November 28, 2022
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Just two days after broadcasting the most-watched NFL regular-season game in history, Fox set another record [[link removed]] with its college football coverage. Saturday’s Michigan-Ohio State contest drew 17 million viewers — the most for a regular-season college game in the network’s history — and even topped Fox’s own Black Friday telecast of the USA-England World Cup match.
Liverpool Has Two More Interested Buyers [[link removed]]
Liverpool FC
Two Middle East-based consortiums are reportedly interested in Liverpool FC after the Premier League club’s owner announced earlier this month it would “consider new shareholders.”
Fenway Sports Group, which purchased [[link removed],($343.56%20million)%20in%202010.] the team for around $343.56 million in 2010, has reportedly [[link removed],(FSG)%20since%20October%202010.] held discussions with consortiums from Saudi Arabia and Qatar about a $3.6 billion takeover.
Forbes last valued [[link removed]] the club at $4.45 billion — the fourth-most valuable in soccer.
Saudi Arabia’s sports prime minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal said the government “will definitely support” private-sector Liverpool bids.Prince Abdulaziz would also back a bid for Manchester United, whose owners recently announced plans to look at “strategic alternatives” for the club.
Under FSG — which is also reportedly in discussions with a U.S.-based buyer — Liverpool has won [[link removed]] the Premier League, the UEFA Champions League, the FA Cup, and the Carabao Cup.
Mumbai Indians owner Mukesh Ambani and Boston Celtics owner Steve Pagliuca are among those potentially interested [[link removed]].
Prime Portfolio
Should Fenway Sports Group sell Liverpool, its sports portfolio will remain strong.
The company owns the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Red Sox and is reportedly [[link removed]] interested in an NBA franchise. FSG owner John Henry is also a possible [[link removed]] contender to buy the Washington Commanders.
Silver Lake Buys Stake in Manchester City Owner [[link removed]]
MCFC via Getty Images
A stake in one of the biggest soccer ownership groups in the world has moved from China to California.
Silicon Valley private equity firm Silver Lake has bought [[link removed]] much of China Media Capital’s stake in City Football Group. CFG owns Manchester City, New York City Football Club, Melbourne City Football Club, and at least seven other teams around the world.
Silver Lake now owns more than 18% of CFG.The firm, which has $92 billion in assets under management, bought a 10% stake in CFG in 2019 for $500 million, then shares [[link removed]] from CMC over the next two years, growing its stake to 14.5%. CFG majority shareholder Newton Investment and Development, owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, also increased its stake.
Silver Lake’s diverse portfolio includes stakes in Endeavor, LEARFIELD, Oak View Group, Madison Square Garden Sports, and Equinox.
Silver Lake’s Big Splash
Silver Lake has become one of the most aggressive private equity investors in sports properties.
It completed [[link removed]] a lengthy process in February to purchase an 8.6% stake in New Zealand’s prized All Blacks rugby team for $133.6 million.
In December 2021 it secured [[link removed]] a 33.3% stake in the Australian Professional Leagues for around $100 million, and made a reported $50 million investment in Cris Collinsworth’s analytics firm Pro Football Focus the previous September.
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Cricket Competition Earns $484M Offer [[link removed]]
The Hundred
The England and Wales Cricket Board has received a majority stake offer for the Hundred, a cricket competition that began last year.
Buyout firm Bridgepoint Group has made a $484.2 million bid for a 75% stake in the competition, according [[link removed]] to Sky Sports, but the offer isn’t expected to succeed.
“Rights holders have never seen a rise like the one they have [recently], and the Hundred will undoubtedly get more and more interest,” ECB chair Richard Thompson recently said [[link removed]], adding, “The worst thing would be to do something too early, then see the value go through the roof, and you’ve lost out and someone else benefits.”
“It’s just two years old, we can’t get greedy, we have to see it play out.”
The Hundred’s second season drew more than 500,000 attendees.More than 14 million people watched some of the tournament on Sky Sports and the BBC.The ECB’s current deal with Sky Sports ends in 2024 and is worth $260 million annually.
The Hundred is locked in for at least four more years after Sky Sports extended [[link removed]] its rights deal in July with the ECB until 2028.
Bridgepoint’s Business
Bridgepoint Group owns Dorna Sports — MotoGP’s commercial rights holder — and was reportedly [[link removed]] interested in a Women’s Super League minority stake. Bridgepoint also reportedly showed interest in investing in the media rights businesses for Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga.
Conversation Starters In today’s Leadoff, Las Vegas has become a major U.S. sports hub, Paris Saint-Germain considers moving to a new stadium, Formula 1 could remove China from its 2023 calendar, and Manchester United gets more serious about a sale. Listen here [[link removed]]. ESPN will replace [[link removed]] the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with an ACC/SEC matchup after failing to reach a deal to keep its Big Ten media rights. Saudi Arabia reportedly blocked [[link removed]] Qatari streaming service TOD TV over a political dispute between the two countries, preventing fans in Saudi Arabia from watching World Cup games.
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Final Hours to Complete the Survey
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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 closes tonight at 11:59 p.m. ET. Take the survey [[link removed]] and tell us why your organization should make the cut.
What to Watch
The Indianapolis Colts (4-6-1) host the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-7) on “Monday Night Football.”
How to Watch: 8:15 ET on ESPN
Betting Odds: Colts -2.5 || ML -140 || O/U 39.5
Pick: Expect the Colts to win at home. Take Indianapolis to cover.
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