A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM THE PAC-12 CONFERENCE

As the 2018-19 collegiate season ends, the Pac-12 is once again

the WINNINGEST conference in the country with 13 NCAA titles

Leading the nation in NCAA championships for 14-straight years and with 526 overall

Combining a history of dominance with a future of excellence , the Pac-12 is proud to

celebrate the full breadth of academic & athletics success among its student-athletes

Pac-12: The Conference of Champions

#BackThePac

CynopsisSports

Good morning. It’s Thursday June 27, 2019 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

Longtime ESPN staple Bob Ley is retiring after a 40-year career at the company, announcing his plans to depart at the end of the month. He has served as ESPN's longest-tenured anchor. "To be clear, this is entirely my decision. I enjoy the best of health, and the many blessings of friends and family, and it is in that context that I'm making this change," he said in a statement.

"Through the decades, and my innumerable experiences at ESPN, I have built many deep and fulfilling friendships. You know who you are. I hope you also know how much you mean to me. We have shared an American story unlike any other. And we will continue to do so in the years ahead," Ley said.

“The standard of excellence that has become a hallmark of ESPN began in the early days when we were a start-up with a bold vision,” said ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro. “Bob was there for all of it and, over the years, his unwavering commitment and unparalleled work ethic drove our journalistic ambitions. The best way we can thank Bob for what he’s meant to ESPN and to sports fans is to continue to uphold the journalistic integrity and principles he’s instilled in ESPN for nearly 40 years.”

PROGRAMMING

FOX Sports reports that its half of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season averaged 4,076,000 viewers, for a rise of 2% over last year’s tally, excluding weather-impacted races both years, according to Nielsen. Among 11 FOX Sports 2019 races directly comparable to 2018 events, six scored viewership increases. With the rating up 3% to a 2.44. The top five markets for the first half of the season are Greensboro, N.C., Greenville, S.C., Richmond, Va., Charlotte and Indianapolis. Sunday’s race from Sonoma Raceway delivered 2,478,000 viewers, up 6% from last year.

Meanwhile, with FOX Sports seeing FIFA Women’s World Cup ratings up 21% through the round of 16 vs. 2015, the company announced programming plans for the quarterfinals. Play begins with Norway/England today at 3p, with USA/France slated for 3p on Friday. Both games will be carried on FOX. Saturday brings Italy/Netherlands at 9a and Germany/Sweden at 12:30p, with both running on FS1.

Season four of docu-series All or Nothing, an Amazon Original series produced by NFL Films, will debut on July 19 with the Carolina Panthers serving as the centerpiece of this year’s show. Jon Hamm returns as narrator of the eight-episode season.

Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest will run live on July 4 at noon on ESPN2. The one-hour telecast marks the 16th consecutive year ESPN has televised the event, with the Women’s Championship beginning at 10:45a on ESPN3 and streaming live on the ESPN app. ESPN commentator Adam Amin will do play-by-play of the eating competition. In addition to the live event on ESPN2, an ESPN3 camera will be focused on Joey Chestnut as he attempts to break his world record of 74 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.

MLB on TBS weekly regular season Sunday game coverage will return for the remainder of 2019 starting July 7, with a matchup between the Yankees and Rays at 1p. Brian Anderson will be joined by analysts Pedro Martinez and Jimmy Rollins to call the telecast.

FloSports announced a multiyear partnership with Amaury Sport Organisation to bring live and on-demand coverage of the Tour de France to the platform as an exclusive in Canada from 2020 to 2023 on FloBikes.com and the FloSports apps. Viewers will also have the option to hear commentary of the Tour de France and other select events in English or French. The partnership marks the first time in history that the Tour de France will be broadcast exclusively on a digital platform in Canada.

As expected, UConn is heading back to the Big East as the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees on Wednesday accepted an invitation to move its basketball and Olympic sports from the American Athletic Conference. University President Susan Herbst signed a contract with the Big East that includes a $3.5 million entry fee, and the teams are expected to begin play in the conference in the 2020-21 academic year, according to the AP.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

“ The future of AI is similar to the future of most every new technology, which in short is improvement, commoditization, and democratization. How do we make it better, cheaper and get it into the hands of more people?”

--David K, Sr. Product Mngr, Watson Video Analytics – IBM Watson Media

(Featured speaker at That Big TV Conference on Sept. 9 - 10 in NYC)

DON’T MISS OUT

Sponsored by: Sinclair - NY Interconnect - Friend MTS - iSpot.tv - NCC Media - TV Time - Tubi

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

Major League Soccer announced that it will become the first major pro sports league in US and Canadian team sports to permit companies in the sports betting and spirits categories to place their brands on MLS jerseys. Jersey sponsorship opportunities will include jersey fronts and new sleeve-patch space, with the latter being available for MLS clubs to sell starting next year.

The American Cornhole League announced ACL Charity Day to benefit Stand Up To Cancer and local cancer-related charities. The ACL is asking all of its directors, players and partners to get involved by creating a benefit tournament or challenge on July 21 in a move to support the incdible work that the SU2C has done in accelerating the pace of research to get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives.

DIGITAL, DATA & TECH

Twitter insights from FIFA Women’s World Cup knockout stage saw conversation around top matches led by France/Brazil, Spain/USA, England/Cameroon, Netherlands/Japan and Norway/Australia. Top players: Brazil’s Marta, USA’s Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, and France’s Amandine Henry and Wendie Renard.

Major League Baseball entered a new technology partnership with Flexential, a provider of data centers and hybrid IT solutions. This summer will see Flexential bring new state-of-the-art infrastructure online to effectively support and scale MLB's requirements for servicing its digital product platforms. "We always strive to deliver our fans uninterrupted, high-quality access to MLB content at every step of their consumption experiences," said Truman Boyes, MLB Senior Vice President, Infrastructure. "To meet these expectations requires a data management system with highly reliable, scalable and proximity-based data centers. Flexential was able to respond to our needs in record time with an environmentally-responsible infrastructure to support us as we serve our Clubs and their fans."

ESPORTS

In this week’s edition of Cynopsis Esports…

Riot comes to Nielsen
FACEIT announces Quake Pro League
GuardianCon delivers millions
GameStop adds Wong to arsenal
Twitch wades into Subscriber Streams
GINX Esports TV adds to Canadian foundation

INDUSTRY/ROSTER MOVES

Andrew Georgiou was named president of Eurosport, running the Discovery-owned platform as well as overseeing sports rights and marketing across Discovery. He joins Discovery from Lagardere Sports and Entertainment, which he joined in 2006 as COO.

The Oakland Raiders appointed AEG Facilities to operate their upcoming 65,000 seat stadium in Las Vegas when it opens in August 2020. The company will hire and train staff in addition to assuming responsibility for managing as guest services, event operations, booking, security, ticketing, finance and human resources departments.

The XFL announced that St. Louis native Kurt Hunzeker, most recently the Vice President of Marketing Strategy and Research for Minor League Baseball has been named President of the XFL football team in St. Louis. He will be responsible for the team's fan engagement and business operations, including ticket sales, corporate partnerships, marketing, content, communications, community relations, and the game day experience.

New York Red Bulls' Senior Director of Content and Communications Jayne Bussman-Wise was named an official Pride Live Stonewall Ambassador and will look to generate awareness around the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising that occurred on June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. Other ambassadors include: Andy Cohen (host and executive producer), Anna Wintour (editor-in-chief, Vogue), Bruce Aust (vice chairman, NASDAQ), Don Lemon (CNN), Elvis Duran (Z100), Jason Collins (NBA), Kacey Musgraves (recording artist), Madonna (recording artist), Robbie Rogers (MLS), Valerie Jarrett (Political advisor), Whoopi Goldberg (activist, actress and host) and many more.

THE MAIN EVENT

Norway/England on FOX and Universo at 3p.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

READY FOR YOUR NEXT CAREER MOVE?

To see all the opportunities from the past few weeks, visit our career site:

[ I'M READY ]

ON THIS DAY in 2001: Kwame Brown becomes the first pick of the NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards.

In the Know: In Everybody Loves Raymond, Raymond Barone is a sportswriter for which publication? (Email cpursell@cynopsis.com with your answer and be sure to include your company and city).

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: Former MLB catcher Bob Uecker portrayed a sportswriter named George Owens in which sitcom? Answer: Mr. Belvedere. Kudos: Jackie Mahon/NY; Cory Angerthal-AMC Networks/NY; Barbara Capella Loehr-Equal Opportunity Publications/NY; Brian Matthews-NFL/NY; Willy Gibson-WTG Sports/Columbus; Jonny Codalata-CSM Sports & Entertainment; Brianne Maciejowski-Miles/Sarasota; Michael Goodman-Radio One/Atlanta; Sonia Durr-Carat USA/Atlanta; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; John Kukla-KDFW/KDFI/Dallas; Lance Davis-ESPN Milwaukee & Good Karma Brands/Milwaukee; Bill Robertson-WCHA/Bloomington; Rich Wolfe-Lone Wolfe Press/Scottsdale; 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

CynopsisJobs
Check out more jobs in Cynopsis Classifieds »

Job of the day

SR ANALYST, ADV & CONSUMER INSIGHTS
Discovery Communications
NYC

Dvlp mkt-level insights incl mkt trends, consumer behavior & competitive dynamics, with a focus on identifying growth levers. Min 2-3+ years of research and data experience in TV/media rsrch @ media brand, TV ntwrk or agency

Full info HERE

SR ANALYST – AD SALES RESEARCH/Discovery Communications/NYC: Responsible for leveraging a variety of research resources to provide data driven intelligence in support of advertising sales and marketing initiatives. 3-5 yrs relevant business exp @ media co, ad agency, mkt rerch firm or equivalent. Full info HERE (7/17)

SR ANALYST, ADV & CONSUMER INSIGHTS/Discovery Communications/NYC: Dvlp mkt-level insights incl mkt trends, consumer behavior & competitive dynamics, with a focus on identifying growth levers. Min 2-3+ years of research and data experience in TV/media rsrch @ media brand, TV ntwrk or agency. Full info HERE (7/17)

DIRECTOR, PROJECT MANAGEMENT/Nickelodeon Live Action/NYC: Temp position from August – Jan. Candidate resp for project management of all marketing & creative promotion for the live action properties on Nickelodeon Network. 5-7 yrs proj mngmnt exp + Excellent understanding of production methodologies. Full info HERE (7/16)

CLIENT SOLUTIONS COORD/UP & ASPIRE/NYC:Asst. in dev & execution of sponsorships. Coord upfront & client evnts. Update ad sales pres, videos, photos & keyart. Proj mgt & pres skills req. Mkting/Comm degree pref’d. 1-2 yrs cable or related exp, digital/social a +. Knowledge of PowerPt required. Full info HERE (7/16)

MANAGER, PUBLIC RELATIONS & MKTG/NESN/MA: Seeking a collaborative thought leader who can translate bus objectives into promotional collateral across multiple platforms. Must have a degree in English, mass comm, PR, and/or mkting in a related field. Min 5+ yrs exp in both PR and mkting & Sales promo. Full info HERE (7/15)

MANAGER, PARTNER MKTG/NICK VELOCITY/NYC: Individual to dev mktg campaigns for Ent advs (ie: movie studios) across Nickelodeon Kids & Family nets. Must have B.A. Degree, plus 3-5+ yrs mktg/sales exp within ent & media. TV and/or exp with a Movie Studio or Video Game comp preferred. Full info HERE. Apply HERE. (7/15)

ACCOUNT SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE/ION MEDIA/NYC: Responsible for acct management for the General Ad Sales Department. Handling requests from multiple dept including Ad Agencies, Planning, Traffic, and Gen Ad Sales. Bachelor’s degree required, emphasis in Bus, Adv and/or Mktg. Ability to handle multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment. Full info HERE (7/15)

DIRECT RESPONSE AD SALES ASSISTANT/FUSE MEDIA/NYC: Support Direct Response Ad Sales team by working with director and AE to service and maintain agencies and clients on a daily basis. Must be detail oriented w/good comm, interpersonal & organzt’l skills, and able to multitask in fast paced team envir. Wide Orbit & OnAir knowledge a +.” Full info HERE (7/12)

EVENT PRODUCER/BOOKER/A+E Networks/NY: Responsible for booking talent & experts, developing panel discussions, interviews & experiential exhibits for History-branded events. Full Info/Apply HERE (7/12)

AP RESEARCHER/BOOKER/A+E Networks/NY: Responsible for supporting the producing team in building individual events and exhibits for HistoryTalks and HistoryCon. Full Info/Apply HERE (7/12)

MANAGER, CONSUMER INSIGHTS/Nickelodeon/NYC: this position will be a part of Nickelodeon’s Brand & Consumer Insights Team, supporting all of Nickelodeon’s preschool content research with non-ratings based consumer insights. Job requires a bachelor's degree preferably in communications, business, market research, or child psychology, graduate research work. Plus 4+ yrs experience in primary research. Full info HERE (7/12)

SALES ACCOUNT EXEC/NBC/LA: Responsible for generating new Local/Regional business, Digital advertising, and growing existing advertisers. A minimum of 5+ years of Media, Digital and/or Broadcast Sales exp w/strong rec of success building new biz. Full info HERE (7/11)

DIRECTOR, DIGITAL PLATFORMS & STRATEGY/SNY/NYC: Work w/partners to help drive strategic, multiplatform dig. content initiatives. focus on expanding availability/consumption/monetization of SNY's content across a variety of platforms. Min 6 yrs exp content dist, platform dvlpmnt & partnerships within media ind. Full info HERE (7/10)

MOTION GRAPHIC ANIMATOR/Viewpoint Creative/Boston: Work w/a talented team of creative directors/producers/designers & editors explore different animation styles including 2D, 3D and practical while continually pushing your artistic and technical abilities. 3+ yrs exp req’d. Full info HERE (7/10)

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR/SiriusXM/NYC: Responsible for directing multiple shows a day from camera positioning to assigning handheld operators in studio. Make sure all equipment is ready to go across multiple studios. 2 - 3 yrs of exp operating New Tek TC-1 (Tricaster) & as Adobe Premiere editor. Full info HERE (7/2)

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR/SiriusXM/LA: Responsible for directing multiple shows a day from camera positioning to assigning handheld operators in studio. Make sure all equipment is ready to go across multiple studios. 2 - 3 yrs of exp operating New Tek TC-1 (Tricaster) & as Adobe Premiere editor. Full info HERE (7/2)

DIRECTOR, INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS/Univision/Miami: Help company leaders engage/motivate their employees as part of a mission-driven company focused on informing/empowering the Hispanic community. Bi-lingual a must. 10+ yrs exp in corp comm, public affairs, employee comm or related areas, incl exp in a mngmnt/supervisory capacity. Full info HERE (7/2)

DIR, DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION/Science/NYC: Idea generator to create prog opps that suit, broaden & feed audience, & communicate w/production cos & multiple internal depts. 7+ yrs exp in cable industry & track record for ratings success req. Full info HERE (6/29)

DIRECT RESPONSE, VP/ION TV/NYC: Oversee/manage all aspects of the Direct Response (DR) business. Deep knowledge of DR marketplace. 8+ yrs of DR selling exp in media or a related field. 3+ yrs of exp managing people or leading a sales team. Full info HERE (6/28)

DIRECT RESPONSE SALES, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE/ION TV/NYC: Responsible for selling direct response air time for ION TV, and achieving quarterly and annual revenue goals. Min 5 yrs of DR exp. Excellent oral presentation, oral & written comm skills. Full info HERE (6/28)

NETWORK SALES, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE/ION TV/NYC:Dvlp/grow new and growing business among major agencies via strong relationships and superior client service. 5+ yrs sales exp w/national cable, brdcst ad sales or media buying background req’d. Full info HERE (6/28)