Morning Buzz

The IOC has agreed to a Worldwide Olympic Partnership with technology company TCL through to 2032. TCL will be the official Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner in the Home Audiovisual Equipment and Home Appliances category (IOC). In TCL, the IOC “has found a sponsor in China to replace” long-term commercial partner Panasonic from Japan. Panasonic’s four-decade partnership ended after the Paris Summer Games last year. It had been a founding member of the global Olympic partner program, known as TOP, in 1985. Japanese firms Toyota and Bridgestone also left the Olympic program last year by not renewing (AP, 2/20).

The IOC lost a total of four TOP sponsors last year -- Atos, Bridgestone, Panasonic and Toyota -- and this is the first one they have signed since A-B InBev last year. The addition of TCL puts the program at 12 global sponsors (Rachel Axon, SBJ).

The Texans have “explored the possibility of a new stadium” to replace NRG Stadium, though the team “has not committed to that path,” according to sources. The Texans have started negotiating a new lease agreement at NRG Stadium, but a recent facility assessment found the stadium was in “average or below average condition compared to its peers, with a laundry list of needs from deferred maintenance over the years.” Sources said that the team has “not proposed a new stadium in the lease negotiations,” and the “ultimate decision will depend on what makes the most financial sense for the Texans, the Rodeo and Harris County,” which owns the campus and leases it to the two organizations. A decision could “likely hinge on the price tag of a renovation.” If the combined costs of maintenance -- $1.4B is “needed over 30 years at the stadium” -- and “premium features the Texans may want to add begin to approach the cost of a rebuild, the team could decide a new stadium is the better option” (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 2/19).

The first MLB game to “feature the automated ball-strike challenge system” will be the spring training matchup between the Dodgers and Cubs on Thursday at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz. Thirteen spring stadiums and “over 60% of Cactus and Grapefruit League games” will feature the system this spring. The league is “testing out the system at the big league level for the first time” after “years of experimenting” in the minor leagues. Each team “will be given two challenges per game and will retain successful challenges.” Only the “batter, catcher or pitcher can initiate a challenge, which must happen immediately after the umpire’s call.” Triple-A baseball will employ the challenge system during the 2025 regular season, “giving the league as much information as possible before a decision is made” for MLB in 2026 (ESPN.com, 2/18). ABS has been used in Triple-A since 2022, and “most reports have been positive” (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 2/18).

Because the system “isn’t yet everywhere,” teams “will have varying experiences with it.” The Guardians “will play 27 games with ABS available” before Opening Day, while “other teams could play fewer than 10 games with it.” With only a few challenges, “the point of the ABS is simply to correct any egregious mistakes during the game’s biggest moments” (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 2/18).

The ticket prices for Thursday’s 4 Nations Face-Off final between Canada and the U.S. have “skyrocketed,” with the “cheapest ticket” on Gametime for the game at TD Garden in Boston coming in at $798, located in section 322, row 15. On Ticketmaster, the cheapest ticket can be found for $925. The “most expensive tickets are upwards of” $5,000 to $6,500 “depending on the ticketing platform.” Two tickets at center ice are even on sale for $10,000 each on Ticketmaster. Needless to say, fans “need to pay a pretty penny to see their national team in action” (THE HOCKEY NEWS, 2/19).

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump “will not attend” the final on Thursday, according to sources. With Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attending Saturday’s contest, “there remained the possibility that his American counterpart could attend Thursday’s game in Boston following an invitation” from Team USA GM Bill Guerin of the Wild (DAILY FACEOFF, 2/19).

Chicago City Council on Wednesday “gave final approval” to a $7B plan to redevelop 55 acres around the United Center “with housing, retail, entertainment space and a public plaza.” Phase one of the “1901 Project” is “expected to take two years to complete” and “will include the construction of a large music hall designed to seat 6,000 people.” It also includes “a hotel and a public plaza for special events.” Construction “will take place in seven phases over the course of 10-15 years,” with the work “financed by the two families who own” the Bulls and the Blackhawks (WGNTV.com, 2/19). The redevelopment plan is “set to transform the area around the United Center.” Construction is “set to begin this spring” (FOX32CHICAGO.com, 2/19).

The NBA’s new All-Star Game format on Sunday was down 13% from 2024, but 3% better than the event’s record-low audience two years ago. TNT and truTV averaged 4.7 million viewers in prime time, down from 5.4 million last year (the game also aired on TBS in 2024), but above the 4.6 million that TNT and TBS drew in 2023.

Sunday night’s game ran into a viewership buzzsaw with the “SNL” 50th anniversary special on NBC, which drew 14.8 million viewers to easily lead all programs for the night (there also was season premiere of the popular HBO series “The White Lotus”). The NBA ASG was also No. 2 among all sports telecasts for Presidents Day weekend, right behind the Daytona 500. But while older demos may have found “SNL,” the NBA ASG was still the draw among young fans, leading all Sunday primetime telecasts among adults 18-34 and those 50 and younger. The ASG also had to deal without some star power, as LeBron James and Anthony Edwards were late scratches and Giannis Antetokounmpo also missed the game.

NBA All-Star Saturday Night on TNT/truTV, which includes the Skills Challenge, 3-Point Contest and Dunk Contest, averaged 3.4 million viewers, which is tied for the lowest audience on record for that event (2023 also drew the same figure from Salt Lake City). The audience last year was 4.6 million, but that was buoyed by Steph Curry taking on Sabrina Ionescu in a special three-point challenge that was not repeated in 2025. The NBA on Saturday night also was behind the 4.4 million viewers that the U.S.-Canada game got in the 4 Nations Face-Off on ABC. It was also below the 4.1 million that NBC got for the “SNL” 50 concert special.

On Friday, ESPN drew 1.2 million viewers for the Celebrity game – a new low for the event and down from 1.6 million last year. Later on Friday, the Rising Stars Challenge saw its second-lowest audience on record, with TNT and truTV averaging 912,000 viewers in the 9pm window (down from 951,000 last year).

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A “small fire broke out in a Mizzou Arena suite” following Wednesday night’s men’s basketball game between Missouri and Alabama, “leading to an evacuation of the facility but no injuries.” About 30 minutes after the game ended and fans had cleared out, “fire alarms went off throughout the arena.” It “was not immediately clear what the extent of fire or water damage was,” or “whether there will be any impact to future events.” The Mizzou’s women’s basketball team is scheduled to play a game there Thursday (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 2/19).

With 1 second remaining in Missouri’s 110-98 win over No. 4 Alabama, Tigers coach Dennis Gates called a timeout and “then went over to the scorer’s desk and grabbed the stadium microphone to relay a message to the sold-out Mizzou Arena crowd.” Gates: “Please do not rush the court. ... We need that money to go to NIL (name, image and likeness). We don’t need to be getting fines out there.” Some “jeers were heard from the crowd in the immediate aftermath,” but the fans “heeded his plea and did not storm the court” (COLUMBIA DAILY TRIBUNE, 2/19).

After a big weekend for sports over the long Presidents Day Weekend, co-hosts Mollie Cahillane and Austin Karp take you inside some of the tentpole events. The duo gives a full breakdown of viewership on NBA All-Star Weekend, the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off and NASCAR’s Daytona 500. Also, Box-to-Box Films’ Paul Martin breaks down the Apple TV+ docuseries recapping the 2024 MLS season and “Court of Gold” director Jake Rogal joins to discuss the new doc on Netflix centered around four national basketball teams from the Paris Olympics.

“He wrote, ‘I must make the founder of lovely & famous Athens the counterpart…to the father of…glorious Rome.’”