General
Inside Under Armour’s Sales Scramble: ‘Pulling Forward Every Quarter’
Khadeeja Safdar and Aruna Viswanatha, The Wall Street Journal
Former executives at Under Armour Inc., the sportswear company whose accounting is under federal investigation, said they scrambled to meet aggressive sales targets, borrowing business from future quarters to mask slowing demand in 2016 for its athletic apparel. The Baltimore company frequently leaned on retailers to take products early and redirected goods intended for its factory stores to off-price chains to book sales in the final days of a quarter, according to former executives in sales, logistics, merchandising and finance.
Nike names Thasunda Brown Duckett to its board of directors
Matthew Kish, Portland Business Journal
Nike Inc. on Thursday named Thasunda Brown Duckett to the company’s board of directors. Duckett, 46, is CEO of Chase Consumer Banking, the retail banking arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co., which has $800 billion in deposits and investments and 50,000 employees.
A New York Sports Betting Study Gets A Green Light, But Is It Too Late For 2020?
Matthew Kredell, Legal Sports Report
The New York State Gaming Commission finally chose a dance partner. The commission tabbed Spectrum Gaming Group to conduct a comprehensive gaming market study that could highlight the need for mobile sports betting in the state.
A-B InBev’s Joao Chueiri Leaving Sports Portfolio For New Position
Terry Lefton, Sports Business Daily
A-B InBev VP/Marketing JOAO CHUEIRI, who has been directing the brewer’s extensive domestic sports and entertainment marketing efforts for the past 2.5 years, is moving to VP/Marketing for Beyond Beer. In that newly created position, Chueiri will oversee marketing for A-B InBev’s growing portfolio of non-beer products, including non-alcoholic beverages, the fast-growing hard seltzer category, wine, and spirits.
IMG Combining Media & Events Units Under One Division
John Ourand, Sports Business Daily
IMG will combine its media and events business under one umbrella — to be called IMG Media & Events — and promoted Adam Kelly and Sam Zussman to co-Presidents to run it. In a prepared statement, Endeavor President Mark Shapiro said Kelly and Zussman will foster “greater collaboration among these two naturally complementary business.”
Wasserman sets wheels in motion for Spanish operation
Sam Carp, SportsPro Media
US-based sports marketing and talent representation agency Wasserman has put plans in motion to start trading directly in Spain, according to documents filed with the Madrid Trade Registry and first reported by Palco23. A filing on 3rd October shows a new entity called Team Wasserman Spain SL has been registered with a share capital of €3,000 (US$3,260).
NWHL eyeing expansion to Canada, Greater Toronto Area
Kristina Rutherford, Sportsnet
The National Women’s Hockey League has its sights set on expanding to Canada, and sources say it wouldn’t be surprising to see a team in the Greater Toronto Area as early as next season. This season marks the first in more than a decade that professional women’s hockey doesn’t exist in this country following the collapse of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League this past March, and Sportsnet has learned the NWHL has plans to fill that void as soon as it can.
Tokyo 2020 adds Boston Consulting Group to professional services category
Matthew Glendinning, SportBusiness
The Tokyo 2020 organising committee has signed the Boston Consulting Group K.K. (BCG Japan) as an Official Supporter, the third domestic tier of the Tokyo 2020 domestic sponsorship programme. The company will be a partner in the ‘Professional Services’ category, covering strategy consulting, project management, planification and management consulting.
New pro swimming league has expansion plans beyond Tokyo Olympics
Rick Maese, The Washington Post
The International Swimming League’s inaugural season has received sparse media coverage. There is little to no visible signage at events that feature sponsor logos. And league organizers say early ratings and television production left much to be desired.
NFL
Fox Sports Sets Blistering Pace With Super Bowl LIV Ad Sales
John Ourand, Sports Business Daily
Fox Sports only has 17 ads left to sell for Super Bowl LIV, with around 11 weeks before kickoff. The network already has sold 60 of the game’s 77 available in-game ads (78%), setting the fastest sales pace for the big game in at least the past five years, according to Fox Sports Exec VP/Sports Sales Seth Winter.
Hue Jackson to lead Colin Kaepernick workout; 13 NFL teams have committed to attend
ESPN
Former NFL head coach Hue Jackson will lead the drills during quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s scheduled workout in Atlanta on Saturday, and former NFL head coach Joe Philbin will be in attendance to assist, the league announced Thursday. The league said 11 teams have committed to attend: the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Giants, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Redskins.
$450M Superdome renovation renderings unveiled after construction firm approved
Anthony McAuley, New Orleans Advocate
The first architectural renderings of the planned Mercedes-Benz Superdome renovation were unveiled by the stadium’s governing body on Thursday, giving a glimpse of new wide-open atriums that will eventually replace the current ramp system, as well as improved concourses to accommodate vendors and field-level end zone boxes. The reveal of the new plans followed a vote by the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, also known as the Superdome Commission, to officially approve the first phase of the $450 million makeover of the stadium, which will commence early next year, after either the College Football Playoff Championship Game on Jan. 13 or the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 19 if the stadium hosts that event.
Recently released plans for Panthers’ Rock Hill facility sheds some light on David Tepper’s vision for franchise
Jourdan Rodrigue, The Athletic
As the Carolina Panthers move closer to breaking ground on a new practice facility and team headquarters in Rock Hill, S.C., more details about the scope of the project were released via a proposal issued to the city’s planning commission earlier this month. The plans for the facility, which would span approximately 240 acres of land on the Hutchinson family site just off I-77, include a team medical facility, headquarters and mixed-use fields and equipment areas, as well as residential areas and requests for approval on a cigar bar, tattoo and piercing permit, an entertainment district, including nightclub permits, and restaurants and approval for the facilitation of sports entertainment and gambling — the construct of which is still unknown.
NBA
Sources: Blazers signing Carmelo Anthony to non-guaranteed deal
Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN
Carmelo Anthony, who has been out of the NBA for over a year, will sign a non-guaranteed deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, league sources told ESPN. The Blazers have tried at different times in the past to add Anthony and made an attempt to acquire him when he was with the New York Knicks.
MLB
Sources: MLB contacts Astros, Red Sox as sign-stealing investigation expands
Jeff Passan, ESPN
Major League Baseball’s investigation into illegal sign stealing is expected to expand beyond the 2017 Houston Astros and look into whether other teams, including the 2019 Astros, used technology to aid hitters, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN. The fallout from former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers telling The Athletic that the 2017 Astros used a center-field camera feed in a monitor near the dugout to steal and relay signs has rocked the sport and brought into question the methods used by people involved in at least the past three World Series, sources said.
Oakland to drop suit against Alameda County over Coliseum sale to A’s
Ron Leuty, San Francisco Business Times
Oakland is ending its lawsuit against Alameda County regarding the sale of the county’s half of the Coliseum complex to the Oakland Athletics. In a statement Wednesday night, Mayor Libby Schaaf, City Council President Rebecca Kaplan and Voice Mayor Larry Reid said they directed City Attorney Barbara Parker to drop the legal action against the county.
NHL
Seattle Becomes Latest NHL Team To Sign With Satisfi Labs
Mark J. Burns, Sports Business Daily
NHL Seattle and Satisfi Labs, an AI management platform, announced their work together in the leadup to the franchise’s debut for the ’21-22 season. Satisfi to date counts roughly a third of the league’s teams as partners.
Soccer
Don Garber says the state of MLS is healthy. The reality is more complicated.
Sam Stejskal, The Athletic
If Don Garber is the CEO of MLS, his annual state of the league press conference is the company’s earnings call. Every year on the eve of MLS Cup, Garber addresses a room full of reporters to review the season, set a narrative for the upcoming campaign, field questions and occasionally break some news.
Qatar Faces a Tight Squeeze for Its Compact World Cup
Tariq Panja, The New York Times
Since the day Qatar was named the host of the 2022 World Cup, it was obvious the tournament would be different from the ones that had preceded it. For a start, Qatar is a tiny country, and Doha, its capital, has never hosted an event on the scale of the World Cup.
Mapfre Stadium redevelopment negotiations to move forward after state commission vote
Hayleigh Colombo, Columbus Business First
A state commission on Thursday voted to move forward on a plan that could eventually allow the Columbus Crew SC and the city of Columbus to use state land to build a $30 million Crew training facility and community sports park at the site of Mapfre Stadium, despite lingering concerns from many members about the project. The Ohio Expositions Commission voted to allow the Ohio Development Services Agency to negotiate with the Confluence Community Authority, an entity controlled by the Crew, the city of Columbus and Franklin County, on plans for the site.
Racing
NASCAR, INSA and American Flat Track Enter The Streaming Wars With OTT Service
Autoweek
The streaming wars have now come to NASCAR, IMSA and American Flat Track. The three sanctioning bodies have partnered with NBC to present an over-the-top streaming platform dedicated to various divisions across each discipline.
Hamilton waiting on Wolff ahead of 2021 contract talks
Marcelo Teixeira, Reuters
Lewis Hamilton intends to stay in Formula One beyond 2020 but he said on Thursday he wanted to know Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff’s personal plans before agreeing any new deal. The six times world champion, like most of his rivals, is out of contract after next season with a major shakeup of the sport scheduled for 2021.
Golf and Tennis
QBE Shootout adds Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter, Kevin Kisner; reveals 2019 teams
Greg Hardwig, Golfweek
The QBE Shootout added a former champion, a two-time major winner, and one of the contenders for a Presidents Cup captain’s pick in completing its field Tuesday. Ian Poulter, who won the 2010 tournament with Dustin Johnson, plus two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson and Kevin Kisner were among the 10 announced to the field by tournament host Greg Norman for the tournament, which is Dec. 11-15 at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort.
College Sports
Sellout streak at Notre Dame Stadium ends at 273 games
Eric Hansen, South Bend Tribune
Jack Swarbrick can live with some bald spots on Notre Dame Stadium home football Saturdays as long as the golf clap never returns as the signature response to what’s going on down on the field. Even if the vacant seats represent a piece of history absconding.
Athletic Director Josh Whitman contract extended through 2024
Rachel Spencer, The Daily Illini
The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced Thursday afternoon the University of Illinois Board of Trustees has extended Director of Athletics Josh Whitman’s contract into 2024. The announcement, addressed by Whitman to “Illini Family and Friends,” was accompanied by a collection of photos of Whitman with Illini coaches — including Illinois football head coach Lovie Smith after his team’s historic win at Michigan State on November 9.
US military academy athletes can now delay service, go pro
Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press
Defense Secretary Mark Esper has opened the door for athletes at the nation’s military academies to play professional sports after they graduate, and delay their active-duty service. Esper signed a memo last Friday laying out the new guidelines, which says the athletes must get approval from the defense secretary, and it requires them to eventually fulfill their military obligation or repay the costs of their education.
Esports
Immortals Sells Overwatch League’s Houston Outlaws To Radio Broadcaster Beasley
Christina Settimi, Forbes
Immortals Gaming Club (IGC) announced today it has sold the Houston Outlaws of the Overwatch League (OWL) to Beasley Broadcast Group, the terrestrial radio broadcaster with 65 stations in large and mid-size markets including Boston, Charlotte, Detroit and Philadelphia. Forbes estimates the deal is worth $35 million.
Can FaZe Clan Build a Billion-Dollar Business?
Taylor Lorenz, The New York Times
FaZe Clan could be called a media company, or an esports team, or an influencer marketing agency, or all of the above. “Something like who we are has never existed before,” said Lee Trink, the organization’s chief executive.
Cloud9 Names Maika’i Copenhagen Official Travel Gear Sponsor
Andrew Hayward, The Esports Observer
Cloud9 has added Maika’i Copenhagen as its official travel gear sponsor. The companies have released branded Cloud9 items, including a “hardbag” backpack, mouse bungee, and rechargeable powerbank. Maika’i Copenhagen also has gear partnerships with Astralis and Team Singularity.
Tencent Reports $2.99B Net Income, Mobile Games Revenues Up, PC Games Revenues Down
Tobias Seck, The Esports Observer
Yesterday, Chinese multinational investment holding conglomerate Tencent Holdings released its Q3 2019 earnings for the period ended Sept. 30. The company generated total net revenues of ¥97.2B ($13.9B), an increase of 21% over the third quarter of 2018.
Washington Redskins safety Landon Collins joins ReKTGlobal as investor
Reuters
Washington Redskins star Landon Collins is now an investor in ReKTGlobal, the parent company of the professional esports organization Rogue. The All-Pro safety joined a team of investors that also includes Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, the company announced Thursday.
Opinions, Editorials, Perspectives and Research
As the pay TV bundle unravels, advertisers should stick to sports
Anthony Crupi, Ad Age
The American pastime of switching on the set to watch a sitcom or drama as it airs is about as dead as the diplodocus, and if the DVR may be said to have struck the fatal blow, the direct-to-consumer services furnished by the likes of Netflix and Disney+ will stamp the dirt down on the big lizard’s final resting place. According to the fall TV season’s first week of currency data, live viewing of scripted series accounted for just 69 percent of the deliveries of adults 18-49 recorded by Nielsen under the live-plus-same-day rubric.
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