AEG Facilities and SMG are merging, with the new venue management combination to be called ASM Global. The new standalone company will be based in L.A., manage a combined 310 venues and have approximately 50,000 employees, likely making it the largest building operator in the world. “It's an opportunity to really marry complementary businesses that have complementary strengths, complementary geographies. Both have amazing stables of people which is the core of our success,” AEG Facilities President Bob Newman said. AEG and SMG’s parent company Onex will each have a 50% stake in ASM Global. The merger is expected to be completed later this year.

Newman said SMG is bringing approximately 240 venues it manages worldwide to the merger; AEG oversees 70 facilities. AEG's stable includes the likes of Barclays Center and Prudential Center, while SMG manages the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, State Farm Stadium and Soldier Field, among others. Newman will become ASM’s president and CEO. He previously worked at SMG as a regional VP. SMG President & CEO Wes Westley will take a spot on the new company’s BOD after the merger.

Turner Sports is making its first foray into the gambling arena, signing a deal with Caesars Entertainment that will lead to the production of gambling-related content. As part of the deal, Turner will set up a Bleacher Report-branded studio inside Caesar’s sportsbook in Las Vegas that will be open to the public. “This will give an authentic, real feeling toward the content that will be created,” Turner Sports President Lenny Daniels said. “This leaves open the door to do a lot of things.” The B/R studio will be up and running in the next few months, Daniels said. Programming that comes from the Vegas-based studio will be distributed though Bleacher Report, the B/R app and other Turner Sports platforms.

Daniels said Turner does not have specific plans about the type of gambling content it will produce from the studio. He added that the current crop of gambling-related content lacks a storytelling component that he thinks is necessary for it to become popular. "We’re trying to figure out how to combine storytelling with numbers," he said. "We want engagement. Engagement drives viewership.” As part of the deal, Caesars will be the presenting sponsor for programming that appears on Turner’s linear networks, and it has the option to co-produce some programming with Turner.

ESPN reorganized its programming department, giving Exec VP/Programming & Scheduling Burke Magnus oversight over the company’s international programming. The move was made after Exec VP/Managing Dir Russell Wolff moved over to run ESPN+. Tim Bunnell, who had run international programming for 17 years, now will report to Magnus as Senior VP/Programming & Acquisitions and handle the NBA, golf, tennis and motorsports for ESPN. VP/Programming & Acquisitions John Papa and Senior Dir of Programming Michael Christofer will report to Bunnell. Longtime ESPN exec Rob Temple now will report to Magnus as Senior VP/Programming & Acquisitions, overseeing MLB, X Games, Little League World Series and poker.

Matt Kenny also joins the programming group as VP/Combat Sports. Kenny comes from ESPN’s affiliate group and will report to Senior VP/Programming & Acquisitions Scott Guglielmino. In this restructured group, Guglielmino will oversee the NFL, soccer, combat sports and ESPN Deportes. Magnus now will have seven direct reports: Bunnell, Guglielmino, Temple, VP/Programming & Acquisitions Ilan Ben-Hanan, Senior VP/College Sports Programming & Events Pete Derzis, Senior VP/College Networks Rosalyn Durant and VP/Digital Media Programming John Lasker. Papa and ESPN Deportes VP and GM Freddy Rolon will remain part of Magnus’ senior staff.

Baseball HOFer Frank Robinson died today at 83, and he is being remembered as a "central figure" in advancing MLB's "integration of black players after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947." Robinson "exploded on the scene" in '56 as a player and later became MLB's first black manager in '74 (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/7). Robinson in '07 joined the league office as a special assistant to then-Commissioner Bud Selig. In '15, he was named "senior adviser to Commissioner Rob Manfred and honorary American League president" (WBAL.com, 2/7).

The Marlins today unveiled a new ticket pricing strategy for '19 that includes an average 10% price reduction compared to '18 single-game prices, as well as tickets starting at $10. The club’s new pricing structure has nearly half of the seats at Marlins Park at less than $25 for single games, and more than a quarter at $20 or less. The move extends a busy offseason for the club that has included the creation of reduced-priced concessions; the development of a social area at the ballpark; and the creation of SRO Social Passes, also starting at $10 per game. Also, a retooled promotional calendar will see team-specific gear given away at every Saturday home game, and kids items at every Sunday home game.

Celtics C Al Horford has signed a two-year deal to become a national ambassador for MilkPEP's "Built with Chocolate Milk" campaign, which debuts a national TV commercial on Monday around NBA All-Star week. Financial details were not disclosed. The partnership also includes digital assets. MilkPEP was represented by Weber Shandwick, Campbell Ewald and The Marketing Arm in the deal. Horford is represented on and off the court by Glushon Sports Management. Glushon Head of Sales & Marketing David Braun negotiated the agreement for Horford.

The Hawks have partnered with the Prostate Cancer Foundation for a "campaign aimed at education and awareness," with Hawks Vice Chair Grant Hill and former NFLer Calvin Hill set to "lead the effort." To bring "greater awareness to the African-American community of the disease," the Hawks this month kicked off the Black History Month Assist Challenge. For every assist registered by the team this month, $250 will be "donated by the Hawks Foundation to the Prostate Cancer Foundation" (AJC.com, 2/7).

Dow Chemical renewed its sponsorship of USA Luge through the '22 Beijing Games, continuing in its designation as official technical partner. Dow has lent its expertise in designing sleds to the U.S. team since '07, and during that time the Americans won their first two singles medals in team history. The extension is the first indication of Dow’s intentions in the Olympic space beyond '20, when its 10-year TOP sponsorship with the IOC is set to expire. There has been no word on whether it intends to renew at the worldwide level.

Meanwhile, BiPro renewed its deal as the official protein supplier of USA Bobsled & Skeleton.

DAZN hired Logan Swaim from NFL Network to be the Exec Producer of the streaming service's nightly MLB whiparound show that launches Opening Day. Swaim had been a showrunner for NFL Net’s “Good Morning Football" (John Ourand, THE DAILY).

Sources indicated that ESPN's Charles Woodson "will not be returning" to "Sunday NFL Countdown" (NYPOST.com, 2/7).

ABC will air the semifinals and finals for Stages 1 and 2 of the Overwatch League's new season, which begins next week. ESPN2 will carry the Stage 3 finals (OWL).

The Alliance of American Football named KORE its ticketing and fan engagement platform for the league's inaugural season, which kicks off on Saturday (AAF).

Fiber bandwidth company SEGRA has acquired the naming rights to the Single-A Carolina League Fayetteville Woodpeckers' new $40M ballpark, to be titled SEGRA Stadium (Astros).

“(My family and I) started to think this may really fit us correctly, for a lot of reasons. And my first was my confidence in Oliver Luck, on up through to Vince McMahon. … These guys are going to do this the right way” -- Bob Stoops, while being introduced today as the coach and GM of Dallas' XFL franchise (TWITTER.com, 2/7).

"If there's something that can inspire somebody more through brand awareness, I want to know who it is. When you feel the power of Meow Wolf and the power of soccer in New Mexico United ... you're going to create this euphoria around it" -- New Mexico United Owner Peter Trevisani, on the USL club partnering with a Santa Fe-based art collective as its new kit sponsor (BIZJOURNALS.com, 2/7).

look all I’m saying is, baseball is a sport that’s still played wearing a button down shirt tucked into knee high pants with a leather belt so I think anytime we have conversations about updating the game it’s a good thing.

— Sean Doolittle (@whatwouldDOOdo) February 7, 2019

Morning KD musing: The discussion on his future isn't about gossip. It's the ($7 billion) business of basketball: Teams are making major moves based on what they think stars like him will do. Reporting that "Porzingis was traded & we don't really know why" does fans a disservice.

— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) February 7, 2019

A programming note: I'm shifting from covering the Mets to the Yankees for @NYTSports. Thanks for following my Mets coverage/tweets/typos the past 2.5 years. Hopefully you still stick around going forward.

— James Wagner (@ByJamesWagner) February 7, 2019

Today I am pumped to announce that I have joined @Wasserman as a Sr. Manager on their brands team. Specifically, I'll be working with an awesome team on @ATT esports & gaming strategy. New chapter. Awesome team. Let's Go! #TeamWass pic.twitter.com/qU7lr8XcNc

— Ryan Dow (@RDeezy14) February 7, 2019

The new crew#GoldJacketBrothers pic.twitter.com/vgDwjbRIHJ

— Ed Reed (@TwentyER) February 7, 2019

The Brewers have been putting out plenty of video content this offseason. Some examples are the following #ThisIsMyCrew hype video for the '19 season and a look at LF Ryan Braun's training regimen, part of the "Brewers On Tap" video series.

TNT will air the NBA All-Star Draft for the first time at 7:00pm ET ahead of a doubleheader featuring Lakers-Celtics and Suns-Trail Blazers. The second-ever All-Star Draft, with presenting sponsorship from Jordan Brand, features LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo as captains.

Texans DE J.J. Watt will appear on NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" at 12:35am ET.

$450,000 -- Per-team salary cap for Major League Rugby this year, up from $350,000 in its inaugural '18 season (SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/4 issue).