The National Football League’s (NFL) New York Jets and Skyview Networks announced they have entered into a new multi-year broadcast service agreement.

Skyview, prostate an integrated professional sports distribution company specializing in play-by-play broadcast systems, will provide its F.A.S.T. Inventory Management System and Live Read Logging Service to the New York Jets. The systems will manage all aspects of radio avails, including on air mentions, and provide advertisers proof of performance to streamline the invoicing process.

“In light of the increased demand on our media inventory, it became apparent that the Skyview system was necessary to help manage our continued growth,” said Jets senior vice president, Marc Riccio. “Skyview’s expertise so far has proven to be just what we needed to expand our media business.”

The F.A.S.T. System is uniquely tailored to the non-linear format of the play-by-play broadcast and accommodates all components of scheduling, reporting and invoicing of advertising clients. Skyview Networks will also provide its Live Read Logging Service to capture and catalogue the New York Jets’ on-air advertiser mentions. With this system, the franchise has full access to a personalized web database of time stamped air checks that is fully searchable by client name, feature name or date range. These air checks can be played, downloaded and exported, allowing the franchise to bill live reads through the affidavit and invoicing process.

“We are thrilled to expand our presence in the New York market with this established and iconic brand,” said Ken Thiele, President of Skyview Networks. “With our systems, the Jets will experience a flexible and time saving solution to play-by-play inventory management. We strive to build a solid relationship with our partners and we look forward to collaborating on future play-by-play broadcast solutions for the franchise.”

Stanford Quarterback and potential No.1 pick of the NFL Draft, Andrew Luck, is close to signing with Wasserman Media Group on Tuesday according to Sports Business Journal.

Instead of signing with a big-name agency like CAA or Athletes First or a top name like Eugene Parker or Drew Rosenhaus, Luck becomes the first football player with WMG. Darren Rovell of CNBC points out, Luck will likely be represented by his uncle, William Wilson.

Wasserman Media Group is known largely for the basketball players under it’s wing. They include LaMarcus Aldridge, Pau Gasol, Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook. They also rep the biggest names in American soccer (Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Hope Solo) and the rising stars of golf (Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Zach Johnson).

As Rovell also notes, WMG has had a No. 1 pick in the MLB, NBA, MLS and WNBA drafts. With the Colts expected to draft Luck, they can add a No. 1 NFL pick to the list.

Newport International Sports Village was named as the chosen site of the proposed new National Football Centre in Wales with Newport Council yet to approve the plans for the multi-million pound venue.

The new centre is planned to include a new office building, an upgrade of the existing artificial turf at the site, and the erection of fencing, floodlighting, stands and renovating car parking.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW), in conjunction with the Welsh Football Trust, have submitted the proposal for a “state of the art, purpose built facility providing top class training, playing, sports science and education facilities”.

The new pitch would be available to the public and local football club, with a new premium grass pitch for use by the national football team.

Administrative staff involved in coaching and development would also be located at the site, which will cost up to £5 million ($7.8 million), according to FAW chief executive Jonathan Ford.

The new venue is “essential”, according to Wales boss Gary Speed, who said earlier this year that it was crucial for the creation of a football identity.

Speed said: “We are a small nation and we need to develop our way of playing to ensure our success in the future. When players come here at an early age, hopefully they get a taste of that identity and hopefully they can develop the Welsh way of playing.”

The site already is home to a velodrome and an indoor cricket and tennis centre, and Newport’s planning committee will meet to discuss the proposal later this year.

Former Chelsea Chief Executive Officer Peter Kenyon is surrounded with controversy as soccer’s ruling body, FIFA, are investigating an investment fund set up by the businessman identifying whether it breaks the sport’s rules. 

The fund, which has invested in the future transfer value of about 15 players, is controlled by Kenyon’s talent-agency employer Creative Artists Agency Inc (CAA) and another athlete management company, Gestifute SA. Some of the players are managed by Gestifute, which handles Cristiano Ronaldo’s business.

A Barcelona University professor, Jose Maria Gay, who writes an annual report on soccer finance believes the arrangement may be a conflict of interest because Gestifute could seek transfers for its clients that give the fund a greater return. Kenyon said the fund’s managers are “very conscious” not to influence trades, which would be a breach of FIFA rules.

Kenyon said in an interview: “We’ve been aware of conflict and we’ve managed that conflict. I’m confident that we’re operating within the guidelines of the football governing bodies and the financial bodies.”

FIFA’s rules say clubs face disciplinary action, which could include a financial penalty or blocking their access to the new signings, if they give third parties the ability to influence transfers.

Los Angeles-based CAA, which primarily represented actors like George Clooney, branched into sports in 2006 and formed a alliance with Porto, Portugal-based Gestifute in 2008. 

Jumbuck Entertainment, a leader in premium community-building mobile applications, today announced it has made its first inroads into the North American sports and entertainment market with a partnership with the National Football League’s (NFL) Seattle Seahawks.

The agreement will see Jumbuck provide the Seahawks organization with its forensic and real-time monitoring capability to enhance and optimize how the team, its players and Seahawk fans engage through popular social media channels, such as Twitter.

The capability, provided via a monthly subscription model, is delivered through Jumbuck’s unique Monitoring Dashboard, an intuitive and full-featured web-based dashboard that provides comprehensive visibility and control for managing social media activity.

“Direct communication through channels like Twitter presents new challenges in terms of how we protect our brand, as well as that of the league, our advertising and marketing partners, and the coaches and players themselves,” said Rick Ninomiya Director of Security at the Seahawks. “Jumbuck’s solution provides us with a very efficient way to keep our finger on the pulse of the social conversation, and ensure that the appropriate messages are being disseminated. This gives us a new level of branding consistency, but also helps us educate and protect our personnel from the risks inherent in the immediacy and accessibility of social media.”

The Monitoring Dashboard provides a single control point to monitor staff and player social media posts and conversations, issuing alerts based on content and keyword guidelines the team and its personnel agree on. Alerts are flagged within minutes of Twitter activity, and can be sent immediately to multiple accounts for key stakeholders such as management, coaches, communications staff, etc. Detailed reporting capabilities provide the context of the tweet, the time it was posted, and any links or images it included. Complete archiving of posts and conversations is also a part of the solution.

“We are pleased to be taking this first step with the Seahawks to strengthen their social media program. This is also an important milestone for Jumbuck as we establish our offering in the North American market. We anticipate that with this initial engagement we can demonstrate the value our solution can bring to teams and players, which will help drive further expansion in this market,” said Joe Tafoya, US Sales Director at Jumbuck.

NBA’s Orlando Magic have hired SAS Analytics, the leader in business analytics for its basketball operations following a successful partnership with SAS for Sports which took customizing the fan experience for Magic Fans to a whole new level last season.

Under the new deal coaching staff will use SAS software tools for automated reporting and analysis of game statistics.

Alex Martins, President of the Orlando Magic, said: “SAS Analytics helped us take our business to a higher level. Despite being a small-market team, SAS helped make the difference in effectiveness. We look forward to making enhanced statistical data available to our basketball operations team.”

Martins said the Magic plans to introduce a digital ticketing system, offering fans ID cards. In addition to convenience for fans, card data will help staff improve efficiency and customize Magic fans’ experiences. After analyzing this enriched fan data, marketers can pinpoint special offers for everyone from diehard basketball fans to those who attend games for the social experience.

“We treat fan relationships as long-term partnerships,” said Anthony Perez, Director of Business Strategy, Orlando Magic. “To better understand our fans, we’ll continue using SAS to analyze purchase history – including things like team store and concession stand selections. Our data warehouse connects all these data sources, so we can apply analytics to drive new value. This big-picture view helps us recognize needs so we can extend just the right offers and perks to fans.”

The team’s SAS-based portal delivers critical numbers each day, providing timely insights throughout the organization. The Web portal is available to everyone in the organization, including ticket sales, corporate partnerships and client services – so relevant departments can quickly access inventory and sales reports, for example. The portal allows everyone to work from the same page through consistent reporting. Executives especially appreciate the visual reporting tools, such as heat maps, available through the portal.

SAS also helps the team price individual games relative to demand – traditionally the highest when the Magic plays premier opponents and/or on weekend dates. SAS has been invaluable in dynamic ticket pricing as well as in unlocking the factors that drive season ticket holders’ renewal decisions.

“A particularly valuable SAS Enterprise Miner model showed that tenure and ticket utilization are two key determinants of season ticket renewal,” Perez continued. “To help maximize season ticket holder value, we have implemented a touch-point strategy that includes calling season ticket holders when tickets for games are unused, offering them information about our secondary ticket market, Ticket Exchange, and other best practices for ensuring tickets don’t go unused. This campaign will be in full swing during the new season, and we expect it to generate significant improvements.”