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rickhorrow · 5 years ago

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10 To Watch : Mayor’s Edition 7119

RICK HORROW’S TOP 10 SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 1 : MAYOR’S EDITION

with Jacob Aere

Ahead of Wimbledon, major brands feature Williams, Kerber. Tech giant SAP has unveiled “Call the Shots,” an interactive, online game that places fans in the shoes of Wimbledon Champ Angelique Kerber the day before a big match and allows fans to use SAP Tennis Analytics to get Kerber match-ready, by using data to make decisions that will help – or potentially hurt – her success on the court the next day - from helping Angie pick the most nutritious breakfast, to selecting her training intensity levels. And Serena Williams is finally gracing the cover of Wheaties, with General Mills announcing the addition of the multi-time Grand Slam champion to its historic lineup of athletes. Said Williams, “I have dreamt of this since I was a young woman and it’s an honor to join the ranks of some of America’s most decorated athletes. I hope my image on this iconic orange box will inspire the next generation of girls and athletes to dream big.” The Wheaties announcement clearly comes in the “It’s about damn time” category of brand initiatives.

So far, NBA free agency headlines have been dominated by the three Ks. NBA free agency began at 6:00 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, and among the earliest news that broke was the announcement that the Celtics inked Kemba Walker to a reported four-year, maximum salary contract worth $141 million. Almost immediately, the New York Daily News and others reported that Kyrie Irving agreed to a four-year, $141 million deal with the Brooklyn Nets, a move that will "give the Nets a marquee name and elite talent." The Nets certainly weren't done – Kevin Durant then announced on Instagram his decision to leave the Golden State Warriors for the Nets; Durant signed for a reported four-year, $164 million maximum contract. Per the Associated Press, the NBA set the salary cap for 2019-2020 at $109.14 million, an "increase of just more" than $7 million from last season. The tax level will be $132,627,000, and the minimum salary, which is "90% of the cap," will be $98,226,000. That didn't stop teams from making some big league moves.

College athletes in California are a "step closer to being able to make money from the use of their names, images and likenesses," after a state committee passed a bill that would "fundamentally change" how the NCAA conducts business. The California Assembly’s Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media Committee passed the Fair Pay to Play Act, which would take effect January 1, 2023. According to the Los Angeles Times, while the bill would "not allow schools to directly pay athletes, athletes would be able to receive compensation from outside sources." The Los Angeles Daily News noted the bill advanced "despite a letter from NCAA President Mark Emmert last week urging the committee to postpone considering it and warning of dire consequences if the athletes were compensated." The Washington Posts’ Sally Jenkins notes Emmert has "suggested all of California’s postseason competition could be jeopardized if the state allows an athlete to make a profit from his or her own name, picture or signature." Emmert is "bluffing, and California should call him on it." North Carolina has proposed a similar bill, so we now have two major states mounting a serious challenge to NCAA rules.

Ronald McDonald House Charities will be the title sponsor of this year’s Triple-A All-Star Game. The annual game, in which stars of the Triple-A Pacific Coast and International League compete, is scheduled for July 10, at Southwest University Park in El Paso, Texas, and will be telecast on MLB Network. The deal includes advertising inventory on MLB Network, logos on player uniforms, and static signage within the ballpark. Social and digital media will also support the event. Agency 4Front worked with the host El Paso Chihuahuas to secure the sponsorship. Huntington Bank and Gildan were presenting sponsors of last year’s Triple-A All-Star Game, in Columbus, Ohio. The return on investment for MiLB sponsors, both at their mega events and regular season games, continues to grow.

The 2020 Tokyo Games have "generated record domestic sponsorship revenues" of more than $3 billion, "three times more than any previous summer Games," according to Reuters. IOC Coordination Commission Chair John Coates said that local sponsorship agreements "were up to 62 companies for all three tiers of sponsorship arrangements." He noted that doesn’t “include the partnerships with Toyota, Bridgestone, and Panasonic and their contribution to the TOP program,” which have "separate deals with the IOC." Revenues currently stand at $3.1 billion, and the Tokyo Games now have "15 gold partners, 32 official partners,” and 15 “official supporters." Comparatively, the 2012 London Games raised roughly $1.1 billion from domestic sponsors. Regarding the Coca-Cola-Mengniu Dairy tie up, the Wall Street Journal notes Coca-Cola "didn't give a reason" as to why it is partnering with China Mengniu Dairy Company to share the title of exclusive global beverage sponsor, but the "sharply rising cost of sponsorship may have something to do with it." Olympic sponsorship has become more global, more competitive, and more expensive, pushing even the likes of mighty Coca-Cola to look for a partner.

AEG Facilities, a subsidiary of venue and live entertainment company AEG, has signed an agreement with the Raiders to manage the team’s $2 billion, 65,000-seat domed stadium scheduled to open in Las Vegas in August, 2020. AEG Facilities operates the team’s current home, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, now known as RingCentral Coliseum. AEG Facilities President Bob Newman would not disclose the length of the deal and its value but said the agreement is for “several years.” AEG Facilities will manage the day-to-day stadium operations, including booking, ticketing, security, event operations, concessions and human resources, Newman said, adding that the opportunity to manage the Raiders’ new home was a unique moment in time for a professional sports franchise. “You have an iconic brand, in an iconic stadium converging in an iconic destination,” he emphasized. AEG Facilities manages 150 venues and stadiums on three continents, including T-Mobile Arena close to the Raiders new Las Vegas home.

Bleacher Report is harnessing the Women’s World Cup to curate brands around soccer. As the FIFA Women's World Cup intensifies, Bleacher Report is using its data to win over brands who want to grab onto soccer's rising popularity in the U.S. According to The Drum, a white paper from Bleacher Report seems to back up the rising popularity of the sport in America. Bleacher Report's brand partners for the WWC include Adidas, Nike, Hulu, Umbro, Powerade and AT&T. AT&T owns Bleacher Report through its acquisition of Warner Media. To win future advertisers, Bleacher Report – which is reportedly on track to grow 50% this year and reach $200 million in revenue – pooled together its first-party data from its app with a U.S. survey of 2,000 people 13-and-older to track soccer fandom stateside. The report found that 52 million soccer fans are in the U.S., to varying degrees. As the USWNT charges on in the World Cup, defeating France 2-1 on Friday, their extended run will continue to show the high value of soccer in the U.S.

The NBA and its players association launch virtual sports betting product NBA Last 90. According to onlinegambling.com, the new service will give gamblers in the U.S. and Europe the chance to bet on simulated games that feature actual game highlights from the league. The product is set to launch sometime during the 2019-2020 season with fixed odds that control the chances that any given bet will win, which means these games can appear even in jurisdictions where sports betting isn’t legal, but other forms of gambling are permitted. The virtual sports betting features real teams and players, and NBA Last 90 allows players to view the final 90 seconds of a simulated NBA game between two real teams. They can then place bets on who will score first, who will win the game, or the total points to be scored. Additionally, real highlights from recent NBA seasons will be used to stitch together a unique finish to each game. As esports and digital screens grab more attention from the casual bettor, the NBA looks to capitalize on a growing virtual betting audience, which netted nearly $1 billion between April 2017 and May 2018.

OTT is King: DAZN app nets 950% year-on-year revenue growth. According to SportsPro, the mobile OTT platform was the world’s top-grossing app in May, 2019 and has experienced exponential growth throughout the past year. Gross user spending across the month shows that the DAZN’s digital app brought in close to $11.5 million in revenue – more than nine times its income for May 2018. U.S. subscribers represented 35% of DAZN’s consumer-based revenue through its mobile app, while Japan made up 6.5% of its market income. The Japanese based service recently set a new viewership record as the men’s national soccer team took on Chile at Copa America and new services have been launched in the U.S., Italy, Spain, and Brazil since May 2018. DAZN seems to keep growing and is now nearly double the total amount that ESPN grosses in a month. With DAZN’s latest acquisition of the secured rights to the Chinese Super League 2019-2020 seasons for its Italian service, it seems that their expanding OTT global empire won't be slowing down.

F1 will host a charity golf tournament in Austin ahead of U.S. Grand Prix. In support of the world’s leading breast cancer organization, Susan G. Komen, F1 will host “Grid to Green” in conjunction with GOLF Magazine to unite the two sports. The tournament, which will take place the afternoon of October 31 at the Tom Fazio designed Omni Barton Creek Canyons Course, will feature a current or previous legend from the world of motorsport in each group. According to formula1.com, Carlos Sainz Jr, Christian Horner , Zak Brown, Otmar Szafnauer, Damon Hill, Ross Brawn, and Danny Sullivan will all partake in the event. F1 is making a push on all ends to find its way into the U.S. market, and by combining golf and philanthropy will find their way into headlines.

#10 #10towatch

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