CynopsisSports

Good morning. It’s Thursday May 9, 2019 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

CBS takes on the 101st PGA Championship as the annual event shifts to its new May slot, serving up coverage highlighted by the third and final rounds on May 18 and 19, running 2-7p on both days. Jim Nantz anchors beside Sir Nick Faldo, along with Ian Baker-Finch on hole 17, Gary McCord at the 16th hole; Frank Nobilo at the 15thhole; Verne Lundquist on #14; Bill Macatee at #13.

Programming includes PGA Championship on the Range, PGA Championship Clubhouse Report, PGA Championship Replay, and PGA Championship Archives. For production, for the first time ever on any golf broadcast, CBS will debut Aerial Tracing. Other elements include motion capture, 4D Replay, hawk-Eye Green Technology and Toptracer along with nearly 200 cameras and 175 microphones covering 41 miles of multi-strand fiber.

PROGRAMMING

Former Browns All-Pro offensive tackle Joe Thomas was signed by NFL Network, where he will take part in on-location pregame and postgame shows for the 13 Thursday Night Football games during the 2019 season and appear on NFL Network's expansive coverage of such events as Super Bowl LIV, the NFL Scouting Combine and the NFL Draft, as well as various NFL Network programs such as NFL Total Access and NFL GameDay Morning. "I am thrilled to join NFL Network and Thursday Night Football," Thomas said. "Th roughout my playing career, I quickly realized there are few events which can rival the excitement and action of primetime NFL games, and having the chance to be a part of th at atmosphere each week is something I greatly look forward to."

Speaking of which, the New York Post reports that NFL Network is cutting five current series as the channel’s budget gets chopped by $20 million. Among the programs reportedly axed will be 21 & Prime, Power Rankings, Pick ‘em, Playbook and Mic’d Up, which are now off the air, with weekend editions of Good Morning Football also up in the air. The network however stated that its programming budget has increased but will be spent in different ways including the league’s 100th anniversary.

Kenan Thompson will host the 2019 NHL Awards presented by Bridgestone on June 19, broadcast live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on NBCSN and Sportsnet in the U.S. and Canada at 8p. “My first movie role was in ‘D2: The Mighty Ducks’ so my connection to hockey dates back to my childhood,” said Thompson. “I have a great deal of admiration for hockey players and the NHL, so I’m excited to be a part of the 2019 NHL Awards show and its celebration of the year’s best performances.”

EPIX is partnering up with NFL Films to launch the weekly series NFL: The Grind starting Sept. 11 at 9p. Overall, 17 episodes will run during the NFL season, serving as a weekly destination for “the final word on the week in football, as well as an up close and personal, inside look at life in the NFL - on and off the field - across the endurance test that is the NFL season.” Each episode will feature original field pieces - each hosted by an NFL veteran – designed to give fans an inside look behind the grind, documenting never-before-told stories of NFL players, coaches and more as they navigate the season.

ESPN announced at The espnW Summit NYC that it will be the exclusive broadcaster of the inaugural Aurora Games Festival, designed to provide a platform to shine a light on women’s sports and culture. The event, running Aug. 20-25, takes place at the Times Union Center in Albany will air on ESPNU and ESPN3 all six nights. Sports at the festival include tennis, gymnastics, basketball, ice hockey, figure skating and beach volleyball, with table tennis featured as an exhibition offering.

Combate Americas unveiled its first-ever featherweight world championship event headlining the Mixed Martial Arts sports franchise’s debut in the state of New Mexico and taking place on both Univision (12a and UDN (and in English in the U.S. and Canada on DAZN at 11p. In the world championship main event and a highly-anticipated rematch, 2018 “Copa Combate” tournament winner Andres “The Bullet” Quintana (18-2) will square off with Bruno “Aquiles” Cannetti(8-6).

SiriusXM offersplay-by-play and talk coverage of the PGA Championship, taking place May 16-19. Live hole-by-hole coverage, which SiriusXM will co-produce with Westwood One, will air starting at noon all four days of Championship play, for nearly 30 hours of live tournament play-by-play from the course, hosted by Brian Katrek and Taylor Zarzour who will handle the play-by-play, with Charlie Rymer and Carl Paulson serving as the analysts in the booth .

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SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

beIN SPORTS USA and HC2 Network announced a partnership with Azteca America, to represent media sales under one banner in the United States. The partnership comes ahead of the 2019-2020 Upfront season and marks a television network milestone as Azteca America leads media sales for beIN’s English and Spanish-language TV channels to cover advertisers and clients on an exclusive basis – including beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Español and beIN SPORTS CONNECT. “It is a new day at beIN SPORTS USA as we combine the stellar market reputation of Azteca America with the global sports portfolio and industry excellence of our programming to deliver innovative options to advertisers th roughout the U.S.,” said Antonio Briceño, beIN SPORTS' Deputy Managing Director for the U.S. and Canada. “Th is is another testament to the power of partnership between key players in the media space to deliver unique offerings to advertisers.”

With the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 just 30 days away, FOX Sports debuted its “All Eyes on Us” spot, taking fans I”nside a heart-pounding, midfield moment with the defending World Champion, U.S. Women’s National Team.” Alex Morgan, Mallory Pugh, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, Tobin Heath , Crystal Dunn, Julie Ertz and Becky Sauerbrunn take center stage, with Carrie Coon narrating. “In ‘All Eyes on Us,’ we take you on to the field in a way you typically don’t see,” says Robert Gottlieb, FOX Sports’ EVP, Head of Marketing. “You’re really going to feel like a part of the action with the U.S. team. We know how powerful this sport is and couldn’t be more proud to be the ambassadors for it, bringing the tournament into everyone’s living rooms this summer.”

Meanwhile, Coca-Cola takes on the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, tapping the talents of USWNT stars Alex Morgan, Kelley O’Hara and Crystal Dunn, who are asking fans to #BelieveWith Us and sport the Coca-Cola Believe Wristband to rally fans nationwide in support of the USWNT. The Coca-Cola Believe Wristbands are available to fans by scanning the “I Believe” wristband on 20-oz. summer Coke bottles and as a giveaway during the team’s “Countdown to the Cup” series.

Bud Light is leveraging virtual reality and actual seats from iconic Mexican soccer stadium Estadio Azteca to soccer fans in Las Vegas to experience a live soccer match taking place hundreds of miles away on this evening at The Park @ Beerhaus in Las Vegas for the Club América vs. Cruz Azul liguilla playoff game. The “Seats of Glory” from the legendary Estadio Azteca stadium will be relocated to Las Vegas where fans can slip on a state-of-the-art VR headset to be transported hundreds of miles away to experience that Liga MX match.

Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment and The University of Texas at El Paso announced a long-term agreement under which Van Wagner will serve as the ath etics department's exclusive multimedia rights partner and sales agent. Van Wagner, in partnership with UTEP Athletics, will manage and sell in-game promotional experiences and digital media assets. Additionally, the team will sell and execute the Miners' in-venue signage at 11 athletics facilities, promotional rights to athletic marks and broadcast assets.

DIGITAL, DATA & TECH

The Stars Group Inc. and FOX Sports are teaming up to launch FOX Bet in a national media and sports wagering partnership that sees FOX Sports provide The Stars Group with an exclusive license to use certain FOX Sports trademarks. The duo expect to launch two products in the Fall of 2019 under the FOX Bet umbrella. One will be a nationwide free-to-play game, awarding cash prizes to players who correctly predict the outcome of sports games. The second product, which will be named FOX Bet, will give customers in states with regulated betting the opportunity to place real money wagers on the outcome of a wide range of sporting events in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.

Anchored by the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, the NBA Playoffs, the opening of the Major League Baseball season and the NFL Draft, NBC Sports Regional Networks are reporting a record-setting month across its digital platforms in April, highlighted by all-time highs in MyTeams traffic and live-game streamin g minutes. The platforms combined last month to register 89.8 million page views, more than doubling last April; 41 million VOD starts, more than tripling last April; and 24 million uniques, up 140% from April 2018. April also marked the most live-streamed month in NBCSRN history, with 118 million total minutes of live-game coverage watched across its digital platforms.

ESPORTS

In this week’s edition of Cynopsis Esports…

Overwatch League gives Philadelphia the Grand tour
BLAST Pro Series talks US strategy
The International 2019 Battle Pass sizzles
GIRLGAMER Esports Festival goes wide
Performance vs. viewership
Super League Gaming takes things to Netlevel
Riot Games’ walkout

INDUSTRY/ROSTER MOVES

The NBA announced that 66 players are expected to attend the 2019 NBA Draft Combine powered by Under Armour. The event features five-on-five games as well as shooting and strength and agility drills at Quest Multisport in Chicago on May 16-17. ESPN2 will provide coverage both days from 3-7p.

LA Stadium & Entertainment District at Hollywood Park announced a slate of appointments, including: Marlene Nations, as SVP and General Counsel, Legal Affairs; Michael Beamer as VP, Security; Otto Benedict as VP, Facility and Campus Operations; Chan Onechanh as VP, Engineering and Transportation; Mitch Bornstein as VP, Business Development; and Kristi Mexia as Corporate Communications Director.

THE MAIN EVENT

Raptors/76ers on ESPN at 8p.

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Esports Tempest Awards

The only recognition program that shines a spotlight on the industry’s most innovative esports companies, with categories that span production, marketing, talent, and technology.

Winners will be announced live at the HyperX Esports Arena during the Esports Business Summit and promoted across social media, and digital assets—reaching over 300,000 key Esports business industry players.

ENTER BY JUNE 6

ON THIS DAY in 2010: The A's Dallas Braden becomes the 19th pitcher to throw a perfect game.

In the Know: Who was the last MLB pitcher to thow a perfect game? (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: On The Simpsons, who lost $44 million as a result of the Soviets boycotting the 1984 Summer Olympics? Answer: Krusty the Clown. Kudos: Michael Ritz-Northwestern Mutual/NY; Scott Jenkins-Gracenote/NY; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank

Later -- Chris

Chris Pursell @VegasandVine
Kerry Smith Division President Access Intelligence Roberta Caploe Publisher @robertacaploe	Cynopsis Ad Sales Mike Farina 203-218-6480 Albert Nassour 917-545-3129	Cynopsis Job Listings Sales Trish Pihonak 203-899-8459 Director of Operations

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