CYNOPSISSPORTS
06.14.16
Good morning. It’s Tuesday June 14, 2016, and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.
While a slate of states ponder regulation roles for daily fantasy sports, now comes word that DraftKings and FanDuel, the two biggest daily fantasy sports companies, are exploring a merger. Bloomberg reports that no final transaction has been agreed upon and the discussions are in the early stages. After blazing through marketing cash during the last NFL season, a deal could reduce advertising budgets as well as legal costs, as they have both had to fend off legal challenges to make the games legal in states that have declared them illegal gambling.
ON THE AIR
NBC Sports says that the six-game 2016 Stanley Cup Final averaged nearly 4 million viewers to rank as the most-watched non-Original Six series in 15 years, according to Nielsen Fast Nationals. The Penguins’ clinching in Game 6 reeled in an average of 5.407 million viewers, making it NBC’s most-watched non-Original Six Stanley Cup Final game ever. The Final averaged a 2.3 HH rating across the six games on NBC/NBCSN.
ESPN hits the College World Series starting June 18 with Baseball Tonight traveling to Omaha for the event. The show will set up in the left field concourse TD Ameritrade Park for three days featuring host Adnan Virk, analysts Buster Olney and Keith Law. Meanwhile, Dallas Braden, Alex Cora and Eduardo Perez will make their CWS television debut with the coverage. On the production front, programming will include a live K Zone debut, the UmpCamp, and more.
Hey you! Does eSports still look like a typo? Are you under the impression that Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team Liquid and Machinima are shows on Adult Swim instead of powerful media brands? Do hundreds of millions loyal & engaged fans around the world with disposable income sound like a rather nice market? Then you can’t afford to miss the Cynopsis eSports Conference next week, run with our annual Sports Business Summit, on June 23. In fact, sign up now – and I mean right now – and get access to all 18 sessions at our events as well as complimentary passes to the ESL One NY Tournament on October 1-2 in Brooklyn to experience it for yourself. Don’t miss out!
Fight Network locked in a programming deal to broadcast the weekly New Japan Pro Wrestling English-language series in Canada and globally in over 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The shows premier on July 7 and run every Thursday at 9p in Canada.
ESPN President John Skipper went public to comment on Bill Simmons following Simmons’ interview with THR which saw some negative quotes about his experience with the company. “Bill would rather spin conspiracy theories and be perceived as a martyr than take responsibility for his own actions," Skipper told the New York Times. "Let me be unequivocal and clear and take responsibility for my actions: I alone made the decision, and it had nothing to do with his comments about the commissioner. I severed our relationship with Bill because of his repeated lack of respect for this company and, more importantly, the people who work here.” Simmons did offer an apology via social media the day his interview was published, stating "My apologies for being a jackass."
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE
GOOD NEWS
You now have the chance to get an ALL ACCESS PASS to the 2 most important events in the sports industry!
Sports Business Summit & eSports Conference
When: Thursday, June 23 | Where: Three Sixty, NYC
Includes: access to both conferences, networking lunch & breaks, executive summary report, tickets to ESL One NY in October, a chance to win a photo-taking drone & more.
For more information on the upcoming events please click here.
Sponsored by: Neulion | Phoenix Marketing International | Sportradar | rEvolution | Magid | rEvXP
SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION
CAA Sports acquired Munich-based sports and entertainment brand consultancy, Cemano Communication, which has worked on behalf brands such as Allianz, The Coca-Cola Company, MINI, Henkel, German energy company E.ON, German Free TV, and MAN. Effective immediately, Cemano’s 25 employees will now join CAA Sports Consulting, and be based in CAA’s Munich office working Global Head of CAA Sports Consulting Greg Luckman.
Shock Doctor inked a multiyear partnership with the NBA to promote mouthguard adoption for basketball players “of all levels.” The deal see Shock Doctor named the official mouthguard of the NBA, WNBA, NBA Development League and USA Basketball. Shock Doctor will now participate in a slate of activities with the USA Basketball Youth Development program and Jr. NBA, the league’s youth basketball participation program that teaches the fundamental skills as well as the core values of the game at the grassroots level.
The New York Red Bulls entered a partnership with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey to become the Official Health Insurance Partner of the club. Activation elements of the partnership will include discounts for Horizon BCBSNJ members; the Horizon Healthy Zone at Red Bull Arena; the Horizon Healthy Goal Concession and the Upper 90 Challenge.
Esurance added Minor League Baseball to go with its MLB connection, signing multi-year partnership to serve as the exclusive home and auto insurance partner. As part of the partnership, Minor League Baseball and Esurance created the Esurance Call-Up Worthy platform on MiLB.com and the MiLB club websites, celebrating “that iconic moment in Minor League Baseball when a player is called up to Major League Baseball.”
MiLB also unveiled its list of Top 25 teams in licensed merchandise sales for 2015, with the combined totals of all 160 teams setting a Minor League Baseball record with more than $65.1 million in retail sales. Alphabetically, the Top 25 list includes: the Albuquerque Isotopes, Biloxi Shuckers, Charlotte Knights, Columbus Clippers, Dayton Dragons, Durham Bulls, El Paso Chihuahuas, Fort Wayne TinCaps, Frisco RoughRiders, Indianapolis Indians, Lake Elsinore Storm, Lakewood BlueClaws, Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Louisville Bats, Nashville Sounds, Oklahoma City Dodgers, Pawtucket Red Sox, Reno Aces, Sacramento River Cats, Salt Lake Bees, San Antonio Missions, South Bend Cubs, Tacoma Rainiers, Toledo Mud Hens and Trenton Thunder.
Nitro Circus locked in a licensing partnership with Hyper Bicycles in a multi-year agreement. The deal makes Hyper Bicycles the official bike of Nitro Circus and will see the company distribute and sell a range of new Nitro Circus-inspired products including BMX bikes, mountain bikes and both 6 and 12-volt electric motorbikes for adults and kids.
SOCIAL MEDIA
With the Stanley Cup in the books, Twitter offered its top moments from the final.
1.
Game 6 ends; @penguins win the #StanleyCup
2.
Sidney Crosby wins Conn Smythe award as MVP of the #StanleyCup playoffs
3.
Patric Hornqvist scores empty-net goal to seal the Game 6 3-1 victory for the Penguins
DIGITAL & STREAMING
UFC locked in a deal with China’s PPTV Sports for a five year exclusive rights agreement that gives PPTV rights to stream all of UFC’s events live as well as programming such as The Ultimate Fighter, Countdown to UFC, UFC Primetime and Road to the Octagon. PPTV has also launched a dedicated section of its main portal with UFC news. Offline, the partnership will extend to year round joint staging of fan events, promotional activations and fighter visits.
NeuLion announced a partnership with UCF Athletics to deliver a “first of its kind, digital sports network on web, Apple TV and Roku. UCFKnights.TV is slated to launch in August and offer subscribers an immersive viewing experience with interactive touch-points including live-game streaming, highlight packages, full DVR controls, social media integration and more. "NeuLion continues to lead the way in college athletics. We are excited to partner with UCF to deliver a first of its kind, digital video network for an individual school as well as deliver that exceptional experience to the big screen through Apple TV and Roku," said NeuLion SVP of College Business Development Timothy Vargas.
ESPORTS
E3 saw Microsoft unveil a new range of Xbox One devices in the Xbox One S, Project Scorpio and a new Xbox Wireless controller as part of its E3 presentation. We’ll get deeper in that in Thursday’s eSports and Gaming edition, but on the eSports front, the company’s announcement of Arena on Xbox Live will serve as a new online tournaments platform designed for players “from novice to aspiring pro” who can sign up for tournaments directly through the Xbox UI or the Xbox app and play for prizes and bragging rights. The company is partnering with eSports organizers such as FACEIT, ESL, MLG and more and working with developers to bring games such as Killer Instinct, Gears of War 4, Halo Wars 2, World of Tanks, Smite and H1Z1: King of the Kill to the platform.
E3 also saw Bethesda unveil Quake Champions, updating the famed title for competition with features that include a roster of unique characters. Following its launch, the title will be supported at eSports tournaments around the world, including QuakeCon. “20 years ago, Quake set new standards for multiplayer competition and pushed the boundaries for graphics and gameplay,” said Tim Willits, Studio Director, id Software. “It’s important to all of us at id Software that Quake Champions remains true to the Quake legacy, and delivers the speed and gameplay our longtime fans expect, while also pressing forward by introducing new gameplay opportunities with new Champions and abilities.”
ESPN2 carried the Madden NFL 16 Championship tonight from 6-7:30p from the Novo Theater in LA, live from EA Play. The program marks the first time ESPN2 has delivered live coverage of the Madden NFL Championship series.
ROSTER MOVES
FOX Sports named Aimee Leone as Senior Vice President of Talent. Leone will work out of FOX Sports’ Los Angeles offices with a focus on recruiting, managing and scheduling on-air personalities. She spent more than two decades at NBC and served as Vice President of the Broadcasting and Speakers Division at WME/IMG.
THE MAIN EVENT
Chile/Panama on FS1 at 8p.
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE
Are you a small business or start-up?
Take advantage of our special rates for the
eSports Conference taking place on Thursday, June 23 in New York City.
Contact Jenn Ocampo for details.
Sponsored by: Magid Sports + rEvXP
ON THIS DAY in 1998: The Chicago Bulls earn their sixth NBA title in eight years.
In The Know:
The Detroit Lions are now adding cheerleaders to their game day experience. Name four (of the six) NFL teams that do not have cheerleaders. (Email Chris-Sports@cynopsis.com with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)
Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: What must a player accomplish to earn a “Gordie Howe Hat Trick”? Answer: Have a goal, an assist and a fight in a single game. Kudos: Colin Sparaco-NBC Sports/NY; Niki Kirschner-Twitter/NY; Colleen Kolibas-CBS Sports/NY; Heath Price-Khan-WME/IMG/NY; Scott Borst-Showtime Networks/Atlanta; Larry Gallo, Jr.-University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill/Chapel Hill; Tim Gagnon-Jeff Wyler Automotive/Cincinnati; Simon Bassett-CBC Sports/Toronto; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Lance Phegley-Texas Runner and Triathlete magazine/Houston; Lucie Prann-The Richards group/Dallas; David Hauptman/Denver; Matt Sautter-Imagine Communications/Denver; Steve Morrow-Eclipse Television/Mill Valley; Steve Scheer-Fox Sports/LA; Jeff Mirkin-Telescope/2:05 Engagement/Santa Monica; Julie Shields-Alaska Aces/Anchorage.
Later — Chris
Chris Pursell for Cynopsis | Sports @VegasandVine
06.14.16
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The post 06/14/16: Fantasy giants mull a merger; Stanley Cup a clincher for Pittsburgh; UFC’s China play appeared first on Cynopsis Media.