Sports Final- SBJ & Guest Speakers

Guest Speaker -- Mark Jennings

* UI Athletic Department - Hardest thing he has ever done = put on the Blake Shelton concert (August 2016) - Started the Hawkeye Express train - Football manager for 3 years (won 3 football games in those 3 years) - 1st park and recreation manager in Benton, Iowa - University of Iowa Athletic Department gets no state money (Budget = $115 million) - 8,000 fans came to the concert - Had to work with the hospital (sound waves) - Started planning the concert in May of 2015 - 3 sound experts --> cost $28,000 - Approved to sell beer and wine (1st time ever selling beer in Kinnick) - Tickets = $29-$279 (32,000 tickets sold 10 months prior to the concert) - Season ticket holders got 1st dibs on tickets - Budget = based off of day + night football games - Blake Shelton said it was the largest crowd he's ever played in front of (42,000 people) - $6-7.50 for beer (only 4 arrests) - Blake Shelton did an encore (he never does them) - Probably do another concert in 2019

SBJ -- "NFL sponsors cite impact of anthem protests"

- Anheuser-Busch has created a specific telephone prompt for customers calling to complain about their sponsorship with the NFL during the protests - Papa John's was the first to publicly criticize the NFL for the handling with the protest (sales went up 1%) - Anheuser-Busch = neutral to the protests Ex: "At Anheuser-Busch, we have a long heritage of supporting the nation's armed forces, veterans and military dependents," states the message, which callers hear after pushing the first of seven prompts on the customer-service line. "The national anthem is a point of pride for our company, and for the 1,100 veterans that we employ. Please feel free to share your feedback after the tone."

Guest Speaker -- Doug Nielson

- Cedar Rapids Kernals (CEO) - Games everyday of the week From total revenue: - 20% advertising (branding, throwing out 1st pitch) - 15% hospitality (group sales, team building, etc.) - Entertainment (fireworks, promotions) - 10% Retail (souvenir, online store) - 25-40% food/beverage - Affiliated with the Minnesota Twins * Not the business of baseball, but the business of hospitality and entertainment - 2012 moved from the Angels to the Twins - 2016 bought the Waterloo Bugs (college players who want more playing time or who want to audition in front of scouts) - 25% drop in attendance and 10% increase in revenue when food/drink prices were raised and free tickets were taken away * Must re-brand to get visibility - Non-profit = Kernal Foundation (have less fortunate kids in Cedar Rapids come in and learn how to play baseball for 6 weeks --> 50/50 raffles) 3 main challenges: 1. Weather - trying to overcome by diversification 2. Kids schedules - whole families are going to little league games now - Overcome = reaching out to clubs/sports and giving them packages (ex: Dance teams get to perform at the game) 3. Millenials -- we don't go to baseball/sporting events anymore - Overcome = fan surveys, local businesses

SBJ -- "Will FBI investigation change college hoops?"

- College basketball was rocked on Sept. 26 when an FBI undercover investigation over two-plus years resulted in the arrest of four assistant coaches and the likely firing of Louisville coach Rick Pitino, one of the game's most high-profile coaches. - These coaches, agents and financial advisers weren't just breaking NCAA rules, they were committing criminal acts, according to the FBI, and they could go to jail. - It is partially the players faults for wrongfully accepting them money bribe - Almost 100 coaches could be charged - A smaller potential change: Do away with one-and-done and let kids go pro straight out of high school again. That would obviously require the help of the NBA, but the NCAA should push that hard.

SBJ -- "G League tips with new teams, plans for more"

- League closes in on achieving its "30-for-30" affiliation goal with NBA teams (record of 26 teams) - NBA owned G-League plans to have each of the NBA's 30 teams directly affiliated with 30 G-League teams within the next 2 years - Denver Nuggets, New Orleans Pelicans, and Portland Trail Blazers are the remaining teams that don't have a direct affiliation with G-league teams (they are in convo of having them though) - Growth = reflected in the run-up of G-League franchise values - Franchises are selling between $7.5-9 millions - More than 1/2 of the teams were profitable last year - Growth = Gatorades entitlement deal and NBA's new collective-bargaining agreement - NBA parent teams have 2 players on their rosters with 2-way contracts with G-League teams (2-way players are allowed to spend up to 45 days with the NBA parent team) - G-League logo will appear on all uniforms and on in-area signage * Gatorade's main focus of the deal is to use the G-League for product testing and to integrate the company's sports science efforts within the league - Incubate latest products/equipment in locker rooms - Conduct sleep tracking, sweat testing, nutrition, etc. - Attendance = 1,410,902 --> up 9% - NBA teams hosting G-league games at their home arenas = drew fans

SBJ -- 'Zero-hour' Resales Part of Stubhub- MLB Deal"

- MLB = 5-year term with StubHub until 2022 (good feelings) - Provisions made: 1. League-wide "zero-hour" rule that will allow resales on StubHub up to first-pitch times for all 30 clubs (to promote mobile-based activity) 2. Clubs to operate parallel resale markets (ex: Red Sox Replay) * Key element in striking the new deal = comfort working with StubHub's senior leadership (Scott Cutler) and (Perkins Miller) - NY Yankees returned to the deal after opting out in 2012 -- Yankees deal = $100 million - StubHub will continue to share transaction data with MLB = this info is critical in setting primary ticket pricing - 2017 Wold Series = impressive ticket resales - Average resales topping $1,100 per seat

SBJ -- NBA Jersey Patch Deal

- NBA puts advertising on game jerseys - More than 1/2 of the league's 30 teams signing deals (average of $9.3 annually) - Golden State Warriors = $20 million yearly deal with Japanese tech company Rakuten - Chicago Bulls, LA Clippers & Houston Rockets still don't have partners - League expects to have 2/3rds of teams with deals this season * Most deals are with companies that have never been NBA sponsors Ex: Minnesota Timberwolves = Fitbit - 1/5 revenue from deal goes to the players, 25% goes to the team selling the patch, 25% to be shared among the remaining 29 teams - Automakers and quick-serve restaurants are the biggest spenders by category

SBJ -- NFL Ready to Open Up Ticketing?

- NFL owners are stated to vote to end Ticketmasters exclusive rights to provide official secondary ticketing to NFL teams, opening the field for multiple providers - Sports attendance has fallen in many sports = open ticketing would help attract more fans * Ticketmaster = primary source, but are opening secondary ticketing for other companies

SBJ -- "Study Shows Drop in Fans Receptive to Sponsors"

- Receptivity > Avidity - Non-receptives (fans who tune out sponsor messaging) = increased 20% (2012) --> 29% (2017) regardless of their level of avidity - 23% of fans are receptive/responsive to sponsor messaging (18-64 year olds) - 48% selectives = on the fence regarding sponsors, don't always engage - Milennials (31% receptive) are more open to sponsor messaging than Gen-Xers (22%) and baby boomers (16%) - Women (27%) are more receptive than men (22%) - MLB = 31% female, 22% male - NFL = 31% female, 24% male - NASCAR = 44% female, 28% male ** Hispanics most receptive (38%) - African American (23%) - White (21%) - Asian (18%) - Sponsors of niche sports have more receptive fans Ex: Surfing (50%), action sports, endurance sports - Emerging sports have high receptive scores Ex: Obstacle racing (49%) - Sports alternatives that have high receptive rates = entertainment, culinary, music - Social media = a lot of receptives use it

SBJ -- "Better TV Windows Boost Viewership for MLS"

> 2017 --> MLS has 26.3 million gross viewers - Up 4% from 2016 - Up 41% from 2014 > Media rights deal with ESPN, Fox, and Univision until 2022 * MLS is the only league in North America to show consistent viewership growth since 2014 - Fox = viewership up 5% - Univision = viewership up 8% - ESPN = viewership down less than 1% - TNS/CTV and TVA in Canada = up 8% * Internationally, MLS is now seen live in 170 countries * Many of the league's gains on TV can be directly attributed to the increased availability of games Ex: MLS had 6 matches on Univision for the 1st time, 5 on Fox and switched from ESPN2 to ESPN * Have been spending more time doing fan research and analysis of ratings to better schedule (data-driven schedule) - MLS worked closely with broadcasters to set up the best matches in the broadcast windows - Regular season broadcasts = Sundays and weekends - Playoffs = mid-week, not head-to-head with the NFL (ESPN up 50% in playoff viewership) * MLS broadcasts receive a 18% increase + calculated viewership - MLS advertising was sold out across the regular season, playoffs, and MLS Cup

SBJ -- "ESPN Makes Tweaks in Social Media Policy"

> The new policy is not much different from ESPN's old social media policy that was developed in 2011 > ESPN staffers are encouraged to be "civil, responsible and without overt political or other biases that would threaten our or your credibility with the public > ESPN's social media policy follows similar guidelines issued recently by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal > Skipper described the guidelines as "common-sense" rules that apply the same standards for publishing on social media that ESPN uses for television, print, online and radio. > "Do nothing that would undercut your colleagues' work or embroil the company in unwanted controversy," > Skipper said the guidelines were not created in response to recent social media controversies. > Last month, ESPN suspended "SportsCenter" host Jemele Hill because of some of her tweets. > "NFL Countdown" host Samantha Ponder also created a stir internally for tweets about Barstool Sports, which was launching a show on ESPN. ESPN has since canceled that show. > Similar to its 2011 guidelines, ESPN's new document reminds its employees that social media feeds are public. "And everything we do in public is associated with ESPN," > It also emphasizes that ESPN's focus is sports. "While we acknowledge that our employees have interests beyond sports, it is essential that we not compromise our authority as the worldwide leader in sports coverage."