June 29, 2023

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Good afternoon. Eric Fisher [[link removed]] here. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred definitely wasn’t kidding when he said the league was “kind of going day-to-day” on the troubled RSN front. Just days after a seemingly inevitable divorce between Diamond Sports Group and the Arizona Diamondbacks, the two sides are now talking about a potential reunion.

Meanwhile, ESPN is putting increased weight behind the historically lagging MLB Draft, and the Premier League’s Everton faces a revised construction timetable for its new stadium.

Following NFL and NBA, ESPN Investing Big Into MLB Draft [[link removed]]

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN is putting unprecedented levels of production and promotional muscle behind the MLB Draft — hoping to bring its coverage closer in presentation to its much more popular NFL and NBA counterparts.

For the first time, the network will take a lead role in producing the MLB Draft — set to start this year July 9 — evolving from a prior, shared framework with the league.

This year, the draft will also make its first appearance on ESPN+, supplementing first-round linear coverage on ESPN. The network is additionally boosting its coverage of Home Run Derby, which typically garners one of its largest audiences each summer.

The network will once again feature primary coverage on ESPN and a StatCast alternate presentation on ESPN2, with the latter production supplemented with new 3D animations tracking ball flights.

The 2023 MLB Draft will be held at Seattle’s Lumen Field, home of the NFL’s Seahawks and MLS’ Sounders, as MLB will hold the event along with All-Star Game festivities for the third straight year.

Lagging Behind

Most MLB draft picks require time in the minor leagues — and despite recent milestones [[link removed]], college baseball has nowhere near the stature of college football and basketball. Historically, the MLB Draft hasn’t generated anything close to the TV audiences for the NFL and NBA Drafts, even with similar primetime slots.

The 2022 edition on ESPN and MLB Network drew a combined average audience of 843,000. The 2023 NFL Draft averaged [[link removed]] 6 million viewers across four Disney-owned networks and the NFL Network, while the 2023 NBA Draft drew [[link removed]] an event-record 4.9 million on ABC and ESPN.

Everton’s $700M Stadium Won’t Open Before 2024-25 Season Starts [[link removed]]

Everton

Everton’s new stadium — which broke ground in 2021 with a nearly $700 million price tag — won’t be ready in time for the start of the 2024-25 season after all.

In a written update on Everton’s website, Colin Chong, the team’s interim CEO and chief stadium development officer, assured fans construction will be completed in late 2024 but stressed that no move-in date has ever been officially set. Chong insisted there’s been no delay to the project, citing “some ill-informed media reports” about the construction timeline.

Options include a transition during the 2024-25 season or playing that entire campaign at current home Goodison Park before opening the new venue at the start of the 2025-26 season.

No update was given on the project’s budget — which was potentially becoming [[link removed]] more expensive than originally thought — or the status of any naming rights after the club paused [[link removed]] its search for a sponsor last year.

The new Everton Stadium is being built on Bramley-Moore Dock in Liverpool, about two miles from their local rivals at Anfield. That’s actually more than the lone mile that separates Goodison Park from Anfield — which is also going through major construction as part of a years-long renovation [[link removed]] process.

Everton will want to improve on its 17th-place finish in the EPL last season — narrowly missing relegation — to make sure its new stadium is christened with a top-tier match.

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The surge in demand for streaming TV and short-form content has disrupted the traditional TV media rights model and significantly boosted the valuation of sports franchises. With streaming television’s influence on ever-expanding media rights, franchises across all sports are being purchased at a premium due to their promising growth potential [[link removed]].

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Diamondbacks Reunion With Bally Sports Possible After Hearing Delay [[link removed]]

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Could the Arizona Diamondbacks reunite with Bally Sports?

A new court filing from Diamond Sports Group, the regional sports network’s bankrupt parent, suggests it’s possible.

Less than a week after DSG filed [[link removed]] an emergency motion in U.S. bankruptcy court in Texas to reject its rights deal with the Diamondbacks, a hearing on that motion originally set for Thursday has been adjourned to July 17. Diamondbacks president/CEO Derrick Hall and DSG CEO David Preschlack issued a joint statement saying the parties “decided to postpone [the] hearing due to ongoing and positive discussions toward finding a solution.”

The comment notably changes DSG’s tone from last week, when it described the unprofitable Diamondbacks rights deal as “unnecessary and burdensome.”

Bally Sports Arizona will continue to show the team’s games in the interim.

DSG recently made [[link removed]] a rights fee payment to the Texas Rangers but still has upcoming fees due to the Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, and Minnesota Twins. Following MLB owners meetings earlier this month, league commissioner Rob Manfred said “we’re kind of going day-to-day” on the troubled RSN front.

If DSG abandons any of its MLB team rights, the league would step in to produce and distribute the games, similar to what it’s doing [[link removed]] now for the San Diego Padres.

Conversation Starters J.J. Watt is joining CBS Sports as an NFL analyst in a multiyear [[link removed]] deal. In December, the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship will move [[link removed]] to ABC in for the first time. Take a behind-the-scenes look [[link removed]] at the Blade Cam for Apple’s show “Swagger.”

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Editor's Picks Could Sage Steele’s Lawsuit Spare Anchor From ESPN Cutbacks? [[link removed]]by A.J. Perez [[link removed]]

Including Steele in latest cuts at network could increase ESPN's liability in case.

Lacrosse’s Quest to Return to the Olympics [[link removed]]by Doug Greenberg [[link removed]]

Global participation in the sport has grown substantially in recent years.

John McEnroe Calls ATP, WTA Merger ‘Inevitable’ [[link removed]]by Andrew Cohen [[link removed]]

McEnroe believes the tennis tours will merge within five years.

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