SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION
Rookie NBA player Zion Williamson locked in a multiyear partnership with NBA 2K in a deal that will include appearances at consumer events, social activations as well as in-game initiatives."I'm excited to officially join Team 2K and be a part of this global phenomenon, where people around the world can play as me," Williamson said. "I'm ready to put my imprint on basketball culture and be a part of the team that represents what's next in the sport."
Major League Soccer announced a slate of player engagement initiatives designed to aid players as they progress through their playing careers. The program arises in partnership with Southern New Hampshire University and will provide mental health services, educational resources and career development opportunities. The resources and programming are centered around seven core areas: Character, Career, Currency, Connection, Cognition, Change and Care. Another aspect is the launch of the MLS Greats Network and is open to any player who has ever signed an MLS contract, aimed at maintaining camaraderie and connection between the players, their clubs and MLS after they transition out of the locker room.
ESPN, X Games and MLB are working together on a Shred Hate campaign, in partnership with No Bully and DoSomething.org in a move to encourage young people to take action against cyberbullying. All-Star First Baseman for the New York Mets and 2019 T-Mobile Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso joins five-time X Games Medalist Gus Kenworthy in taping a public service announcement as part of this campaign, which runs on DoSomething.org through September 15.
Southern Utah University Athletics announced a multi-year partnership with Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment that grants the agency exclusive rights to negotiate corporate sponsorships, media sales and more on the Thunderbirds' behalf. Van Wagner will represent SUU's 17-sport Division I program to find opportunities that will increase exposure of the athletics department and its more than 350 student-athletes.
DIGITAL, DATA & TECH
The German Football Association selected Genius Sports to launch a new integrity program that will monitor over 7,500 games a year to prevent match-fixing and betting-related corruption. Beginning with the 2019/20 season, Genius Sports’ Bet Monitoring System will provide vital visibility across global betting on all Bundesliga, 2. Bundesliga, German internationals, women’s and youth team fixtures.
ESPORTS
Sportradar and Riot Games are aligning for an integrity services partnership. Under the terms of the deal, Sportradar Integrity Services will monitor the global betting activity taking place with relation to domestic and international League of Legends esports competitions organized by Riot Games and report any potential integrity issues to the company. Sportradar Integrity Services will also providing Riot Games with access, as needed, to its specialized Intelligence and Investigation Services unit, and the companies will work together to review the esports organizer’s in-house integrity policies, procedures, and future educational programs for professional esports competitors.
Electronic Arts and Respawn Entertainment are opening the doors to the Apex Legends Preseason Invitational, a large scale esports tournament featuring the largest collection of competitive talent ever for an Apex Legends event and running Sept. 13-15 in in Kraków, Poland. 80 teams will participate with three players per team in a bracketed tournament for a prize pool of $500,000.
The Kellogg Company is entering the amateur esports space through a new partnership with N3rd Street Gamers, sponsoring a new Overwatch esports tournament with its Cheez-It Grooves product. The tournament, a “Major” in NSG’s National Championship Series will begin on October 4, in Denver. NSG and Kellogg’s will also host National Championship Series Academy Tier events in markets including Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, Spokane and Colorado Springs. In addition, Kellogg’s is hosting Gaming and Snacking watch parties for The Overwatch League Grand Finals in select Wal-Mart stores nationwide. Shoppers will enjoy Cheez-It Grooves, Pringles and Rice Crispy treat samples, while watching The Overwatch League Grand Finals.
Misfits Gaming named Greg Stangel as the team’s Chief Revenue Officer. Stangel will be responsible for global sales and partner relations as well as strategically growing and driving revenue across the entire organization, including the monetization of future home games of our Overwatch League team, Florida Mayhem. He most recently served at Fox Networks Group where he was Senior Vice President on their Global Solutions team,
The Madison Square Garden Company announced that Dan Fleeter has been named head of MSG’s esports division. Fleeter most recently served as vice president of Corporate Development for The Madison Square Garden Company and was on the Board of Directors of Counter Logic Gaming. He will now oversee all business operations for CLG and serve as CLG’s chief operating officer.
INDUSTRY & ROSTER MOVES
Big news on the firm front as Rogers & Cowan and PMK*BNC announced their merger, which will blend a client roster of more than 500 actors, musicians, producers, directors, content creators and athletes in the world, as well as over 30 major brands, to form the new entity. Led by Chairman Cindi Berger and CEO Mark Owens, the combined new agency will be represented by a team of 350+ of the world’s best marketing and communications experts across film, television, digital distribution, music, fashion, sports, gaming, technology, brand marketing and social media. The combined new company will have offices in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Miami, and London, and will be part of the Octagon Sports and Entertainment Network.
The Arizona Coyotes announced that businessman Alex Meruelo has purchased the controlling interest in the team from Andrew Barroway, making him the new Majority Owner, Chairman and Governor of the NHL team and the only Hispanic controlling owner of a National Hockey League club.
Todd Kline, a former AEG Global Partnerships executive joined Endeavor as SVP Sports Talent and Property Sales where he will oversee all sales work for WME’s sports talent clients, as well as premium property sales and naming rights across Endeavor
THE MAIN EVENT
Cubs/Cardinals on ESPN at 8p.
