COVID-19 Hits SEC Football

Alabama football coach Nick Saban tested positive for COVID-19, according to the school. Along with Saban, Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne also tested positive.

While the football team has avoided an outbreak (so far) since resuming play on Sept. 26, the school has seen more than 2,400 University of Alabama community members test positive for the coronavirus since returning to campus in August. 

The news came after the LSU-Florida game scheduled for Saturday was postponed because of an outbreak within the Gators’ program. Notre Dame football was sidelined for nearly two weeks while dealing with an outbreak before returning to play on Oct. 10.

Other College Headlines:

• Saban is the highest-paid college football coach, making $9.3 million this year, according to USA Today. The publication’s annual review of college football coach compensation came out Wednesday, finding the average FBS head coach makes $2.7 million, a 1.1% increase from last year.
• Las Vegas was named a regional host for the 2023 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament, the first time the city will play host to the tournament after years of being taboo because of sports betting.

The 2019-20 NBA season set new digital media records for the league, with total video views up 17% season-over-season to 20 billion. The NBA restart within the bubble — which successfully staved off any COVID-19 cases — helped propel the league’s strong digital performance.

That came as TV viewership for the NBA Finals was down 51% compared to last season, a drop that correlates to the 9% overall decline that TV viewership saw year-over-year.

NBA Bubble Social by the Numbers:

6.9 billion video views on social channels since July 30 restart.

2.6 billion video views on Instagram.

1 billion video views during the NBA Finals across platforms.

321 million YouTube views during the postseason, up 63% year-over-year.

61 million YouTube views during the NBA Finals, up 21%.

YouTube surpassed Facebook as the most popular destination for sports highlights, according to Ring Digital. The social media giant dropped 18% from a 2017 survey, while YouTube jumped 10%.

While social media platforms were selected by 44% of respondents looking for highlights, TV network apps still garnered 28%. With consumption habits changing, video highlight importance continues to grow and Ring Digital suggests the direct-to-consumer monetization of sports highlights could be worth as much as $4.5 billion. 

Recently, highlights topped a PwC report for most expected growth of sports media consumption at 90.5%.

Top Destinations for Sports Highlights:

• YouTube — 53% use on a regular basis for highlights
• Facebook — 45%
• Instagram — 40%
• Snapchat — 16%
• TikTok — 16%
• Twitter — 14%

An overhaul of the English soccer system — proposed by American owners of Liverpool and Manchester United — has been rejected. The plan, named Project Big Picture, was leaked earlier this week but rejected at an English Premier League’s shareholders meeting Wednesday.

Despite the rejection, the shareholders agreed to $65 million in grants and loans for clubs in League One and League Two, the pair of leagues below the Premier League. Clubs from outside the “Big Six” were upset at a potential power grab by the top-level teams, while also weary of the suggestion to give 25% of Premier League revenue to lower-level leagues.

Project Big Picture was, in part, meant to help English soccer weather the financial impact of the pandemic. The English government has refrained from intervening with financial support, and the English Football League reportedly turned down an investment from TPG Capital for a 25% equity stake in the lower leagues.