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MLB taps Adobe to personalize in-venue experience...'Friday Night Baseball' won't be free on Apple TV+...Canadian billionaire joins Commanders bidding

MLB taps Adobe to personalize in-venue experience

By Tom Friend

MLB is integrating Adobe Experience Cloud into team apps leaguewide to personalize the in-venue experience for fans during the upcoming 2023 season and beyond. Announced today at Adobe Summit, its digital experience conference, MLB will deploy cloud activations such as the Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform, which allows all 30 franchises to compile deep segmentations on the consumer while creating targeted offers and notifications. 

As part of the partnership, teams can trial VIP-style treatment with fans that includes bringing concessions directly to their seats. Scenarios include activations where a franchise could send a fan a customized ticket purchase offer with a unique combination of game, seat location and price based on a variety of fan data points such as favorite team and number of games attended. 

One undisclosed MLB team is already planning to send customized push notifications to users in the team app when they arrive at the stadium, offering seat location data, upgrades and food and beverage ordering options. Through the team apps, MLB clubs can also send digital content, individualized emails and merchandise options based on a fan’s personalized interests and pattern of attending games. 

'Friday Night Baseball' won't be free on Apple TV+

Apple TV+ will begin its second season of "Friday Night Baseball" on April 7. However, unlike last season when games were free to view, "an Apple TV+ subscription is required" to watch the games. Restaurants, bars, hotels and other commercial establishments "that have DirecTV for Business will be able to carry the Apple TV+ games on their satellite equipment." The streaming service will "carry twin bills over 25 weeks with no local blackout restrictions," and in a change from last year, "both games will be going on simultaneously most weeks." Fans "in 60 countries will be able to access the games," which were available in "only 12 last season." 

Wayne Randazzo "will team with Dontrelle Willis" for one of the broadcast crews, while Alex Faust and Ryan Spilborghs are "pairing for the other." Heidi Watney and Tricia Whitaker "will be field reporters," while pregame and postgame coverage will be hosted by Lauren Gardner, along with Siera Santos. Xavier Scruggs, Matt Joyce and Russell Dorsey will be analysts (AP, 3/22).

Canadian billionaire joins Commanders bidding

Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos is the "newest potential bidder" looking to purchase the Commanders, according to sources. Apostolopoulos, the founder of private equity fund Six Ventures, is one of "only three known bidders for the Commanders," with the others being 76ers and Devils owner Josh Harris and Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta. There also has been "speculation that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos could potentially join the mix." Sources said that Apostolopoulos also "recently had discussions to buy" the Hornets, but has "focused on the opportunity to purchase the Commanders." With the NFL owners meeting in Phoenix starting Monday, there has been "increased speculation over when a deal could be announced" (ESPN.com, 3/22).

College sports receives straight C grades from TIDES

By Liz Mullen

College sports received straight C grades for the second year in a row in the categories of racial, gender and overall diversity hiring in a report issued today by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES). The report focused on racial and gender hiring at the NCAA and its member institutions, excluding the HBCUs. The point score for gender hiring increased slightly from 73.8 to 74.1, but the point score for racial hiring dipped from 74.4 to 73.3 and the overall diversity hiring scores declined from 75.8 to 73.7.

“College sport has historically not done well at increasing opportunities for women and people of color,” TIDES Director Richard Lapchick said in the report. “Excluding HBCU institutions, the representation of women and people of color in key decision-making roles within collegiate athletics has been scarce. … College sport continues to fall short in closing the disparities in leadership in relation to their professional sport-counterparts.” 

TIDES produces annual diversity report cards for the NBA, NFL, MLB, MLS and WNBA after intense study of the hiring practices at those leagues. Asked for comment on the report, the NCAA issued a statement apparently focused on the higher grades the NCAA National Office received, rather than the C grades the overall institution received. The NCAA National Office received a B- for race in both senior leadership and professional positions and an A- for gender in senior leadership and an A+ in professional administration positions.

NCAA SVP/Inclusion, Education and Community Engagement Felicia Martin said in a statement, “We are pleased to see that the NCAA National Office continues to receive high marks for our diverse senior leadership and inclusive president’s cabinet. Our marks are reflective of an intentional effort to develop an inclusive culture that recognizes and values organizational excellence. By now, the importance of diversity in leadership is clear. When organizations embrace diversity, equity and inclusion, the data supports better company culture.”

COLLEGE SPORT RACIAL & GENDER REPORT CARD
  2022 2021 2020
Racial Hiring C (73.3) C (74.4) B (80.2)
Gender Hiring C (74.1) C (73.8) C+ (77.0)
Overall C (73.7) C (75.8) C+ (78.6)
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Celtics' Brown signs with M88 for management

Celtics G Jaylen Brown was previously represented by Kanye West's Donda Sports for managementGetty Images

Celtics G Jaylen Brown has signed with M88 for management, "becoming the first athlete to join the company’s roster of artists and cultural leaders." M88 will now look to "create and develop opportunities" for Brown in "both the entertainment and strategic partnership spaces." As VP of the NBPA, Brown "aided in the creation of THINK450, which helps NBA players gain control of their name and likeness." Brown was previously repped by Kanye West's Donda Sports. Brown continues to be repped by Jason Glushon of Glushon Sports Management and The Lede Company (DEADLINE, 3/22).

Breeders' Cup extends FanDuel sponsorship

By Liz Mullen

The Breeders’ Cup today announced a multiyear extension with FanDuel as the official wagering partner of horse racing’s year-end World Championships. Under the new agreement, FanDuel will retain its status as the Official ADW Partner, Official Sports Wagering Partner, Official Fantasy Sports Partner, and Official Mobile Casino Partner of the Breeders’ Cup. Additionally, it will continue to serve as the title sponsor of the $2M FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and the $2M FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile. As part of the agreement, FanDuel TV also will continue to produce and broadcast “The Breeders’ Cup Players’ Show,” a live wagering-focused telecast of the World Championships which is tailored to horseplayers. FanDuel TV will also continue its coverage of key Breeders’ Cup Challenge races prior to the World Championships. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Amazon Studios promoting 'Air' with big activation

Amazon Studios is "taking to the streets" to promote Ben Affleck’s new Nike-Michael Jordan film "Air," as the studio has "teamed up with iconic sneaker culture" brand Jason Markk to host a "multi-city consumer experience." Dubbed "Fresh Air," the activation "ties into the film’s social campaign, 'A shoe is just a shoe until I step into it.'" The activation will see "guerilla street teams flood U.S. cities," including L.A., N.Y., Miami and Chicago, to "celebrate the culture and history of the sneaker community." The street team will also "have a presence at the Jason Markk flagship store in L.A." (VARIETY, 3/22).

Podcast Picks: Missing the Goal

The world of international soccer, or as the rest of the world calls it football, is seemingly constantly dealing with some scandal or issue, with the latest episode of “The Athletic Football Podcast” discussing FIFA recently dropping “Visit Saudi” as a sponsor of the Women’s World Cup. The Athletic’s Laura Williamson said “it begs belief that nobody at FIFA HQ thought” signing “Visit Saudi” as a sponsor of the Women’s World Cup “might be an issue.” The Athletic’s Adam Crafton noted FIFA President Gianni Infantino publicly claimed FIFA and “Visit Saudi” only had “discussions” to be a sponsor, but “it was more than discussions. This was something that was done and then had to be undone.”

CLOSE TO COMMAND: The sale of the Commanders was a major topic for “Washington Football Talk” with host JP Finlay noting he thinks “this thing is close to getting done, but close to getting done in a financial transaction of this magnitude means the lawyers start pouring over everything with fine-tooth combs.” But Finlay said “some random person is not going to break this story” in terms of the details of the Commanders sale and instead “I would put all my money” on ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Finlay: “There’s one dude that Dan will text when this becomes official and it’s Schefter.”

UNION PACIFIC: “The Beat of Sports” host Marc Daniels chimed in about the ongoing media rights negotiations the Pac-12 is currently involved in, saying he does “not want the Pac-12 to dissolve” because he thinks “it’s bad for college sports.” Daniels said whatever deal the Pac-12 gets “they will spin it to appear that it’s larger than the Big 12’s contract,” but for those schools in the Pac-12 it is in their “best interest” to have an “idea what the Big 12 is offering” if they decide to expand “so that when they do get the Pac-12 media deal that they can compare.” But Daniels added, “I do think that once you get up to 16 teams in a conference it’s a convention, not a conference.”

Know of a podcast we should keep tabs on? Send an email to mboylan@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Also, check out SBJ's podcast home.

Speed Reads....

MLB is "making slight changes" to its new pitch clock rules but "will not alter the most significant portions of the mandates" (ESPN.com, 3/22).

The U.S. Soccer Foundation is extending its partnership with NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises as the official Spanish-language media partner for the second year (Telemundo).

The Crew signed OhioHealth as the first ever jersey sponsor for their MLS Next Pro squad, Columbus Crew 2 (Crew).

Quick Hits....

“With television being the driving force for sponsorship and revenues, I do not see a big event going to match play. I can see maybe one PGA Tour event going there but even then, it’s going to be difficult” -- Golf Channel’s Mark Rolfing, on match play events being phased out of the PGA Tour schedule because so many shots have to be shown taped and not live which makes for bad television viewing (“Golf Central Pregame,” Golf Channel, 3/22).

“I was a bit scared because it’s like you want to do a good enough job so that door you’ve kind of swung open stays open” -- “Hockey Night in Canada” broadcaster Harnarayan Singh, on broadcasting his first game in English for “HNIC” after doing broadcasts in Punjabi (“Real Sports,” HBO, 3/21).

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Daily Download....

Four-part docuseries "Redefined: J.R. Smith" premieres April 4 on Prime Video and follows retired NBAer J.R. Smith as he pursues a college education and new athletic passion -- golf -- at North Carolina A&T. The series comes from LeBron James and Maverick Carter and their Uninterrupted banner.

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