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Events and Attractions

Media Mogul Ronnie Screwvala To Launch IPL-Style Esports League

Esports is "set to join India’s sport and entertainment calendar" in early '18 with the launch of an Indian Premier League-style venture from media mogul Ronnie Screwvala, according to ASIA SPONSORSHIP NEWS. UCypher is a new biannual esports league "spearheaded by Screwvala." It is due to launch in January. The entrepreneur said that there are "immense sponsorship opportunities in a sport where brands can be integrated seamlessly." He said, "Esport is sticky, unlike other game formats. In cricket, there is one over; in football, you don't even have a gap for a commercial; with kabaddi, it's even worse where you need to get an official timeout. Here, the ability for us to integrate brands and have commercial breaks while the game is on is very high." The new UCypher league "will be very different from existing ones in several important respects." For the first two seasons, the league is going to own all the teams and players, until -- according to Screwvala -- "these assets can be valued." Tournaments will be shown on TV but they are not going on sports channels. Screwvala selected MTV, saying, "We want to get more people into gaming ... but not a sports channel at this stage" (ASIA SPONSORSHIP NEWS, 10/27). RAPID TV NEWS previously reported UCypher would begin in April (SBD Global).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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