VARIETY's Brian Steinberg reported in a series of promos "aimed at advertisers and media buyers in the weeks leading up to TV’s annual upfront market," ESPN is "making its case not against traditional competitors but rather a series of new-media upstarts, emerging behaviors and growing populations whose potential to disrupt the current media industry looms large." ESPN’s ads "take pot shots" at BuzzFeed and Funny or Die and "explain how the sports-media giant trumps binge-viewing; and suggest advertisers may find more African-Americans and Hispanics watching ESPN programming than that of other media catering directly to those demographics." The ads "suggest that ESPN is eager to play up the niches found in its broader audience of sports fans, just as Madison Avenue has ramped up demand for the ability to aim pitches and promotions at narrower strands of audience" (VARIETY.com, 4/20).
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE: EPL club Liverpool and Standard Chartered Bank yesterday announced a three-year extension to their main sponsor agreement,which now extends through the end of the '18-19 season. Standard Chartered's logo has now appeared on the front of the club’s shirts for the last five seasons. Sources said that the deal is worth close to $45M per year (SBD Global).
SERVICE CAR: Jaguar has been named the Official Car for this year's Wimbledon. The British luxury car brand will supply 170 vehicles, including several Jaguar models (Wimbledon). Both parties in a statement said that it is a three-year deal (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 4/20).
