Good morning. It’s Monday September 25, 2017 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

The NFLPA - through its marketing and licensing arm NFL Players Inc. – renewed a bevy of agreements through its deal with Fanatics, inking 16 sublicense agreements that include the likes of: Aminco; Dallas Cowboys Merchandising; Fathead; FBF Originals; Forever Collectibles; The Lang Companies; McFarlane Toys; MBI; Nike; The Northwest Company; Outerstuff; Photo File; Stahl’s; Team Spirit Store; Wild Sports; and Wincraft. In addition, the NFLPA and Fanatics inked four brand new sublicensing agreements, adding the likes of adidas for co-brand collegiate jerseys, t-shirts, fleece and headwear; Komar for children’s sleepwear; Party Animal Inc. for mini-figurines, cups and plug-in LED lights; and Strideline for socks.

As the NFLPA continues to spread its wings with new partnerships, Cynopsis Sports asked Steve Scebelo, VP of Licensing and Business Development at NFL Players Inc. about that partnership with Fanatics and the unique opportunities of partnering with the organization.

Scebelo on opportunities: The opportunities are there and our biz dev group remains busy reaching out to companies that we think are making really interesting products that are not yet part of our portfolio to companies that are coming to us with proposals. We are still seeing growth potential in apparel, the collectibles as well as in the mobile/digital/technology space. So there is plenty of room for growth and I think the accessibility of the players continues to work in our favor. There is a consumer demand for more products featuring the players themselves and for a deeper number of players.

On assets: We have, as an element of all of our licensing agreements, what we call a marketing commitment. It’s different from what a lot of licensors call a marketing spend, which they often refer to as cooperative dollars. We don’t do that. We earmark the dollars that are committed to market the products to be spent directly with players. That’s the key to the whole pitch in that our players are accessible and want to be involved and help promote them. A lot of licenses don’t have the personalities and faces behind it. We do.

On the Fanatics deal: We announced our exclusive licensing agreement with Fanatics in April of last year. When we announced it, like anytime anyone does anything new, there were skeptics and questions about how it would work. We had a lot of people coming back to us 1) stating that they wanted to work with us directly or 2) wondering if we were going away. Not at all the case. But since then, a lot of companies have seen that it is feasible and viable to work with Fanatics through this model through which they would sublicense those rights back to those companies. There has been no substantial falloff as a result.

On new endeavors: The one thing we have been focusing some time and energy to is called the OneTeam Collective, which we are using as a tool to pursue opportunities to work with early-stage and start-up companies that otherwise wouldn’t be able to come on board as licensees. We’ve announced a few of our relationships, with the first one being Whoop, and I’m excited to see the benefits of that kick in.

ON THE AIR

Meanwhile, the role of professional athletes in pop culture, politics, etc. hit a fever pitch this weekend, with the sports industry front and center after multiple comments from President Trump involving the NFL and NBA (tough to keep this subject to a paragraph!). At a rally for Sen. Luther Strange in Alabama, he made reference to players kneeling during the national anthem this past year, declaring, “Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now.’” He later took on Stephen Curry of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors in a tweet Saturday morning, stating that he was rescinding a celebratory visit to the White House. In response, leagues, team owners, celebrities, pundits and more jumped into the fray, as more players than ever took a knee during the anthem on Sunday, while others linked arms to show solidarity or – in the case of the Steelers, Seahawks and Titans – opted not to take the field for the performance.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell released a statement in response, saying “The NFL and our players are at our best when we help create a sense of unity in our country and our culture. There is no better example than the amazing response from our clubs and players to the terrible natural disasters we've experienced over the last month. Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL, our great game and all of our players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good our clubs and players represent in our communities.” Meanwhile, the league rereleased a new spot yesterday in response to the controversy, Inside the Lines, narrated by Forest Whitaker and demonstrating “the power of football to bring people together.”

As for the NBA, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver released the following statement regarding the Golden State Warriors not being invited to visit the White House: “I was in favor of the team visiting the White House and thought it was a rare opportunity for these players to share their views directly with the President. I am disappointed that that will not happen. More importantly, I am proud of our players for taking an active role in their communities and continuing to speak out on critically important issues.”

ESPN is jumping into the Nielsen Total Audience pool, where the company will be among the first to report and transact the report’s numbers which reflects television (which includes streaming on DMVPD and MVPD access points) and ESPN/ESPN2 streaming audiences (on ESPN.com and the ESPN and WatchESPN Apps) for ratings. “For a long time, the way that we have been releasing our numbers, has been with a Nielsen-based number, and adding to it, if you will, a streaming-based number,” said Ed Erhardt, Global Sales and Marketing President of ESPN. “About two and half, three years ago, we decided to begin watermarking all of the various screens that have ESPN content on them, so that eventually we'd be in a position to be able to provide the press, advertisers, agencies, all the companies that have a vested interest, as well as ourselves, in a number that would be our total audience. In the case of much of what we do, our total live audience, on every screen and platform that makes up the ESPN platform.”

Last week’s edition of Thursday Night Football, pitting 49ers and Rams drew a 4.4 rating with 7/4 million viewers on NFL Network nationally (not counting OTA), for rises of 18% and 22% respectively versus 2016’s average across the 4 TNF games on NFL Network only. Through two NFL Network +OTA exclusive Thursday Night Football games, total viewers (7.8 M) are up 27% versus 2016’s average across the 4 Thursday Night Football games on NFL Network only.

Saturday saw ABC carry the three highest-rated college football games of week 4 across all networks, with Saturday Night Football featuring Penn State/Iowa drawing a 3.1 in overnight Nielsen numbers to rank as the highest-rated game of college football’s week 4. That is up 11% over last year’s Saturday Night Football matchup with the streaming average audience also up 66%. The channel’s regional noon window earned a 2.9 overnight, while the late afternoon window, featuring USC/Cal earned a 2.5 overnight, up from last year’s ABC game.

SiriusXM takes on the Presidents Cup this week, with coverage running Sept. 28-Oct. 1. Overall, SiriusXM will offer its subscribers 27 hours of live hole-by-hole coverage from the course across all four days of tournament play, plus nearly 70 hours of original talk programming throughout Presidents Cup week. Live tournament coverage begins at noon on Thursday and will see Earl Forcey as the lead host on the broadcast alongside analysts Dennis Paulson and Mark Immelman. Fred Albers and Will Haskett will serve as roving commentators, calling the action.

Harnessing the Power of the New Hispanic Demo

Cynopsis Latest Webinar: Thursday, October 12

TV consumption among U.S. Hispanics is undergoing a major shift in both what’s being watched, and where. Crafting programming that gains a foothold with this growing and influential group, representing 18% of the country’s population (with buying power reaching $1.4 trillion annually last year with U.S.-born and foreign-born Hispanics).

Sponsored by: El Rey Network

SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

AT&T announced its sponsorship of the new Mercedes Benz Stadium, where the company will supply network infrastructure as well as create a 15,000-square-foot AT&T space, named the AT&T Perch. The area will include 70 ft. of ‘unity seating’ featuring embedded pop-up computer screens enabled with DIRECTV Now touchscreens; a ‘Digital Media Column’ outfitted with multiple screens; a ‘quiet lounge’ equipped with charging rails, comfortable seating, game day coverage, and DIRECTV programming and a high-end concession operated by James Beard award-winning chef, Kevin Gillespie.

The 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game has a logo in place, revealed during the Lightning’s preseason game against the Nashville Predators. Festivities will take place at AMALIE Arena on Jan. 27-28 with Honda serving as the title sponsor of the 2018 NHL All-Star Game. The logo was designed by Fanbrandz and NHL Creative Services. “The 2018 NHL All-Star Weekend in Tampa Bay, Florida pairs pristine beaches and an energetic, lively city with the speed and excitement of NHL Hockey making it a perfect destination for the mid-season celebration,” said Brian Jennings, NHL Chief Branding Officer and Executive Vice President. “The brand identity for the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game features rich and vibrant sunset tones, palm trees and water that are synonymous with the region, with subtle border treatments inspired by the decoratively carved tailboards found along the bow that tie back to Tampa Bay’s annual Gasparilla Festival.”

DIGITAL & STREAMING

The Web.com Tour is partnering with ActionStreamer and SOLOSHOT, Inc.for the event running Sept. 28-Oct. 1. ActionStreamer is a patented miniature technology platform for livestreaming unique perspectives and delivering engaging new sources of premium content and will provide the HatCam, FlagCam, ClipCam and ClubCam for viewers. SOLOSHOT will be deploying the SOLOSHOT3 camera along with tags worn or placed on the subject.

ESPORTS

T-Mobile signed on as North American sponsor of the 2017 League of Legends World Championship where they will serve as the presenting sponsor of a new segment during the Worlds 2017 broadcast – entitled The Best of the Rift – that bookends each week of Worlds, spotlighting the most anticipated players and celebrating the best performances.

Speaking of League of Legends, developer Riot announced that the 2018 season will be made up of 10 franchised teams. “We believe the esports ecosystem in North America has ample pro talent to support 10 teams and that contracting further would unnecessarily limit opportunities for talented pros," the company said in an update. "However, to expand further we will first need to concentrate on building a more extensive pipeline of local talent and established organizations. When we talked with the Players’ Association for pro feedback, they were also strongly in favor of keeping 10 slots for competing teams."

FACEIT is partnering with the Capcom Pro Tour, AESVI and Fandango Club, the event organizers of the Milan Games Week, to bring the EU Regional Finals of Street Fighter V to Milan Games Week on Oct. 1. “Over the past two years, the Milan Games Week has proven to be the perfect venue for the Europe’s most skilled Street Fighter V warriors to face off,” said James Bardolph, Creative Director of FACEIT Media. “We’re excited to continue bringing these players together, and we look forward to future Capcom competitions in Street Fighter V and beyond.”

THE MAIN EVENT

Cowboys/Cardinals on ESPN at 8p.

Save the Date

Cynopsis Digital’s Model D & “It List” Awards

November 10 | ThreeSixty | New York City

The Cynopsis Model D Awards brings together innovators and creators at the forefront of online video, elevating the industry with their contributions to branded content, technology, ad campaigns and original content. We’ll also be celebrating our honorees who will be named to the Cynopsis Digital “It List” , recognizing digital media’s movers and shakers.

“It List” Honorees and Model D Finalists will be announced soon – Stay tuned!

ON THIS DAY in 1926: The National Hockey League grants franchises to Chicago and Detroit.

In the Know: When founded, the Detroit Red Wings were known by what name? (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: In the series Futurama, future baseball is known by what name? Answer: Blernsball. Kudos: Nate Hammond-JCC/NY; David Kalan-BAM Tech/NY; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Deerfield Beach; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA

Later -- Chris

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