UFC parent Endeavor announced on Wednesday plans to acquire nine minor league baseball teams through the creation of a new organization, Diamond Baseball Holdings.

The announcement comes after reports in October that Endeavor and Silver Lake were interested in acquiring a group of minor league teams — despite each team losing an estimated $5 million last year.

Endeavor is a good company to step in: The WME parent recorded $1.4 billion in third-quarter revenue last month, increasing its full-year revenue guidance to between $4.89 billion and $4.95 billion.

The Teams in Question

The minor league teams Endeavor plans to acquire include Triple-A, High-A, and Single-A affiliates: the Iowa Cubs (Chicago Cubs), Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders and Hudson Valley Renegades (New York Yankees), San Jose Giants (San Francisco Giants), and the Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals). 

• Peter B. Freund, minority owner of the Yankees and majority owner of the Redbirds, will oversee the unit with Endeavor advisor Pat Battle.
• MLB cut the number of minor league teams by 25% earlier this year.

Subject to approval, four minor league affiliates of the Atlanta Braves will be included. The company says it’s in negotiations with other franchises, too. Terms were not disclosed.

Diamond Baseball Holdings will support ticket sales, naming rights, food operations, broadcasting rights, and sponsorships for the teams.

A group of international law firms and agencies were paid more than $4.5 million prior to the launch of the now-defunct Super League, according to Bloomberg. 

The $4 billion Super League endeavor — which rose and fell in 48 hours back in April — initially launched with 12 teams and had financial backing from JPMorgan in the form of pledged loans. 

Following its launch, the international soccer community, politicians, and governing bodies voiced disdain for the Super League and its repercussions for global soccer. 

Short-Lived and Expensive

The reported six months of time and millions of dollars spent prior to the Super League’s launch is an indication of its lengthy development and projected potential, despite how quickly it dissolved. 

• London-based law firm Clifford Chance LLP received $2.2 million for legal work.
• New York-based Latham & Watkins LLP pocketed $1.4 million in fees.
• Six public relations agencies and two media companies received almost $907,000.
• Two credit rating agencies split a total of $391,000. 

The six English teams that joined the Super League — Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham — agreed to a $31.1 million settlement in June with the Premier League. 

Spanish clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona, along with Italian club Juventus, filed a legal claim in October against UEFA and FIFA, alleging that the two organizations violate European competition law by acting as both regulators and participants that profit from their oversight.

All three continue to advocate for a Super League-style concept.

Roku has reached a deal with Google to keep YouTube TV available through its devices.

The multiyear agreement means YouTube and YouTube TV will remain available to Roku’s 56.4 million subscribers. 

Both sides had sought to pressure the other by issuing public statements, with Google saying it would pull the YouTube TV app from Roku on Dec. 9 if no deal was reached.

• Roku claimed that Google was making anti-competitive demands, such as preferential placement for its apps and insisting Roku use certain chips.
• Google countered that Roku’s claims were “baseless” and were focused on “ensuring a high quality and consistent experience for viewers.”
• YouTube TV had over 3 million subscribers last year, and is believed to have over 4 million now, making it the likely top online live TV streaming provider. Disney’s Hulu + Live TV offering had 4 million as of Oct. 2. 

Impact on Sports Viewers

YouTube TV carries a wide variety of sports programming across ESPN, TNT, the four major U.S. TV networks, as well as niche and PPV options.

The service dropped Bally’s 21 regional sports networks in September 2020. Hulu did the same the following month. YouTube TV also dropped the sports network NESN in January.

YouTube became a refuge for sports fans during the pandemic: Sports viewing on the platform increased 65% in July 2020 compared to the previous year.