November 8, 2022

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Mattress Mack did it again [[link removed]]. Houston furniture salesman and sports bettor Jim McIngvale bet $10 million on the Astros to win the World Series across multiple sportsbooks, which landed him $75 million — a sum believed to be the largest legal payout ever.

Manchester City Posts Record Year Boosted By Full Crowds [[link removed]]

Samantha Madar/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Manchester City posted record full-year revenue to complement its sixth Premier League title.

The Premier League champions generated [[link removed]] $815 million in revenue for the financial year ending June 30 — a $50 million increase compared to the year prior. The results were driven by increases in commercial and matchday revenue thanks to the return of full-capacity crowds at Etihad Stadium.

Matchday revenue reached $63 million for the year, compared to $62 million last year.The club reported an average attendance of 52,774 for home Premier League matches.It reported $287 million in broadcasting revenue, down $56 million from the year prior.As of November 2022, the club has net assets of more than $804 million.

Manchester City — the sixth-most valuable soccer club in the world at $4.25 billion, per [[link removed]] Forbes — reported a $78 million profit on the disposal of players’ registrations in the transfer market for the year ending June 30.

It helped Manchester City reach $55.5 million in net profit for the year — a club record.

Getting Back on Track

Manchester City’s results are promising as Premier League clubs recover from heavy losses following two seasons of pandemic-related restrictions, during which they lost a combined [[link removed]] $1.2 billion.

The losses were spearheaded by the Premier League’s “Big Six” clubs. Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham, Liverpool, and Manchester City lost a combined $816 million — roughly 63% of the league’s total losses.

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Apple Building Ad Network Ahead of MLS Deal [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Apple is strengthening its live TV segment as its media rights deal with MLS begins next year.

The company, which inked [[link removed]] the MLS pact earlier this year for at least $2.5 billion, is building an advertising network for live TV and is in discussions with MLS sponsors and ad partners, according [[link removed]] to Bloomberg.

Apple’s ad unit currently generates roughly $4 billion each year.The company is reportedly [[link removed]] looking to bump that to double digits by including ads in more apps and services.

The tech giant — which aims to produce pregame, in-game, and postgame shows for every match — will run ads in the dedicated package, paid TV+ subscriptions, and the free TV app.

MLS commissioner Don Garber previously said MLS will receive a base fee and a percentage of subscription sales. As part of the deal, Apple would air games in a new subscription service and on Apple TV+. Some games will be free through the Apple TV app.

Major League Moves

Apple’s deal with MLS may be the company’s biggest in sports, but it’s not the only one.

In March, Apple signed [[link removed]] an agreement with Major League Baseball to stream a weekly doubleheader exclusively on Apple TV+. The deal is reportedly [[link removed]] worth $85 million over seven years — $55 million in rights fees and $30 million worth of advertising.

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‘NBA 2K’ Owner Posts $1.4B Quarter, Downgrades Outlook [[link removed]]

2K

Take-Two Interactive is reacting to a downswing in the gaming market by revising its full-year revenue outlook.

The New York-based company — which owns major video game publishers including Rockstar Games and 2K — generated [[link removed]] $1.4 billion in revenue in fiscal Q2 2023, a 62% increase year-over-year that was attributed to 2K’s “NBA 2K22” and “NBA 2K23” titles.

Take-Two’s outlook adjustment reflects “a cautious view of the current macroeconomic backdrop, particularly in mobile,” according to CEO and chairman Strauss Zelnick.

Game revenue was $1.21 billion in Q2 2023, up from $833 million in Q2 2022. Ad revenue hit $175 million, compared to $25.5 million last year.Full-year revenue — previously projected at $5.8 billion — is now estimated to range between $5.4 billion and $5.5 billion.

In May, the company completed its acquisition of mobile game developer Zynga in a deal valued at $12.7 billion, making Q2 2023 Zynga’s first full quarter under Take-Two.

Lackluster Profits

After a surge of interest and spending at the height of the pandemic — the gaming downswing has meant lackluster earnings for tech giants.

Sony’s Game & Network Services segment posted [[link removed]] $4.8 billion in sales for the second quarter ending Sept. 30 — a 12% uptick year-over-year — but reported an operating income of $284 million during the quarter — a 49% drop in profit.

Microsoft generated [[link removed]] $50.1 billion in revenue in fiscal Q1 — an 11% increase year-over-year — but its Xbox content and services business saw revenue decrease by 3% during the quarter.

Adidas Expected to Hire Puma CEO [[link removed]]

Shutterstock

A new chapter is being written in the decades-long saga of two of the best-known brands for sneakers and apparel.

Adidas is reportedly expected [[link removed]] to hire outgoing Puma CEO Bjørn Gulden to replace CEO Kasper Rørsted when he leaves the company next year.

Gulden would not be able to join Adidas immediately after leaving Puma due to language in his contract. Chief finance officer Harm Ohlmeyer is expected to helm Adidas in the interim.He will leave Puma at the end of the year and be replaced by chief commercial officer Arne Freundt.Adidas’ stock price has rocketed over 27% since market close on Thursday, following the report.

Adidas and Puma were famously founded separately by brothers Adolf and Rudolf Dassler following a rift. The two previously owned the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory.

Going Up a Size

While Puma has long held a spot among the top sneaker brands, Adidas is currently second only to Nike in sales.

Puma’s revenue reached $3.9 billion in the first half of 2022, while Adidas’ climbed to $10.9 billion in the same period.

Adidas’ $22.1 billion market cap is more than triple Puma’s $7.1 billion.

Last month, Adidas dropped [[link removed]] its affiliation with Ye over his recent antisemitic comments, a decision expected to cost the company $247 million this year.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS AWARDS

Are You One of The Best Employers in Sports?

Whether it’s great leadership, focus on diversity, equity and inclusion or commitment to employee wellbeing, the Front Office Sports Best Employers in Sports Award [[link removed]]recognizes organizations who do right by their employees.

How do we determine who wins the award? We don’t — employees do! The award is based entirely on anonymous survey results from sports industry professionals.

Responses will be evaluated in collaboration with our primary research partner, Canvs [[link removed]], using patented AI technology free from all subjectivity and human bias. There is no word count limit and you can even use slang, text abbreviations, sarcasm or emojis to complete the survey.

The 2022 employee survey is now open through November 28. Take the survey [[link removed]] and tell us why your organization should make the cut.

Conversation Starters From home runs to Hail Marys, Atmosphere Sports is bringing sports back to the center with scores, highlights, and more. Learn more [[link removed]].* This year, NCAA in-season athletes are no longer guaranteed Election Day off, and in-season teams are only mandated [[link removed]] to provide a day off for “civic engagement” activities in the 15 days before or after Election Day. Here’s a look [[link removed]] at the hotel views for the NHL Global Series in Finland. Today's Action

NFL

08:15 PM

Ravens (-140) at Saints (+120)

Bet Now [[link removed]]

MLB

03:10 PM

Brewers (-110) at Reds (-110)

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NBA

07:30 PM

Thunder (-130) at Pistons (+110)

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

Do you run for exercise?

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

Monday’s Answer

44% of respondents would consider using a financial planner/wealth manager; 39% already do.

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