Sports Biz Rundown (8/24/2020 - 8/28/2020)
Nick Hayden
Founder of Explore ATX | Creating Linkedin content about innovation and tourism insights
Leagues, teams, and players around the country are mobilizing their protesting and boycotting efforts in response to heightened racial injustice following the shooting of Jacob Blake this past Sunday. The sports world continues to prove itself as an avenue for innovation and forward thinking with the start of esports podcasts and a website to boost female empowerment in sports. With the NFL season approaching, teams begin to release their plans for the upcoming season.
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.
SOCIAL JUSTICE & SPORTS
What began as the Milwaukee Bucks' decision to boycott their playoff game following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in the team's home state cascaded into a wave of similar protests across the American sports scene by Wednesday night. The NBA announced it would postpone Game 5 of three different playoff series. Within hours, three WNBA, five Major League Soccer and three Major League Baseball games were called off as athletes acted in solidarity with the Bucks' players. Blake, a Black man, was shot in the back by police on Sunday as he tried to enter his vehicle in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His shooting became the latest incident to prompt outrage nationwide over racial injustice and police brutality. (CNN)
NEW BEGINNINGS
Former Nike executive Stefanie Strack wants to give the female athlete community through her startup, Voice in Sport—VIS for short. The community-centric website for girls and young women, ages 13-22, will feature educational content, offer digital mentorship programs and do advocacy work to address gender disparities within sport.VIS’s target audience actually makes up a large portion of the 38-year-old entrepreneur’s team, with dozens of college athletes and students amongst the young company’s ranks. (Sportico)
As the NFL season approaches quickly, front offices are starting to mobilize their efforts to create a comprehensive COVID-19 plan. The 2020-21 season will not take place in a bubble (like the NBA and WNBA). Instead, each team is at liberty to decide what coronavirus measures they want to take on. Some teams have announced their plans. In the NFC, the Minnesota Vikings announced that they will not have any fans in the stadium for the time being. Teams like the Miami Dolphins in the AFC, are adopting a socially distant environment with stadium capacity at 20% and a mandatory mask policy.
MONEY MOVES
Baseball-focused Turn2 Equity Partners has added its first pro athlete investor: Cubs right fielder Jason Heyward, who will also be the first member of a Turn2 Players Council. The team plans to serve the baseball community, sharing developmental data and analytics tech with pro decision makers and helping players at all levels build their social influence through media and events. Heyward will play an ambassador role for the company, contribute to its content efforts and consult on its other ventures. One of Heyward’s first roles at Turn2 will be appearing with Bobby Evans and Jim Duquette on the company’s upcoming digital show, GM Files. (Sportico)
Spotify is adding to its exclusive podcast by getting into the esports space. The company announced a multiyear partnership with Riot Games that’ll make Spotify the hub for all League of Legends audio content, including exclusive podcast series, called Untold Stories: Top Moments from Worlds, a nine-episode series that’ll lead up to the championship this fall. League of Legends is one of the most popular esports. More than 100 million people watched the world championship last year. Getting even a small percentage of these viewers to tune into a podcast would generate enough listeners for Spotify to easily monetize the show. (The Verge)
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:
This week, many events have been postponed or canceled due to recent circumstances. We will continue to update the event calendar, as updates arise.
ENTRY-LEVEL
Bleacher Report: House of Highlights Programmer
BSE Global: Account Representative - Member Services
MID-LEVEL
TikTok: Growth Strategy Specialist - Sports
Blue Wire Podcasts: Podcast Growth Consultant
SENIOR-LEVEL
NFL Player's Association: Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs
Oakland Roots Sports Club: Chief Revenue Officer
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