September 7, 2023

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Francois-Henri Pinault’s business empire is worth billions, he controls a large array of major luxury brands, and he is also married to Hollywood star Salma Hayek. We can expect to hear even more of him now that his family’s Artémis investment company is the majority owner of Creative Artists Agency, an industry powerhouse that represents many of sports’ biggest stars.

Meanwhile, SMU has made a dramatic step to finance its forthcoming move to the ACC, and there’s more drama in the ongoing Disney-Charter dispute.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

Pinault Completes Landmark $7B Acquisition Of CAA [[link removed]]

Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY NETWORK

French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault has completed his $7 billion acquisition of Creative Artists Agency in a deal sure to have a seismic impact on sports and entertainment.

The deal, expected [[link removed]] for weeks, will see Pinault take majority control of the agency from Texas-based private equity firm TPG. Temasek Holdings, a Singapore state-owned investment company, will remain a minority investor in CAA.

Pinault is making the deal through his family investment company, Artémis, which also controls a series of luxury brands including Gucci and Saint Laurent, as well as the Christie’s auction house. He’ll retain the agency’s existing leadership trio of Bryan Lourd, Kevin Huvane, and Richard Lovett, who will remain co-chairs under new long-term commitments.

A formal deal closing is projected for later this year.

“CAA has all the relevant characteristics to be part of the Artémis family, adding increased diversity, both in terms of geographical footprint and business activities, to our other assets,” Pinault said.

While Pinault touted CAA’s “very bright path ahead,” the entire agency business is navigating a stressful Hollywood landscape.

Film and TV production has effectively shut down in the first dual writers’ and actors’ strikes since 1960. Agencies’ ability to negotiate sports deals is also constricted by numerous factors including cutthroat competition for clients, pressure on commissions, and rookie-scale contracts and draft slotting.

Still, CAA oversees nearly $18 billion in sports contracts and represents leading athletes such as MLB’s two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani [[link removed]], NFL superstars Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and Justin Jefferson, and 12-time NBA All-Star Chris Paul.

SMU Pays Way Into ACC With $200M From Boosters [[link removed]]

Jordan Hofeditz/Reporter-News/USA TODAY NETWORK

The financial reality of Southern Methodist University’s 2024 move to the ACC could set a new standard for schools with equally wealthy boosters.

To make up for foregoing [[link removed]] media rights revenue distribution for its first nine years in the conference, influential SMU donor David Miller was able to get $200 million in donation commitments from the school’s richest boosters, according [[link removed]] to Yahoo Sports.

That equates to about $22.2 million a year — which will help make up a major chunk of the $30 million annual revenue gap between SMU and the ACC’s current 14 members.

The ACC was concerned SMU wouldn’t be able to compete without that money, per the report.

Last year, SMU received $9 million in American Athletic Conference revenue distribution, but the business of the Mustangs is much bigger than that. Annual donations to SMU’s athletic department have typically been around $15-20 million, according to the school’s president Gerald Turner — similar to donations received by ACC schools like North Carolina and other Power 5 universities like Arizona, Arkansas and Purdue.

When Miller met with the top boosters to seal the move to the ACC, the combined net worth of the room was believed to be about $15 billion.

“It’s a couple hundred million dollars,” Miller said. “I’m not losing sleep over it.”

Miller’s self-described “business transaction” in moving SMU to the ACC could significantly tilt the balance in funding between individual schools and their conferences.

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Disney+ Slashes Subscription Price As Charter Battle Ramps Up [[link removed]]

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ESPN parent Disney has slashed the price of its flagship Disney+ streaming service — another strategic move from the company amid its bitter distribution fight with Charter Spectrum.

As the blackout [[link removed]] of 19 Disney channels — including ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU — on the nation’s second-largest cable carrier has led to piracy [[link removed]] and proposed class-action lawsuits, Disney has temporarily cut the price of the ad-supported tier of Disney+ from $7.99 per month to $1.99.

In what is being called a “Blockbuster September” promotion running until Sept. 20, the deal will offer three months of the streaming service at the reduced rate.

The current offer doesn’t extend to Disney’s sports-centered streaming service, ESPN+. But the promotion does arrive in advance of October price hikes for many of Disney’s streaming services, including ESPN+ (increasing from $9.99 to $10.99 as a standalone service) and a bundle pairing ESPN+ with Disney+ and Hulu. Those increases are part of an inflationary wave impacting much of the streaming landscape.

Not only is the Charter situation — which impacts 14.7 million subscribers — being closely watched, but in August, Disney reported [[link removed]] flattened growth for both Disney+ and ESPN+ at a time when subscriber numbers are a particular point of emphasis on Wall Street.

The next major flashpoints in the Disney-Charter battle will be another big weekend of tennis and college football on ESPN networks, as well as the Sept. 11 start of ESPN’s “Monday Night Football,” which features a game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets — a contest whose coverage will directly affect one of Charter’s largest markets.

“As the U.S. Open reaches the men’s and women’s finals and fans gear up for a weekend of college football and the opening of the NFL season, it’s unfortunate that Charter decided to abandon their consumers,” Disney said Thursday.

Spectrum quickly responded, saying “We offered Disney a fair deal, yet they are demanding an excessive increase. We understand this is an inconvenience and hope to return this programming soon.”

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*Ethan Quinn is a paid promoter and will be a customer of Prudential. For more information about his partnership, go to prudential.com/nowwhat.

Prudential Stages is an umbrella marketing name for Pruco Securities LLC, (sometimes referred to as “Pruco”) doing business as Prudential Financial Planning Services, pursuant to a separate agreement. Investment advisory products and services are made available through Pruco, a registered investment adviser.

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