November 9, 2022

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While TV viewership for the World Series nearly reached an all-time low, college football’s biggest game [[link removed]] of the season — Georgia’s 27-13 win over Tennessee — outdrew the final game of the Fall Classic and averaged 13.1 million viewers, the most-watched college football game of the season across any network.

Netflix Interested in Purchasing Pro Sports Leagues, Rights [[link removed]]

Netflix

Netflix was nearly an owner of a pro sports league, and it’s not backing down from the thought of buying other leagues — for the right price.

The streaming giant was in discussions to purchase the World Surf League late last year, according [[link removed]] to The Wall Street Journal, but those discussions fell apart when the sides couldn’t agree on a price tag.

Netflix executives have reportedly also held discussions about buying other lower-profile sports leagues to dodge the high costs of rights.

The company bid [[link removed]] for U.S. Formula 1 streaming rights, but ESPN was awarded the deal.Netflix was in the running for streaming rights to the ATP tennis tour for countries including France and the U.K., but dropped out of the race.The company reportedly considered bidding for U.K. rights to the Women’s Tennis Association.

Netflix co-Chief Reed Hastings has said he doesn’t want to get caught in consistent bidding wars, and that’s reportedly partly why some executives are leaning toward buying leagues.

In April, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said [[link removed]] the company would “have to see a path to growing a big revenue stream and a great profit stream with it” before it could add live sports.

Sports Streams

Netflix would join other major streamers diving into sports this year.

Apple signed a media rights deal [[link removed]] with MLS for at least $2.5 billion and a deal [[link removed]] with MLB for “Friday Night Baseball.” Amazon began its $11 billion NFL deal [[link removed]] for “Thursday Night Football.”

ESPN+ Rises But Disney Misses Revenue Expectations [[link removed]]

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Disney continues to build toward profitability, with ESPN+ acting as a stabilizing force.

The media giant brought in $20.15 billion in revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter ending Oct. 1, a 9% increase from the same period last year.

ESPN+ led among the companies streaming services with 42% year-over-year subscriber growth, reaching 24.3 million as of Oct. 1.ESPN+’s subscriber growth helped offset lower income from a drop in pay-per-view buys on UFC events.Disney+ grew 39% to hit 164.2 million.

Fiscal year revenue showed substantial recovery from the pandemic: Disney banked $82.72 billion, a 23% increase from the previous year.

While streaming growth was better than expected, the company missed revenue expectations in both its parks and media segments. Disney’s stock was down around 6.4% in early after-market trading.

Gaining Stream

Total streaming revenue rose 8% to $4.9 billion, but the segment’s operating loss nearly doubled to $1.5 billion.

“The increase in operating loss was due to a higher loss at Disney+ and a decrease in results at Hulu, partially offset by improved results at ESPN+,” the company wrote.

CEO Bob Chapek said he expects “DTC operating losses to narrow going forward and that Disney+ will still achieve profitability in fiscal 2024.”

The company has been enjoying its return to NHL broadcasting, banking [[link removed]] $90 million in ad sales for the 2022-23 season, sources told Front Office Sports.

Disney could rake [[link removed]] in more than $700 million in college football ads on ESPN and ABC.

SPONSORED BY NETSUITE

Listen Now: The Newsroom Podcast

Want the inside scoop on all the latest news in the business of sports? Introducing The Newsroom, presented by NetSuite.

On The Newsroom, FOS writers bring you an in-depth breakdown of key stories they’re tracking with behind-the-scenes insights gleaned from their original reporting.

With the help of NetSuite [[link removed]], the No. 1 Cloud Financial system that gives visibility and control of your financials, inventory, and more, we’ll dive in to a variety of hot topics each Thursday.

Check out some of our recent episodes, covering the rise of pickleball, the NBA’s next media deal, and the upcoming World Cup. Listen now [[link removed]] or watch on YouTube [[link removed]].

Bears’ $5B Stadium Plan Clears Another Hurdle [[link removed]]

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears have a ways to go before moving to Arlington Heights but they completed an important step in the process.

On Monday, Arlington Heights trustees unanimously approved [[link removed]] a pre-development agreement regarding the team’s plan to build a $5 billion stadium and mixed-use area on the Arlington International Racecourse site.

The agreement does not commit the village or team to a particular project or funding arrangement, but does lay out a series of steps. Arlington Heights mayor Tom Hayes has said that the Bears ending up there is not a foregone conclusion.The Bears agreed to buy the 326-acre property last year for $197.2 million.The team’s lease at Soldier Field extends through 2033, and the Bears would have to pay Chicago $84 million if they broke it in 2026, with decreasing penalties thereafter.

The city of Chicago has been looking into investments [[link removed]] such as adding a roof to Soldier Field in the hopes of keeping the Bears at their home since 1971.

Taxing Question

Bears owner Ted McCaskey has said the team will need public assistance to build the project.

The team has said it will not ask for government money to build the stadium itself, but will likely seek to recover tax revenue related to the project. Under one proposal, the team would collect property tax revenue over a certain set level for a specified area and length of time.

Arlington Heights leadership rejected a proposal by a libertarian group to block public funds from going to new businesses.

Nintendo Slashes Forecast for Popular Gaming Console [[link removed]]

Harrison Hill / Imagn

Nintendo slashed its full-year sales forecast for its best-selling home gaming console ever following the release of its latest earnings report.

The Japanese video game giant reported [[link removed]] $4.5 billion in sales for the six months ending Sept. 30, a 5% increase year-over-year. Its ordinary profit reached $2.2 billion during the period, compared to $1.6 billion for the six months ending Sept. 30, 2021. Despite the growth in revenue and profit, Nintendo has been hampered by the ongoing chip shortage plaguing the tech industry.

Switch sales reached [[link removed]] 6.68 million units during the period, down 19% year-over-year.Full-year sales are projected hit 19 million units by the end of March 2023.Switch sales were previously projected to reach 21 million units during the same span.

Nintendo has seen its Switch output improve since September and is “continually working to front-load production” to prepare for the holiday season.

As of Sept. 30, Nintendo has sold [[link removed]] 114.3 million units of the Switch since its 2017 release.

New Faces

The Public Investment Fund — Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund — acquired [[link removed]] a 5% stake in Nintendo in May for $3 billion, making the fund Nintendo’s fifth largest shareholder.

On Tuesday, Nintendo announced [[link removed]] a joint venture with mobile gaming company and “Animal Crossing” co-developer DeNA.

The venture will establish a new company — Nintendo Systems Co., Ltd. — that will launch [[link removed]] in April 2023 and work to “strengthen the digitalization of Nintendo’s business.”

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS AWARDS

Searching for 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 The 2022 World Cup has been one of the most controversial sporting events in recent memory — and it hasn’t even begun. Front Office Sports writers A.J. Perez and Doug Greenberg join Owen Poindexter on The Newsroom to break down the scandals and look at what possible good can come from them. Listen and watch on Apple [[link removed]], Spotify [[link removed]], and YouTube [[link removed]]. Front Office Sports spoke to sports [[link removed]] agent Leigh Steinberg about the explosion in NFL broadcaster salaries, the future of LIV Golf, and more. Magic Johnson has now won a championship [[link removed]] as a member of four different pro teams: the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles FC, Los Angeles Sparks, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Today's Action

NHL

10:00 PM

Wild (-170) at Ducks (+145)

Bet Now [[link removed]]

NCAA

07:00 PM

Northern Illinois (-110) at Western Michigan (-110)

Bet Now [[link removed]]

NHL

07:30 PM

Penguins (-125) at Capitals (+105)

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 think pickleball will become a major U.S. sport?

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

Tuesday’s Answer

49% of respondents run for exercise.

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