Sport & Story Daily September 6, 2023

Stay Ahead of the Game

September 6, 2023

Good morning! After IOC President Bach hinted at the addition of cricket for LA 2028, the sport is now on the cusp of finally breaking into the Olympic lineup…

🏏 Report: Cricket to be added to 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles
A new report is confirming that Olympic honchos will give the greenlight to the addition of cricket as a new sport for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. The International Olympic Committee’s executive board will vote on additional sports for the LA Games on Friday with the Times reporting that men’s and women’s T20 cricket will be included. Any decision will need to be ratified by the IOC’s session in Mumbai, India, next month. Read more here.

📝 Bills’ Allen is newest Gatorade athlete
Bills quarterback Josh Allen locked in a deal with Gatorade as part of a larger deal with PepsiCo ahead of the upcoming NFL season. The multi-year deal sees the two-time Pro Bowler gain access to Gatorade’s Sports Science Institute lab testing as part of the deal, with Allen becoming the sixth NFL player on Gatorade’s athlete roster. Read more here.

⛱ ESPN pillar Mortensen confirms retirement
Longtime NFL reporter Chris Mortensen announced his retirement from ESPN after three decades. The longtime NFL reporter revealed that he stepped away following the draft to focus on "health, family and faith." Read more here.

😎 Oakley extends official on-field partnership with the NFL
The NFL scored another deal with Oakley, renewing their on-field partnership and license agreement as the official eyewear provider through 2030. The seven-year extension follows the announcement of the eyewear brand’s NFL FLAG partnership and latest drop of Patrick Mahomes II Signature Series Collection. Looking ahead, Oakley is equipping all 32 teams and staff with pro-shields and eyewear. Read more here.

🏎 Michael Andretti rebrands eponymous racing empire to Andretti Global
Michael Andretti is rebranding his racing behemoth from Andretti Autosport to Andretti Global, applying the parent company name to his entire organization. Andretti Global currently operates in eight motorsports series across six continents and is pushing hard to enter both Formula One and NASCAR. Along with the name change, the current Andretti Autosport shield will be replaced with the Andretti Global logo. Read more here.

Disney/Charter showdown braces for long-game
unications over a carriage dispute that has left nearly 15 million cable TV subscribers without ESPN or other Disney-affiliated networks, both sides are now pushing audiences to outside platforms in order to see games. Charter is telling its Spectrum TV customers about a special deal being offered by the Fubo live television while Disney is offering upset Spectrum customers online links to sign up for other services, like Hulu, Fubo, Sling and YouTubeTV.
apnews.com

Warner Bros. Discovery cash woes could hit sports rights
The ongoing Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes have already dealt a significant financial blow to Warner Bros. Discovery — and now could ultimately impact the company’s ability to acquire additional sports rights. On Tuesday, the parent of networks such as TBS and TNT said in a filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission that the tandem Hollywood strikes — the first such paired actions since 1960 — have negatively impacted its projected full-year adjusted earnings by about $300 million to $500 million.
frontofficesports.com

Biden campaign unveils new TV ad during NFL season kickoff
President Biden’s reelection campaign unveiled a new ad that will highlight his economic agenda during the NFL season opener. The ad will run Thursday for the prime-time game between the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs. It will target battleground states and appear on national cable networks, as well as on digital and Connected TV.
thehill.com

CJ Group takes over as Byron Nelson tournament sponsor
The CJ Group will take over as the title sponsor of the longstanding PGA Tour stop in Dallas, with the event being named THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson.The first installment is scheduled to be held May 2-5 at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas. The tournament is part of the FedExCup regular season, with the champion earning 500 Cup points.
sportsnaut.com

Peyton and Eli line up season three plans
ESPN and Omaha Productions’ popular Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli returns – with quarter-zip sweaters and brotherly banter – for its third season, bringing fans witty commentary, stellar guests, top-notch analysis and, special this year, a new 3-dimensional technology for Peyton to interact with throughout the telecast. Week one will see appearances from Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurts, among others. All telecasts will air on ESPN2, with select shows on ESPN+. All presentations also available on NFL+. espnpressroom.com

NFL players follow musical passion to create songs featured on Madden 24 video game
When Miami Dolphins tackle Terron Armstead achieved his dream of being drafted into the NFL over a decade ago, he put his musical aspirations aside. Many other pro football players did the same thing. But now, three powerhouses —the NFL, Interscope Geffen A&M Records and Electronic Arts Sports — have partnered to empower players to pursue their music dreams.
apnews.com

NBC Sports Regional Networks launch weekly pro football preview show, ‘Benny Vs. The Penny,’ this weekend
The NBC Sports Regional Networks are launching a new pro football preview show led by sports radio personality Ben Maller, Benny vs. The Penny, beginning this weekend. The half-hour program, which features sportscaster Tomm Looney as Maller’s sidekick, debuts new editions on weekends through the postseason. tvnewscheck.com

SiriusXM announces extensive coverage for 2023 NFL season
For this Thursday’s Kickoff matchup between the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs and the Detroit Lions (8:20 pm ET in Kansas City), subscribers who are listening on the radio in their cars can hear the Chiefs broadcast on channel 85 or 225*, the Lions broadcast on 83 or 226*, the Westwood One national radio broadcast on channel 88 and the Spanish-language broadcast on 135 or 227*.
siriusxm.com

Meta unveils AR and social features for Rugby World Cup 2023
Meta is rolling out a range of Rugby World Cup-themed features across its social media platforms as part of its role as the official social media and augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) supplier of the tournament, which begins in France this week.
sportspromedia.com

Latest NWSL club sale will show league’s value
Laura Ricketts’ purchase of the NWSL’s Chicago Red Stars has grown into a larger transaction designed to jumpstart the franchise in one of the league’s key markets. The deal, expected for several weeks, includes a purchase price of up to $35.5 million, a record for an existing NWSL team — just edging out the $35 million Michele Kang paid last year for the Washington Spirit. But the Red Stars agreement also includes another $25 million to be invested directly into the club.
frontofficesports.com

State of NFL stadiums: Smaller, pricier, busier venues on the way
The NFL season opens this week, and in a multi-part series, Sportico is examining one of the main components of ever-rising team valuations: the stadium.
sportico.com

NFL Network adds six analysts ahead of the 2023 NFL season
Former All-Pro defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, 14-year veteran quarterback Chase Daniel, former Stanford head coach David Shaw, former head coach and long-time assistant coach Leslie Frazier, former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton, and Super Bowl champion running back Robert Turbin have joined NFL Network as analysts, it was announced today.All six will appear on a variety of NFL Network studio shows, as well as the network's coverage of such events as Super Bowl, NFL Scouting Combine and NFL Draft.
nflcommunications.com

Spanish soccer federation fires women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda amid Rubiales controversy
The Spanish soccer federation fired women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda on Tuesday, less than three weeks after his team won the Women’s World Cup title and amid the controversy involving suspended federation president Luis Rubiales. Montse Tomé was appointed as Vilda’s replacement, making her the first woman to hold the job. She had been one of Vilda’s assistant coaches since 2018.
apnews.com

Weiler re-elected as International Taekwon-Do Federation President on "closed list" ticket
Germany's Paul Weiler has been re-elected as President of the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) on a ticket which also included a senior vice-president, vice-president and treasurer. Canada's Clint Norman has been re-elected as senior vice-president, with Belgium's Annick van Driessche becoming vice-president and Israel's Leonardo Oros Duek returned as treasurer.
insidethegames.biz

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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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