SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION
StubHub announced a multi-year agreement with the National Football League that makes the company the "NFL Authorized Ticket Resale Marketplace" beginning with the 2018-2019 season. StubHub will be directly integrated with the primary ticketing systems of the League and its clubs, providing an official, safe and seamless way for fans to buy and sell NFL tickets on any digital device. "We are thrilled that the NFL has chosen StubHub's massive, industry-leading marketplace to give its fans a seamless and reliable ticketing experience," said Perkins Miller, GM North America of StubHub. "We applaud the NFL for being among the first professional sports leagues to provide its fans more choices than ever when it comes to buying and selling tickets."
The United Soccer Leagues named Odell as the Preferred Stadium Design Provider for the league. The two-year partnership includes all related properties, including the United Soccer League, USL’s Division III, the Premier Development League (PDL) and the Super Y League. “We are thrilled to have Odell as our Preferred Stadium Design Supplier. There are many USL clubs that are exploring a potential new stadium development, or have already started down that path,” said USL President Jake Edwards. “These venues have the potential to become beacons within their respective markets. Odell brings decades of sports-specific experience to help our clubs design facilities that properly represent their community, while serving the needs of soccer fans.”
DIGITAL & STREAMING
FloSports locked in an exclusive deal with bd Global to air four NCAA Division I tournaments, as well as an extension with Basketball Travelers to broadcast the 2017 GCI Great Alaska Shootout tournament, as well as a partnership with Rice Athletics to air five men’s and women’s basketball games during the 2017-18 season. FloSports’ expanded agreement with BTI also includes the addition of Andy Katz, who will serve as an on-air analyst and sideline reporter for the men’s 2017 Paradise Jam on Nov. 17-19, as well as contribute interviews and analysis to FloHoops.com.
SAP and the Women’s Tennis Association announced a new online portal that will offer data and insights to media in real time during WTA tournaments - SAP Tennis Analytics. The software uses innovative technologies and analytics to enhance the sport for tennis for players, coaches, tournament organizers, media and fans and includes instant side-by-side player, tournament and career comparisons during live matches.
The Olympic Channel will showcase the Olympic Flame Lighting ceremony with online coverage from Olympia today at 5a. on
olympicchannel.com and its mobile apps.
Following the flame lighting ceremony, the Olympic Channel will be on the ground in Greece and in the Korean city of Incheon on Nov. 1 to mark “100 days to go” as the torch makes its way to PyeongChang for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games
on Feb. 9.
Twitter reports that - since the MLB #Postseason began on Oct. 3 - there have been nearly 13.5 million playoff related Tweets. Factoids include that Jose Altuve ranks as the most mentioned World Series player on Twitter, with 210k mentions since the playoffs began. Meanwhile, Justin Turner (@redturn2) was the most mentioned Dodger on Twitter during the postseason with 183k mentions this October.
ESPORTS
Cloud9 raised $25 million in Series A financing from some familiar faces, announcing new investment from company that include the WWE, Monumental Sports & Entertainment co-owner Raul Fernandez, the Beverly Hills Sports Council, CAA co-founder Michael Ovitz, venture capital firm Founders Fund and a joint investment from tech investors David Sacks and Bill Lee. "We just looked around the space, looked at all the players and did our own evaluation of who we thought would be successful in the long term," WWE chief strategy and financial officer George Barrios told ESPN.
One of the teams representing Los Angeles in the upcoming Overwatch League locked in its moniker, with the team – owned by the Immortals – becoming known as the Los Angeles Valiant. The logo sports a gold-winged helmet representing “both aggressiveness and protectiveness, values which resonate for Overwatch players working together in-game and Valiant parent organization Immortals as it starts a new adventure in the league.”
Speaking of Blizzard, the publisher announced that the Heroes Global Championship in 2018 will see a refreshed league structure and enhanced viewing experience next year. All HGC matches will be livestreamed at 1080p and 60 frames per second in 2018 and streamed in languages beyond English on Blizzard-owned channels all year long with the new season starting on Jan. 26. The eight teams in each region will battle for ten weeks in the run-up to the Mid-Season Brawl, pausing after five weeks for the Eastern Clash (Korea and China plus a team from Taiwan) or the Western Clash (Europe and North America). The same sequence repeats over the second half of the year, except teams will be striving for the championship at the HGC Finals. In a twist for 2018, Clash winners will open up an additional spot for another team from their home region at the Mid-Season Brawl or HGC Finals, depending on which half of the year the Clash in question occurs in.
Lagardere Sports inked an exclusive worldwide deal with RFRSH Entertainment that will see the agency represent the media rights for the Counter-Strike (CS:GO) BLAST Pro Series. Six of the world’s best Counter-Strike:Global Offensive teams will come together in Copenhagen’s Royal Arena for the new esports tournament, before continuing in major cities across the globe. The deal marks Lagardere Sports’ first step in to esports media rights.
ROSTER MOVES
STATS announced that it has named Casey Wasserman as its newest Board Director. “Casey is one of the most admired and respected executives across sports, entertainment, marketing and media and he and Wasserman will serve as exceptional counsel for STATS,” said STATS CEO Ken Fuchs. “We share a common drive to find new ways for fans to get closer to the game, to help athletes and teams excel, and to support brands in telling their stories around the culture of sports.”
THE MAIN EVENT
Astros/Dodgers on FOX at 8p.