December 9, 2021

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Tiger Woods is coming back. The five-time Masters champ plans to participate in next week’s PNC Championship along with his 12-year-old son, Charlie. The tourney will be Tiger’s first since severely injuring his leg in a car accident on Feb. 23.

Rangers First NHL Team to Hit $2B Valuation

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

The New York Rangers are the National Hockey League’s first team to reach a $2 billion valuation and the No. 1 team on Forbes’ NHL valuation list for the seventh year in a row.

The rest of the league’s teams hit an average valuation of $865 million, a 32% jump [[link removed]] from last year — the biggest increase since 2013, when the average rose 50%.

The Toronto Maple Leafs ranked second at a $1.8 billion valuation, followed by the Montreal Canadiens at $1.6 billion.

It’s been an impressive year for the league all around.

The league’s seven-year broadcasting deals with ESPN and Turner began this season at an average of $625 million each year. Before, media rights brought in about $300 million annually.The Seattle Kraken paid a $650 million fee to enter the league this season and are already valued at $875 million thanks to strong ticket sales. The New York Islanders moved to a new arena, increasing their valuation by 83%.Fenway Sports Group entered an agreement to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins for $900 million last month — 4.5 times the team’s projected revenue for the 2021-22 season.The Oilers doubled in value from last season to $1.1 billion.

NHL insiders forecast revenue jumping from $4.8 billion this season to $5.4 billion in 2022-23, and the league expects revenue to hit $6 billion by 2025-26.

Conferences Cashing In on College Football Playoff Payouts

Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

Matchups for the College Football Playoffs were decided over the weekend, and conferences are looking ahead to their payouts — and bringing home some hardware.

Both CFP semifinals will be played on New Year’s Eve. Alabama will take on Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl, and Michigan will face Georgia in the Orange Bowl. The National Championship Game will be played Jan. 10.

Conferences receive $6 million for each team in the semifinal games, and $4 million for each non-playoff bowl appearance under the College Football Playoff. The selection committee also determines [[link removed]] who plays in the Peach, Fiesta, Sugar, and Cotton bowls.

Each conference whose teams participate in the Cotton, Fiesta, or Peach Bowl, or in the national championship, receives $2.63 million for expenses — an increase from $2.43 million last season.The Sugar, Rose, and Orange bowls have pre-existing contracts with conferences. Semifinal playoff games rotate between the six bowls.

Meanwhile, a potential new playoff format is looming.

The CFP proposed [[link removed]] a 12-team format in June that wouldn’t go into effect until at least the 2026-27 season, when ESPN’s broadcasting deal ends. An eight-team format [[link removed]] has also been considered.

A 12-team model could bring in a projected $1.9 billion annually for TV rights but would need to be approved by all 11 conference commissioners.

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Formula 1 Title Will Be Decided in Season Finale Race

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

The race for a Formula 1 championship has come down to a title-deciding season finale for the first time since 1974.

The head-to-head battle in Abu Dhabi on Sunday between Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen presents a unique opportunity for F1 as it gains popularity in the U.S.

Across ESPN, ESPN 2, and ABC, F1 is averaging [[link removed]] 947,000 viewers this year — a 56% increase year-over-year.This season’s U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, recorded [[link removed]] a 42% increase in viewership compared to 2019’s race.F1 makes its way back to the U.S. in May for the first-ever [[link removed]] Miami Grand Prix at Hard Rock Stadium.The auto racing championship wants to bring races to more cities across the U.S., including Las Vegas, and potentially a “dream” race in Manhattan.

Liberty Media — which also owns the Atlanta Braves and SiriusXM — acquired F1 for $4.6 billion in 2017. The company posted $2.2 billion in revenue in Q3 2021, a 9% increase year-over-year.

Its F1 segment generated $668 million in revenue during the quarter, up from $597 million in revenue in Q3 2020.

A win in Abu Dhabi would give Hamilton a record eight F1 championships, surpassing racing legend Michael Schumacher. A title for Verstappen would be the 24-year-old’s first in F1.

ClassPass Data Shows In-Person Gyms Reviving

ClassPass/Design: Alex Brooks

ClassPass released [[link removed]] data on Wednesday revealing how the reopening of gyms and the changing nature of work is affecting the fitness industry [[link removed]].

The company, which offers access to numerous gyms, fitness centers, and spas through a subscription program, found that gym reservations have surged on its platform at the expense of livestreamed workouts.

In-person reservations grew 329% from January to November.November was the platform’s busiest month of the year.Live-stream workouts fell 58% since the start of the year, and now account for just 2% of ClassPass reservations. In April 2020, livestreamed workouts were 89% of all reservations on the platform.

With work-from-home and hybrid work models on the rise, people are shifting their workout behavior: 70% of survey respondents said that they have gone to a fitness studio on days they are working from home. People are twice as likely to try a new studio on such occasions.

The data also provides insight on why Peloton released [[link removed]] a strength-training-focused device last month: strength training was the top workout type among ClassPass users, followed by yoga and cycling.

ClassPass was acquired [[link removed]] in October in an all-stock deal by Mindbody, which provides booking software for gyms and other experience-based businesses. Mindbody simultaneously announced a $500 million investment led by Sixth Street.

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Today's Action

NHL

09:08 PM

Hurricanes (-105) at Flames (-115)

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NBA

08:10 PM

Lakers (-150) at Grizzlies (+130)

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NFL

08:20 PM

Steelers (+145) at Vikings (-165)

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*All times are EST unless otherwise noted.

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

Question Of The Day

Are you more inclined to go to an in-person fitness class or a livestream class?

In-person [[link removed]] Livestream [[link removed]]

Wednesday’s Answer

49% of respondents think Discovery and WarnerMedia should merge; 51% are not fans of the idea.

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