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AC Milan, KAGR Partner to Grow U.S. Fan Demand for European Soccer
AC Milan and Kraft Analytics Group (KAGR), a sports and entertainment data analytics company, have announced collaboration on a comprehensive data and analytics initiative to enhance and extend the 125-year-old club’s fan engagement and unlock new revenue streams.Sporticast 360: NFL Teams Make $400M+ Before Tickets, Concessions The partnership will allow AC Milan to better understand and engage with its fans, using KAGR’s experience with major North American sports entities. AC Milan is KAGR’s first international client. “The partnership is a cultural shift for, AC Milan,” Jessica Gelman, the CEO of KAGR, said in a video call. “Their openness to learn from KAGR, who...
Salt Lake City Wins Bid to Host 2034 Winter Olympics
Salt Lake City will be the center of the winter sports world once more.Terrorism, Drone Use Among the Security Risks at 2024 Paris Olympics On Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee approved the capital of Utah’s bid to host the 2034 Winter Olympics with an 83-6 vote. It will be the second time the Games have come to Salt Lake City after hosting the multinational event in 2002. The IOC also conditionally voted in favor of the French Alps hosting the 2030 Winter Games with an 84-4 vote (and seven abstaining). While organizers for the 2034 Winter Games in Salt Lake City have...
Mom and Pop Find Way Into Team Ownership as PE Draws Advisors
When the major U.S. sports leagues began opening up their franchises to private equity investment about five years ago, the move heralded a way for the world’s richest investors—pension funds, endowments and sovereign wealth funds—to bolster team values and find a new place to park some of their trillion of dollars.Packers Report Record Revenues of $654M, Profit Falls 12.5% Now, a new, not-so-deep-pocketed investor is finding their way into owning a slice of a pro team: Mom and Pop. “The amount of interest is overwhelming,” Shana Orczyk Sissel, founder and CEO of Banríon Capital Management, said on a video call. “In general,...
La Previa 45: Telemundo’s Miguel Gurwitz on Olympics and Business
On the latest episode of La Previa, Miguel Gurwitz, the Emmy Award-winning sports commentator and one of Telemundo Deportes’ leading on-air personalities, joins Asli Pelit from Paris to discuss the business and growth of the Olympic Games and the art of covering the event.Highest-Paid Paris Olympics Athletes: Top 20 Earn $1.35B Gurwitz covered six Summer Olympics, starting with Sydney in 2000, as well as a few Winter Games. The Paris event will mark 20 years of Olympic coverage on Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language broadcaster of the Games in the U.S. The network is gearing up to present the most extensive Olympic...
Ishbia Hopes to Return NHL to Phoenix, Possibly in New Arena
PHOENIX — The Arizona Coyotes and the National League Hockey have fled Maricopa County for Utah. But the sport might not be gone forever. If any sports figure in the city is equipped to bring it back, it’s Suns and Mercury owner Mat Ishbia.Sporticast 358: The NFL Suffers a Rare Financial Setback He has the wherewithal, the arena and more importantly the will. Ishbia told Sportico he was up to that challenge last week, as the WNBA All-Star Game came to Footprint Center and a $100 million women’s practice facility funded by Ishbia opened behind the arena. “I’m definitely going to be part of the community,...
Florida Man Seeks Dismissal of Jaden Rashada’s NIL Lawsuit
Mocking University of Georgia quarterback Jaden Rashada’s NIL lawsuit as the would-be plot of a “juicy bestseller in the fiction genre,” University of Florida recruiter Marcus Castro-Walker Tuesday motioned to dismiss a case that accuses Castro-Walker, UF head football coach Billy Napier, wealthy UF booster Hugh Hathcock and Hathcock-owned Velocity Automotive Solutions of fraudulently inducing Rashada to forfeit a $9.5 million NIL deal to attend the University of Miami by lying to him that he’d be paid $13.85 million to attend UF.Opendorse Hires New CEO as Co-Founder Lawrence Shifts Roles As Sportico detailed when Rashada sued in May, the former five-star recruit insists the...
LIV Golf Lightens Lobbying as Congressional Focus Shifts to PIF
LIV Golf is clubbing down on its inside-the-Beltway play.British Open Prize Money Hits $17M With $3.1M for Winner This month, the Saudi-backed golf league reported second-quarter Congressional lobbying expenditures of $90,000, according to mandatory disclosure statements filed with the House and Senate. That disbursement—the same as what LIV Golf reported spending in Q1—represents a significant drop-off from the $140,000 it spent in each fiscal quarter last year, when its contentious-turned-collaborative relationship with the PGA Tour raised the hackles of Washington lawmakers. On June 6, 2023, the rival golf outfits, which had been embroiled in legal action, announced that they—along with the DP...
Caitlin Clark’s WNBA All-Star Debut Shatters All-Time Ratings Record
The WNBA’s season-long surge in popularity shows no sign of abating, as the 2024 All-Star Game left the previous ratings record in the dust.Disney VR Investment May Yield ESPN Player's-Eye-View Headsets According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, Sunday night’s exhibition, which pitted rookie stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese against the U.S. women’s national team, averaged 3.44 million viewers on ABC, up 139% versus the previous high-water mark set in 2003 (1.44 million). Team WNBA’s 117-109 win now stands as the third most-watched outing in the league’s history, trailing only NBC’s opening-weekend salvo in June 1997, when the New York Liberty and Los...
United Center Owners Pitch $7B Mixed-Use District Around Arena
The Reinsdorf and Wirtz families are planning to convert the 55 acres surrounding Chicago’s United Center into a $7 billion mixed-used campus that would be the largest private investment in the city’s West Side.Comcast Heralds NBA's Return to NBC as TNT Drama Unfolds Michael Reinsdorf, the COO of the Chicago Bulls, and Danny Wirtz, CEO of the Chicago Blackhawks, are leading the proposal, formally called The 1901 Project. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the project still needs to be approved by local officials and, if successful, construction is expected to last 10 years. It would include green space, mixed-income housing, a...
Comcast Heralds NBA’s Return to NBC as TNT Drama Unfolds
Despite a looming battle between the NBA and TNT, its legacy media partner, Comcast believes it has a clear lane to the new rights deal, one that will bolster NBC’s primetime lineup for the next decade.Comcast president Mike Cavanagh, speaking to investors during the cable giant’s second quarter earnings call on Tuesday, indicated that NBC does not expect to be greatly inconvenienced by Warner Bros. Discovery’s attempt to match Amazon’s bid for an all-streaming NBA package.“Our expectation is that soon an 11-year rights deal between ourselves and the NBA will be announced,” Cavanagh said. “We don’t believe that the resolution...
Work Arounds: Olympians Juggle Multiple Jobs in Pursuit of Gold
The pursuit of Olympic glory does not come cheap. There are bills to pay.Highest-Paid Paris Olympics Athletes: Top 20 Earn $1.35B Some elite athletes, such as gymnast Suni Lee and swimmer Jessica Long, both Olympic medalists, can rely on their sponsors to support them financially while they focus on training full time. But many Olympians find themselves juggling rigorous training regimens with unconventional jobs to fund their athletic endeavors and the demands of everyday life. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee offers financial rewards to medal winners through its “Operation Gold” payout program. For 2024, athletes will earn $37,500 for every gold...
Andy Murray Retiring After Paris With $200M in Career Earnings
Andy Murray announced on social media Tuesday morning that he would retire from tennis after the Paris Olympics.Work Arounds: Olympians Juggle Multiple Jobs in Pursuit of Gold “Arrived in Paris for my last ever tennis tournament,” Murray posted on Twitter/X. “Competing for Team GB has been by far the most memorable weeks of my career and I’m extremely proud to get to do it one final time!” Murray—the only tennis player, male or female, to win two gold medals in singles—is scheduled to compete in Paris in singles and in doubles, the latter alongside Daniel Evans. He defeated Switzerland’s Roger Federer in...
All in the Family: NBA Kin Hand Down Keys to Managing Millions
Jalen Williams has assisted his Oklahoma City teammates in recognizing defensive schemes over the last two seasons. Now, the rising star forward carries the responsibility of helping his newly drafted younger brother, Cody, recognize financial fraud schemes.NBA Blocking TNT's Media Rights Shot Could Force Legal Jump Ball He’s poised to teach his little bro how to avoid losses both on and off the court. The Williams brothers joined a small fraternity of brothers—which includes Ausar and Amen Thompson last year—chosen in the first round of the NBA Draft after Cody was selected 10th by the Utah Jazz last month. “It’s dope,” Jalen...
Sporticast 364: Why We Watch the Olympics
On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Jacob Feldman discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including the beginning of Olympic action on NBC and Peacock, starting Wednesday.On Location Olympic Ticket Revamp Promises Gold for IOC, Endeavor Peacock has gone all-in for the Games after a recent price increase, with live coverage of all events as well as special offerings such as Scott Hanson’s “Gold Zone.” NBC will offer live afternoon coverage of key events, with nightly shows relying on storytelling—and celebrities—to retain viewers. Meanwhile, athletes themselves will focus on social media to grow their...
Citadel’s Ken Griffin Boosts Stake in Jim Dolan’s Sphere
Ken Griffin raised his stake in Sphere Entertainment to 5.3%, according to a Monday SEC filing. The hedge fund titan previously owned 1.6% of the Sphere through his investment firm Citadel but added more than 900,000 shares since April 1, and now holds 1.5 million shares.Sporticast 363: Jim Dolan Has Thoughts on NBA's New TV Deals Griffin boosted his position at the same time as another hedge fund giant was investing in the Sphere. Last month, New York Mets owner Steve Cohen disclosed a new 5.5% stake in Sphere Entertainment in an SEC filing for his hedge fund Point72 Asset Management....
WBD ‘Matches’ Amazon’s $19.8 Billion NBA Bid, Legal Battle Sure to Follow
Warner Bros. Discovery isn’t ending its longtime partnership with the NBA without a fight, as the parent company of TNT Sports has confirmed that it has made a matching offer for Amazon’s $1.8 billion-per-year bid for 11 years of streaming rights.The media conglomerate made its intentions to match the streamer’s $19.8 billion bid known Monday afternoon, by way of a registered letter delivered to NBA headquarters.In a statement released shortly after the documents landed at 645 Fifth Ave., a WBD spokesperson said, “We have reviewed the offers and matched one of them.” While the company did not explicitly affirm that...
On Location Olympic Ticket Revamp Promises Gold for IOC, Endeavor
Three years after being awarded a global hospitality contract as part of the International Olympic Committee’s revamp of ticketing for the Summer and Winter Games, the start of the Paris Games marks one of the most hotly anticipated efforts by On Location in its history.Sporticast 364: Why We Watch the Olympics The IOC has consolidated ticketing and hospitality experiences under its umbrella, with individual ticket sales going through the IOC directly. However, the organization chose On Location to manage sales of its premium packages—including some of the best tickets for the Games. “This is the biggest shift from a commercial point of...
Paris Poised to Eclipse London in Olympic Sponsor Hospitality
As Paris prepares to host this year’s Olympic Games—with the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe looming as backdrops—Coca-Cola Company, a longtime IOC partner, is gearing up to cultivate relationships and entertain clients on a grand scale. Work Arounds: Olympians Juggle Multiple Jobs in Pursuit of Gold At the 2012 London Olympics, Coca-Cola hosted nearly 4,000 guests from more than 100 countries as part of its corporate hospitality program, providing them with tickets and experiences. After Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo that had more limited hospitality potential, the 96-year IOC partner is expected to bring almost 2,000 guests to Paris,...
Troy Aikman Has Edge in Battle With Lamar Jackson Over No. 8
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson recently filed a notice of opposition at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in hopes of stopping a company connected to Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman from trademarking the number “Eight” spelled out as a word.Crimson Letter: Alabama Joins Adidas in Contesting LIV Golf Mark While the two-time NFL MVP usually connects on his throws, Jackson’s legal toss against Aikman faces stiff defense. The case is fundamentally about a number widely used in everyday life and in football. Jackson wears No. 8. Aikman, who won three Super Bowls for the Dallas Cowboys in the 1990s and is now...
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