Sport & Story Daily November 3, 2023

Stay Ahead of the Game

November 3, 2023

Good morning! ESPN is preparing for the influx of ESPN BET, its new sportsbook that will go live on Nov. 14, integrating a deep immersion of the brand…

ESPN BET gets launch plans for Nov. 14
Newly branded sportsbook ESPN BET, will open its doors on Nov. 14 and is anticipated to go live in 17 states, which include: Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. To promote the launch, ESPN BET released a teaser spot featuring SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt receiving notifications from both the ESPN and ESPN BET apps. In addition, as part of the overall launch of ESPN BET, ESPN’s Daily Wager program will rebrand to ESPN BET Live, beginning Nov. 10. Read more here.

Rangers’ championship clincher wins night for FOX
The Rangers triumph in the World Series gave its FOX telecast a lift, as 11.6 million viewers tuned in across FOX, FOX Deportes, and FOX Sports platforms to watch the Rangers clinch in Game 5. On FOX alone, the game drew 11.481 million viewers. That ranks as the most-watched game of the series, which has struggles with all-time lows. Overall, the five-game Rangers championship averaged 9.028 million viewers for the broadcaster. Read more here.

MLB settles lawsuits from minor league teams, avoids possible antitrust challenge
Meanwhile, Major League Baseball dodged a potential U.S. Supreme Court challenge to its antitrust exemption after settling a federal lawsuit as well as two in New York State court that were filed by minor league teams who lost their big league affiliations. James W. Quinn, a lawyer for the teams who sued, said Thursday that a settlement had been reached in all three cases. Quinn said the terms of the settlement were confidential. Read more here.

CBS: Super Bowl inventory is a virtual sellout
Ad inventory for Super Bowl LVIII on CBS is “virtually” sold out, a Paramount spokeswoman told Ad Age. The sellout occurred ahead of schedule, and sold out faster than February’s Super Bowl LVII, which was broadcast on Fox. According to the report, ads were said to be priced at $7 million for a 30-second unit, similar to the 2023 game. Brands that have already announced plans for the game include Coors Light and Oreo. Read more here.

NBA and Nike reveal 2023-24 City Edition uniforms
Nike, the NBA and its teams unveiled the 2023-24 Nike NBA City Edition uniforms, designed to represent “the stories, history and heritage that make each franchise unique.” Home teams will wear the uniforms throughout the NBA In-Season Tournament, which tips off today with a Group Play doubleheader on ESPN. Read more here.

Exclusive Q&A: nVenue CEO Kelly Pracht

We know how valuable the digital engagement space has become, and also how elusive it can be to capture and keep fans interested in more than a few seconds. The legalization of sports betting has certainly created new pathways of fandom, and all aspects of mobile gaming, when done well, can also lead to more engagement and activity, be it at events of watching on whatever device the consumer has chosen to follow with. One of the growing areas in the space is microbetting, those instances where some quick decisions on a running play, a goaltender save, a pitch, a serve, can lead to even more concentrated engagement by fans both individually or as a community.

One of the most successful companies in the space is nVenue, who is pioneering engagement work now with the NBA and NASCAR after two highly successful seasons working with Apple and MLB on their Friday night broadcasts. We asked founder and CEO Kelly Pracht to give us the lowdown on how the space is shaping up, and what’s been learned thus far.

Pracht on the crossover brought from high tech to sports: The crossover comes in the approach - we attack everything with a high-tech vantage point based on many years of experience solving massive tech challenges. Because, when it comes down to it, predictive sports-tech IS high-performance compute! For example - we receive millions of data points throughout a live game, access machine learning models built from billions of historical data points, our models learn with every game and every play, and deliver answers in milliseconds - all to the net sum of 500B predictions in a single year (and growing!).

On learnings from the completed MLB and Apple work this season: Our work with MLBN and Apple confirmed the massive effort that goes into even just a single inning of a baseball game. It takes unparalleled collaboration and commitment between broadcast and production teams, the data providers, and the streaming service. What was most interesting in our work with Friday Night Baseball across each season was the reaction from fans. They craved additional context, more details, and, most importantly, explanations when the numbers seemed to defy their instincts. While it's challenging to provide every detail in a compact, unobtrusive graphic, it underscored the power of data and motivated us to explore more opportunities to delve deeper into the numbers across all sports.

On brand integration into the space: Our partnership with the NBA is a prime example of our impactful brand metrics. During last season's NBA Finals on International League Pass, nVenue introduced an engaging alternative scoreboard, reflecting the dynamic nature of basketball as it is - a game of runs. Which team would be the next to score the next 15 points? With no marketing and no prizes, viewers who played along and selected their pick for the winner stayed 60% longer than passive viewers. We're committed to enhancing the value of league and team assets, whether it is for media or betting. The NBA scoreboard introduced a sponsorable opportunity through our on-screen graphics. We aim to make our data enjoyable and intriguing for fans, no matter where it's delivered. The possibilities are boundless across sports.

On upcoming work with NASCAR and the NBA: Our platform is purpose-built for predicting live sports, so the core technology remains largely the same. This enables nVenue to quickly adapt to new sports like NASCAR, allowing us to focus on delivering results. With the invaluable insights provided by the leagues, we delve deep into what fans are discussing, predicting, how they watch and react, and where their excitement lies within the sport. We then replicate these insights within our technology. Our robust, modular platform, combined with our partnership with NASCAR and their in-depth understanding of their sport, drivers, cars, and fans, will expedite results far more effectively than working in isolation.

Topgolf Callaway Brands acquires competitor BigShots Golf for $29M
As the market for golf experiences heats up, Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. is doubling down on its stake in the space. The Carlsbad, California-based company announced that it acquired the BigShots Golf brand and certain locations of its Topgolf-esque product for $29 million from BigShots parent company Invited, Inc. Topgolf Callaway will immediately take on four of BigShots’ U.S. locations — one owned and three franchise venues.
frontofficesports.com

National Women’s Soccer League, Nationwide announce multiyear partnership renewal
The National Women’s Soccer League announced today a multiyear renewal of its partnership with Nationwide, the league’s exclusive insurance partner and presenting sponsor of the Nationwide Community Impact Award since 2021. With the extension, Nationwide will also maintain its position as a non-exclusive partner in the investment and retirement planning category. 
nwslsoccer.com

Disney’s ESPN could fetch $24B, likely buyers include Apple, Verizon: BofA
Walt Disney’s ESPN sports network could secure an enterprise value of $24 billion and attract investment interest from sports leagues, tech firms like Apple and telecom majors including Verizon, according to BofA Global Research. In a bid to lure an outside investor, the media giant last month disclosed the financials of ESPN that revealed declining sales and profit at the network considered to be the crown jewel of its traditional TV business.
nypost.com

Telemundo signs multi-year, multi-platform rights agreement as the exclusive home of Chivas in the U.S.
Telemundo and Chivas today announced multi-year and multi-platform media rights agreement whereby Telemundo continues to be the exclusive home of Las Chivas de Guadalajara in the U.S. in Spanish and English. The agreement will include coverage of all home matches and key friendlies in the U.S. across Telemundo, Universo and Peacock, and all Telemundo digital platforms. In addition to the men’s team, Telemundo will continue to carry live and exclusive coverage of the women’s team Chivas Femenil and youth teams across Telemundo’s digital platforms.
worldsoccertalk.com

Barefoot, the official wine sponsor of the NFL, taps Donna Kelce
An entirely new audience is entering their football era, and Barefoot Wine, The Official Wine Sponsor of the NFL, is ready to embrace these fans and help them learn and enjoy the sport. America's most loved wine brand1, Barefoot, is introducing the Barefoot Bandwagon Box, where one fan and three friends will have the opportunity to attend the Philadelphia vs. Kansas City Super Bowl LVII rematch in a suite on Monday, November 20, in Kansas City. They'll be joined in the suite by America's football mom, Donna Kelce, and Barefoot's winemaker, Jen Wall.
foxbusiness.com

NFL Network Celebrates 20th Anniversary on Nov. 4
NFL Network turns 20 years old this week. On Nov. 4, 2003, host Rich Eisen welcomed football fans and television viewers across the country to NFL Network, in the process making history as the first league-owned cable network and the first 24-hour, year-round television destination for NFL fans. “Over the past 20 years, NFL Network and the NFL Media Group have developed into a defining force in the industry," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “They've played an integral role in elevating the league, the media landscape and the sport of football globally. We are incredibly proud of the work that has been done and are eager to see what's to come in the next 20 years."
nflcommunications.com

Lachlan Murdoch: FOX Sports was ‘not hitting advertising numbers’ needed to keep WWE
Earlier this year, WWE announced it was moving SmackDown from FOX Sports to USA Network. FOX Corp. Chairman Lachlan Murdoch says the decision not to renew the property was a simple one for the network due to one factor. In an earnings call, Murdoch claimed FOX Sports wasn’t getting the advertising revenue it needed for the deal to make financial sense.
barrettsportsmedia.com

Sling TV adds live scores and more for sports fans
Sling TV — the third-largest live streaming service in the U.S. —announced a handful of new features that touch a wide swath of the Sling experience. Live sports scores are now available for more leagues, including college football and basketball, the NFL, NBA, NHL, and Major League Baseball. You’ll be able to find team stats, too, including records, seedings, and rankings, as well as live game clocks and scores. And you’ll find more built into the home screen and integrated into the video player, making it all easy to find.
digitaltrends.com

ESPN, WABC announce 2023 TCS New York City Marathon broadcast schedule for Nov. 5 race
ESPN and WABC today announced the broadcast schedule for the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon, taking place Sunday, Nov. 5 on ABC and ESPN Networks. The marathon will be broadcast to more than 534 million homes around the world in 206 countries and territories through various international broadcast partners, Joining the talent team for this year’s domestic broadcast will be Galen Rupp, Des Linden, and Amanda McGrory.
espnpressroom.com

Since leaving AT&T SportsNet RSN, NHL Golden Knights TV ratings have more than doubled on free broadcast TV
Earlier this year, the NHL Vegas Golden Knights left AT&T SportsNet for a deal with Scripps to air the games on free broadcast TV. Now, Scripps has reported that viewership has more than doubled during the first five games compared to the same period last year. The Golden Knights are averaging an 8.5 household rating in Las Vegas, which Scripps said represents an increase of 135% compared to all major telecasts on ESPN and TNT last season.
cordcuttersnews.com

Introducing Boston's newest sports team: Boston Common Golf
Boston has a professional football, basketball, baseball, hockey and soccer teams — and, as of Thursday, its own pro golf team. Led by stars Rory McIlroy and New England native Keegan Bradley, Boston Common Golf was unveiled as the region's representatives in TGL, a new team-based, 15-hole, partially virtual golf league founded by McIlroy and Tiger Woods.
nbcboston.com

Toronto Blue Jays select Legends as new hospitality partner at Rogers Centre
The Toronto Blue Jays and Legends announced a long-term partnership in which the global premium experiences company will deliver a new food and beverage program as part of an enhanced hospitality experience for fans at Rogers Centre. Legends will oversee all food and beverage at the ballpark beginning this season, including general concessions, premium clubs and suites, and catering.
sportsbusinessjournal.com

National Pickleball League announces appointment of Paul Bamundo as CEO
The National Pickleball League, appointed Paul Bamundo as its first-ever Chief Executive Officer. A senior marketing and sales executive with extensive experience at the National Basketball Association (NBA), International Management Group (IMG), Subway and the Ivy League, Bamundo will start his position as CEO of the NPL effective immediately, NPL co-founder Michael “Hammer Mike” Chen has announced.
fox2now.com

On This Day in Sports History:

1934: NY Yankees’ Lou Gehrig wins American League Triple Crown
1975: Chris Evert becomes first tennis player to achieve the No. 1 ranking as the WTA Tour rankings debut
1989: NBA expansion Minnesota Timberwolves play first game
1996: Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant makes his NBA debut
2007: Navy beats Notre Dame 46-44 in triple overtime, ending a 43 game losing streak

Thanks for reading!

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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