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SBJ Unpacks: Coronavirus -- Teams Landing Virtual NFL Draft Sponsors


Buckle up.

President Trump and the sports leagues painted a scenario over the weekend where the NFL and other leagues could start playing games again in the fall, possibly in front of paying fans. In a note to shareholders today, though, JPMorgan Chase Chair & CEO Jamie Dimon said there will be multiple problems even in that best-case scenario

Dimon: “We don’t know exactly what the future will hold -- but at a minimum, we assume that it will include a bad recession combined with some kind of financial stress similar to the global financial crisis of 2008. Our bank cannot be immune to the effects of this kind of stress.”

A potential silver lining: Gov. Andrew Cuomo said New York state may be flattening the death rate curve after the number of reported deaths Sunday was similar to Saturday’s number and below Friday’s.

I do want to point out the increasing number of charitable initiatives coming from the sports community. Sports has stepped up more than any industry I have seen. Today, Nets owner Joe Tsai donated 2.6 million surgical masks, 170,000 goggles and 2,000 ventilators. In this week’s SBJ, I wrote about the AthletesRelief.org website that already has amassed more than $154,000 in donations.

Stay safe, everybody.

-- John Ourand

 

SPONSORS GETTING ON BOARD FOR VIRTUAL NFL DRAFT EVENTS

  • NFL teams are starting to announce their plans for virtual draft activations. The Miami Dolphins Facebook Group today started sending out invites to fans. The page will host a “second screen” experience with Bud Light Seltzer on as presenting sponsor, SBJ’s Ben Fischer reports. Like all teams, the Dolphins will be aggressive on many social platforms, but the official Facebook group has 30,000 fans already, said Dolphins VP/Marketing Laura Sandall.

  • The hope, Sandall said, is that fans will watch the draft on ESPN/ABC and NFL Network while also having Facebook open. Inside the group, local TV commentators Kim Bokamper and John Conjemi will do live analysis, and current players will appear for Q&As and fans can talk to each other as well.

  • Bud Light Seltzer’s brand will be tied to a feature called “Draft Stories,” which includes current and past players sharing their own memories of being drafted, Sandall said. Separately, the Dolphins earlier sent out “draft parties in a box” to key celebrity influencers and season ticket holders. The Redskins also announced a virtual party, presented by 7-Eleven, that will be hosted across several social channels.

  • While the ban on gatherings at Hard Rock Stadium is limiting, the Dolphins love Facebook’s ability to generate business. In 2019, the team booked $4 million in new season ticket sales by targeting Facebook users, which CEO Tom Garfinkel called the “’Glengarry’ leads.”

 

SHUTDOWN CREATES MYRIAD ISSUES FOR COLLEGE ADs

  • An economic downturn will sting college athletic programs similarly to pro teams, with revenue shortfalls from ticket sales and sponsorships likely and donations also in decline. But there also are other dynamics that D-I athletic directors now have to worry about that are unique to colleges -- like how to provide services to hundreds of athletes now spread far and wide, out from under the watchful eyes of coaches, trainers and, most importantly, academic support staff. In a recent poll, 89% of D-I ADs cited academic progress as a pressing concern over these next three months.

  • On the most recent episode of the SBJ Unpacks podcast, Bill King spoke with Tom McMillen, the former NBA player and congressman who now heads up the association of D-I ADs, about that worry, and others. “It was really interesting that our ADs are worried about academic progress probably most with respect to student athletes,” said McMillen, president & CEO of the Lead1 Association. “They have very high concern about what this is going to mean to (those athletes). They realize these kids are home. They’re trying to stay up on online curriculums. It’s difficult. They don’t have tutors. They don’t have the same disciplinary environment. That really stood out as such a big concern. Mental health was right up there. But that was probably the biggest concern on the student athlete side.”

  • For much more from McMillen, including the potential financial ramifications for programs, and the widening call for cost containment by some ADs, check out the SBJ Unpacks podcast.

 

 

RODDICK TURNS TWEET INTO TENNIS ANALYST ROLE DURING SHUTDOWN

  • Andy Roddick is isolating with his wife, model and actress Brooklyn Decker, and their two young children, in Charlotte, but the longtime tennis star recently turned a tweet into an analyst role with Tennis Channel, SBJ's Bret McCormick notes. It all started March 24 with the tweet: “@TennisChannel can I have a job in whatever capacity you choose for the next month? I’ll intern from home? @LDavenport76 @paul_annacone can you help? I’m serious ....... job me.” A day later, Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open winner, had a new gig, appearing three times a week on Tennis Channel to talk about current events and serve up opinions on the historical debates that the network is using to fill its programming hours. “It happened kind of how you saw it,” Roddick told SBJ. “It happened very quickly.”

  • Roddick has stayed busy running his real estate investment firm and monitoring the 30+ companies in which he’s an angel investor. He saw that the Tennis Channel’s programming during the shutdown would delve heavily into the sport’s history, which, he said, is 'something I can talk about very easily and it didn’t feel like I would mess anything up too badly." The network is focusing on one major topic -- greatest of all time, history, French OpenWimbledon, and U.S. Open -- each week during a five-week span, which is currently in Week 3.

  • Tennis Channel Senior VP David Egdes sealed the deal with Roddick, which runs the entire five weeks. Roddick’s remote tech set-up consists of a five-year old iPad. “That’s it,” he said. “I warned them that I am tech-illiterate for the most part.”

  • Roddick said his No. 1 priority when he retired from singles play in 2012 was tightly controlling his travel schedule. That has made this remote role a perfect fit, but also explains why his broadcast career is unlikely to last beyond pro tennis’ stoppage of play. “Andy has been a wonderful addition,” said Tennis Channel Executive Producer and Senior VP/Production Bob Whyley. “He adds so much to our show and I look forward to what he has to say each time he’s on.”

 

NCAA, TENNIS BODIES, NWSL NOT AMONG GROUPS ON TRUMP CALL

  • Thirteen leagues from the sports and entertainment world were represented on a call Saturday with President Trump, who used the audience of commissioners and senior execs to push for fans to return to stadiums by August and September. But it was the groups who weren’t invited that raised questions, SBJ’s Michael Smith Bret McCormick report. The NCAA offered no comment on why it was not on the call. The pro tennis tours and the NWSL also were excluded.

  • One rationale: College athletes don’t get paid, whereas pros are playing for their livelihood, so there shouldn’t be the same pressure for the college athletes to get back on the field. That was part of the thinking with why only the pro leagues were represented.

  • None of the tennis entities with American connections were on the call, including the ATPWTA or USTA. The leagues weren’t talking today, but the exclusion of pro tennis underscores the sport’s lack of a recognized, overarching governing body. A USTA spokesperson said: "We’re hopeful of communication in the near future."

 

SHUTDOWN CREATES POTENTIAL GLUT OF GOLF EVENTS IN THE FALL

  • Is there such a thing as too much great golf? SBJ's Thomas Leary notes that the sport's governing bodies, in an effort to retain as many events as possible on the 2020 calendar, have created one eight-week stretch (starting Aug. 3) that includes the FedExCup Playoffs (three events), U.S. OpenPGA Championship and Ryder Cup. And that's with the Open Championship now off the calendar, marking the first golf major to go dark since 1945.

  • Tournaments within that eight-week stretch with the most to lose include the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro (Aug. 13-16) and the first PGA Tour playoff event the following week in Boston. The Wyndham now falls the week after the season’s first major, while some top players may opt to skip the first playoff event with an eye toward the demanding Tour Championship-U.S. Open-Ryder Cup stretch. There is a week off after the Tour Championship, with players making their way to Winged Foot for the rescheduled U.S. Open on Sept. 17. That Sunday night (Sept. 20), the Ryder Cup teams will go wheels up to Wisconsin for the biennial event.

  • One common denominator for all of these big events -- including the Masters in mid-November -- is competition with football on the weekends (if the season begins as scheduled). Golf partners like CBS, ESPN and Fox are also heavily invested in football on Saturdays and Sundays during the final four months of the year. While a golf major could outdraw some college football games in the ratings, it's not likely that any final round draws what the NFL draws on Sunday afternoons, which could make for some difficult decisions for properties and networks after the summer. 

   

WORKING FROM HOME WITH GOLF CHANNEL'S MATTHEW HEGARTY

  • It has no doubt been a busy day for Golf Channel Senior Director of News Matthew Hegarty, who has been working hand-in-hand with the network’s production team remotely from his home in Winter ParkFla., since March 16. As fans were given a glimmer of hope this morning with Augusta National announcing plans to reschedule the Masters in November, Golf Channel was getting set to debut programming this evening celebrating the event’s history this week during the original 2020 tournament dates.

  • Golf Channel is coordinating its plans with ESPN and CBS, which will be airing classic Masters final rounds. For example, when CBS’ re-air of the 2019 tournament concludes on Sunday, Golf Channel will broadcast its “Live From The Masters” recap show covering Tiger Woods’ historic win. Hegarty: “Once we spoke to Augusta National, found out what they were doing, we put our heads together and started thinking about what's the best way for us to complement that.” Hegarty: “Showing these press conferences has become a staple on what we like to do on ‘Live From’ on Sunday night. … Let’s relive that entire experience.”

  • Hegarty has moved his at-home workstation around, discovering the dining room was too loud, thanks to his three children (ages 11, 10 and 6) who are online schooling, before settling down in the corner of his bedroom, where his Australian Shepherd, Arnie, is his daily companion. “It's really turned into a well-run machine over here,” he said. “Everybody's up, breakfast, into the rooms and everybody starts their day.” His news team has been using WebEx and Microsoft Teams for daily production meetings for “Golf Central” updates that are going out every evening. The operations team was even able to build a virtual control room for everyone to congregate in.

  • While some golf courses are still open around Orlando, Hegarty has decided to give his clubs a rest for now. “I feel like I'm doing my part of social distancing and setting an example for my family by not playing,” he said. “Right now, I feel like if my kids can't run over and hang out with their pals and do their thing that I should set a good example.” One bright spot of everything for Hegarty? Extra family time. “Seeing my kids as much as I do in the morning and being able to have dinner with them every single night is something that I think, when it's all said and done, my family is certainly going to remember,” he said.

  • Want to share what your work-from-home setup is like? Reach out to SBJ's David Rumsey.

 

Golf Channel's Matthew Hegarty has been working from home alongside his Australian Shepherd, Arnie

 

ENDURANCE EVENTS LOOK TO CONGRESS FOR AID PACKAGE

  • A group of endurance race organizations has formed a coalition to jointly lobby Congress to provide direct financial relief to the struggling industry in future rounds of stimulus legislation, reports SBJ’s Chris Smith. Founding members of the Endurance Sports Coalition include USA TriathlonSpartan RaceIronmanTough MudderRock & Roll MarathonRunning USA and imATHLETE/EnMotive. “We need some support,” said Spartan Founder & and CEO Joe De Sena. “If you’ve got 10,000 mom and pop operators, which is the number just in the United States, and they depend on this to feed their family, you can’t have half that industry wiped out.”

  • Per the coalition’s website, over 30 million participants compete in the more than 50,000 endurance events in the U.S. annually, and the industry supports more than 500,000 jobs. DeSena added that endurance events have a significant economic impact. “When we show up, $3.5 million of spend shows up in that local economy,” he said. 

  • The coalition will now seek to broaden its ranks. Membership is open to race operators and service providers, including “registration providers, timers, coaches, trainers, clubs, specialty retailers, and event services businesses.” Members that provide the coalition either funding or “substantial in-kind services” will be able to place a representative on the body’s coordinating committee.

 

 

SPEED READS

  • Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott is taking a 20% pay cut and senior staffers will have a 10% pay reduction, Jon Wilner reports in his Pac-12 Hotline newsletter. Scott also has reduced the employee count at Pac-12 Networks by 8%, or 12 people. Scott first acknowledged that he was working on a cost-savings plan to SBJ last week. There will be additional measures, such as a pause on travel and capital projects.

  • The USTA is instituting salary reductions on a rolling scale for all employees who make $100,000 or more annually, SBJ's Bret McCormick reports. Those making less than that threshold will not see a salary reduction, according to a USTA spokesperson.

  • AECOM is providing design and construction services to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ work on building a temporary medical facility on Long Island that will provide care to residents of the region who have fallen ill from coronavirus, SBJ's Karn Dhingra reports. AECOM, which also continues work on SoFi Stadium across the country, began supporting the Corps of Engineers on March 30 and its contract on this project is expected to end on April 20.

  • ESPN’s Peter Bodo goes deep on how the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is “transforming into a makeshift hospital.” Sitting just four miles away from the “overwhelmed” Elmhurst Hospital, the home of the U.SOpen “will provide nearly 100,000 square feet of supplemental hospital space.” The hospital facility is “being built on the fly by SLS, a company based in GalvestonTexas, that does general contracting and construction with a specialty in aiding disaster relief efforts.” It will be one of the “first pop-up emergency facilities capable of treating those suffering from COVID-19.” 
  • The increased importance of non-game programming has given Bill Friedman a friendly reminder of the critical role his team plays for Big Ten Network. Friedman, who serves as BTN Originals senior coordinating producer, oversees three full-time producers and one full-time editor. He told the “BTN Take Ten” podcast, “We have a small team … but they’re five-tool players.” Friedman said they are hard at work developing several docu-series to “provide some variety on the programming grid that isn’t as game-based or as news-based as what our studio and remote groups do so well. 



NEWS YOU NEED FROM SPORTS BUSINESS DAILY

  • During this crisis impacting the sports business, we want everyone to be up-to-date on the latest news and information. SBD's "Coronavirus & Sports" section is free, outside the paywall, for the foreseeable future. Below are today's headlines:

    • Trump Pushes For Sports Restart, With Fans Present, By August
    • Prolonged Absence Could Cost Sports Its Standing In Society
    • Open Championship Canceled, As Other Majors Get Dates On Calendar
    • Cuban Hopeful NBA Returns, But Notes Safety Takes Priority
    • Golden Knights' DeBoer In Favor Of Finding Closure For NHL Season
    • NFL Players Not Protected From Loss Payment If Games Missed
    • Jacobs Family Explains Delay In TD Garden Worker Relief Fund
    • Sources: MLB Rangers Execs Take Pay Cuts To Save Other Jobs
    • StubHub Changes Refund Policy For Final Four Ticket Buyers
    • GalaxyLAFC Step Up To Help L.A.'s Medical Response Effort
    • Nets, Owner Joe Tsai Donate 2.6 Million Masks To New York

 


SBJ UNPACKS -- WEATHERING COVID-19

 

 

 

Something related to coronavirus and sports business catch your eye? Tell us about it. Reach out to Austin Karp (akarp@sportsbusinessjournal.com) and we'll share the best of it.