August 17, 2022

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It seems like every athlete is into wine these days, and former NFL safety Will Blackmon — who won a Super Bowl with the New York Giants in 2012 — is at the forefront of the movement. He’s traveled the world exploring different vineyards, created his own concierge service, and has a lot to say about how football informed his POV on the space.

Check out the full conversation with Front Office Sports editor in chief Ernest Baker on the latest episode of My Other Passion — streaming on Apple [[link removed]], Spotify [[link removed]], and YouTube [[link removed]]! 🎧

Notre Dame’s Next Media Deal Expected to Fetch $60M Annually [[link removed]]

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame should reportedly expect around $60 million annually for its next media rights contract — more than doubling its current deal that’s worth roughly $25 million per year.

Outlets reported [[link removed]] in July that Notre Dame was seeking $75 million annually from NBC, which drew speculation [[link removed]] due to the school’s lower-than-expected ratings. The non-conference school negotiates its football media rights deals independently.

A report [[link removed]'s,NBC%20averaged%204.8%20million%20viewers.] from November 2021 revealed viewership for Notre Dame’s football games was down 48% year-over-year, with an average of 2.5 million viewers. The team did, however, bring in a record streaming audience during the season.In 2020, Notre Dame produced the most viewers since 2005.But in 2019, viewership hit a record low for NBC with 2.1 million viewers.

Sports Business Journal reported the $60 million figure, but noted the landscape could change when NBC’s current deal is up in 2025.

Big Ten Broadcasts

Notre Dame had no matchups against Power 5 teams ranked in the AP Top 25 for the 2021 football season, but a new deal with NBC could mean the Fighting Irish would face Big Ten teams more often.

NBC and CBS are reportedly “ front-runners [[link removed]]” for a broadcasting rights deal with the conference, with each expected to pay around $350 million per year.

ESPN, which has aired the Big Ten for 40 years, declined the conference’s final offer for a seven-year deal worth $380 million annually.

Former Masters Champ Patrick Reed Seeks $750M in Damages [[link removed]]

Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports

Former Masters champ Patrick Reed accused the Golf Channel and network analyst Brandel Chamblee of conspiring with the golf establishment “to destroy LIV” and defaming him for nearly a decade in a lawsuit seeking more than $750 million in damages.

While Golf Channel and Chamblee are the only named defendants, the lawsuit filed in a Texas federal court on Tuesday alleges the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour are “acting in concert” to “maliciously defame Mr. Reed, LIV, and other golfers.”

A spokesperson for the Golf Channel declined comment.

The lawsuit details [[link removed]] the feud between Reed and Chamblee.

Chamblee “has shown himself to be a disciple of the Skip Bayless school of sports analysis,” and his critiques of Reed are made “in order to leech attention, notoriety, and fame.”Reed alleges the “longstanding pattern and practice of maliciously defaming” includes a 2019 segment where Chamblee said on air that Reed’s “ego is as big as Jupiter.”Chamblee, both on air and via Twitter, said players on the Saudi-backed series are accepting “blood money.”

“Mr. Reed has never accepted ‘blood money,’” Reed’s lawyer, right-wing activist attorney Larry Klayman, wrote in the lawsuit.

LIV Litigation

Earlier this month, Phil Mickelson and 10 other LIV Golf players filed [[link removed]] an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour. Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, and Matt Jones, plaintiffs in that federal case, also sought a temporary restraining order in order to play in the FedEX Cup Playoffs, but the trio were denied [[link removed]] the injunction last week.

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With football being one of the most popular sports across the world’s top 10 largest economies, there is no doubt that the Word Cup presents an unparalleled opportunity [[link removed]] to engage with fans well beyond the matches. It offers a chance for the entire media ecosystem to score big with fans, and turn team loyalty into brand loyalty.

In Nielsen’s latest report [[link removed]], they showcase data and insights that helps brands, broadcasters, platforms and streamers make the most of the event. See how you can capitalize on the excitement. Download now [[link removed]].

Riot Games Owner Posts First-Ever Quarterly Revenue Decline [[link removed]]

Tencent

Tencent reported $19.77 billion in second-quarter revenue, a 3% decrease from the same period last year — the company’s first-ever year-over-year revenue decline.

In the Chinese tech conglomerate’s gaming division, revenue for domestic and international games both fell [[link removed]] 1% year-over-year to a respective $4.7 billion and $1.6 billion, accounting for just under a third of Tencent’s total revenue.

Domestic games experienced “a smaller digestion period due to transitional issues,” according to Tencent, which include fewer game releases, lower user spending, and gaming regulations for minors.

In 2021, Chinese regulators created a rule to limit the amount of time minors could play video games to just three hours per week.Between July 2021 and April 2022, regulators would not grant approval of new games — Tencent launched only three mobile games during Q2.

Meanwhile, international games are being affected by “a post-pandemic digestion period,” with gamers spending less time online as countries open back up.

Tencent owns or has stakes in [[link removed]] Riot Games, Wake Up Interactive, Epic Games, Activision Blizzard, Roblox, and Discord, among others. Popular games including “League of Legends,” “PUBG,” and “Moonlight Blade Mobile” also experienced revenue declines [[link removed]] during the quarter.

Matter of Time

While gaming regulations have slowed Tencent’s momentum, it shouldn’t be for long.

Tencent president Martin Lau said the regulatory environment in the country is “progressing from rectification to normalization,” and the company expects to receive game licenses from regulators soon.

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, the Washington Nationals have a timeline for ownership bids, European women’s soccer could reach $698 million in annual commercial value, and Signa Sports and Genius Sports report quarterly revenue. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. The Chicago White Sox have invested in NIL, creating a program called CHISOX Athlete and signing [[link removed]] eight college athletes from multiple sports and schools in the region to NIL deals — all of whom grew up in Illinois. LIV Golf hasn’t secured a major media rights deal in the U.S., despite having talks over the last several months with major networks and streaming services, but a deal remains [[link removed]] a “priority” for the tour.

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The Impact of Crypto on the Sports Industry

Historically, professional sports teams and leagues have always been relatively slow to adopt change because they are rooted in tradition. In the last few years however, the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies, NFTs and blockchain technology has forced the sports world to take notice.

Sports leagues, teams, athletes and fans have quickly embraced crypto and its resulted in significant impacts on sponsorships, fan engagement, experiences and so much more. To learn more about the impact, Front Office Sports has partnered with Coinbase [[link removed]] for its latest course, Crypto in Sports Essentials [[link removed]].

This five-lesson course will help those looking to deepen their understanding of the growing connection between the blockchain and the sports industry. Participants will earn a digital verified badge to display on their social channels upon completion.

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Market Movers

U.S. stocks were down across all three major indexes on Monday. Here’s a look at how sports-related stocks performed:

FWONA [[link removed]]

Formula One Group

[[link removed]]

$63.22

[[link removed]]

+0.03%

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

Acushnet Holdings Corp

[[link removed]]

$53.21

[[link removed]]

+0.21%

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

Nike, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$117.01

[[link removed]]

+0.26%

[[link removed]] PLNT [[link removed]]

Planet Fitness Inc

[[link removed]]

$77.81

[[link removed]]

+1.13%

[[link removed]] LYV [[link removed]]

Live Nation Entertainment Inc

[[link removed]]

$97.48

[[link removed]]

-0.19%

[[link removed]] EA [[link removed]]

Electronic Arts, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$133.20

[[link removed]]

-0.66%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 8/17/22) What to Watch

The Las Vegas Aces host the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday at Michelob ULTRA Arena in the first round of the WNBA playoffs.

How to Watch: 10 p.m. ET on ESPN

Betting Odds: Aces -16 || ML -1650 || O/U 167.5

Pick: Expect the top-seeded Aces to win at home. Take Las Vegas to cover.

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Written by Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]], A.J. Perez [[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

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

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