December 1, 2021

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The Women’s Tennis Association announced on Wednesday that it is suspending tournaments in China because of concern over the safety of Peng Shuai. Peng won doubles at Wimbledon in 2013 and the French Open in 2014.

Apple Appeals Mandate Allowing External Links in App Store

Apple/Design: Alex Brooks

Apple is making a final push to block court-mandated changes that could sharply cut into its App Store revenue.

The Cupertino-based company filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Ninth Circuit, seeking to block a ruling in its trial against Epic Games.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled in Apple’s favor on nine out of 10 claims on Sept. 10 but determined that the company would have to allow apps in its App Store to provide links to external stores and sites.

The ruling is set to take effect on Dec. 9. Apple is asking the Appeals court to act by Dec. 8.

The App Store earns [[link removed]] around $19 billion per year, primarily through a 30% fee charged to developers on user in-app purchases.Around two-thirds of that sum – $13.5 billion – came from gaming in 2020.Judge Gonzalez Rogers estimated the mobile gaming marketplace at $100 billion in her September ruling.

Epic Games and Apple appealed the ruling. The judge denied Apple’s request for a stay on the mandate to allow external links in November.

In its filing to the Appeals court, the company wrote that if the initial ruling goes through, “the App Store will have to be reconfigured — to the detriment of consumers, developers, and Apple itself.”

Former NBA Stars Back $100M East Asia Super League

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

Asia League Holdings announced a $13 million funding round from a group of investors including Baron Davis, Metta Sandiford-Artest, Shane Battier, and investment firm Raine Group to launch the East Asia Super League.

The basketball league will consist of eight teams from China, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines. Top teams from the China Basketball Association, an organization chaired by former Houston Rockets star Yao Ming, are expected to join.

The funding puts Asia League at a $100 million valuation [[link removed]]. It’s looking to raise an additional $30 million to $50 million.

East Asia Super League signed a 10-year deal [[link removed]] with FIBA last year for an annual cross-region league similar to soccer’s UEFA Champions League.

With broadcasting deals from Tencent Holdings and Naver Corp., the company has previously held invitational tournaments in Macau.It put on four invitational tournaments from 2017-2019 — its last one brought in 117 million viewers over six days.

The league is slated to begin in October 2022 and will run for five months. The Final Four weekend will include a music festival, and the league champion will receive $1 million in prize money.

The EASL aims to be among the top three basketball leagues by 2025 in terms of fan base and revenue. CEO Matt Beyer expects 230 million viewers during its first season.

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Daktronics Posts Strong Fiscal Q2 Behind New Venues

Nikos Frazier/Imagn/Design: Alex Brooks

Daktronics, the video display and scoreboard manufacturer, posted $164.5 million in sales in fiscal Q2 2022 compared to $127.4 million for the same period last year.

The results were driven by increased market demand and the ease of pandemic-related restrictions on construction sites of new state-of-the-art venues and facilities.

In August, the company partnered with Austin FC to manufacture and install a 5,580-square-foot LED display for the team’s new stadium.It upgraded Boston’s TD Garden center-hung scoreboard in September with more than 4K resolution, making it the highest-quality [[link removed]] display in professional basketball and hockey.The company installed more than 28,175 square-feet of digital signage in Climate Pledge Arena, the home of the Seattle Kraken.It placed more than 15,000 square feet of LED displays within UBS Arena, the new $1 billion home of the New York Islanders.

Despite a strong fiscal Q2, Daktronics saw its sales hampered by supply chain constraints that are plaguing industries around the world. The company reported a product order backlog of $282 million during the quarter, up from $201 million in fiscal Q2 2021.

Daktronics expects its supply chain issues to continue through the next calendar year. As a result, the company anticipates volatility in its pricing, production, and order cycles.

Conversation Starters In today’s episode of The Leadoff, Allbirds sales jump 33% in Q3, MLB’s looming lockout spurs more than $1.6 billion in free-agent signings, the LPGA Tour reaps the benefits of investments in women’s sports, and KKR makes a bid for Telecom Italia. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. Avram Glazer, co-owner of Manchester United and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has acquired a franchise [[link removed]] that will play in a new T20 professional cricket league in the United Arab Emirates. The six-team league will begin play in February 2022 and has yet to name its franchises. Sports media startup Wave.tv has rebranded [[link removed]] as Wave Sports + Entertainment as it commits to creating sports betting content and producing original programming. The company has opened a new 8,500-square-foot studio in Santa Monica, California. The Suns last won 17 straight games in 2006-07, back when Steve Nash was throwing alley-oops to Amar’e Stoudemire. They tied that franchise record [[link removed]] last night with a win over the 18-3 Warriors — and became the sixth team in NBA history to finish 16-0 in a single month. Subscribe to Sports Section [[link removed]] for more on the Suns and their run.

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Market Movers

U.S. stocks experienced gains across all three major indexes on Wednesday. Here’s a look at how sports-related stocks performed:

DKS [[link removed]]

Dicks Sporting Goods, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$118.61

[[link removed]]

-2.63%

[[link removed]] FL [[link removed]]

Foot Locker Inc

[[link removed]]

$47.24

[[link removed]]

-3.37%

[[link removed]] WWE [[link removed]]

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$50.42

[[link removed]]

-3.69%

[[link removed]] LYV [[link removed]]

Live Nation Entertainment Inc

[[link removed]]

$109.22

[[link removed]]

-3.84%

[[link removed]] BYD [[link removed]]

Boyd Gaming Corp.

[[link removed]]

$60.58

[[link removed]]

-4.46%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 12/1/21) What to Watch

The Michigan Wolverines (4-2) face the North Carolina Tar Heels (4-2) tonight at Dean E. Smith Center.

How to Watch: 9:15 p.m. ET on ESPN

Betting Odds: Michigan -2.5 || ML -140 || O/U 151.5*

Pick: Expect the Tar Heels to keep it close at home. Take North Carolina to cover.

Who ya got? Reply to this newsletter with your prediction for the Michigan-North Carolina winner and final score.

Shoutout: Congrats to FOS readers Austin Vannice and John Grassi for correctly predicting the Phoenix Suns’ victory over the Golden State Warriors.

*Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook [[link removed]] for details.

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

MORE FROM FOS:

Sports Section [[link removed]] - Daily Sports Newsletter

The Leadoff [[link removed]] - Daily Business of Sports Podcast

Front Office Sports Insights [[link removed]] - The most promising opportunities where sports meets industry

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