September 19, 2022

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There’s only one more week to win a chance to see some live football! We’re giving away two tickets to a regular-season NFL or college football game of your choosing this fall. All you have to do is follow @frontofficesports [[link removed]] on Instagram, like this post [[link removed]], and tag who you’d bring with you in the comments by Friday.

DirecTV Has Sunday Ticket Troubles Second Week in a Row [[link removed]]

Shutterstock

DirecTV might want to think about punting soon.

For the second week in a row, the satellite television provider fumbled NFL Sunday Ticket — leaving fans unable to watch out-of-market NFL games.

NFL Sunday Ticket was unavailable for close to 90 minutes on Sunday. Restaurants and bars didn’t seem [[link removed]] to be affected. The company’s non-sports satellite broadcasts were also unaffected.DirecTV apologized [[link removed]] last week after experiencing similar difficulties. The provider gave affected customers prorated refunds for the first week of issues. Sunday Ticket costs $293.94 for the season. Sunday Ticket Max, which includes NFL RedZone, costs $395.94.

“We will begin to reach out to our customers who were unable to stream some of the games on Sunday to let them know we will automatically reimburse them for week two,” a DirecTV spokesperson told Front Office Sports.

YouTubeTV, SlingTV, and NFL+, the league’s new streaming service, also experienced outages during NFL broadcasts in the season’s first week.

Change of Possession

DirecTV’s contract for NFL Sunday Ticket ends after this year, and tech giants are competing for the package.

Apple, Google, Amazon, and Disney have all shown interest. Previous reports indicated [[link removed]] that the NFL was eager to bring in Apple to form a relationship with the U.S.’s leading provider of mobile phones.

The league is looking for $2.5 billion annually for the package, up from the $1.5 billion DirecTV currently pays. DirecTV typically loses [[link removed]] money on the offering.

The NFL did not apply any pressure on DirecTV to end the deal early, sources familiar with the matter told FOS.

Takeover Bid for Manchester United ‘Moving Forward’ [[link removed]]

Manchester United

Former Manchester United board member Michael Knighton tweeted over the weekend that his takeover bid for the top-flight soccer club is “moving forward as planned.”

A deal [[link removed]] for Manchester United would be a hostile takeover, as the club isn’t officially on the market, but pressure from fans due to lackluster results and complaints about management has spurred sale speculation.

“We are a club in crisis,” Knighton said [[link removed]] in August. “Everyone knows that we need new ownership of this football club, and that is my aim.”

The Glazers — who also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — purchased Man U for $854.48 million in 2005.The family is reportedly [[link removed]] looking for roughly $4.3 billion in exchange for the team.Some outlets have reported that the Glazers could seek a record $5.8 billion.

Knighton’s desire to acquire full control of Man U comes after a failed [[link removed]] attempt to buy the Premier League club in 1989 from Martin Edwards, which fell apart after two major investors pulled out, leaving Knighton with a lack of funding.

Competitive Field

Sir Jim Ratcliffe — Britain’s richest man at $16 billion, per Forbes — has also expressed interest [[link removed]] in buying Man U, but in August reportedly hadn’t heard back from the Glazers.

Man U would add to a portfolio of sports-related properties for Ratcliffe that include cycling team INEOS Grenadiers and soccer clubs Nice and FC Lausanne-Sport.

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No Sweating in Betting This MNF

Skol Vikings or Go Birds? Whichever team you root for this MNF [[link removed]], your pocketbook won’t take a hit.

The Minnesota Vikings vs. the Philadelphia Eagles will battle it out from the city of brotherly love under the lights for Monday night football. This one should be good, too, as these are two teams slated to be postseason teams, and both will be looking for a division title. There definitely will be sweat on the field. But not for you.

FanDuel [[link removed]] is pleased to offer up to $1,000 for a “NO SWEAT FIRST BET” to new customers, which means you’ll be refunded up to $1,000 if your first bet loses.

So, what have you got to lose? It’s still early in the season! Claim now [[link removed]].

Porsche Could Reach $78B Valuation in IPO [[link removed]]

Porsche

Porsche is looking to raise $9.4 billion in its initial public offering, valuing the luxury car maker and Formula 1 hopeful at as much as $78 billion.

Earlier this month, Volkswagen announced [[link removed]] plans to list Porsche — one of its 12 car companies — on the Frankfurt stock exchange, and will price [[link removed]] shares of the German sports car brand between $76.58 and $82.58.

The transaction would make [[link removed]] Porsche Europe’s third-largest IPO ever. Volkswagen is only offering roughly 12.5% of Porsche.The company will use 49% of the proceeds to pay shareholders in a special dividend.Porsche is scheduled to start trading on Sept. 29.

An IPO has already sparked the interest of potential investors. The Qatar Investment Authority has indicated plans to purchase a 4.99% stake in Porsche, while ADQ — an investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government — as well as T. Rowe Price and others also plan to acquire [[link removed]] Porsche shares.

Deal Breaks Down

Porsche was expected [[link removed]] to secure a deal for 50% of Red Bull’s F1 team and 50% of Powertrains, but the two parties couldn’t come to an agreement.

Red Bull’s investors reportedly weren’t willing to sell a stake in the F1 team and, among other issues, disagreed over the power to name drivers for a joint race team.

Another Volswagen company, Audi, announced plans in August to enter F1 in 2026 as a power unit supplier.

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, a Phoenix Suns vice chairman calls on the team’s owner to resign, the NFL secures a deal with the German Bundesliga, Bowlero exceeds expectations in its latest earnings report, and Silver Lake increases its stake in City Football Group. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. The WNBA’s prioritization clause [[link removed]] of its collective bargaining agreement kicks in this offseason, which ensures players give priority to the league over playing overseas. The NBA and NBPA are reportedly close to an agreement [[link removed]] that would allow players to be drafted at age 18 — a year earlier than they can currently.

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Earn a degree from one of the top universities [[link removed]] in the world. Expand your network through direct access to industry events, gatherings, panels, and speakers. Learn from successful industry practitioners and leaders in all areas of the sports industry. Acquire practical, leading-edge, market-influenced strategies and skills through a best-in-class curriculum.

Start your story by scheduling an hour for yourself and joining the program’s leadership for an online information session on Monday, October 3, 2022 at 11 a.m. ET.

Hear more about the program and why they are #InALeagueOfOurOwn [[link removed]].

Market Movers

U.S. stocks were mixed on Monday. Here’s a look at how sports-related stocks performed:

LYV [[link removed]]

Live Nation Entertainment Inc

[[link removed]]

$86.98

[[link removed]]

+0.02%

[[link removed]] GCO [[link removed]]

Genesco Inc.

[[link removed]]

$45.94

[[link removed]]

+1.28%

[[link removed]] WWE [[link removed]]

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$68.74

[[link removed]]

+2.54%

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

Dicks Sporting Goods, Inc.

[[link removed]]

$114.08

[[link removed]]

+3.01%

[[link removed]] MSGS [[link removed]]

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp

[[link removed]]

$149.70

[[link removed]]

-0.73%

[[link removed]] HIBB [[link removed]]

Hibbett Inc

[[link removed]]

$57.67

[[link removed]]

-1.44%

[[link removed]] (Note: All as of market close on 9/19/22) What to Watch

The Tennessee Titans (0-1) face the Buffalo Bills (1-0) on Monday night at Highmark Stadium.

Catch Titans running back Derrick Henry taking on a stout Bills defense.

How to Watch: 7:15 p.m. ET on ESPN

Betting Odds: Bills -9.5 || ML -425 || O/U 47.5

Pick: Check out the expert betting pick on OddsChecker [[link removed]].*

*Sponsored content.

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Written by Owen Poindexter [[link removed]], Justin Byers [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Brian Krikorian [[link removed]]

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