Tonight in Unpackings: This week’s episode of the Marchand and Ourand Sports Media podcast analyzes what we know – and don’t know – about the future of ESPN and its streaming plans. They also predict upcoming media rights races.
- NFL officially extends Roger Goodell until 2027
- NBCUniversal’s Olympic ad sales for Paris surpass previous Games
- Forum: How Ohio maintained the Western & Southern Open
- Opinion article: PGA Tour-LIV festival in Saudi Arabia could revive golf
Listen to SBJ’s most popular podcast, Morning Buzzcastwhere Abe Madkour catches the news from the NFL owners meeting and talks about the NCAA and the end of an era in sports broadcasting.
As rumors about ESPN’s streaming plans continue to swirl, Sports Media Podcast hosts Andrew Marchand of the NY Post and John Ourand of the SBJ separate fact from fiction. They are analyzing companies that would be interested in taking a stake in ESPN and discussing when ESPN will take its main network – the mothership – direct to consumer.
Marchand and Ourand also handicap expected winners in ongoing media rights negotiations with the NBA, NASCAR and the College Football Playoff. They discuss Marchand’s report on Pat McAfee paying guests and offers a review of the MLB playoffs so far. Marchand and Ourand pay tribute to Barry Melrose, retired NHL analyst and recap the career of Chris LaPlaca, ESPN’s longtime communications chief who announced his retirement this week.
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The NFL has agreed to a contract extension with commissioner Roger Goodell that extends through the 2027 season. reports SBJ’s Ben Fischer.
Although some owners have occasionally filed complaints regarding his compensation and performance on specific topics such as player discipline, owners believe Goodell has done an extraordinary job growing the league’s business. They emphasize the Media rights deals for 2021 worth $110 billion and a favorable collective bargaining agreement through 2023. Goodell said his next three-year term would focus on continued growth, particularly overseas.
Also from the meeting, Fischer reports owners approved a measure allowing teams to take on an additional $100 million in debt, raising the debt cap per franchise to $700 million.
NBCUniversal’s advertising sales for the 2024 Paris Olympics exceed those of all previous Games, with several sponsorship positions sold nine months in advance, reports SBJ’s Rachel Axon.
NBCU has exhausted its ad space for the opening ceremony — which Paris 2024 is staging during a parade of nations on the Seine — as well as halftime positions for basketball and soccer. NBCU’s Dan Lovinger said the network had sold out of its Olympic Prime pods, which are half-hour segments of nightly programming around a key event or moment, with almost no commercials.
The UFC has added Stellantis brand Ram Trucks as a sponsor for the first time in a decade, as the fight property aims to begin closing its biggest sponsorship deficits given its recent tie-up with WWE. reports SBJ’s Adam Stern.
The deal is for the month of October and will begin with Ram securing the second-most visible placement inside the Octagon at UFC 294 on Saturday in Abu Dhabi. Ram will get eight positions for its logo inside the Etihad Arena octagon (the best placement position, the center of the octagon, is an asset exclusively owned by Monster Energy). Ram was a sponsor of the UFC a decade ago and chose to enter into the new deal this weekend to gain greater global exposure from the event in the Arabian Peninsula.
In this week’s forum, SBJ Editor-in-Chief and Publisher Abe Madkour Breaks Down the reasons why the Western & Southern Open hasn’t moved to North Carolina.
“It clearly came down to money; Beemok would have to spend more in North Carolina, the eventual benefits were uncertain, and the company already had a supportive community in Ohio. As an aside, it’s worth watching How the Carolinas’ elected leaders enter into future negotiations with sports entities: We’ve seen how bad things have gone in South Carolina surrounding the Panthers headquarters development with Tepper Sports & Entertainment, and now the Carolinas’ leaders Nord have largely stepped up their efforts by providing significant public aid to Beemok, but have been left out of the loop.”
Intersport was simply ahead of its time in 1998 when the Chicago-based agency launched a women’s college basketball all-star game. The event – known at the time as the WBCA All-Star Challenge – was not commercially successful 25 years ago, but Intersport’s Charlie Besser is now bringing back the concept. And this time, he has no doubt about the success of the women’s college basketball All-Star Game. reports SBJ’s Michael Smith.
Also in this week’s newsletter, Smith speaks with On Location’s Scott Jernigan and the NCAA’s Chris Termini about their takeaways from the surge in hospitality sales for women’s college championships.
Tonight’s opinion piece is written by sports infrastructure expert Alexey Milovanov on how a professional golf festival could not only heal the wounds of the PGA Tour-LIV rivalry, but also boost the sport.
“And it’s not just match day tickets that have been affected by the sport’s diminishing appeal, but also sponsorship, a huge revenue driver in sports. Considering that Saudi Aramco recently established a 10-year partnership with F1 worth $450 million. “, a festival in the Arabian Peninsula could attract significant interest from sponsors. Revenue from these contracts could not only help introduce the new golf festival format to other countries, but also fund local projects aimed at getting more young people interested in golf. “
Read full submission here.
- Speaking at a press conference ahead of LIV’s end-of-season tournament this weekend in Miami, Phil Mickelson said he expects more big-name players to join the league in 2024. reports SBJ’s Josh Carpenter.
- Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said he would like to own the NFL team once he is done playing, tell ESPN“Tom (Brady) is trying to do it right now, but that’s definitely where you want to get to.”
- The NHL Panthers and LaCroix have agreed to a multi-year extension and expansion of their sponsorship deal that will see the sparkling water brand’s logo appear on the team’s home jerseys, writes SBJ’s Alex Silverman.
- Populous received an undisclosed minority investment from Providence Equity Partners, and while there is no major history of private equity involvement in the sports venue design sector, that could change in the years future, reports SBJ’s Bret McCormick.
- ABC drew 659,000 viewers for Game 3 of the Aces-Liberty WNBA Finals Sunday afternoon against NFL action, marking the best Game 3 in 18 years. reports SBJ’s Austin Karp in this week’s audience analysis.
