Sports Biz Rundown (8/10/2020 - 8/14/2020)
Nick Hayden
Founder of Explore ATX | Creating Linkedin content about innovation and tourism insights
New sports business partnerships and COVID-19's impact on the sports world is at the forefront of this week's Rundown. In terms of sports media, Amazon and the New York Yankees are pivoting focus onto a younger demographic with the introduction of Prime Gaming and a deal between the Yankees and TikTok. The coronavirus' impact on sports continues to be sizable with the cancelation of the BIG-10 and PAC-12's fall sports season and no fans allowed at this year's Masters in Augusta. NASCAR and the US Open are making money moves with their respective new partnerships -- BetMGM and BODYARMOR.
The goal of Sports Biz Rundown is to give you a very concise rundown of what happened this week in the world of sports & entertainment. Providing you every Friday with the top sports biz news, events, careers, and more.
SPORTS MEDIA - NEW PARTNERSHIPS
Amazon has rebranded Twitch Prime to Prime Gaming and opened up gaming content to its 133.1 million Prime members as its newest included service under the subscription, per Bloomberg. Prime Gaming will carry the same perks as Twitch Prime, including an entire library of free-to-play games, new monthly releases, exclusive in-game "loot" and a free Twitch channel subscription. Prime Gaming is included in the standard Prime subscription, and members will no longer have to link their Prime and Twitch accounts to access these games and perks. (Business Insider)
The New York Yankees and YES Network have signed a sponsorship deal with TikTok, the popular short-form video app that President Trump is trying to ban in the U.S. The Yankees and TikTok, whose parent company is Beijing-based ByteDance, have been working on the tie-up for about six months. The Yankees would get team-branded content on TikTok’s platforms, which have exploded in popularity with younger users. The deal would give the Yankees access to the young demographic that has driven the platform’s popularity during the COVID-19 shutdown. Baseball’s audience tends to skew older. (Sportico)
COVID-19 & SPORTS
Big Ten conference presidents and chancellors voted Tuesday to postpone all fall sports seasons, including football, amid the coronavirus pandemic with the hopes of playing in the spring. Warren said the decision was based on the uncertainty that still surrounds the coronavirus pandemic. Later Tuesday, Pac-12 presidents and chancellors followed the Big Ten's lead and also voted to postpone the conference's fall sports season, including football. (ESPN)
The 2020 Masters, pushed to Nov. 12-15 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, will be held this fall without patrons or guests allowed on the grounds, Augusta National Golf Club announced Wednesday. The Masters was previously scheduled to be played April 9-12 before COVID-19 upended the entire professional golf schedule from the beginning of March to the beginning of June. Those with 2020 Masters tickets will receive the same tickets for the 2021 Masters. (CBS Sports)
MONEY MOVES - NEW PARTNERSHIPS
NASCAR and BetMGM, a market-leading sports betting and iGaming platform, announced a multi-year sports betting partnership. As an Authorized Gaming Operator of NASCAR, BetMGM will collaborate with NASCAR to create and promote engaging sports betting experiences, including introducing in-race betting options, for racing fans across the United States. BetMGM will expand the portfolio of bet types offered on its mobile app throughout the NASCAR season, including pre-race and in-play bets. Bet types are currently being explored. (NASCAR)
BODYARMOR Sports Drink and the USTA announced a new partnership that names BODYARMOR LYTE as the Official Sports Drink of the US Open Tennis Championships. The new multi-year agreement begins immediately. As part of the partnership, BODYARMOR products will be made available to hydrate players during the US Open. In further support of the partnership this year, BODYARMOR will amplify via digital and social integrations, mass-awareness media and retail activity with Team BODYARMOR athletes and partners. (US Open)
Sports Biz Pod, a podcast covering sports business. Two episodes released per week. (On Tuesday) Featuring interviews with athletes, investors, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders in sports & entertainment. (On Friday) Featuring commentary with special guests recapping the week of sports business news, events, and careers. Produced by the Blue Wire podcast network. Affiliate of Sports Biz Group. www.sportsbizpod.com
Episodes released this week:
UPCOMING EVENTS
We are continuing to update our google calendar with accurate online events and rescheduled physical events. Here are some new updates:
- Champions League: Aug 12-23 *Reschedule
- FedEx Cup Playoffs: Aug 13 - Sep 7 *Reschedule
- Indy 500: Aug 23 *Reschedule
- Kentucky Derby: Sep 5 *Reschedule
- CFB Week 1: Sep 5 *No Change
- NFL Opening Game: Sep 10 *No Change
- Preakness Stakes: Oct 3 *Reschedule
- Masters Tournament: Nov 12-15 *Reschedule
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ENTRY-LEVEL
Austin FC: Ticket Operations Coordinator
FanDuel: Customer Operations Agent
MID-LEVEL
PointsBet: Performance Media Coordinator
Overtime: Account Executive
SENIOR-LEVEL
Orange Bowl Committee: Director - Ticket Sales & Service
The Topps Company: Director of Product
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