Cynopsis: Sports
12.03.13

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, December 3, 2013, and this is your first early morning Sports briefing. 

After alluding to it over the weekend, UFC officials confirmed plans to launch a new online distribution platform for the promotion. Executives told USA Today that the new subscription-based digital network would be formally unveiled later this month and feature live and on-demand programming that includes over a dozen live fight cards beginning with UFC Fight Night 34, which takes place on Jan. 4 at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre. According to the report, a March 8 event March 8 at London’s O2 Arena also will stream on the new platform, which will replace the UFC’s current home at UFC.tv.

On the Air

NBC Olympics continues to round out its Sochi cast, announcing that Dan Patrick, Rebecca Lowe and Lester Holt will serve as hosts for its coverage of the Winter Games. The trio joins previously announced Bob Costas, NBC’s primetime and late night host, and Al Michaels, who will serve as host for NBC on weekend afternoons and NBCSN on weekdays.

Beginning in January, CBS Sports Network will simulcast Boomer & Carton, the morning show broadcast that runs on CBS Radio’s WFAN-AM/FM. The four-hour morning show is hosted by NFL ON CBS studio analyst Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton, running live Monday through Friday from 6:00-10:00a.

Speaking of CBS, following the success of the Iron Bowl, the network continued its hot streak over the weekend with NFL coverage on Sunday creating some of the network’s best numbers so far this season. The early game, offering regional matchups, scored a 12.0/25 for an 18% markup from comparable coverage a year ago. The late window, which included a Chiefs rematch against the Broncos, delivered a 17.4/31, according to Nielsen overnight numbers, for a 14%spike.

Week 15 of the NFL season locked in its broadcast schedule, with the league announcing that the Dec. 15 Saints/Rams game and the Cardinals/Titans game would both be played at 4:25p on FOX. Meanwhile, NBC opted not to flex out of its originally scheduled Bengals/Steelers game for SNF.

ESPN is set to showcase the FIFA World Cup Draw at 11:30a on Friday on ESPN2, with studio coverage from ESPN’s studios in Bristol and reports from ESPN journalists on-site in Brazil. ESPN3 offers the entire ceremony live from 11a-1:30a. FIFA officials announced that talent at the event will include Pele, according to the AP, joining the likes of Brazilian artists such as Alcione, Margareth Menezes, Alexandre Pires, Vanessa da Mata and the percussion group Olodum. The Final Draw will be broadcast to 193 countries, with nearly 1,300 guests expected to attend the event along with 2,000 reporters.

This season’s final College GameDay Built by The Home Depot will land at the site of the Big Ten Championship featuring Ohio State and Michigan State on Saturday at 9a. ESPN’s slate of game this week includes Saturday prime-time telecasts of the ACC and Pac-12 championship games. ABC’s Saturday Night Football Presented by Windows will feature Florida State and Duke in the Dr Pepper ACC Championship Game at 8p, while ESPN will carry the Pac-12 Championship Game Presented by Dr Pepper pitting Stanford and Arizona State at 7:45p. ESPN2 will televise two conference championships: featuring Northern Illinois and Bowling Green in the Marathon MAC Football Championship on Friday, Dec. 6, at 8p while Marshall/Rice in the Conference USA Championship takes place on Saturday at noon.

UFC star Miesha Tate will join the announce team as guest analyst for Saturday’s Invicta Fighting Championships 7 PPV at 9p. Tate will call the nine-bout event featuring three world championship fights alongside play-by-play announcer Michael Schiavello and color analyst and Invicta veteran “King” Mo Lawal. Schiavello, a long-time broadcaster, will call his first Invicta PPV telecast.
 
Join Cynopsis Sports in one week for the All-Star webinar on December 10, Sports’ Social Media Superstars: Insider Secrets to Engaging Sports Fans on Multiscreens. Click here to register!

 A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Sponsorship & Promotion

ESPN released its ten finalists for the Fan Hall of Fame, with three contenders going on for enshrinement. Finalists will campaign for public votes for the opportunity to be honored with their names engraved above three stadium chairs on the lawn of ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., campus with the 2013 Induction Class revealed on Dec. 13 and honored at an induction ceremony in 2014. This year’s finalists, complete with their adored teams and 15-second spots, include:

• Darrell “Clipper Darrell” Bailey, Los Angeles Clippers
• Ron Crachiola, Detroit Lions
• Bruce “Mr. Whammy” Reznick, Brooklyn Nets
• Barbara Rust, Sacramento Kings
• Canaan Sandy, Arkansas Razorbacks
• Romeo Santos, Baltimore Orioles
• Jennifer “Dolphins Diva” Schultz, Miami Dolphins
• Barry Vagnoni, Philadelphia Eagles
• Pierce “Georgia Joker” Wallace, Georgia Bulldogs
• Scott Wilson, Texas Longhorns

Dollar General is upgrading its ties to NASCAR’s Matt Kenseth, announcing that it was shifting gears as primary sponsor of his car from 17 to 27 Sprint Cup races next year. Sponsorship will include the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, as well as highlight Sprint Cup Series events at Talladega Superspeedway in May, Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, the final race before the Chase for the Sprint Cup at Richmond International Speedway, the Chase kick-off race at Chicagoland Speedway and the October event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The ATP announced a deal with the Michelob ULTRA brand for its Premier Partner Sponsorship. Starting next year, the beverage will be featured at tournaments within the United States with benefits that include net signage as well as all other on-site activations at the 10 U.S. tournaments. Corona Extra remains the premier partner of the ATP World Tour globally, and will continue to be featured at non-U.S. events.
 
Digital & Technology

NASCAR Digital Media announced that the 2013 season saw an 11% rise year-over-year in monthly unique visitors. In addition, the organization’s two new mobile apps, NASCAR Mobile ’13 and NASCAR RaceView Mobile ’13, saw a total of 2.4 million downloads worldwide. Overall, the new digital platform averaged 7.2 million average monthly unique visitors, a 24% increase in race-day visits year-over-year. More than 34 percent of NASCAR.com traffic came from mobile devices.

NBC Sports Digital announced its best month ever for the second consecutive month in visits, logging 129.8 million in October, according to data released by Adobe Reports & Analytics. NBCSports.com drew its best month ever in uniques (22.1 million) and visits (57.0 million). Stats show that Live Video and VOD were up triple digits compared to last year (289% and 154% respectively).

ABC News Digital and ESPN opens a new partnership designed to expand content for ABC’s digital audience. For the first time, ABC News and ESPN are teaming up to create a brand new sports index on ABCNews.com that highlights top stories and video replays from SportsCenter, with access to up-to-the-minute sports coverage, videos and social feeds.

Roster Moves

NBC Sports Group continues to bolster its NASCAR team, announcing that Jeff Behnke was joins NBC and NBCSN in January as Vice President of NASCAR Production. Behnke will serve as the day-to-day leader in all areas out of Charlotte. He joins the company after serving as Executive Producer of Turner Sports for seven years, where he coordinated and provided strategic direction for all productions and personnel covering NASCAR, NBA, MLB and several of golf’s Major Championships. 

The Main Event

Michigan/Duke looks good on ESPN at 9:15p.

 A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

ON THIS DAY in 1956: Wilt Chamberlain plays his first collegiate basketball game.

In The Know: In 2005, the Sacramento Kings retired the number 4 in honor of what player? (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: Since 1980, two players drafted from FCS schools went on to win NFL MVP awards. Name one. Answer: Technically, there are actually three, Rich Gannon, Steve McNair and Jerry Rice. (Kurt Warner was never drafted and Walter Payton was pre-1980). Kudos: Bob Melvin-NBC Sports Group/NY; Lewis Blaustein-Lewis Brand Solutions, Inc./NY; Chris Halpin-NFL/NY; Michael Ritz-BucStar Consulting/NY; Tony Ferranti-MMSI/Warwick; G. David Brown-FOX Sports/Charlotte; Mike Antolini-Tiger Woods Foundation/Boston; Jerehmy White-BusyBuddy Books/Glen Rock; Ron Salcedo-Zimmerman/Nashville; Matt Sautter-OpenTV/Golden; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles local/LA; Eric Bates-Tennis Channel/Culver City.

Later — Chris
Chris Pursell for Cynopsis | Sports
12.03.13

Roberta Caploe: Editorial Director
Diane K Schwartz: Senior Vice President, Media Communications Group

Cynopsis Ad Sales: Mike Farina | VP, Sales | 203-218-6480
Classifieds Sales: Trish Pihonak | Director of Operations | 203-899-8459 

To subscribe to any Cynopsis edition(s) click here.
To unsubscribe from this edition, click here. Or for further assistance please email [email protected].

Cynopsis CLASSIFIEDS – For More classifieds, visit the Cynopsis.com classifieds page here.

JOB OPENING: VP INDUSTRY PRGRMNG/The Paley Ctr for Media/NY: Resp for strategic vision, creation & successful implementation of critically engaging & distinctive prgrmng that attracts Nat’l & global audiences. 10+ yrs exp. Send res HERE (12/10) 

JOB OPENING: VP SALES & SPONSORSHIP/The Paley Ctr for Media/NYC: Dynamic sales prof. to secure key Sponsorship, mktg & media partnerships. Solid relationships w/sr-level brand decision makers. Proven track rec closing deals. Res HERE (12/10) 

JOB OPENING: DIR, CONTENT & INTEGRATION/ZO Newcast/NYC: 7 yrs exp’d integrated mkting or branded ent with in TV/Dig Nwk or Agency. Apply via zenithoptimedia-na.com (12/10)

JOB OPENING: SR DIR, MKTG & PROMOTIONS/NBCU/East Coast: Create mktg & promo strategies and 360 campaigns for Sprout Network (affiliate, event, consumer). 7+ yrs mktg exp. Ad sales exp. a plus. Cable/TV background pref’d. Apply HERE (12/10)

JOB OPENING: AE/METV Network Sales: Join growing sales force. Independent self-starters with Network agency contacts are a must. Create, present proposals to secure bus. Dvlp/maintain client & agency relationships. Resume Here (12/7)

JOB OPENING: SR WRITER/PRODUCER/NBCU/NYC: Produce integrated on-air promos for USA Network. 5 yrs exp. creating content at TV or agency required. Co-branded exp. 20% travel. Apply HERE (12/7)

JOB OPENING: SVP CONSUMER MKTG & CREATIVE/CMT/Nashville: Dvlp/support cross-co., multi-channel consumer strategies, & breakthrough creative initiatives which lead to increased mkt share & contribute to overall aud. growth. Apply HERE (12/7)

JOB OPENING: SR PRODUCER, LONG FORM/Weather Channel NYC/ATL: 8-10 yrs exp at Production Co or Network. Guide series of varied genre for original content. Oversee series from conception 2 delivery. Resumes: [email protected] (12/7)

JOB OPENING: TVONE/AD SALES COORD/NY: Work w/AE & Planners. POC for agencies. Create flowcharts, handle make good offrs. Trffic & agency Liaison. Self strter, strg org skills,attn to details. BA+2yrs exp. Resumes: [email protected] (12/7)

JOB OPENING: DILIGENCE SPECIALIST/LA: Work with the Production Legal group handling television production to help oversee the vetting of prospective participants in unscripted (“reality”) shows. Apply HERE (12/5)

JOB OPENING: SALES COORDINATOR/NBCU/NYC: Provide support to their respective sales team, which is constituted of a SVP/VP, Directors, and Account Managers, and assist in the management. Apply HERE (12/5)

JOB OPENING: DIGITAL PROJECT MGR/SHOWTIME/NYC: Manage execution of digital marketing initiatives; maintain overall project roadmap & workflow. 4 to 5 yrs exp, thrives in small team; PM certification preferred but not essential. Apply here: www.sho.com/careers (12/4)

JOB OPENING: SENIOR ANALYST DIGITAL ANALYTICS/ESPN/NYC: 1-3 Yrs exp in digital analytics (pref. Omniture) implementations. Must have strong tech skills & ability to translate business req’s into analytics specifications. Apply HERE (12/4)

EXPERT SERVICES ADS: These ads are for companies or people who offer an expertise in the field of media by way of production, voice over artistry, writing, set development, etc. For information on rates and specs for posting an Expertise Service ad email Trish at [email protected]

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].

SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: Hayden5 (hayden5.com) is looking for dedicated, hard working interns. Req’s a min of 2 days/wk from 9:45-6pm starting 1/14. Res/cover letter to [email protected] (12/5)

SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: POST PRODUCTION INTERN/NYC: seeking motivated, creative interns for SPRING 2014, to assist with RESEARCH and POST PRODUCTION on a docudrama series. Send resume and cover letter to [email protected] (12/5)

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: PRODUCTION ACCOUNTING & FINANCIAL SYSTEMS: 20+ years studio experience building/integrating production financial systems for TV, Film, Animation, VFX; PeopleSoft/SAP. Consultant/staff and East/West coast considered. http://www.linkedin.com/in/mmdavis777 (12/6)

SITUATION WANTED: L.A. based Pro available for Production, Sales, Business Development, Management, Film/TVMusic Supervision. Previously at NBC Universal, Fox TV & Warner/Chappell Music. [email protected] (12/6)

E-mail [email protected] or call Trish Pihonak at 203-899-8459 for rates and specs for Job Openings.

Are you looking for a job? Post your Situation Wanted Ad here — Email [email protected] for specs.

Copyright Cynopsis 2013

All outgoing e-mails are scanned and sent out virus free. Copyright Cynopsis 2013