Welcome to Sportico’s Transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and purchases across the sports business industry.
Personnel
IAC Appoints Chris Halpin as Chief Financial Officer
IAC, the company founded by longtime media executive Barry Diller, announced that Christopher Halpin will join as chief financial officer, effective Jan. 26, 2022. Currently executive vice president and chief strategy and growth officer for the National Football League, Halpin oversees all strategic growth and development opportunities for the league, including digital and sports betting strategies, data and analytics, and its expansion internationally. In his new role, reporting to chief executive officer Joey Levin, Halpin will oversee all corporate finance, accounting, M&A, investor relations and administration functions for IAC, which has a portfolio that includes People, The Daily Beast and Care.com.
The Brandr Group Names Paul Pogge as Executive VP
Paul Pogge, a senior associate athletic director at University of North Carolina, will be joining The Brandr Group as executive vice president for strategy and university relations, beginning later this month. Pogge, who managed many of the UNC athletic department’s significant legal matters and managed ticketing and the university golf course, will guide the brand management and marketing company’s university relations efforts and offer strategic counsel.
Partnerships
Wasserman Acquires The Montag Group
Wasserman executive vice president and COO of talent representation Jason Ranne announced the company’s acquisition of The Montag Group, the sports media talent representation, consulting, communications and content creation firm headed by longtime agents Sandy Montag and Maury Gostfrand, whose clients includes broadcasters Bob Costas, Jim Nantz, Dan Shulman and Dick Vitale.
Buffalo Bills Name FanDuel Official Mobile Sports Betting Partner
With mobile betting allowed in New York beginning this weekend, the Buffalo Bills and FanDuel Group announced a multiyear partnership, designating FanDuel as an official mobile sports betting partner of the Buffalo Bills. In addition to the use of official Bills marks and logos, FanDuel will gain access to a range of media assets, including TV and radio spots to engage Bills fans and in-game signage and activations at Highmark Stadium. FanDuel will also be the presenting sponsor of the Buffalo Bills-themed Podcast, Bills by the Numbers, hosted by Steve Tasker and Chris Brown.
MSG Sports and MSG Entertainment Renew Anheuser-Busch Marketing Deal
Madison Square Garden Sports and Madison Square Garden Entertainment have announced a multiyear marketing sponsorship renewal with Anheuser-Busch. The sponsorship provides Anheuser-Busch with exclusive experiences and activations across MSG Sports’ and MSG Entertainment’s assets, including the New York Knicks, New York Rangers and MSG Networks. Anheuser-Busch will also work together with MSG Sports’ esports organizations CLG and Knicks Gaming on their livestream programming on Twitch to provide fans with insider access to the organizations.
Louisville Slugger Hitting Science Center and V1 Sports Announce Training Technology Partnership
V1 Sports, developers of technology that incorporates video analysis, ground pressure mat readings, performance tracking, stats and game management for coaches and athletes across multiple sports, announced a partnership with the Louisville Slugger Hitting Science Center, a diagnostic and analytic swing lab for baseball and fastpitch softball players run by Louisville-based Norton Sports Performance.
CGU Signs First Athlete Partnership With Thunder Rookie Josh Giddey
Crypto Gaming United (CGU), a play-to-earn blockchain gaming guild, announced its first athlete partnership, with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey. Through the partnership, CGU and the 19-year-old Australian rookie will create and develop a series of Metaverse projects throughout 2022, including wearables technology and dynamic virtual events. The first project, a series of Josh Giddey NFT wearables, could be available as early as spring 2022.