CynopsisSports

Good morning. It’s Tuesday March 26, 2019 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

Turner Sports and CBS Sports’ coverage of the 2019 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship continued to deliver significant audience increases across all platforms. Live game coverage across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV is averaging a 6.4/15 HH rating/share in the metered markets, the second-highest rating through the first weekend since 1991, when the NCAA Tournament expanded to its current television format (6.7/14 in 2015). The 6.4/15 HH rating, based on Nielsen metered market delivery, is up 8% over last year (5.9/13). NCAA March Madness Live has set all-time records in live streams and live hours of consumption for the NCAA Tournament to date, with both seeing increases of more than 25% through the first full week. Additionally, Sunday’s third game telecast window from 5:15-9:15 PM, ET, highlighted by Duke’s down-to-the-wire victory over UCF, earned an 11.9/24 HH rating/share, up +35% from last year (8.8/18) and ranking as the second-highest rating for that game window in 29 years (12.1/23 in 2017).

ON THE AIR

For the third straight year Tennis Channel will be the exclusive home of the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, S.C., beginning on Monday, April 1. Once again, the network will give the tournament comprehensive national exposure with more than 50 live television hours throughout the week. Digital subscription service Tennis Channel Plus will have live matches during the event as well, offering more than 35 hours. Between television and digital streaming, Tennis Channel will give fans more than 100 hours of tennis from the Family Circle Tennis Center with live and encore broadcasts.

NBC Sports’ “Push for the Playoffs” features six NHL games on NBC and NBCSN with potential playoff implications this week, highlighted by a Wednesday Night Hockey doubleheader beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, when the Boston Bruins host the New York Rangers. Wednesday Night Hockey on NBCSN continues at 10 p.m. ET, when the Vegas Golden Knights visit the Colorado Avalanche.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will appear on ABC’s opening night presentation of the 2019 NFL Draft on ABC, live coast to coast from Nashville, Thursday, April 25 (8:00-11:30 p.m. ET), on The ABC Television Network and via streaming. Mahomes will join host Robin Roberts of Good Morning America on-set before the first pick during the prime-time broadcast of Round 1.

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SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

The NFL signed a two-year deal with Verizon that will take advantage of the mobile 5G network Verizon is planning to launch this year. The deal marks an expansion of Verizon’s NFL sponsorship and will lead to the development of mobile games, VR technology and better in-stadium experiences, the companies say. As part of the deal, Verizon will become the NFL’s Official 5G Innovation Partner.

NASCAR and GEICO announced a multi-year agreement designating the brand as the “Official Insurance Partner of NASCAR” and expanding its presence across the sport. GEICO’s involvement in NASCAR spans more than a decade through a partnership with International Speedway Corporation (ISC), which includes assets such as the GEICO Restart Zone, race entitlements and campgrounds sponsorships. The official partnership with NASCAR provides GEICO exclusive status and promotional rights in the insurance category across the country and U.S. military bases abroad.

Kraft Heinz, in partnership with the NHL and NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA) unveiled the top four finalist communities competing for the coveted title of Kraft Hockeyville USA 2019. Each of the four finalists will receive funds for rink upgrades from Kraft Heinz, with the grand prize winner awarded the opportunity to host an NHL pre-season game and receive $150,000 in rink upgrades. The runner-up will receive $30,000 in rink upgrades, and each second-place rink will receive $10,000 in rink upgrades. In addition, each of the four finalists will receive $10,000 worth of new hockey equipment from the NHLPA Goals & Dreams program.

Brewer D.G. Yuengling & Son has partnered with Phillies P Aaron Nola, who becomes one of the first active MLBers to have a deal with a beer brand. Elements of the deal will include personal appearances by Nola on behalf of the brand, special promotions/giveaways, local advertising in Philadelphia and support of Nola's community efforts in '19.

Digital video distribution platform SendtoNews (STN) announced a multi-year agreement with Major League Soccer) that gives STN exclusive distribution of MLS video content to local digital publishers across North America. As part of the agreement, SendtoNews receives digital rights to distribute MLS highlights, interviews and more to STN’s more than 1,600 local publishing partners.

The Pure Silk Championship in Williamsburg, Va. announced the addition of a new presenting partner, Visit Williamsburg, for the LPGA tournament at Kingsmill Resort, May 20-26. The Pure Silk Championship presented by Visit Williamsburg will showcase top women golfers from around the world as they compete for a $1.3 million purse in a 72‐hole stroke play tournament.

DIGITAL AND STREAMING

FloSports announced an agreement with Beat The Streets Wrestling (BTS) to provide live and on-demand coverage of the annual Beat The Streets New York City event, "Grapple at the Garden," on FloWrestling.com. This marks the fifth consecutive year of the event airing on FloWrestling. The annual BTS youth benefit will take place on Monday, May 6, from Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan.

CBS was the clear winner for the week of March 18, with the network’s broadcast of the week’s opening NCAA games taking all 10 slots on Tunity Analytics’ weekly list of Top 10 out-of-home sports programs. UCF vs. Duke on March 24 at 5 pm was the top viewed sports program, delivering more than a million more OOH viewers than the number two game, Washington vs. UNC, which aired earlier that afternoon at 2:30 pm. The top five were:

Game. - Network. - 000’s

UCF vs Duke - CBS 3/24/19 5:00 PM - 4080
Washington vs UNC - CBS 3/24/19 2:30 PM - 3016
Wofford vs. Kentucky - CBS 3/23/19 2:30 PM - 2901
Florida vs. Michigan - CBS 3/23/19 5:00 PM - 2868
Minnesota vs. Louisville - CBS 3/21/19 12:00 PM - 2092

For the first time in WWE history, a women’s match will be the main event of WrestleMania as the Raw Women’s Championship Match featuring Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch will take place on Sunday, April 7 at MetLife Stadium and streaming live on WWE Network.

These were the top Tweeted moments of the NCAA Tournament so far:

Duke defeats UCF 77-76 after UCF misses last-second tip in attempt
Ja Morant throws down huge slam dunk to give Murray State a 51-38 lead over Marquette
Auburn holds on to defeat New Mexico State 78-77
Tremont Waters hits layup with 1.6 seconds remaining to lift LSU over Maryland 69-67
UC Irvine collects its first win in NCAA tournament history with 70-64 victory over Kansas State

These were the top Tweeted games since the tournament began:

3/24: UCF vs. Duke
3/21: Murray State vs. Marquette
3/22: North Dakota State vs. Duke
3/24: Iowa vs. Tennessee
3/23: Wofford vs. Kentucky

These were the most mentioned players since the NCAA tournament began:

Ja Morant (Murray State)
Zion Williamson (Duke)
Tacko Fall (UCF)

ESPORTS

With Overwatch League teams slated to begin hosting home games next season, Comcast Spectacor, which owns the Philadelphia Fusion, will reportedly build a $50 million arena for the team. According to Philly.com, the company plans to break ground this summer on part of the 47-acre stadium complex site that Comcast Spectacor leases in South Philadelphia. The venue will seat 3,500 and be located next to Xfinity Live!. The building, however, will not be ready until the 2021 OWL season, with the team seeking a temporary home in the area during the 2020 season.

ROSTER MOVES

The USGA named former PGA Tour player JASON GORE Senior Dir of Player Relations

THE MAIN EVENT

The Houston Rockets visit the Milwaukee Bucks at 8:00 on TNT

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ON THIS DAY in 1917 the Seattle Metropolitans (PCHA) beat Montreal Canadiens (NHL), 9-1 for a 3-1 series victory; becoming the first US team to win the Stanley Cup.

In the Know: It’s the first week of spring, which means The Masters can’t be that far away. Who won the first Masters, 85 years ago this week? (Email chris-sports@cynopsis.com with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: Name a pair of teams located in the same state that faced each other in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship game Answer: Ohio State and Cincinnati Kudos to: Synda Kollman Charter Marketing Group, Tom Moore Kalt Productions, Greg Moloznik GLM MEDIA, John Ferlazzo, Andy Pittman TAMU, Jason Brist Outdoor Sportsman Group, Chicago, and Rich Wolfe, RichCraft, Scottsdale, Az..

Later -- Chris

Chris Pursell @VegasandVine
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