Top Stories
'Monday Night Football' is More Than a Game for Disney in NFL Rights Scramble
Brian Steinberg, Variety
Each "Monday Night Football' broadcast this season takes place as the NFL and the TV networks that air its games are holding critical negotiations about rights contracts that, if they aren't renewed, could determine nothing less than the fate of traditional TV itself. To be sure, networks make tweaks and improvements to regular programs all the time, but this season, any changes to gridiron TV take place under a new and intense spotlight.
Former voice of the Reds' Thom Brennaman on homophobic slur: 'I know I hurt a lot of people'
Bob Nightengale, USA Today
Brennaman officially announced his resignation last week, but the Reds had already decided he wasn't returning. FOX Sports, where he worked as an NFL announcer since 1994, has indefinitely suspended him. He would love to work in broadcasting again, but knows the homophobic slur he uttered during Game 1 of a doubleheader will resonate forever.
Overtime Adds CRO, Doubling Sales Staff in Bid for New Ad Clients
Jacob Feldman, Sportico
Digital sports media company Overtime, which has built a community of millions of young sports fans with social clips and original content, is doubling its sales staff and has added its first chief revenue officer, Rich Calacci. Calacci was previously the CRO at Pluto TV, with earlier stops at Turner Sports, Bleacher Report and CBS.
Dwyane Wade, Megan Rapinoe, Patrick Mahomes among seven athletes on TIME's 100 Most Influential People for 2020
Ian Casselberry, Awful Announcing
Time magazine has released its list of 100 Most Influential People for 2020 and it's always intriguing to see which athletes were named among world leaders and influencers. This year, seven athletes made the cut, grouped among five categories: Pioneers, Artists, Leaders, Titans, and Icons.
NFL
Tennessee Titans announce first-of-its-kind partnership with sports gambling platform BetMGM
Cassandra Stephenson, Nashville Tennessean
The Tennessee Titans announced an official partnership with sports betting platform BetMGM Monday, becoming the state's first professional sports team to enter such a partnership. BetMGM will be featured on Titans digital platforms as an official partner, including during key in-game moments like field goal attempts and video board replays, according to the release.
College Sports
Latest NIL Bill Overrides States But Leaves Tax and Labor Questions Behind
Michael McCann, Sportico
Despite entering a crowded market of ideas, the Playing Field Act could attract broad appeal. Like other NIL initiatives, the Act would guarantee college athletes the right to negotiate endorsement deals with sneaker, apparel, merchandise, video game, summer camp and other businesses. It would also empower those athletes to hire agents.
Full Bowl Lineup Anticipated, Even With Payouts in Question
JohnWallStreet, Sportico
Putting on a game without fans in the stands will be economically challenging for many bowls. As Ali Farhang (founder, NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl) explained, the lack of ticket- and attendance-related revenue means that a reduction in expenses, including conference partner payouts, will almost "certainly have to be part of the conversation." That could make for a difficult decision for some universities, particularly those not slated to play in a top-tier game.
New athletic directors at USC and UCLA lay groundwork for future Pac-12 leadership
Jon Wilner, The San Jose Mercury News
Opposing fans don't want to hear it and opposing coaches don't like to admit it, but unless the Bruins and Trojans are helping to carry the banner, set policy and direct discussions, the conference cannot maximize its potential. They are the dominant schools in the largest media market in the biggest state in the conference.
Utah athletics furloughs will continue despite return of Pac-12 football
Dirk Facer, Deseret News
In the weeks that followed the conference's original postponement announcement of fall sports in August, University of Utah athletics director Mark Harlan estimated a possible income loss of $50-60 million on a $91 million budget. The challenges associated with the coronavirus pandemic led to furloughs and the elimination of some positions in the athletics department.
Purdue suspends 13 in non-fall sports for residence hall party
Adam Rittenberg, ESPN
Thirteen Purdue athletes have been suspended for violating the "Protect Purdue Pledge" by holding a party Saturday in a campus residence hall, the university announced Monday. The 13 athletes, who are not being identified, are among 14 total students suspended for the party.
--Morning Consult
GBO
Ma
- The Tampa Bay Lightning won the franchise's second-ever Stanley Cup championship and first since 2004, sealing a six-game series victory over the Dallas Stars with a 2-0 win at Rogers Place in Edmonton. The awarding of the Cup to the Lightning and Conn Smythe trophy to defenseman Victor Hedman marked the conclusion of the NHL's 24-team, two-bubble postseason amid the coronavirus pandemic, during which the league went nine straight weeks without reporting a single positive COVID-19 test. (USA Today)
- The New Orleans Saints tapped Oak View Group's Global Partnerships division to sell naming rights for the Mercedes-Benz Superdome after announcing in May that the German automaker would not be renewing its deal. Dan Griffis, president of OVG Global Partnerships, said he believes the company can find a deal worth about $10 million a year over 10 years, and the deadline to get a deal done under the company's 12-month contract with the Saints is before the start of the 2021 NFL season. (VenuesNow)
- Network executives are reportedly studying whether low viewership numbers for prime-time entertainment television programming could be hurting the NFL's ratings so far this season, noting that the lesser-viewed programming offers less opportunity for the networks to market NFL games. From Monday through Thursday, the four major broadcast networks saw viewership drop 47 percent year over year, and initial viewership from Week 3 NFL action appears soft. (Sports Business Journal)
'Monday Night Football' is More Than a Game for Disney in NFL Rights Scramble
Brian Steinberg, Variety
Each "Monday Night Football' broadcast this season takes place as the NFL and the TV networks that air its games are holding critical negotiations about rights contracts that, if they aren't renewed, could determine nothing less than the fate of traditional TV itself. To be sure, networks make tweaks and improvements to regular programs all the time, but this season, any changes to gridiron TV take place under a new and intense spotlight.
Former voice of the Reds' Thom Brennaman on homophobic slur: 'I know I hurt a lot of people'
Bob Nightengale, USA Today
Brennaman officially announced his resignation last week, but the Reds had already decided he wasn't returning. FOX Sports, where he worked as an NFL announcer since 1994, has indefinitely suspended him. He would love to work in broadcasting again, but knows the homophobic slur he uttered during Game 1 of a doubleheader will resonate forever.
Overtime Adds CRO, Doubling Sales Staff in Bid for New Ad Clients
Jacob Feldman, Sportico
Digital sports media company Overtime, which has built a community of millions of young sports fans with social clips and original content, is doubling its sales staff and has added its first chief revenue officer, Rich Calacci. Calacci was previously the CRO at Pluto TV, with earlier stops at Turner Sports, Bleacher Report and CBS.
Dwyane Wade, Megan Rapinoe, Patrick Mahomes among seven athletes on TIME's 100 Most Influential People for 2020
Ian Casselberry, Awful Announcing
Time magazine has released its list of 100 Most Influential People for 2020 and it's always intriguing to see which athletes were named among world leaders and influencers. This year, seven athletes made the cut, grouped among five categories: Pioneers, Artists, Leaders, Titans, and Icons.
NFL
Tennessee Titans announce first-of-its-kind partnership with sports gambling platform BetMGM
Cassandra Stephenson, Nashville Tennessean
The Tennessee Titans announced an official partnership with sports betting platform BetMGM Monday, becoming the state's first professional sports team to enter such a partnership. BetMGM will be featured on Titans digital platforms as an official partner, including during key in-game moments like field goal attempts and video board replays, according to the release.
College Sports
Latest NIL Bill Overrides States But Leaves Tax and Labor Questions Behind
Michael McCann, Sportico
Despite entering a crowded market of ideas, the Playing Field Act could attract broad appeal. Like other NIL initiatives, the Act would guarantee college athletes the right to negotiate endorsement deals with sneaker, apparel, merchandise, video game, summer camp and other businesses. It would also empower those athletes to hire agents.
Full Bowl Lineup Anticipated, Even With Payouts in Question
JohnWallStreet, Sportico
Putting on a game without fans in the stands will be economically challenging for many bowls. As Ali Farhang (founder, NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl) explained, the lack of ticket- and attendance-related revenue means that a reduction in expenses, including conference partner payouts, will almost "certainly have to be part of the conversation." That could make for a difficult decision for some universities, particularly those not slated to play in a top-tier game.
New athletic directors at USC and UCLA lay groundwork for future Pac-12 leadership
Jon Wilner, The San Jose Mercury News
Opposing fans don't want to hear it and opposing coaches don't like to admit it, but unless the Bruins and Trojans are helping to carry the banner, set policy and direct discussions, the conference cannot maximize its potential. They are the dominant schools in the largest media market in the biggest state in the conference.
Utah athletics furloughs will continue despite return of Pac-12 football
Dirk Facer, Deseret News
In the weeks that followed the conference's original postponement announcement of fall sports in August, University of Utah athletics director Mark Harlan estimated a possible income loss of $50-60 million on a $91 million budget. The challenges associated with the coronavirus pandemic led to furloughs and the elimination of some positions in the athletics department.
Purdue suspends 13 in non-fall sports for residence hall party
Adam Rittenberg, ESPN
Thirteen Purdue athletes have been suspended for violating the "Protect Purdue Pledge" by holding a party Saturday in a campus residence hall, the university announced Monday. The 13 athletes, who are not being identified, are among 14 total students suspended for the party.
--Morning Consult
GBO
Ma
