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Sportico Transactions: Moves and Mergers Roundup for April 5

Sportico Staff
·8 min read

Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and products across the sports business industry.

PERSONNEL

Yahoo Sports Names New Head of Video and Audio

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Matt Ufford has joined Yahoo Sports as Head of Video and Audio. In this role, Ufford will lead the video and audio strategy and production for Yahoo Sports as the company continues to invest in both formats. Ufford joins Yahoo Sports from ESPN, where he was the senior director of digital production. There he oversaw the production of podcasts, digital live shows and custom YouTube series. Prior to ESPN, Ufford was a contributor and video host for SB Nation. He also had a stint as an editor at UPROXX Media.

Infinite Athlete Hires Former Amazon Prime Video Trio

Infinite Athlete has hired Abhishek Pandey as vice president of engineering, Alex Kravis as vice president of product management and Brandon Love as senior director of product management. All three are former Amazon Prime Video veterans. Pandey brings almost three decades of experience in the technology industry, driving various product and engineering teams, including scaling Prime Video Sports’ CX and Amazon Pantry’s engineering organizations. Kravis brings a diverse background of experience leading many different teams across Amazon and Prime Video. Love spent 11 years at Amazon and before that, time at Google, working in streaming technology, global operations, production of original content, fantasy sports and sports betting.

Nixon Peabody Expands Sports, Entertainment Teams With Mayne Hire

Nixon Peabody LLP announced that sports and entertainment attorney Nicoleas Mayne has joined the international law firm’s Corporate practice as counsel. As a member of the firm’s Entertainment and Sports & Stadiums teams, Mayne’s arrival bolsters Nixon Peabody’s sports and entertainment capabilities. Mayne represents prominent global creators, consumer product ventures, sports teams and venues, the firm said. Mayne has experience in structuring deals, including licenses of talent NIL and other intellectual property, venture and private equity investor agreements, brand deals, venue-related sponsorship, signage and vendor agreements, and was previously a licensed agent for NHL players.

PARTNERSHIPS

United Football League Players Association to Partner With Onrise Telehealth

The United Football League Players Association and telehealth provider Onrise have agreed to a partnership for the mental health needs of UFL players. The UFLPA will designate the healthcare company as the union’s primary provider for mental health resources and support services. Through the UFLPA’s mental health initiative with Onrise, players will have access to services anonymously and independently, at the union’s expense. These services also include pairing UFL athletes with player care specialists, psychiatrists and access to Onrise’s 24/7 crisis line, if needed.

The Masters to Release AI-Enabled Spanish Language Narration With IBM

IBM and The Masters first introduced AI narration last year to provide automated audio and closed caption commentary for on-demand highlight videos of every shot on every hole—approximately 20,000 over the course of the tournament. This year, fans will have access to the same narration in both Spanish audio and closed caption forms. Moving beyond English-to-Spanish translation, a team of IBM engineers and subject matter experts trained the AI model to natively “understand” and “communicate” in Spanish to deliver authentic audio and closed captioning narration experiences to Spanish-speaking fans.

Frito-Lay and Rockstar Energy Drink to Partner With Leagues Cup Tournament

Lay’s, Sabritas, Games and Rockstar Energy Drink have entered into a multiyear sponsorship of Leagues Cup, the official, World Cup-style tournament in North America. This summer, the snack brands at the Leagues Cup will offer exclusive Lay’s packaging, in-stadium experiences and a consumer sweepstakes. Beginning July 1, fans will have a chance to win tickets to matches across the country, as well as a grand prize of a trip and tickets to the Leagues Cup 2024 final. The second edition of Leagues Cup features all 18 clubs from the Mexican league, Liga MX, and all 29 clubs from MLS, who are representing the U.S. and Canada. These 47 clubs will compete in an official CONCACAF club tournament from July 26 to Aug. 25.

C4 Energy Named Official Energy Drink Partner of WWE

Nutrabolt, owner of C4 Energy, and WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), announced an expansion to their multiyear partnership that will see C4 Ultimate Energy become the first-ever Official Energy Drink Partner of WWE. C4 will receive prominent branding and exposure across a wide range of WWE properties and premium live events, including WrestleMania XL this Saturday and Sunday, where it will serve as the first-ever sponsor of the WrestleMania Skycam. In addition, C4 will be the presenting partner of the WrestleMania XL Night 2 press conference and WWE’s multi-day talent tryout as part of WrestleMania Week. C4 and WWE will also continue to collaborate across WWE, WWE Superstar and C4-branded social and digital channels to create exclusive and original content. The expanded partnership follows a nationwide launch of WWE and C4 Energy’s co-branded, WWE-inspired flavors of C4 Ultimate Energy Drinks

MiLB to Partner With Pete & Gerry’s as Official Egg of Minor League Baseball

Pete & Gerry’s, an egg farming firm, has been designated the Official Egg of Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a part of their 2024 regular season-long partnership. Pete & Gerry’s will engage with families in all 60 minor league stadiums throughout the U.S. during every other in-season home game, where two “clucky” attendees will participate in a Pete & Gerry’s dance-off. Contestants will be featured on the big screen and imitate the behaviors of happy hens for the chance to win a month’s supply of Pete & Gerry’s eggs.

Roku Partners With NBA on Launch of NBA-Branded FAST Channel

Roku, a streaming platform, has partnered with the NBA to officially launch the first NBA FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) channel and the NBA Zone, where basketball fans can find NBA games, highlights, documentaries and original series. The Roku Channel is the inaugural partner of the first-ever NBA FAST channel, which is available exclusively through The Roku Channel for a limited time. The NBA FAST channel on The Roku Channel will feature classic games, highlights, recaps, documentaries, original series, studio shows and interviews. Viewers can access the NBA FAST channel on The Roku Channel, within related zones (Live TV Zone, Sports Zone, NBA Zone), through the Live TV Channel Guide or via The Roku Channel App. Roku will also be exclusively distributing over 40 live NBA G League games on a national basis during the 2024-2025 NBA G League season.

American Cornhole League, Beyond Inc. Reach Sponsorship Agreement

The American Cornhole League and Beyond Inc. announced Beyond Inc.’s Backyard.com as the Official Backyard Partner of the American Cornhole League. Backyard.com will serve as a Title Sponsor of the ACL Pro Tour. As part of the four-year partnership, Backyard.com will be selling official ACL cornhole equipment through their website and leveraging content opportunities both on and off the website. Since launching in 2016, the ACL has become one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, hosting a year-round variety of pro and amateur events around the country.

NBA, Kendall-Jackson Winery Announce Multiyear Partnership

The NBA and Kendall-Jackson Winery announced a multiyear partnership, making Kendall-Jackson the Official Wine of the NBA and USA Basketball and La Crema the Official Wine of the WNBA. Kendall-Jackson and La Crema have also been named the Official Wine Partners of USA Basketball’s men’s and women’s national teams, respectively. The agreement marks the leagues’ first-ever official winery partnerships. The NBA’s collaboration with Kendall-Jackson, a family-owned winery based in California, gives the company a presence at league marquee events. Kendall-Jackson will serve as the presenting partner of the NBA Experiences Dinner Series and will become an associate partner for the second annual NBA Con, the league’s immersive fan event held this summer alongside NBA 2K Summer League.

K-Pop Group LE SSERAFIM, NBA Announce Multiyear Collaboration

The NBA and Source Music Co. Ltd. announced a multiyear collaboration that will see K-pop group LE SSERAFIM headline “Friends of the NBA,” the league’s celebrity and influencer program in Asia to engage fans in new and creative ways. The collaboration between the league and the five-member girl group will be a celebration of the intersection of sports and music. LE SSERAFIM, an anagram of “I’M FEARLESS,” will attend NBA games and events, collaborate on a variety of exclusive content that will be featured on the NBA’s and LE SSERAFIM’s social media channels, participate in league promotional activities and more.

PRODUCTS

MLS Players Association Invests in Miach Ortho’s ACL Tear Treatment

The Major League Soccer Players Association, SV Health Investors and Aperture Venture Partners have joined existing investors Amzak Health, Smith+Nephew, DSM Venturing, Sectoral Asset Management, Endeavour Vision and the NFL Players Association in investing in a $20 million Series B extension financing round for Miach Orthopaedics Inc, a company involved in the treatment of anterior cruciate ligament tears. The funds will support commercial expansion and clinical activities for the BEAR Implant, which has been used to treat nearly 3,000 patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears.

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