CYNOPSISSPORTS
11.16.15 Good morning. It’s Monday November 16, 2015, and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.
After taking the reins of MMA franchise World Series of Fighting earlier this year, company CEO Carlos Silva has worked quickly to entrench the promotion’s roots across the media spectrum. After adding the likes of Mark Ford, Mark Stevens and John Weiser to its Board of Directors, extending ties with IMG, and giving the company a digital overhaul, WSOF now hits the weekend with a card on Friday at 9p on NBCSN that will feature the company’s first-ever one-night, eight-man elimination tournament, designed to name a top contender for its lightweight division.
Cynopsis Sports spoke with Silva about his plans to grow the league, how it will be extending its fan base and where in the world the promotion will target next.
Silva on taking the job: The immediate goal when I took this job was to shore up some of our relationships. The team is terrific. Ray and Ali and Keith on the operations side put on plenty of fights before I joined and I would consistently hear from people that WSOF put on great fights. I think that my immediate goal was to come in and move the company from just focusing on events into a media platform. Obviously, NBC is the center of that wheel, but as we look at what people are doing in the OTT market and what they are doing with streaming, and what we are doing with the rest of the world there are a lot more opportunities out there. When you combine that with what we are starting to do by aggregating our digital audience we’ve been laying that foundation.
On digital changes: I’m a big believer that we are thrown in to this multiple league fighting world. Obviously there is the UFC, Bellator, and a dozen others and I think that there is a real audience around the content for the sport itself and the buzz from their events and what the fighters do in their personal lives. The team we are putting together knows how to put an audience together that is interested in that. If I can aggregate eyeballs and audience, that helps me tell more people about World Series of Fighting. That’s the approach we are going to take when we do the relaunch.
On adding tournaments: We are looking for some new, exciting ways to package and promote. We’ve got a great division and eight great fighters and thought it would be a great promotion to give all of those guys a shot. Whoever does win that tournament, they are going to be a worthy competitor when they fight for the championship, probably in March or April. It gives a little bit of buzz and excitement. Brackets have been a part of my life from my days playing sports and just like in March Madness, when you see an underdog upset a powerhouse, you start rooting for that team whether you went to college there or not. I think the same kind of thing is going to happen here.
On international strategy: IMG has been a good partner. I’ve known Hillary quite a long time from my Universal Sports days. I think they are as good a partner as you can have. The international piece is difficult and some of that is having all of these countries known your brand. Getting out there and talking to all of these revenue drivers around the world is a big, important factor for us. I’m happy with the new deal, and I think we will just continue to grind it out. We need to see more growth in South America and I think now that Germany has changed some rules for MMA, they are an interesting opportunity as is Russia. While we are doing pretty well in Asia, there should be some more growth there as well.
Another shakeup in the middle of the College Football Playoff ranks on Saturday handed ESPN/ABC with three of the four highest-rated games for the week, with ABC’s Saturday Night Football pitting Oklahoma/Baylor handing the network with a 4.2 overnight score, marking the week’s best overnight across all networks. Top markets were: Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Austin, Columbus and Dallas-Fort Worth. Elsewhere, Ohio State/Illinois drummed up a 2.8 while Arkansas/LSU scored a 2.0.
Speaking of ESPN, the company announced plans to showcase the music of Atlantic recording artists for the third consecutive year during its extensive college basketball coverage this season. Artists will include Flo Rida, Skrillex and Twenty One Pilots, who are set to perform at the upcoming Winter X-Games in Aspen on January 29, 2016. “ESPN’s collaboration with Atlantic Records continues to enhance our men’s and women’s college basketball coverage with the talented artists and their music,” said Kevin Wilson, ESPN music director.
Elsewhere on the college basketball front, Las Vegas will play host to another post-season tournament, with the new “Vegas 16” tipping off in March. The new 16-team event will be managed by sports marketing firm bd Global and serve as a Postseason NIT-ish gathering, with schools playing a single-elimination tournament at one location from March 26-30, 2016 with most, if not all, games televised nationally. “While the NCAA Tournament continues to rule Madness, there’s been a real need to create an affordable, attractive event at a destination location for teams who have had a terrific season yet were unable to qualify as one of the top 68 programs on Selection Sunday,” said Brooks Downing, President and CEO of bd Global. “Our research indicates we will attract high-quality programs with this simplistic approach. This will be a premium event in one premium location.”
On the baseball front, MLB Network launches BBWAA Awards Week today starting at 6p featuring the exclusive live announcements of the AL and NL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Awards. Later honors will see the Manager of the Year Awards announced on Tuesday, Cy Young Awards on Wednesday, and MVP Awards on Thursday. Each show will feature live interviews with award finalists and winners, along with analysis from many BBWAA members and voters.
The Tampa Bay Rays won the honors to make the historical trip to Cuba for an exhibition game during spring training if MLB opts to make the move. According to the New York Times, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred drew the Rays on Friday from a bin of teams that wanted to make the trip.
Which athletes are changing the conversation on social media? Find out when MVPIndex unveils its 2015 rankings of the top sports brand ambassadors from the past year. Company co-founder and CMO Kyle Nelson will present the company’s annual listings of stars in a can’t-miss session at the Cynopsis Sports Engagement Summit on Dec. 2. Get your tickets now and don’t miss out on the report!
The Pac-12 is already booking a return trip to China, with Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott announcing that Stanford University and Harvard University will face off in the 2016 Pac-12 China Game presented by Alibaba Group on Nov. 12. Federation of University Sports of China (FUSC), which operates under China’s Ministry of Education, will serve as the co-host for the game. “We are thrilled to announce Stanford and Harvard for next year’s game,” said Scott. “Both universities represent the very best of academic and athletic excellence, and we anticipate a great reception from the Chinese and global audience.” In addition to the game, the 2016 Pac-12 China Game will also feature educational and cultural experiences for student-athletes and university delegations.
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE
DECEMBER 2 I NEW YORK CITY Join Cynopsis Sports at this year’s Engagement Summit, an event that will bring together some of the most accomplished executives in the world of sports, spanning marketing, technology, public relations, eSports, and social media. As an attendee, you will gain exclusive insight into the techniques, strategies and tactics that have been successful for brands, leagues and networks as they motivate, activate and aggregate their fans. Register today!.
Hyundai continues to rev up its NFL activations, announcing its return to the Super Bowl on Feb. 7 with the new creative that will run during the first and second quarter of the game. Hyundai also announced that it has locked in the pre-kick slot and will run a new 60-second ad as viewers are prepare to watch the game, while the pregame show will also feature another all-new 60-second spot. "It’s fitting that our most strategic Super Bowl marketing program ever at Hyundai is happening during Super Bowl 50 and what is anticipated to be the most-watched TV event of all time," said Dean Evans, CMO, Hyundai Motor America. "Our entire marketing team, both internally and at the agency, is hard at work developing the integrated campaign that includes four new ads and bringing attention to some of the dynamic vehicles and technologies that make up Hyundai’s lineup in a fun and engaging way."
Universal’s Minions are now heading to NASCAR. The studio announced that the stars of its hit Minions, will be at the Ford Championship Weekend from November 20-22, with Kevin, Stuart and Bob making appearances with fans and participating in the Ford EcoBoost 400 pre-race ceremonies. Hoda Kotb will serve as Grand Marshal. In addition, the Minions will introduce the "Minionwagon", a unique Ford Transit Connect Wagon that will be making appearances on a road trip at select locations, including as the Grand Marshal car for Ford Championship Weekend and a stop at Universal Orlando Resort, on their way to the Today Show in New York City. The Minions will also serve as the entitlement sponsor of the "Minions Kids Zone" in the Homestead-Miami Speedway display area.
Heading north, Daytona International Speedway locked in a multi-year partnership with commercial cleaning franchise company Jani-King, which will see the brand serve as the Official Cleaning Company of Daytona International Speedway and the Daytona 500. The deal will see Jani-King receive brand exposure via sponsor signage and the ability to use the DIS and event marks for promotional purposes. In addition, Jani-King will receive corporate hospitality opportunities for entertaining guests during Speedweeks.
Texas A&M is looking to lock in its claim on the 12th Man trademark, filing a federal lawsuit against the Indianapolis Colts, according to the AP. The university trademarked the football team’s "Home of the 12th Man" name in 1990. According the report, Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp said at a Board of Regents meeting that multiple attempts to keep the Colts from using the "12th Man" trademark failed and the school proceeded with the lawsuit in U.S. District Court.
UFC announced today the launch of the official UFC app on Amazon’s App store, offering access to all UFC Pay Per View broadcasts as well as UFC Fight Pass. The UFC app will initially be available in North America, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, China, Japan, Australia, Spain, France and Italy, and will support in-app purchasing in local currencies. The app will also showcase access to UFC weigh-ins, press conferences and other live streams.
Germany is about to be plugged in to WWE Network. Starting Jan. 5, fans in the country can order the platform at $9.99 USD per month. WWE Network will first be available on desktop, laptop and mobile devices followed by Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Roku and Smart TVs in time for Royal Rumble.
NBC Sports reports that CSNPhilly.com set a new traffic record on Nov. 9 with 1.5 million visits in one day, the highest in the site’s history, and a record 1.4 million unique visitors. The milestones were driven by the Eagles’ win over the Cowboys on SNF as well as Monday’s live stream of the Sixers-Bulls game.
Sports crowdfunding website FanAngel officially relaunched with a new look and mantra, and is now partnering with athletes to fundraise special philanthropic and community initiatives “backed by sports fans and corporate brands looking to make a difference.” First out of the gate is a campaign with the Broncos’ Von Miller to benefit Von’s Vision, providing eyeglasses and eye exams to children in need. Each week, the site will feature several athlete and team lead campaigns that aim to reach a financing goal with the support of fans who can make a direct donation or Pledge4Play, in which they, the fans, pledge money for specific win, score, or performance outcomes. The company will soon expand to other professional sports such as NBA Basketball, NHL Hockey, MLB Baseball and Global Soccer.
With the gauntlet legal thrown, fantasy-sports websites DraftKings and FanDuel separately filed appeals to stop the motion by New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman to block business to the companies on the grounds that they represent gambling. In a statement, DraftKings noted that the New York AG’s ruling “is unconstitutional, an abuse of discretion and simply wrong.” The daily fantasy-sports sites are appealing to the New York Supreme Court to overturn the AG’s decision. Meanwhile, according to Ad Age, DraftKings has asked some of its NBA partners to defer about 10% of its committed payments, and requested that its signs and banners in arenas show up on TV less often.
She may have finally been beaten, but Ronda Rousey will continue to be a primary face of UFC, with EA announcing that EA Sports UFC2 will feature Rousey as its global cover athlete. The game will launch in the spring and feature an all-new Knockout Physics System for the sequel, along with authentic gameplay features and the biggest ever roster of real-world fighters in a MMA game.
Texans/Bengals on ESPN at 8:30p.
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE
ON THIS DAY in 1982: The NFL Management Council and the NFL Players’ Association announce a settlement of a 57-day player strike.
In The Know: Which NBA Hall of Famer fought Bruce Lee in Game of Death? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)
Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: : Name two universities that have each won multiple championships in both men’s college basketball and college football? Answer: Popular answers included Ohio State, Michigan and UCLA but the correct answers are Michigan State and Florida. Kudos: Joseph Tafuri-Haversack Consulting/NY; Keith Marder-Halstead Property/NY; David F. Baer-Syracuse University/NY; Michael Ritz-BucStar Consulting/NY; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Lance Phegley-Texas Runner and Triathlete magazine/Houston; Kevin Micklo-Pinnacle Advertising/Chicago; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Brian Robin-Brener Zwikel & Associates/Reseda; Shawn Kopelakis- FOX Sports West/LA.
Later — Chris
Chris Pursell for Cynopsis | Sports @VegasandVine
11.16.15
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