Sport & Story Daily October 3, 2023

Stay Ahead of the Game

October 3, 2023

Good morning! A pair of heavyweight celebrities from two completely different mediums grabbed headlines yesterday for their impact on sports…

🍫 Hornets launch jersey-patch deal with influencer MrBeast
The Charlotte Hornets are entering Beast mode, landing a jersey-patch partnership with YouTube and social media behemoth MrBeast. MrBeast, aka Jimmy Donaldson, will advertise his Feastables brand logo on the Hornets' uniforms and media backdrops for news conferences, the team said. Donaldson boasts over 350 million combined followers across his channels. Read more here.

🦚 Chiefs/Jets thriller on NBC and Peacock is most-watched Sunday show since Super Bowl LVII
With national attention bolstered by the attendance of Taylor Swift and a tight game, NBC Sports’ SNF broadcast averaged approximately 27.0 million viewers. The figure would mark a rise of 22% over last year’s Week 4 game with the Average Minute Audience notching 1.85 million viewers – marking NBC Sports’ largest streaming audience ever for a regular-season Sunday NFL game, and up 42% from last year’s Week 4 game. Read more here.

🏀 ABC adds Wednesday night NBA games
While TV awaits the return of scripted television, ABC is turning to the NBA to prop its programming lineup, offering an NBA regular season game on all five Wednesday nights in January. Each of the games will be flexed from ESPN and kick off on Jan. 3 with the Bulls/Knicks. ESPN, which was originally set to air doubleheaders on each of those five nights, will now instead carry a single game. Read more here.

🏁 FIA approval moves Andretti a step closer to F1
Michael Andretti's move to enter Formula One with a new 11th team got closer after the sport's governing body gave its approval and passed the application on to the commercial rights holders. Andretti Global had announced in January a partnership with General Motors' Cadillac brand for a U.S.-owned team with at least one American driver. The International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement that Andretti Formula Racing LLC was the only applicant sent forward for commercial discussions with Formula One from the four that made the second stage of the process. Read more here.

🥊 UFC and 4D Sight announce multi-year deal to use AI technology for virtual branding in the Octagon
The collaboration is an expansion of the original pilot program UFC and 4D Sight launched in 2021 to introduce new virtual ad tech aimed to further localize broadcasts for viewers and sponsors. With this agreement, UFC can now hyper-target brand exposure in specific regions to create more relevance for their fans around the world, allowing them to see different logo placements throughout live events without limitations on specific camera angles or the location of the placement. Read more here.

LPGA explores capital-raising in bid to boost sport’s profile
The LPGA is looking to hook some new financial investment to continue growing the tour LPGA commissioner Molly Marcoux Samaan told the Financial Times that the circuit is on the verge of landing a strategic planning partner, noting that the women’s game was being held back commercially by a lack of broadcast exposure and investment.
ft.com

Denied: NFLPA’s emergency relief request against Panini falls flat
Panini scored another legal victory over the weekend in its clash with Fanatics. An arbitrator denied the NFLPA’s request for emergency relief over a month after the players’ union initiated the early termination of its contract with Panini, which was scheduled to run for more than two additional years. This decision allows Panini to maintain the sale of NFLPA-licensed products as a more extensive arbitration case runs its course.
sportscollectorsdaily.com

NASCAR teams up with Meta’s Xtadium for mixed reality playoff experience
NASCAR teamed up with Meta to broadcast the US stock car racing series’ 2023 playoffs in mixed reality on the Xtadium streaming platform. All ten postseason races can be watched in mixed reality on Meta Quest headsets. This is the first time a racing event of this kind will be viewable in mixed reality, although Xtadium is only available in the US currently.
sportspromedia.com

SPORTIME Clubs and Hornig Capital Partners partner to develop pickleball facilities throughout the Northeast
SPORTIME Clubs and Hornig Capital Partners signed a partnership agreement to establish a new company, SPORTIME Pickleball, LLC, that will develop and operate state-of-the-art, standalone, pickleball facilities in the tri-state area under the SPORTIME brand.
thedailypayoff.com

NASCAR to add Iowa Speedway to 2024 Cup Series schedule
NASCAR is expected to add Iowa Speedway to its 2024 Cup Series schedule, with an announcement likely to come as soon as Tuesday, sources briefed on the matter said. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office announced a news conference for Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. CT to “announce a new major sports and entertainment event to be held in Iowa in 2024.”
theathletic.com

ESPN unveils production plans for 2023 MLB Wild Card Series Presented By Hankook Tire
ESPN platforms will exclusively televise the 2023 MLB Wild Card Series, starting Tuesday, October 3. ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to broadcast all four, best-of-three series. Television assignments will see:
Miami Marlins vs. Philadelphia Phillies: Karl Ravech, Eduardo Pérez and David Cone with Buster Olney reporting
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Minnesota Twins: Michael Kay and Alex Rodriguez with Alden Gonzalez reporting
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Milwaukee Brewers: Jon Sciambi and Doug Glanville with Jesse Rogers reporting
Texas Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Rays: Sean McDonough, Jessica Mendoza and Tim Kurkjian with Coley Harvey reporting
espnpressroom.com

Apple TV+ documentary on Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami transfer to premiere Oct. 11
The first three episodes of Apple TV+’s six-part documentary series chronicling Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami will debut on Oct. 11, the company announced Monday. The final three episodes will then follow later in the Major League Soccer season.
yahoo.com

Major League Soccer and STN Video sign multi-year agreement extension
Major League Soccer (MLS) has struck a multi-year content distribution agreement renewal with the online video platform, STN Video. Through this renewal, publishers will have access to MLS highlights, game recaps, top plays, interviews, and more.
sportsvideo.org

49ers tout enormous economic impact of 10-year-old Levi's Stadium
The 49ers on Monday released an economic impact report to announce the stadium has generated more than $2 billion through 49ers games, one Super Bowl, other major sporting events and concerts. In 2026, the stadium will host Super Bowl LX, as well as games in the FIFA World Cup.
nbcsportsbayarea.com

Miami HEAT and Carnival Cruise Lines announce jersey patch deal
The Miami HEAT announced Carnival Cruise Line as its jersey patch sponsor for the 2023-2024 season. The Carnival Cruise Line patch will appear on all HEAT jerseys including the Association, Icon, Statement and City Edition Uniforms. Jerseys featuring the patch will be sold exclusively at Miami HEAT team stores as well as MiamiHEATStore.com.
nba.com

Ex-CNN chief Jeff Zucker acquires stake in Front Office Sports
Jeff Zucker‘s RedBird IMI investment company has bought a minority ownership stake in Front Office Sports, a media startup covering sports business, Variety reports. Zucker, CEO of RedBird IMI, will join the FOS board of directors as co-chair alongside Jason Stein, managing partner of SC Holdings.
sportico.com

Tuesday Trivia
Which venue played host to the very first WrestleMania?
Answer to last week’s question: 121

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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