Sport & Story Daily September 28, 2023

Stay Ahead of the Game

September 28, 2023

Good morning! Volleyball’s momentum grows stronger as some heavyweight names buy in on a new pro league for the sport…

🏐 Candace Parker, Kevin Durant invest in women’s pro volleyball league
League One Volleyball (LOVB), the first professional full-season volleyball league in the United States, raised $35 million in its second round of funding, bolsters by investors that included Lindsey Vonn, Kevin Durant and Candace Parker as well as Jayson Tatum, Amy Schumer and Jordyn Poulter. LOVB’s inaugural season debuts next year, with six host cities of the league, including Atlanta, Houston, Omaha (Neb.), Salt Lake (Utah), Madison (Wisc.) as well as one more to be announced later this year. Read more here.

🏁 NASCAR: Spire Motorsports purchases Kyle Busch Motorsports
NASCAR Truck Series mainstay Kyle Busch Motorsports was sold to Spire Motorsports. “I’m at a different point in my life now than I was back in 2010," Busch said of the decision. "My family has grown, my Cup Series team changed this year and our son’s racing schedule has become as demanding as my own. It’s important to me to be able to spend more time with my family and my No. 8 team at Richard Childress Racing.” Read more here.

🏀 San Francisco poised for WNBA Team as soon as 2025
The WNBA is poised to add a team in San Francisco, as the league looks to grow by two teams by 2025. KTVU reports the WNBA is considering the Bay Area a finalist in their expansion plans, with the Golden State Warriors set to run the team. The Athletic says the Warriors are “finalizing” an agreement. Read more here.

🛑 As UEFA works on return for Russian youth teams, Ukraine promises boycott and urges others to join
With UEFA moving to once again allow Russian teams to play in European youth competitions, the Ukraine soccer federation said it will boycott any competition that includes Russia and urged other countries to refuse to play against Russian teams. Read more here.

📳 Utah Jazz launch streaming service
The Utah Jazz rolled out subscription details for its new Jazz+ streaming service, which will open doors this season as part of the NBA team’s revamped local broadcasting model. The annual subscription will give access to 80-plus preseason and regular season games, coming out to about $1.50 per game. It also offers exclusive behind-the-scenes Jazz content, such as on-demand games and video programming in the monthly tier. Read more here.

Your Vision Insights:

With MLB playoff interest at a fever pitch, here’s a look at the difference in sponsor receptivity when comparing Avid MLB fans to Casual MLB Fans. The Vision Insights avidity scale ranks fans on a scale from 1-7 (1’s being non-fans and 7’s being those fans most interested in each sport). Casual Fans are those fans ranked 2-4 and Avid fans are ranked 5-7.

How the NFL is marketing to Swifties
It’s not every day that a brand welcomes millions of new fans into its orbit literally in a matter of minutes, many of whom know little about the product—yet are eager to learn, driven by a passion and a community that’s famously second to none. That’s where the NFL found itself on Sunday, when Taylor Swift made a surprise appearance at a Kansas City Chiefs game.
adage.com

Judge dismisses Patrick Reed’s $1B defamation lawsuits against Golf Channel, Brandel Chamblee and others
A federal judge in Florida dismissed both of Patrick Reed’s defamation lawsuits Wednesday, ending the LIV Golf member’s litigation against the Golf Channel, The Associated Press and other reporters. Reed filed a pair of lawsuits last year seeking a combined at least $1 billion in damages after he claimed Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, the Golf Channel and others were conspiring with the PGA Tour to “engage in a pattern and practice of defaming” him since he was 23 years old.
yahoo.com

PGA Tour considers US investors to ease concerns over deal with Saudi-backed LIV Golf
High-profile US investors are being considered to help finance the PGA Tour’s transaction with Saudi-backed LIV Golf in an effort to ease political opposition to the deal. The PGA said it had received unsolicited interest from investors and it has a responsibility to its members, sponsors and fans to evaluate opportunities. bloomberg.com

Playfly Sports' data-driven commercial strategy and valuation practice expands footprint with wave of new partners
Playfly most recently announced the addition of Playfly Sports Consulting which will advise brands how best to deploy strategic investments through breakthrough activations across sports and entertainment. The Seattle Mariners, San Diego State University Mission Valley Development, the Houston Dynamo, and the North Carolina Courage / FC, are among the Consulting group’s most recent clients, with the team currently servicing over 15 active clients.
playfly.com

ESPN commentator pairings for 2023 MLB Wild Card Series revealed
ESPN will broadcast the Major League Baseball Wild Card Series for the second consecutive year and is bringing fans a lineup of experienced, versatile commentators in the booth. While the specific series that they will be calling has yet to be announced because of the ongoing Wild Card battles, the “Worldwide Leader” will bring comprehensive coverage to matchups with heavy implications.
barrettsportsmedia.com

ESPN+, ESPN2 and ESPNU combine to carry 2023-24 NBA G League games
ESPN+ will stream over 200 2023-24 NBA G League games, beginning on Tuesday, November 14, at 6 p.m. ET when the Grand Rapids Gold visit the Indiana Mad Ants in a 2023 NBA G League Showcase Cup matchup. Regular season games will stream live on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays throughout the season.
espnpressroom.com

Monday Night Football generates nearly 22 million viewers during two hours of overlapping games
ESPN platforms generated nearly 22 million viewers during Monday Night Football Week 3’s two hours of overlapping action. This week’s overlapping audience of 21,910,000 viewers, which includes fans watching on NFL+, is up from this season’s Week 2 audience with same start times (21.7 million viewers) and up 6% from the first MNF staggered start – Week 2 of the 2022 season.
espnpressroom.com

As the NHL lends an assist, top men’s players hope the new women’s hockey league thrives
The NHL is helping with scheduling and other logistics and will coordinate on crossover promotions and events. Men’s stars who have seen their female counterparts shine on the international stage are eager to watch and support the PWHL moving forward.
apnews.com

Manfred hopes MLB owners will vote in November on A’s proposed move to Las Vegas
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred hopes owners will hold a vote on the Oakland Athletics’ proposed move to Las Vegas when they meet from Nov. 14-16 at Arlington, Texas. The A’s said in April they planned to move to a ballpark to be constructed in Las Vegas and agreed the following month with Bally’s and Gaming & Leisure Properties to build a stadium on the Tropicana hotel site along the Las Vegas Strip.
apnews.com

AEG and Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board announce first-of-its-kind global strategic partnership
As part of the multiyear deal, facilitated by AEG Global Partnerships, LA Tourism will further enhance its worldwide promotional efforts through the extensive domestic and international reach and numerous consumer touchpoints across AEG’s global portfolio of sports and live entertainment assets. LA Tourism becomes an official partner of the LA Kings (NHL) as well as an official partner and the “Preferred Destination in America” of The O2 arena in London.
businesswire.com

Brendan Donohue to step down as NBA 2K League president
Brendan Donohue will step down as NBA 2K League President, Donohue, who has overseen the NBA 2K League since its inception, will stay on to assist with the transition to new NBA 2K League leadership until Oct. 31. The league – which was co-founded by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive and is the first official esports league operated by a U.S. professional sports league – has expanded from 17 teams in its inaugural season to 25 teams, including 22 NBA-affiliated teams and international franchises in Australia, China and Mexico.
nba.com

Popular sports talk personality teams up with SiriusXM’s Mike Babchik to host new morning show on Mad Dog Sports Radio channel
SiriusXM announced today that it has signed popular national sports radio personality Damon Amendolara to be the new morning host on its exclusive 24/7 all-sports channel, Mad Dog Sports Radio. Starting Monday, October 2, Amendolara will host The D.A. Show with Babchik, alongside longtime SiriusXM personality Mike Babchik, every weekday morning from 6-9 am ET.
radioinsight.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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