The earning power of English soccer giants Manchester United is on display yet again via the club’s latest earnings report. For the 2022-23 fiscal year, Manchester United brought in revenue of around $785 million — the most ever for a Premier League Club.

This year, Manchester United has signed long-term deals with Adidas and new shirt sponsor Snapdragon that will bring in close to $200 million annually.

However, despite the record revenues, Manchester United still posted a loss of nearly $35 million. Last season, the club competed in the Europa League instead of the more lucrative UEFA Champions League.

The report arrives as Manchester United is also mulling big changes to its ownership group.

Almost a year ago, the club said it would begin exploring strategic alternatives, including a potential sale of the team. Recently, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has emerged as a frontrunner — not to buy a majority of the club, but to instead be a significant minority investor.

Ratcliffe is said to be discussing paying at least $1.5 billion for a 25% stake in Manchester United that could lead to eventually acquiring more of the club. If the deal goes through, Manchester United CEO Richard Arnold is expected to leave the club, according to The Athletic.

Giving sporting control to Ratcliffe is reportedly under consideration as part of his deal.

More than halfway through this college football season, the two remaining members of the Pac-12 still don’t have solid plans for their 2024 conference membership. 

But one thing is clear: Oregon State and Washington State want to stick together.

The two schools have taken another step in their legal fight with the other 10 current Pac-12 schools leaving after this season for the ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12. 

After an initial lawsuit filed against the Pac-12 and commissioner George Kliavkoff, OSU and WSU have now asked a Washington State Superior Court to give them sole control of the Pac-12 conference once the other members leave. The University of Washington, which is heading for the Big Ten, previously sought to dismiss the case and ultimately disband the Pac-12 next year.

Meanwhile, OSU and WSU are exploring an alliance with the Mountain West Conference that would allow them to operate as a two-team conference in 2024, according to Yahoo Sports. Specific details are unclear, but the move would provide the Pac-12 remnants with a solid schedule of games without having to fully join a new conference.

ACC Not Done?

With ACC commissioner Jim Phillips putting on a brave face in defending the conference’s expansion moves this summer, several influential coaches are anticipating even further moves. 

“For anybody to think this is the end of realignment, you’re fooling yourself,” Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer said at this week’s media tipoff event in Charlotte. Virginia’s Tony Bennett noted the moves were about football, TV ratings, and revenue.

“I’m guessing it’s not over,” Miami basketball coach Jim Larranaga added.

The Big 12 is considering adding Gonzaga and potentially UConn, which could have further ramifications on the rest of the college landscape.

Peacock and parent company Comcast are beginning to turn a critical corner in the quickly escalating streaming battle — with sports standing as a key factor.

NBC’s streaming service posted a 64% increase in revenue to $830 million for its third quarter, added 4 million subscribers to hit a new total of 28 million, and narrowed the adjusted quarterly loss to $565 million. That adjusted loss is down from a comparable loss of $651 million in the second quarter and $614 million in last year’s third quarter.

The improved results, which follow a sluggish set of quarterly financials in July, give Peacock and Comcast additional confidence in the competition among major streaming services — particularly as other Comcast businesses such as broadband and cable show their own signs of stress, prompting a sharp drop in the company’s stock.

Peacock boasts a strong sports lineup that includes the NFL, MLB, soccer’s Premier League, and Spanish-language rights to the World Cup and Women’s World Cup — not to mention the Olympics, Big Ten and Notre Dame football, NASCAR, and the PGA Tour. 

But in recent weeks, Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max has added a sports tier, Amazon is hitting new audience thresholds with “Thursday Night Football,” and Netflix is moving into live sports with even bigger aspirations.

“We see all sports finding a way over the next [few] years to be more and more streamed,” said Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts. “And that’s going to require more bandwidth. And that’s going to require and create an opportunity for us to have the superior product in the market. That’s our strategy, and sports really is at the heart and soul of a lot of what we do.”

Traffic Trends

The multifaceted nature of Comcast’s overall business also leaves it in position to benefit from its streaming service rivals.

Comcast president Mike Cavanagh said its peak broadband network traffic has shifted from Sunday nights to Thursday as a result of Amazon’s exclusive streaming of “Thursday Night Football” on Prime Video, and NFL games now represent 25% of all its internet traffic on Thursday nights.

Broadband networks “will be put to the test as this transition of sports to streaming continues,” Cavanagh said.

The next test for Comcast will be in January, when Peacock exclusively streams an NFL wild card game.