Sport & Story Daily September 29, 2023

Stay Ahead of the Game

September 29, 2023

Good morning! As the baseball season winds down, the league is boasting of an attendance threshold that MLB hasn’t seen since the last decade…

⚾ Major League Baseball draws highest attendance since 2017
More than 70 million fans will attend MLB games this season, marking the first time in six years the sport has topped that benchmark and marks a post-pandemic rebound for a sport that instituted its biggest on-field changes in decades. Still, average attendance remains below the record high of 32,785 in 2007 while MLB hasn't reached 30,000 since 2017. Read more here.

🏟 Orioles announce new 30-year deal to stay at Camden Yards
The Baltimore Orioles reached a deal with the state of Maryland to keep the team at Camden Yards for at least 30 years, according to an announcement after the third inning of Thursday night’s game against Boston. The team’s lease was to expire at the end of the year, so this was a welcome announcement for fans — as the team won its 100th game this season and clinched the AL East. Read more here.

🏈 USFL and XFL are officially engaged
The United States Football League and the XFL officially announced their intention to merge. The deal is subject to customary regulatory approvals and if the transaction is consummated, the new league will “establish best-in-class operations based on the most recent seasons of both leagues” and “anchor professional spring football.” Read more here.

🎮 Epic Games slashes 800+ jobs
Bloomberg reports that Fortnite developer Epic Games is poised to lay off 16% of its workforce with the publisher confirming that the layoffs will impact around 830 employees. “For a while now, we've been spending way more money than we earn, investing in the next evolution of Epic and growing Fortnite as a metaverse-inspired ecosystem for creators,” said company CEO Sweeney in the announcement. “I had long been optimistic that we could power through this transition without layoffs, but in retrospect I see that this was unrealistic.” Read more here.

🗺 IMG lands NFL media rights to over 30 international markets
IMG secured an agreement to exclusively oversee sales for the NFL’s media rights spanning 30+ international markets across Asia and Europe from 2024 in a three-year deal. IMG will also provide strategic advice and guidance on the local media landscape across the regions. Read more here.

ESPN nears broadcast rights deal with emerging golf league TGL
ESPN is close to finalizing a deal on broadcast rights with the emerging golf league TGL, according to people familiar with the matter, giving the upstart pro league helmed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy a media partner as they prepare to launch next year. Terms of the deal, including value and duration, have not yet been finalized, the people said, but are expected to be ironed out in the coming weeks.
ft.com

Endeavor, Fenway Sports consider investment in the PGA Tour
Endeavor Group Holdings and Fenway Sports Group are considering investing in the PGA Tour, potentially to rival or coincide with the PIF’s proposed deal, said the people, who declined to be named due to the sensitive nature of the discussions. The discussions, which are in preliminary stages, stem from a PGA Tour investment vehicle created as part of the framework agreement for its proposed deal with PIF.
cnbc.com

ICC names Near Foundation as official blockchain partner
The International Cricket Council (ICC) named the Near Foundation as its official blockchain partner until the end of 2025, promising to use Web 3.0 technology to deepen fan engagement and grow the game through new digital experiences. The first product of the partnership will be a pre-match strategy challenge ahead of the upcoming men’s Cricket World Cup next month.
sportspromedia.com

HP expands relationship with Hendrick; will serve as a primary sponsor through 2026
Hendrick Motorsports and HP Inc., announced an expansion of their partnership, which began in October 2022. As part of the contract extension, HP will serve as the primary sponsor of William Byron and the No. 24 team in next weekend's NASCAR Cup Series event at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, and the iconic brand will be a primary sponsor of the No. 24 machine for two races in 2024, 2025, and 2026.
racingamerica.com

TXV Partners targets $500 million for new sports fund
TXV Partners, a minority-led firm equipped with growth capital from investment manager CAZ Investments, aims to raise a private-equity fund focused on backing sports-related businesses.
wsj.com

Getty Images renewed as official photographic partner of Major League Baseball
Getty Images renewed its partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) that sees Getty Images continue as an Official Photographic Partner of MLB. As an Official Photographic Partner, Getty Images’ award winning sport photographers and editors will deliver high quality imagery from every MLB regular season game and dozens more Playoff and World Series games, all to be distributed exclusively online.
gettyimages.com

Ryder Cup partners with Genius Sports to launch interactive gamification hub for fans
Genius Sports has clinched a new partnership with the Ryder Cup to launch a new interactive digital strategy to attract and engage fans. Ahead of the start of the tournament this Friday, Genius Sports has unveiled the new Ryder Cup Game Zone, official gamification hub for golf fans worldwide.
geniussports.com

NASCAR to return $1 million All-Star race to North Wilkesboro again in 2024
The NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race will remain at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 2024 after this year’s event — the first race for NASCAR there in 27 years — attracted a capacity crowd thrilled to return to stock car roots.
apnews.com

YouTube Chief Business Officer Mary Ellen Coe on NFL Sunday Ticket “exceeding expectations” & more
Mary Ellen Coe was installed as YouTube‘s Chief Business Officer last fall, just as the activity level at the company was beginning to surge even by the breakneck standards of a startup-turned-digital-behemoth. Since she landed in her new role after a 10-year run at Google and a prior chapter at McKinsey, many major headlines have blared. The company secured NFL Sunday Ticket in a $14 billion, seven-year rights deal that kicked off this month.
deadline.com

Amazon Prime Video reportedly set to end ‘sports talk’ bloc
Just about one year after its launch, Amazon Prime Video is dissolving “Sports Talk,” a 12-hour lineup of daily talk shows covering sports at the end of October. The decision has been made on the precipice of media rights negotiations for the National Basketball Association, a property that the over-the-top (OTT) streaming service could reportedly have interest in as the rights hit the open market.
barrettsportsmedia.com

NBA nearing plans to host 2025 All-Star Weekend at Warriors’ Chase Center
The NBA is nearing plans to host 2025 All-Star Weekend at the Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center, league sources confirmed Thursday. This upcoming season’s All-Star Weekend will be in Indianapolis. The NBA last hosted All-Star Weekend in the Bay Area in 2000, when the Warriors were still based in Oakland. This will be the first All-Star Game held at Chase Center, which opened in 2019.
theathletic.com

Timberwolves, Lynx and iHeartMedia Minneapolis announce multidimensional streaming and radio partnership
Under the agreement, KFAN (KFAN FM 100.3) will become the organization’s new flagship radio station for select Timberwolves games and a majority of Lynx games. The Timberwolves become the first NBA team with an exclusive streaming channel on the iHeartMedia platform.
nba.com

Fenway Sports sells Liverpool minority stake to Dynasty Equity
Recently launched sports team investment fund Dynasty Equity Partners has bought a minority stake in Liverpool F.C. from Fenway Sports Group, the companies announced Thursday.
sportico.com

NBA hires former Obama counsel, Google exec Albert Sanders Jr. to head ref operations
The NBA has hired Albert Sanders Jr., a Google executive and former associate counsel to President Barack Obama, as its new head of referee operations. He will be an executive vice president, working with Monty McCutchen, the senior vice president for referee development and training. Sanders will report to Byron Spruell, the NBA’s president for league operations.
apnews.com

On This Day in Sports History:
1946: Los Angeles Rams play first NFL game in LA
1986: Mary Lou Retton retires as a gymnast
1988: Jackie Joyner-Kersee wins her second gold medal at the Seoul Olympics
1996: Houston Astros retire Noral Ryan’s #34
2002: Seattle running back Shaun Alexander sets NFL record for most touchdowns in a half with 5 in 1st half

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.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here!

And feel free to read our Privacy Policy.

Sept72