NHL commissioner Gary Bettman thinks his league is ready to cash in on streaming.

Bettman told Bloomberg that it’s “exciting” to see big tech companies like Amazon and Apple bidding on sports rights.

Bettman attributed much of the NHL’s recent revenue growth to its seven-year media deals with Disney and Turner for a respective $400 million and $225 million per season, both signed in 2021.

• He noted that streaming services could look to live sports to grow their audiences, saying “cable and satellites got their penetration because of the appetite for sports.”
• The commissioner believes complementary programming that takes fans inside locker rooms has become increasingly important. 
• “The millennials and Gen Zs, they want more than just the games now. They want behind-the-scenes,” said Bettman.

The league is also considering schedule adjustments that would add more rivalry games.

Just Big Enough

While the other major U.S. leagues have all discussed adding teams, Bettman is content with the NHL’s current set of 32.

“We’re not looking to expand,” Bettman said. “We are getting expressions of interest, which we always listen to, as you should. But I don’t see anything in our immediate future.”

Traffic on Formula 1’s tracks could get a little heavier.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of F1’s governing body FIA, tweeted that he has asked his team at FIA “to look at launching an Expressions of Interest process for prospective new teams” for F1.

• F1’s teams split their share of the series’ revenues. A new team would have to pay $200 million to offset the revenue dilution to other teams.
• F1 earned $715 million in the third quarter of 2022.
• Haas, which entered in 2016, was the last new team to join F1, but the exit of Marussia Virgin Racing has kept the number of teams at 10. 

The Virgin team, originally known as Manor Grand Prix, was one of three teams that have departed since entering in 2010. 

Looking to Merge

Andretti Autosport may have the inside track to enter F1.

The group, run by Michael Andretti, son of F1 legend Mario Andretti, received funding from Guggenheim Partners to cover a potential F1 entry fee and infrastructure investments. 

Andretti is constructing a $200 million, 575,000-square-foot facility in Indiana to house its racing operations, which is set to open in 2025. 

Billionaire Calvin Lo has also expressed interest in founding an F1 team.

The golf world is reconfiguring its international media setup.

The PGA Tour and Warner Bros. Discovery have restructured their 12-year, $2 billion international rights deal to account for the shuttering of the latter’s streaming service, GolfTV. 

• The PGA Tour will take back its media rights in Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Europe and Latin America not covered by WBD’s Eurosport and streaming service Discovery+.
• Those two networks will retain their PGA Tour rights and coverage where they operate in Europe and Latin America.

The PGA Tour and Discovery’s initial 2018 deal included the creation of GolfTV, which launched on Jan. 1, 2019 but closed in November 2022. 

WBD cited changes in consumer behavior toward broad offerings — as opposed to specialized media products — in closing down GolfTV.

Warner Bros. merged with Discovery in April 2022 in a $43 billion deal with former WarnerMedia owner AT&T, bringing together a wide array of sports and other media properties.

Tiger Style

With one media operation closing, the PGA Tour looks toward the launch of another. 

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s tech-forward golf league TGL is set to launch in January 2024, but it has already made some big moves. 

Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas agreed to join the league in November. Last month, TGL parent company TMRW Sports struck a deal with Palm Beach State College to create a new venue for its unique, tech-infused competition.

The Baltimore Ravens are looking to stay at their longtime home field. 

The Ravens — the 19th-most-valuable NFL franchise at $3.9 billion, per Forbes — are seeking a long-term extension at M&T Bank Stadium with the facility’s landlord, the Maryland Stadium Authority.

• The Ravens’ current lease expires in 2027. 
• A proposed new lease plans to keep the Ravens there until 2037. 
• The facility underwent renovations in 2019 that cost roughly $120 million.
• The MSA is also the landlord of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, home of MLB’s Baltimore Orioles.

A lease extension rests on Maryland’s Board of Public Works, which is set to meet Jan. 4 to discuss the matter. The new proposed lease agreement would require the Ravens to pay no rent at M&T Bank Stadium but be responsible for operational and maintenance costs for the facility.

Future Upgrades 

In April 2022, the Ravens gained approval from the Maryland state legislature for $600 million in bonding capacity for future upgrades at M&T Bank Stadium. 

The legislature also approved $600 million for the Orioles, as well as $400 million for the Washington Commanders to upgrade infrastructure for FedEx Field. Minor-league baseball stadiums in the area received $200 million for future renovations.

The capital allocated toward the projects is contingent on new leases.