Sport & Story Daily October 10, 2023

Stay Ahead of the Game

October 10, 2023

Good morning! LA is poised to welcome a bevy of new events to the 2028 Olympics as organizers push for additions ranging from flag football to cricket…

LA 2028 Olympics to consider adding flag football, cricket, other sports
Organizers of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics announced a move to add the sports of cricket, flag football, lacrosse, squash and baseball-softball to the event. Official recommendations are subject to final approval by the IOC, with a session set for Mumbai later this month. The Los Angeles Times writes that the sports are likely to be approved. Read more here.

Cowboys/49ers on NBC and Peacock is most-watched week 5 Sunday Night Football game ever, averaging 26.1 million viewers
Despite the second-largest scoring differential after three quarters (18 points) on SNF since the beginning of last season, the San Francisco 49ers’ 42-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys last night on NBC and Peacock averaged 26.1 million viewers – marking the most-watched Week 5 NBC Sunday Night Football game ever (since 2006). The game’s Total Audience Delivery (TAD) average of 26.1 million viewers is up 54% from last year’s Week 5 game. Read more here.

FIA to take action after Qatar GP extreme weather
Formula One's governing body will take action to protect drivers from the extreme heat and humidity that they endured during Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix, the org said on Monday. Some of the driver ended up on the verge of collapse due to the brutal conditions, vomiting and severely dehydrated after the checkered flag. Read more here.

Saudi Arabia submits letter of intent to host 2034 World Cup
Saudi Arabia took the next step in its bid to host the 2034 World Cup by submitting a letter of intent to host the event to world soccer governing body FIFA. "Last week we announced our ambitions to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, and this official submission continues our journey to make the dreams of our people a reality," Yasser Al Misehal, President of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation SAFF said in a statement. Read more here.

WWE Fastlane broke records for viewership, gate & sponsorship revenue
Fastlane was the most-watched Fastlane in company history with viewership up a staggering 71% from the previous record, set in 2021. The weekend’s show was also the highest-grossing Fastlane in history. The sold-out show drew a gate that was up 31% from the previous record, set in 2016. Read more here.

PGA-LIV deal faces delay over antitrust, players demand stake
The end of year deadline for the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf to finalize their historic merger is likely to be pushed back as US regulators dig their heels in and players demand more power in the new entity.
bloomberg.com

Why Amazon’s NFL Black Friday broadcast will feature more interactive ads and CPG brands
Amazon is testing the extent of its shopping influence with the first stream of an NFL game on Black Friday. The company is using the event to ramp up interactive ads and other technology the platform developed for Prime’s second season of airing NFL games.
adage.com

Inspired Entertainment partners with the NBA to provide virtual sports offerings
Inspired Entertainment, a provider of gaming content, technology, hardware and services, signed an agreement with the NBA securing the rights to develop Virtual Sports games centered around the world’s premier professional basketball league’s archived footage.
globenewswire.com

Homestead honoring Kevin Harvick with entitlement sponsor of Cup race
Homestead-Miami Speedway announced today that the second race during the Round of 8 the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will honor professional race car driver Kevin Harvick titled the 4EVER 400 Presented by Mobil 1. The 4EVER 400 Presented by Mobil 1 celebrates Harvick in his farewell season from full-time NASCAR Cup Series racing and commemorates the lasting impact he will have on the sport.
jayski.com

FOX Sports Films and Religion of Sports announce The Game That Changed Everything: Yankees vs. Red Sox ’04 ALCS
Premiering Wednesday, Oct. 18 on FS1, following the network’s live coverage of Game 3 of the ALCS, the film invites audiences on a journey through time to relive some of the most pivotal moments of the thrilling series as told through the baseball legends who lived through it all, including FOX Sports’ own Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and David Ortiz, along with Mariano Rivera, Johnny Damon, Kevin Millar, Dave Roberts, and Orlando Cabrera.
foxsports.com

F1 needs ‘more teams, fewer races’, says FIA boss Ben Sulayem
Formula One needs more teams and fewer races moving forward, according to International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Speaking to Reuters at last weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, the Emirati made it clear that any opposition to Andretti’s entry plans should be put aside for the benefit of the sport.
sportspromedia.com

“Shohei Ohtani: Beyond the Dream” debuts November 17 on ESPN+
After taking the world by storm with his unforgettable performances at the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) and the Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game, Shohei Ohtani is once again hitting it out of the park with the documentary, “Shohei Ohtani: Beyond the Dream,” coming November 17 to ESPN+.
espnpressroom.com

Golden Knights receive championship rings
The Vegas Golden Knights players, coaches and hockey operations staff received their Stanley Cup Championship rings at a private ceremony on Sunday evening, October 8, at Wynn Las Vegas. The championship ring, created in collaboration with Jason of Beverly Hills, includes approximately 12 carats of white and yellow diamonds, with the yellow diamonds used to represent the Golden Knights’ name and a detachable top that can be worn as a pendant that, when removed, reveals the interior of the team’s T-Mobile Arena home.
nhl.com

NHL’s Flames finalize plans for $890M arena, development project
A long-planned new arena and mixed-use development for the Calgary Flames is now formally set after the team, the city of Calgary, and the province of Alberta completed a formal agreement on the $890 million project. Set to break ground next year and with a projected opening of 2026 or 2027, the project will include a new arena of about 18,000 seats in downtown Calgary and a culture and entertainment district.
frontofficesports.com

NHL’s Predators use AI-generated leads to power ticket, sponsor sales
Nashville Predators vice president of corporate partnerships Jack Burk is proud of his sales team, but last year he realized he wanted help to grab the sales opportunities he could see in the competitive sponsorship marketplace. AI, Burk said, worked “like magic”—it created about $500,000 in realized sales with $750,000 to $1 million in the pipeline for the upcoming 2023-24 season.
sportico.com

Penguins announce First National Bank as jersey patch sponsor
For the first time, the Pittsburgh Penguins will have a sponsored patch on their away uniforms. For the next four seasons on the road, First National Bank (FNB) will have their logo featured on the Penguins away sweaters.
thehockeynews.com

NFL taps former AEG, NBA exec Petri for biz role

This is Petri's second stint at the NFL, following a time from 2005-11 AEG The NFL’s sponsorship division has hired former AEG VP/Global Portfolio Sales Ingrid Petri as its VP/Strategy and New Business, where she will be charged with developing and closing new sponsorship deals.
sportsbusinessjournal.com

Tuesday Trivia
What team is currently America’s Cup champion?
Answer to last week’s question: Madison Square Garden.

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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