SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION
Cheribundi Inc., a producer of tart cherry juice products, is extending their sponsorship with ESPN by adding seven College Football Bowl Games and six NCAA early-season college basketball events to their sponsorship lineup this year. "We're excited to further our involvement with ESPN by adding additional College Football Bowl Games and NCAA Basketball Tip-off Classics to our sponsorship this season," says Cheribundi CEO Steve Pear. "Expanding this collegiate sponsorship is a natural extension as we continue to increase our partnerships in the sports community, including the 240 college and professional sports teams that drink Cheribundi as part of their training regimen."
DIGITAL & STREAMING
Sports Illustrated reached a deal with Chris Mannix to serve as a senior writer focusing on the NBA. The hiring represents a return to the franchise for Mannix, who worked at SI from 2003-15 before spending the last three years as a senior NBA writer at Yahoo! Sports.
Margaritaville Holdings locked in a partnership with ESPN to provide fans with coverage of the 2018 Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships. Hosted by Luke and Murphy Jensen, the live broadcast will run from 4-8p tomorrow through Sunday on ESPN3. A one-hour special will debut at 3p on Nov. 25 on ESPNEWS.
ESPORTS
PUBG Corporation mapped out the inaugural season of its global pro competition for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds with nine regions now locked in to compete to reach the Global Championship at the end of the season and become the world's greatest PUBG squad. Beginning in January, the inaugural season will feature three Phases, with every regional competition beginning and ending within the same windows of time. After Phases 1 and 2, the top teams from each region will compete head-to-head in third-party-hosted global events, followed by a global All-Star Games. At the end of Phase 3, the top-performing teams throughout the season will gather for a Global Championship where the survivors will have a shot at a $2 million prize pool. Regions will include North America, Korea, China, Europe/Middle East/Africa, Japan, Chinese Taipei/Hong Kong/Macau, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Oceania.
Voodoo Ranger, maker of a hop-forward family of beers from New Belgium Brewing, is ordering another round with DreamHack. Following the event partnership between DreamHack and Voodoo Ranger IPA during DreamHack Austin, the two parties will once again team up at DreamHack Atlanta, as a Main Sponsor of the DreamHack Open.DreamHack’s second 2018 event in the US runs Nov. 16-18 at Georgia World Congress Center.
WorldGaming Network announced that this year’s WESG USA Qualifiers will take place Nov. 9-11 at Ultimate Media Ventures in Huntington Beach. The three-day tournament will feature the country’s top professional gamers competing for the opportunity to represent the U.S. at the WESG Grand Finals in China in March, where they will go on to compete for their piece of the $2.5 million prize pool.
eGency Global announced that Greg Skasko has joined the organization as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining eGency Global, Skasko spent 11 years at AT&T in Assistant Vice President and Director roles in entertainment marketing and gaming, sponsorships and AT&T Corporate Initiatives.
THE MAIN EVENT
Penguins/Capitals on 7:30p NBCSN.
