Sport & Story Daily September 20, 2023

Stay Ahead of the Game

September 20, 2023

Good morning! Max size is getting bigger, as Warner Bros. Discovery announces plans to add a Bleacher Report add-on sports tier to Max in a move to bring sports to the platform…

🚨 Max gets bigger with Bleacher Report sports tier
Warner Bros. Discovery made the rumors official, laying out plans to hit the direct-to-consumer live sports market via a sports add-on tier that will be available on its Max streaming service beginning Oct. 5. The Bleacher Report Add-On package serves up sports programming airing on TBS, TNT and TruTV including baseball, NHL and NBA games as well as U.S. men’s and women’s soccer matches and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Read more here.

🤝🏼 XFL, USFL nearing agreement to merge operations
The XFL and the USFL are reportedly on the verge of an agreement to merge operations. The two football leagues would need to clear regulatory approval before merging into a single league for spring football in the U.S. with resolving TV broadcast rights one of the key hurdles to overcome. Read more here.

📺 Monday Night Football averages 21.8 million viewers across ESPN platforms
During Monday Night Football’s Week 2 action (September 18), which featured two games with staggered start times, ESPN platforms averaged 21.8 million viewers across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN+, and ESPN Deportes for the Saints/Panthers and Browns/Steelers. The 21,757,000 viewers, which includes fans watching on NFL+, is an increase of 6% from the similar MNF staggered starts in Week 2 of the 2022 season. Read more here.

🏈 FOX Sports blooms with nail biters
Around the dial, FOX Sports is touting that a slate of down-to-the-wire matchups over the weekend pushes its singleheader coverage to year-to-year gains. With four out of six games running on the network ending in single-digital differentials, broadcasts averaged 16,592,000 viewers, up 2% over week two a year ago. Read more here.

⚾ Rays lock in a long-term home with new stadium deal
The Rays will pay for half of the $1.3 billion stadium. The city and Pinellas County will contribute about $600 million combined. The project is slated to be the largest mixed-use project in the history of the Tampa Bay region, according to a release from the Rays. Officials say the project will invest over $6.5 billion in St. Petersburg over the next two decades. Read more here.

MLB Virtual Ballpark Seeks to Make Broadcast a ‘Lean Forward Experience’

Rule changes and investments in technological innovation have helped Major League Baseball (MLB) teams drive substantial attendance gains this season.

But catching a game in person is not something that many fans can do easily or consistently.

The desire to deliver the interactive in-person experience to a broader audience was among the catalysts for MLB to construct a three-dimensional (3D) virtual ballpark. Tonight’s game between the Los Angeles Angels and Tampa Bay Rays will be the first regular season contest streamed inside the venue.

Fifteen thousand fans from across the globe will be able to access the event. All they’ll need is an internet connected device to do so (i.e., no subscriptions to Pay TV or MLB.TV are necessary).

Participants will be able to see a 3D representation of the game from previously unseen angles, communicate with other fans inside the stadium, explore the virtual venue–and watch the traditional broadcast on digital videoboards via MLB’s Gameday 3D technology.

MLB partnered with Improbable to build the virtual platform. The London-based tech company creates digital spaces for brands to connect with their customers. MLB first encountered Improbable leveraging non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to increase audience engagement back in 2020.

Every established sports property is trying to attract younger demographics and grow their fanbase.

Click here to read the full story on JohnWallStreet.

Coors Light returns to the Super Bowl
The brand’s second straight appearance in the game comes during a period of unprecedented momentum for Coors Light, which has been among the biggest share gainers from the Bud Light controversy involving its promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Coors Light is the first brand to publicly confirm an ad for the Feb. 11 game in Las Vegas broadcast by CBS.
adage.com

Third class of Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator secures 25 business deals with consortium partners
Comcast today announced that the 10 companies chosen for the third class of the Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator, powered by Boomtown, have secured 25 pilots, partnerships, and commercial deals while participating in the customized program.
businesswire.com

Bach attends United Nations General Assembly and extends IOC ties with UN Women
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach travelled to New York City for the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, where he signed a renewed partnership with UN Women. The agreement continues the work between the organizations which dates back to 2012, and in the latest agreement aims to promote "gender-responsive policies, governance and investment", safe and equal opportunities for women in sport, prevent gender-based violence and strengthen communication and collaboration.
insidethegames.biz

Simplebet-LIV partnership to debut in Chicago with Hard Rock Bet
Simplebet, the global technology leader in micro-betting, will unveil its golf markets at the LIV Golf Chicago event beginning Friday, September 22nd. The course at Rich Harvest Farms in Chicago will play host to a field of 48 of the world’s best golfers, marking the first event where Simplebet will create micro-betting markets for a LIV Golf tournament. These micro-betting markets will initially roll out exclusively with Hard Rock Bet, starting with LIV Golf Chicago.
livgolf.com

iRacing and Superstar Racing experience enter partnership agreement
iRacing and the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) are excited to announce that they have entered a long-term partnership to have the SRX car and the SRX series in iRacing. iRacing is already working on a trip to scan the SRX car and gather data for an expected 2024 release.
srxracing.com

F1 Singapore Grand Prix gets largest live U.S. television audience on record
Sunday’s Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, broadcast live on ESPN, along with the F1 Kids telecast on ESPNU, attracted a combined average audience of 1.2 million viewers, the largest audience ever in the U.S. for the race.
x.com

12 million fans playing ESPN Fantasy Football in 2023
Continuing a record-setting 2023 season, ESPN Fantasy Football, the No. 1 fantasy football game, set a new all-time mark with more than 12 million people playing the game for the first time ever, up nearly 10% YoY.
espnpressroom.com

Sportsnet announces 2023-24 NHL regional broadcast schedules
As both the exclusive national home of the NHL and long-term regional league broadcast partner, Sportsnet will serve up national and regional coverage of all 82 Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Vancouver Canucks games this season, plus 56 exclusive national and regional Toronto Maple Leafs broadcasts, across all platforms throughout the 2023-24 NHL campaign.
rogerssportsandmedia.com

Dickies Arena set to host 2024 CrossFit Games
Dickies Arena in Fort Worth continues to add to its portfolio of events in the coming years, adding the 2024 CrossFit Games to its list. The flagship event had been held in Madison, Wis., for the past six years, but will descend on North Texas for the first time in its 18-year history.
wfaa.com

SailGP to stream event live on TikTok with dedicated feed
SailGP, the annual sailing series, is to stream its first event live on TikTok this weekend, as it continues to push the boundaries on production and bringing its content to new audiences.
sportbusiness.com

Florida Panthers announce arena naming rights agreement with Amerant Bank
The Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League has turned to one of its strongest commercial partners, Amerant Bank, to become the new naming-rights partner of its arena.
nhl.com

Minor League teams take MLB antitrust exemption to Supreme Court

It’s been 101 years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that professional baseball is exempt from antitrust scrutiny. Now, two minor league baseball teams that lost their MLB affiliations during the MiLB reorganization a few years ago are asking the Court to hear their case and overturn the exemption.
sportico.com

Noah Eagle joining Brooklyn Nets TV broadcasts on YES Network
Once his responsibilities on B1G Saturday Night conclude for the season with NBC Sports, Noah Eagle will be returning to the National Basketball Association, albeit on the other side of the country. The 25-year-old play-by-play broadcaster will join Brooklyn Nets broadcasts for approximately 10 games throughout the 2023-24 regular season, coinciding with the 30th year his father, Ian, will serve as the primary play-by-play announcer.
barrettsportsmedia.com

Next League introduces its new venue & events practice
Next League, a digital growth consultancy and technology services organization working exclusively within the global sports industry, announced the hires of Katherine Krohn, who will lead its new Venues & Events Practice, and Jenna Trabulus, as its VP, Client Strategy & Delivery. The Next League Venues & Events practice has been established to address the growing demand for comprehensive venue technology management services within the sports business industry.
nextleague.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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