Sportfive's gaming department, which started with just three dedicated employees in 2016, has now expanded to a robust team of 80, highlighting the agency's commitment to the gaming sector.
Subscribers to TNT Sports can now access the service through HBO Max, which has replaced Discovery+ for online streaming. Existing Discovery+ users can log in using their current credentials.
ESPN's purchase of NFL Network and other league digital assets has been finalized after government regulators approved the transaction. The league and ESPN officially announced the closing of the deal Saturday night after the Justice Department and other non-US antitrust authorities completed their reviews. ESPN acquired NFL Network, NFL Fantasy and the rights to distribute the RedZone channel to cable and satellite operators and the league will get a 10% equity stake in ESPN.
In a settlement with McCourt - and to avoid the risk of the judge imposing a deal less favorable to the league - MLB agreed the fair-market value of a Dodgers TV deal would be based on the very Fox deal that Selig had rejected. Why did that matter? That value was $84 million for the first year and would increase thereafter, with the league taking its standard 34% cut and sharing that among all its teams.
While creatives and CMOs watching at home will focus on the celebrities, needle drops and ad gags, media buyers will be keeping a close eye on the quality of Peacock's stream and scrutinizing peak viewership figures - as they gauge whether the NBCU-owned platform can fulfill promises made in its premium pitch to buyers. According to two media buyers, both of whom exchanged anonymity for candor, NBCU's initial asking price for a 30-second ad running on Peacock's Super Bowl coverage was $3 million.
From Nielsen's perspective, "we think this is a big opportunity to improve person-level measurement" and give buyers and sellers a more accurate picture of who's actually watching what, said Brian Fuhrer, SVP of product strategy and thought leadership at Nielsen.