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The Athletes Unlimited pro softball season Opening Day is just two days away and tomorrow we’ll have a big “primer” with all the key info in one spot to enjoy the season!
Leading up to the kickoff of the 30-games this August and September, the new league has announced some significant partnerships to help promote their athletes and the sport.
On July 1, Athletes Unlimited Announced Partnerships with CBS Sports & ESPN to Broadcast All 30 Games.
This week, the organization finalized a deal to stream all the games globally via the Olympic Channel as well as a partnership with Little League.
Here are two releases sent out by AU and reprinted with permission:
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ATHLETES UNLIMITED SIGNS WITH OLYMPIC CHANNEL TO STREAM ALL 30 SOFTBALL GAMES LIVE TO NEARLY 200 COUNTRIES
Athletes Unlimited announced a distribution agreement with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) global Olympic Channel to stream all 30 of its inaugural softball league games live to more than 180 territories outside of the United States, Canada and Spanish-speaking Latin America starting Saturday, August 29, and running through September 28.
Fans can access the Olympic Channel’s coverage of Athletes Unlimited Softball worldwide at olympicchannel.com and on its apps for mobile apps and connected TV devices.
The IOC’s Olympic Channel is an over-the-top (OTT) global media destination where fans can experience the power of sport and the excitement of the Olympic Games all year round. Offering original programming, news, live sports events and highlights, the Olympic Channel provides additional exposure for sports and athletes 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in 12 languages.
This agreement ensures global coverage for all 30 Athletes Unlimited Softball games which will be available for fans to see live on a combination of CBS Sports Network, ESPN and the Olympic Channel with an Opening Day double header on Saturday, August 29, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. ET.
As the lead broadcast television partner, CBS Sports Network will televise seven games in the United States and Canada while ESPN will distribute 23 games across its platforms in the U.S. ESPN will also distribute these 23 matchups outside the U.S via its platforms in Spanish-speaking Latin America and in Canada via its partner TSN. Olympic Channel will live stream the games worldwide outside of CBS’s and ESPN’s exclusive territories.
Athletes Unlimited is also partnering with WAVE.tv to bring game highlights and short form video content throughout Athletes Unlimited’s softball season to WAVE.tv’s 200 million monthly viewers on platforms which include Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube.
“I am thrilled that this arrangement with the Olympic Channel will allow my family, friends and teammates back in Italy and Europe to watch me compete,” said Erika Piancastelli, member of Team Italy and Athletes Unlimited.
“Our distribution deal with the Olympic Channel significantly broadens our audience to watch our inaugural Athletes Unlimited Softball league,” said Jon Patricof, CEO and Co-Founder of Athletes Unlimited. “With 56 of the best players on the planet, including 19 Olympians, it is fitting that fans will be able to watch them compete on a global stage.”
Eric Collins and Danielle Lawrie will serve as the broadcast team for Athletes Unlimited Softball. Eric Collins is considered one of the preeminent voices for women’s softball, calling hundreds of games at the professional, collegiate and international levels including play-by-play for the USA National team, the National Pro Fastpitch Championship and Women’s College World Series on ESPN. Danielle Lawrie, a current member of the Canadian National team and former Women’s College World Series champion at the University of Washington in 2009, will provide color commentary.
Athletes Unlimited will work with Ross Mobile Productions (RMP) to produce all 30 games.
Games will blend unique player access with new broadcast technologies to provide viewers in depth insight into players, game scoring and real time player rankings. The league plans to highlight these innovative elements as part of each broadcast:
- The Piero System, which is an award-winning sports analysis tool created by Ross Video. Piero uses image recognition or encoded camera heads to overlay tactical graphics on sports content. Piero brings new angles to every game, on the screen with visually engaging and informative effects that will include individual player scoring;
- Inception social media integration will enable social media content to be produced into on-air graphics presentation;
- Super Slow-Motion camera will be used to break down plays, pitcher’s ball release, ball rotation, bat contact and key moments;
- All-Access Player Audio will deliver the sounds of the game from mics on players and umpires.
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Little League® and Athletes Unlimited Form Strategic Partnership to Inspire Softball Players and Leaders
Partnership focuses on enhancing the experience for females in the Little League Softball® program and building excitement around professional softball.
As Little Leaguers® all around the world look forward to starting the next chapter of their story, Little League® is proud to announce a strategic partnership with the newly launched Athletes Unlimited that will bring together Little League Softball® players and the world’s best softball athletes, grow excitement around the game, and increase both accessibility and racial diversity in the sport in 2020 and beyond.
“All of us at Little League International are excited to see professional softball played at its highest level as the inaugural season of Athletes Unlimited Softball begins and we look forward to partnering with Athletes Unlimited Softball to further grow the game of softball and inspire millions of girls around the world,” said Sara Thompson, Little League Director of Softball Development. “With the help and support of the great team at Athletes Unlimited, we will be able to continue to find ways to expand opportunities and access for females in our program and build interest in the game of softball amongst our players.”
Established in 2020, Athletes Unlimited is a new professional softball league that offers a range of innovations to bring athletes and fans a unique and intense version of the sport. With an innovative new scoring system, players will earn points based on team victories and individual performances. Every week will start with a new draft where the top four players on the leaderboard are selected as team captains and will pick who will play on their team for the week. Because Athletes Unlimited has eliminated the concept of team owners, the best athletes in the world are now decision-makers and stakeholders in the leagues, making them more than just professional athletes, but also role models for future generations of the game.
“We are thrilled to have our world class athletes work with Little League to help inspire young girls around the world to play softball in an effort to produce the next generation of pro athletes and civic leaders,” said Jon Patricof, CEO and Co-Founder of Athletes Unlimited. “A focus area for Athletes Unlimited softball in our inaugural season and moving forward is to make softball more visible and accessible in underserved and communities of color. We are excited to collaborate with Little League to achieve this goal, both domestically and internationally.”
This new partnership also directly aligns with the Little League Girls with Game Initiative, which was launched in 2019 to honor all the girls and women who have made the Little League program what it is today and inspires the future generation of female participants at every level.
“Hundreds of thousands of girls in our Little League program, thanks to the support of the volunteer coaches and administrators, dream of playing softball on the big stage,” said Stephen D. Keener, Little League President and CEO. “We’re looking forward to working with Athletes Unlimited, as we continue to inspire all females in our program that with hard work, dedication, and determination, there is nothing that they cannot achieve, on the softball field and off, as evidenced by Little League Hall of Excellence enshrinee and Athletes Unlimited player Cat Osterman.”
As part of the partnership, Little League and Athletes Unlimited will work together to coordinate live and digital events that provide engagement between Little Leaguers and professional softball players, create educational and entertaining content to be used across both organization’s digital platforms, continue to promote and strengthen the Little League Girls with Game initiative, and work to develop interest in and access to the game of softball at every level and in every community.
The inaugural season for Athletes Unlimited begins on August 29, 2020, at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Illinois, with Little League alumni such as AJ Andrews, Hannah Flippen, Aleshia Ocasio, Cat Osterman, and Jessica Warren taking the field. Along with the Little League graduates, the 56-player roster includes 20 Olympians from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Italy. For more information on the inaugural Athletes Unlimited softball season, including how to watch and a full list of athletes, visit AUProSports.com/Softball.