SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION
The West Coast Conference announced that Los Angeles-based University Credit Union will serve as the title sponsor of the Conference’s men’s and women’s basketball championships in a multi-year deal. The 2019 University Credit Union West Coast Conference Basketball Championships will run March 7-12 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The agreement was secured by the WCC’s multi-media rights partner, Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment. As title sponsor, University Credit Union will receive an integrated marketing presence before and during the marquee basketball championships.
Major League Baseball and Discovery Education announced the launch of a new, multiyear partnership that brings Major League Baseball’s content into Discovery Education’s Science Techbooks. Educators will help students connect the world of baseball to key science and STEM concepts through real-world data and gameday experiences that fuel deeper engagement. During this initial phase of the partnership, a variety of MLB-themed content has been integrated into Discovery Education’s STEM Connect and Steaming Plus services.
Wawa , Inc. selected POV Sports Marketing as its official sports marketing agency of record to manage its respective sports partnerships within the corporate footprint, as well as provide strategic counsel into future associations for the brand. Leading the Wawa business for POV Sports Marketing will be Senior Vice President Greg Coleman.
DIGITAL, DATA & TECH
The NBA, National Basketball Players Association and 2K, a wholly-owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software and publisher of the basketball video game NBA 2K, announced a multiyear global partnership extension. “The NBA has been an outstanding partner throughout the history of the NBA 2K franchise, contributing significantly to its unparalleled success and the ability to grow its audience around the world across a myriad of platforms and offerings,” said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Take-Two. “We’re thrilled to be in business with Adam and the entire team at the NBA, and enter into the longest-ever partnership extension between our organizations. Together, we’re confident that we will continue to find new and innovative ways to captivate and engage basketball fans, and expand further the success of the NBA 2K brand.”
The PGA TOUR announced that PGA TOUR LIVE, the org’s OTT subscription video service, is now available as a subscription on Prime Video Channels for customers in the U.S., with coverage beginning Thursday from the Desert Classic in Palm Springs. Amazon Prime members can sign up for PGA TOUR LIVE for $9.99 per month or $64.99 per season.
ESPORTS
Lagardere Sports inked a multi-year partnership with the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) designed to target “the commercialisation of the newly established LEC” and collaborate in multiple areas to further develop esports in Europe. Lagardere Sports will act as the exclusive sponsorship agency for the LEC and leverage the long-term knowledge in sports sponsorship consulting and activation to conceptualize and establish long-term partnerships between endemic and non-endemic brands and the LEC. The two companies will create future initiatives designed will enhance the relevance of the league as well as esports as a whole, including the “development of innovative sponsorship concepts and unique activations that guarantee brands to reach a highly involved and young target group.” As part of the partnership Lagardere Sports will launch a microsite informing about the agency’s esports activities and the sponsorship opportunities at the LEC.
Global esports organization Gen.G appointed Chris Park as Chief Executive Officer. Gen.G has also announced that co-founder Kevin Chou will assume the role as Executive Chairman. Park most recently served at Major League Baseball where he served since 2015, most recently as Executive Vice President, Product & Marketing. He will be setting and guiding the day-to-day execution of Gen.G’s strategy in a close partnership with Chou, and will relocate from New York City to Gen.G’s new headquarters in Los Angeles.
SK Gaming announced new ownership following the acquisition of ESForce's shares by Mercedes-Benz and 1. FC Köln. “We also want to use this opportunity to thank ESForce Holding for their trust and guidance over the past two years and especially all those who have supported us along the way - players, employees as well as our fans,” the team said in a statement. “It's been an incredible ride and we wouldn't be here without any of you. Please expect more news from us in the coming weeks and months, we are excited for what is to come in 2019 and beyond!”
HyperX is launching “We’re All Gamers” a major national advertising campaign today that will feature its lineup of celebrity influencers including musician Post Malone, top athletes Gordon Hayward, Joel Embiid, JuJu Smith-Schuster, De’Aaron Fox and celebrity gamers Pokimane, Shroud, Daigo, and Rush. The campaign will run on television, digital and social channels in 2019 and as the new presenting sponsor of the NBA Saturday Primetime telecasts, HyperX will begin airing the ad campaign on Saturday on ABC and ESPN and will continue through the playoffs and the NBA Finals.
INDUSTRY & ROSTER MOVES
The National Women’s Soccer League named Amanda Duffy as President of the league. Duffy joined the NWSL in January 2017 as Managing Director of Operations. In her new role as President, she will continue to oversee all aspects of the league’s day-to-day operations and will work closely with the league’s owners on the strategic direction and objectives for NWSL as it continues to grow and raise standards for the sport on a global basis.
Former head of NBC Sports ad sales Seth Winter was named as head of sports sales for the new FOX, which will include Fox Broadcasting, Fox Sports 1, Fox News and Fox Business Network.
Relevent Sports announced that long-time NBA Executive Aaron Ryan will serve as the company’s Chief Operating Officer. Overseeing all internal operations, Ryan’s focus will be on the continued growth of Relevent Sports.
THE MAIN EVENT
Raptors/Celtics on ESPN at 8p.