January 19, 2023

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Thursday’s sold-out Bulls-Pistons game in Paris — the NBA’s first in France since 2020 — points to a crucial year [[link removed]] for hoops in the country. FOS learned that if generational prospect Victor Wembanyama becomes the first French player to be selected with the top pick in the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft, the league expects a “significant” impact on “basketball, the NBA, and fandom in France.”

Leagues Europe to Host A Record Five Regular-Season NFL Games in 2023 [[link removed]]

Kirby-Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL and Europe can’t get enough of each other.

The league announced [[link removed]] the five teams that will host international games this year on Thursday, with three regular-season games in the U.K. and two in Germany — the most the NFL has hosted in Europe.

The Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans will host games in London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — the only international purpose-built NFL stadium. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who have a multiyear commitment to play in the U.K., will play a game at Wembley Stadium.

The Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots will make their debuts in Germany, with the cities to be announced later — the league previously announced Munich and Frankfurt would host NFL games in the coming years. Both teams have marketing rights in the country.

It will be the first time five international regular-season games are all played in Europe. Mexico will not host a game this year due to renovations at Estadio Azteca.

With three in the U.K., one in Mexico, and one in Germany, the 2022 International Series drew record attendances and viewership.

Opponents, dates, and kickoff times will be announced with the 2023 schedule.

Overseas, Please

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell previously hinted [[link removed]] at a possible European division with “multiple locations in Europe.”

Brett Gosper, NFL head of the U.K. and Europe, said after this year’s Munich game that the league’s analysis of fan growth and commercial potential puts France and Spain on its “radar.”

Teams Manchester City Wealthiest Soccer Team in World — Again [[link removed]]

Manchester City

Manchester City reigns supreme for the second year in a row.

The Premier League giants have retained [[link removed]] their position as the highest revenue-generating soccer team at $794 million for the 2021-22 season — a 13% increase year-over-year, according to the Deloitte Football Money League.

Manchester City, which captured its sixth league title last season, benefited from $403 million in commercial income — a Premier League record.

The top 20 wealthiest clubs in the world generated $9.9 billion in 2021-22. For the first time, 11 of the Premier League’s 20 teams were part of that group. La Liga’s Real Madrid was the second-highest revenue-generating club at $771 million. Liverpool finished third at $758 million, up $105 million compared to 2018-19.

Owned by City Football Group, Manchester City’s growth in revenue comes as the club mulls [[link removed]] expanding the capacity of its home field, Etihad Stadium. The club plans to conduct studies to determine the viability of a development project, which would include a hotel and a museum.

Etihad has a capacity of 53,400, and an expansion would make it more than 60,000.

Queens of Soccer

FC Barcelona Femení finished [[link removed]] the 2021-22 season as the highest revenue-generating club in women’s professional soccer at $8.3 million.

The club also broke the attendance record [[link removed]] for a women’s soccer match last season.

A total of 91,648 fans made the trip to Spotify Camp Nou in April 2022 to watch Barcelona defeat VfL Wolfsburg 5-1 in a Champions League semifinal.

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Media LIV Golf Lands Rights Deal With The CW Network [[link removed]]

Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

As expected, LIV Golf has announced a multiyear U.S. rights agreement with The CW Network.

The exclusive rights deal [[link removed]] marks the Saudi-backed golf league’s first for American TV and streaming. Previously, LIV streamed tournaments on its website and YouTube.

CW will air all of 2023’s 14 global events live in the U.S. and stream via the CW app. LIV tournaments run three days (Friday–Sunday) vs. the PGA Tour’s typical four-day format. Saturday-Sunday golf will air on CW, while Friday will stream on the app. LIV’s TV announcers include Arlo White, David Feherty, and Jerry Foltz in the broadcast booth, with Dom Boulet, Su-Ann Heng, and Troy Mullins as on-course and feature reporters.

LIV officials have long admitted their rival league won’t really take off until it cracks the U.S. media market, where most of the available partners are already connected contractually to the PGA Tour.

Golf legend and LIV chief executive officer Greg Norman called it a “momentous” step in LIV’s global challenge to the PGA Tour.

“The CW will provide accessibility for our fans, and maximum exposure for our athletes and partners, as their reach includes more than 120 million households across the United States,” said [[link removed]] Norman.

Making Sports Debut

The deal marks the first time in the CW’s 17-year history that it will be the exclusive broadcast home of a live mainstream sport.

“Our new partnership with LIV Golf marks a significant milestone in our goal to reengineer the network with quality, diversified programming for our viewers, advertisers, and CW affiliates,” said [[link removed]] president Dennis Miller.

Conversation Starters In The Leadoff, the Chicago Bears focus on a new stadium, Olympique Lyonnais explores going public, the world’s five top-grossing mobile games generate $7.2 billion, and Miami Grand Prix organizers announce changes. Click here to listen [[link removed]]. A ticket for an exhibition soccer match on Thursday that will feature [[link removed]] both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi has been auctioned off for $2.6 million by the entertainment sector of the Saudi Arabian government. The University of St. Thomas has received [[link removed]] a donation of $75 million — the ninth-largest donation in college sports history — less than three years after it moved to Division I.

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What to Watch

The Golden State Warriors (22-22) face the Boston Celtics (33-12) on Thursday night at TD Garden.

How to Watch: 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT

Betting Odds: Celtics -6.5 || ML -255 || O/U 240

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