CynopsisSports

Good morning. It’s Thursday September 6, 2018 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

Beats by Dr. Dre locked in a deal with the NBA, described as a comprehensive marketing and merchandising partnership that will make the company the official headphone, wireless speaker and audio partner of the NBA, Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), NBA G League and USA Basketball beginning in October 2018. The multi-year deal will build on the “music and tech brand’s global recognition by leveraging its extensive roster of NBA stars including LeBron James, Draymond Green, James Harden, Ben Simmons, Jayson Tatum and Karl-Anthony Towns.”

“Beats revolutionized the music industry and has become one of the most innovative and culturally-influential brands in the world,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “Through our partnership, we have an exciting opportunity to merge sports, pop culture and technology to deliver unparalleled experiences and premium products to our fans.”

As part of the expansive partnership with the NBA, Beats will provide product to players and activate during marquee events including NBA All-Star, NBA Draft presented by State Farm, international NBA games in China and Europe, WNBA All-Star, WNBA Draft presented by State Farm, and USA Basketball men’s and women’s national team exhibition tours. Beats will also collaborate with and establish separate deals with NBA teams and launch a line of its audio products for fans around the world including NBA team-branded headphones.

ON THE AIR

The NFL season kicks off tonight as NBC Sports’ coverage of NFL Kickoff 2018 as the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles open against the Atlanta Falcons. NBCUniversal programs ranging from TODAY, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Access, America’s Got Talent, Squawk on the Street, and more are covering NFL Kickoff 2018 and the return of Sunday Night Football with football-related content this week. TODAY will bring back their weekly “TODAY Food Loves Football” segment, beginning this week while Kathie Lee and Hoda featured a “Who Knew?” segment on Wednesday, All day today, NBC Sports will have NFL Kickoff branding on websites of networks/brands across NBCU. Additionally, at 7:30p NBCU shows and brands with Twitter accounts will participate in a social roadblock promoting to the game.

CBS Sports Network and Final Fight Championship locked in a multi-year partnership to make CBS Sports Network the exclusive television home of FFC. The first FFC event premieres live from The Fight Dome at Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Sept. 29 at 10p. CBS Sports Network will air eight FFC events on Friday’s throughout the remainder of 2018. FFC events are composed of combat sports from multiple disciplines, including boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts.

ESPN announced a 20-hour, 10-part documentary Basketball: A Love Story from director Dan Klores. The project consists of more than 60 interconnected “short stories,” and will be available across multiple ESPN platforms in a variety of viewing experiences. The cast includes Bob Cousy, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Dr. J, Yao Ming, Stephen Curry and Diana Taurasi, to Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant. In addition, episodes will feature different narrators: Chadwick Boseman, Julianne Moore, Chris Cuomo, Ashley Judd, Michael Che, Ansel Elgort, Ahmad Rashad, Robin Quivers, Daveed Diggs, and Fisher Stevens. Programming begins on Sept. 18 on the ESPN App, while ESPN carries it in a serialized format in primetime on ESPN over five Tuesdays starting Oct. 9 at 7p.

The WNBA cemented its broadcast schedule for the WNBA Finals, with play beginning on Friday with Washington/Seattle at 9p on ESPNews, Game two takes place on Sept. 9 at 3:30p on ABC, with Game 3 on Sept. 12 on ESPN2 at 8p, a potential Game 4 on Sept. 14 at ESPN2 at 8p and Game 5 on Sept. 16 at 8p on ESPN.

Take a dive in The Beta Tank and get your free chance for funding!! The Esports Business Summit is now accepting candidates to take part in The Beta Tank, featuring an all-star lineup of judges from Infinite Esports and Entertainment, BITKRAFT Esports Ventures, SeventySix Capital, and Podium VC. Start-ups from the world of esports will make their case live on the main stage on Oct. 2, with each judge offering a private meeting to their selections to discuss the business plan and possible investment. Are you a start-up looking to break into esports? Do you have technology that supports esports event production? Are you a leading team or league looking for new partners to take you to the next level? This is your chance to shine and entry is free! Click here and apply today.

Sunday sees NBC carry a half-hour special titled FedExCup Playoffs: PGA TOUR’s Ultimate Prize presented by Cologuard at 1:30p that will showcase the weeks leading up the TOUR Championship with a focus on players contending for the season-long FedExCup. Features include a spotlight on Tiger Woods, Pat Perez, the Push to the TOUR Championship, and the PGA TOUR Champions’ Charles Schwab Cup.

NBC Sports Northwest will present coverage of the NFL and the Seattle Seahawks for the first time this season. Coverage of the 2018 NFL season will include daily in-depth digital video and editorial content on NBCSportsNorthwest.com. Aaron Fentress takes on a new role as NFL and Seahawks Insider, serving fans with custom content on former Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers players in the NFL, weekly power rankings, news around the league, and weekly Seahawks reports with coaches and players. Pacific Northwest native and former L.A. Rams reporter, Dani Klupenger, joins NBC Sports Northwest as a regular NFL contributor, adding weekly on-location content from Seattle,

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Celebrating Media’s Emerging Talent

The 4^th Annual Cynopsis Rising Star Awards

NOMINATE BY 10/4

This unique awards program honors stand-out performers, innovators and emerging leaders in the TV Media industry. These young professionals’ experience spans research, sports, digital, content and marketing and this awards program is designed to encourage and reward their exceptional accomplishments.

**TAKE A PEEK AT THE FUN WE HAD LAST YEAR**

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

ESPN and Taco Bell are teaming up this college football season to select the first-ever Live Mas Student Section of the Year honoring the best student section in the country. The contest will be a first for Taco Bell as part of its official sponsorship over the past five years. An official trophy will be awarded to the winning student section at the College Football Awards Show at the College Football Hall of Fame in December in Atlanta. Throughout the regular season, the committee will share weekly updates on which schools to watch for and submit their picks for the Student Section of the Week, starting with Notre Dame as this week’s pick. Starting in Week 10, the committee will publish a weekly Top 10 ranking based on their votes up until the Top 4 Student Sections are selected to determine a winner.

UFC continues to stay spirited, announcing a new marketing partnership agreement with Blackheart Premium Spiced Rum to serve as the organization’s first-ever “Official Rum of UFC” in the United States. As part of this collaboration, Blackheart Premium Spiced Rum will have a branded presence inside the world-famous Octagon^® and at UFC VIP Experiences during key events throughout 2018-2019.

Marriott International is activating for the NFL season with a hunt for the first-ever Courtyard NFL Global Correspondent. The winner will depart on a season of “international travel and exploration” that will include travel to NFL events around the world, including games in London, Mexico City and Minnesota, culminating in Atlanta for Super Bowl LIII. “As a brand, we have always enabled our guests to pursue their passions both personally and professionally on the road, so they can continuously move forward” said Janis Milham, Senior Vice President and Global Brand Leader, Classic Select Brands. “This year we are extending that shared mindset to our NFL programming, giving one lucky fan the chance of a lifetime to pursue their passion for the NFL in a season-long capacity.”

DIGITAL & STREAMING

Facebook and WWE announced the return of the in-ring series, Mixed Match Challenge on Facebook Watch on Tuesday nights starting Sept. 18 at 10p. The series will be available in the U.S. and, for the first time, now stream live on Facebook Watch in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines, Spain, Thailand and Vietnam. New elements for season 2 include: 14 episodes, each 30 minutes in length; a round-robin elimination format; two matches in each show; and an interactive pre-show beginning at 9:50p. In addition, the season 2 finale will take place during WWE’s TLC pay-per-view event on Dec. 16.

fuboTV is adding VSiN to its lineup. The media network dedicated to sports gambling information, offering more than 80 hours of live linear programing each week, including Brent Musburger’s “My Guys in the Desert,” which airs weekdays at 6p. “The rapid spread of legalized sports gambling since the recent Supreme Court ruling is likely to have a significant impact on the way fans across the country watch sports,” said Ben Grad, head of content strategy and acquisition, fuboTV. “As more and more Americans hunt for the news, analysis and data that can help inform their sports wagering, we’re thrilled to give our subscribers, who are incredibly passionate about sports, access to VSiN’s unique Vegas-based point of view as well as its extensive network of experts.” VSiN is also announcing today that its live video content will become part of its subscription packages in time for this year’s football season.

Comcast and ESPN announced the launch of ESPN3, ACC Network Extra and SEC Network + on Xfinity X1. All content from across the three networks will be searchable with Comcast’s X1 voice remote and integrated into the same screens and menus as the other sports programming that comes with a customer’s Xfinity TV subscription.

ESPORTS

In this week’s edition of Cynopsis Esports…

FOX’s Caffeine buzz
Overwatch League hits 20 for season two
Champions enters the esports space
The Story Mob gets personal
Black Ops 4 Blackout Battle Royale specs
Esports consumers’ spending habits
Nielsen adds Superdata

THE MAIN EVENT

NFL Kickoff on NBC at 8p.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Cheers to the Tempest Finalists & “The Watch List” Honorees!

Winners to be announced at the Tempest Esports Business Awards Gala:

OCT 2 | 7PM – 9:45PM | The Luxor Esports Arena, Las Vegas

In addition to our talented category finalists, the event will spotlight “The Watch List” honorees. These are the esports executives whose creativity and innovation have put them at the forefront of the industry. Don’t take your eyes off these esports game-changers (click here to view “The Watch List”).

VIEW FINALISTS AWARDS EVENT REGISTER TODAY

ON THIS DAY in 1976: Chris Evert wins her second straight US Open tennis title.

In the Know: Who is the NFL is awarded the Lamar Hunt Trophy? (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: The Steelers have only retired two numbers, including #75 which honors which player? Answer: Mean Joe Greene. Kudos: Pete Gautieri-A&E Networks/NY; Denis Barry-CBS/NY; Kyle Helm-CBS Sports/NY; Jim Bono-NBC Sports & Olympics and NBCU Hispanic/NY; Mark Lehman-Atlanta Braves/Atlanta; Paul Brewer-TV Talent Agents, Inc./North Augusta; Howie Schwab-Tandem Enterprises/Lakewood Ranch; Kevin McIntyre-Amayse Inc./Boston; Lance Phegley-Texas Runner and Triathlete magazine/Houston; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank; Anne Wettig-Fox Cable Networks S&P/LA

Later - Chris

Chris Pursell @VegasandVine
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