Good morning. It’s Tuesday June 19, 2018 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

ESPN is doubling down on its coverage of the 2018 NBA Draft presented by State Farm on Thursday, at 7p. The company will produce two unique, simultaneous telecasts on both ESPN and ESPN2 with the traditional telecast running on ESPN and now featuring a commentator lineup that includes host Rece Davis, NBA analyst Chauncey Billupsand college basketball analyst Jay Bilas while NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski offers provide regular reports and news updates on the telecast throughout the night. Meanwhile, The Jump: NBA Draft Special will document the NBA Draft on ESPN2, led by Rachel Nichols, who joins Brian Windhorst, Amin Elhassan, Zach Lowe, Dave McMenamin, Tim Legler, Fran Fraschilla and more to react to the news and information coming out of the NBA Draft. In another first, ESPN will carry a special show called On The Clock live on Twitter. David Jacoby, Ryen Russillo and Ryan Hollins will provide analysis and react to the first round NBA Draft selections.

ON THE AIR

FS1 scored record numbers on Sunday with a pair of FIFA World Cup Group Stage matches that ranked as the channel’s two most-watched men’s soccer matches ever. Mexico’s 1-0 win over Germany drew 4,002,000 viewers on the network, topped only by later action as Brazil scored a 1-1 draw with Switzerland, which attracted viewership of 4,086,000. Through the first four days of the tournament, World Cup matches on FOX and FS1 are averaging 2,241,000 viewers, which is up 32% over the complete Group Stage average of the last four World Cups combined, not counting U.S. matches.

Meanwhile, Telemundo reports that Sunday's presentation Mexico/Germany in the World Cup averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 7.4 million viewers across Telemundo, TelemundoDeportes.com, and the Telemundo En Vivo and NBC Sports apps, according to live plus same day fast national data released today by Nielsen, and digital data from Adobe Analytics. TV-only viewership hit 6.56 million viewers, topping any World Cup group stage match on Spanish-language TV and any Mexico World Cup group stage match in any language on any network.

Speaking of which, FOX Sports is adding Dutch soccer staple Clarence Seedorf to its broadcast team for World Cup coverage where he will join its lineup of studio analysts for World Cup Live, World Cup Today and World Cup Tonight. “We are thrilled to add Clarence, one of the most impressive midfielders of all time, to our World Cup roster,” said David Neal, Executive Producer of FIFA World Cup on FOX and Vice President of Production, FOX Sports. “He brings deep technical and tactical knowledge to our coverage, adding a perspective that is sure to resonate with viewers.”

NBC Sports opened the doors to the NASCAR on NBC “Peacock Pit Box” ahead of its share of the season, serving as a state-of-the-art remote studio set designed to “bring viewers closer to the action” during NBC and NBCSN’s coverage of the 2018 NASCAR season. Built within a traditional pit box frame, the “Peacock Pit Box” will be set up along pit road at each speedway throughout the season and feature two levels, as host Krista Voda, as well as analysts Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett, will call the top deck of the “Peacock Pit Box” home, as they anchor pre- and post-race coverage of NBC Sports Group’s 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series races. The lower level of the “Peacock Pit Box” will provide additional broadcast positions, as well interactive displays and screens to analyze the on track action.

Telemundo announced that July 16 will see the debut of Exatlon at 7p, a sports-reality format that pits two teams against each other to test their physical, mental and competitive skills with participants that include celebrities, Olympic medalists, world champions, and amateur athletes. Every week, one contestant will be eliminated until only one winner remains. The first Exatlon Estados Unidos champion will take home US $200,000 in prize money. Erasmo Provenza hosts and joins Jessica Cediel, who will present highlights, updates and exclusive content.

Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, Mark Burnett, President of MGM Television and Digital Group and David McLane, the person behind the ’80s hit TV series GLOW signed on with AXS TV to bring the WOW-Women Of Wrestling to a wider US TV audience. AXS TV will provide the television production and cable, satellite and telco distribution for WOW events. AXS TV will start recording WOW events in Los Angeles later this year, for broadcast beginning in early 2019.

Speaking of wrestling, WWE announced NXT UK, a new UK series featuring top competitors from the UK and Ireland. The UK Championship title, plus two new Championships – the UK Women’s Championship title and UK Tag Team Championship titles – will be on the line starting July 28 at the Corn Exchange in Cambridge.

National civil rights groups called on the NFL to reverse course on its decision to punish players who kneel during the national anthem and fine teams whose players don't comply. The Washington Post writes that the groups are asking to meet with Commissioner Roger Goodell and state that “This policy represses peaceful, non-disruptive protest of police violence against unarmed African Americans and other people of color,” the groups wrote in a letter provided to USA TODAY. “It is disappointing that a league built on grit and competition lacks the constitution to stomach a call for basic equality and fairness.”

NBC Sports serves up daily live coverage of the Royal Meeting in Ascot, Berkshire, England today starting at 8:30a on NBCSN and leading into the first-ever NBC broadcast of the race on Saturday at 9a. In total, NBC Sports Group will present 22 hours of coverage over the five days.

Pac-12 Networks unveiled its 2018 women’s volleyball schedule with 88 matches set to run this coming season, the Networks’ seventh season of coverage. The action begins with doubleheaders on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 with the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge between Illinois and Colorado as well as Iowa and Washington.

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Email Trish@cynopsis.com for info on how to place a job ad.

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

Golf Channel and Lock Lomand Group are teaming up to launch promotional tour with the Claret Jug –awarded to the winner of The Open – that will hit select U.S. cities ahead of the 147th Open at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland. Loch Lomond Whisky’s sponsorship of the tour extends the brand’s existing five-year partnership with the R&A as the official spirit of The Open. The tour kicked off in Austin, and will culminate on July 11 at the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe one week prior to The Open.

The NBA Draft this week will see - from June 18-20 - Verizon host Draftees and current NBA players in New York Verizon retail locations with Verizon Up members getting access to the Members Lane for faster access to meet each player. As an added incentive, Verizon will hand out NBA Draft tickets as instant rewards to Up members in attendance. Players include Donovan Mitchell, DeAndre Ayton & Marvin Bagley III and Michael Porter Jr. On Draft day, Verizon will host a “dunk clinic” with Vince Carter for select Verizon Up members as well as offer suite access for select Verizon Up winners at the Barclays Center. Finally, Verizon and the NBA will cohost a Fantasy Camp on Friday, June 22 for select Verizon Up fans, during which NBA legend Bruce Bowen will offer up his basketball tips.

Hashtag Sports unveiled the final lineup for its SportsFronts presentations held during its annual three-day conference in New York on June 27 at the TimesCenter in Times Square. Hosted by sports journalist and on-air personality LZ Granderson, the full-day agenda will include brands such as ESPN, WWE, FOX Sports, DAZN, Hulu, Oath, YouTube, Bleacher Report, The Players’ Tribune, Barstool Sports and SB Nation.

Puma jumped back into basketball in a big way, signing top draft prospects DeAndre Ayton (Arizona), Marvin Bagley III (Duke), and Zhaire Smith (Texas Tech). Meanwhile, JAY-Z joined as the company's president of basketball operations.

3M and the PGA TOUR announced an agreement to bring an official PGA TOUR event to the Twin Cities beginning in 2019. Hosted by the nonprofit 3M Open Fund, the seven-year deal will bring golfers to TPC Twin Cities in Blaine for a new FedExCup Season event, the 3M Open, beginning next summer.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

Telemundo reports that its digital presentation of the World Cup – through four days of play - delivered 4.4 million uniques, generating 21.4 million livestreams and 266 million total minutes viewed. The average viewer is spending 32 minutes per match watching Telemundo livestreams.

iHeartMedia is now offering ESPN Audio’s networks and on-demand content. The multiyear agreement allows listeners to now livestream The ESPN Radio Network, The ESPN Deportes Radio Network, ESPN Radio’s owned and operated local stations and their full schedules and more. In addition, iHeartRadio listeners now have on-demand access to ESPN Audio’s roster of podcasts like 30 for 30 Podcasts, Sports? With Katie Nolan, Fantasy Focus Football, and The Right Time with Bomani Jones.

The UFC Performance Institute unveiled the first-ever comprehensive study of the sport of MMA as published in a new 80-page journal entitled A Cross-Sectional Performance Analysis and Projection of the UFC Athlete, representing 12-months of initial findings from working with UFC fighters with staff collecting and analyzing over 30,000 performance metrics and data points. Among the findings: in 16 years since 2002, fight duration has increased 32.2%, with the average bout duration now 10:43min. Heavyweights have the shortest bout duration (8:02min), while strawweights have the longest (12:35min). Rear naked choke is the most common submission finish followed by guillotine.

Cinedigm and NHL Original Productions will take fans on the ice, behind the bench, and in the locker room with an exclusive look at the Capitals’ championship season with the at-home release of Washington Capitals 2018 Stanley Cup Champions on July 31. DVD special features include an extended locker room celebration, extended on-ice celebration and an extended parade.

CBS Sports HQ will stream in-depth coverage leading into and throughout the 2018 Draft, including real-time reactions and commentary from a team of NBA insiders with grades for every pick starting at 7p on Thursday. Anchor Nick Kostos will be joined by analysts Raja Bell and Rip Hamilton and CBS Sports basketball writers Gary Parrish and Reid Forgrave in the Sports HQ studio in Fort Lauderdale.

ESPORTS

HyperX tied up a deal with Shroud, the PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Twitch streamer with the No. 2 highest subscribed Twitch channel. He will join the HyperX brand ambassador team using HyperX gaming headsets, keyboards, mice, and mouse pad accessories during his streaming sessions. As an ambassador, Shroud will include HyperX branding on his Twitch stream, participate in video content creation and make public appearances at gaming events and expos. He will also lend HyperX his unique gaming expertise, acting as a consultant for future products within the mouse category.

Disney Channel and Nintendo are partnering for a new take on competitive gaming, announcing the Nintendo Switch Family Showdown, which will be showcased on the Disney Channel and Disney XD, and streamed on the DisneyNOW app this summer. The series will pit families against each other on a colorful Nintendo-themed set as the group compete in a series of challenges in Nintendo Switch games, like searching for collectibles in Super Mario Odyssey, competing in head-to-head matchups in Mario Tennis Aces and participating in dance-offs in Just Dance 2018.

Evolved Talent Agency, an agency that focuses on repping esports players and content creators, is teaming up with ICM Partners in a joint venture partnership that will see ICM Partners provide “ancillary opportunities and strategies” for clients of Evolved, according to Variety.

THE MAIN EVENT

Russia/Egypt on FOX at 11a.

THE CYNOPSIS MEASUREMENT & DATA CONFERENCE

AUG 2| 9:00am – 3:30pm| NYC

Sponsored by: TV Time, Discovery, Data + Math & GroupM

“Data breaches and privacy rights have risen to the forefront. What does the future hold for data driven targeting for publishers and advertisers? Who should own the data? What rights will consumers have? What role should the government have in securing a consumer’s right to their own data? These are just a few questions that will be addressed at the Cynopsis Measurement & Data Conference.” - Brad Adgate

ON THIS DAY in 1967: Rick Barry signs with the Oakland Oaks to become the first NBA player to defect to the ABA.

In the Know: In 1994, the only time the US has hosted the World Cup, the Finals were held in which venue? (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: Which country was the only host nation to be eliminated in the first round of the FIFA World Cup? Answer: South Africa. Kudos: Ben Root-NBC Sports/NY; Andres Loaiza/NY; James J. Pepe-American Cancer Society/Bethlehem; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank

Later - Chris

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