World Sports

Photo via Getty ESPN kicked off its annual upfront presentation for advertisers Tuesday morning with a live, original performance from two of the stars of the Broadway hit musical Hamilton. This was a hokey way for ESPN to glom onto something popular and impress the easily-impressed media buyers in the audience; it also served as a workable metaphor for the direction in which ESPN would like to head, and like…

Photo via Getty ESPN kicked off its annual upfront presentation for advertisers Tuesday morning with a live, original performance from two of the stars of the Broadway hit musical Hamilton. This was a hokey way for ESPN to glom onto something popular and impress the easily-impressed media buyers in the audience; it also served as a workable metaphor for the direction in which ESPN would like to head, and like…

More than 450 youth sports advocates, professional league officials and academic researchers gathered Tuesday in Washington to examine declines in participation among children linked to rising costs, parental pressures and increased emphasis on kids specializing in one sport. As part of the day-long conference, Project Play, the Aspen Institute’s youth sports initiative, released a draft of its annual State of Play report, analyzing participation trends and highlighting innovative programs to…

ENLARGE Sports media giant ESPN is rolling out a new advertising product that allows marketers to deliver banner ads tailored to the interests of sports fans by using data the company has collected on visitors to its website. The offering, called Live Connect, lets marketers serve ads on ESPN.com that can reflect a visitor’s favorite team or player. The ad can also reflect the outcome of a particular game. For…

ENLARGE Oakland, Calif. Stephen Curry walked onto the court for his warmups before Monday night’s Golden State Warriors game, and Luke and Johnny de Grosz were already in their seats, waiting for their favorite NBA player. Luke is 12, Johnny is 16 and both play basketball for their schools. It’s the sport they like the most, they said, but it’s not the only sport they play. They’re also on the…

ENLARGE Sports media giant ESPN is rolling out a new advertising product that allows marketers to deliver banner ads tailored to the interests of sports fans by using data the company has collected on visitors to its website. The offering, called Live Connect, lets marketers serve ads on ESPN.com that can reflect a visitor’s favorite team or player. The ad can also reflect the outcome of a particular game. For…

This is Strength in Numbers, a new column exploring the science of sports and athleticism. As this feature takes shape, I welcome your feedback, suggestions and news tips. Email me, leave suggestions in the comments section or tweet to me @CragCrest. When concussions make the news, it’s usually about football. But head injuries happen in other sports too, and not just to men. During a congressional hearing on concussions in…

ENLARGE Sports media giant ESPN is rolling out a new advertising product that allows marketers to deliver banner ads tailored to the interests of sports fans by using data the company has collected on visitors to its website. The offering, called Live Connect, lets marketers serve ads on ESPN.com that can reflect a visitor’s favorite team or player. The ad can also reflect the outcome of a particular game. For…

It’s been a rough month for the women of the Seattle City Council. They’ve gotten vicious online abuse from trolls inviting “those BITCHES” to “BURN IN HELL,” or speculating that their “cycles must have synced up.” What did they do to deserve this, asked Samantha Bee on Monday night’s Full Frontal? They dared to vote down a proposal for a new sports arena in Seattle. The vote against…

ENLARGE Sports media giant ESPN is rolling out a new advertising product that allows marketers to deliver banner ads tailored to the interests of sports fans by using data the company has collected on visitors to its website. The offering, called Live Connect, lets marketers serve ads on ESPN.com that can reflect a visitor’s favorite team or player. The ad can also reflect the outcome of a particular game. For…

A consortium of liquidators that includes Tiger Capital Group, Hilco Global and Gordon Brothers prevailed in an auction for Sports Authority Holdings Inc.’s assets, according to people familiar with the matter. The winning bidders topped a rival offer from a second group of liquidators that included Yellen Partners, SB Capital Group and 360 Merchant Solutions. Great American Group, originally a part of this group of liquidators,…

It’s been a rough month for the women of the Seattle City Council. They’ve gotten vicious online abuse from trolls inviting “those BITCHES” to “BURN IN HELL,” or speculating that their “cycles must have synced up.” What did they do to deserve this, asked Samantha Bee on Monday night’s Full Frontal? They dared to vote down a proposal for a new sports arena in Seattle. The vote against…

The Rio Games begin on 5 August and run until 21 August Up to 31 athletes from six sports could be banned from competing at the Rio Games, Olympic chiefs have said. The announcement comes after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) retested 454 selected doping samples from the 2008 Games in Beijing. The IOC said the retests were conducted using the very latest scientific analysis methods. It also revealed it…

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It’s upfront season in the US, the time when broadcast and cable networks make their glitzy annual pitches to marketers, and secure half their advertising sales for the year. As the highest-rated US cable network, the sports-focused Disney-owned channel ESPN has historically held an enviable position during the upfronts. But on Tuesday (May 17) when it makes its presentation amid uncertainty and increasing competition from younger rivals such as NBCSN…

The survey results show those changes may continue. More than 90 percent of respondents who identified as sports fans said they are willing to pay for sports programming. Sixty-three percent of fans said they would pay for an over-the-top subscription, while 56 percent added they would spend more of their budget on online streaming than cable or satellite channels. Thirty-two percent of older millennials, from ages 29 to 36, said…

Virtual reality’s ability to immerse viewers in new worlds has fueled talk of a fundamental change in how consumers experience media. While interest is growing in the emerging technology, and companies are racing to ship virtual reality headsets and content, one of the most popular areas of media consumption — sports — is unlikely to see major changes. Some virtual reality experts say the experience of watching a sports game on…

FILE – In this file photo taken on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko gestures while speaking during a news conference after he addressed the upper chamber of the Russian parliament in Moscow.(Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko, AP) Russia’s Minister of Sport apologized for athletes and coaches who have broken anti-doping rules as the country’s track and field athletes face a ban from competing at the Summer Olympics in…

Police sniffer dogs were used at Old Trafford as part of the security check An “urgent” inquiry has been demanded after a dummy bomb used in a security exercise caused a Premier League match at Old Trafford to be postponed. The game between Manchester United and Bournemouth was called off after the item was discovered close to kick-off. A controlled explosion was carried out on the device, which police said…

The survey results show those changes may continue. More than 90 percent of respondents who identified as sports fans said they are willing to pay for sports programming. Sixty-three percent of fans said they would pay for an over-the-top subscription, while 56 percent added they would spend more of their budget on online streaming than cable or satellite channels. Thirty-two percent of older millennials, from ages 29 to 36, said…