Sport & Story Daily November 1, 2023

Stay Ahead of the Game

November 1, 2023

Good morning! Major League Baseball saw no treats in viewership numbers for the World Series as Game 2 hit a historic low…

World Series Game 2 continues audience woes
Following low viewership in Game 1 of the 2023 World Series, Game 2 between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers continued the tumble with the game ranking as the least-watched Fall Classic game on record. The matchup averaged 8.15 million viewers on FOX and an additional 200,000 on Fox Deportes on Saturday night. Read more here.

Saudi Arabia is only bidder to host 2034 World Cup
With Australia opting not to bid for FIFA’s 2034 tournament, Saudi Arabia was left as the only football association to move to host, FIFA confirmed. FIFA also confirmed that the players to host the 2030 World Cup came from the Morocco, Portugal and Spain joint bid, with Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay hosting celebratory games. Read more here.

TGL unveils competition format for January debut
TGL, the PGA Tour’s new primetime golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, rolled out its competition format, Overall, there will be 15 regular-season matches with each team playing five times. Two teams will play in a 15-hole match with one point earned per hole won. Only three players from each team will play in each match. Read more here.

CBS, FOX and ESPN see NFL audience spike for week 8
The Bengals’ win over the 49ers on Sunday led NFL action for Week 8 of the season, and drove CBS to the network’s most-watched Week 8 since 1998 as 26.1M people tuned in. FOX’s coverage of the Rams/Cowboys took second as nearly 20M watched the channel. ESPN’s Monday Night Football presentation featuring Raiders/Lions delivered more than 15.2 million viewers, the most-watched MNF Week 8 game in nine years. Read more here.

Leading lacrosse organizations rally together under ELEVATE28 banner
With the sport of lacrosse coming to the Olympics, eight of the leading organizations in the sport announced the formation of ELEVATE28 and its mission to “double the country’s participation in the sport to 4 million annual players by the end of the decade.” Athletes Unlimited, Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association, Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association, J Tsai Sports, National Lacrosse League, Premier Lacrosse League, USA Lacrosse and World Lacrosse have signed a charter, pledging to unify, communicate and support one another to reach their shared goal. Read more here.

The sports industry has a weight loss problem—and perhaps a solution

The sports industry has a weight loss problem.

There have historically been two primary ways to lose weight; either move more or eat less. Sports have figured into the latter part of the equation. Participation in athletics participation has often been thought of, and marketed as, a necessary component in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

The challenge, however, is that it takes considerably more effort for the ‘move more’ method to have the same impact as consuming less. For context, adults are recommended to consume between 1,600–2,400 calories each day. The average person will burn just ~300-400 calories walking 10,000 steps.

That imbalance helps to explain why Americans are increasingly embracing prescription pharmaceuticals to combat obesity. Drugs, like Ozempic and Wegovy, ‘mimick’ a brain hormone in patients that depresses ones’ appetite and ultimately their food intake.

Adoption of these drugs has started to influence purchasing patterns. Walmart reported that customers taking Ozempic are buying less food, and Morgan Stanley has suggested a 3% decline in soda, baked goods, and salty snack consumption amongst Americans is possible.

Read the rest of this at JohnWallStreet.

TNT Sports and Cosm line up 8k partnership
TNT Sports and Cosm, an immersive technology, media, and entertainment company, announced a first-of-its-kind, multi-year broadcast partnership that will see Cosm produce and present select live premium sports programming from across TNT Sports' footprint in immersive 8K+ at its forthcoming venues. Set to begin in 2024, this agreement marks the first time a broadcast rightsholder will present live sports content in "Shared Reality" — an experience which bridges the virtual and physical worlds through Cosm's pioneered technology and 87-foot diameter LED domes.
prnewswire.com

Sports betting set to launch Friday in Maine
Sports betting in Maine is set to launch on Friday, the state's Gambling Control Unit announced Tuesday. Licensed operators and their management service providers will be able to start pre-launch advertising to accept registrations and account deposits up to the go live date of Friday at 9 a.m.
necn.com

BSN Sports secures first-ever partnership with USA Water Polo
The two are teaming up to provide a new custom apparel offering to the USA Water Polo Olympic Development Program in addition to select outfitting for the USAWP National Team programs. BSN Sportswill provide the men and women's USA Water Polo teams with a variety of apparel as they prepare to take the world stage next summer.
streetinsider.com

insidethegames.biz is sold
Dunsar Media Company Limited, the publisher of www.insidethegames.biz announced a change in ownership after 18 successful years. Co-founders Duncan Mackay and Sarah Bowron have decided to embark on new ventures within the sports and media industries, and their shares of Dunsar Media Company Limited have been acquired by Vox Europe Investment Holding Ltd., the current majority shareholder.
insidethegames.biz

Bud Light tries for a comeback with a focus on sports and concerts
Anheuser-Busch InBev said it will concentrate its marketing on sporting and music events as it tries to reverse falling sales of its flagship beer Bud Light in the face of conservative backlash in the U.S. The brewing giant revealed part of its plan to revitalize the brand Tuesday after it reported third-quarter earnings that beat expectations. The company’s revenue fell nearly 14% from July to September in the U.S., its largest market, as Bud Light sales sank.
cnbc.com

F1 Mexican Grand Prix gets largest live U.S. television audience since return to schedule
Sunday’s Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix, broadcast live on ABC, attracted an audience of 1.46 million viewers for the race-only (4-6 p.m. ET) portion of the telecast, the largest audience in the U.S. for the race since it returned to the F1 schedule in 2015. The full ABC telecast (which included the 90-minute “Grand Prix Sunday” pre-race show averaged 1.08 million viewers, also an event record. x.com

ESPN apologizes for using AI to create ‘fake’ Damian Lillard NBA interview
The sports broadcasting giant posted what appeared to be a post-game interview with Lillard following his debut for the Milwaukee Bucks last week. Lillard played a starring role in the Bucks’ 118-117 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, scoring 39 points, making him an ideal candidate for a post-game interview. ESPN duly obliged, posting a conversation with the player on social media that appeared to have taken place immediately after the buzzer.
sportspromedia.com

Bally Sports experiences mass outages as DSG drama continues
On Monday, the Bally Sports app across the United States — at minimum in Michigan, Minnesota, North Texas, and Wisconsin — would not allow users to sign in and stream games, preventing many potential viewers from watching NBA and NHL games in those markets. Cable and satellite users in those markets were reportedly not affected.
frontofficesports.com

The International 2023 sees slight viewership drop
The International 2023, the largest Dota 2 event of the year, concluded last weekend in Seattle, United States with Team Spirit taking home a second The International title. The tournament, however, recorded a slight drop in viewership when compared to its 2022 edition. According to esports data platform Esports Charts, the event peaked at around 1.44m viewers tuned into the broadcast, 300,000 less than last year.
esportsinsider.com

Los Angeles to host 2026 Pan Pacific swimming championships ahead of 2028 Summer Olympics
The 2026 Pan Pacific Championships will be moved from Canada to Los Angeles, giving the city a chance to host a major international swimming meet ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics. The agreement between the charter nations of Australia, Canada, Japan and the U.S. was announced Tuesday. The Pan Pacs are held every four years, rotating between the four countries.
apnews.com

VSiN adds two new affiliates
VSiN has announced that it is growing its radio network with the addition of new affiliates in Medford, Oregon, and Abilene, Texas, which will include short-form “Action Updates” and other long-form programming. With the move, VSiN programming is now available across more than 350 stations in 46 states in the country, which reaches nearly 90% of the total radio market in the United States.
barrettsportsmedia.com

West Ham United stake up for sale from Vanessa Gold’s family shareholding
A stake of West Ham United is up for sale from the family shareholding of the late David Gold. Vanessa Gold, daughter of former joint-chair of the club, David Gold, announced on Tuesday that she would consider selling a “proportion” of her family’s shares to the “right partner”. David Gold’s shareholding of 25.1% was passed to Vanessa on behalf of the Gold family trust after his death in January.
theathletic.com

Vegas Golden Knights owner pursues fourth major pro team investment
Bill Foley paid $500 million for the Vegas Golden Knights to enter the NHL in 2017 and has since made the 2023 Stanley Cup winners one of the most successful franchises in professional hockey. But it’s soccer at the center of Foley’s quest to build a wide-reaching, multi-club ownership portfolio — which could soon include a third major soccer team.
frontofficesports.com

Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez joins ownership of Dallas Sidekicks
Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez, founder and CEO of North American esports organization OpTic Gaming, has joined the ownership group of the Dallas Sidekicks, an American indoor football team. The Dallas Sidekicks are an indoor football team competing in the Major Arena Soccer League.
esportsinsider.com

ESPN promotes Aguiar, adds to responsibilities
ESPN promoted Chara-Lynn Aguiar to EVP and added ESPN Finance to her responsibilities that already included strategy, research, and the Office of the Chair. Aguiar will continue to report to ESPN Chair  Jimmy Pitaro and Disney CFO Kevin Lansberry.
sportsbusinessjournal.com

Longtime Twins play-by-play announcer Dick Bremer departing broadcast booth
The Minnesota Twins announced Tuesday that longtime play-by-play announcer Dick Bremer is stepping down from his duties in the broadcast booth after 40 years. Bremer will transition to a special assistant role in the club's front office that allow him to continue to be an "ambassador of Minnesota Twins baseball through his storytelling abilities.
si.com

Kings legend Mike Bibby joins Kings broadcast team ahead of 2023-24 regular season
The Sacramento Kings announced the addition of Kings legend Mike Bibby to the NBC Sports California pre- and postgame broadcast team as an analyst. Bibby, who will make his debut in Wednesday’s coverage, will provide commentary alongside hosts Kyle Draper and Morgan Ragan and analyst Matt Barnes, and complement the game call by Kings play-by-play announcer Mark Jones and Kyle Draper and TV game analyst Kayte Christensen on NBC Sports California beginning with the 2023-24 season.
nba.com

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Sport & Story Daily and Sports & Story College are the sport industry’s daily resource for business news. In addition to serving up exclusive trends, Q&As, and columns, the newsletter connects reads to top platforms and stories from across the sports landscape.

Chris Pursell is the founder of staple industry events such as the Cynopsis Sports Business Awards, the Esports Business Summit, the CMO Exchange, the Tempest Awards, and the Esports Newfronts. He was previously a reporter and editor for publications such as Variety and The Los Angeles Times and launched leading business publications for Cynopsis and PromaxBDA.

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