Sport & Story Daily October 2, 2023

Stay Ahead of the Game

October 2, 2023

Good morning! The Astros walked away with multiple wins over the weekend, not only taking the No. 2 seed with a win on Sunday, but also landing an RSN in a partnership with the Rockets…

⚾ MLB playoffs brackets complete
The MLB playoffs are locked and loaded. The playoffs will begin Tuesday with the Wild Card Series in each league, pitting the Blue Jays/Twins and Rangers/Rays in the AL and the Diamondbacks/Brewers and Marlins/Phillies in the NL. Read more here.

🚀 Astros and Rockets announce acquisition of regional sports network AT&T SportsNet Southwest
The Houston Astros and Houston Rockets are teaming up to acquire AT&T SportsNet Southwest from Warner Bros. Discovery. The network will re-launch as Space City Home Network tomorrow with the channel operating as a joint venture of the two organizations. Space City Home Network (SCHN) continues to hold exclusive local television rights for its new owners, and will also offer regional high school and collegiate sports content. Read more here.

💎 Diamond Sports asks for extension of bankruptcy plan deadline
The drama behind the Chapter 11 bankruptcy for Diamond Sports could seep into 2024 if a federal bankruptcy judge approves a notion filed by Diamond to extend by 60 days both the deadline for Diamond to file a Chapter 11 plan and the date by which Diamond can solicit acceptances. That would push the new dates to Nov. 29, 2023, and Jan. 29, 2024, respectively. Read more here.

⛳ Michelle Wie West and Alex Morgan invest in TGL’s LA franchise
The big names keep coming for the TGL. Alex Morgan and Michelle Wie West became the newest all-stars to invest into the upcoming golf league, with both buying into the Los Angeles franchise, alongside previously announced investors such as Serena and Venus Williams, NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and more. The new league is set to begin play in January 2024. Read more here.

🎮 Andrew Perlmutter named first-ever NBA 2K League CEO
NBA 2K League announced Andrew Perlmutter as its first-ever CEO. Perlmutter will oversee the league’s business and competition operations, and report to a newly-created Board of Directors that includes representatives from the NBA, Take-Two Interactive and 2K Games. Perlmutter previously worked as a Chief Strategy Officer for data center and technology company ITRenew. Read more here.

DFS 2.0 companies facing opposition from states, ‘hypocritical’ establishment

The mainstream emergence of daily fantasy sports (DFS) 2.0 has arrived. And with it, the inevitable power struggle between the next generation daily fantasy sports companies (think: PrizePicks, Underdog) and licensed sports betting operators/daily fantasy incumbents looking to protect their turf (think: DraftKings, FanDuel).

The two sides have been embroiled in a public feud over the legality of against-the-house pick’em games since June. In recent weeks, state regulators from Wyoming and Florida have sent cease and desist letters to several DFS 2.0 businesses.

“It seems like this new wave of DFS [companies] is going through the old wave of scrutiny,” Doug Mishkin (partner, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner) said.

DraftKings and FanDuel were ultimately rewarded for pushing legal boundaries.

“The current regulatory environment for daily fantasy was paved by the shake-out from all those lawsuits back in 2014 and 2015,” Mishkin said. “Some courts found that [DFS] was fine under current laws based on the element of skill, and some states actually changed their laws to expressly legalize and regulate it.”

By then the DFS leaders had already captured the market.

Mishkin believes DFS 2.0 could follow a similar arc, and anticipates eventual clarity –whether through the courts or legislation– regarding where these games stand.

Read the rest of this at JohnWallStreet.

Quizzes replace traditional ads in Disney’s streaming ‘Toy Story’ football game
On Sunday, Allstate traded in its famous Mayhem character for chaos of a different sort. The big insurance company is testing a sponsorship of a new kind of sporting event that will feature some of Pixar’s best-known animated characters tackling a real-life NFL game.
variety.com

U.S. Soccer and Ticketmaster announce multi-year strategic partnership to drive ticketing innovation
U.S. Soccer and Ticketmaster announced a strategic partnership, making Ticketmaster the Federation’s official ticketing partner for the next several years. Ticketmaster will support all ticketing initiatives and solutions to enhance the match day experience and bring fans closer to must-see U.S. Soccer events. U.S. Soccer and Ticketmaster will also recognize fans through custom content. ussoccer.com

NFL announces partnership with Brand USA
The National Football League signed a partnership with Brand USA, the official destination marketing organization for the United States. Under the agreement, Brand USA becomes the Lead Partner of the NFL in the UK and Ireland, the Presenting Partner of the NFL London Games and an Official Partner of the NFL in Germany.
nflcommunications.com

Nielsen: NFL draws TV-like numbers on radio, outperforming entire markets.
New data from Nielsen shows that NFL games broadcast on the radio attract audiences so large that they outperform the top-rated stations in many markets. With the success of football broadcasts mostly focused on TV, where they consistently occupy the majority of top-rated programs, a change in thinking about how radio is measured – which is by daypart, as opposed to program-focused TV – would show similar dominance by the audio broadcasts of games. insideradio.com

Showtime Sports president won’t confirm network is cutting boxing telecasts
As speculation continues to swirl that Showtime will be scaling back boxing coverage in the near future, Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza isn’t divulging any details. Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Canelo Alvarez/Jermell Charlo fight on Showtime PPV, Espinoza said word that the Paramount Global network will be getting out of the boxing space has been talked about for several years.
barrettsportsmedia.com

Electronic Arts launches ‘FC 24’ soccer game in fresh start after FIFA split
Electronic Arts on Friday launched its first soccer game without the FIFA tag, betting its “FC 24” title will maintain the momentum in its best-selling franchise and provide a bulwark against an industry slowdown. A near three-decade partnership between EA and FIFA ended last year over what media reports said were demands that the videogame maker double its yearly payments of $150 million to the governing body of world soccer.
indianexpress.com

Apple reportedly looking at bidding for Formula 1 rights
Apple continues to look for sports properties for its streaming service. Over the last two years, Apple has signed deals with Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer for Apple TV+ as well as becoming the sponsor of the Super Bowl Halftime Show. According to Business F1 magazine, the tech company is looking to make an offer of $2 billion annually for a deal that would likely begin in 2025.
awfulannouncing.com

San Diego MLS to become first in pro sports to house training facility on tribal land
San Diego MLS will become the first professional sports organization to establish a dedicated professional training facility on a tribal reservation, officials announced Sunday. Located in El Cajon on Sycuan tribal land, and includes construction of a 50,000-square-foot sports performance facility for the first team and academy teams, as well five full-sized soccer fields, including three natural turf fields and two synthetic turf fields.
timesofsandiego.com

Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami jersey headlines 2023 MLS sales
With the way he took Major League Soccer by storm, it’s not surprising that Lionel Messi had the top selling jersey in his first season in the league. According to data compiled by MLS from retail sales in its online store since January 1, Messi’s Inter Miami shirt was the top-selling amongst all MLS Adidas jerseys in 2023. The soccer great’s first Inter Miami match was on July 24.
frontofficesports.com

Electric Supply Center teams up with Boston Bruins, power play partnership for 2023 NHL season
The ESC logo, an emblem of industry leading service, quality and innovation, will occupy a prominent location at top center ice for every home game at TD Garden. This highly visible placement represents the elevated level of aligned core values which ESC shares with the other iconic Boston brands displayed in the ice.
nhl.com

Chelsea confirm £40m Infinite Athlete shirt sponsorship deal
Chelsea have confirmed a shirt sponsorship deal with sports technology company Infinite Athlete until the end of the 2023-24 season in a deal worth a reported £40 million ($49m). The west London club started the campaign without a shirt sponsor following the expiry of a deal with telecoms group Three.
espn.com

Carlo Jimenez to be named new radio voice of the Los Angeles Clippers
According to sources, Carlo Jiménez will soon be named the new radio play-by-play voice of the Los Angeles Clippers. Jiménez, 22, is a 2023 graduate from USC and a recipient of the Jim Nantz Award, given to the nation’s most outstanding collegiate sports broadcaster. He replaces Noah Eagle, who moved to NBC Sports in a full-time capacity this summer.
barrettsportsmedia.com

Post-weekend Pic Puzzle
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Sport & Story Daily and Sports & Story College are the sport 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.

Chris Pursell is the founder of staple industry events such as the Cynopsis Sports Business Awards, the Esports Business Summit, the CMO Exchange, the Tempest Awards, and the Esports Newfronts. He was previously a reporter and editor for publications such as Variety and The Los Angeles Times and launched leading business publications for Cynopsis and PromaxBDA.

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