July 25, 2022

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Vince McMahon, the pioneering wrestling impresario who turned WWE into a sports entertainment empire, officially announced [[link removed]] his retirement as chairman and CEO on Friday amid swirling accusations of sexual misconduct. The 77-year-old’s daughter, Stephanie McMahon, is now permanent chairwoman.

FanDuel Reportedly Bets Big on TV [[link removed]]

Ryan Armbrust / Imagn

FanDuel is plunging deeper into sports media.

The sports betting giant is reportedly launching [[link removed]] a 24-hour television channel, according to Legal Sports Report.

The company would rebrand its TVG channel, which is focused on horse racing, to FanDuel TV.TVG2 would become FanDuel Racing.The move could come this September.

FanDuel’s owner Flutter Entertainment posted a $383 million loss in 2021, but FanDuel’s revenue rose 113% year-over-year to $2 billion for the year.

FanDuel led the U.S. with a 40% market share among online sportsbooks at the end of 2021.

FanDuel’s Media Moves

FanDuel’s chief commercial officer Mike Raffensperger told Front Office Sports last year that the company sees itself in the sports media space, and it has made numerous partnerships to back up that assertion.

FanDuel has linked up with Turner Sports, The Ringer, SportsGrid, and Pat McAfee, who signed [[link removed]] a reported four-year, $120 million deal with the company in December.

It signed an exclusive year-long partnership with The Ringer in 2021 and became the exclusive sportsbook partner for Turner Sports’ NBA coverage the previous year.

The company is reportedly pursuing [[link removed]] Kay Adams, who left the NFL Network in May. Amazon has also reportedly sought Adams for their “Thursday Night Football” coverage.

PGA Tour Raises LIV Golf Concerns to U.S. Lawmakers [[link removed]]

Reuters via USA TODAY Sports

The PGA Tour was concerned about LIV Golf long before its members started transitioning to the Saudi Arabia-backed league.

The Tour has reportedly [[link removed]] paid $360,000 to DLA Piper since last year to lobby lawmakers on their behalf. One of the topics, of course, is “Saudi Golf League proposals.”

From the beginning of April to the end of June, the PGA Tour paid $120,000 — the most it’s ever spent on lobbying in a given time period.The Tour reportedly spent the same amount in the first half of 2004 in an effort to receive federal appropriations and grants for a charity golf program.

Advisors to President Joe Biden reportedly proposed a meeting with a PGA Tour representative and Saudi Arabia’s U.S. ambassador, but the Tour declined.

“We welcome good, healthy competition,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said. “The LIV Saudi Golf League is not that. It’s an irrational threat, one not concerned with the return on investment or true growth of the game.”

Meanwhile, LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said [[link removed]] she’d be open to a discussion with former PGA Tour member Greg Norman, who leads LIV Golf, “if it would achieve our aim of promoting women’s golf.”

LIVing Large

Many stars are transitioning to LIV Golf because of the money involved. LIV Golf raised [[link removed]] $2 billion from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund earlier this year, and has signed contracts with a number of PGA Tour golfers including Phil Mickelson, who reportedly [[link removed]] inked a $200 million deal.

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La Liga Inks 5-Year Media Deal in 7M-Household Market [[link removed]]

La Liga

La Liga has a new media partner in Turkey on the heels of its latest broadcast deal.

The Spanish soccer league struck [[link removed]] a five-year deal with Saran Media Group, beginning with the 2022-23 season. The deal covers both linear and streaming rights.

“La Liga will now reach 7 million households through S Sports linear channels and S Sport Plus OTT service.” said Saran Media Group CEO Alan K. Saran. “Every La Liga match will be live on S Sport Plus, and select matches in the second tier of Spanish football.”

Saran replaces D-Smart as La Liga’s Turkish broadcaster. The previous deal began in 2019-20, after La Liga canceled its deal with Digiturk.La Liga’s overseas media rights are sold by Mediapro, which signed a four-year, $915.7 million deal with the league beginning with the 2019-20 season.

Saran also broadcasts Serie A, the NBA, EuroLeague basketball, Formula 1, and MotoGP.

La Liga in Deal Mode

The Spanish league sold its media rights in Australia to Optus Sport last month in a multiyear deal including both the top-flight league and second-tier La Liga SmartBank.

Last year, the league sold a 50-year, 8.25% stake in its media rights to CVC Capital Partners for $2.1 billion.

Wasserman Bolsters Baseball Roster with Jet Sports Acquisition [[link removed]]

Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports

A major agency is beefing up its MLB roster with a new acquisition.

Wasserman announced on Friday that it has acquired the baseball-focused Jet Sports Management. Jet Sports founder B.B. Abbott will join Wasserman’s baseball division, along with six agents and two staff members.

Jet Sports’ clients include Matt Olson, who signed an eight-year, $168 million extension with the Atlanta Braves after the team traded for him over the offseason, and Byron Buxton, who inked a seven-year, $100 million extension with the Minnesota Twins in December.Jet Sports’ roster also includes Chris Sale, Zack Wheeler, Charlie Morton, Gavin Lux, and Hall of Famer Chipper Jones.Wasserman’s baseball clientele include Nolan Arenado, Giancarlo Stanton, Yu Darvish, Jose Berrios, Javy Baez, Edwin Diaz, Nestor Cortes, and Trevor Story. Wasserman’s Busy Summer

In June, Wasserman launched its rugby division and acquired rugby agency Esportif. It also grew its golf segment with the purchase of Mullhaupt Management.

The company joined an April $12.6 million Series A funding round for Meadowlark Media, founded by former ESPN president John Skipper and former ESPN personality Dan Le Batard.

In January, the company acquired sports media, broadcast, and consulting agency The Montag Group, as well as Paradigm’s U.K. live music representation business.

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Conversation Starters SPACs were all the rage in 2020 and 2021, but now they are facing new challenges [[link removed]]. The market has cooled significantly as investors look for profitability instead of growth. Callaway is among the companies with the deepest ties to golf. Yet, the brand has sought [[link removed]] to grow outside the sport’s traditional bounds. In 2017, for example, it spent $125.5 million to acquire another company with one foot in the golf market and one beyond: TravisMathew. ESPN anchor Sage Steele’s legal team pushed back [[link removed]] on the sports network’s request to dismiss her lawsuit – which alleged her freedom of expression rights were violated – in a court filing. Front Office Sports presents The C-Suite, a weekly LinkedIn Live interview series where Chief Content Officer Lisa Granatstein sits down with sports leaders who are driving global business and changing culture. Tune in [[link removed]] on Tuesdays at 1 p.m. ET.*

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Question Of The Day

Do you think the U.S. government will intervene against LIV Golf?

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Friday’s Answer

37% of respondents are interested in attending an international NFL game.

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Written by Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Brian Krikorian [[link removed]]

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