Sport & Story Daily October 18, 2023

Stay Ahead of the Game

October 17, 2023

Good morning! A heavy news day is anchored by the end of an era, as Paramount pulls the plug on Showtime Sports and its long-running boxing presentations…

Showtime Sports gets KO’ed
Paramount president/CEO Chris McCarthy, in a letter to employees Tuesday, announced that Showtime would no longer produce sports, ending the company’s long-running showcasing boxing as well as Bellator MMA on the network. He noted that Showtime produced 750 live boxing events and 2,000 bouts, dating back to March 10, 1986, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, when Top Rank promoted a middleweight title bout between Marvelous Marvin Hagler and John “The Beast” Mugabi. Read more here.

FOX, ESPN tout NFL gains, anchored by Jets win
On the viewership front, FOX Sports is touting that its presentation of the Jets’ win over the Eagles on Sunday landed an average of over 26 million viewers. That ranks as the most-watched NFL telecast on any network this season, and up 3% over last year’s comparable window. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Monday Night Football delivered another record audience in Week 6, as the Cowboys/Chargers game delivered over 19.7 million viewers (ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and NFL+). That ranks as ESPN’s most-watched ESPN MNF Week 6 game. Read more here.

Texas rivalry fuels best ALCS Game 1 numbers in over a decade
Speaking of ratings, a slow start to the MLB postseason got a boost thanks to FOX Sports’ coverage of the ALCS, where game one between the Rangers and Astros averaged 7.266 million viewers. That marks the best Game 1 numbers for the series since 2010. Read more here.

Netflix goes live, pairing PGA Tour stars with F1 drivers for match play event
Formula One drivers and PGA Tour golfers will compete next month in Netflix's first-ever live sports event as the face off in a match play golf tournament at Wynn Las Vegas. The roster for the Nov. 14 event at Wynn Golf Club will feature eight stars from two popular Netflix sports series "Formula 1: Drive to Survive" and "Full Swing." Alex Albon (Williams), Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Lando Norris (McLaren), and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) are drivers on the current roster along with golfers Rickie Fowler, Max Homa, Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas. Read more here.

Report: LA likely out as World Cup 2026 host city
SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles area is poised to get the axe on hosting 2026 World Cup matches due to a dispute between the owners of the stadium and FIFA. According to ESPN, FIFA will not allow games at the 2026 World Cup at SoFi Stadium due to issues over the financial split with FIFA. Read more here.

YouTube’s NFL bet may be about becoming sports content filter

YouTube’s successful technical launch of NFL Sunday Ticket has turned industry observers’ attention to the business rationale behind the company’s $14 billion bet on American football.

DirecTV held the exclusive broadcast rights to the league’s out-of-market package from 1994 through the 2022 season. While the service helped to drive subscriptions, and credibility to the satellite-delivered “cable TV” service in its early years, the company is widely believed to have lost tens of millions of dollars on the quarter century plus long relationship.

DirecTV was paying $1.5 billion annually to the league over the last eight years of the relationship. Reports have stated that just 10% of company subscribers bought the football specific service.

It is challenging to make a direct business case for YouTube paying $2 billion a year to acquire the product given this context. And that is before one realizes YouTube is not requiring NFL fans to be YouTube TV subscribers to purchase their Sunday Ticket offering (as was the case with DirecTV). The streaming service can be bought on an a la carte basis.

However, Google may not be looking at it that way. The company may see investing in the tier-one produced content as a means of “driving more eyeballs and driving up CPMs to its traditional YouTube platform,” Matt Rosenberg (managing director & head of media finance, Monroe Capital) said. “Google can afford the large price tag it takes to do this.”

Read more on this at JohnWallStreet.

NWSL unveils redesigned championship, MVP trophies in collaboration with Tiffany & Co.
The NWSL unveiled its redesigned championship and MVP trophies Tuesday in a first-ever collaboration with luxury brand Tiffany & Co. Here’s what you need to know: This marks the first redesign of the championship trophy since league play began in 2013. It features a soccer ball whose panels form the NWSL shield atop “a sleek base with a stylized air current-shaped motif designed to evoke a ball in motion, while 24K gold vermeil and sterling silver accentuate the frame.”
theathletic.com

YouTube uses AI to let advertisers automatically target popular sporting videos
YouTube is using artificial intelligence (AI) to let advertisers automatically target content related to major sporting events on its platform. The video sharing site has created a package called ‘Spotlight Moments’ that leverages AI tech from parent company Google to automatically detect the most popular videos relating to noteworthy events or incidents.
sportspromedia.com

Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes join Alpine Formula 1 team's minority ownership group
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce now own minority stakes in a Formula 1 team. Alpine and Otro Capital announced Tuesday that the two Kansas City Chiefs stars, golfer Rory McIlroy and ex-boxer Anthony Joshua were among the group of people who had joined as partners in Otro’s 24% stake in the team. The group purchased nearly a quarter of the team earlier in 2023 with an investor list that included actor Ryan Reynolds.
yahoo.com

Vice Golf and Nicklaus Companies partner on limited-edition product line
Vice Golf, a head-turner in creative brand collaborations, has a new partner: Nicklaus Companies. The new Vice Pro “Bear” line, inspired by the iconic Golden Bear moniker, includes a number of limited-edition products, including Vice Pro Bear golf balls, on-course accessories, headwear by Ahead, a gift set, clothing and even range balls, with all of the design work handled at Vice HQ in Germany.
golf.com

NBC Sports and Making Space partner to increase employment opportunities for disabled talent
Making Space will provide NBC Sports with a pre-trained talent pipeline from the Disabled community which will allow NBC to access an untapped and underrepresented workforce, paving the way for a historic increase in Disability representation at one of the world’s most recognizable media companies.
nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com

Through three games, WNBA Finals sets 20-year viewership high
The New York Liberty and WNBA Finals viewership both rebounded in Game 3. Sunday’s 87-73 win for New York over the Las Vegas Aces averaged 659,000 viewers — making it the most-watched Finals Game 3 in 18 years and a 14% increase over 2022’s comparable contest. The contest peaked with 945,000 viewers at 5 p.m. ET.
frontofficesports.com

NBA app launches all-new personalization features, live game experience and slate of original programming for 2023-24 season
Meanwhile, the NBA unveiled an array of new programming and enhancements on the NBA App ahead of the 2023-24 season. The NBA App – which generated more than one billion video views this past season, more than triple the prior year’s total – will deliver unique experiences through advanced personalization features, enhanced live game viewing options and expanded content offerings that will bring fans closer to the game.
nba.com

All-woman F1 Academy series to race in Saudi Arabia to start an expanded 2024 schedule
Formula One’s F1 Academy series for female drivers will race next year in Saudi Arabia to start an expanded schedule with a more prominent role in grand prix weekends. The event in March in Saudi Arabia starts an expanded seven-round calendar announced Tuesday for the F1 Academy in its second season.
apnews.com

Fast channel T2 adds distributors
Tennis Channel’s free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel T2 is now available to Amazon Freevee viewers, and on sports-first live TV streaming platform Fubo in its base Pro channel plan, available to all subscribers. This greatly expands the number of viewers in the United States who have access to daily tennis throughout the year, with live coverage of the top-ranked players and most-important tournaments in the sport.
tennis.com

NBC Sports next breaks ground with SportsEngine Play, a first-of-its-kind streaming service for youth & amateur sports
Not only does SportsEngine Play deliver live and on-demand streaming of youth and amateur sporting events anytime, anywhere and on a variety of devices, the service offers video editing tools, so teams can capture game moments and athletes can create their own highlight reels.
nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com

$546 million American Family Field funding package wins approval in state Assembly
Assembly lawmakers voted 69-27 on Tuesday to support a $546 million ballpark financing plan aimed at keeping the Milwaukee Brewers in Wisconsin through at least 2050. The plan features $411 million from the state and $135 million from Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee to be paid over nearly 30 years. The Brewers, owned primarily by multi-millionaire investor Mark Attanasio, would provide $100 million.
jsonline.com

League wants to work with teams to clear player path to Olympics
The Super Bowl may be the National Football League's ultimate prize but the NFL said on Tuesday it wants to see their players on the Olympic stage going for gold after flag football was added to the program for the Los Angeles 2028 Games. But NFL Executive Vice President Peter O'Reilly said the league would work with the NFL Players Association and all 32 clubs to clear a pathway for the stars of the gridiron to have a chance to compete in the Games.
reuters.com

Longtime ESPN communications chief Chris LaPlaca retiring
After 43 years at ESPN, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications Chris LaPlaca has announced his pending retirement. In a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, LaPlaca wrote he would be retiring at the end of the calendar year. LaPlaca became Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications in 2008 after overseeing public and media relations and consumer communications.
barrettsportsmedia.com

X Games taps Cara Williamson as vice president, marketing & brand strategy
Cara Williamson will join the growing X Games organization today as vice president of marketing and brand strategy for the brand. Cara will oversee all marketing and brand efforts for X Games, including setting a vision for the company which was acquired by MSP Sports Capital from ESPN just a year ago.
xgamesmediakit.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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