April 5, 2022

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The Green Bay Packers have raised millions of dollars over the years by allowing fans to buy shares in the team. Now Ice Cube, the rapper-turned-entrepreneur who co-founded the Big3 basketball league, is opening team ownership to fans with his own goal of raising money.

Liberty Media CEO: Several Eyeing U.S. Media Rights For F1

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Greg Maffei, the president and CEO of Formula 1’s parent company Liberty Media, said the motorsport circuit will command a higher price for its next U.S. broadcast rights deal.

Maffei told [[link removed]] CNBC that “we have a lot of interest” and several broadcasters are in the mix. “And it’s likely to be at a much better price for us that’s hopefully still good for our broadcast partners too.”

ESPN has held U.S. rights to Formula 1 since 2018, replacing NBC. In November 2019, the network agreed to a three-year extension with ESPN, which runs through this year. In August 2021, ESPN made it clear [[link removed]] it wanted to continue its partnership beyond 2022.

NBC paid $4 million annually from 2013 to 2018 to broadcast Formula 1, but ESPN is currently not [[link removed]] paying an annual fee.Disney-owned ESPN also does not currently produce the Formula 1 races, but carries British Sky Sports broadcasts.

The 2021 Formula 1 season averaged [[link removed]] 931,000 viewers on ESPN through its first 14 races, a 50% increase compared to the 2020 season. Through two races this season, Formula 1 is averaging 1.4 million viewers on ESPN, a 47% uptick [[link removed]] compared to the same period last year.

Fast Paced

Liberty Media, which is also the parent company of the Atlanta Braves and SiriusXM, generated [[link removed]] $11.4 billion in total revenue in Q4 2021 across its three divisions. The company’s Formula One Group pocketed $787 million during the quarter, a 62.3% increase year-over-year.

Maryland’s $400M Commanders Proposal Excludes New Stadium

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Maryland’s efforts to keep the Washington Commanders in Landover were highlighted on Monday after a legislative committee approved the state’s first public bid.

The proposal, which includes [[link removed]] $400 million for the area around FedEx Field, would see the state use the Maryland Stadium Authority to funnel state lottery cash to Prince George’s County. One caveat: The money can’t be used to build a stadium.

Instead, the county would build infrastructure and a “sports entertainment facility” in the surrounding area.

If the Commanders opt to move elsewhere, the county would reportedly still be able to use the money. Team owner Daniel Snyder reportedly already owns more than 200 acres surrounding the venue.

The team is reportedly looking at three different Virginia locations, but those plans would include building a domed stadium and entertainment district. All three locations are at least 27 miles from the Capitol.

Commanders Controversy

The proposal comes as the Commanders continue to face allegations of financial improprieties. Front Office Sports reported [[link removed]] that the club and Snyder allegedly withheld ticket sales revenue that is to be shared with visiting teams — 40% of net ticket sales is required to go to the NFL.

The Commanders also received criticism for its hostile work environment, which the House Oversight Committee “continues to investigate.”

SPONSORED BY FIDELITY

Empowering Representation and Diversity

Renee Montgomery started her career in Storrs, Connecticut, where she was a key cog in the UConn Huskies’ 2009 Women’s National Championship team.

Drafted 4th in the WNBA, she won 2 WNBA championships while also being named an All-Star and 6th Woman of the Year in her 11-year professional career. Renee retired in 2021 after sitting out the 2020 season to focus on social reform and justice.

Her basketball career was just a precursor to her second act, which includes titles such as podcast host, sports broadcaster, Vice President and Co-Owner of multiple professional sports teams.

Most recently, she expanded into the entertainment world with the launch of Think Tank Productions with her wife Sirena Grace.

In the latest episode of Second Acts, sponsored by Fidelity [[link removed]], Renee shares her journey from WNBA star to sports business and media mogul. Watch now [[link removed]].

March Madness Reportedly Generates $410M of In-Game Brand Exposure

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

The brands featured during this year’s NCAA Division I basketball tournaments received multimillion-dollar platforms — even outside of commercials.

Men’s and women’s March Madness delivered more than $410 million worth of media exposure value for featured brands in telecasts, according [[link removed]] to a report by Elevate Sports Ventures and Hive.

That’s more than double the delivery [[link removed]] for Super Bowl LVI, which generated an estimated $170 million.

The companies that benefited the most included NCAA corporate sponsors, apparel brands, and equipment providers. Together, Capital One, Coca-Cola, AT&T, Nike, and Spalding earned 56% of all media value.Capital One led the women’s tournament with 13 hours and 25 minutes of exposure, while AT&T led the men’s with nine hours and 13 minutes.

In all, companies received about 187 total hours of exposure during all 134 men’s and women’s games.

A previous report [[link removed]] noted that men’s games generate more value than women’s, as viewership numbers — and therefore the cost of a spot — is higher. This year’s women’s ratings skyrocketed [[link removed]], with the championship game peaking at almost 6 million viewers. It averaged 18% more than 2021, and 30% more than 2019.

Early-Round Value

From the last day of the women’s second round onward, both tournaments generated $245 million in exposure. Elevate and Hive found that up to that point, $165 million had been generated.

An early-round winner for product placement was the basket stanchion arm, which helped Spalding earn the most exposure time of any brand during early rounds.

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, the NFL is looking to grow its international business to $1 billion annually over the next 10 years, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said Champions League “should be bigger” than the Super Bowl, the ECB is reportedly closing in on a 10-year media rights extension, and an NFT startup sets its sights on the NHL. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. Sunday’s national championship game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and UConn Huskies was the most [[link removed]] bet on women’s event in the history of BetMGM. The sportsbook reported that 70% of the bets placed were in favor of South Carolina’s point spread. Sports technology company TAPPP has raised [[link removed]] $10 million in a Series B funding round. The New York-based company builds technology that allows consumers to bet on sports via TVs and streaming platforms. TAPPP has secured a multiyear deal with Major League Rugby that will add on-screen betting to The Rugby Network. Kevin Love made an immediate impact in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2008, establishing himself as a lethal stretch big, elite rebounder, and one of the best power forwards in the game before winning a title with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. The 33-year-old has stayed with the Cavaliers since remaining loyal during a rebuild, which has evolved much quicker than expected. Scoreboard sat down with Love to discuss [[link removed]] the Cavaliers’ improbable turnaround, mental health and life as a dog dad. Subscribe to Scoreboard for more [[link removed]].

SPONSORED BY NIELSEN

How Women's Sports are Changing Sponsorship Models

Historically bundled with men’s sponsorship opportunities, often as an afterthought, properties are increasingly unbundling them amid rising interest [[link removed]] and investment in women’s sports overall.

Rights holders are also capitalizing on the increased interest, as evidenced by examples like last year’s TV deal between the Women’s Super League (WSL) and both the BBC and Sky Sports – during the first three months of the 2021-2022 WSL season, per-game viewership [[link removed]] was up more than 500%.

With more women’s sports being televised and increased sponsorship opportunities specific to women’s sport, many brands are effectively reaching consumers they weren’t reaching through sponsorships in men’s sport.

Learn more [[link removed]] about the impact of women’s sports on sponsorship models in Nielsen’s latest report.

Market Movers

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

RCI [[link removed]]

Rogers Communications Inc.

[[link removed]]

$57.22

[[link removed]]

+0.19%

[[link removed]] NKE [[link removed]]

Nike, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$132.16

[[link removed]]

-1.45%

[[link removed]] GOLF [[link removed]]

Acushnet Holdings Corp

[[link removed]]

$41.30

[[link removed]]

-1.83%

[[link removed]] DIS [[link removed]]

Walt Disney Co (The)

[[link removed]]

$135.54

[[link removed]]

-1.85%

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

Boyd Gaming Corp.

[[link removed]]

$65.25

[[link removed]]

-2.55%

[[link removed]] CLAR [[link removed]]

Clarus Corp

[[link removed]]

$22.77

[[link removed]]

-3.11%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 4/5/22) What to Watch

The Milwaukee Bucks (48-30) face the Chicago Bulls (45-33) on Tuesday at United Center.

How to Watch: 8 p.m. ET on ESPN

Betting Odds: Bucks -6 || ML -240 || O/U 232.5

Pick: Expect the Bucks to bounce back from Sunday’s loss. Take Milwaukee to cover.

Refer Friends to Score Your Favorite Team’s Jersey

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Front Office Sports is celebrating that Paramount+ is home to world-class soccer matches from around the globe by giving away three authentic official jerseys.

How can you score one? Refer your friends and colleagues to Front Office Sports. Copy and paste your unique link below and share it in an email or on your timeline.

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Written by Justin Byers [[link removed]], Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]], Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]

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