CynopsisSports

Good morning. It’s Thursday October 25, 2018 and this is your first early morning Sports briefing.

Game 1 of the World Series saw FOX reel in a 10.0 overnight rating for nearly four hours of play, down from scores from the past three years but easily taking the top primetime slot. Last year’s opener generated a 10.2 in Nielsen score. Later numbers show that the contest drew an average audience of 13.755 million viewers on the broadcast channel, with 14.329 million viewers across FOX, FOX Deportes and FOX Sports Streaming platforms. FOX Deported scored its most-watched Game 1 in network history, while streaming was up 44% year-to-year.

ON THE AIR

ESPN and ABC detailed plans for the end of college football’s regular season, with six conference champions set to be crowned in the span of 24 hours from Nov. 30 – Dec. 1). The channel will then reveal of the College Football Playoff selection committee’s final rankings on Dec. 2 to determine the College Football Playoff field and the match-ups for the entire New Year’s Six. The Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship (noon) will begin an ABC tripleheader on Dec. 1, leading into the American Athletic Championship (3:30p followed by the Dr Pepper ACC Championship (8p). ESPN will also televise two games on Dec. 1, beginning with the inaugural Sun Belt Conference Championship (noon) and concluding with the Mountain West Conference Championship (7:45p). The Marathon MAC Championship (7p) will kick off the weekend on Nov. 30 on ESPN2. ESPN will once again offer complete college football’s Selection Day coverage on Sunday, Dec. 2, including the final reveal of the College Football Playoff Committee’s rankings. More details on the network’s programming will be announced in the coming weeks.

The NFL announced a slew of scheduling changes for the coming weeks. Week 10 (Nov.11) will now see the Dolphins/Packers game move from 1p to 4:35p on CBS. Additionally, the Cardinals/Chiefs game originally scheduled at 1p on FOX will be cross-flexed to CBS. Week 15 will now see the two games played on Saturday, Dec. 15, both televised by NFL Network, featuring the Texans/Jets at 4:30p followed by the Browns/Broncos at 8:20p. In Week 16, the two of four possible matchups on Saturday, December 22 on NFL Network have been determined with the Redskins/Titans at 4:30p followed by the Ravens/Chargers at 8:20p/ The Jaguars/Dolphins and the Giants/Colts games will both be played at 1p on Sunday, Dec. 23.

NBC Sports revs up for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 with nine hours of trackside coverage this weekend from Martinsville Speedway. Sunday’s race day coverage begins at 1p on NBCSN with NASCAR America, followed by Countdown to Green at 2p with race coverage at 2:30p.

The New Orleans Pelicans and the NBA G League announced that the Pelicans acquired the right to own and operate an NBA G League team that will play in the renovated Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. The team is expected to debut in Birmingham in the 2022-23 season following the renovations. With the announcement, the NBA G League expands to a record 28 teams for the 2019-20 season.

GLORY announced details for the promotion’s year-end show, taking place at Rotterdam Ahoy in the Netherlands on Dec. 8. With $150,000 in total prize money up for grabs, eight of the heavyweight division’s best will do battle during a one-night tournament at GLORY 62 Rotterdam. In addition to the $100,000 top prize for the tournament winner, the tournament runner-up will receive $30,000 and $10,000 will be awarded to each semifinal participant.

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The Cynopsis Model D Awards

NOV 9 | ThreeSixty | NYC

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SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

YouTube TV leveraged the World Series to insert augmented reality ads for YouTube TV that appeared onscreen during the FOX telecast with the spot appearing to be broadcast from the stadium’s video screen. Promotions all appeared in double-box ads during key World Series moments like pitching changes. In addition, the company rans a 90-second “Watch Like a Fan” spot. The videos represented new innovative contextual ads for the traditional 2D TV broadcast that are aired during key moments in a move designed to better integrate advertising seamlessly as virtual "green screens" in areas around the ballpark.

A jury on Wednesday convicted three defendants accused of the headline-making pay-for-play schemes designed to influence high-profile basketball recruits to attend Kansas, Louisville and NC State. Adidas employee James Gatto, former Adidas consultant Merl Code and Christian Dawkins, a former runner for NBA agent Andy Miller, were found guilty on felony charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud after a three-week criminal trial in federal court in New York, according to ESPN.

The Atlanta Hawks and Chick-fil-A Atlanta deepened their partnership with the launch of the “first-of-its-kind Chick-fil-A Fan Zone” inside the new State Farm Arena. The expansion includes Chick-fil-A’s first-ever Fan Zone in a sports and entertainment venue, and two in-arena Chick-fil-A restaurant locations. The Chick-fil-A Fan Zone will be located in sections 207-211, consisting of 1,093 seats and feature custom Chick-fil-A Cow –themed branding.

UFCis set to create a public service campaign to bring attention to the “devastating effects of opioid addiction and help end the opioid crisis that has impacted millions of Americans.” The campaign is expected to roll out before the end of the year and will utilize UFC athletes, the company’s social media reach and its popular live events to spread the message of prevention, treatment, and recovery relating to opioid addiction.

Grant Hill inked a lifetime endorsement deal contract with Fila. The deal will see Hill and Fila will look to revive retro releases of his 1990s signature shoes starting next month.

DIGITAL & STREAMING

FloSports announced that – for the first time - a USA Eagles test match will feature an all-woman announcing crew. When USA Women’s Eagles face off against world No. 1 New Zealand Black Ferns on Nov. 3, play-by-play will be provided by Katie Wurst, with color commentary from Phaidra Knight. On the sideline will be Mere Baker.

Bleacher Report detailed plans for The House of Highlights Show presented by McDonald’s, which will debut today on Twitter and be distributed on the platform via @HoHighlights monthly on Thursday evenings, capturing “the most defining moments from the sports world, both on and off the field. With live sports as the backdrop, the show will combine conversation, video stunts, scripted comedy and real-time highlights to deliver the ultimate Twitter sports takeover.” The show is co-hosted by Omar Raja and CJ Toledano.

Yahoo Sports launched its newest digital content offering, titled Props, which features comedians Sarah Tiana and Andrew Santino as they “debate the hard-hitting questions in sports and pop culture.” They look at what will be the most interesting storylines of the upcoming week and debate the outcomes before they happen. Fans can also play along with the show for a chance to win money as the video content is integrated into the Yahoo Sports app gaming experience, New episodes of “Props” are available Wednesday at 3p.

Stadium announced a new interactive series exclusively on Twitch. Partnering with Wendy’s, Stadium will produce a five-part series that features college football players and coaches taking to Twitch to view and comment on a classic game they participated in. Fresh Look on Films will be hosted by Michael Felder as football stars join him to relive the highs and lows from a classic game.

ESPORTS

In this week’s edition of Cynopsis Esports…

Previewing a big TwitchCon weekend
StarLadder plots PUBG’s European map
NBA 2K League lays groundwork for Season Two contenders
Examining the impact of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Overwatch League feels Defiant
Breaking down the RCLS audience
BlizzCon prepares the loot
Unikrn wins big

THE MAIN EVENT

Celtics/Thunder on TNT at 8p.

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The Cynopsis TV Awards

SUBMIT BY 11/14

The Cynopsis TV Awards salute excellence in national TV programming, from writing and directing to casting and hosting. In addition, we recognize outstanding achievement across teams, platforms, and overall merit. In short, winning a Cynopsis TV Award is acknowledgement that your work has risen to the top in entertaining and enriching a broad audience. Winners will be announced at the highly-anticipated awards gala, this February in NYC.

GET STARTED

ON THIS DAY in 1987: The Twins capture their first World Series championship.

In the Know: In 1988, which Dodger famously pinch hit a walk-off HR to win Game 1 of the World Series? (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 1997, this franchise became the first wild card team to win the World Series. What is the name of that team? Answer: The Marlins. Kudos: Phyllis McQuillan-MSG Networks/NY; Michael Ritz-BucStar Consulting/NY; Danny Turk-Tough Mudder/NY; Greg Conner-Tennis Media/NY; Joe Schreiber-3 Penny Films/Bethesda; Kevin McIntyre-Amayse Inc./Boston; Mike May-PHIT America/Wellington; Bill Graff-beIN SPORTS/Miami; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; John Kukla-KDFW/KDFI/Dallas; Matt Fumagalli-NBC/Chicago; Lance Phegley-Texas Runner and Triathlete magazine/Houston; Jack Neumann-University of Calgary Dinos 5th Quarter Alumni Development/Calgary; Rich Wolfe-RichCraft/Scottsdale; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank; Willie Price-American Forces Network/Riverside

Later - Chris

Chris Pursell @VegasandVine
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