Sport & Story Daily October 13, 2023

Stay Ahead of the Game

October 13, 2023

Good morning! Series sweeps and the toppling of 100-win teams did no favors for MLB, which has seen early post-season numbers slide despite a year of viewership gains…

Phillies/Braves tops sliding MLB Division Series numbers
A hot regular season for Major League Baseball did not equate viewership in the early post-season unfortunately. After double-digit dips in the Wild Card round, viewership continues to drop from 2022 numbers in the Division Series, which is averaging 2.78 million viewers through Tuesday (10 games). That is down 15% from the same number of games last year. The Phillies/Braves series ranks as the most-watched thus far with a combined average of 4.05 million across TBS and truTV, up 19% from the first two games of last year’s NLDS between the same teams on FOX. Read more here.

MLB to Diamond: cancel or commit
Meanwhile, Major League Baseball declared that bankrupt sports broadcaster Diamond Sports needs to either cancel its TV deals or clearly commit to five teams' TV broadcast contracts, noting that the teams are unable to plan for the 2024 season without clarity on their TV contracts. MLB asked a U.S. bankruptcy judge in Houston, Texas to force Diamond Sports Group to make a clear decision on whether it will broadcast 2024 games for the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers and Texas Rangers. Read more here.

IOC suspends Russian Olympic Committee after it tried to claim Ukrainian athletes for Russia
The International Olympic Committee executive board suspended the Russian Olympic Committee on Thursday after it tried to claim Ukrainian athletes for Russia. The move marks a breach of the Olympic Charter, which recognizes Ukraine as a separate entity from Russia and the punishment takes place immediately, running indefinitely. As a result, the ROC cannot function as a National Olympic Committee and will not receiving funding. Read more here.

Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard propels TNT viewership numbers
The buzz surrounding rookie Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard continues to seep into the TV ratings. A day after ESPN saw Bedard’s debut score as the network’s most-viewed regular season NHL game, TNT continued the momentum as the Blackhawks’ loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday averaged 917,000 total viewers on TNT. That ranks as the second-largest recorded viewership of a regular-season game on the network, with the first being the 2022 Winter Classic, which drew 1.362 million viewers. Read more here.

NFL appeal in Jon Gruden emails lawsuit gets Nevada Supreme Court hearing date
The Nevada Supreme Court plans to soon hear the NFL’s appeal of a ruling that denied a request to move former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden’s lawsuit against the league from a public courtroom into closed-door arbitration. The lawsuit, filed in November 2021, accuses the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell of a “malicious and orchestrated campaign” to force Gruden to resign as the Raiders’ head coach by leaking racist, sexist and homophobic emails that no one disputes Gruden sent. Read more here.

Big 12, Allstate launch largest women’s sports partnership in conference history
The Big 12 Conference and Allstate today announced they are extending their partnership to feature Big 12 women’s athletics. This multi-year partnership locks in Allstate as an official partner of the Big 12 Conference, as well as its Football Championship. It also will see the insurance company become an official partner of Big 12 Women’s Athletics and Big 12 Pro Day.
big12sports.com

Origin USA to be UFC's exclusive partner for jeans, boots, workwear and hunting apparel
Under the terms of the agreement, ORIGIN will be UFC’s exclusive partner for the jeans, boots, and hunting apparel category, and ORIGIN™ will be named the “Official Jean of UFC.” In addition, ORIGIN™ will be the Presenting Partner for specific UFC FIGHT NIGHTS for the remainder of 2023 and will receive prominent branding at select UFC Pay-Per-Views and Fight Nights, including placement inside the world-famous Octagon.
ufc.com

World Cup 2030 an opportunity for sponsors to build reach, say experts
Holding the 2030 World Cup in six countries could cause logistical headaches but a tournament on three continents will be viewed as a boon by sponsors and advertisers seeking to expand their brands globally, sports marketing experts have said. FIFA allocated the 2030 World Cup to Spain, Portugal and Morocco last week but also said Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay would host three matches to mark the tournament's centenary.
reuters.com

ScorePlay and Infinite Athlete team up to streamline sports media management with AI
Sports technology companies ScorePlay and Infinite Athlete are to enter a strategic partnership aimed at transforming sports organizations manage their media content. Infinite Athlete’s ‘FusionFeed’ video and data-synching technology will be combined with ScorePlay’s AI-powered media operating system.
sportspromedia.com

Tel Aviv Open cancelled due to Israel-Gaza war, ATP looking to host alternative tournament in Sofia
The Tel Aviv Open, a small but well-regarded tournament on the men’s professional tennis tour, will not take place this year, organizers have announced. The announcement, which came five days after the attacks by Hamas on civilians across Israel, was not unexpected but is a blow to the tour nevertheless. The tournament had been scheduled to take place from Nov. 5-11.
theathletic.com

ESPN NFL studio shows see early season success
The start of the NFL season has seen ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown and NFL Live deliver their highest audiences in eight and seven seasons, respectively, while simultaneously raising their viewership among the key persons 18-49 demo and among women. The revamped Monday Night Countdown kicked off the season with a record audience and delivered growth in the persons 18-34 demo. The studio show success, combined with multiple Monday Night Football audience records, has resulted in a strong viewership start across ESPN’s entire NFL portfolio.
espnpressroom.com

Mexico City on short list for future NHL international game
The NHL has Mexico City on a short list of locations for future international games. Steve Mayer, chief content officer for the NHL, told ESPN's "The Drop" podcast this week that "Mexico City is on a short list because our teams are very interested in going there and exploring that market."
espn.com

Riot Games announces Worlds 2023 Fan Fest with Alan Walker and (G)I-DLE
Game developer Riot Games has announced the first-ever Worlds Fan Fest, a music event taking place during the final days of the 2023 League of Legends World Championship. The event will take place between November 16th and 18th at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea, and will feature renowned DJ Alan Walker as well as K-rock band FT Island and K-pop group (G)I-DLE.
esportsinsider.com

NHL PrePlay daily predictor game returns for second season
Now that the puck has officially dropped for the 2023-24 NHL season,, the NHL is bringing back - for the second year in a row – the league’s official free-to-play daily predictor game, NHL PrePlay presented by Bet99. GEICO signed on to be the presenting partner of a new version of the free-to-play game (NHL PrePlay presented by GEICO) that will allow for fans in the United States to participate for their chance to win game tickets, event packages, gift codes to NHL shop.com, and a $50,000 (USD) grand prize.
nhl.com

Republicans tweak Brewers stadium repair plan to cut the total public contribution by $54 million
Republican legislators in Wisconsin announced Thursday that they have scaled back their plan to help fund repairs at the Milwaukee Brewers’ stadium by $54 million, clearing the way for a vote on the state Assembly floor next week. Reports commissioned by the Brewers and another by a state consultant found American Family Field’s glass outfield doors, seats and concourses should be replaced, its luxury suites and technology such as its sound system and video scoreboard need upgrades, and its signature retractable roof needs repairs.
apnews.com

Denver Broncos transfer controlling owner designation from Rob Walton to CEO Greg Penner
The Denver Broncos say nothing in the club’s day-to-day operations or organizational structure will change after the transfer of the franchise’s controlling owner designation from Rob Walton to his son-in-law, CEO Greg Penner.
apnews.com

Suns could be latest NBA team selling minority stake
With a new season tipping off in less than two weeks, NBA franchises are as hot a commodity as ever — the latest being the Phoenix Suns. Mat Ishbia — who led the recent $4 billion purchase of the Suns and the WNBA’s Mercury — could be bringing on new minority investors.
frontofficesports.com

Sources: Nissan attaching its name to new Titans venue in 15-year deal
Nissan has held naming rights to the Titans' home stadium since 2015. Now, multiple industry sources tell me that the automaker has committed to continuing that title sponsorship at the new 62,000-seat, $2.1 billion stadium slated to open in time for the 2027 NFL season.
sportsbusinessjournal.com

Reebok names Shaquille O’Neal President of Basketball, Allen Iverson VP
NBA icon Shaquille O’Neal was instrumental in the Authentic Brands Group acquisition of Reebok in August 2021. Now, the basketball legend has been tapped to lead the athletic brand’s reemergence in the sport he knows best, per Footwear News.
sportico.com

Report: Bills COO, senior VP fired for professionally unethical romantic relationship
John Roth, chief operating officer and executive vice president of the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres, was fired by owner Terry Pegula on Wednesday, fewer than three months after being elevated to the position. Kathryn D’Angelo, senior VP/general counsel of the Bills, was also fired Wednesday. Three sources with direct knowledge of the decision tell The Athletic that Roth and D’Angelo were in a romantic relationship.
theathletic.com

Former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone handed suspended sentence after pleading guilty to fraud
Former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone was given a suspended prison sentence Thursday after he pleaded guilty to a fraud charge over his failure to declare millions of dollars held in a trust in Singapore to Britain’s government.
apnews.com

On This Day in Sports History:

1893: The U.S. yacht Vigilant wins the America’s Cup
1947: The NHL holds its first All-Star game
1967: Seattle SuperSonics lose NBA debut game
1982: IOC Executive Committee approves the reinstatement of Jim Thorpe's gold medals from the 1912 Olympics
1993: Mighty Ducks win their first NHL game
1998: For the first time in NBA history, the league cancels regular-season games after labor talks break off.

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.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here!

And feel free to read our Privacy Policy.