October 18, 2022

Read in Browser [[link removed]]

POWERED BY

The NBA might have to tussle with ESPN and TNT for its next media rights package — to the tune of $75 billion or so — but TNT has already locked in [[link removed]] its Emmy-winning talent for the foreseeable future. The “Inside the NBA” team of Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Ernie Johnson have re-upped with the network for another 10 years.

World Cup Ticket Sales Near 3M, Residents Kicked Out of Homes [[link removed]]

Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports

Qatar is nearing its own population in World Cup ticket sales.

The host nation — whose population was roughly [[link removed]] 3 million as of Oct. 14 — has sold 2.9 million tickets, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said [[link removed]] on Monday.

Around 7% of total stadium capacity remains unsold for the 32-team, 64-game tournament.Additional tickets will be released before the tournament kicks off on Nov. 20.The countries driving ticket sales are Qatar, the United States, Saudi Arabia, England, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, France, Brazil, and Germany

Qatari officials said [[link removed]] that between 1.5 million–1.7 million people had applied for the mandatory pass, which functions as a visa, match ticket, transport ticket, and allows for fan zone access.

The country expects more than 1 million foreign visitors and hundreds of thousands of domestic fans to attend the tournament.

Citizens Booted from Homes

The demand for accommodations has caused a huge spike in prices, and landlords are pushing renters out to cash in on the surge.

One foreign resident said [[link removed]] that she was given a week to leave her apartment, moved to a hotel, and then to a temporary apartment. Similar apartments might typically rent for $2,500 per month but are going for $1,700 per night with a minimum 14-night stay.

Comcast Nixes Gaming-Centric Network After Relaunch [[link removed]]

G4TV

The plug on G4 TV is being pulled. Again.

Comcast is reportedly shuttering the gaming-focused network only a year after its relaunch.

“We worked hard to generate interest in G4, but viewership is low and the network has not achieved sustainable financial results,” said [[link removed]] CEO of G4 parent company Comcast Spectacor Dave Scott.

G4 originally launched in 2002 under NBCUniversal and Dish Network.The network ceased operations in 2014 due to the popularity of online video content.In November 2021, it relaunched under Comcast Spectacor.G4 had secured deals [[link removed]] with Twitch, Xfinity TV, Verizon FiOS, and Philo.

The end of G4 comes amid issues plaguing the gaming industry, including the return of outdoor recreational activity, the ongoing semiconductor shortage, and global supply chain disruptions.

U.S. consumers spent [[link removed]] $12.4 billion on video games in Q2 2022, a 13% drop year-over-year.

Microsoft saw its gaming revenue fall by $259 million in fiscal Q4 2022, while Sony’s Game & Network Services segment reported [[link removed]] a 2% decline in sales for the first quarter ending June 30.

Not the First Time

Comcast-owned NBCUniversal canceled [[link removed]] the Olympic Channel on Sept. 30 after a five-year run. At the end of 2021, the linear channel reached roughly 47 million homes.

[[link removed]] Media [[link removed]] | by Justin Byers [[link removed]] Olympic Channel’s 5-Year Run Ends [[link removed]] NBCUniversal is shuttering the Olympic Channel after a five-year run. July 5, 2022

The decision was a byproduct of NBCUniversal’s reevaluated programming strategy amid increased sports-related content on USA Network and streaming platform Peacock.

In December 2021, NBCUniversal ceased operations of NBC Sports Network, which originally launched in 1995 as Outdoor Life Network.

SPONSORED BY DRAFTKINGS

The Better Way to Play This NFL Season

From sports betting to NFTs, DraftKings [[link removed]] has the action you crave this NFL season.

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Sports let’s you:

Draft a new lineup whenever you want Pick from your favorite stars each week Play in a public contest or against friends in a private league Quickly enter contests anytime before the lineup lock Win cash prizes [[link removed]] weekly – paid out as soon as the contest ends

With NFL in full swing, get your game on and play for millions [[link removed]] in contest prizes for the remainder of the season!

Women’s Sports Surge Continues As NWSL Sets Attendance Records [[link removed]]

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Current ousted the Houston Dash in Sunday’s NWSL playoffs quarterfinal in front of the biggest crowd in the league’s postseason history.

That record lasted just five hours.

While the afternoon match drew 21,284 fans to Houston’s PNC Stadium, the evening’s quarterfinal game at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium — in which the Wave beat the Chicago Red Stars — drew 26,215.

Last month, Snapdragon set the record for best-attended regular-season NWSL game with 32,000 fans.The league drew a total of 1,042,063 fans during the 2022 regular season, an average of 7,894 per game.The total smashes the 10-year-old league’s previous record of 792,409, set in 2019. Brand Play

The Wave’s Alex Morgan, who scored the team’s game-winning goal on Sunday, had 27 endorsement deals [[link removed]] in 2022 — more than any NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, or NHL athlete, according to SponsorUnited.

Morgan is part of a trend: Endorsement deals with women’s teams and leagues grew 21% year-over-year in 2022. Deals with individual athletes rose 18%.

Women have also flexed their earning power through the rise of NIL deals for college athletes. While football has dominated [[link removed]] the NIL landscape with 49.6% of all deals as of September, women’s basketball was third among all categories with 12.6%.

Roblox Shares Jump As Daily Active Users Increase 23% [[link removed]]

Roblox

Shares of online game creation platform Roblox surged 20% on Monday behind a monthly metrics report that detailed favorable user growth.

Roblox — which has seen its shares fall [[link removed]] roughly 65% from their all-time high of $137.72 — reported [[link removed]] 57.8 million daily active users in September 2022, a 23% increase year-over-year.

Estimated revenue for the month was between $170 million-$180 million.The company estimated bookings were between $212 million-$219 million.Hours engaged by users reached 4 billion, up 16% compared to September 2021.

Roblox reported more daily active users in August 2022 with 59.9 million and 4.7 billion hours engaged, but the drop was attributed to the return of schools.

The California-based company generated [[link removed]] $591.2 million in revenue in Q2 2022, a 30% uptick compared to the same period last year. Bookings reached $639.9 million during the quarter, down 4% compared to Q2 2021. Net cash from operating activities was $26 million in Q2 2022.

In October, Roblox secured [[link removed]] a landmark deal with FIFA to offer users free-to-play access ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to “FIFA World” — a virtual environment in the metaverse.

Far Fall

Roblox went public [[link removed]] in March 2021 after multiple delays via a direct public offering. In its first day of trading, the company saw its stock jump 54% from its reference price of $45 to $69.50 at market close. The strong debut would give Roblox a market cap of roughly $45 billion.

[[link removed]] Markets [[link removed]] | by Owen Poindexter [[link removed]] Roblox Finally Goes Public [[link removed]] After multiple delays, video game platform Roblox went public on Wednesday, following… March 10, 2021

The gaming industry took a step back [[link removed]] in 2022 following a surge of interest at the height of the pandemic, and Roblox felt the hit with a market cap [[link removed]] of $26 billion as of October 2022.

SPONSORED BY NIELSEN

Compare Marketability and Drive ROI

Whether you’re a brand, pro team/league or agency, Nielsen Impact Score Pro (NIS Pro) [[link removed]] can help you make the most of your media and sponsorship data.

Fueled by audience measurement, sponsorship valuation and fan and brand insights, NIS Pro exposes comparative performance and benchmarks within the major North American professional sports sponsorship market.

For brands, NIS Pro helps identify strategies that will maximize ROI [[link removed]] across the entire sponsorship sales lifecycle. For rights holders, NIS Pro aggregates KPIs such as top categories and brands within your sport or market, to help you identify new opportunities and develop unique value propositions to drive ROI.

Learn more [[link removed]].

Conversation Starters From big runs to home runs, Atmosphere Sports is bringing sports back to the center with scores, highlights and more. Learn more [[link removed]].* The Tennessee Volunteers’ launched [[link removed]] an official campaign hoping to raise more than $150,000 for new goalposts after fans dumped the old ones in the Tennessee River celebrating Saturday’s win over Alabama. A new survey from Morning Consult found [[link removed]] that concussions had “no impact” on 70% of NFL fans’ interest in watching games, with 23% “somewhat less interested” and 7% “much less interested.” Today's Action

MLB

08:03 PM

Phillies (+105) at Padres (-125)

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

Are you more likely to purchase from sustainable / purpose-driven brands?

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

Monday’s Answer

24% of respondents play golf 1-4 times a year; 36% play 5+ times a year.

*Sponsored Content

If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here [[link removed]].

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

MORE FROM FRONT OFFICE SPORTS:

The Leadoff [[link removed]] - Daily business of sports podcast

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

Front Office Sports Learning [[link removed]] - Professional education at the speed of culture

Copyright © 2022 Front Office Sports. All rights reserved.

80 Pine Street Suite 3202 New York, NY 10005

Advertise [[link removed]] / Update your preferences [link removed] / Unsubscribe [link removed]