FOX SPORTS 1 LAUNCHES
Debuting in more than 90 million households this summer, Fox Sports 1 executives talked a big game about going toe-to-toe with ESPN, the giant amongst mere mortals. While ratings have been tepid thus far, with NASCAR, college football and basketball, UFC, USGA and Major League Baseball on the roster, the network certainly warrants mention on this list, with its true success or failure likely to be judged years down the road.
PREMIER LEAGUE SOCCER ON NBC SPORTS
Will America ever fully embrace soccer? The question will certainly be put to the test once again following NBCU’s 3-year, $250 million deal this year to air Premier League Soccer across NBC, NBC Sports Network, Telemundo and other networks. Early sponsors like GM, Chrysler, Geico, Anheuser-Busch and Burger King have all jumped on board.
We can’t run this short video too often:
NFL REACHES DEAL WITH TWITTER
America’s biggest sports league teamed up with the social media giant to air NFL clips and in-game highlights on Twitter. Verizon is the deal’s premier sponsor, airing short spots ahead of NFL clips. The deal, estimated to be in the low eight-figures, signifies the growth of major American sports enterprises’ presence on social media.
ESPN/SEC ANNOUNCE SEC NETWORK
This spring ESPN and the SEC announced a blockbuster 20-year agreement for a 24/7 SEC sports network that will launch in August 2014. The network will produce more than 1,000 live events in its first year and carry 45 SEC football games per year.
TURNER SPORTS’ MARCH MADNESS LIVE MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT
Continuing to build on the ridiculous popularity of March Madness, Turner Sports pulled in record online streams for the 2013 tournament. NCAA March Madness Live for online and mobile platforms totaled 49 million live video streams and more than 14 million hours of live video watched. A bellwether for the huge growth in mobile sports, mobile phone viewing of the tournament was up 309% compared to 2012. Ad sales for the tournament were estimated in the $900 million range with $70 million going to digital ad sales.
FOX SPORTS AGREES TO AIR RED BULL WORLD SERIES
Red Bull inks its largest licensing deal in the U.S. with a three-year agreement with Fox Sports to broadcast the Red Bull World Series. The deal provides Fox Sports with 180 hours live coverage of freestyle motocross, cliff diving and more, airing on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 through 2016.
NASCAR 10-YEAR DEAL WITH NBC SPORTS
NBC gets back into NASCAR coverage with a wide-ranging 10-year partnership to begin in 2015. NBCU obtains exclusive rights to final 20 Sprint Cup Series races and the last 19 Nationwide events of the season. Other features include rights to the NASCAR Hall of Fame ceremony and end-of-season banquets.
NEW BIG EAST CONFERENCE SIGNS NEW DEAL WITH ESPN:
In a move indicative of the changing fortunes and economics of college sports conferences, the Big East agrees to a seven-year, $130 million deal worth six times less than the offer ESPN made to the conference in 2011, before 16 schools announced their planned departures. The deal is comparable to mid-major conferences but not close to new pacts inked by the SEC, Big Ten of Pac-12.
ROBINSON CANO SIGNS WITH JAY-Z’S SPORTS AGENCY, SIGNS 10-YEAR DEAL WITH MARINERS
Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano leaves baseball mega-agent Scott Boras to sign with Jay-Z’s entertainment company Roc Nation. The All-Star heads into free agency reportedly looking for a $310 million deal. Cano signs with the Mariners for 10 years and $240 million, the third largest baseball contract ever. Among industry insiders, it was thought that Roc Nation didn’t create enough bidders for Cano’s services, but the deal solidifies Jay-Z as a legitimate sports power broker.
LEBRON JAMES SAMSUNG COMMERCIAL
LeBron James spent his off-season improving his golf game (or maybe not), taking Instagram photos of Birdman and playing HORSE with the world’s most adorable sons. Oh yeah and perfecting his already other-worldly game and documenting it all on his Samsung Galaxy. This two minute spot aired during the first quarter of the Heat/Bulls season opener. Shot more like a short art film then a phone commercial, the commercial highlights LeBron’s media savvy while positioning him as a family man, a dad and (as previously mentioned) an other-worldly basketball talent. It depicts a man who’s already reached the sky, leaping for the stratosphere.
RON BURGUNDY INTERVIEWS PEYTON MANNING (HONORABLE MENTION)
Peyton Manning can shake off a question about reading coverages like he would a slow-footed lineman trying to corral him. But it’s not likely he’s ever fielded a question quite like this, which is why Ron Burgundy is the legend we know and love today: “So there isn’t any truth to the rumor of a Manning sister, Gloria Manning, who weighed 285 pounds as a freshman in high school and ran a 4.3 40?”
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