Paramount Global is keeping U.S. rights to the UEFA Champions League — at a much higher price.

The CBS parent company re-upped on a six-year, $1.5 billion deal. The $250 million annual price tag represents significant growth from the previous pact of $100 million per year. Paramount has held U.S. rights since the 2019-20 season. 

The deal runs from 2024 to 2030.

• Amazon was the other finalist for the rights, a source familiar with the matter told Front Office Sports.
• UEFA also met with Fox, NBC, ESPN, Telemundo, Warner Bros. Discovery, DAZN, Apple, and Univision.
• Paramount was selected for its combined reach in linear and streaming, as well as its established relationship with UEFA. Paramount+ had 43.3 million subscribers at the end of the second quarter.

In It for the Long Haul

While European soccer rights typically operate on a three-year cycle, UEFA and Paramount saw value in continuity over a longer term. 

The deal came out of a tie-up between UEFA and the European Club Association, which selected Relevent Sports Group to handle its media rights negotiations.

“Creating an entirely new joint venture between UEFA and the European Club Association enabled an innovative six-year deal with Paramount Global that will allow us to fundamentally grow fandom across the fastest-growing soccer market in the world,” Relevent CEO Daniel Sillman told FOS.

UEFA will sell Spanish language rights separately — they’re currently the property of Univision for around $50 million annually.

Keurig Dr Pepper, the beverage conglomerate behind sports drink brands including Bodyarmor, is in talks to acquire the maker of Bang Energy drinks in a deal that could fetch more than $3 billion, according to Bloomberg. 

The potential deal to acquire Vital Pharmaceuticals Inc. — launched in 1993 by Jack Owoc — comes after the Florida-based company generated $1.4 billion in sales in 2021. Its Bang Energy drink — available in all 50 states and 37 countries — has been tested and used by athletes. 

• No deal is imminent, as negotiations are at an early stage.
• Keurig Dr Pepper has a market capitalization of around $57 billion.
• It generated $3.5 billion in revenue in Q2 2022, a 13.2% increase year-over-year.
• Shares of the company have risen more than 14% in the past year. 

A potential takeover follows a legal dispute between Bang Energy and PepsiCo. 

In November 2020, Bang Energy sued PepsiCo — which has a market capitalization of $250 billion — and terminated its distributor deal, alleging that PepsiCo “failed to meet contractual and joint business plan commitments and requirements.”

In June, Bang Energy announced that it had settled and resolved its dispute with PepsiCo. 

Big Deals

An agreement for Bang Energy would mark another expensive deal in the beverage market.

Earlier this month, PepsiCo made a $550 million investment in Celsius Holdings, an energy drink maker, while Monster Beverages is close to a merger with Constellation Brands that would create a company worth roughly $85 billion.

Foot Locker posted lackluster results for its second-quarter earnings report. 

The sportswear and athletic footwear retailer generated $2.07 billion in revenue in Q2 2022 — down from $2.28 billion for the same period last year — but surpassed analysts’ estimates by 0.62%. 

• Net income reached $94 million in Q2 2022, compared to $430 million in Q2 2021.
• The company earned $1.10 per share, beating estimates of $0.75 per share.
• It saw comparable-store sales decline by 10.3% year-over-year during the quarter.
• The company has seen its shares tumble roughly 27% since the start of FY2022. 

Foot Locker, which operates 2,799 brick-and-mortar locations in 28 countries as of July 30, and opened 34 new stores and remodeled or relocated 24 stores in Q2, but closed 50 locations.

The New York-based company will look to improve under new leadership with the appointment of retail industry veteran and former Ulta Beauty CEO and executive chair Mary Dillon to CEO. 

Dillon will replace the retiring Richard Johnson on Sept. 1. 

Expanding Reach 

On Friday, Foot Locker secured a long-term deal with Fanatics — known for its sportswear merchandising and retail — in which the latter will fulfill Foot Locker’s online orders.

Starting this fall, Foot Locker’s online shoppers will have access to a portion of Fanatics’ inventory, including merchandise featuring NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA, and NCAA teams.