Media
Zion’s debut scores big increase on ESPN
Paulsen, Sports Media Watch
Wednesday’s Spurs-Pelicans NBA regular season game, which marked the NBA debut of Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson, averaged a 1.6 rating and 2.36 million viewers on ESPN — marking the most-watched game of the season that did not involve the Lakers or air on Christmas Day. Including Laker and Christmas games, it ranks ninth.
Fox Shifting To Two-Man NASCAR Booth With Joy, Gordon
Adam Stern, Sports Business Daily
Fox Sports will officially move to a two-man booth in NASCAR for the first time this season, with Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon at the helm, a company spokesperson confirmed. Fox has had a three-man booth since it took over NASCAR media rights at the turn of the millennium.
Former Daily News Editor in Chief Is Tapped to Run Deadspin
Benjamin Mullin, The Wall Street Journal
G/O Media has turned to a veteran editor to lead Deadspin, the sports website that has been rudderless since its entire staff resigned last fall to protest the company’s chief executive. Jim Rich, the former top editor of the New York Daily News, will start as editor-in-chief of Deadspin on Monday.
The Hockey News is teaming up with Maven and Sports Illustrated for “a co-branded digital experience” and team sites
Andrew Bucholtz, Awful Announcing
SI still has a lot of reach, so that can give The Hockey News‘ content some more exposure, and it probably makes more sense for THN to get into the team-focused game with a partner like SI/Maven that’s already doing that rather than trying to go it alone. Meanwhile, teaming up with THN gives SI/Maven a well-known hockey brand and some prominent writers.
NBC to Produce Four Daily Tokyo 2020 Olympics Shows for Snapchat
Todd Spangler, Variety
NBC Olympics and Snap inked a renewed pact to present coverage of the XXXII Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo, as well as the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, to Snapchat users in the U.S. It’s the third Olympics the two companies have teamed on, following the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Networks would line up if Eli Manning has NFL TV interest
Andrew Marchand, New York Post
“I think every network would meet with him if he is interested,” a high-level sports TV executive told The Post. How interested is the real question when it comes to Manning as an NFL TV analyst.
NFL
Hard Rock Stadium to promote recyclable cups at Super Bowl LIV
Megan Smalley, Recycling Today
Centerplate, a hospitality partner for North America’s sports entertainment venues that is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, along with Broomfield, Colorado-based Ball Corp. and St. Louis-based Bud Light have announced an agreement to feature Ball’s infinitely recyclable aluminum cups at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, for the Super Bowl LIV on Feb. 2.
How 9 Brands Without Super Bowl Ads Are Activating for the Big Game
Ian Zelaya, Adweek
What’s in store for major brands that don’t have ads in the game? Here’s a look at what brands including AT&T, Stella Artois, Jack in the Box and Volvo have planned for the Big Game.
How Burger King Is Tweaking Its Miami Signage for the Super Bowl
Doug Zanger, Adweek
Instead of reading “Flame Grilling Since 1954,” four Burger King store signs will read “Flame Grilling Since 19LIV” until the game at Hard Rock Stadium. The idea was conceived by another institution in the city, agency David Miami.
Budweiser Challenges American Stereotypes in Patriotic Super Bowl Ad
Mónica Marie Zorrilla, Adweek
Budweiser released its 60-second Super Bowl 2020 commercial, “Typical American,” ahead of the Big Game. The tear-jerking, patriotic spot directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow and produced by agency David Miami, challenges stereotypes about Americans to remind viewers that the nation’s spirit lives in the extraordinary actions of ordinary people.
Discover Plans Two Super Bowl Spots
Tanya Gazdik, MediaPost
Discover Financial Services will return to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2015 with two commercials. The 15-second spots, which will run in the fourth quarter, will take a playful “No” and “Yes” approach, reinforcing two of Discover’s main credit card product benefits: no annual fee and wide merchant acceptance.
Kia Gets Serious With Super Bowl Ad, Targets Youth Homelessness
E.J. Schultz, Ad Age
Amid a sea of Super Bowl ad silliness, Kia is getting serious. The automaker teased its 60-second Super Bowl ad on Thursday, with a video portraying a young boy fielding questions at a press conference like, “What keeps you going out there?”
Heinz Will Air 4 Ads at Once During the Super Bowl
Ryan Barwick, Adweek
Not many brands can afford four Super Bowl commercials. Neither can Heinz, which is why it’s running four ads at the same time.
NBA
NBA European game returning to Paris in 2021
Bob Williams, SportBusiness
The National Basketball Association’s annual regular-season fixture in Europe will return to Paris in 2021, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has revealed. Silver hinted that the NBA will most likely choose at least one team who have a French player on their roster.
Knicks Will Get Makeover From Firm That Helped Make the Nets Hip
Scott Soshnick, Bloomberg
The franchise is partnering with Steve Stoute’s Translation agency in an attempt to bolster its brand and strengthen its ties to the fan base. Stoute, a lifelong Knicks fan whose clients have included the Brooklyn Nets, the NFL, AT&T, Anheuser-Busch and State Farm, will be a special adviser to the franchise.
MLB
With U.S. baseball still fighting to make the Olympics, MLB sponsors women’s softball team
David Wharton, Los Angeles Times
The U.S. men have yet to qualify for baseball’s much-awaited return to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics so, at this point, Major League Baseball is throwing its weight behind the women’s national softball team. League officials announced Thursday they will sponsor the “Stand Beside Her” tour, a series of exhibition games in advance of the Summer Games, and let the women train at the old Dodgers complex in Vero Beach, Fla.
Why Scott Boras says the Astros players don’t need to apologize
Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic
Agent Scott Boras does not believe the Astros’ players should apologize, not when their superiors promoted the team’s illegal use of electronics to steal signs. “I’m doing what my organization is telling me to do,” Boras said on Wednesday, describing the hypothetical mindset of a player.
NHL
Sharks owner gives GM Doug Wilson his backing
Curtis Pashelka, San Jose Mercury News
The Sharks also announced that John Tortora, co-president of the Sharks Sports & Entertainment with Jonathan Becher since 2017, will be leaving the organization “to pursue other opportunities.” Becher will become sole president of the organization, effective immediately, and also serve as an alternate governor for the franchise with the NHL.
Women Get a Spotlight, but No Prize Money, in New N.H.L. All-Star Event
Seth Berkman, The New York Times
At a time when hockey participation among male Canadians is in decline, the N.H.L. hopes to capitalize on the rapid growth the game is experiencing among girls and women. According to U.S.A. Hockey data, participation in girls’ and women’s hockey in the United States has grown by 34 percent in the past decade, swelling in 2018-19 to more than 83,000 players.
NHL All-Star Weekend To Try Out More Player-Tracking Tech
Mark J. Burns, Sports Business Daily
For this weekend’s NHL All-Star festivities, NBC Sports will produce two digital feeds that will incorporate player and puck tracking technology via data and tech provider SMT. It is a continuation of the league’s push — along with partners NBC and the Durham, N.C.-based SMT — to have the new technology ready for this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs.
College Sports
NCAA president Mark Emmert tries to rally administrators as athletes’ pay becomes issue
J. Brady McCollough, Los Angeles Times
On Thursday night at the NCAA Convention’s annual “State of College Sports” plenary session, Mark Emmert, a president rallying his constituents at a time of crisis, delivered a message that was predictably light on detail but heavy on rhetoric meant to build consensus on a shared mission before the attendees returned to their respective campuses.
Schools Continue To Turn To Search Firms On Football Hires
Michael Smith, Sports Business Journal
Since the 2019 season, there have been 21 head coaches hired at FBS schools and 12 of them used a search firm. Of the nine schools that didn’t use a firm, five promoted an assistant to head coach, meaning there really wasn’t a search.
Auburn athletics reports record revenue, increased profit during 2018-19 fiscal year
Josh Vitale, Montgomery Advertiser
Auburn’s athletics department reported a record revenue of more than $152.4 million during the 2019-fiscal year, according to the university’s NCAA Membership Financial Report. That’s an increase of nearly $5 million from the 2017-18 total of $147.6 million, which was the previous record.
Soccer
Colorado Rapids extend Transamerica shirt sponsorship
Pearce Bates, SportsPro Media
Top-tier US soccer club Colorado Rapids have announced a one-year extension of their shirt sponsorship deal with Transamerica ahead of the upcoming MLS season. Along with the financial services firm’s logo featuring on the first team’s shirt, Transamerica’s branding will also appear on all Rapids technical apparel and throughout the team’s stadium, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
LA Galaxy’s Javier Hernandez explains ‘retirement’ comments after first practice
Tom Marshall, ESPN
The striker, who attended practice with his new team for the first time on Thursday, got emotional during a video call to his parents on his YouTube show “Naked Humans” when explaining his decision to join MLS and stated that “it’s the beginning of retirement,” but after criticism from some quarters the 31-year-old former Sevilla striker set the record straight.
Racing
Nascar Sets a Fast Pace in Its First Three Months on TikTok
David Cohen, Adweek
Nascar is often associated with the deafening sound of revving engines, but its entry onto popular video-sharing platform TikTok was rather quiet. The Nascar TikTok channel debuted last October near the end of its racing season, with no promotion on other social platforms.
Golf and Tennis
Youth served: Gauff wins, Serena loses at Australian Open
Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press
Sure felt, though, as if a generational shift was being signaled Friday at the Australian Open, with a pair of monumentally significant third-round results hours apart in the same stadium: a surprising first-week loss by Williams, then a historic victory by Gauff.
Tiger Woods has a new driver and ball in play at the Farmers Insurance Open
Daniel Rapaport, Golfworld
Woods is putting the new Taylormade SIM driver and a new Bridgestone Tour B XS golf ball in play this week at the Farmers Insurance Open. The driver is 9 degrees and has the same Diamana D+60 TX “White Board” shaft as the M5 model he used to win the Masters and the Zozo Championship.
Esports
Danish Football Players’ Association Director Leaves to Lead CSPPA as CEO
Graham Ashton, The Esports Observer
The CSPPA, a global representative association for professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) players, has welcomed Mads Øland as its full-time CEO. After the organization’s launch in 2018, Øland led CSPPA operations while maintaining his director position of the Danish Football Players’ Association—which he has now left after a 23-year tenure.
Call of Duty League 2020 Partners Revealed
Adam Stern, The Esports Observer
Call of Duty League is rolling out its partner list for 2020, with returning sponsors including Mountain Dew Amp Game Fuel and PlayStation, and a new one in the U.S. Air Force. CDL, whose 2020 season kicks off this weekend in Minneapolis, is announcing five sponsorship partners and two licensees for this season, which is the first under the geolocated/franchised model.
Team Liquid renews partnership with Jersey Mike’s for three more years
Tyler Esguerra, Dot Esports
Jersey Mike’s CEO Rich Hope said that the company is “convinced the esports industry will continue to grow exponentially,” which led the company to sign on with Liquid through 2021. Partnering with an esports team has also allowed Jersey Mike’s to access a younger demographic.
Misfits Gaming renews Milk It! campaign partnership
Andrew Hayward, Esports Insider
North American organisation Misfits Gaming has extended its partnership with Milk It!, a marketing campaign produced by the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP). The partnership, which originally began in April 2019, will continue to focus on the organisation’s professional Fortnite players and streamers throughout 2020.
General
X Games athletes say new events, formats keep things fresh
Madeleine Osberger, Aspen Daily News
In its 19th year at Buttermilk Mountain, X Games Aspen 2020 continues to take it up a notch, infusing its lineup with new events as well as new takes on existing sports, such as the jam session format that athletes attending the opening X Games press conference on Wednesday seemed ready to embrace.
Opinions, Editorials, Perspectives and Research
Too many players making mockery of All-Star voting
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
It’s time for the NBA to take the vote away from the players. It’s clear too many don’t want the job.
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