Ticketmaster expects an extension from the NFL, Caesars promotion delivers for the Colts and Nike will continue to produce Kobe footwear and apparel.
The start of the sweet 16 saw two number one seeds, Gonzaga and Arizona, have their seasons end, as Arkansas and Houston advanced to the elite eight. Coach K and number two seed, Duke, escaped a tough match up against Texas Tech, and the Blue Devils will face the Razorbacks on Saturday with a final four trip on the line. In another crucial match last night, the US men's national team played to a scoreless draw in Mexico, and will face Panama on Sunday in Orlando where a win will all but clench a World Cup birth.
Good morning, it's Friday, March 25th, and this is your SBJ Morning Buzzcast. I'm David Albright filling in for Abe Madkour. NFL owners are expected to approve a contract extension with Ticketmaster next week that will keep the company operating the league's NFL Ticket Exchange through the 2026 season, four years beyond its current expiration date coming after this season according to our Ben Fisher and Brett McCormick. The deal maintains the open architecture approach pioneered in 2017 in which Ticketmaster's Exchange acts as the hub of a network of both primary and resale commerce, including marketplaces run by other ticketing companies. The rapid adoption of mobile tickets from 10% in 2017 to nearly 100% in 2021 has caused the economics in the deal to a skyrocket, sources said. Deal terms are not known, but teams cut of the new ticket master fees will more than double sources said. The value has come primarily through data. All that mobile ticketing produces valuable information on customers generating new sales leads, better analysis of trends, and insights to help club marketing and sponsorship sales.
Caesar's promotion to subsidize Indianapolis Colt season ticket purchases for fans who created a new betting account was an extraordinary success. More than 2500 season ticket members bought more than 7,000 tickets with a $500 credit from Caesars. That's approximately 20% of the full roster of season ticket accounts. The $500 credit promoted from November to late December was available to anyone who bought or renewed tickets for 2022, downloaded the Caesars App, created a new account, and placed a $50 wager.
Kobe Bryant's estate has reached a new long-term contract with Nike to continue producing both footwear and apparel from Bryant's Zoom Kobe Series. Vanessa Bryant and Nike announced this on Thursday. The news comes nearly a year after Kobe Bryant's initial endorsement deal with Nike expired. In addition to re-releases of the 11 signature Kobe models worn by Bryant during his career, and potentially his six post career models as well, Nike will also be launching a new Gigi Bryant shoe series with a charity component. According to Nike, the first release from the renewed partnership could arrive as soon as May 1st, which would have been Gianna Bryant's 16th birthday. That shoe was originally produced just before last April's contract expiration and was never officially released.
The F1 season opener from Bahrain last Sunday averaged 1.35 million viewers on ESPN, which marks the best audience for a race on an ESPN network, including ABC, since the series returned to ESPN airwaves in 2018, reports are Austin Karp. That tops last year's US Grand Prix on ABC, which drew 1.2 million. F1's momentum stateside also carried over to social media, as the American audience tweeting about the series during the weekend was up 23% year-over-year per data from Zoom. Also, the Haas F1 Team gained 185,000 new social media followers last weekend. The second race of the season is this Sunday in Saudi Arabia.
The US is on course by mid-May to be named as host of the 2031 Men's Rugby World Cup, and the women's event in 2033 with a bid priced at half a billion dollars, and includes support from the Biden White House. USA Rugby, which recently emerged from bankruptcy, said the costs, profits, and losses would be shared. US hosted rugby world cups would use NFL, college, and MLS stadiums.
Riot Games has secured Coca-Cola as its founding partner for the first official season of Wild Rift Esports. The soda brand will become a global sponsor engaging in activations across the mobile games eight Esports regions. The announcement follows SBJ's previous report of Coke sponsoring China's Wild Rift League, which is now understood to be part of this global deal. The multi-year deal, no terms were disclosed, is Coke's first foray into mobile Esports, and we'll see the brand integrated into regional competition broadcasts, and featured during Wild Rift's first official international competition, this summer's Icons Global Championship. In addition to Esports activations, Coke has integrated Wild Rift into its It Must be Real digital campaign, and will launch a co-developed content series highlighting the game and its community. Through this deal, Coca-Cola revives a partnership with Riot Games that has been dormant since 2016.
Finally, a little help with your busy calendar. If you haven't already mark May 18th for the 2022 Sports Business Awards, the ceremony will be back live and in-person at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. For more information on the program and how to attend, go to the events page on sportsbusinessjournal.com.
That's your SBJ Morning Buzzcast for Friday. I hope everyone has a great day and even better weekend, and we'll see you back here Monday morning.