SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION
Twitter and adidas are partnering for Friday Night Stripes, the first-ever live streaming series of high school football games on Twitter. Featuring nationally ranked teams from across the country, the 8-game series will start on Sept. 7 and continue throughout the regular high school football season with the final game on Nov. 9. Live coverage for each game will be available globally to Twitter’s logged-in and logged-out audience and can be accessed via @adidasFballUS on computers, tablets and mobile devices.
NASCAR laid out plans to kick off the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in Las Vegas. To celebrate the start of the sport’s postseason and engage fans, the festivities center around three major events: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Media Day; NASCAR Burnout Blvd Fueled by Sunoco (formerly known as Victory Lap); and a two-day Playoffs Party at Fremont Street Experience will wrap up with a free concert by platinum-selling recording artist Cole Swindell on 3rd Street Stage. Sept. 13 will see all 16 of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs drivers drive their race cars down the magnificent Las Vegas Strip.
DIGITAL & STREAMING
The PGA TOUR’s new fantasy game for the 2018 FedExCup Playoffs is dangling a $1 million payout. The Perfect Lineup Challenge, with the goal being to select the top four fantasy point scorers in each of the four FedExCup Playoffs events: THE NORTHERN TRUST (August 23-26; Dell Technologies Championship (August 31-September 3); BMW Championship (September 6-9); and the TOUR Championship (September 20-23). Registered participants then choose six starters for each FedExCup Playoffs event, with the top four performers counting toward their fantasy total with the challenge based on fantasy points that are gained or lost on each shot a player hits during the four tournaments. In addition to hole-by-hole and round-by-round scoring, points are based primarily on distance, proximity to the hole and efficiency.
Major League Baseball and USA Baseball announced a new high school baseball tournament designed to showcase some of the best rising seniors from Texas and California. “States Play,” co-hosted by the Texas Rangers, will center on a three-game series at Globe Life Park in Arlington, from Aug. 24-26. All three games of the inter-state rivalry tournament will stream LIVE on MLB.com, and access to Globe Life will be free for the public. MLB Network’s Daron Sutton will call play-by-play while former MLB All-Star pitcher Tom “Flash” Gordon will provide analysis for MLB.com.
Analysts at PlayNJ.com report that New Jersey sportsbooks generated $3.8 million in gross revenue on $40.7 million in wagers in July, with the first full month of operation for Monmouth Park, Borgata, and Ocean Resort Casino — which all opened June 14 or later — and the addition of two new sportsbooks. New Jersey’s online gambling industry drew a record $25.9 million in gross revenue in July, up 14.2% from June.
FloSports announced its first major soccer deal in an agreement with global sports marketing agency Lagardere Sports to carry the exhibition match between the Chicago Fire and FC Bayern Munich on FloLive.tv.
HEAD USA and Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) Powered by Oracle announced a strategic partnership joining their technology and tennis expertise to drive engagement and growth among tennis players worldwide. The partnership is the first of its kind for the racquet sports brand and will see the pair work on a variety of marketing initiatives, starting with HEAD USA’s “Speed Wins – You Win” campaign, celebrating the launch of the new Graphene 360 Speed tennis racquet. Later this fall, HEAD USA and UTR Powered by Oracle will begin a dedicated calendar of year-round programming and initiatives.
Roku is welcoming Karate Combat to the dojo, where the platform is now available Roku players and Roku TV models throughout North America, most of Central and South America, and in the U.K. and Ireland. Roku users will now have access to all of Karate Combat's fights from around the world, including live streamed events.
ESPORTS
The inaugural Overwatch League All-Star Weekend will see a group of All-Star players be special guests at the Los Angeles Dodgers Overwatch League Night on Aug. 22, where Lane “Surefour” Roberts of the LA Gladiators will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Fans can purchase special tickets to the game to receive an exclusive Dodgers Overwatch League shirt. All fans in attendance will also be able to take part in a meet-and-greet with Overwatch League All-Stars from 5:30 – 6:30p.
Speaking of Overwatch, Canada is poised to get its first Overwatch League franchise, with multiple reports that Activision Blizzard is entering final negotiations to launch a team that would call Toronto its home. The deal, according to ESPN, is led by a group anchored by Canadian entrepreneur Michael Kimel, with Splyce taking on operations of the quad. The ownership group will consist of funding from Kimel and his family -- including Westdale Properties – as well as Splyce investor OverActive Media, which would claim 10% of the team in addition to handling operations.
Major League Baseball is bringing a taste of competitive simulation to Little League. MLB, in partnership with Little LeagueInternational and ESPN, will host a special Home Run Derby VR video game championship tournament in Williamsport with one player representing each of the 16 International and US teams that are participating in the 2018 Little League Baseball World Series. The Home Run Derby VR Little League Challenge presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods will be held at PLAY BALL Park, adjacent to Volunteer Stadium, beginning at 11a and will live stream exclusively on ESPN3 and the ESPN app. In addition to the live stream on ESPN3, a 30-minute special highlight recap will air on ESPN and the ESPN app on Sunday, at 4:30p.
Razer inked a strategic partnership to become the official phone and headset provider for Tribe Gaming, a top mobile esports organization in North America. The deal includes an eight-episode docuseries slated for release by year-end that will follow the reining Vainglory world champions as they defend their title using Razer.
Esports venue Thunder Gaming announced a partnership with ZOWIE, a brand dedicated to the development of professional esports equipment. As part of the partnership, ZOWIE monitors will be featured inside the Thunder Gaming Esports Center. “ZOWIE monitors are critical to the gaming experience at Thunder Gaming Esports Center, and we are pleased to prominently feature them in our facility for our avid community participants to enjoy during ongoing weekly events, as well as special monthly events such as influencer-led competitions and national publisher tournaments,” said Christian Bishop, CEO of Thunder Gaming.
THE MAIN EVENT
Red Sox/Phillies on ESPN at 7p.
