Electronic Arts is reportedly looking to sell or merge with an entertainment conglomerate.

Several outlets indicated that Andrew Wilson, the video game company’s CEO, recently held discussions with NBCUniversal about a takeover, but the negotiations — which lasted several weeks — fell through because of price and structure disagreements.

That isn’t stopping EA from looking elsewhere. The company is reportedly holding discussions with other giants like Amazon, Apple, and Disney, and if a deal comes to fruition, wants Wilson to stay on as boss.

The news comes amid other major changes to EA‘s games.

• The company ended its 30-year partnership with FIFA after the pair failed to reach an extension agreement — the duo will release their final collaboration this year. 
• Without FIFA, the series will be called EA Sports FC and will not include World Cup and other FIFA-controlled events. EA Sports FIFA had more than 150 million accounts during FY2022.
• In EA’s earnings report earlier this month, Wilson said developer DICE will be “rethinking the development process from the ground up” for “Battlefield 2042,” adding that EA will take “a long view” on the franchise.

‘It’s in the Game’

EA wouldn’t be the first video game company to be taken over by a media giant. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced plans to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. Shortly after, Sony said it planned to purchase gaming studio Bungie for $3.6 billion.

All five ownership groups bidding for the Denver Broncos reportedly submitted proposed amendments to the sale contract last week after their lawyers were asked to mark up the agreements before any exclusive negotiations are determined.

The requests come ahead of the deadline for second-round bids in June.

The purchase amount could fetch a record price for a professional sports team. Outlets have indicated the sale price could surpass $5 billion and possibly top the recent $5.2 billion price tag for Chelsea FC, which is in the process of being finalized.

• Todd Boehly, who is leading the consortium expected to take over Chelsea FC, also leads a group in the running for the Broncos.
• Rob Walton, heir to Walmart founder Sam Walton with a $58 billion net worth, is another bidder.
• Josh Harris, co-chair of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and a Philadelphia 76ers owner, leads a group that includes Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
• There are two other unknown groups vying for the team.

Matter of Months

Sports Business Journal reported that the winning bid is expected to be announced before the start of training camp in July. The agreement will then be subject to full league vetting, final negotiations, and approval — a new owner is expected to officially be in place by Sept. 12, the start of the regular season.

EBay is launching an NFT platform with help from The Great One. 

The longstanding resale and auction platform has partnered with NHL legend Wayne Gretzky on its first NFT collection.

• The collectibles, starting at $10 and rising up to $1,500, consist of 3D-renderings and animations of signature Gretzky moves.
• EBay partnered with blockchain company OneOf to produce the NFTs. OneOf uses a proof-of-stake system which is more energy efficient than the more common proof-of-work systems.
• The Gretzky collection is the first in a series that eBay will produce featuring athletes who have appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

With $87 billion in gross merchandise volume last year, eBay remains a major trading hub. The company’s app is third among mobile retail platforms in U.S. users behind Amazon and Walmart.

“OneOf and eBay are bringing transformative Web3 technology to the next 100 million non-crypto-native mass consumers,” said OneOf CEO Lin Dai.

Top Grades

After removing card-seller PWCC from its platform last year over fraud allegations (which PWCC categorically denies), eBay has been upping its own offerings in the trading card space.

Earlier this month, eBay began offering grading services through Professional Sports Authenticator for cards over $2,000.

Video games accounted for 32% of Tencent’s total revenue in Q1 2022. 

The Chinese tech conglomerate generated $21.3 billion in Q1, an 8% increase year-over-year — the slowest revenue growth for the world’s largest video game developer since 2004. 

The results edged the $20.2 billion in revenue the company generated in Q1 2021. 

Tencent saw a surge in revenue in Q1 for its latest “League of Legends” title but declines in revenue from “Call of Duty Mobile,” “Moonlight Blade Mobile,” and other titles.

• Domestic games made up 24% of Tencent’s total revenue in Q1.
• International games accounted for 8% of revenue, up from 7% in Q1 2021. 

CNBC reported that Tencent has lost roughly $470 million in market value since its peak last year. The tech giant looks to get back on track after Chinese regulators resumed approvals for new video game licenses in April, ending a nine-month crackdown on the world’s largest gaming market.

The decision to suspend licenses for new games comes after Chinese state media branded online games “mental opium” and added that they have a negative impact on the health of minors — which led to new regulations restricting children to three hours of gaming per week.

Imminent Changes 

Last week, Tencent announced that it will be changing the organizational structure of its sports business department. The conglomerate plans to cancel six of its internal business groups.

About 100 employees of the department will be laid off — roughly a third of its workforce.