May 18, 2022

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Jerome Bettis had four college courses remaining when he left for the NFL in 1993. Nearly three decades later, the Hall of Famer has finished his coursework and graduated [[link removed]] from Notre Dame’s Business School. 🎓

Disney Says It’s “The Most Powerful Force in the Industry”

Walt Disney Company

At Disney’s upfront on Tuesday, CEO Bob Chapek said the entertainment conglomerate is “the most powerful force in the industry.”

Part of that distinction is due to a serious investment in sports that only gets stronger. Highlights from the presentation included:

Disney secured a deal [[link removed]] with the XFL to air 43 games each season from 2023 through 2027.Disney will have the Super Bowl return to ABC in 2027 and 2031.It extended its deal with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions to air the ManningCast.ESPN is set to air roughly 35% more NFL games in 2023.

Disney is also prioritizing its streaming services. ESPN+ reported 22.3 million subscribers in fiscal Q2, up 1 million year-over-year, while Disney+ beat forecasts with 137.7 million subscribers during the quarter, up from a projected 135 million.

Disney+ is looking to attract even more subscribers with plans to launch [[link removed]] a low-cost subscription plan — which will include advertisements — later this year. Earlier this week, Disney confirmed [[link removed]] it will limit ad breaks on the service to just four minutes per hour.

Golden Ticket

Disney could grow even more as it continues to do business with America’s most popular professional sports league. Chapek confirmed [[link removed]] in February that Disney plans to bid on media rights to “NFL Sunday Ticket.” A deal for the rights could fetch [[link removed]] $2.5 billion per season.

DirectTV currently holds rights to the out-of-market programming package through 2023.

Business Is Booming for On Running

On Running

On Running reported record first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, posting a 67.9% increase in revenue to $237.3 million, far exceeding analysts’ estimates of $167.8 million.

Net income reached [[link removed]] roughly $14.4 million.

Co-CEO and CFO Martin Hoffmann said [[link removed]] On was able to ship more products than expected — over 1 million pairs of shoes were shipped in March, the first time the company has reached that milestone in a month.

Hoffmann added that On was still affected by the transitory supply shortage, but the quarter also marked On’s biggest product launch: the Cloud 5, which is made with 44% of recycled content.

On’s shoes revenue grew 69% to $224.1 million.Apparel revenue increased 44.9% to $11.5 million.Accessories revenue jumped 111.8% to $1.8 million. On The Future

With help from the company’s product launches, feedback from retail channels, and strength of the supply chain, On raised its full-year guidance to meet or exceed $1 billion — 44% year-over-year growth.

During the quarter, On also revealed a new cushioning technology called Cloudtec Phase that will launch spring of next year.

In the second half of 2022, On plans to expand its presence in Latin America, introducing Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Uruguay as distributor markets.

SPONSORED BY TICKETMASTER

Sounders FC: Champions of Innovation

Seattle Sounders FC have made history, prevailing over Pumas UNAM in the CONCACAF Champions League final – the first MLS team to win the competition since the new format was instituted in 2008. They are officially the best team in the CONCACAF region.

If you’re interested in a behind-the-scenes look at How the Sounders FC Elevate the Fan Experience, check out the latest free online course [[link removed]] from Front Office Sports and Ticketmaster, Modern Ticketing Essentials: Beyond the Ticket.

In Lesson 6 of the course, Adam Boxberger, Sr. Client Development Director at Ticketmaster, sits down with Peter Wiggum and Aaron Lampkin from the Sounders FC at Lumen Field to discuss how the Sounders FC leverage Ticketmaster’s tools and services to deliver new experiences [[link removed]] to their fans.

Register now [[link removed]]!

Barcelona Eyes Two Deals to Help With Financial Woes

FC Barcelona

Barcelona is reportedly making major moves to dig itself out of the $1.57 billion in debt it revealed last year — and the fact that it was technically bankrupt, according to Deloitte.

The club hopes to use new funds for signings — and to help its balance sheet at the end of June, according [[link removed]] to Forbes. The roughly $420 million it’s seeking would come from two deals:

The club is looking to offer up 49% of Barca Licensing and Merchandising to Fanatics and Investindustrial, per [[link removed]] 2Playbook. The funds would be distributed throughout a decade-long period.The team is also auctioning off 49% of Barca Studios, per [[link removed]] Mundo Deportivo. Barcelona has been looking [[link removed]] to sell part of Barca Studios since at least October of 2021. Additional Financial Boons

In March, Barca signed a reportedly lucrative [[link removed]] partnership with Spotify that included naming rights for Camp Nou and kit sponsorships.

And last year, members voted for a $1.69 billion renovation [[link removed]] plan for Camp Nou, which the club estimates will eventually pay out $225.7 million in revenue each year.

Previously, Goldman Sachs lent the team $605 million.

However, Barca still hasn’t agreed to a cash infusion from the deal between La Liga and CVC Capital.

Federal Funds Find Way to Auto and Horse Race Tracks

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Public funding for sports facilities is often controversial, but recent months have seen an atypical way for tax dollars to reach sports venues.

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act tagged $195 billion for state and local governments in anticipation of tax revenue shortages. However, many states boasted [[link removed]] large increases in tax revenues in 2021, allowing them to use the federal funds for a wide range of projects.

North Carolina allocated $40 million to make infrastructure improvements to three race tracks, two of which, North Wilkesboro Speedway and Rockingham Speedway, formerly held NASCAR races.Arizona apportioned $7.2 million to help improve prizes at various horse racing venues.

A spokesperson for Arizona’s Department of Gaming, Maxwell Hartgraves, made the case for the spending, saying that, “high purses ensure high-quality races and full race cards that bettors in Arizona and around the country can engage through live and simulcast betting.”

Some city governments have used federal funds for public facilities such as skate parks and pickleball courts.

Racing History

The North Wilkesboro Speedway hosted NASCAR races from 1949 to 1996, but has been dormant since then. The track announced last November that it will reopen this year, with races scheduled [[link removed]] for August and October.

The Rockingham track, which has hosted the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, among other events, announced it would be repaved in December.

SPONSORED BY STUKENT

Join the Discussion

In this one-hour webinar, Stuart Draper, founder and CEO of Stukent [[link removed]], will be joined by Oklahoma State University’s senior associate athletic director, Kevin Klintworth, and OSU professor of marketing, Dr. Maribeth Kuzmeski.

Join Stukent as they discuss the impact of the OSU Brand Squad and how you can help student-athletes hit the playing field with Stukent’s new NIL simulation and certification programs.

Join the free event [[link removed]] this Friday!

Conversation Starters Tom Brady is executive producing [[link removed]] and participating in a new Netflix comedy series called “Greatest Roasts of All Time” – or “GROAT” – which will be filmed in 2023. Nike announced [[link removed]] its first high school NIL deal with sisters Alyssa and Gisele Thompson, two of the best soccer players in the country. In just four years, the top 10 sports betting states have handled [[link removed]] $107.4 billion. Press had to vacate [[link removed]] the Oakland A’s broadcast booth on Monday night so that an exterminator could try to get rid of a possum. Question Of The Day

Are you a veteran or active duty?

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Tuesday’s Answer

53% of respondents’ companies leverage hospitality opportunities to engage clients or prospects.

If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here [[link removed]].

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

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

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Front Office Sports Learning [[link removed]] - Education at the speed of culture

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