As the deadline to submit bids for an NWSL expansion franchise approaches, there’s no shortage of interested investors.

The NWSL is looking to add two teams to its 12-club roster by 2024, and commissioner Jessica Berman said over the weekend that she expects “five-to-10 official bids” after the Nov. 4 deadline following interest from 82 groups.

There may already be a frontrunner. When David Blitzer and Ryan Smith purchased MLS’ Real Salt Lake earlier this year — reportedly for nearly $400 million — the deal included a reported $2 million option to revive the Utah Royals, which dissolved in 2020. 

• Kansas City Current owner Angie Long recently said the next team’s owners could pay “upwards of $50 million” in expansion fees.
• A decision on expansion franchises will be announced in early 2023.

Berman added that findings from the NWSL misconduct investigation didn’t turn away interest.

“We need people around the table who are willing to face down the challenges that women face in society and are willing to do the hard work to solve those challenges in the NWSL,” she said.

Primetime Players

If investors weren’t already convinced of the league’s growing popularity, they‘re sure to be now.

Saturday’s NWSL Championship game between the Portland Thorns and the Kansas City Current — the first in primetime — drew in 915,000 viewers, a 71% year-over-year increase.

The league’s 10th season, which set multiple league attendance records, reportedly outperformed MLS’ 10th season by 43% in playoff attendance.

Fox Corp. saw revenue increases — despite sinking ratings — due to higher ad prices on its sports and news networks.

The broadcaster brought in $3.19 billion in the fiscal quarter ending Sept. 30, a 5% uptick from the same period last year.

• Advertising revenue grew 8% to $1.22 billion due to political ads leading up to the midterm election, growth at Fox’s ad-supported streaming network Tubi, and “continued strength in pricing across the company’s news and sports brands,” Fox wrote.
• Revenue from Fox’s television segment grew 8.4% year-over-year to $1.71 billion, with an assist from additional MLB broadcasts. 

Executives declined to comment during the earnings presentation on a potential merger between Fox Corp. and News Corp., which owns The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, The New York Post, and Australia’s Foxtel.

Fox Corp. beat revenue expectations, and its stock was up over 5% on Tuesday.

Pricey Rights

Fox has been strengthening its sports rights portfolio as it looks to sports to hang onto a declining cable TV audience. 

The Big 12 is finalizing a deal with Fox and ESPN on a 6-year, $2.28 billion rights package beginning in 2025, sources confirmed to Front Office Sports.

The company will also get a lift from this month’s World Cup, to which it holds the rights through 2026.

Fox Sports executive producer David Neal said that its coverage will avoid the many controversies surrounding the tournament unless they impact the on-field play.

Sony put a lot of money into software development and acquisitions in the second quarter — a fact reflected in a big drop in profits. 

The Tokyo-based conglomerate’s Game & Network Services segment posted $4.8 billion in sales in fiscal Q2 compared to $4.4 billion for the same period the year prior — but suffered a 49% drop in profit for the quarter ending Sept. 30. 

The segment reported an operating income of $284 million during the quarter, down from $558 million in Q2 2021. 

• Sony sold 3.3 million units of the PlayStation 5 in fiscal Q2 — equal to Q2 2021. 
• It increased the price of the PS5 in Europe and Japan due to the strengthening dollar. 

Sony plans to increase production of the PS5 and diversify its game portfolio. It aims to sell over 18 million PS5 units in FY2023, up from 11.5 million in FY2022.

The tech and gaming giant posted $19.93 billion in sales in Q2 and a net income of $1.54 per share, beating Wall Street estimates of $1.07. It raised its full-year operating forecast to $7.84 billion — up 4.5%

Branching Out

In August, Sony announced that it’s diversifying its portfolio by tapping into mobile games — the fastest-growing gaming category — with a PlayStation mobile gaming unit. 

Sony also agreed to acquire video game developer Bungie for $3.6 billion in January.

Bungie, the original creator of “Halo” and the current developer of “Destiny,” will use Sony to accelerate the development of projects.