November 11, 2021

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Paige Bueckers, the 2021 AP Player of the Year and Naismith Trophy Winner, signed her first NIL partner: StockX. The UConn star will be the centerpiece of StockX’s push to highlight women’s sports on its e-commerce platform.

Disney Streaming Growth Slows, ESPN+ Subs Increase 66%

Design: Alex Brooks

Disney’s revenues climbed 26% in its last quarter of the fiscal year, though analysts expected more growth in its streaming networks.

The company brought in $18.5 billion in the three months ending Oct. 3, buoyed by a 99% increase in its Parks, Experiences and Products segment to $5.5 billion.

Disney’s media and entertainment division drew $13.1 billion, representing 9% year-over-year growth.

Disney+ subscribers grew 60% year-over-year to reach 118.1 million.ESPN+ subscribers were up 66% year-over-year to 17.1 million.Hulu subscribers climbed 20% year-over-year to 43.8 million.

Still, Disney’s streaming networks lost $600 million in total, an increase from $400 million in the same period last year, largely due to high production costs.

Disney has looked into combining ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+ into a single offering, but is partly limited by ESPN’s rights deals.

It also explored spinning off ESPN, in part so the sports media company could make a more fulsome embrace of sports betting without conflicting with the rest of the brand’s family-friendly stance.

ESPN was reportedly [[link removed]] seeking to license its name to a sports book in a deal worth at least $3 billion, as of September.

Disney’s stock dipped as much as 5% in after hours trading, before partially recovering.

Apple Forced to Allow External Links in App Store Games

Design: Alex Brooks

Though Apple was largely seen as the winner in the first round of its legal battle against Epic Games, it had one significant setback that will take effect next month.

The tech giant will have to allow third-party developers to direct customers to external sites and stores, after an Oakland judge denied [[link removed]] Apple’s request for a stay on that order on Tuesday.

Apps and games that induce customers to spend outside of Apple’s tech ecosystem will avoid the company’s 30% developer fee (15% for companies with under $1 million in annual revenue), which was a central point of contention in the trial.

Apple has a dominant position in the mobile gaming platform market, bringing in [[link removed]] $8.5 billion in operating profit in fiscal 2019, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. The company earned $13.5 billion from gaming in 2020, twice what it made from all other App Store revenue.Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers estimated the mobile gaming marketplace at $100 billion in her Sept. 10 ruling in the Apple-Epic trial.

Both Apple and Epic are appealing the ruling, which favored Apple on nine of 10 counts. Apple doesn’t have to allow other game stores on its platform, reduce its developer fee, or reinstate Epic hit “Fortnite.”

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FuboTV Acquires Molotov SAS For $190M

FuboTV/Design: Alex Brooks

Sports-focused streaming service FuboTV announced its $190 million acquisition of French TV streaming company Molotov SAS on Tuesday, the same day it reported [[link removed]] $156.7 million in third-quarter revenue.

Molotov will boost FuboTV’s global expansion with operations in France, Burkina Faso, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Cameroon, as well as a presence in Morocco and plans to launch in the Democratic Republic of Congo. FuboTV emphasized [[link removed]] Molotov’s ability to easily localize for additional markets and languages.

Molotov, which operates a “freemium” business model, and Mango, its advertising video-on-demand platform, have roughly 4 million monthly active users combined in France. FuboTV announced it passed the 1 million subscriber mark in its earnings report on Tuesday.

FuboTV will add sports content to the French service, which currently offers live and on-demand TV series, movies, documentaries, and children’s content.

FuboTV acquired [[link removed]] Vigtory in March, the platform’s first investment in sports gambling.In September, the service struck a distribution deal [[link removed]] with Root Sports, the home broadcaster of Gonzaga basketball, the Seattle Mariners and Kraken, and regional broadcasts of the Portland Trail Blazers.In April, FuboTV acquired [[link removed]] exclusive streaming rights to the 2022 World Cup qualifying matches of the South America Football Confederation.

At least 85% of the deal is expected to be in equity, with the remaining amount in cash. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2022.

Czech Group Finalizes 27% Ownership Stake In West Ham

West Ham United/Design: Alex Brooks

A Czech Republic investment group led by billionaire Daniel Křetínský has purchased a 27% [[link removed]] ownership stake in the Premier League’s West Ham United F.C. after the club rejected two bids from private equity firm PAI Capital in the last year.

Reports of Křetínský’s interest in purchasing a $206.8 million [[link removed]] stake in the club surfaced last month. Specific financial terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed, but the investment is said to value the team between $827 million and $965 million.

Forbes gave the team a $508 million [[link removed]] valuation in April.

The funds will “initially enable the reduction of its long-term debt” and be used for other areas of focus.

Current chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold will see their shares reduced as part of the deal — they purchased an 86% majority stake in 2010 for $118.6 million.Sullivan’s stake will fall from 51.5% to 38.8%, and Gold’s from 35.1% to 25.1%. According to some reports [[link removed]], Křetínský will eventually buy out Sullivan and Gold, though The Guardian [[link removed]] said sources have played down those suggestions.

Křetínský, who co-owns Sparta Prague, and his colleague Pavel Horský, will be appointed to the board as part of the transaction. Křetínský is reportedly worth [[link removed]] $4 billion.

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Conversation Starters FanDuel, DraftKings, and MGM Resorts eliminated [[link removed]] the idea of teaming up with Barstool Sports prior to applying for an online sports betting license in New York due to Dave Portnoy’s past “erratic behavior,” according to the New York Post. Four-time NASCAR Cup Series winner Jeff Gordon has put his house and its auto museum up for sale [[link removed]], listed at $42 million. Nike has reportedly [[link removed]] extended its longtime sponsorship with the U.S. Soccer Federation for another 10 years. Odell Beckham Jr. wasn’t claimed [[link removed]] off waivers Tuesday, meaning he became a free agent for the first time — and Green Bay makes a lot of sense for his next destination. Get more stories like this in Sports Section, a free daily newsletter. Click here to subscribe. [[link removed]] Today's Action

NHL

07:00 PM

Oilers (+115) at Bruins (-135)

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NCAA

07:30 PM

North Carolina (+210) at Pittsburgh (-260)

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NFL

08:20 PM

Ravens (-335) at Dolphins (+260)

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Question Of The Day

Do you browse Twitter while watching sporting events or TV?

Yes [[link removed]] No [[link removed]]

Wednesday’s Answer

22% of respondents receive one week of paid vacation from work; 33% receive two; 46% of receive three or more.

Written by Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]]

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