ESPN Cuts the Cord

Sportico writes, “This fall, ESPN is finally going all in. For the first time, fans will be able to subscribe directly to ESPN and receive everything it has to offer for $30/month.”

July 30, 2025

Cable, Cricket and Kobe: 25 Years of Tests Led to ESPN’s Next Step
Sportico’s Jacob Feldman writes, “Before ESPN, there was the E.S.P. Network. Company founder Bill Rasmussen later wrote in his memoir that he didn’t know how the new station would fill time between Connecticut sporting events, so ‘entertainment’ was tacked before Sports Programming to give the team plenty of latitude … The point is, ESPN didn’t become the worldwide leader in sports through genius naming strategies.

“The same has been true of the company’s streaming efforts. ESPN Broadband launched in 2001, with the network’s first ‘webcast’—a Miami vs. Rutgers football game—coming a year later. That effort evolved into ESPN360, which was replaced by ESPN3, which became WatchESPN, which set the stage for ESPN Plus.

“This fall, ESPN is finally going all in. For the first time, fans will be able to subscribe directly to ESPN and receive everything it has to offer for $30/month.”
^Sportico

Walmart, MLS Ink Partnership to Capitalize on Growing U.S. Soccer Fandom
CNBC’s Lillian Rizzo writes, “Walmart and Major League Soccer are teaming up in a multiyear partnership that will see the retailer establish a bigger foothold in the sport and its growing U.S. fanbase. Walmart will invest in MLS and become an official sponsor and partner of the league.

“The partnership kicks off with the Leagues Cup, a tournament that begins Tuesday and culminates in a final match on Aug. 31. It features 18 MLS clubs competing against 18 teams from Mexico’s Liga MX.”
^CNBC

Adam Silver Meeting With Potential Backers of European League
NBA commissioner Adam Silver and deputy commissioner Mark Tatum are in Europe this week, holding multiple meetings with potential stakeholders of the NBA’s planned European basketball league, according to a Sportico source with the details.

The talks include private equity firms, investment banks, sovereign wealth funds, government officials, and basketball clubs on the continent, according to the anonymous source. London is among the places where Silver and Tatum are speaking with interested groups, the source said.
^Sportico

Marc Lasry Exploring Bid for WNBA’s Connecticut Sun
Billionaire Marc Lasry is considering a bid to buy the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, according to someone familiar with the talks who was granted anonymity because the details are private. In May, the owners of the Sun hired investment bank Allen & Company to explore the sale of the franchise.
^Sportico

Eagles Add New Wealth Management Sponsor
Seeking greater brand awareness and access to high-end hospitality, Janney Montgomery Scott has signed on as the Eagles’ wealth management sponsor. Former Eagles VP/Corporate Partnership Development Molly Arbogast’s POV Sports Marketing helped negotiate the deal for Janney Montgomery Scott and will assist with activation.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Fever-Sky Draws 1.5M Viewers Despite Clark, Reese Absences
FOS’ Colin Salao writes, “Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese both missed Sunday’s game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky due to injury—and the game still drew viewership numbers the league would’ve only dreamed of less than two years ago. Sunday’s game between the Fever and Sky drew 1.5 million viewers on ABC, the fourth-most-watched game on the network this year. The game tipped off at 3 p.m. ET.”
^{Front Office Sports}

Disney Closes Nearly $4B in Sports Ad Commitments
SBJ’s Mollie Cahillane writes, “Disney became the third major media company to cross the upfront finish line, closing its 2025-2026 negotiations with major gains in sports advertising. While overall volume was consistent with last year, Disney said sales in sports and streaming jumped, with sports making up nearly $4B in commitments.

“Disney now has 69 multiyear deals, and saw double-digit growth in volume for “Monday Night Football” and college football. Women’s sports are up double-digits percentage wise, driven by the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, the WNBA and emerging sports such as softball and volleyball.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Women’s Euro 2025 Final Draws 1.35 Million Viewers, Breaks U.S. Audience Record
The Athletic’s Asli Pelit writes, “Fox’s bold investment in women’s soccer paid off. The network’s broadcast of the UEFA Women’s Euros final between England and Spain ranked as the most-watched women’s soccer game in English-language U.S. television history, drawing 1.35 million viewers. The network reported that Sunday’s viewership was up 53 percent from the 2022 final between England and Germany…”
^{The Athletic}

AUSL Wraps Season on ESPN Well Above ’24 Numbers
The first season of a revamped Athletes Unlimited Softball League wrapped up with a two-game championship series over the weekend on ESPN that delivered the network its best Athletes Unlimited softball action since 2020. The AUSL Championship Series averaged 230,000 viewers for the two-game set on Saturday and Sunday.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Tracy McGrady to Join NBC as NBA Studio Analyst
Basketball HOFer Tracy McGrady will join NBC Sports as a studio analyst when the NBA returns to NBC and debuts on Peacock this fall. McGrady will be in studio one or more nights per week from the start of the 2025-26 season in October through the playoffs, often working alongside fellow former NBAers Carmelo Anthony and Vince Carter, as well as hosts Maria Taylor and Ahmed Fareed.
^{NBC via Sports Business Journal}

Bristol Motor Speedway is the Latest Unique Setting for MLB to Play a Regular-Season Game
“The combination of bringing together baseball fans and NASCAR fans, and then the overlay of the musical activities that we’re going to have, is going to make for a really, really special day,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “It’s a great part of the country for baseball.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Mavericks Hire Ethan Casson in New Role as President Under CEO Rick Welts
The Dallas Mavericks hired Ethan Casson in a new role as president Tuesday, giving CEO Rick Welts someone to handle daily operations on the business side while he focuses on the franchise’s plans for a new arena. Casson was most recently CEO of the Minnesota Timberwolves, along with the WNBA’s Lynx and the G-League’s Iowa Wolves. He served in that role for nine years.
^{AP News}

Report: Rutgers Expected to Make Zinn School’s Highest-Paid AD
The Rutgers Board of Governors is expected on Wednesday to “approve a five-year contract for Keli Zinn that would make the longtime college administrator the highest-paid athletic director in school history,” according to a source cited by Politi & Fonseca of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. The source said that Zinn, who is currently the Exec Deputy AD & COO at LSU, is “set to make a base salary” of $1.35M that can “rise if the athletic department hits any of the multiple incentives in the deal.”
^{Newark Star-Ledger via Sports Business Journal}

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How the Key Turns: Maryland and College Sports’ Reciprocal Economy
Sportico’s Eben Novy-Williams and Daniel Libit write, “For all the talk about college sports’ so-called descent into ‘Wild West’ chaos, there remain parts of the industry that hum along with such seamless coordination, one could be forgiven for confusing it with choreography.

“Take, for example, the recent developments at the University of Maryland, which in May announced the appointment of James E. ‘Jim’ Smith as its new athletic director. On its surface, the hire marked a routine leadership transition. But trace the connections, and a far more intricate—and revealing—portrait of college sports’ inner workings begins to emerge.”
^Sportico

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