Sport & Story Daily September 14, 2023

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September 14, 2023

Good morning! Alex Palou’s second career Indycar series championship drove NBC to year-to-year gains, as this years circuit hit a 12-year high…

🏁 NBC Sports delivers most-watched NTT Indycar series season in 12 years
NBC Sports is reporting that its 2023 coverage of the NTT Indycar Series ranked as the most-watched Indycar season in 12 years in addition to being the most-streamed season ever. This year’s cycle averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 1.32 million viewers across NBC, USA Network, Peacock and NBC Sports digital platforms. This ranks as the most-watched season for the Indycar Series since 2011 and is up 2% vs. last year’s then-record viewership, per Nielsen and Adobe Analytics. Read more here.

🌎 NHL and NHLPA are now planning to hold a scaled-down World Cup of Hockey in February 2025
The NHL is rethinking the World Cup of Hockey. The league, along with the NHLPA, is reportedly still planning to host a World Cup in February 2025, but it will likely have a scaled back presented, given the “timeframe and uncertainty regarding Russian players.” Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly stated that the event won’t be a “typical” World Cup of eight national teams playing over the course of 16 days. Daly said World Cup preparations are ongoing simultaneously with negotiations to send NHL players to the 2026 Olympics. Read more here.

🎾 Major League Pickleball and PPA Tour unite with $50M backing
Two of the biggest entities in professional U.S. pickleball are officially aligning. FOS reports that Major League Pickleball merged with the PPA Tour with a new $50 million investment to fuel the newly-merged organization. The brands will remain distinct, but the merger aims to eliminate schedule conflicts and competition over players. The funding round was led by SC Holdings and MLP team owner Al Tylis, with participation from PPA Tour owner Tom Dundon and other MLP team owners. Read more here.

🤼 WWE delivers TKO to Tampa
WWE, part of the new TKO Group Holdings, announced that Tampa Bay will host the 37th Royal Rumble in 2024. WWE will head to town for an entire weekend of events across St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Tampa, Fla., highlighted by the Royal Rumble on Saturday, Jan. 27 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. Two days later, Monday Night Raw will emanate from Amalie Arena in Tampa on Jan. 29. This marks the first time that Royal Rumble will be held in Tampa Bay in front of fans since 1995. Read more here.

🤝🏼 LEARFIELD revealed the closing of a recapitalization transaction and equity investment in ownership shift
LEARFIELD closed on a “comprehensive deleveraging transaction” with its lenders and equity partners. Through this transaction, LEARFIELD has reduced its outstanding debt by over $600 million and secured $150 million in new equity investment, strengthening the Company’s financial position and providing additional capital to fuel innovation and growth across the Company’s five operating divisions, which include LEARFIELD Amplify; CLC; Paciolan; SIDEARM Sports; and its core multimedia rights business. Read more here.

Your Vision Insights: WNBA Playoff Teams and Sponsor Receptivity

With the WNBA Playoffs upon us, we wanted to see how all of the 8 teams that made the post-season stack up against one another when it comes to Sponsor Receptivity. The Dallas Wings fan base leads the pack when it comes to considering the products/services of sports team sponsors and they are also tied for 1st place with the Atlanta Dream fan base looking at their propensity to buy sponsors’ products/services after witnessing activation.

PWHL announces first sponsor in founding partner deal with Canadian Tire
The PWHL has announced the league's first "Founding Partner" as Canadian Tire Corporation, who will serve as as the key sponsor for the PWHL Draft on September 18. Recently, Canadian Tire Corporation pledged to allocated at least 50% of their sponsorship dollars to women's professional sport through 2026.
thehockeynews.com

Snickers to offer ‘Lucky’ Gar in NFL tie-in
Snickers has opened an online shop where it will drop “lucky” items as part of a new promotion with the NFL. The first items available are limited-edition lucky Snickers bars that, according to the Mars Wrigley-owned brand, “were stashed deep within the NFL headquarters, soaking up luck in a room filled with official NFL honors trophies.”
adage.com

Esports Awards names Xfinity as supporting partner
Esports industry awards show Esports Awards named internet service provider Xfinity as the show’s Official Supporting Partner. As a result, Xfinity will present the Esports Content Creator of the Year award at the 2023 Esports Awards ceremony taking place on November 30th.
esportsinsider.com

The Sporting News prepares for new era with $15 million raise
When The Sporting News made its debut in March 1886, copies sold for a nickel. Making money in the media business has gotten more complicated since. sportico.com

“Skin in the Game with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi” to debut exclusively on ESPN+ on Sept. 20
Skin in the Game with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi will debut September 20, exclusively on ESPN+. The series delves into and challenges racism in the sports world, and will reveal how pervasive racism is in sports, while challenging the thoughts and systems of various governing bodies. Through Dr. Kendi’s analysis, athlete profiles, and robust roundtable discussions with athletes, academics and journalists, each episode dives deeply into the histories, statistics and notable moments behind the racist norms we accept today.
espnpressroom.com

NBA Board of Governors reportedly approve new rule allowing league to fine teams for resting star players
The NBA Board of Governors approved a new policy Wednesday that allows the league to fine teams that sit star players during games, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The new policy, which was recommended by the NBA Competition Committee, will apply to nationally-televised games and in-season tournament games, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Teams can also face punishment for sitting multiple stars during regular-season games.
yahoo.com

Senator subpoenas Saudis for documents on LIV-PGA Tour golf deal
The chairman of a Senate investigations subcommittee issued a subpoena Wednesday for documents on Saudi Arabia’s new golf partnership with the PGA Tour, saying the kingdom had to be more transparent about what he said was its $35 billion in investments in the United States.
apnews.com

‘Thursday Night Football’ will use AI to help viewers better understand the action on the field
Amazon Prime Video took a different approach during the offseason as it looked to improve its coverage of “Thursday Night Football.” While most networks review the film, go to college, or seek input from teams on different ways to broadcast games, Prime Video’s production, tech, and engineering teams visited Tel Aviv to meet with Prime Video’s Computer Vision Machine Learning team.
apnews.com

NFL, NFLPA and StatusPRO announce upcoming release of NFL Pro Era II
Launching on September 28, NFL PRO ERA II will provide fans with the chance to be a part of the game themselves, with a one-of-a-kind experience. Gamers will have the opportunity to compete as the quarterback of their favorite NFL team and play against other gamers, no matter where they're located. Baltimore Ravens quarterback, Lamar Jackson returns as the cover athlete for NFL PRO ERA II, taking part in the brand's forthcoming gameplay trailer which gives fans a sneak peek of what they can expect with the new release.
nflcommunications.com

Mayor of Flavortown Guy Fieri cooks up new line for all 32 NFL teams
Guy Fieri, Mayor of Flavortown and newly-appointed Director of Football Flavor and Fashion*, today announced the all-new, first-ever, NFL x Flavortown t-shirt collection in collaboration with HOMAGE, the fan-favorite apparel brand known for ultra-comfy tees boasting vintage-inspired graphics. The officially licensed NFL collection features all 32 teams with 32 local flavors on 32 tees with graphics so good you can almost taste them.
homage.com

NHL open to Atlanta revival as league looks beyond 32 teams
Amid new development in the city, the NHL appears to be interested in trying a third time in Atlanta. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said he thinks that scenarios that previously derailed pro hockey in the city could be “overcome.”
frontofficesports.com

Hollywood Park partners with Gallagher
Hollywood Park and Gallagher, a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services company, entered into a multi-year partnership that names Gallagher as the official insurance brokerage for the state-of-the-art SoFi Stadium, and the 6,000-seat performance venue, YouTube Theater.
sofistadium.com

New York Mets hire David Stearns as president of baseball operations
The New York Mets have fulfilled their long-awaited wish by hiring David Stearns, the former Milwaukee Brewers president of baseball operations. Stearns, whose contract with the Brewers will end on October 1st, will take over as the new head of baseball operations for the Mets.
bvmsports.com

Chess.com Thursday Challenge
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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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