. In addition, an official description of FS2 has now been posted on the FOX site, reading “FOX Sports 2 is an extension of FOX Sports 1 that features live coverage of sporting events and connects with fans through entertaining studio shows and original programming.”

DirecTV told investors during the company’s second quarter earnings call last week that talks with the NFL to extend the exclusive Sunday Ticket franchise are ongoing but that a renewal would be reached before the current contract expires after the 2014 season. DirecTV currently forks out about $1 billion per year for Sunday Ticket, and executives in recent months have expressed doubt that the satellite operator would be willing to pay an inflated contract in the future. The company added that DirecTV will be updating its Sunday Ticket iPad app with new features in a play toward Fantasy football fans.

Manny Pacquiao and upcoming opponent Brandon Rios will hit the media tour this week, beginning with their first U.S. press conference tomorrow at 3:30p for their Nov. 23 bout on HBO PPV. The pair will also ESPN’s Bristol campus today to appear on platforms ranging from SportsCenter to First Take.

The Pac-12 Networks broadened their reach, inking a deal with Comcast to launch the channels on their systems in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. On Thursday, August 1, the Pac-12 Network became available on Comcast’s Sports Entertainment Package in Chicago, Champaign and Springfield, Decatur, Ft. Wayne, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo and more.

Sportsman Channel announced the launch of Sportsman HD in the Minneapolis/St. Paul market with Comcast Cable.
 
The Cleveland Browns locked in a multi-year agreement with Fox-owned SportsTime Ohio that will give the channel comprehensive coverage of the team beginning with coverage of the team’s training camp. In addition, SportsTime Ohio will create Fox Sports’ first ever luxury NFL charter bus with the Browns’ Fan express designed to carry fans to and from Browns games as well as charitable events, community initiatives and more.

Looking for a career boost? Join us at the Women of Action cocktail event on Aug. 13 for a session on building your personal brand from some of the best in the business! Hosted by CBS Sports’ Dana Jacobson, this session will feature speakers that include NBC Sports’ Michelle Beadle, IndyCar driver Ana Beatriz, LeadDog Marketing exec Donna Goldsmith and Campus Insiders’ own Bonnie Bernstein. Register now at http://www.cynopsissportssummit.com

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      AUG. 13 | YALE CLUB | NYC                 AUG. 14 | GRAND HYATT | NYC
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Sponsorship & Promotion

Last night’s NFL Hall of Fame Game on NBC saw the debut to the company’s new campaign to push the Aug. 17 debut of the Premier League on NBC, NBC Sports Network and mun2. Two spots ran featuring former Saturday Night Live star Jason Sudeikis as Coach Lasso, an American football coach who moves to England to become the new manager of Tottenham. In addition, the company is releasing a five-minute long-form companion video to the spots.

SMU signed off on a seven-year athletic multimedia rights agreement with Learfield Sports that will launch with the start of the 2013-14 football season. Through the deal, Learfield Sports will establish Mustang Sports Properties as the local entity to work directly with Hart and SMU athletics administration to manage “every aspect” of the comprehensive rights relationship that includes signage, sponsorships, corporate hospitality, event marketing, play-by-play radio, television and radio coaches’ shows, and official athletic website advertising.

Liverpool Football Club entered a new three-year partnership with Electronic Arts that will make EA Sports the Club’s Official Football Video Gaming Partner beginning with the 2013/14 Barclays Premier League season. The deal will allow Liverpool FC fans the chance to play FIFA 14 at Anfield for selected fixtures throughout the season. EA Sports Goal of the Month will also offer fans the chance to upload their best FIFA 14 goals for a chance to win great prizes all season long.

Digital & Technology

Boston Red Sox owner John Henry has a new outlet to play with, signing a deal with The New York Times Co. to buy The Boston Globe for $70 million in cash. The deal is expected to close in 30 to 60 days and includes the Globe’s website, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and Boston.com, as well as a 49% stake in Metro Boston and the Globe’s direct-mail marketing company GlobeDirect.

The Main Event
Dodgers/Cardinals on ESPN at 7p.

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Expert Speakers:
Daisy Kline: VP, Marketing & Brand Management [Scholastic]
Pete Yoder: VP, U.S. Consumer Products [Cartoon Network Enterprises]
Melissa Segal: EVP, Global Consumer Products [The Jim Henson Company]
Sean Gorman: President [American Greetings Properties]

ON THIS DAY in 1976: The NBA merges with the ABA.

In The Know: Before being dubbed the Nuggets, the Denver basketball franchise was known by what team name? (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.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: What pro wrestler teamed up with Cyndi Lauper to originally form the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Connection? (Hint: it wasn’t Hogan) Answer: Captain Lou Albano. Kudos: Phyllis Toss-MAXUS/NY; Zach Linder-WWE/Brooklyn; Maxine Dillon-MediaVest/NY; Danielle Moore-NBC  NBCNews Digital/NY; Chris Ellis-Comcast Spotlight/Philadelphia; Larry Kahn-Golf Channel/Orlando; Rob Garner-Clear Channel Media + Entertainment/Greensboro; Tony Marinaro-Lin Media/New Haven; Mike Wexler-Moroch/Atlanta; Bill Robertson-Tunheim Partners/Minneapolis; Will Allmendinger- Captivate Network/Chicago; Ron Salcedo-Zimmerman/Nashville; Joe Lyons-Back Nine Productions, Inc./Tulsa; John Sutton-Charter Digital Media/LA; Evan Wecksell-Comedian/LA; Art Davie-Davie Communications/Pahrump; Peter Steckelman-The Tennis Channel, Inc./Santa Monica.

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Later — Chris
Chris Pursell for Cynopsis | Sports
08.05.13

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