Sport & Story Daily September 5, 2023

Stay Ahead of the Game

September 5, 2023

Good morning! Flush with cash, the Professional Fights League is looking to bring in a competitor as the promotion continues to ink deals around the world…

👀 PFL grappling with potential Bellator purchase
The Professional Fighters League is poised to add competitor MMA promotion Bellator MMA from Paramount, Front Office Sports reports. Bellator is valued at as much as $500 million in the deal, and the transaction would be primarily in cash, with Paramount receiving some equity in PFL. The move comes following PFL’s $100 million investment from SRJ Sports Investments, a company launched earlier this month by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. Read more here.

🎾 ATP and WTA to discuss merger
The Association of Tennis Professionals and the Women’s Tennis Association will be discussing a merger between the leading men’s and women’s tennis tours at a meeting later this month, according to The Telegraph. Executives and tournament representatives will reportedly meet for a two-day summit in London at the end of September to talk through the potential for a unified tour. Read more here.

🤝🏼 Inside the ACC expansion
Protected by guaranteed revenues from its deal with ESPN, the Atlantic Coast Conference voted Friday to add Stanford, California and SMU to its Power 5 umbrella, creating a fourth super conference in major college sports and spanning three time zones. Starting in August 2024, the league will increase its number of football schools to 17 and 18 in most other sports, with Notre Dame remaining a football independent, with the final vote reportedly being 12-3. Read more here.

🎮 MrBeast and eFuse launching Creator League
YouTube’s top creator MrBeast is launching his own competitive league, announcing the move with eFuse as well as other top creators that will see creators captain teams while their communities will drive key decisions. The Creator League will see its inaugural season kick off with open qualifiers on September 8, while MrBeast joins eight other top personalities and organizations including Bella Poarch, Clix, OpTic Gaming, iShowSpeed and more. Read more here.

👩🏼‍⚖️ Judge tosses bribery conviction of former Fox executive
A New York federal judge threw out a conviction of former 21st Century Fox executive and Wondery podcast startup founder Hernan Lopez. Lopez was convicted earlier this year of bribing FIFA soccer officials with millions of dollars in exchange for lucrative media and marketing rights to international tournaments and events, including the World Cup. U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen granted a motion of acquittal, citing a recent Supreme Court decision on wire fraud and the lack of precedent for foreign commercial bribery. Read more here.

NFL Sunday Ticket makes first significant buy on Vegas sphere
YouTube's Sunday Ticket ad on the Exosphere in Las Vegas debuted today. Since debuting in July, the Exosphere in Las Vegas has wowed onlookers and drawn tons of social media attention with its vibrant displays on the largest LED screen on earth. Those eye-catching displays have been mostly devoid of ad campaigns—until now.
adage.com

Authentic Brands Group closes boardriders deal, now worth $29 billion plus
Authentic Brands Group now has annual retail sales in excess of $29 billion worldwide thanks to Friday’s closing of its deal to acquire Boardriders. In March, the brand development, marketing and entertainment firm inked a deal to acquire Boardriders, the parent of Quiksilver, Billabong, Roxy, RVCA, DC Shoes, Element, VonZipper, Honolua and Boardriders, for a reported $1.25 billion. At the time, Authentic had sales of $27.6 billion.
yahoo.com

Verizon's NFL campaign honors the worst fantasy players in America
The Internet has shown that finishing last in a fantasy football league has consequences. This season to highlight its new feature, myPlan, Verizon is taking the excitement of football season to a whole new level with its latest campaign ‘Fantasy’s Legends of Last Place’ experience. To find and crown the best fantasy football loser in America, Verizon teamed up with fans to submit their fantasy league’s last place rituals on social for a chance to score NFL tickets and win the ultimate title. The winner will be announced on 8/31.
lbbonline.com

Best practice: Capping off US Open success with a well placed patch
There was a time wayyy back in the 1990’s when the New York Knicks would be yearly contenders for the NBA Eastern Conference Championship and when the team played on the road in places like Indianapolis or Philadelphia or Houston, you would tune in and on the new sideline rotating signage you would see ads for New York restaurants.
joefavorito.com

MLB won’t extend the pitch clock for the postseason
Major League Baseball is keeping the pitch clock the same for the postseason as it was for the regular season, brushing aside complaints from some players. Following an MLB executive council meeting this week, the commissioner’s office informed the competition committee there will be no change, a decision first reported by Sports Illustrated. The competition committee adopted the clock ahead of the 2023 season along with restrictions on defensive shifts and larger bases.
nbcsports.com

NHL considering more unique destinations after Global Series -- Melbourne
As the NHL continues its final preparations to bring teams to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time in September, it is already considering other unique international cities that could host preseason games in future seasons, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said.
nhl.com

IOC President Bach wants cricket added to LA 2028
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has suggested that he would like cricket to be added to the sporting program for Los Angeles 2028. The sport has made just one appearance at the Olympic Games, in 1900, when it was contested by just two teams. However, it was a success at last year's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and now it is catching Bach's eye for Los Angeles' third Olympic hosting.
insidethegames.biz

Charter moving on if Disney does not accept collaborative business model
Following Thursday night’s incident where channels owned by The Walt Disney Company were abruptly taken off the air for Spectrum customers, Charter Communications held an investor webcast explaining its position in the negotiations. The incident occurred moments before kickoff of ESPN’s college football Thursday night opening game between Florida and Utah, disheartening sports fans and leaving them with more questions than answers.
barrettsportsmedia.com

Pittsburgh Penguins acquire and rebrand SportsNet RSN
The National Hockey League’s (NHL) Pittsburgh Penguins announced the rebranded SportsNet Pittsburgh regional sports network (RSN) as the new home of all of their regionally televised games, starting with the 2023/24 season and rebranded the existing AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh RSN from Warner Bros Discovery (WBD).
sportspromedia.com

Messi presence driving team ticket sales beyond Miami
Lionel Messi played his first away match in an Inter Miami kit on August 6 at FC Dallas, which generated 10 times the normal gameday revenue at Toyota Stadium. The legendary star scored two goals in the Leagues Cup game, including a stunning free kick in the 85th minute to tie the contest, which the Herons eventually won on penalty kicks. In the three weeks after, FC Dallas says it sold more 2024 season tickets than in any three-week period in club history. frontofficesports.com

Newcastle United develop multi-year partnership with adidas
The Premier League (PL) team, Newcastle United have announced a multi-year partnership with the German sports apparel entity, adidas. Following this agreement, the renowned three stripes will become the club’s official kit partner from the 2024/25 season onward.
sportsmintmedia.com

CELSIUS strengthens presence in MLS with Chicago Fire FC deal
The Major League Soccer (MLS) team, Chicago Fire FC have penned down a multi-year association with the American energy drink, CELSIUS as its exclusive energy drink. The American entity has received the rights to in-stadium activations on home matchday at Soldier Field, as per the pact.
sportsmintmedia.com

Senior NFL insider Josina Anderson joins Skip Bayless’s “Undisputed”
Josina Anderson, Emmy and NABJ awarded journalist and current CBS Senior NFL Insider will join the cast on Skip Bayless’s “Undisputed” show, September 1, 2023. Anderson joins a list of other star contributors such as rapper Lil’ Wayne and NFL veterans, Richard Sherman, Keyshawn Johnson, and Michael Irvin. einpresswire.com

Outdoorsmen.com announces San Jose Sports Hall of Fame member, John Doyle, as President
Outdoorsmen.com, Inc., a social media and e-commerce technology company operating in the sporting goods industry, announced that John Doyle: All American, MLS Soccer Star, San Jose Sports Hall of Fame Member, Olympic Soccer and US National Team Member as their new president, and board member.
einpresswire.com

FOX Sports Radio adds NFL vet Kyle Rudolph
FOX Sports Radio (FSR), a division of Premiere Sports Network providing 24/7 live programming, today announced the addition of 12-year NFL Tight End and two-time Pro Bowler Kyle Rudolph to FOX Sports Radio’s lineup as co-host of FOX Football Sunday with FSR weekend personality Mark Willard.
foxsportsradio.iheart.com

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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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