Sport & Story Daily May 6, 2024

Stay Ahead of the Game

May 6, 2024

Good morning! Derby Goes “Into the Mystik”

Record $210.7M Bet on 2024 Kentucky Derby
According to Churchill Downs, $210.7 million was wagered on Mystik Dan's win in the Kentucky Derby, besting the previous betting record set last year by $20 million. Overall, betting on the Kentucky Derby Day card soared to a record $320.5 million, beating last year's record of $288.7 million.

As ESPN’s David Purdum writes, “Mystik Dan went off as an 18-1 underdog and held off Sierra Leone and Forever Young in what was the closest finish in the Kentucky Derby since 1947, according to the track.”
^ESPN

Max Verstappen Is Unstoppable. Is That Hurting F1 With New American Fans?
Formula One has enjoyed unprecedented growth in the United States over the past five years thanks in large part to the immense popularity of the Netflix series Drive to Survive. But the historic gains in the key international market appear, at least in the short term, to be threatened by the dominance of Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.
^{Front Office Sports}

Will Ferrell Joins Leeds United as Minority Investor
Hollywood actor Will Ferrell has joined Leeds United as a minority investor. Leeds's owners, 49ers Enterprises, have several high-profile minority stakeholders, including actor Russell Crowe, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, and Major golf champion Jordan Spieth.
^{The Athletic}

NBC to keep Airing Kentucky Derby Through 2032
Per the Louisville Courier-Journal via SBJ, the Kentucky Derby will be "televised by NBC through 2032" in an extension of Churchill Downs Inc. and NBC Sports' partnership that began in 2001. The Derby has "long been a significant viewership event.” Since 2010, NBC Sports has averaged 15.6 million viewers for the Kentucky Derby across all platforms, excluding the 2020 COVID-19 year when the race ran in September. As The Athletic points out, the Derby is also “always a unique event as it draws a more female audience (about 51 percent) than men.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Report: NBA to Warn 'Record Payday' With New $76B Media Rights Deal
Per SBJ, the NBA's new long-term broadcasting agreements would pay the league about $76B over 11 years -- three times the amount of the current deal and a "record payday" of close to $7B annually -- thanks to “strong demand for live sports and the emergence of new bidders,” according to sources cited by Lucas Shaw of BLOOMBERG NEWS. Sources said that the league has “agreed to the general framework of deals” with Disney and Amazon that are worth $2.6B and $1.8B a year, respectively.
^{Sports Business Journal}

WWE Taking WrestleMania to Allegiant Stadium
As revealed during the preshow of Saturday's Kentucky Derby, WWE's WrestleMania 41 will take place at Allegiant Stadium on April 19 and 20, 2025. WrestleMania IX was held at Caesars Palace in 1993, but per SBJ, the event has “since exploded into a week of ancillary events that culminates in two sold-out nights at football stadiums.” Last month’s WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia was the “highest-grossing event in company history,” with 145,298 in attendance over two nights at Lincoln Financial Field, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Irvin Out at NFL Network, 'NFL Total Access' to End
Pro Football HOFer and NFL Network analyst Michael Irvin’s contract "will not be renewed" at the net as the league-owned channel "undergoes a round of cost cuts." Irvin had been an analyst at NFL Network since 2009 and has "played a major role" in the Sunday football pregame show, "GameDay Morning."
^{Sports Business Journal}

FSU Seminoles Eye $327M From Revenue Bonds Amid ACC Fight
As Sportico’s Eben Novy-Williams reports, “The Florida State University athletic department is looking to raise $326.6 million from an upcoming bond offering as administrators speak openly about the Seminoles falling behind financially.

“A preliminary offering statement, posted this week via Florida’s Division of Bond Finance, says the purpose of the revenue bonds is to finance renovations to the school’s football stadium and the construction of a new football operations facility. The combined cost of those two projects, the statement says, is $372.3 million, with $233.7 million attributed to the Doak Campbell Stadium renovations and $138.6 million to the new football building.”
^Sportico

Thanks for reading!

Sport & Story Daily is the sports industry’s daily resource for business news. In addition to serving up exclusive trends, Q&As, and columns, the newsletter connects reads to top platforms and stories from across the sports landscape.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here!

Feel free to read our Privacy Policy