Sport & Story Daily April 22, 2024

Stay Ahead of the Game

April 22, 2024

Good morning! How About Hockey, Eh?

NHL Skates Into Playoffs With 8-Year Ratings High, Record Attendance
As Sportico’s Anthony Crupi writes, “As the puck drops on the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, the league is enjoying its hottest ratings streak in eight years, as Disney and TNT Sports both put up their biggest in-game deliveries of the current media-rights cycle."

“ESPN accounted for the lion’s share of the NHL’s growth, averaging 486,000 viewers per game, good for a 25% boost versus last season’s deliveries. Bristol also improved its performance in the dollar demo by 20%, with an average draw of 211,000 adults 18-49 per telecast.”
^Sportico

Nike Cuts Over 700 Jobs In Second Phase of Layoffs
Per FOS, Nike informed the state of Oregon on Friday of its intention to lay off more than 700 workers at its Beaverton headquarters. The layoffs are a “second phase” of major layoffs announced earlier this year, cutting more than 1,500 jobs worldwide and 2% of the total workforce. The company will cut about 740 jobs at its Beaverton headquarters by June 28, according to the notice.
^{Front Office Sports}

Pegula Exploring Sale of Minority Stake in Bills
Bills owner Terry Pegula is exploring the sale of a minority stake in the team, though the Bills "declined to say how much of the team is being sold." Selling a minority stake in the team “would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars” to the Pegulas at a time when they are “facing soaring financial obligations from the new stadium construction project.” Sources said that what started as a $1.3B project is “now projected to cost more than” $1.7B and could “end up being closer to” $2B. But “all cost overruns are on the team.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Sprinter Gabby Thomas Says Diamond League FloSports Deal is a Drag
“With the Diamond League, we were on NBC and Peacock for a little bit, and I do feel like we were getting a little bit more visibility into the sport,” Thomas said at a 100 days from the Olympics countdown event in New York on Wednesday. “And it has recently gone off because it’ll exclusively be on FloTrack.”

“It does eliminate visibility because there is a pretty big paywall behind watching our events now,” Thomas continued. “And I think that’s difficult for people…”
^Sportico

No Subscription Totals? Netflix’s Decision Could Impact Sports Plans
As FOS’ Eric Fisher writes, “Netflix is ending its customary quarterly reporting of subscriber totals, a move that could blunt its growing sports ambitions. 

“The publicly traded streaming giant said Thursday that it will no longer disclose those subscriber numbers, starting with the first quarter of 2025, and will instead focus on other financial metrics such as revenue and operating margin. The shift immediately jolted Wall Street, prompting a 4.5% drop in Netflix shares in after-hours trading Thursday, and a 7% fall once full trading opened Friday.” 
^{Front Office Sports}

Ryan Smith Pivots to Delta Center Renovation For NHL Team Rather Than New Arena
Per SBJ, New NHL owner Ryan Smith on Friday said that he will “pursue massive reconstructive changes to the Delta Center," making the Jazz’s arena “more hockey friendly,” according to Andy Larsen of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. Smith said that his team is “pushing reconstruction plans for the downtown arena that would allow approximately 17,500 seats in a hockey configuration.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Legends Appoints Levy as CEO, Mirhashemi Moves to Vice Chair Role
According to SBJ, DAN LEVY is the new CEO of Legends as former CEO SHERVIN MIRHASHEMI transitions into a new full-time role as the company's Vice Chair, according to an internal email shared with SBJ this morning. Mirhashemi, who has served as CEO of Legends since 2017 after initially joining the company from AEG in mid-2013, will remain a Legends board member and actively involved at the company’s helm.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Hearings Have Concluded in the Pivotal USC Athlete Employment Case. What’s Next?
The National Labor Relations Board case was first filed in February 2022 as an “unfair labor practice” charge against USC, the Pac-12, and the NCAA. The charge, brought by longtime college athlete advocate Ramogi Huma and his National College Players Association, alleges that USC, the Pac-12, and the NCAA are all joint employers of football and basketball players—and that they have been misclassifying these athletes as “amateurs.” 
^{Front Office Sports}

As College Football Transfer Portal Becomes More Chaotic, Focus on Educational Values Continues to Dwindle
As CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd writes, “As the enterprise moves away from the educational component of college athletics, the question must be asked: What thread of academics tied to athletics will be left? Are players moving closer to majoring in football? We're not necessarily talking about a degree program -- although, who knows, maybe that's in the cards -- but eroding academic integrity in this transfer climate.”
^{CBS Sports}

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