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bus-trash · 6 years ago

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Veronica Revisited: Normality vs. Violence

I’ve had a few thoughts since I wrote that long blogpost. One was, “Do I really have enough free time to obsess this much about Peathers Veronica?” Others included, “I can’t believe people on tumblr read that,” and, “Is the idea behind Veronica really that fucking complicated?”

I questioned that when I watched Peathers creator Jason Micallef in this promo talk about the basis of Heathers 2018’s philosophy: It’s a story about American violence.

https://youtu.be/Zjnd-oUOwdw

Under that lens, Veronica’s characterization becomes a lot clearer. While I think it’s true that she wants to transcend labels through love but is unable to do so due to the damaging system of labeling surrounding everyone in Westerburg, Veronica makes more sense when thought of not according to her emotional arc but when you consider the character herself as a criticism of America.

Veronica is indecisive. Heather Duke’s analysis of the three remaining characters in Hellscape episode 9, while comedic, says it all:

Veronica Sawyer… “Question mark?” What can I say? Rich and pretty can only get you so far when you don’t have anything in your heart. At least J.D. and Heather pretend to have depth. Veronica can’t even decide between cold-hearted psycho or basic bitch! … She’s “Leave it blank.” … Remember, Veronica, everyone’s gotta be something. Have fun being nothing. Thanks for fixing my casket angle though. Love you.

There’s no better way to put it. Veronica practically has no personality, but what she does have is contradicting: Is she someone normal, boring, ordinary, or is she an individualistic, psychotic killer? And exactly why is the answer both?

If Jason’s blueprint when creating Heathers 2018 was the issue of American violence, doesn’t it make sense that he would examine this most closely through the main character? J.D. is the most outwardly violent, and the Heathers are certainly emotionally violent. But it’s Veronica at the end who reconnects that bomb—even though she’s the only one really concerned with being a good and normal person. If she’s the most violent, what is that saying?

I’ve heard it said that America is a country that has an overly idealistic view about its own morality—that it feels it’s wholly good in a way that no other country is. Yet it’s also true that American philosophy (and I don’t say this as a jab) is in some ways the most selfish and individualistic. We care less about society than what you as a person are saying with your existence. Are you happy, rich, successful? And with a high value in capitalism we encourage people to compete for these titles. And it’s no secret America started with a hefty dose of violence. To be independent, we took land from the natives and conquered them to do it. (Consider the graffiti’d “ESKIMO!” in the episode six intro, harkening back to the Moby Dick story, as well as tales of General Westerburg’s morality even as we see him behead a Native American and hear of him raping one at Butcher’s Bridge. Heathers wants us to remember America’s bloody beginning.) It’s part of our history and that influences who we are. A large number of recent shootings today is certainly part of the American violence Heathers wishes to examine. So America is a country that considers itself wholly “good,” while also always wanting to be individualistic and different, at times (according to the show’s worldview) resulting in extreme violence. Sounding a little like someone you know?

But Veronica’s character being criticism in part isn’t a reason to dissociate from her. She’s the protagonist, and at the times the show’s philosophy really seems to see things from her side. Regardless of what people on here will tell you, Heathers 2018 isn’t didactic. It examines issues in a satirical way and doesn’t tell you what to think. I think somewhere in the girl who blew up Westerburg there still is that “good person” she hopes exists.

Compared to the other characters, she’s not. The most “good people” of Peathers are the victims, the stereotypes like Trailer Parker and Dylan who don’t try to fight back against the system but still resign themselves to its violence. Even Heather Duke and MacNamara make the cut for prom heaven. Veronica to the show is perhaps the worst person, ending in a horrific afterlife. But I argue in some ways that she’s still “a good person.”

In a very specific way, she is more of a good person than anyone else on the show.

When we first meet Veronica, she’s friends with the Heathers because it beats being at the bottom, but she clearly hates the way they abuse their power and hurt others. Heather Chandler’s character assassination of Ram is what causes Veronica to finally lash out at her after fantasizing about burying her in the ground. J.D. convinces her to get revenge with the helpful assurance, “Don’t think of it like we’re hurting Heather Chandler. Think of it like we’re helping everyone else.” I would argue Veronica goes after Heather C. in part because she longs for a Westerburg where everyone can be free. And she’s clearly disgusted when Betty Finn continues the cycle of abuse after Heather Chandler is gone. When Betty offers her a seat on the council of the “new Heathers,” Veronica wants no part in it.

While the show moves on from Heather MacNamara’s death rather quickly, it’s clear that it remains in Veronica’s head more than in any other character’s (Heather Duke comes second in this regard). Heather M. haunts Veronica in a daydream, and Veronica gets pissed when J.D. skips out on her funeral. Moreover, in episode 4, she murmurs in the car, “I was thinking about Heather, Heather M. Like if there was more I could have done. … Like if I had sent a text at the right moment or something.” The show also makes a point of referencing Heather M. both in Heather Chandler’s finale speech and Veronica’s whirlwind epiphany after, as if to say Heather MacNamara falling victim to Westerburg’s vicious cycle plays a big part in why Veronica did what she did at the end. We’ll cover Veronica’s crazier episode 4-6 antics in a minute, but Heather MacNamara’s memory also plays a huge role in episode 7. Until the finale, the only time Veronica herself knowingly kills someone is to avenge Heather M.’s death and make sure Mr. Waters can’t take advantage of any more girls. And it’s after this she tells J.D., “No more.” For her, the nightmare involving Heather M. is largely over, and she feels free and normal in that moment. She’s free, until more trouble with J.D. arises.

In episodes 9 and early 10 we can also see how her ideals of goodness totally counteract whatever feelings she might have had for J.D. But she does give us a surprising move in episode 8 when she recommits to the Heathers—obviously stressed over the possibility of the Heathers finding out her violent past but seemingly more frustrated by J.D.’s nonchalance about prom.

So you can argue that Veronica is in some ways a good person. While J.D. distributes vigilante suicides and the Heathers fight to remain on top, Veronica when she’s not busy gaslighting her boyfriend is actually trying very hard to be good. So where does she go wrong, and how does she end up the most violent?

The way I view Veronica, at her core she is an ordinary, carefree girl. She wants to live a normal teenage life, happy and average. She wants to fall in love with a boy who adores her completely. She wants to do well in school. She wants to grow up and have a decent future. She wants to be unremarkable.

But she lives in a culture where to be unremarkable is to be nothing. The world of Heathers is one that labels relentlessly, and exposes youths to the psychological violence of perfectionism and constant judgment. Even as a young girl she as frustrated. As a teenager, she is totally miserable. In a world where everybody’s gotta be something, it is impossible for a person who wants to be ordinary to be happy. They will always feel the pressure of a violent society.

In my interpretation, it’s this knowledge that causes Veronica to fall in love with violence—in herself and in her boyfriend, J.D. Her kind and normal heart is what draws her so much to Ram. But her knowledge of how the world really works is what makes her lust after J.D. A life with Ram would never really work. But J.D., J.D. represents individuality and enacting change. Combining an ordinary soul with the sort of cutthroat psychological environment Heathers seems to be depicting is America, you get someone who needs to express their individuality and enact violence just to be normal. There’s no hope in normalcy—but Veronica doesn’t give up. By shaking things up—killing Lucy, killing Heather, killing Westerburg—maybe Veronica will find another life where she can just be herself. She doesn’t. But, she tries.

Veronica’s love for violence blooms in the society that celebrates it. When she expresses her “real self,” she is “nothing” in their eyes. And when she finally gives in to the realm of violence, she finally has society’s approval as they hail her the engineer of the mass suicide. Yet paradoxically, she commits the act of violence for herself, as an individual. She does it because she can’t see any other way to be happy.

When I don’t keep this in mind, Veronica’s love for violence becomes puzzling. Her erratic actions against J.D. in episodes 4-6 seem illogical—doesn’t she see that J.D. represents violence, a way out? But for her it’s not as simple as that. She doesn’t only want a way out—such a fundamental part of her wants to be normal, to have a faithful boyfriend, to have fun with her best friend Heather Duke, to go to prom with J.D. But it mixes with how fucking pissed off she is at the whole damn world for its bullshit—she ends up lashing out at anybody to express herself. She wants to be a good, happy person and she will cut up anyone who stands in her way. Her psychopathic tendencies always serve the underlying motive of her wanting to be normal and happy in a society where no one else wants that—everyone’s busy with their plotting and power plays. Even when Veronica discusses wanting to be different “from all of them” and how J.D. and she have something unique and special, I still think that’s mostly because that’s how it feels to deep down want such basic desires at a school where everyone’s so backwards and self-obsessed. Veronica’s bloodthirst, her need to be an individual, it’s all because this school doesn’t recognize her. People need to impose their will most when they’ve been erased, and there’s no room at Westerburg for Veronica’s innocence.

Veronica is no saint. In fact, she’s the worst person on the show, singlehandedly pulling the trigger on a high school full of innocent students. But also, when you really think about it, Veronica is the only character on Heathers who’s entirely focused on being a good and happy person, even though she does insane things in the name of that. When I watch her in that way, when I stop trying to figure out what’s going on in her head and realize she’s the most straightforward person on screen, her emotions are entirely evident. She’s not trying to create some big change or even to become number one. In a country that says it isn’t enough to be human, Veronica is trying not to be nothing, to break away from violence through violence. Her trademark color blue, unnatural and tightly clung to, yet even somewhat cliché, represents this fixed hope: that she’ll move beyond the chaos and aberrant conformity around her, somehow find peace without compromising for anybody. Everyone is ready to answer the question, Who is Veronica Sawyer? But if you shut up, Veronica would tell you. She’s just her.

Bus Trash

#peathers #heathers #veronica sawyer #grace victoria cox #jason micallef #american violence #you always had to be blue

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mfmagazine · 6 years ago

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The Zero Points

Article by Victoria Everman

The Zero Points are a five-piece rock outfit that has endured through several lineup changes, relocations of its members, as well as "toiling in basements and duking it out in dive bars" in order to acquire their solid fan base. With the recent release of their solid self-titled EP, as well as their extremely proactive online promotion, it looks as if that fan base will continue to increase in the immediate future. The Zero Points' sound combines old and new and is stylistically diverse enough that the tracks would be appropriate for both golden age CBGB's and your local townie bar jukebox. This diversity is most likely responsible for the band's broad appeal. I was able to catch up with two of the band's members, guitarist and vocalist Peter McGraw and bassist Sandy Wilson, to chat about the band's status in the wake of the new release, among other things.

It seems from your bio that you guys have dealt with a lot of personal choices over the last few years, which have culminated in you all being back here in Seattle and keeping things going with the band. What is it about the music and the locale that has kept you here doing your thing? Peter: We're all here in Seattle for the long haul. We've all got pretty strong roots or attachments to the area, and it's such a great town for music. Something about this place attracts and keeps a lot of talented and interesting musicians who are able to create all kinds of genre-bending stuff and have a reasonable shot at attracting a loyal fan base. People really love their music here, audiences are pretty sophisticated in their tastes, and it's great having a go at being a band in this city.

You released a self-titled record earlier this year - can you tell me a little bit about the album and how it's been received?

Peter: We were very fortunate that an engineer out of Portland named Nick Moon wanted to do the project. He brought in this ½" 8-track and a tube board. The playing went so well that we decided to just keep recording that day, adding songs and getting the tracks down within a couple takes. What we thought was going to be a 4 or 5 song EP turned into an 8 song EEP. People have been very impressed with the sound. We went old school on the equipment and that comes through in the overall tone. Also, the songs sound unique enough that I think it throws audiences for a nice loop-here's this very warm, familiar sound blanket, if you will, that comforts people while they're hearing something new and avoiding any retro trap. A lot of people-a lot-have not heard this disc yet. Since things have just started to gain momentum for us, it'll be interesting to hear how more and more people receive it, the feedback and so on.

Sandy: We're just now starting to get played on the radio, stations like WOXY in Cincinnati and KFNK in Tacoma/Seattle are starting to add us to their rotation...things are definitely getting interesting.

You guys use the web, specifically MySpace, extensively for promotion and communication with your listening base. What do you think are the advantages of using such a medium? Sandy: The great thing about Myspace is that there is this built-in audience that is actively seeking new music. With a regular website, one's traffic flow is dictated by a pre-existing knowledge of the band, word of mouth, or sheer randomness. Where Myspace is different is that we can either actively hand pick our audience or the audience finds us; we've done both and had amazing results. By looking at someone's profile we know (roughly) who we're talking to, what kind of music they like, and where they are. And by them looking at our profile, they know what we sound and look like, when and where our shows are, where they can buy our music, what other people think of our music (via comments, number of plays and views, and CD reviews), and who we are through our emails and postings. We have direct contact with our fans and respond to every email and comment personally. It's a lot of work considering that we have currently 32,445 Myspace friends, and on any given day we get between 100-200 emails/comments, but it's worth it. We went from being a relatively unknown garage band to getting radio play and being heard by people all over the world. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. We've also networked with other bands, promoters, and radio DJ's. It's the ultimate promotional/networking tool that caters to its audience rather than pandering to the lowest common denominator.

Tell us what we can expect from a Zero Points live show. Peter: Straight up rock n' roll. Our sets always have twists and turns, so you'll never be bored. Early punk-New York CBGB stuff is a big influence as well as the Clash, Stones, Guided By Voice-we throw in a lot of stuff. We tend to have gals dancing the whole time too.

Sandy: Lots of alcohol and free-range pheromones...even the people who don't drink manage to get DWI's.

What are your thoughts on the state of the music business right now, and where do you ultimately see yourself fitting into that, if at all? Peter: The internet really seems to have shaken the business up quite a bit. The ability to download a song has dented new CD sales so much that companies don't have the money they used to for new acts, up-and-comers, or any other risks. They make too much of their money on existing earners and past hits. That same internet has allowed bands to try and find their own audiences and deal directly with them. We can sell more CDs online, for instance. Or find a strong enough audience somewhere where it might be worth it to take a trip there for a gig. Myspace can be a useful tool for things like that. Sandy: The upside of that (or down side, depending on how you see it) is that the bands themselves are now in the drivers seat, doing their own promo, booking their own shows/tours, but also getting all the money...and forking out their own money for tours, recordings, and merchandise. If (and when) we do get a record deal, the terms will be different as we've already done a majority of the legwork. The game is the same, but the rules are changing.

Finally, let me know of any upcoming projects, releases, important gigs, collaborations, etc. Peter: We want to do another album soon, lots of new material, lots more coming in. Perhaps attract some label attention. We've gotten to the point in this town we're we don't have to play weeknights anymore. Which is a huge step up in our book.

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rickhorrow · 5 years ago

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15 + 5 + 5 To Watch 61719

15 TO WATCH/5 SPORTS TECH/POWER OF SPORTS 5: RICK HORROW’S TOP SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE 17

with Jacob Aere

Perhaps The Ringer’s Rodger Sherman said it best: The NBA Finals "weren't just a prelude to free agency: The two exist hand-in-hand." As if the Raptors thrilling last minute victory in Oakland wasn’t NBA blockbuster enough, the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday agreed to a deal to acquire Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for a package of players and draft picks, including the No. 4 pick in Thursday's NBA Draft. The trade, noted ESPN, is a "massive game-changer that reshuffles the deck and could affect every major decision in what already was shaping up to be a monster offseason.” Davis’ trade not only shifts the balance of power in the Western Conference, it will also impact the Eastern, starting with the Pelicans, who will add another marquee player alongside their all but certain acquisition of Duke forward Zion Williamson at No. 1 in the NBA Draft. The NBA Finals were the "opening chapter of the league's future." How free agency now proceeds will shape the NBA’s competitive balance for many years to come.

Kevin Durant will likely miss all of next season after injuring his Achilles during Game 5 of the NBA Finals, throwing NBA free agency into even more chaos. Now, as the Washington Post noted, a "bigger-picture question" has emerged, as it remains to be seen "which teams, and which star players, can afford to wait on Durant’s return to health.” It is a question that "touches nearly every corner of the league, as Durant has been linked in rumors" to the Knicks, Clippers, and Nets outside of the Warriors. What Durant decides to do will obviously impact what other players like Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard decide to do. Durant can choose to opt in to the final year of his contract with the Warriors at $31.5 million and become a free agent in 2020. Durant’s other suitors now have to "calculate whether he’s still worth offering a maximum contract over four years, even if he might not play for the first year of the deal.” Durant’s future also has medical undercurrents. It will impact how other athletes manage devastating injuries like Achilles tears, companies like Embody whose mission is to treat such injuries via technology, and the global financial funds that underwrite NBA teams and medical startups alike.

Forbes just released their world's highest-paid athletes list, which highlights the top 100 earners over the past year. Forbes calculated earnings include prize money, salaries, and bonuses earned June 1, 2018-June 1, 2019, as well as endorsement estimates for the same period. No. 1 Lionel Messi led the way at $127 million, with $92 million in salary and $35 million in endorsements. That put the Argentine well ahead of fellow soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo’s $109 million ($65 million in salary, $44 million in endorsements) and Neymar’s $105 million ($75 million, $30 million). Quarterbacks Russell Wilson ($89.5 million, $80.5 million in salary) and Aaron Rodgers ($89.3 million, $80.3 million in salary) ranked sixth and seventh, respectively. Boxer Canelo Alvarez was fourth with $94 million ($92 million in winnings), while tennis icon Roger Federer was fifth, counting $93.4 million, led by $86 million in endorsements, the highest total among the group. Of note: 62 of the top 100 earners play in a U.S.-based league, with the NBA alone accounting for 35, including No. 8 LeBron James ($36 million in salary, $53 million in endorsements), No. 9 Steph Curry ($37.8 million, $42 million), and No. 10 Kevin Durant ($30.4 million, $35 million).

While golfer Gary Woodland is not on the Forbes’ highest-paid athletes list, he did just add his name to the U.S. Open Championship trophy. At a little over $25 million in total PGA Tour earnings, Woodland does not breathe the rare air of the Forbes’ elite. On Sunday, however, Woodland joined the prestigious club of golf’s Major champions, winning the 119th U.S. Open, pocketing $2.25 million for the win, and denying runner up Brooks Koepka the opportunity to become the first player to win three consecutive Opens in 105 years. Woodland, of Topeka, Kansas, is No. 25 in the official World Golf Rankings, with three prior PGA Tour wins. He is also the first University of Kansas graduate to win a Major and only the sixth player age 35 or older to do so. “This is a really popular win,” said FOX commentator Paul Azinger. “Everybody loves Gary. He has a heart of gold.” Likely loving Woodland more than ever are his sponsors, including Puma and its Volition Collection – benefiting Folds of Honor, which provides for spouses and children of fallen soldiers; Wilson; NetJets; and CDW, the PGA Tour’s official tech partner since 2008.

The LPGA and Group1001 have announced a new LPGA Tour event in Boca Raton. The first edition of the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio will be held January 20-26, 2020 at Boca Rio Golf Club. “We are thrilled to support women’s professional golf and to provide a platform for the sport’s best to compete and showcase their talents,” said Dan Towriss, CEO of Group1001. “We want to thank our good friends at Group1001 and Boca Rio Golf Club for their support of the LPGA and their desire to host a world-class event in South Florida,” added LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. The inaugural Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio will feature a 108-player field competing for a $2 million purse over 72 holes of stroke play. The new event will be one of two LPGA Tour tournaments held in Florida in January 2020. The year will kick off with the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions on January 15-19 in Lake Buena Vista, one week prior to the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio. The Sunshine State will also bookend the LPGA Tour season, with the year culminating at the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples in November.

NBA Finals merchandising deal proved a slam dunk for Instagram and the league. According to SportsBusiness Daily, as soon as the final buzzer sounded on the last game of the NBA Finals, the NBA and sportswear manufacturer New Era were shooting to score by offering instant sales of championship gear on Instagram. This was part of a growing effort to turn sports highlights, as well as the social media posts of celebrities, influencers, and retail brands into shoppable moments. The minute the Raptors clinched their first championship last night, the NBA offered Toronto Raptors championship gear on its Instagram account @NBA. The Raptors' championship hat and T-shirt by New Era will be offered exclusively on Instagram for the first 24 hours after the game. Additionally, the Raptors winning their first NBA title in franchise history led to “record merchandise sales at the official NBA store." The NBA said that by Friday afternoon, the "combined online sales through NBAStore.com and NBAStore.ca had eclipsed the previous record" by 80%. Pairing an exclusive merchandise drop with an event like the NBA Finals leverages the strength of the NBA with fan enthusiasm around championship titles.

The NFL and NFLPA have initiated “preliminary talks” on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. While the existing CBA doesn’t expire until after the 2020 season, Pro Football Talk has reported that the NFL wants a deal in place before the start of the 2019 season. Players would like to address several concerns in the next CBA including limits on Goodell’s authority in player conduct cases, increased roster sizes, improved medical benefits, and eliminating marijuana from the league’s banned substances list. There’s “definitely a deal to be made. The NFL is so healthy financially, it seems unlikely that either side would be inclined to shut it down. The NFL generates upwards of $15 billion per year in revenue – roughly 50% more than the next sports league, MLB – and the salary cap has risen more than 40% since 2014. Meeting a self-imposed September 1 deadline would ensure that the league’s 100th anniversary season is celebrated without the distraction of labor negotiations, and guaranteed long-term labor peace would allow the NFL to begin negotiating its next round of broadcast rights deals.

Major League Baseball announced that the St Louis Cardinals will host the Chicago Cubs in a rivalry matchup in London in 2020. Taking place June 13-14 at London Stadium, the series follows this year’s Red Sox vs. Yankees matchup in that city. Said William DeWitt Jr, Cardinals chairman and chief executive, “I have no doubt that the passionate sports fans in London will love these games and we look forward to creating some new Cardinals fans overseas.” This year, Taco Bell is exporting its “Steal A Base, Steal A Taco” promotion to Europe for the two-game Red Sox-Yankees series in London June 29-30. A successful stolen base in either game will win fans in the U.K. a free taco on July 4 from 2:00-6:00pm local time at any of the 38 U.K. Taco Bell locations. The chain has staged the same promo in various World Series since 2007. Meanwhile, as presenting sponsor of this year’s MLB London Series, Canadian telecom giant Mitel will get its logo on both team’s batting helmets. Baseball, clearly, is no longer just an American pastime.

NBC reportedly reaped an eight-figure haul from the Blues-Bruins Stanley Cup Final Game 7. According to Nielsen, before last Wednesday, the most recent Stanley Cup Final Game 7, in 2011, averaged 8.54 million viewers and a 4.8 household rating, making it the most-watched NHL game in 38 years. Media buyers last week claimed NBC was asking north of $200,000 for each 30-second ad unit in Wednesday’s Blues-Bruins broadcast. According to Standard Media Index data, the average unit cost in the three 2018 Stanley Cup Final games that aired on NBC was $113,702, and overall spend for the five-game series added up to more than $27 million. NBC said that roughly 25% of its Game 7 ad sales inventory is pre-sold, mostly to traditional NHL sponsors. As with all Game 7s, the network’s ad sales execs scrambled to sell the remaining 75%. AdAge noted the last Game 7 on record also featured the Bruins, which likely helped advertisers “justify the expense of their additional investment in hockey." The Blues history-making victory also provided NBC with a significant ratings boost.

Europe’s triumph over the USA in last year’s Ryder Cup at Le Golf National in Paris provided France with an economic boost of more than $266 million. The figure represents almost double the $134 million of economic activity generated in Scotland from Gleneagles staging the 2014 edition of the biennial golf match. The economic impact study commissioned by Ryder Cup Europe and supported by the French Golf Federation (FFG) took into account spending by all spectators, with over 270,000 fans from over 90 different countries turning out to see Europe’s victory. The figure also accounts for all organizational spending by the FFG and French authorities on course and infrastructure upgrades, developing 100 municipal golf facilities, and other indirect or induced spending. Meanwhile, the 2018 Ryder Cup also delivered a major increase in social media engagement, with more than 22 billion global impressions throughout the week of the event. As the golf world now turns its attention to The Open Championship at Royal Portrush, it’s interesting to note that last year’s Open at Carnoustie boosted the Scottish economy by $152 million.

The 2019 French Open generated more revenue for Tennis Channel’s streaming service than any tournament in the subscription platform’s five-year history. With a record high presentation of up to 12 live courts per day, Tennis Channel Plus took in more than $1 million in subscriber revenue from Roland Garros’ first day of qualifiers all the way through to championship Sunday. This marks a 25% uptick from 2018, and a more than 500% increase compared to the 2014 French Open, when the Tennis Channel Plus service first launched. Tennis Channel's 15-day live coverage of the French Open averaged 266,000 viewers in 2019 according to Nielsen, up 42% over the 187,000 average viewers in 2018. Tournament coverage led to live tune-in growth across key demographics for Tennis Channel as well, with a 35% rise in adult viewers aged 18-49, 41% increases in adults aged 25-54 and 55% increases in adults aged 35-64. This is all terrific news for Tennis Channel CEO Ken Solomon and his staff, now gearing up for a busy summer of tennis coverage highlighted by Wimbledon and culminating in the U.S. Open in New York come August.

Amazon is the world's most valuable brand, according to the 2019 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands rankings. The other brands in the Top 10 include Apple, Google, Microsoft, VISA, Facebook, Alibaba, Tencent, McDonalds, and AT&T. Amazon moved up from the No. 3 spot in 2018 with a brand value of $316.5 billion, a 52% change, while Apple held fast at No. 2. In related news, according to Recode, Bond Capital Partners' Mary Meeker released her annual Internet Trends Report at Code Conference in Scottsdale. Some notable data points from her presentation: Some 51% percent of the world -- 3.8 billion people -- were "internet users last year," up from 49% (3.6 billion) in 2017. Internet ad spending in the U.S. was up 22% in 2018. Most of the spending is "still on Google and Facebook, but companies like Amazon and Twitter are getting a growing share." The number of interactive gamers worldwide grew 6% to 2.4 billion people last year, as "games like Fortnite become the new social media." Between gaming and the billions in advertising and sponsorship spent by the top brands, sports is clearly central to these annual conversations.

USC and United Airlines announced an agreement last week that names the field at the school's football stadium, "United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum." The deal will go into effect in August. According to the L.A. Times, "under the terms of a previous agreement announced in 2018, United would pay USC $69 million over 16 years to "have the Coliseum named United Airlines Memorial Coliseum." But that deal "came under scrutiny this spring." USC and United did "not disclose revised financial terms of the agreement but announced this deal will be for 10 years instead of 16.” Naming rights for the Coliseum have "long been seen as a key component to renovating the aging stadium." In 2015, USC "enlisted the help of Fox Sports" to find a naming rights partner. USC was looking for about $5 million per year, and “'Memorial Coliseum' had to remain part of the name." However, USC lost out on an estimated $25 million when the original deal between the school and United Airlines was scrapped. The new 10-year agreement is only for the naming rights to the field.

MLS and SeatGeek partnered for a new in-depth study on female fans of the league, coinciding with the launch last week of a new campaign, “We Fan,” which highlights what women fans are looking for from the league. The study found that close to half of MLS’ fans overall are minorities, while 42% of the league’s fan base comprises women. The study also found that 71% of women say they are MLS fans because they “like bonding with family and friends who are fans,” while 75% of women usually attend games with family members. The “We Fan” campaign, created in-house, launched across social media and digital, MLS’ website, and various SeatGeek partner clubs. Of course, it’s likely no coincidence that the campaign launch was timed to the perfect quadrennial intersection of women and soccer, the opening of the Women’s World Cup in France. The Women’s World Cup typically has a carryover effect on women’s interest in top level soccer competitions all over the globe, as well as increased amateur participation.

And since it’s summer, we end with travel and a leisure sport. It was reported last week that Michelle Obama will lead a USA dodgeball team versus late night host James Corden’s “Team U.K.” crew when CBS’s “The Late Late Show” broadcasts from London for four days starting this Monday. In the episode, which airs June 17, the former First Lady leads an all-star and all-female American team that includes Melissa McCarthy, Allison Janney, Mila Kunis, Lena Waithe, and Kate Hudson as they do battle with Corden's all-male team of Brits Harry Styles, Benedict Cumberbatch, “Game of Thrones” star John Bradley, and “Late Late Show” bandleader and American ringer Reggie Watts. The transatlantic dodgeball showdown will be the highlight of four London episodes of the CBS show to be broadcast from Central Hall Westminster. No word on early odds from British sports betting houses like William Hill famous for their colorful prop bets.

Top Five Tech

Women's World Cup gets an assist from Google Doodles. Google is celebrating all the teams in the Women’s World Cup tournament with a series of doodles. Some of the recent homepage banners on Google’s search page represents work by artists of six different countries: Chile, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Thailand, and the U.S., teams from each of the countries that competed the first Tuesday of the tournament. Google says the doodles portray a distinct message about what the tournament means for each artist and their country. According to C|Net, there is a full list of 24 artists, one for each country in the tournament, in a blog post by Google. The banner rotates around different teams and features four to five designs in one day. Google also said soccer fans will be able to use Google Assistant and the search app to follow real-time match updates. While the Google search app will let you subscribe to team updates, Assistant can answer specific questions. Having one of the world’s largest search websites feature Women’s World Cup content will get even more casual fans talking about the tournament, now entering its second week of play.

Super League Gaming acquires esports video network Framerate. Super League Gaming is a platform for competitive and social gameplay experiences, and it acquired the independent social video networks in esports and gaming for a price of $1.5 million in cash and $1 million in stock. Earlier this year, Super League Gaming went public to expand its business of running esports events in places such as movie theaters and TopGolf venues. According to VentureBeat, Framerate boasts more than 100,000 followers and generates millions of video views and engagements per month across Instagram, InstagramTV, Facebook, and Facebook Watch. The esports video network has become the largest independent gaming media channel on Instagram and a top five channel overall, driving more video views across Instagram video than traditional gaming outlets. Super League Gaming will make esports even more available to the outsider through this move as they will use social media channels to bring esports to the masses in public locations.

Play video games with Miller Lite's new Bluetooth-enabled beer. The "Cantroller" is a 12-ounce can of beer that doubles as a gaming controller. The limited-edition, dual purpose can is being made in partnership with comedian and gaming fan Eric Andre. The brand also will launch its own Twitch channel later this week. The high-tech drinking container is Bluetooth-enabled, contains a rechargeable lithium-ion battery for a three-hour charge, offers haptic feedback, and can be refrigerated. According to Marketing Dive, Miller Lite produced 200 Cantrollers for the launch and intends to make hundreds more. Developed with tech company Unit 9, the controller was a reward for winning a game of “Street Fighter” against Andre at the video game industry's E3 event in Los Angeles. Gamers are big drinkers; 40% are drinking while they play – as such, Miller Lite looks to embed itself as a frontrunner for the beverage of choice in the gaming industry.

TikTok is growing amongst large sports teams. According to SportsPro, the short-form video app has reached one billion downloads and is catching the attention of sport’s social media strategists. TikTok only hit the international market in 2017. A year later it was merged with Musical.ly, a teen-friendly U.S. video app built around lip-syncing, which was purchased by ByteDance at the end of 2017 with the aim of leveraging the digital platform’s young user base. As of March 2018, unofficial data from App Ape Lab claimed that more than 60% of TikTok’s global users are under the age of 30. In addition, 40% of that user base is said to be under 20. This may be the platform for sports leagues to reach the young audience they have been striving for – since the launch of Liverpool’s TikTok on May 24, that club has amassed over 194,000 TikTok followers, which means over 100,000 fans under the age of 30. Leagues such as the NBA, MLB, NFL, and NASCAR that are looking to engage with younger audiences can use TikTok to build a new generation of fans.

The Yankees’ broadcasting future is taking shape. The Yankees and the YES Network are beginning to look into developing YES Radio. They are now leveraging current content while creating new shows, which seems to be starting a series of moves that could have huge implications for the future of sports media. After completion YES networks’ $3.5 billion deal, expect more broadcasting changes to switch up the broadcast game thanks to Amazon and Sinclair, who back the network and are positioning YES to be a leader in high-tech broadcasting in the future. According to The New York Post, the new ownership setup could eventually have a major impact on how fans watch games as the finances of cable/digital sports viewing further change in the next decade and beyond. Additionally, YES Network changes could foreshadow Amazon’s move as a major sports video player on par with ESPN, Turner and the broadcast networks. Amazon Prime could eventually become a place where some Yankees games are digitally housed, while Yankees/YES audio, YES, and SiriusXM have had discussions about housing the radio network on the satellite service. By adding Amazon to the YES Network mix, the Yankees will have a major league tech broadcasting edge.

Power of Sports Five

World Surf League gets sustainable with Ikea. Determined to improve sustainability, the partnership between surfing’s largest association and the Swedish furniture giant is designed to raise awareness of climate change and to promote environmental initiatives, with the aim of inspiring people to reduce plastic pollution in the oceans. The WSL and Ikea will also collaborate to produce a specially-designed range of surf-centric products, using recovered ocean-bound plastic where possible. According to SportsPro, this partnership will be Ikea’s latest environmental team up. The Swedish company also works with the World Wildlife Fund to promote responsible forestry, environmentally friendly cotton cultivation, and reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. It is also a member of the Clean Cargo Working Group, which promotes sustainable product transportation. The WSL pledged to become carbon neutral by the end of 2019 and aims to set a new standard for pro sport. The WSL-Ikea initiative includes eliminating single-use plastics at its competitions and leaving venues in a better condition than before events took place.

Athletic company Saucony kicks off an Instagram relay race for charity. According to Mobile Marketer, Saucony launched a social media campaign called "Run for Good" that aims to raise as much as $50,000 for charity. The sportswear brand is urging Instagram users to run a mile and post selfies on the image-sharing app with the #RunForGoodRelay and @Saucony tags, then challenge three friends to do the same. The campaign began on Global Running Day, June 5, as the world’s first Instagram relay race, with a goal of collectively running one full lap around the Earth. If completed, the total challenge would eclipse 24,901 collective miles. Saucony will make a donation for every mile run to the Saucony Run for Good Foundation, Laureus Sport for Good, and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Saucony’s "Run for Good" utilizes Instagram and its younger consumer base in an effort to go viral for charitable causes, as the ALS Ice-Bucket challenge did in the past.

Prince Harry’s charity and MLB team up before London Series 2019. Major League Baseball has announced that the Invictus Games Foundation, of which Prince Harry is a sponsor, will be an official charity partner of the MLB London Series 2019. The partnership has been announced ahead of MLB’s first foray into London later this month, when “The Rivalry” between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox takes place at the London Stadium June 29-30. According to The London Mirror, Invictus Games Foundation is an international charity that oversees the development of the Invictus Games, the multi-sport event created by the Duke of Sussex. In an attempt to bring America’s pastime to the U.K., the Invictus Games Foundation will have a team participating in London’s Softball60, the social softball series built for the city and targeted to introduce the sport to new audiences

Tom Coughlin delivers “A Day Off from Cancer.” According to People Magazine, Super Bowl-winning ex-coach Tom Coughlin runs the event through his charity, the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation, which supports the families of children suffering from cancer. For one day, children had the run of MetLife Stadium. The children went into the locker room, tried on equipment worn by the players, met former Giants legends, and ate all the ice cream they could. Since the inception of the Jay Fund in 1996, it has granted $11 million to 5,000 families with children suffering from cancer. The organization’s guiding belief is that the sacrifices made by these families are extraordinary and often overlooked. The original recipient of the charity was Jay McGillis, a college football player when Coughlin was the head coach of the Boston College Eagles in the early 1990s. McGillis was diagnosed with Leukemia during the 1991 season and died eight months later, but Coughlin started a team fundraiser for his family that blossomed into the Jay Fund today. Last year, the charity honoring McGillis raised $1.7 million, going to families in the New York and Jacksonville areas with children suffering from cancer.

Maggie Murphy aims for the world's biggest game of soccer to support women in sport. According to the BBC, Maggie Murphy works in anti-corruption in sport and is determined to make sure the excitement and new investments in women's soccer translates into more participation in grassroots soccer for women and girls around the globe, beyond the Women's World Cup. In 2016, Murphy founded Equal Playing Field – a voluntary, non-profit organization – to encourage women’s soccer participation around the world. Now, overlapping with the Women’s World Cup, Murphy and Equal Playing Field will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest number of players involved in a single football match. She aims to bring together more than 3,500 women, girls, and allies from about 70 countries with the match to take place over the course of five days, from June 27 to July 1. If successful, this will be the third Guinness World Record that Equal Playing Field has helped break, as it recorded the highest altitude game ever played (on Mount Kilimanjaro) and the lowest altitude game ever played (in the Dead Sea). Murphy noted the U.S. is one of the best countries for women to play soccer, even as they continue to face economic struggles, while a woman playing soccer in Afghanistan may face death threats.

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