Anheuser-Busch announced it will have three minutes of national air time in this year’s Super Bowl after ending its exclusivity deal with the Big Game last year.

The company had been the sole alcohol advertiser since 1989. The beer giant’s decision in June to not renew opened the door for other alcohol brands to advertise during the game.

“We are the biggest advertiser,” said Benoit Garbe, chief marketing officer at Anheuser-Busch. The “reality is that there was no true exclusivity,” as competitors were able to buy regional ads.

• Garbe said Anheuser-Busch spent 3.5 times more than its competitors.
• Fox is reportedly selling 30-second ad spots for $7 million.

Michelob Ultra, Bud Light, and Busch Light will be the parent company’s focus for Super Bowl LVII, with the latter making its first appearance since 2017. Michelob Ultra — which Garbe said is set to overtake Bud Light in sales soon — will have two spots, while Budweiser will get a regional ad.

Anheuser-Busch renewed its deal with the NFL in December 2021, reportedly for an annual $250 million.

Alcohol Ads

Molson Coors expressed interest in advertising during the Super Bowl shortly after it was revealed that Anheuser-Busch ended its exclusivity deal. 

Heineken will run an ad for its nonalcoholic beer, while Diageo — the league’s first spirits brand — will make its Super Bowl debut.

With the arrival of a French superstar on the horizon, the NBA is growing its media presence in Europe. 

The league inked a U.K. broadcast deal with the BBC covering nine games this season, beginning with Thursday’s tilt in Paris between the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons — the first regular-season game in France since 2020.

• The BBC will show an additional three regular-season games, two pre-conference final playoff games, one conference title game, and one NBA Finals game.
• Sky bought the rights to 135 live NBA games prior to the season and simultaneously broadcast the Paris game.
• U.K. fans can also access the league’s streaming service, NBA League Pass.

The NBA anticipates substantial growth in its French fanbase with the coming of Victor Wembanyama, the presumptive first overall pick in June’s NBA Draft.

The league said that tickets to the Paris game sold out within minutes of going on sale.

Mega Media Deal Coming

Meanwhile, the league continues negotiations around its next set of media deals. 

The NBA, which currently has nine-year deals with ESPN and TNT totalling $24 billion, could look to triple that sum when those pacts expire after the 2024-25 season.

Amazon is thought to be interested in acquiring NBA rights as it grows its live sports portfolio.

Microsoft’s gaming division finds itself under even more strain. 

The company announced it will be cutting roughly 10,000 jobs, which will reportedly involve layoffs within its gaming sector, including its 343 Industries and Bethesda Game Studios properties. The tech giant is cutting jobs to reduce costs amid economic uncertainty.

Microsoft acquired Bethesda — the publisher behind hit franchises “Fallout” and “The Elder Scrolls” — in September 2020 when it purchased parent company ZeniMax for $7.5 billion.

• Layoffs from Bethesda and the “Halo Infinite” developer 343 Industries include employees who had been with Microsoft for more than 10 years.
• Microsoft made layoffs in its engineering divisions and augmented reality business but plans to hire within more competitive sectors, including artificial intelligence.

Microsoft’s latest round of layoffs comes after a group of video game testers formed the company’s first U.S labor union and the largest in the gaming industry.

On Jan. 3, a majority of Microsoft’s 300 quality-assurance workers voted to unionize, which was planned before the company’s pending purchase of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.

Up in the Air 

Microsoft’s deal to acquire Activision Blizzard has been facing regulatory scrutiny. 

Washington-based Microsoft is reportedly likely to receive an antitrust warning in the coming weeks from the European Union regarding the deal and its anticompetitive behavior.

Last month, the Federal Trade Commission sued Microsoft to block the acquisition. That same month, Microsoft argued that blocking the deal would be unconstitutional.

An investment firm dedicated to sports and related industries announced its biggest fund to date.

Courtside Ventures closed its third fund, securing $100 million in fresh capital and bringing its total amount raised to more than $200 million. 

Investors in the fund included:

• Athlete legends Shaquille O’Neal and Larry Fitzgerald 
• Ownership groups of the Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Hornets, Atletico Madrid, DC United, LAFC, and Monumental Sports, which owns the Washington Wizards, Capitals, and Mystics
• Retail giant Dick’s Sporting Goods

“We had a good amount of demand to raise beyond this,” Courtside partner Deepen Parikh explained to Front Office Sports. “Our view is that [given] the stage we invest at — which really ranges from pre-seed to Series A — where we’re investing and the nature of our fund, we believe $100 million was a really good step.”

Courtside’s previous investments include The Athletic, gaming livestream platform Beam, StockX, and 100 Thieves. It has already begun investing with its third fund, including a stake in Mojo, an athlete “stock market” backed by Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore.

More Than a Check

“A lot of our LPs are very strategic in nature,” said Parikh, who added that the relationships Courtside establishes can catalyze client relationships between its portfolio companies. 

Courtside has also found new investment opportunities through the family offices of teams that invest in its funds. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert invested in Courtside’s first fund, and more owners have joined in since.