All Eyes On TNT

In a Landmark Deal, TNT Swaps With ESPN: “Inside the NBA” For Big 12 Football

November 19, 2024

Good morning! We take a look inside the intricacies of this deal

Sources: Pitaro was Main Driver for ESPN to Land 'Inside the NBA'
SBJ sources said that ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro was the driving force behind the pursuit of "Inside the NBA" and was undeterred that Turner Sports would continue to produce the show in Atlanta and maintain editorial control. This dynamic is similar to that of the independently produced McAfee show and falls in line with the network’s ongoing distribution philosophy.

Sources said the arrangement with Turner is a straight swap, with TNT annually receiving 13 Big 12 football games and 15 men’s basketball games in exchange for the rights to "Inside the NBA." ABC/ESPN, the sources said, will be able to maintain and manage ad sales and sponsorships for "Inside the NBA," and ESPN branding is also expected to be somewhere on the set.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Inside the Atlanta Braves’ Financial World
SBJ’s Chris Smith reports: “Last year, the club booked total revenue of $641 million, up from $250 million in 2014, suggesting an 11% compound annual growth rate over the last decade. That’s more than double the leaguewide average of 5.3%, according to annual financial estimates from Forbes … The team’s full-year adjusted OIBDA (operating income before depreciation and amortization) was $38 million in 2023.

“That sort of financial insight is rare in pro sports and only made possible by the fact that the Braves are a stand-alone, publicly traded company since being spun out of Liberty Media in July 2023, making them the only publicly traded team in baseball.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

State Farm Signs Multiyear Deal to Sponsor New Unrivaled Women's Hoops League
According to SBJ, State Farm will sponsor Unrivaled, the new women’s 3x3 basketball league, as part of a multiyear deal that will see the brand become the league’s exclusive home and auto insurance sponsor. State Farm will also be the presenting sponsor for Unrivaled’s club selection announcement on Nov. 20.

Several women’s basketball players participating in Unrivaled have been featured in past State Farm creative. State Farm has also been a WNBA sponsor since 2013 and sponsors Caitlin Clark, who has not yet committed to Unrivaled despite a lucrative offer.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Okung Launches Bitcoin Sports League After Salary Gamble Pays Off
Sportico’s Eric Jackson writes, “NFL executives and financial advisors tried to stop Russell Okung. Even his own mother, Dorthy, was concerned. It was too late. The two-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman was already committed to converting half his $13 million salary in 2020 with the Carolina Panthers into bitcoin. He was met with skepticism and widely ridiculed by his peers and others, but he’s getting the last laugh four years later as the price of bitcoin has surged past $90,000 for the first time in the wake of Donald J. Trump winning the U.S. presidential election.
^Sportico

NFL to Greenlight PE Deals in Buffalo, Miami
A group of business executives with ties to the state of New York have a deal in place to buy 10.6% of the Bills alongside Arctos Partners, SBJ sources said, which will take 10% of the team if NFL owners approve the deal as expected. Financial terms are not known, but CNBC recently valued the Bills at $5.35B and the Dolphins at $7.1B.
^{Sports Business Journal}

More on the TNT/ESPN media deal…👇🏼

Big 12 Football on TNT? New Deal Will Feature 13 Football Games on WBD Channels After Settlement
Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reports: “As part of a settlement struck between the NBA and Warner Bros. Discovery, the Big 12 will see 13 of its football games per year moved from ESPN’s streaming platform to linear television on WBD channels TNT and TBS. ESPN is also sublicensing 15 Big 12 men’s basketball games to be aired on either TNT or TBS.

“The sublicensing deal begins next academic year (fall 2025) and spans six seasons, running concurrent to the Big 12’s new television contract with partners ESPN and FOX, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark told Yahoo Sports.”
^{Yahoo! Sports}

TNT, Prime Video Set NASCAR Cup Series Booth
Veteran announcers Adam Alexander and Steve Letarte will join Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the booth for NASCAR Cup Series races on Prime Video and TNT. SBJ announced Earnhardt's addition to the two networks' coverage earlier this year, and now the announcing booth is "set for the two sets of five races each on the two networks next summer."
^{Sports Business Journal}

UMass Fires Don Brown Amid 2-8 Season, Names Shane Montgomery Interim Coach
UMass has fired coach Don Brown, the team announced two days after an overtime loss to Liberty dropped the Minutemen to 2-8 this season.

He previously coached the team at the Football Championship Subdivision level from 2004 to 2008, reaching an FCS national championship game. But, as The Athletic’s Chris Vannini points out, “He could never get it going at the Football Bowl Subdivision level the second time around.”
^{The Athletic}

Astros Ballpark to Be Renamed Daikin Park From Minute Maid Park on Jan. 1
The Houston Astros’ home will get a new name on Jan. 1, becoming Daikin Park under an agreement through the 2039 season. The new deal is with Daikin Comfort Technologies North America Inc., a leading air conditioning company and subsidiary of Daikin Industries Ltd. based in Japan.

The stadium opened as Enron Field in 2000 as part of a 30-year, $100 million agreement, but the name was removed in March 2002 following Enron Corp.'s bankruptcy filing, and the ballpark briefly became Astros Field. It was renamed Minute Maid Park in June 2002. Then-Astros owner Drayton McLane said the agreement was for 28 years and more than $100 million.
^{AP News}

ATP Finals to Stay in Italy Until 2030
The ATP Finals will continue to be staged in Italy until 2030. The decision follows the successful event run in Turin, initially scheduled to host the season-ending tournament until 2025

The tournament, boosted by the presence of local hero and world number one Jannik Sinner, drew over 183,000 fans this year. All 15 sessions of the eight-day event sold out, and the prize fund reached an unprecedented $15.25 million.
^Reuters

Northwestern Shares Details on New Ryan Field
With the New Ryan Field construction project underway, the Ryan Family and the university are sharing for the first time details about the $850M on-campus football stadium that, according to SBJ, will be the most expensive college football stadium ever built when it opens ahead of the 2026 season. The Chicago Big Ten university’s largest philanthropic benefactors are paying for the bulk of it and assuming any project cost overruns before turning stadium ownership over to the university once it’s complete.
^{Sports Business Journal}

The WBD-NBA Settlement’s Ripple Effect on College Sports
FOS’ Amanda Christovich writes, “The NBA was a tremendously valuable property for TNT for years. Without it, TNT is adding a series of other sports, including French Open tennis, Unrivaled women’s basketball, and NASCAR. But the biggest move is wading deeper into college sports; since 2023, WBD has been amassing big-time college sports media rights…

“In May, the network did a sublicensing deal with ESPN for College Football Playoff games. TNT will broadcast two first-round games of the expanded Playoff beginning this year, and it will add two quarterfinals starting in 2026. TNT also signed a deal to broadcast Mountain West football games, as well as a slice of Big East basketball starting in 2025 as part of the league’s new media package with Fox and NBC.”
^{Front Office Sports}

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