The Cord Has Been Cut

New data shows that streaming passed the combined share that broadcast and cable TV had for the first time in the four years of Nielsen’s Gauge index

June 18, 2025

Nielsen: Streaming Passes Linear TV for First Time
SBJ’s Austin Karp reports: “New data shows that in May, streaming (44.8%) passed the combined share that broadcast and cable TV had (44.1%) for the first time in the four years of Nielsen’s Gauge index. It was the largest share that streaming has had on its own to date. Broadcast TV alone was 20.1%, while cable TV was 24.1% last month.

“Netflix has led those platforms for four consecutive years, jumping 27% since May 2021. YouTube (excluding YouTube TV) is up over 120% during the same period and represented 12.5% of all TV viewing in May, its fourth straight monthly share gain and the best share of TV for any streaming platform on record. Disney, which encompasses ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+ (with the ESPN DTC platform coming this fall), had 5% of all TV watching in May. That’s a point-and-a-half ahead of Prime Video.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Teamworks Raises $235M to Accelerate AI-Powered Innovation
Teamworks, the Operating System for Sports™ powering more than 6,500 elite sports teams globally, today announced it has secured $235 million in an oversubscribed Series F financing led by returning investor Dragoneer Investment Group. This latest round, which closed at a pre-money valuation exceeding $1.0 billion, will fuel the company’s mission to advance AI-powered solutions across professional, collegiate, and Olympic sports programs, cementing Teamworks’ position as the leading sports technology company globally.
^Teamworks

SeatGeek Adds Union as Ninth MLS Club Partner
The Union will transition their primary ticketing for home matches at Subaru Park to SeatGeek beginning with the 2026 season under a multiyear agreement. SeatGeek already served as the Union’s ticket resale partner through a partnership with the team’s primary ticketing partner, Paciolan. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. For SeatGeek, the deal with the Union brings its stable of MLS partners to nine. Only TicketMaster, the league’s official ticketing partner, works with more MLS teams (18).
^{Sports Business Journal}

Why Are So Few People Watching the Stanley Cup Final in the U.S.?
“Obviously, there’s less distribution and less fan awareness with the games on TNT,” said John Kosner, who advises sports media companies after a two-decade career as an executive at ESPN.

The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch writes, “Most fans are not concerned with sports viewership numbers, and that’s understandable. You love the sports you love. Who cares if your favorite sport lacks mass popularity? Trust me, I get it. But viewership metrics are of significant importance for sports leagues, given that the money from media rights-holders represents the financial lifeblood of the sport.”
^{The Athletic}

Orlando Group Seeks Government Support for MLB Pursuit
The group behind the bid to bring MLB to Orlando made its “biggest public pitch” yet yesterday, but the overall message from panel members was that they “urgently need a statement of government support to bolster their effort,” according to a front-page piece by Ryan Gillespie of the ORLANDO SENTINEL via SBJ.
^{Orlando Sentinel via Sports Business Journal}

Texans Accelerate Talks on New HQ and Entertainment District, Decision Nearing
Texans President Mike Tomon said that a decision on where the Texans decide to build a new team headquarters “could come fairly soon as talks with interested parties have sped up in recent weeks,” according to Jonathan Alexander of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE via SBJ. Tomon said their goal is to build a training facility that is “world-class.” He added that will “likely include an entertainment district with retail stores, similar to what the Dallas Cowboys have built with the ‘Star in Frisco.’”
^{Houston Chronicle via Sports Business Journal}

Jay Monahan to Leave Next Year as PGA Tour Turns to NFL Exec Brian Rolapp for New Leadership
The AP’s Doug Ferguson writes, “Jay Monahan is leaving the PGA Tour next year after a decade that ends with a sport fractured by the Saudi riches of LIV Golf. He turns it over to top NFL executive Brian Rolapp in a new role as CEO that Rolapp sees as rife with commercial growth. Rolapp, the chief media and business officer for the NFL and seen as a potential successor to a Commissioner Roger Goodell, was introduced Tuesday as CEO, a position that had never existed in the tour’s six decades of existence.”
^{AP News}

Ed Policy Believes His Family Background Will Help Him in His New Role as Packers’ President/CEO
The AP’s Steve Megargee writes, “Ed Policy got a keen understanding about the realities of his dream occupation while growing up in a football family. Now that he’s about to take over as the president/CEO of the Green Bay Packers, Policy gets to put into practice the lessons he learned as the son of former San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns president Carmen Policy.”
^{AP News}

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Private Equity Has Arrived in College Sports
FOS’ Ben Horney writes, “Private equity and college sports are no longer standing on opposite sides of the room waiting for someone to make the first move. The dance has officially begun. A new $500 million initiative from sports business consultancy Elevate brings institutional capital directly into college sports. Separately, Boise State is ‘actively considering’ bringing private-equity investment into the Broncos’ athletic department and expects to have a deal in place within the next six months, the school’s athletic director told Front Office Sports.”
^{Front Office Sports}

Louisiana is Poised to Hike Its Sports Betting Tax to Help Colleges Pay Their Athletes
“These bills, and the inevitable ones that will follow, are intended to make states 'college-athlete friendly,'” said David Carter, founder of the Sports Business Group consultancy and an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California. But “they will no doubt continue to stoke the debate about the `perceived' preferential treatment afforded athletes.”
^{AP via Yahoo! Sports}

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