August 31, 2022

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For all the talk of declining TV ratings, the NFL isn’t feeling the heat.

Viewership was up 10% year-over-year last season and the outlook is promising [[link removed]] for 2022. “It’s a freight train going down the tracks. It’s just gaining speed, and gaining momentum, every single year,” CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said during the network’s press preview of the upcoming season on Tuesday.

Peloton Delays Filing Amid Cost-Cutting Restructure [[link removed]]

Peloton

Peloton’s issues have reached the accounting department.

The company is delaying its annual 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission as it irons out details related to its ongoing restructuring effort.

The comprehensive annual filing, which typically contains details not included in a company’s annual report, is required by the SEC within 60 days of the end of a fiscal year.Peloton, which ended its fourth quarter on June 30, filed a form [[link removed]] with the SEC on Monday explaining that its filing will be late.Peloton cited its “recent announcement to exit its last-mile warehouses” and the need to assess its financial reporting related to that move.Accounting firm Ernst & Young also needs to complete audits regarding that change.

Peloton’s stock dropped 8.4% on Tuesday and has fallen more than 22% since its fourth-quarter earnings release last week. The beleaguered connected fitness company has lost over 90% of its value in the last 12 months.

Everyday Struggle

Peloton is laying off staff and instituting cost-cutting measures following a Q4 in which its revenue fell 28% year-over-year to $678.7 million.

Since February, Peloton has announced 3,584 job cuts, store closures, and a redesign that will allow customers to assemble its bikes on their own.

Fanatics Strikes Merchandising Deal with LA28, Team USA [[link removed]]

LA28

Fanatics is expanding its retail presence in sports — via the Olympic Games.

The digital sports platform has entered [[link removed]] a merchandise licensing and retail agreement with LA28, the 2028 Summer Games’ organizing committee, and Team USA. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

The deal gives Fanatics the right [[link removed]] to operate in-venue retail locations during and around the Games. It will also outfit [[link removed]] LA28 volunteers during the Games.Fanatics previously handled online merchandise for Team USA.

Fanatics, which hit a $27 billion valuation [[link removed].] earlier this year, joins Nike and Ralph Lauren Corp. as Team USA apparel partners. Nike, whose deal could reportedly [[link removed]] be worth as much as $200 million, provides on-field gear, and Ralph Lauren outfits athletes for ceremonies.

Last October, Fanatics and the International Olympic Committee announced [[link removed]] plans to build the first-ever permanent e-commerce platform for the Olympics Games up to 2028.

Deal After Deal

Earlier this week, Fanatics signed [[link removed]] a 10-year deal with MLB’s Baltimore Orioles to oversee the team’s retail locations at Oriole Park, marking Fanatics’ fifth MLB team with full in-venue services. The platform will also open a new East Coast distribution center in Maryland.

This year alone, Fanatics has entered [[link removed]] a long-term, exclusive deal with Nike to manufacture college sports apparel, acquired Topps trading cards for $500 million, and negotiated NCAA sports licensing agreements to build a network of more than 100 universities.

Fanatics claims [[link removed]] it serves “over 900 leading sports properties.”

SPONSORED BY CISCO

Golf’s Drive Toward Inclusivity

For a sport often labeled as overly traditional and slow-to-change, professional golf has seen an incredible amount of upheaval lately — much of it played out very publicly and emotionally via everyone from players to fans to golf media.

But meanwhile, a much quieter and more impactful transformation is playing out at all levels of the game. The push towards a more inclusive, diverse future [[link removed]] for the sport is gaining significant momentum and making real progress.

Through the efforts of celebrities like Steph Curry and J.R. Smith, to the Advocates Professional Golf Association and the support of brands such as Cisco [[link removed]], the culture of golf is changing.

Read more [[link removed]] about the growing diversity in golf.

Sony Creates New Gaming Unit After Poor Q1 Results [[link removed]]

Sony PlayStation

Sony is tapping into the fastest-growing gaming category: mobile games. The Tokyo-based conglomerates plans to launch a PlayStation mobile gaming unit.

Mobile games should allow Sony to expand its reach after its Game & Network Services segment reported [[link removed]] a 2% decline in sales in fiscal Q1. Sony is also facing a $5.9 billion class-action lawsuit [[link removed]] over allegations of overcharging customers for games and in-game purchases.

The PlayStation Studios Mobile Division will operate outside of Sony’s console business.Nearly two years after PlayStation 5 hit the market, Sony still can’t meet demand for the console due to ongoing supply chain issues.

On Monday, Sony announced the acquisition of mobile gaming developer Savage Game Studios, which is currently developing [[link removed]] an unannounced AAA mobile title.

The company said it would allocate [[link removed]] $300 million toward improving its video game business on an earnings call in May. It acquired [[link removed]] video game giant Bungie for $3.6 billion in January.

PC Strategy

There’s a lot of money in PC gaming, too. In July, Sony launched [[link removed]] Inzone, a PC gaming hardware brand that sells gaming headsets and monitors.

The company reported $80 million in PC net sales in FY2021 but projects [[link removed]] it will pocket $300 million from its PC gaming business in the coming fiscal year.

A’s Defeat Legal Challenge to Ballpark Project [[link removed]]

Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

The Oakland A’s appeared to have dodged another obstacle to building a waterfront ballpark.

A superior court [[link removed]] has rejected challenges to the environmental impact report that the team released in December 2021 and the city council certified in March.

The Union Pacific Railroad Company and other marine, port, and transportation interests challenged the city’s certification of the report in a trio of lawsuits the following month.

The impact report was required by the California Environmental Quality Act for a project of this size. The A’s have proposed a new waterfront ballpark, as well as 3,000 units of housing, 270,000 square feet of retail space, parks, restaurants, and a 400-room hotel as part of a $12 billion project.

The materials submitted by the group challenging the report “do not identify any meaningful changes” and “merely support the conclusions of the EIR,” according to the court’s ruling.

Vegas Awaits

The A’s are simultaneously pursuing the Oakland development and a move to Las Vegas. The team is largely in agreement [[link removed]] with the city of Oakland on a new deal, but the city needs to come up with funds for infrastructure improvements to the area surrounding the proposed development.

A $279.5 million appropriation in California’s budget covers much of those funds, but the project could hinge on a $113 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Mega program, which supports large projects.

SPONSORED BY INVESCO QQQ

The Official ETF of The NCAA®

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See [[link removed]]how some of those companies are revolutionizing sports and become an Agent of Innovation today.*

Conversation Starters ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith says he would consider running [[link removed]] for President of the United States. Seriously. A leading online ticket reseller reported [[link removed]] that fans are traveling to NFL away games in greater numbers — 25% of fans in Week 1 of 2021 were rooting for the visiting team, compared to 13% in 2017. Former Ferris State quarterback and D-II national champion Jared Bernhardt — who before transferring was named the nation’s best lacrosse player in 2021 — has made [[link removed]] the Atlanta Falcons’ 53-man roster as an undrafted wide receiver on a reported three-year, $2.6 million deal. Mississippi State football lets recruits take photos in an Adidas shoebox. To clarify — it’s a giant shoebox [[link removed]]. Today's Action

MLB

07:40 PM

Red Sox (+115) at Twins (-135)

Bet Now [[link removed]]

MLB

07:05 PM

Athletics (-240) at Nationals (+195)

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MLB

08:10 PM

Royals (+110) at White Sox (-130)

Bet Now [[link removed]]

*All times are EST unless otherwise noted.

*Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See [[link removed]] for details.

Question Of The Day

Will Peloton ever recover from its current slump?

Yes [[link removed]] No [[link removed]]

Tuesday’s Answer

88% of respondents plan on watching college football games this season.

Disclaimer

*Investing in ETFs involves risks including the loss of money and those similar to stocks. Investments in the technology are subject to greater risk and are more greatly impacted by market volatility than diversified investments.

Before investing carefully read and consider [[link removed]] fund investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and more in prospectus.

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Written by Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]], Justin Byers [[link removed]] Edited by Brian Krikorian [[link removed]]

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