Sport & Story Daily September 19, 2023

Stay Ahead of the Game

September 18, 2023

Good morning! MNF is going home, at least for a long visit, as ABC announces the addition of ten games to the network’s fall season amid ongoing Hollywood strikes…

🏈 Strike-starved ABC to add full season of MNF to slate
Amid multiple strikes within the entertainment industry, a long-time ABC franchise is returning home, with 10 games of “Monday Night Football” set to run on the network, simulcast with Disney TV sibling. The move was made as ABC, like other TV platforms, will have fewer scripted originals this fall due to the strikes. ESPN revealed Monday that it would open “Monday Night Football” with a new music video featuring Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg, and drummer Cindy Blackman Santana performing Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight.” Read more here.

📢 WSL touts plan to become first billion pound women's soccer league
England's Women's Super League is upping the ante for soccer around the world, revealing that the org was confident of becoming the first billion pound ($1.24 billion) women's soccer league in the world within 10 years. Reuters breaks down the financial dynamics of the 12-team WSL. Chair Dawn Airey stated that "One of the stated goals that we have is to make this league the first billion-pound women's league in the world, that is league revenue and club revenue and there's no reason why we shouldn't do it.” Read more here.

🥅 NWSL set to welcome Boston expansion club
Speaking of soccer, the NWSL is expanding with the addition of a Boston franchise, led by a female-led local ownership group has pledged a $100 million investment to the team as it becomes the league's 13th franchise. The ownership group will include Jennifer Epstein, controlling partner of Boston Unity Soccer Partners and founder of Juno Equity; Anna Palmer, a general partner at Flybridge Capital; Ami Kuan Danoff, co-founder and CFO of the Women’s Foundation of Boston; and Stephanie Connaughton, a local investor. Read more here.

🎾 Infront on board as ITF official data partner
International sports media and marketing agency Infront was named the winning bidder for the ITF’s global data and betting streaming rights for the period 2025-2029. The new five-year agreement will “help to deliver an enhanced fan experience through rich data and metrics, create new commercial opportunities and develop compelling data stories around ITF events.” Read more here.

🤝🏼 Wasserman acquires heavyweight Brillstein Entertainment Partners
Sports and music representation stalwart Wasserman completed its acquisition of Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Per Deadline, the companies are already sorting a high-profile deal, putting together a feature documentary to go along with the recent memoir deal they made with lit agency Inkwell for basketball player Brittney Griner. Read more here.

ESPN set on securing strategic investment and renewing NBA rights
ESPN is now laser-focused on investment conversations and retaining domestic National Basketball Association rights after completing a tough carriage renegotiation with Charter Spectrum, its president Jimmy Pitaro has declared.
sportbusiness.com

Winnebago gasses up Athletes First tailgate tour
Athletes First announced an innovative partnership today with Winnebago and the official launch of the Athletes First Tailgate Tour as A1 demonstrates how it’s reimagining athlete representation. Athletes First will travel across the country in a customized Winnebago Forza for six action-packed months to see each week’s top NFL and NCAA games.
sportsagentblog.com

L’Oréal to sponsor French challenger for the America’s Cup
L’Oréal and Orient Express have become joint sponsors of the French Challenger for the 37th America’s Cup sailing competition that takes place in Barcelona, Spain, in 2024. The beauty giant is a sponsor of the French Youth and Women’s America Cup teams.
yahoo.com

NFL spotlights Latino stars in new ad series
The NFL is highlighting the stories of some of its Latino athletes in a new Hispanic Heritage Month campaign. “Hometown Heroes,” produced by Admiration, tells the stories of Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers, Alijah Vera-Tucker of the New York Jets and Christian Gonzalez of the New England Patriots, who share stories of family and community that were critical to their successes.
adage.com

CBS Sports Golazo Network adds new daily highlight show Scoreline
Debuting on Thursday and running daily, Scoreline will continuously catch fans up on all the biggest news and results impacting global football, match highlights from the top soccer competitions and all the can’t-miss goals from the day’s action.
paramountpressexpress.com

Leader Lights help SuperMotocross fans keep track of the race
Finding the leader in dirt track motorcycle racing can occasionally be difficult for fans once he begins to lap the field. To combat this, leader lights were installed on 80 percent of the bikes two weeks ago at zMax Dragway for Round 1 of the SuperMotocross Championship. By Chicagoland and Round 2, 90 percent of the teams had them installed and the series hopes to be close to 100 percent by the season finale next week at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
paramountpressexpress.com

TNT to showcase “farewell” matches for U.S. Soccer icons Julie Ertz on Thursday, Sept. 21 & Megan Rapinoe on Sunday, Sept. 24
TNT will showcase a pair of “farewell” matches this week as U.S. Soccer stars Julie Ertz and Megan Rapinoe make their final appearances with the U.S. Women’s National Team. Ertz – who will be officially retiring from professional soccer – will make her final appearance on Thursday, Sept. 21, at 7:30 p.m. ET, while Rapinoe will play in her final international match on Sunday, Sept. 24, at 5:30 p.m. Both upcoming USWNT friendlies will be against South Africa.
wbd.com

Brewers to debut Northwestern Mutual patch on jersey sleeves
The Brewers will join the growing contingent of Major League clubs with corporate logos on their uniforms, beginning Friday night after announcing an expanded sponsorship agreement with Milwaukee-based financial services company Northwestern Mutual.
mlb.com

Legislators propose spending $614M in public funds on Milwaukee Brewers’ stadium upgrades
Speaking of the Brewers, state legislators announced a bill Monday that would devote more than $614 million in public funding to repair and renovate the Milwaukee Brewers’ stadium — far more than taxpayers spent to build it more than two decades ago.
apnews.com

NFL prioritizes minority representation amid ownership changes
Changes appear to be on the way not only for the structure of NFL ownership groups, but who is included in them. A point of emphasis for the NFL moving forward will be increasing minority representation in team ownership, according to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
frontofficesports.com

Rays expected to announce deal for St. Petersburg ballpark
The Rays are expected to announce a deal for a new ballpark in downtown St. Petersburg on Tuesday, an agreement that would end the club’s long-running stadium search and accomplish the club’s goal of securing a long-term home in the Tampa Bay area. The new stadium would be built on the redeveloped Tropicana Field site, an 86-acre area also known as the Historic Gas Plant District, and serve as the Rays’ home ballpark beginning in 2028.
mlb.com

PGA of America announces 2023 Hall Of Fame class
The PGA of America today announced the six inductees of the 2023 PGA of America Hall of Fame Class: Robert Dolan, PGA; Don Wegrzyn, PGA; Herb Wimberly, PGA; PGA Past President Suzy Whaley, PGA; LPGA Legend Kathy Whitworth; and CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz. The 2023 Class will be inducted at the 107th PGA Annual Meeting during a special ceremony on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, at the Omni PGA Frisco Resort.
thegolfwire.com

New Roles for Meg Aronowitz, Mike Foss, Sara Gaiero in ESPN reorganization
ESPN Head of Event and Studio Production Dave Roberts, who is now overseeing all college sports for the network outside of baseball and football in addition to other programming, has divulged changes across the board in order to more effectively serve the sports fan.
barrettsportsmedia.com

Tuesday Trivia
Actor Harold Sakata, who played famed Bond villain Oddjob, was an Olympic medalist in what sport?
Answer to last week’s question: Drew Drees holds the record.

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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