SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION
Under Armour is launching the M-Tag, a new basketball sneaker that will draw eyes on and off the court that will be worn by UA athletes Josh Jackson, Dennis Smith Jr. and Will Barton, each of whom will have their own unique player exclusive in partnership with PINTRILL, an accessory brand that creates pin designs inspired by pop culture icons and sayings.
Minor League Baseball announced that Applegate Farms, LLC, a natural and organic meat company, will become the “Official Natural and Organic Meat of MiLB,” the first-ever partnership in the category for Minor League Baseball. As a part of an integrated media plan, Applegate will have dominant positioning throughout the MiLB digital network. Additionally, using ISM Connect technology, Applegate’s messaging will be featured in ballparks.
Amazon confirmed plans to serve as presenting sponsor of “The Championships Week” across Univision Deportes, reported by SBJ, marking the company’s biggest ad buy with Univision. “Semana de Campeonatos presentado por Amazon,” will play during the first half of December, including the MLS Cup championship game, along with the “two-legged” finals of Mexico’s top-tier Liga MX and playoff competition from the UEFA Champions League.
DIGITAL, DATA & TECH
Sports data and Intelligence company STATS locked in an extension of its deal with Canada’s Sportsnet to continue to deliver team and player statistics across major North American and international sports leagues, contributing to Sportsnet’s national coverage of the NHL, MLB, NBA and more. The deal includes access to STATS’ premium data feeds, box scores and more.
DAZN continues to broaden its wings, announcing plans to launch in Brazil in March 2019. CONMEBOL has already awarded DAZN the exclusive broadcast rights for all Copa Sudamericana matches from 2019, for four seasons. In addition, DAZN will show all Serie A TIM and Ligue 1 games exclusively until 2021, with more major rights to be announced soon.
ESPORTS
The Overwatch League locked in a multi-year deal with sports merchandise platform Fanatics to provide the league’s fanbase with an omnichannel retail experience along with a “significantly expanded” assortment of products. The deal marks the first-ever foray into the rapidly expanding global esports industry for Fanatics and is the first of its kind between a major retailer and an official esports league. The deal will be anchored by Fanatics securing US and international rights to produce Overwatch League jerseys, fan gear, headwear, and hard goods sold across all retail and wholesale channels. Under the new agreement, both parties also will work collaboratively to identify and secure additional world-class companies to grow the overall assortment of high-quality products available to fans. In addition, Fanatics will establish a new global ecommerce and mobile shopping platform and operate on-site retail for all league events.
Meanwhile, the final expansion team for Overwatch League revealed its branding monikers, as Washington Esports Ventures, led by Mark Ein, announced the official name and identity for the Washington, DC expansion team. The squad will be known as the Washington Justice, flagged by the official team colors of red, white, and blue.
The North America Scholastic Esports Federation revealed its lineup of 2019 events, beginning with a season-long tournament for Riot Games' League of Legends to open the winter. In addition, "Extra Credit" mini-tournaments will be offered in Rocket League and Fortnite. NASEF is also implementing several "Beyond the Game" creative challenges tied to careers, including designing a logo, shoutcasting a game, producing a highlights video, and more.
Justin ‘Fearitself’ Kats signed on to become part of the roster at Abrams Artists Agency, where he will be represented by the Agency’s Alternative Programming, Licensing and Digital Division. According to the announcement, the deal will see his growth “parlayed into high-level gameplay as well as into personality-driven content for various platforms and verticals of entertainment.”
Beasley XP’s Checkpoint XP will provide extensive coverage of the upcoming inaugural 2018 Boston Uprising Collegiate Cup. The live event will take place on Saturday and feature a 6v6 clash between the final four teams at Laugh Boston. The remaining teams are esports clubs from Boston University, Northeastern University, University of Connecticut and Emerson College. Team Checkpoint XP Casters’ Norris Howard and Robbie Landis will offer coverage for the CheckpointXP Channel on Twitch.
INDUSTRY/ROSTER MOVES
Tennis Channel promoted Lawrence Randall to vice president, content programming. Randall joined the network in 2015 and will continue to report to John MacDonald, senior vice president, content programming.
THE MAIN EVENT
Maple Leafs/Sabres on NBCSN at 7:30p.
