January 27, 2022

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Adidas is looking to hire 2,800 new employees across 307 locations in 47 countries this year — more than 800 jobs will be based in the U.S. The news comes after the sneaker company signed downtown Los Angeles’ biggest office lease in more than a year.

Peacock Rises to 24.5M Users as Super Bowl, Olympics Loom

Comcast/NBC/Design: Alex Brooks

Comcast saw gains in streaming as it gears up for what might be its busiest sports month in a decade.

The media and telecommunications company will see the convergence of its two most high-end sports properties in February when it broadcasts both the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles.

Peacock, the company’s steaming service, reached [[link removed]] 24.5 million monthly active users and 9 million paying users at the end of 2021. The service was rolled out in the U.K. and Ireland in the fourth quarter.Peacock’s revenue grew to $778 million in 2021, but its adjusted EBITDA loss increased to $1.7 billion. Those figures rose respectively from $118 million and $663 million in 2020.Despite Peacock’s losses, adjusted EBITDA for the entire NBCUniversal portfolio grew 6% year-over-year to $5.7 billion.

Comcast CFO Mike Cavanagh said [[link removed]] that the company plans to double its content spending to $3 billion in 2022.

Bounceback Quarter

Comcast reached $30.3 billion in revenue in Q4 2021, up 9.5% from the previous year and 6.7% above the same period in 2019. EBITDA grew 17% year-over-year to $8.4 billion.

The Summer Olympics brought in $1.8 billion in media revenue in 2021.

Comcast-owned Sky, which holds Premier League rights, saw its revenue dip 2.5% to $5.1 billion in the quarter.

Reported $300M Lawsuit Against iFIT Could Lead To Bankruptcy

NordicTrack/Design: Alex Brooks

Peloton isn’t the only at-home fitness company facing major financial dilemmas — so is rival iFIT Health and Fitness, which sells NordicTrack products.

One of the company’s lenders, Pamplona Capital Management, filed a lawsuit against iFIT over an agreement iFIT made with a China-based manufacturer, according [[link removed]] to The New York Post. The reported $300 million lawsuit could cause the company to file for bankruptcy.

The lawsuit comes shortly after the company canceled [[link removed]] an IPO which could have raised around $650 million.Like Peloton — whose struggles were partially due to a drop [[link removed]] in demand for at-home fitness — iFIT is reportedly hemorrhaging money. From Good To Bad

Just a few short months ago, when the company had filed for an IPO, things were looking up for iFIT — or at least they appeared to be.

In the fiscal year 2021, iFIT generated [[link removed]] $1.7 billion in revenue, a major bump from the previous year, when the brand garnered $851.7 million. It had even expanded its portfolio, acquiring Sweat and 29029.

Previous trips to court haven’t sunk the company, either. iFIT has been embroiled [[link removed]] in several lawsuits over the past couple of years, being sued by and countersuing Peloton.

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Samsung Posts Record Q4 Driven By Chip Demand For Gaming

Samsung/Design: Alex Brooks

Samsung posted record fourth-quarter revenue driven by a demand for its computing chips, which help power much of the video game industry.

The Korean tech giant generated $63.7 billion in revenue in Q4 2021, up from $55.33 billion for the same period the year prior. The world’s largest chipmaker reported record revenue despite challenges linked with supply chain issues and COVID, which are expected to continue.

Full-year revenue reached a record $232.5 billion, up from $212.82 billion in FY2020.

Samsung has been proactive in establishing a presence in the gaming and chip industries.

In 2020, the company won a contract to produce chips for gaming company Nvidia.Last June, it announced that it will be working with AMD to make graphics chips.It pledged to invest $206 billion over the next three years, with a focus on chipmaking.

Samsung has been willing to spend more than its competitors to improve its semiconductor business. The company reported an industry-leading $36.3 billion in semiconductor capital expenditure in FY2021 due to the acquisition of tools to expand chip and memory production.

An Eye On Fitness

Last August, Samsung said it would upgrade [[link removed]] the chip in its Galaxy Watch series, which includes the fitness-focused Galaxy Active line. The company has planned to build [[link removed].] a new $17 billion semiconductor factory outside of Austin, Texas, to facilitate production of its computing products.

Construction begins this year on the factory, which is slated to open in 2024.

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, Ohio State creates an NIL group to help athletes earn more money, a potential new Denver Broncos owner could score major tax breaks, a Bally’s shareholder offers to buy a 79% stake at a $2 billion valuation, and Formula 1’s Williams Racing sells its battery arm for $220 million. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. Two former San Diego city attorneys have filed a lawsuit against the NFL regarding the Chargers’ move to Los Angeles in 2017. The suit alleges [[link removed]] the NFL violated its own policy. Mubadala Investment Company is now the title partner of SailGP’s Season 2 Grand Final, which will take place in San Francisco beginning March 26. NFL Championship Sunday is only 72 hours away — and yet one of the biggest storylines concerns the future of a quarterback who won’t be playing this weekend. The Aaron Rodgers chatter intensified [[link removed]] Thursday with the possibility of a pair of new destinations for Green Bay’s unsettled star. Subscribe to Sports Section [[link removed]] for more on the quarterback’s potential move.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH KAULIG RACING

Racing’s 21-Year Old Record Breaker

In 2022, Kaulig Racing looks to continue their rapid rise as they enter their first full-time NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) season. The future is bright with a roster full of up-and-coming drivers [[link removed]], led by one of the sport’s best in Justin Haley.

Though he’s competed in NASCAR races since he was a teenager, Haley burst onto the scene in his rookie NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) season in 2019. The young driver secured four top fives and 20 top-10 finishes before finding himself in Victory Lane [[link removed]] in the NCS at Daytona International Speedway during a rain-shortened event.

In 2020 Haley went on to break records [[link removed]], joining the likes of Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. as the only drivers to win three superspeedway races in a row.

Now he’s tasked with leading Kaulig Racing [[link removed]] in 2022 and beyond.

Market Movers

U.S. stocks were mixed on Thursday. Here’s a look at how sports-related stocks performed:

VFC [[link removed]]

VF Corp.

[[link removed]]

$67.42

[[link removed]]

+0.01%

[[link removed]] EA [[link removed]]

Electronic Arts, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$131.21

[[link removed]]

+0.46%

[[link removed]] MANU [[link removed]]

Manchester United Plc.

[[link removed]]

$13.42

[[link removed]]

+0.75%

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

Boyd Gaming Corp.

[[link removed]]

$58.00

[[link removed]]

-2.85%

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

Live Nation Entertainment Inc

[[link removed]]

$101.92

[[link removed]]

-4.35%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 1/27/22) What to Watch

The Los Angeles Lakers (24-24) face the Philadelphia 76ers (28-19) on Thursday at Wells Fargo Center.

How to Watch: 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT

Betting Odds: 76ers -2.5 || ML -140 || O/U 217.5* ( Bet on DraftKings [[link removed]])

Pick: Expect the Lakers to build on Tuesday’s win over the Brooklyn Nets. Take LA to cover.

Who ya got? Reply to this newsletter with your prediction for the Lakers-76ers winner and final score.

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

Written by Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], Amanda Christovich [[link removed]], Justin Byers [[link removed]]

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