CHEQ, PepsiCo to Co-brand Concessions Starting With loanDepot Park

By Andrew Cohen

Mobile ordering startup CHEQ has reached a deal with PepsiCo to launch co-branded concession stands at sports stadiums that use CHEQ’s point-of-sale system and offer its ordering app to in-venue fans. The partnership will initially target stadiums, restaurants, retail locations and universities in South Florida, starting with the Miami Marlins’ loanDepot Park, before eventually expanding to venues and pro sports stadiums across the U.S. 

In July 2021, the Marlins became the first pro sports team to partner with CHEQ to add its mobile ordering app to its ballpark, which lets fans order from concession stands and have the food delivered to their seats. CHEQ’s other sports deals are with the Washington Commander’s FedEx Field and Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium, which will have five co-branded CHEQ/PepsiCo concession stands this upcoming NFL season that will sell PepsiCo’s beverage products such as Pepsi, Sierra Mist, and Mountain DEW. 

CHEQ’s mobile app also offers a social remote gifting feature at various restaurants, as well as loanDepot Park and Hard Rock Stadium, that lets users (from anywhere in the world) pay for food and drink orders sent in real-time to their friends currently seated at those restaurants or stadiums. “Eventually, users will have the ability to send/receive Pepsi products with each other in real time, from anywhere in the world,” CHEQ’s CRO and co-founder Jake Stone said in an email to SportTechie 

Bally Sports+ to Be Available to All Markets for 2022-23 NBA, NHL Seasons

By Joe Lemire

Bally Sports+, the subscription streaming service that launched regionally in June, will become available to all its markets beginning on September 26 in time for the 2022-23 NBA and NHL seasons.

Those who live in any of the 19 markets served by Bally Sports now can choose to subscribe to the direct-to-consumer service instead of a cable or streaming bundle to watch the local RSN. Bally Sports+ began distribution in five regions over the summer—Detroit, Kansas City, Miami, Tampa and Wisconsin—at a price point of $19.99 per month or $189.99 per year.  

In those five launch markets, Bally Sports+ included the local rights to the appropriate hometown MLB club, but that will not be the case initially for the other markets. Other regional programming, such as college and high school sports, will be included. 

Sinclair Broadcast Group, which introduced virtual control rooms last summer, acquired what used to be the collection of Fox Sports RSNs in 2019 and then rebranded them as Bally Sports in partnership with the casino and sportsbook operator. A subsidiary of Sinclair, Diamond Sports Group, is the operator of the Bally Sports+. 

“Today is a significant step for the RSN industry as we offer local sports fans across our Bally Sports footprint a new way to watch their hometown teams,” Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO Chris Ripley said in a statement. “We view Bally Sports+ as a great complement to the incredible value our distribution partners provide our linear networks; and with both models, we are uniquely positioned to help our team partners grow their fan bases for years to come.” 

Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell to Play in Caffeine.tv Livestream of Miami Pro League

By Tom Friend

Utah Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell—pursued in recent trade talks with the New York Knicks, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets, among others—is expected to play in tonight’s Caffeine.tv livestream of the Miami Pro League. 

Mitchell posted his intentions on his Instagram account and is scheduled to play alongside fellow NBA players Bam Adebayo and Colin Sexton in a Miami Pro League semifinal. Coverage is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. on Caffeine.tv via the Playmaker channel. 

Caffeine.tv livestreamed last week’s quarterfinal games which included NBA players Terry Rozier, Josh Richardson, Derrick Jones Jr., Marvin Bagley and Austin Rivers. The burgeoning digital platform previously streamed games and specialty shows surrounding the Drew League in Los Angeles that featured LeBron James and were also streamed on the NBA app and NBA.com. 

New 5-Year Deal for LaLiga, Stats Perform To Boost Fan and Betting Experiences

By Tom Friend

LaLiga and Stats Perform have agreed on a five-year deal that, through livestreaming and AI-powered analytics, is intended to enhance the Spanish league’s fan and betting experiences. 

Stats Perform already had live betting and streaming rights for LaLiga, but the new agreement also allows the sports data company to exclusively handle analytics and stats from more than 800 LaLiga matches per year and disseminate them to broadcasters, sportsbooks, sponsors, publishers, fantasy providers and the league’s digital outlets.  

Through Stats Perform’s Opta data platform, LaLiga’s streamed matches will feature AI-powered advanced analytics and predictions for superior fan and betting engagement, similar to what Apple TV has done with its Major League Baseball streams this season. LaLiga has recently implemented surveys to see what most attracts fans 34 and under. 

LaLiga and Stats Perform expect Opta’s PressBox Graphics platform to increase the average fan’s interaction with matches from 90 minutes to an entire game. Opta is the official data provider for 80 percent of the high-profile leagues in Europe.  

LaLiga has long had an interest in technology, including a partnership announced in 2021 with Microsoft that also was aimed at stat graphics for broadcasts — such as the distance a ball travels in the air on a cross-field pass. Stats Perform, meanwhile, had previously partnered with TruMedia to perfect their ProVision platform, which combines video, tracking data and analytics.   

Round 2 of Layoffs for Crypto.com, “Much Bigger” Than Last Time

By Andrew Cohen

Crypto.com has undergone a second round of layoffs amid ongoing bear market conditions, according to cryptocurrency news site Decrypt. Multiple employees at Crypto.com told Decrypt that this second round of layoffs was “much bigger” than the first round the company announced in June when it laid off 260 employees, 5% of its workforce at the time.  

Employees were reportedly informed about the additional round of job cuts last week but there has been no public announcement about the layoffs from Crypto.com, which won the 2022 Sports Breakthrough of the Year Award in May at SBJ’s Sports Business Awards. The company’s sports sponsorship splashes include its $700 million naming rights deal for Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center), as well as deals with the FIFA World Cup, UFC, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Kings, Angel City FC, F1’s Miami Grand Prix, and NBA stars LeBron James and Joel Embiid.  

“Leadership expressed they had no intention of going public. Top management is unlikely to do an announcement as, after the June layoffs, they claimed that everyone’s job was safe, and that no more layoffs will happen,” a source who works at Crypto.com told Decrypt. “The business is cutting down to bare minimum to survive the likely long bear market—internal initiatives are about trying to save every penny.” 

Decrypt reports that the latest round of cuts impacted people working on Crypto.com products such as its cryptocurrency trading exchange, mobile app, and digital wallet; whereas the June cuts targeted employees in customer service and growth roles. Before both rounds of layoffs, about 45% of Crypto.com’s staff was hired between 2021 and 2022. 

“Our leadership team has been planning for this bear market for a long time,” Crypto.com’s North America sponsorship manager Preston Peters told SportTechie in May. “This is the moment in time where we get to build and focus on our product and really continue to grow our community. We’re excited by the challenge. And we’re not going anywhere.” 

In other news, Crypto.com received regulatory approval this week to launch in the UK and Canada, where it will be the first crypto firm to operate under rules from the Ontario Securities Commission. Rival crypto exchange Coinbase laid off 18% of its workforce in June while NFT marketplace OpenSea announced layoffs to 20% of its staff last month. One self-described current employee at Crypto.com wrote a post July 10 on employer rating site Glassdoor that pegs more than 1,000 employees to have been laid off at Crypto.com. 

“The company is hiding the fact that they’ve laid off more than 1,000 employees even though they officially announced laying off 260,” reads the post. They’ve removed the company directory so we can’t see the numbers go down. Management has been silent about the issue and everyone is terrified that their job will be next. It’s not good for morale to see that 1/3 of the invitation list on your next meeting is disabled accounts.” 

Opendorse to Provide National Junior College Athletic Association Student Athletes NIL Marketplace

By Tom Friend

Athlete marketplace Opendorse has struck a deal to help all junior college players pursue potential NIL opportunities.

The three-year partnership with the National Junior College Athletic Association will grant JuCo student-athletes from over 500 schools access to Opendorse’s list of compliant businesses, will help hasten deals and provide NIL education, as well.

The agreement was initiated by Collegiate Sports Management Group, which had prior relationships with both Opendorse and the NJCAA. As part of the deal, an NJCAA-specific marketplace will be built by Opendorse—a platform where brands can search for, connect and finalize NIL deals with junior college student-athletes similar to Division I players.

Each deal will be streamlined with transparency to ensure compliance with the respective schools. Opendorse already has worked with over 120 college athletic departments and claims it has a roster of 80,000 athletes from Team USA, the PGA Tour, LPGA, WTA, the NHL, NBAPA, NFLPA, MLBPA and WNBPA.

MLS Becomes Latest League to Partner With Youth Sports Coaching Platform Mojo

By Joe Lemire

Youth coaching app Mojo has teamed up with Major League Soccer as the Trusted Grassroots Coaching and Education Partner of MLS. This follows similar collaborations with other North American pro sports leagues—MLB, Jr. NBA and NFL Flag—as well as other alliances with FC Barcelona and US Youth Soccer. 

Mojo offers coaches—and especially volunteer parent coaches who need additional support—with assistance in devising practice plans. It has also recorded a wide library of video instruction, produced by Mandalay Sports Media. The MLS-centric videos were recorded at LAFC’s home field, Banc of California Stadium.

As part of the partnership, MLS is providing 1,000 premium subscriptions to soccer teams in underserved communities. MLS-affiliated youth clubs will receive free enhanced access to Mojo’s organizational tools.

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Names Altair as Technology Provider Ahead of America’s Cup

By Joe Lemire

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, the Italian entrant in the America’s Cup, has selected Altair to provide simulation technology, engineering consulting and other services to improve performance of its sailing yacht.

Altair also assisted Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli for the previous America’s Cup, which concluded in March 2021 with the Italian boat finishing as runner-up to New Zealand. The next competition, the 37th edition of the series, will wrap up in Barcelona beginning in September 2024.

Troy, Mich.-based Altair specializes in computational science and artificial intelligence and will assist in the optimization of the boat’s carbon fiber components and analysis of the fluid-structure interactions (FSI). Among its entries into sports, Altair previously collaborated with Ping, Intel and Dell to innovate better performing golf clubs.

Miami Dolphins Add Grover Products to Hard Rock Stadium for Fans to Use During Home Games

By Andrew Cohen

The Miami Dolphins and consumer electrics rental company Grover announced a new partnership that will let ticketed fans access Grover’s products at Hard Rock Stadium during Dolphins home games this upcoming NFL season. Team staff and attending fans will be able to interact with the devices available throughout the stadium’s West Field Club area.

Products listed on Grover include the Sony PlayStation 5, Meta’s Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headset, Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max, as well an array of computer accessories, speakers, headphones, TVs and smartwatches from Apple and Samsung. Consumers can pay a monthly fee to rent products on Grover for one month or month-to-month before returning them. Once returned, Grover’s quality control team assesses the product’s shape before listing it again for another user to rent.

More than 600,000 devices have been used by consumers on Grover, which opened headquarters in Miami in February. Grover’s deal also gives them rights to name a menu item at Hard Rock Stadium and host a Field Box for the duration of the season. The company will also host activations during an upcoming event at Hard Rock Stadium in which high school football teams from South Florida schools will be invited to attend the Dolphins’ preseason home game on Aug. 27.

Penn State Athletes Will Use Whoop Unite to Track Performance Data, Health and Wellness

By Joe Lemire

Penn State University has become the largest Division I athletics program to begin using Whoop Unite, the performance company’s new enterprise solution. A Whoop 4.0 band will be made available to every Nittany Lions athlete as part of a department focus on student health and wellness. 

Whoop Unite aggregates anonymized data to create organizational analytics and help inform decision-making atop the department. Each student-athlete can also opt in to sharing their data into a team dashboard so that his or her sport’s performance coach can provide individual support and recommendations.

Several Penn State teams have already been users for years, but this is the first department-wide initiative. The multi-year partnership with Whoop is intended to run in conjunction with an overall health and wellness program, particularly in light of a recent NCAA Student-Athlete Wellness Study indicating that mental health continues to be a concern among college athletes since the start of the pandemic.

The University of Miami football program was among the early adopters of Whoop Unite, with its players recording significant improvements in sleep quality, heart rate variability and illness reduction.

BYU Student Athletes Will Receive Sales Cut of NFTs Purchased From School’s Online NIL Marketplace

By Andrew Cohen

Student athletes on BYU’s sports teams will receive a sales cut of NFTs purchased through the university’s new online NIL marketplace launched with Web3 developer Ocavu. Fans can access CougsRise.com to buy NFTs that use the name, image and likeness of BYU athletes and can be redeemed for real-life experiences such as running out of the tunnel on gameday with the Cougars’ football team or practicing with the golf team.

BYU marks the first university athletic department to partner with Ocavu, which operates the Polygon blockchain-based Ocavu Network Token. Fans can buy BYU’s NFTs with their credit cards and each purchase will lead to an increase of their Cougar Score. The higher Cougar Score a fan achieves will unlock tiers of in-person benefits for them to interact with BYU student athletes and staff.

CougsRise will be owned and operated by Ocavu, who will distribute shares of revenue from NFTs with BYU’s athletic department and student athletes through its licensing agreement with the university. If the NFT is attached to a specific player, Ocavu will share sales with that individual athlete, whereas NFTs related to a specific BYU team will see sales split with that team. The partnership includes plans for Ocavu to digitally display artifacts from BYU athletics’ history in 3D and augmented reality.