March 19, 2024

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March Madness begins tonight in Dayton, and the First Four is bigger business than you might think. … The idea of ESPN’s Jimmy Pitaro becoming Disney CEO continues gaining steam. … IndyCar gives Front Office Sports its ‘narrowing’ list of new broadcast suitors. … We look back at the time Phoenix was stripped of its Super Bowl–hosting duties. … And we break down how the Worldwide Leader will bring the women’s bracket to life on TV this month.

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

Yes, the First Four Matters. Here’s Why

Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports

The preliminary round of the men’s NCAA tournament is nothing to sleep on.

March Madness officially tips off Tuesday night with the First Four in Dayton—and crucial $2 million payment units are on the line [[link removed]] for advancing to latter stages of the tournament.

Automatic qualifiers Wagner and Howard will compete for the West Region’s 16-seed, while fellow conference champions Grambling State and Montana State will battle for the 16 in the Midwest. At-large matchups featuring Colorado State–Virginia (Midwest) and Colorado–Boise State (South) will round out the preliminary action in Ohio over the next two days.

Since the bracket expanded to 68 teams in 2011, a First Four team has made it to the second round every year except once (’19). First Four winners have gone on to 21 main NCAA tournament games over the past 13 years and twice made it to the Final Four (VCU in ’11, UCLA in ’21). Last year, Fairleigh Dickinson became the first automatic qualifier from the First Four to win a tournament game, with the Knights’ upset of top-seeded Purdue leading to all kinds of off-court success, like a new media-rights deal [[link removed]] with YES Network.

Staying Tru

If you want to watch the First Four, you’ll need to make sure your TV package includes TruTV—the oft-forgotten cable stepchild of Warner Bros. Discovery, the company that, alongside CBS, is paying some $900 million annually to broadcast March Madness. For years, sports fans have joked about TruTV’s irrelevance outside of March, but this month marks a major pivot for the channel, which is transitioning to airing sports content full-time on weeknights moving forward.

Last year, First Four games averaged [[link removed]] 1.35 million viewers on TruTV, down from the 1.75 million action in 2022, which benefited from the inclusion of Notre Dame and set a record [[link removed]] for the two-night format. (In ’21, all four games aired on one night, spread across TruTV and TBS.) But after this year’s games on TruTV—which will include eight first-round matchups—WBD is hoping fans will stick around for the channel’s new nightly TNT Sports Update program, as well as a betting-focused show, plus simulcasts and alternate casts of NBA, NHL, MLB games.

Where the Madness Begins

The 13,000-seat University of Dayton Arena has hosted every First Four game outside of the pandemic-impacted 2021 tournament dating back to ’11. And even before that, it was the site of the one-game opening round featuring the two lowest-ranked automatic qualifiers, which began in ’01.

UD Arena routinely gets near-capacity crowds: About 25,000 fans typically attend [[link removed]] First Four games over two nights. As of Monday afternoon, the cheapest official resale tickets cost $89 before taxes and fees. And for locals looking to capitalize on the new business in town, the March Madness bump will continue later this week, if not longer: Dayton’s men’s basketball notched its first NCAA tournament bid since 2017, earning a seven-seed; now the Flyers are set to face 10-seed Nevada on Thursday in Memphis.

Disney Succession Talk Rises Amid Shareholder Battles, ESPN Changes

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The intrigue surrounding Disney leadership succession is heating up, perhaps with as much drama as the popular TV show of the same name.

Current CEO Bob Iger returned to the job with an initial expiration date at the end of 2024, only to sign a two-year contract extension that pushes that exit out to the end of ’26, when he’ll be 75. But, with nearly three years to go, interest and speculation are quickly rising about who will lead Disney in its next era.

Bloomberg reported [[link removed]] last week that ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro is one of four leading internal candidates, joining Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, co-chairs of Disney Entertainment, and Josh D’Amaro, who heads up the company’s theme parks business. Pitaro’s listing there is hardly a surprise, as he and Iger have been close for years, and his name has already come up [[link removed]] in succession talks for more than a year.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal profiled [[link removed]] Pitaro on Sunday, detailing his efforts to remake the sports media giant in an era of unprecedented media turbulence while also describing him as “one of the contenders to succeed” Iger.

A New Level of Urgency

The Disney succession issue, however, is now heating up for several reasons. Not only is ESPN on the cusp of several major initiatives, including a full, direct-to-consumer offering [[link removed]], bidding for another set of NBA rights, and potentially the sale [[link removed]] of part of the network, but Disney is also facing increased shareholder pressure.

Activist investor Nelson Peltz, in particular, has lobbied hard on several fronts, including for more clarity on the succession plan, rescaling the TV and movie business, and a bundling [[link removed]] of the ESPN+ and Netflix streaming services. He is also pushing for board seats to further advance his case, engaging in a broad-based campaign, which includes various white papers and other advocacy efforts. Disney has opposed Peltz on virtually every front.

Helping Disney’s case, however, are improved earnings and a 25% surge in shares so far this year, closing at $113.85 per share Monday. Perhaps seeing some of that growth, influential proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis recommended [[link removed]] Disney shareholders withhold votes for all board candidates except Disney’s own selections.

Pitaro, among others, ruffled [[link removed]] feathers with the recent announcement of a Fox-ESPN-Warner Bros. Discovery streaming alliance, but he has several major pluses in his favor, including having rebuilt [[link removed]] a once-fractured ESPN relationship with the NFL and landing the network’s first Super Bowls.

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Enjoy the madness like never before. Download [[link removed]] the Wendy’s app and get going.

With NBC Deal Expiring, IndyCar Nearing New Media-Rights Deal

Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

IndyCar is heading to Southern California this weekend for a new race with record-breaking prize money, as the series continues to get closer to the finish line of a new media-rights deal that should come with a pay bump of its own.

Dubbed the Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge, a 12-car race Sunday won’t hand out points for the series’ season-long championship, but it will pay out $1.756 million, the highest total purse for an event in IndyCar history outside of the Indianapolis 500. The winning driver will pocket $500,000. “It’s a big payday, so it will have their attention, for sure,” IndyCar CEO Mark Miles tells Front Office Sports.

The race is another shift in IndyCar’s strategy to stay competitive with other racing circuits and the ever-evolving broader sports landscape. In 2023, IndyCar generated its highest viewership [[link removed]] since ’11, averaging 1.32 million viewers per race, and now it’s looking to cash in as its deal with NBC Sports, which reportedly brings in [[link removed]] about $20 million annually, expires at the end of this season. “We would weigh reach above all else, but we expect to get some kind of increase in our rights fees,” Miles says.

NBC is interested in returning, but plenty of other parties have inquired. “Initially, there were several platforms that we had great discussions with—kind of did a road show to get in front of them,” Miles explains. Fox Sports, in particular, has proved to be a strong contender. “They were interested when we made our last NBC deal,” Miles says. “So, this is not a newfound interest; they like motor sports.”

IndyCar would prefer to end up with one media partner, rather than splitting its rights across multiple broadcasters, says Miles. He confirmed IndyCar had conversations with more than three of what he called “major disruptive streamers,” but he said it would be a stretch to end up with both a traditional broadcaster and streamer for this deal.

Now negotiations are shifting from logistics to economics, and Miles says the field of suitors is “narrowing some.” A conservative deadline in Miles’s mind is having a completed deal by the Indianapolis 500 on Memorial Day weekend. “I don’t see it exceeding that,” he says.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY Inside ESPN’s Tourney Coverage

Samantha Laurey / Argus Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK

Sara Gaiero might not get much sleep over the next few weeks. As ESPN’s head of production for the NCAA women’s basketball tournament and the WNBA, she’s busy planning how to move her crew around in the event of an early-round upset, which in-game story lines should be amplified, and how to shine a brighter light on the pro game (hint: Caitlin Clark helps). Gaiero joins the pod today to break all that down and much more.

🎧 Listen and subscribe on Apple [[link removed]], Google [[link removed]], and Spotify [[link removed]].

SPONSORED BY WENDY’S

Game-Changing Deals in the Wendy’s App

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We know March is full of madness and we’re here to keep you fueled up and game-day ready.

Deals like this are rare. As rare as a game-winning buzzer beater. So get moving and download [[link removed]] the Wendy’s app and get the best deals on the best beef in the game.

TIME CAPSULE March 19, 1991: A Desert Retreat

Tony Tomsic-USA TODAY NETWORK

On this day 33 years ago: NFL owners voted to strip Arizona of Super Bowl XXVII (slated for 1993) due to the state not recognizing the federal Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Arizona is now a fixture of the league’s Super Bowl rotation, having held the Big Game four times, including last year. But there was a time when all that stood at risk. The league sought to further establish its presence in the Phoenix area following the Cardinals’ relocation there in 1988. Then came two failed referendums by the state to recognize the holiday, a series of canceled conventions as a result, and a national-level firestorm of controversy, at which point commissioner Paul Tagliabue said, “Arizona can continue its political debate without the Super Bowl as a factor.”

Super Bowl XXVII was held instead at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. But Arizona voters revisited the issue in November 1992 and this time approved commemoration of the holiday. Four months later, the league awarded Super Bowl XXX in ’96 to Tempe’s Sun Devil Stadium. That game, featuring the uber-popular Cowboys and Steelers, ended up drawing a then record television audience of 94 million.

Conversation Starters Speaking of Arizona, a trip to State Farm Stadium this NFL season will feel a bit like a pool excursion: The Cardinals just unveiled a $15 million renovation that will incorporate 538 new premium seats … including field-level casitas. Take a look. [[link removed]] Brace yourself for a bad-blooded NCAA doubleheader Friday when Texas A&M and Nebraska’s men play at 6:50 p.m. ET, and Texas A&M and Nebraska’s women play at 9:30 p.m. Find out why that matters. [[link removed]] Front Office Sports’ inaugural Best Venues Award will use data-driven methodology backed by Sports Innovation Lab to showcase the most innovative facilities in sports. Rates for Best Venues increase this Sunday at 11:59 p.m. ET. Submit your venue [[link removed]] now. Editors’ Picks Dartmouth Refuses to Bargain With Newly Formed Men’s Basketball Player Union [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]The school hopes a lengthy, two-pronged appeals process will stop the union. The NCAA Might Have Screwed Itself Over With Iowa’s Tough Regional [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Women’s basketball’s business buzz could be hindered by an early Iowa exit. How LeBron James and JJ Redick Decided to Launch a Podcast [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]‘Mind the Game’ will focus on the X’s and O’s of basketball. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Sports Careers [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]] Edited by Peter Richman [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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