Sport & Story Daily January 5, 2024

Stay Ahead of the Game

January 5, 2024

Good morning! A week after the Pop Tart Bowl, the marketing implications of the edible mascot live on

Pop-Tarts’ Devoured Mascot May Live to Be Eaten Again
The character concluded the first college football bowl game sponsored by Pop-Tarts by lifting a sign reading “Dreams Really Do Come True” as it descended into a giant mock toaster. After the toaster ejected a pastry version of the mascot, a crowd of Wildcats players ate it on live TV. Kellerman CMO Julie Bowerman says, “It certainly is the single biggest earned-media campaign that the brand has had.”
^{wallstreetjournal.com}

Teamworks Acquires Front Rush Inventory Management Solution
Teamworks, an enterprise SaaS company serving elite sports and tactical organizations globally, has announced the acquisition of FR TRAC, an inventory management software. The TRAC inventory management product allows sports organizations to manage inventory from order to issue, providing financial reporting and enhancing transparency.
^{teamworks.com}

How WhatsApp Is Trying to Help Brands Connect With Consumers
“It feels ridiculous to say we’re an early mover on the platform because WhatsApp launched in 2009, before even Instagram,” said Anne Marie Gianutsos, chief marketing officer at the Drone Racing League, “which is why we’re thinking this is insane that WhatsApp was our fastest growing channel of 2023.”
^adage.com

Marie Donoghue leaving Amazon Sports
Amazon VP/U.S. Sports Content & Partnerships Marie Donoghue, Amazon Sports' No. 2 exec and the "highest-ranking female executive in sports broadcasting," is "leaving the company." She "emailed her team this afternoon," informing them of the change (X, 1/4). Donoghue, who joined Amazon's Jay Marine in being named SBJ's Most Influential Person in Sports Business in 2022, spearheaded Amazon's 2022 acquisition of "TNF" at a time no league had ever done an exclusive national broadcast deal with a streaming service. Since joining Amazon in 2018, she has helped turn Prime Video into a household name and bring game streams into the mainstream (SBJ).
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

TKO Goes to Market, Taps Norris-Jones to Lead Sales
The merger of UFC and WWE under Endeavor's ownership is now complete commercially as the unified TKO Group is in the market with a combined sales pitch that will see the scripted WWE Events combine with assets of the legit unscripted competition offered by the UFC. Endeavor acquired a controlling interest in UFC for $4B in 2016, combining the two properties after acquiring WWE last April in a deal that valued WWE at $9.3B.   

"We will be able to go up against any sports league in the world," Norris-Jones said. "It's year-round and against that young, male demographic that's famously difficult to reach. So, we're going after NFL partners domestically and NBA and FIFA partners globally. We believe we've created a superpower."  
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

NCAA Inks Landmark Media Deal With ESPN For Coverage of 40 Championships Domestically
The NCAA women's basketball championship is guaranteed to air on ABC as part of the deal Getty Images In a year that promises significant change in college sports, the NCAA is wasting no time revamping the brand as it has reached a milestone eight-year deal with ESPN…
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

Aaron Rodgers’ Kimmel Barbs Won’t Keep Him Off ESPN
As Sportico’s Anthony Crupi writes, “While ESPN execs aren’t talking about the ramifications of the Rodgers-Kimmel pissing match, McAfee on Wednesday tried to smooth things over. At the top of today’s show, McAfee noted that loose lips can give rise to a flotilla of legal headaches, as he learned from his own court battle with Brett Favre. ‘I think Aaron was just trying to talk shit,’ he said. ‘Now, did it go too far? Uh, Jimmy Kimmel certainly said that was the case.’”
^sportico.com

YES, MSG Partner For New GAME Streaming Offering
Two of New York’s powerhouse regional sports networks, YES and MSG, are partnering to create a joint venture that will offer streaming services to third parties called GAME.

The new digital provider, whose acronym stands for Gotham Advanced Media and Entertainment, is a 50-50 endeavor of the YES Network and MSG Networks. The CEOs of each -- Jon Litner of YES and Andrea Greenberg of MSGN -- will co-chair GAME’s board, with both entities holding equal representation among the directors.

“There's a real alignment in terms of our objectives,” Litner said. “We believe by coming together that we can capture scale and mine some cost efficiencies through infrastructure, development, video players, things of that nature.”
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

Is It Worth it to Travel and Broadcast Sports Radio Shows From Radio Row?
“I have done radio row going back to the 2011 BCS National Championship game vs. LSU,” Fowler says. “My show has traveled to most of the semi-finals and the National Championships. I guess my listeners just expect me to be there.”

“I look at the trip as continuing to improve my overall brand, ” Fowler goes on to say. “When I can say I’m live on radio row, that adds to the status of my show.”
^{barrettsportsmedia.com}

2024 NFL Head Coach Candidates: Brian Flores, Dan Quinn, Jim Schwartz Among Top Retread Choices for Vacancies
As CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin writes, “The NFL's upcoming coaching cycle is set to be particularly dramatic, primarily due to two big names: Bill Belichick and Jim Harbaugh. The former has been mum on his future with the Patriots as he closes the worst season of his storied career, while the latter has taken steps to potentially make a long-rumored bolt from college football.” Benjamin then goes on to name seven other candidates to land new jobs.
^{cbssports.com}

Former UTSA Quarterback to Become Executive Director of UTSA Football NIL
As Nate Ryan writes via Twitter, “After retiring from football, ex-UTSA QB Frank Harris tells me his next role will be with City Fans 210, where he will serve as Executive Director overseeing #UTSA Football NIL. Harris was offered coaching jobs by Jeff Traylor & Clemens HS but wants to raise NIL awareness.”
^twitter.com

Significant Changes Will Be Made to NIL in 2024
Jeff Cravens writes on Twitter, “2024 will bring continued evolution to Name, Image, and Likeness in college sports. At a macro level, I believe we'll see movement in a) more university involvement; and b) shifting in the macro revenue model for player compensation.” He then goes on the name five things on the horizon.
^twitter.com

Why is the NCAA Proposing a New Subdivision? Explaining the Related Legal Battles
As The Athletic’s Justin Williams writes, "A flurry of lawsuits and legal action have been mounted against the NCAA, serving as a backdrop to the memo NCAA president Charlie Baker released last month proposing the creation of a new subdivision within DI athletics that would allow the highest-resourced programs to directly compensate athletes through a trust fund and/or in-house NIL agreements.”
_{theathletic.com}

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