October 19, 2022

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Watch out, brick-and-mortar retailers — Amazon might give customers a reason [[link removed]] to stay home on future Black Fridays. Fresh off the success of “Thursday Night Football,” the ecommerce/media juggernaut plans on streaming another NFL contest the day after Thanksgiving on Amazon Prime, likely starting in 2023.

Iconic Venue Plans $1B in Renovations Ahead of Vegas F1 Race [[link removed]]

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY NETWORK

An iconic Las Vegas location is making a huge investment ahead of Formula 1’s arrival in the city.

The Venetian, known for its replica canals and gondolas, is investing over $1 billion in renovations. It is already undertaking a huge project with Madison Square Garden Entertainment, which it aims to finish before F1’s Las Vegas Grand Prix in November 2023.

The Venetian is revamping its casino floor, restaurants, and entertainment areas, as well as spending $50 million on a beach day club.The hotel company is a presenting partner of the Vegas Grand Prix, and the street track will pass the Venetian. The Venetian will offer suites and experiences connected to the race.Race founding partner MGM Resorts plans to purchase [[link removed]] $20 million–$25 million in F1 tickets and could offer packages around the event priced over $100,000.

The Venetian is owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management, which acquired the property in February.

Apollo owns private golf club operator Invited, which rebranded from ClubCorp earlier this year as it considers [[link removed]] a $4.5 billion initial public offering. In May, Apollo offered [[link removed]] a $1.25 billion investment to Liga MX.

Having a Ball

The Venetian already has a major construction project in the works: It is teaming with MSG Entertainment, owner of Madison Square Garden, on a $1.85 billion entertainment center called MSG Sphere.

The 20,000-seat venue will be one of the world’s largest spherical structures.

Chicago Bears’ New Stadium Site Could Be Rejected [[link removed]]

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears agreed to purchase a 326-acre property in suburban Arlington Heights last year — but the village’s mayor doesn’t seem fully confident that the team will actually move there.

The team is expected [[link removed]] to close on the $197.2 million land purchase — the site of the former Arlington Park race track — by the end of this year or early next year, but mayor Tom Hayes said at a village board meeting that it’s “certainly possible” that the board could reject the Bears’ $5 billion development plans.

Concerns about traffic, parking, and taxpayer money could affect the predevelopment agreement presented by the Bears.

Hayes clarified that the plans are early and don’t include much detail, so more concerns and questions will be “answered down the road.” He also indicated that the pending predevelopment agreement is in place to assist the team in closing its purchase.

“This predevelopment agreement does not provide a former approval of the preliminary concept,” village manager Randy Recklaus said. “It may not even be the concept that is formally proposed by the Chicago Bears when we’re all said and done.”

The board will hold a final vote on Nov. 7.

Build A Bears Stadium

Last month, the Bears released [[link removed]] renderings of their proposed home away from Soldier Field and an adjacent multipurpose entertainment district.

The project would “result in $9.4 billion in economic impact for Chicagoland and provide $3.9 billion in labor income to workers across the region.”

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Major League Soccer’s Orlando City SC has seen an increase in ticket sales and revenue since launching its app in partnership with Salesforce [[link removed]].

Since the app’s launch, fan adoption [[link removed]] has increased from 7,000 to 22,000 unique users. Plus, the club has generated more than $1.5 million in revenue a year from app users. Revenue from concession stands alone has increased by more than 14%!

See how [[link removed]] Orlando SC is using data to reward fans and provide personalized experiences.

Fox and News Corp. Explore Merger, Eye Sports Betting [[link removed]]

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Nearly a decade after a tumultuous breakup, Fox and News Corp. are considering a merger that could see the combined entity tap into the competitive sports betting market.

Owned by Rupert Murdoch, the two entities split [[link removed]] in 2013 following a phone-hacking scandal in the U.K. which exposed Fox and News Corp. to legal and financial risks. A restructure was also put in place as News Corp.’s extensive portfolio of newspapers struggled to remain profitable in the embattled print industry.

No deal is imminent, but Fox and News Corp. have established committees to explore the potential merger.Merging the companies would allow for streamlined [[link removed]] content across news and sports.Costs saved from the merger could be invested in sports betting.

Fox has already established a footprint in a U.S. sports betting market that saw more than $52.7 billion wagered [[link removed]] throughout 2021, per data intelligence agency Morning Consult.

[[link removed]] Sports Betting [[link removed]] | by Justin Byers [[link removed]] U.S. Sports Betting Doubled in 2021, Surpassing $52B [[link removed]] The legalized U.S. sports betting market doubled in 2021, with more than… January 23, 2022

In 2019, Fox partnered with FanDuel owner Flutter Entertainment after the latter bought The Stars Group, the online gambling company that created Fox Bet, for $6 billion.

Ownership Dispute

Fox Bet has failed [[link removed]] to gain traction in the U.S. betting market due to its poor reach and tech.

The failure to expand has caused a rift between Fox and Flutter over Fox Bet’s option to purchase 18.6% of FanDuel at an $11.2 billion valuation.

SiriusXM Seeks More Subscribers By Investing in Live Sports [[link removed]]

Bob Goshert-USA TODAY NETWORK

SiriusXM is looking to bump up its investment in live sports rights to attract and retain premium subscribers.

“Trial subscribers that listen to sports channels convert to a paid tier at a higher rate than those who don’t,” SiriusXM president and chief content officer Scott Greenstein told [[link removed]] Axios.

The Liberty Media-owned company holds exclusive audio rights to regular-season and postseason games for the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB. Sirius XM wants to add more sports-focused listeners as it continues to build a subscription-driven company — despite a recent flurry of off-platform deals for ad revenue.

Nearly a quarter of its ads sales are sports-related, per CEO Jennifer Witz.Live sports rights have helped increase its digital streaming subscriptions.Roughly 80% of revenue comes from subscriptions.As of October 2022, SiriusXM has about 34 million subscribers.

Partners since 2004, SiriusXM and the NFL extended [[link removed]] their broadcast agreement for an additional five years in July. As part of the deal, SiriusXM will continue to carry every NFL game as the official third-party audio provider in North America, as well as deliver more content on the SXM App.

Financial Results

Liberty Media — which also owns Formula 1 and the Atlanta Braves — generated [[link removed]] $2.25 billion in revenue from SiriusXM in Q2 2022, a 4% increase compared to the same period last year.

[[link removed]] Markets [[link removed]] | by Abigail Gentrup [[link removed]] Formula 1, Atlanta Braves Fuel Liberty Media’s Q2 [[link removed]] Liberty Media reported second-quarter revenue increases across three divisions. August 5, 2022

SiriusXM reported an Adjusted EBITDA of $679 million, compared to $699 million in Q2 2021.

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Conversation Starters In Metaverse Essentials: Building the Future, a free five-lesson course, execs from Meta and top sports organizations examine the growing relationship between the metaverse and the sports industry. Register now [[link removed]]!* Between Alabama-Tennessee on Saturday and Bills-Chiefs on Sunday — plus regional coverage of the Ravens-Giants game — CBS totaled [[link removed]] a combined average football viewership of nearly 50.42 million viewers. Attorneys for former Washington Commanders employees sent a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, questioning [[link removed]] whether the league aided in Commanders owner Dan Snyder in creating an “enemies list,” and closed the letter with a threat of a lawsuit. Today's Action

NCAA

07:30 PM

Georgia State (+290) at Appalachian State (-350)

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Question Of The Day

How many times a year do you travel for vacation?

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Tuesday’s Answer

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

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