March 12, 2024

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There are more choices coming for online viewing of March Madness. But will that make things easier for fans? … There are also big questions still surrounding the PGA Tour’s potential partnership with the financial backer of LIV Golf. … Plus: More on golfer Jason Day, MLB arbitration, the Lakers, and the NFL.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]] and David Rumsey [[link removed]]

How Will ‘Spulu’ Intersect With March Madness? It’s Complicated [[link removed]]

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

There will be a lot more streaming choices for March Madness fans due to some big moves that TNT Sports is making now and over the coming year. But that won’t necessarily ease the potential for consumer confusion.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT Sports plans to offer the games it has for March Madness on its sister streaming platform, Max, in keeping with an accelerating plan [[link removed]] in recent months to make live sports more of a focal point on that general-interest service. However, the Max offering will not include the March Madness games shown on CBS as part of the joint rights plan for the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament in place since 2011.

Such a split approach will also be in place for March Madness next year, when part of the tournament will be shown for the first time on the much-discussed [[link removed]] new streaming [[link removed]] joint venture [[link removed]], including TNT Sports, ESPN, and Fox. Because CBS is not involved in that alliance, that network’s March Madness games will not be on the service, which is scheduled to debut in the fall.

As a result, the entire streaming lineup for March Madness moving forward likely looks like this:

March Madness Live: All games Max: All TNT Sports games (through the Max B/R Sports Add-On tier) Paramount+: All CBS Sports games Beginning in 2025, “Spulu” or whatever the final name for the streaming alliance becomes: All TNT Sports games

“Part of what we’re all trying to do—whether it’s the joint venture that we announced or individual companies doing their own streaming products—is to reach consumers where they are,” Luis Silberwasser, TNT Sports chairman and CEO, said Tuesday in response to a Front Office Sports question. “There are consumers that like the big bundle, other consumers watching sports in individual apps, and I think our job is to be able to offer our sports to the most [amount of people] and try to make it easy on them.”

Despite TNT Sports’ attempt to meet consumers on their own terms, there remains a distinct possibility of some fans expecting to see a certain game on one of those latter three streaming platforms and not being able to find it. One need only look at the online unrest each year surrounding TruTV—a WBD basic cable network that is core to the coverage of the tournament, particularly in the early rounds, but is otherwise ignored by many fans—13 years into that shared TNT Sports–CBS broadcast plan.

To that end, Silberwasser acknowledged that with the varied options to watch March Madness games online, “our marketing teams are going to have to think hard about that and what’s the best way to communicate that message.”

Still No Deal: PGA Tour–PIF Negotiations Remain in Limbo [[link removed]]

Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union

Ten months since the PGA Tour announced a framework agreement for a shocking partnership with the controversial financial backer of LIV Golf, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, a definitive deal has yet to be reached. Answers on if, and when, that potentially multibillion-dollar investment could be completed remain up in the air.

At the Players Championship on Tuesday, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was mostly coy about talks with the PIF during his first press conference since the Tour Championship in August. Monahan said he and principals from Strategic Sports Group—the consortium of U.S. sports owners who are investing [[link removed]] up to $3 billion in the Tour—made a trip to Saudi Arabia in January to meet with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and members of the fund. “Our negotiations are accelerating as we spend time together,” he said, while noting several key issues still need to be worked through.

Monahan wouldn’t offer specifics about what is still being negotiated and deflected questions about Jon Rahm’s $300 million–plus departure, LIV players returning to the Tour, the potential for more players to join LIV, and what the Tour would look like if the PIF deal ultimately falls through.

New Timeline?

After the Tour and PIF missed [[link removed]] the Dec. 31 deadline to reach a definitive agreement, doing so before the Masters was reported [[link removed]] to be the new goal. While Monahan said he believes the inclusion of SSG is enhancing the likelihood of reaching a deal with the PIF, he gave no indication a conclusion was coming soon. “I expect next time I’m in front of all of you we’ll have a lot more progress to report,” said Monahan, who is not expected to hold another press conference until this summer’s aforementioned Tour Championship—more than five months away.

What Could Have Been

When news broke that Anthony Kim, who last competed professionally in 2012 before joining [[link removed]] LIV last month, was looking to make a comeback, the PGA Tour was said to also be in talks with the former superstar. Monahan confirmed that the Tour spoke with Kim, who was long reported to have an insurance policy with the Tour worth $10 million, about a return. “I would have liked to see him compete to make his way back to the Tour,” Monahan said. “But obviously he made a different decision.” It is unknown what type of signing bonus LIV gave Kim, who has made $110,000 through two starts while finishing 53rd and 50th in the league’s 54-man fields.

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STATUS REPORT One Up, Three Down

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Jason Day ⬆ The golfer, currently ranked No. 21 in the world, has acquired an equity stake in Payntr Golf [[link removed]], and he will collaborate on a footwear collection with the brand. This is the latest apparel deal for Day, a 13-time winner on the PGA Tour who signed a pact with Malbon in January after his seven-year relationship with Nike ended.

MLB arbitration ⬇ Nine-year pro J.D. Davis has drawn the short stick after the Giants released the third baseman and saved about $5.8 million in salary that the player won’t receive because of a loophole in the most recent CBA. The Athletic has more [[link removed]].

Lakers ⬇ The Kobe Bryant statue (above) outside of Crypto.com Arena, just unveiled last month, is already undergoing alterations [[link removed]] due to several spelling and formatting errors.

NFL ⬇ Next month’s draft order had to be changed [[link removed]] to fix a mistake made when handing out compensatory picks. The Bengals were awarded two sixth-round selections, when they should have received a sixth and a third. The correction turns Cincinnati’s comp pick, originally 214th overall, into the 97th—and moves each team below that down a spot.

Conversation Starters Alpharetta Sports and Entertainment, headed by Anson Carter, has formally requested the NHL to consider bringing an expansion franchise back to Atlanta. Would you like to see it? Tell us [[link removed]]. According to The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch [[link removed]], Greg Gumbel will be absent from March Madness coverage this year due to a family health issue. Ernie Johnson, Adam Lefkoe, and Adam Zucker will step in as studio hosts. Read our recent article [[link removed]] about the remarkable renaissance of NBA fantasy, how much it’s grown in recent years, and how PrizePicks became the No. 1 sports server on Discord and an NBA Daily Fantasy leader in the process.† SPONSORED BY INVESCO QQQ Dartmouth College men’s basketball players are making history by organizing a unionization effort, aiming to be recognized as employees and receive compensation. The initiative is part of a broader movement among college athletes seeking better treatment and benefits. If successful, this unionization effort could have significant implications for the broader landscape of collegiate athletics. Check out the Business of College Athletics hub to read the full article and stay up to date on all the action. ‘We Want to Be Paid’: Inside Dartmouth Men’s Basketball’s Historic Union Effort [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]A group of players made history when they became the first NCAA team to vote to unionize. Prime Effect? CU Admissions See Big Boost, Especially Among Diverse Applicants [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Applications are up 20% overall from last year, 50% among prospective Black students. New In-Season Men’s College Basketball Tournament to Offer $2M in NIL Deals [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]The eight-team event—expanding to 16 teams in 2025—will pay out $1M to each team, and another million to the winner. Fox Is Expanding Its College Football Coverage. What’s Behind the Move? [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]Top Big Ten, Big 12, and Mountain West games will be played on Friday nights this fall. DISCLAIMER

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