Sport & Story Daily September 1, 2023

Stay Ahead of the Game

September 1, 2023

Good morning! A Hollywood and sports giant is on the verge of its biggest deal yet, with a majority stake of CAA on the line through a $7 billion deal…

💰 Pinault gets closer to CAA buy
Francois-Henri Pinault, the French luxury goods magnate worth more than $40 billion, is on the verge of a $7 billion deal that would deliver him with a majority stake in Creative Artists Agency, the famed talent house that represents Hollywood stars in addition to its esteemed sports arm, which has reportedly topped $17.8 billion in deals for its athletes. Pinault is in talks to acquire a controlling interest in CAA from private equity firm TPG, which acquired a 35% stake in CAA in 2010. Read more here.

🃏 WPT dangles all-time record prize pool
The WPT is upping the ante yet again. Following 2022’s $15 million guarantee at the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas, the 2023 WPT World Championship will feature a $40 million guaranteed prize pool. This year’s event will run at Wynn Las Vegas runs from December 12-21, and includes four starting flights and a televised final table. Read more here.

📳 DraftKings lays out fall 2023 programming lineup
Ahead of the 2023-2024 NFL season, DraftKings revealed its new Fall 2023 programming lineup on DraftKings Network and VSiN that will see 30 hours of added original programming, including the father-son duo Mike Golic Sr. and Mike Golic Jr. as well as the return to Brent Musburger. Shows include: Gojo and Golic, The Sweat, Pablo Torre Finds Out, A Numbers Game, Journeymen, and Brent Musburger’s Countdown to Kickoff. Read more here.

✂ Barstool Sports shifts to slash mode
Barstool Sports is laying off 25% of its 430 employees, according to the New York Post. Company founder Dave Portnoy retained control of the company as part of its separation from PENN Entertainment. About 100 people were estimated to lose their jobs on Thursday, and those remaining, according to a Portnoy post, will need to “step the f**k up.” Read more here.

🎼 NFL & Roc Nation prepare Songs of the Season
The NFL and Roc Nation launched the 2023 Songs of the Season, a season-long initiative that highlighting “superstars and emerging artists of all genres.” Songs will be integrated across NFL platforms throughout the season including on NFL Network, NFL+, in-game broadcasts, throughout NFL stadiums, league and club social channels, and more. Songs of the Season will continue to support Inspire Change, the NFL's social justice platform. Read more here.

Investec announced as new Champions Cup Title Partner in landmark five-year agreement
Through this partnership, Investec and EPCR will work together to keep evolving the pinnacle of global club rugby and features the top eight clubs from each of the three Leagues – Premiership Rugby, the Top 14 and the United Rugby Championship – and includes clubs from across Europe and South Africa.
epcrugby.com

T-Mobile lands SailGP partnership for experiential boost
SailGP is shoring up for an expanded collaboration with T-Mobile for Business for Seasons 4 and 5 spanning 2023 through 2025. SailGP will leverage a 5G Hybrid Mobile Network from T-Mobile's 5G Advanced Network Solutions portfolio to “further elevate fan experience with innovative, immersive views of live race action and provide SailGP athletes advanced on-water performance analysis,” according to the announcement.
sailgp.com

Fanatics closes part of $225 million PointsBet deal
“Get it done before the NFL season.” Every year, that’s the unofficial mantra for many U.S. sportsbooks launching new products or new features.
sportico.com 

GoPro revs up new MotoGP partnership
GoPro and MotoGP sealed a new agreement that sees GoPro return as the official wearable action camera of MotoGP from 2023 and beyond. As part of this new agreement, GoPro content will be shared across MotoGP's social media channels as well as motogp.com, including a GoPro OnBoard lap preview of each track and plenty more throughout the season.
itnewsonline.com 

NLL maps out upgrades with FanCompass
The National Lacrosse League, the largest and most successful professional lacrosse property in the world, today announced a multi-year partnership with FanCompass to bring an upgraded and interactive user experience for NLL partners and fans everywhere.
thedailypayoff.com

ESPN+ unveils September Major League Baseball game schedule
ESPN today announced its ESPN+ Major League Baseball game schedule for September 2023. The 29-game slate begins with the St. Louis Cardinals hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, September 1, at 8 p.m. ET.
espnpressroom.com

ESPN pulled from Spectrum lineup
Just ahead of Saturday’s college football action, Spectrum said Disney has removed its programming including Disney-owned channels such as ESPN, FX and several ABC-owned local stations. The cable company, owned by Charter Communications, posted on its the DisneyESPNFairDeal site that it had “offered Disney a fair deal, yet they are demanding an excessive increase.” cordcuttersnews.com

Cousin Sal hits FanDuel
Coming this NFL season, Cousin Sal on FanDuel TVFanDuel, the premier online gaming company in North America, and Spotify's The Ringer have strengthened their ongoing partnership by launching new original programming featuring Sal Iacono, best known as Cousin Sal, airing on FanDuel TV.
prnewswire.com

FOX Sports Radio launches show with Alex Curry and Monse Bolaños
FOX Sports Radio is pairing two women for a Saturday show beginning this week. Alex Curry and Monse Bolaños will partner for FOX Sports Saturday, the network’s only show with an all-female cast.
barrettsportsmedia.com 

NBA ready to handle local broadcasts if Bally Sports RSNs fail
As many as 15 NBA franchises have local deals with DSG’s Bally Sports regional sports networks (RSNs) ahead of the new season, but there is growing uncertainty surrounding the Sinclair-owned entity’s ability to find a resolution that would allow it to exit bankruptcy protection.
sportspromedia.com 

Verizon lands MetLife Stadium partnership
Verizon announced a deal with MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Jets and New York Giants, to provide major network upgrades for 2024 and beyond to accommodate the exponential increase in data customers use during stadium events held throughout the year. Additionally, Verizon is extending their long-term cornerstone partnership with the Giants, Jets, and MetLife Stadium.
globenewswire.com 

Virginia’s bid for Commanders’ new stadium take shape
There was no certainty that Dan Snyder would sell the Washington Commanders when Virginia’s legislature recessed in February. Snyder did offload the team, a deal reached with Josh Harris in May, and the $6.05 billion purchase became official in July. In the meantime, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and lawmakers worked toward adjustments to the budget — one that could include a $500,000 study on the feasibility of building the next Commanders stadium in the state.
frontofficesports.com 

Nix is latest ESPN casualty
Wendi Nix, the host of College Football Live, has announced on Instagram that her time at ESPN has ended after 17 years. Nix will be replaced on College Football Live by Kelsey Riggs, who joined ESPN in 2019 as a host at the ACC Network.
yahoo.com

Had a glitch in the Matrix yesterday as we convert to a new platform so we are rerunning yesterday’s Vision Insights section…
Your Vision Insights:
As we’ve seen with many new and exciting leagues on-the-rise, Premier Lacrosse League performs exceptionally well when comparing their fan base’s sponsorship receptivity to fans of all sports. High barrier to purchase attributes like “Trust” see an increase of 73% when going from general fans to PLL fans and PLL fans are much more likely to purchase sponsors’ products/services (22% vs. 13%).

On This Day in Sports History:
1881: First US men’s single tennis championships are held
1964: Ground is broken for Anaheim Stadium
1972: Mark Spitz claims Olympic butterfly double world record in the 100m
1990: Outfielders Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr. become first father/son to play on same team
1994: Pentium computer beats world chess champ Garry Kasparov

Thanks for reading!

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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