July 28, 2022

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Have you checked out Front Office Sports’ podcast The Leadoff? In today’s edition, the NFL hauls in a record $4.4 billion in ad revenue, F1 could ditch two big races in 2023, and the latest quarters from Churchill Downs and Garmin tell very different stories. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. 🎧

Sports Help Power Comcast to $30B Quarter [[link removed]]

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Comcast reported $30 billion in second-quarter revenue, beating analysts’ estimates of $29.68 billion. Net income increased 9.2% to $3.4 billion.

NBCUniversal, which includes Peacock and NBC Sports, recorded [[link removed]] an 18.7% revenue increase to $9.4 billion. Media revenue alone brought in $5.3 billion.

Sky, the European media and entertainment company Comcast acquired [[link removed]] in 2018 for $39 billion, recorded [[link removed]] a 16.4% decrease in content revenue to $265 million for the quarter, primarily attributed to changes in its sports programming licensing agreements in Italy and Germany.

The division’s overall revenue decreased 13.8% to $4.5 billion.In 2021, Sky Italia entered a three-year, $318.7 million agreement [[link removed].] with Serie A for domestic broadcasting rights. The first year’s fee was $103.2 million, the second $106.2 million, and the third $109.2 million.

During the quarter, Sky renewed broadcasting deals for [[link removed]] the Masters Tournament and [[link removed]'s%20production%20onsite%20team.] PGA Tour in the U.K. and Ireland.

On July 1, NBCUniversal announced [[link removed]] plans to shut down The Olympic Channel. NBCU paid [[link removed]] $7.75 billion in 2014 for Olympic broadcasting rights through 2032.

Coming Up at Comcast

Brian L. Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast, says the company expects properties including “Sunday Night Football” and the World Cup to “make significant contributions this year.”

NBC Sports is also expected to make a major push for Big Ten media rights, which could reportedly [[link removed]] fetch up to $1.1 billion annually.

Porsche to Acquire 50% Stake in Red Bull Formula 1 Operations [[link removed]]

David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports

After months of speculation [[link removed]], Porsche is entering Formula 1 with one of the competition’s top teams — and claiming a massive stake in its future success.

A new document [[link removed]] from Morocco’s Conseil de la Concurrence reveals the German auto manufacturer is acquiring 50% of Red Bull Technology LTD — the subsidiary of the energy drink conglomerate primarily responsible for its F1 operations. Motorsport-Total was the first to report on the press release.

Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Porsche’s main responsibility in the partnership will be to develop power units for Red Bull Racing and Alpha Tauri cars.

Red Bull said [[link removed]] that the joint venture was still under discussion, citing FIA’s imminent approval of the 2026 engine changes.

Motorsport’s governing body is expected to require all F1 power units to run on 100% sustainable fuel, place a larger emphasis on electrical power, and not feature an MGU-H.The new regulations are expected to be finalized sometime in August.

Red Bull is partnered [[link removed]] with Oracle on a five-year, $500 million title sponsorship deal. It remains to be seen how that will be affected by the changes in 2026.

Volkswagen’s F1 Resurgence

Assuming the partnership goes through, it’ll be a huge return to F1 for Porsche.

The Volkswagen AG subsidiary previously entered a team in the World Championships from 1957 through 1962 and supplied power units to McLaren under the TAG badge from 1983 through 1987.

Another Volkswagen brand — Audi — is rumored to be teaming up with McLaren F1 for 2026.

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CVC to Receive $505M Loan for French Soccer Investment [[link removed]]

Ligue 1

Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners will receive a loan of $505 million from HPS Investment Partners to facilitate its investment in French professional soccer, according to Bloomberg.

In March, CVC acquired a 13% stake in Ligue 1’s media rights business for $1.5 billion. The newly created commercial subsidiary will market both TV and online media rights for Ligue 1.

Some loan proceeds [[link removed]] will go to teams in the Ligue de Football Professionnel.A portion will be allocated toward amateur leagues. The proceeds will also help the LFP repay a loan from 2020.

Ligue 1’s finances took a hit when broadcast partner MediaPro stopped making payments on its media rights deal worth $877.9 million per year during the 2020-21 season. Since then, Ligue 1 has secured deals with Canal+ and Amazon, but on a split $802 million contract that runs through the 2023-24 season.

The top-flight soccer league reported $680.4 million in losses [[link removed]] during the 2020-21 season.

Committed to Soccer

CVC’s commitment to Ligue 1 and the LFP marks its second investment in European soccer media rights. Last year, La Liga agreed to sell CVC an 8% stake in the league’s new company in charge of managing media rights for $2.3 billion.

However, the deal has been opposed [[link removed]] by several La Liga clubs, the Spanish Football Association, and Real Federación Española de Fútbol.

Conversation Starters The WWE has created [[link removed]] the first pre-professional NIL pipeline program, which has translated to full-time jobs for multiple athletes from its first class. Charles Barkley predicts [[link removed]] the battling LIV Golf Series and PGA Tour will eventually work out some kind of peace agreement. Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder and the House Oversight Committee agreed [[link removed]] to terms of a deposition roughly two hours before it began on Thursday. The live autograph experience has remained unchanged for too long. Important data capture and crucial revenue generating opportunities are missed. DigiSign [[link removed]] is the natural evolution to a cherished pastime, optimizing the ROIs required by today’s sports organizations.*

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Market Movers

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

DIS [[link removed]]

Walt Disney Co (The)

[[link removed]]

$104.59

[[link removed]]

+1.32%

[[link removed]] DKS [[link removed]]

Dicks Sporting Goods, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$92.86

[[link removed]]

+1.48%

[[link removed]] UA [[link removed]]

Under Armour Inc

[[link removed]]

$8.04

[[link removed]]

+1.84%

[[link removed]] PLAY [[link removed]]

Dave & Buster`s Entertainment Inc

[[link removed]]

$37.02

[[link removed]]

+4.64%

[[link removed]] RCI [[link removed]]

Rogers Communications Inc.

[[link removed]]

$46.33

[[link removed]]

-0.32%

[[link removed]] LVS [[link removed]]

Las Vegas Sands Corp

[[link removed]]

$38.52

[[link removed]]

-1.12%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 7/28/22) What to Watch

The Washington Mystics (17-11) face the Dallas Wings (12-15) on Thursday night at the College Park Center.

How to Watch: 8 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network

Betting Odds: Wings -1.5 || ML -125 || O/U 157

Pick: Expect the Wings to have a strong performance at home. Take Dallas to cover.

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Written by Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]], Doug Greenberg [[link removed]], Justin Byers [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Brian Krikorian [[link removed]]

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The Leadoff [[link removed]] - Daily business of sports podcast

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