‘Tunnel Vision of the Broadest Kind’ is the tagline for the first Indoor Skydiving Global Summit in February 2020 being organised by the World Air Sports Federation (FAI).

After indoor skydiving’s bid for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games lost out to events in four other sports for inclusion in the programme, the stakeholders in this young air sport discipline meet on the northern Costa Brava in Spain to make adjustments to their shared vision for the Olympic cycle through Los Angeles 2028.

The FAI is working with its Parachuting Commission (IPC), and Support Air International (SAI) to deliver the event scheduled from February 1-3, 2020.

An estimated 200 summiteers will descend on the Bay of Roses | Land of the Sky | Home to the Wind for two days of deliberations on the nature, the current scope and the future development of indoor skydiving.

There is hardly another location in the world quite as steeped in the history of competitive human flight as the two resort towns Castelló d’Empúries/Empúriabrava and Roses, which have been hosts to numerous FAI World Championships and World Cups in Skydiving since 1989 as well as The Wind Games in Indoor Skydiving since 2014.

The goal of the Summit is to have the participants in the summit draft and adopt the 2020 IndoorSkydiving.Vision, the statement establishing the parameters for future collaboration between the stakeholders in the continued advancement of the young air sport discipline.

FAI President Robert Henderson said, “I congratulate the IPC for their initiative in creating this opportunity for different stakeholders to join in pursuit of a common goal, to share ideas and to develop this fledgling discipline further.”

“It has something for everyone,” said IPC President Gillian Rayner, “for tunnel owner/operators, for coaches/instructors, for athletes and for providers of equipment. The Bay of Roses will be the place to exchange and to learn.”

“The Bay of Roses is a truly extraordinary location for skydiving,” said SAI Chief Executive Roland Hilfiker, a resident of the area. “That is what brought me here in the first place, when I came from far to hang up the shingle on what has since become Skydive Empuriabrava.”

FanDuel Group and Major League Baseball have announced a multi-year partnership designating FanDuel as an Authorized Gaming Operator of MLB. This is a landmark deal for FanDuel as it marks the company’s first partnership with Major League Baseball or an MLB team.

The partnership provides FanDuel access to official MLB data, along with league and team marks and logos, across FanDuel’s online sports betting products and retail sportsbook locations.

“Fantasy sports and sports betting have become a national pastime in their own right, so it’s natural to join forces with Major League Baseball,” said Kip Levin, President & COO, FanDuel Group. “MLB clearly understands how working together can be beneficial for baseball fans and both companies alike.”

“FanDuel has proven itself to be a leader in the sports betting space and has shifted a step ahead again through its commitment to, and recognition of, the value in being an authorized gaming operator,” said Kenny Gersh, MLB Executive Vice President, Gaming & New Business Ventures. “Now having access to our official sports betting data feeds and MLB brands, we’re looking forward to the creative sports betting and fan experience innovations FanDuel will develop.”

“Baseball is one of the most popular sports to bet on and partnering with MLB allows us to make the betting experience even better for our customers,” continued Levin. “With an enhanced betting experience, sports fans are watching more baseball as they have a stake in the game.”

In-play wagering is a large part of the sports betting experience and accounts for more than 50% of FanDuel Sportsbook’s total business. MLB and FanDuel Group joining forces allows FanDuel to enhance the in-play and overall sports wagering and experience.

ESPN’s sports betting news and information programme Daily Wager moves to ESPN2 on August 20 and will be expanding with a new Sunday morning edition to air during the upcoming football season.

Daily Wager, which was launched on March 11, airs from 6-7 p.m. ET Monday through Friday. To date, it has gone out on ESPNEWS.

“Daily Wager has caught on with our viewers and now we look forward to serving even more sports fans with the move to ESPN2,” said Ilan Ben-Hanan, ESPN Vice President, Programming and Acquisitions, who oversees ESPN’s sports betting programming. “And the addition of a new Sunday morning edition this fall will expand the audience even more during a very busy time of the year.”

The one-hour Sunday morning edition of Daily Wager, which debuts September 8 will feature up-to-the-minute analytics, point spreads and discussion of how the day’s news will affect sports betting.

Also on August 20, ESPNEWS viewers will notice a change in the look of the channel as the screen is modified to include surrounding graphics related to sports betting news, lines and information 24 hours a day, with the exception of during live event telecasts. The same format will appear on ESPN2 during Daily Wager episodes.

As part of a new deal announced earlier this year between ESPN and Caesars Entertainment, Caesars is serving as ESPN’s official odds data supplier.

Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund hit a new record for revenues (excluding transfers) and delivered annual profits for the ninth straight season in the latest financial year.

In the year ended 30 June 2019 the Borussia Dortmund Group achieved consolidated revenues of €489.5 million (previous year €536.0 million).

Without transfers the consolidated revenues increased 18% from €313.3 million. to €369.3 million.

Consolidated earnings after taxes amounted to €17.4 million (down from €31.7 million the previous year).

EBITDA amounted to € 116.0 million (previous year € 137.3 million).

The revenues break down as follows (with previous year):

• Match operations €44.7 million (€ 42.3 million)
• TV rights €167.3 million (€122.3 million)
• Advertising €96.8 million (€94.0 million)
• Transfers €120.2 million (€222.7 million)
• Catering, conference and other €30.5 million (€25.2 million)
• Merchandise €30.0 million (€29.5 million)

Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT) Group will provide exclusive coverage across the Nordic region of the boxing match between Vasyl Lomachenko and Luke Campbell on 31 August at London’s O2 Arena. on the Viaplay streaming service as a pay-per-view event.

World champion and double Olympic gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko (13-1, 10 КОs) can move one step closer to unifying all four major lightweight titles against 2012 Olympic champion Luke Campbell (20-2, 16 KOs).

Lomachenko vs. Campbell will be shown live as a pay-per-view event on Viaplay and will be priced at DKK 499 in Denmark, EUR 49.95 in Finland, NOK 499 in Norway and SEK 499 in Sweden.

Kim Mikkelsen, NENT Group Head of Sport: “Two southpaws, three belts – and only one place to stream. Undoubtedly one of the finest boxers of all time, Lomachenko can move nearer to unifying all four major lightweight titles, while British Olympic hero Campbell will give everything to cause an upset in front of a passionate home crowd. Nordic fight fans can look forward to another memorable night on Viaplay, the undisputed champion of the world’s best sporting action.”

What would the television market look like if the NFL couldn’t pool all of the league’s out-of-market games and sell them as a package? The question will be moving forward in court after a decision yesterday in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

An anti-trust challenge by subscribers of DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket package was dismissed by a federal judge two years ago, when a judge rejected the proposition that restraining broadcasts of out-of-market games resulted in less output and higher prices.

On Tuesday, 9th Circuit Judge Sandra Ikuta delivered a majority decision reversing the dismissal.

The decision comes as DirecTV’s deal with the NFL for Sunday Ticket draws to a close.

Read the Hollywood Reporter’s coverage of this complex case here.

NFL quarterback Russell Wilson and his wife, R&B star Ciara, have become shareholders in the Seattle Sounders MLS team, joining 10 other new families in the club’s ownership group, all with direct ties to Seattle, bringing a wealth of expertise sports, entertainment, technology, broadcast and finance.

Wilson, who won the Super Bowl in 2013 and has been an NFL all-star six times in his seven seasons in the league, also joined a group that is looking to bring a NBA team to Seattle and is part of the group hoping to build a baseball stadium and lure an MLB team to Portland, Oregon.

This new group of Sounders investors is led by former Microsoft executive Terry Myerson.

Seattle-bred hip hop star Macklemore is also joining, in addition to several other representatives of Microsoft’s present and past, including CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood.

Also joining is David Nathanson, who has overseen FOX Sports Media Group’s national sports networks.

This new group of partners joins Sounders FC’s existing Ownership contingent of majority owner Adrian Hanauer, Drew Carey and Jody Allen.

Sounders FC founding owner, Hollywood producer Joe Roth has announced his departure from the club.

“We are doubling down on this community and growing our local roots even deeper,” said Hanauer. “Sounders FC was born right here in Seattle, and for more than 40 years, the club has forged a meaningful legacy that is deep and far-reaching. Today’s news is a testament to what our community has accomplished, as 11 new families have joined with the broader Sounders family as fans and invested stewards of our club.”