The 2022 World Cup isn’t until November, but tickets are quickly becoming scarce.

Organizers have sold 2.45 million tickets for the tournament in Qatar, which kicks off on Nov. 20.

• FIFA plans to sell 3 million tickets in total.
• 520,532 tickets were sold in the sales period from July 5-16 on FIFA’s online platform. The largest sales volume in that period were for group-stage matches.
• Qatar and neighbors Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates showed strong interest, as did the U.S., Mexico, the U.K., Argentina, Brazil, and Australia.

The dates for the next sale period will be announced next month.

Ad Sales Hot, Too

Telemundo and parent NBCUniversal have sold around 90% of their ad inventory for the World Cup. The companies hold exclusive U.S. Spanish-language rights for the tournament through 2026. Fox holds U.S. English-language rights.

Peter Lazarus, NBCU’s executive vice president of advertising and partnerships, told Adweek that the company is “pacing way ahead of where we were for 2018.”

Lazarus noted that the shifted schedule of this year’s tournament has proven advantageous in appealing to companies. The World Cup was moved to November to avoid scorching summer temperatures — host city Doha ranged between 90 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit for most of July this year.

The landscape of college sports may change once again as the College Football Playoff’s board of managers considers restructuring how the sport is governed, according to ESPN.

The board, which consists of 11 college presidents and chancellors, is weighing the option for major college football not only to be governed outside the NCAA — which doesn’t oversee any portion of the sport’s postseason — but by the CFP itself.

• Discussions are in the early stages, and no restructuring is imminent. 
• A restructure would provide autonomy for rule-making decisions in college football.
• It would allow smaller-budgeted schools to avoid conforming to decisions made by larger universities.

The board of managers has also considered changes to the CFP, which annually sees four teams play in two semifinal games, with the winner of each playing for a national championship title.

A new CFP format could be in place by the end of its current contract, which expires after the 2025 season.

Money Maker

Now more than ever, college football provides a lucrative opportunity for the NCAA, its member institutions, and conferences. 

On Thursday, the Big Ten secured the largest-ever media rights contract in college sports with a deal worth at least $7 billion, sources confirmed to Front Office Sports. 

The Big Ten plans to “dominate” Saturday football, according to the conference.

The deal, which includes all sports, will have rights shared between FOX, CBS, NBC, and Peacock. The expensive pact runs from July 1, 2023, through the end of the 2029-30 season.

Formula 1’s return to Las Vegas presents a huge opportunity for hotels and casinos — and MGM Resorts is betting big on the event.

A founding partner of the race along with Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Las Vegas, MGM has access to tickets for the November 2023 race.

CEO Bill Hornbuckle told investors on an earnings call earlier this month that the company plans to purchase $20 million to $25 million in tickets, then “charge as we want and package as we want.”

• Hornbuckle said there are F1 packages that retail for $100,000.
• Hotel rooms are expected to cost triple their normal price.

MGM has benefited from Las Vegas’ emergence as a sports destination: The company offers packages of over $3,000 per person for Las Vegas Raiders games, with price fluctuations based on the opponent.

Hornbuckle also noted that the city will host Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, as well as the 2024 Super Bowl.

Bounceback Quarter

MGM took in $3.3 billion in the second quarter, a 44% year-over-year increase and just above the $3.2 billion the company earned in Q2 2019.

The company took a $71.2 million loss on its 50% share of BetMGM, its sports betting venture co-owned 50-50 with Entain. MGM expects to contribute $225 million to BetMGM this year, and is interested in owning a greater share, though Hornbuckle noted, “You can’t buy what’s not for sale.”

Video game developer NetEase exceeded expectations in the company’s second-quarter earnings report. 

The China-based tech giant reported $3.5 billion in revenue in Q2 2022 — a 12.8% increase year-over-year — surpassing Wall Street estimates of $3.4 billion for the quarter. 

The better-than-expected results were driven by NetEase’s games and related value-added services segment, which generated $2.7 billion in revenue in Q2, up 15% compared to Q2 2021. 

• Online game revenue made up 92.8% of NetEase’s games and related value-added services.
• NetEase reported $1.9 billion of gross profit in Q2 2022, a 15.7% increase year-over-year.
• Operating expenses reached $1.2 billion during the quarter, up 7.6% compared to Q1 2021.
• As of June 30, NetEase has $13.1 billion in total cash, restricted cash, and cash equivalents. 

NetEase benefited from the debut of its mobile version of “Diablo Immortal” in China — the world’s largest gaming market — in Q2 2022. 

In July, the title — co-developed with Activision Blizzard — surpassed $100 million in global player spending across Google Play and the App Store following its June 1, 2022, release. 

Declining Rival 

Tencent — a NetEase rival — took a step back in its second quarter. The Chinese tech conglomerate generated $19.77 billion in revenue in Q2 2022, a 3% decrease compared to the same period last year. The quarter marked Tencent’s first-ever year-over-year revenue decline.

Tencent’s gaming division saw revenue for domestic and international games fall 1% year-over-year during the quarter to $4.7 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively.