January 20, 2023
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Talk about loyal fanbases: The NFL is seeing “extraordinary” ticket demand [[link removed]] for a potential neutral-site AFC Championship Game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs next week at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Within 24 hours of going on sale to Bills and Chiefs season-ticket holders, the league sold over 50,000 seats — and Atlanta is 892 miles from Buffalo and 799 from Kansas City.
Deals Saudi Arabia Reportedly Wants to Buy F1 for Over $20B [[link removed]]
Formula 1
Saudi Arabia reportedly looked into buying Formula 1 and remains interested, should the opportunity arise.
The country’s sovereign wealth fund, the $620 billion Public Investment Fund, was interested [[link removed]] in purchasing the global racing series from Liberty Media, according to Bloomberg.
The PIF, which funds LIV Golf and owns Premier League team Newcastle, valued F1 at well above $20 billion, including debt. Liberty Media bought F1 for $4.4 billion in 2017 and wasn’t interested in selling. The Saudi fund remains interested and could be a formidable suitor for F1 if Liberty Media reverses its stance.
Liberty Media’s F1 tracking stock jumped around 6.9% in early trading on Friday and is up 12.6% over the last 12 months. The stock’s value has more than doubled since the beginning of 2019 and has a current market cap of $30.2 billion.
F1 began racing in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in 2021 and will hold its third race there on March 19. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has spoken [[link removed]] out against the country’s human rights record.
Braves Spinoff
Meanwhile, Liberty Media is planning [[link removed]] to spin off the Atlanta Braves into a separate public company, pending approval from Major League Baseball, among others.
The new company would hold the MLB team, which Liberty Media bought for around $1.5 billion in 2007, plus The Battery, the development project surrounding the team’s Truist Park.
Deals LAFC Secures Record $100M Naming Rights Deal [[link removed]]
LAFC
An MLS expansion team has secured the largest naming rights deal ever for a soccer-specific stadium in the U.S.
Los Angeles Football Club has agreed [[link removed]] to a 10-year, $100 million naming rights deal with Bank of Montreal for the team’s home field in Exposition Park. The 22,000-seat facility — which opened [[link removed]] in 2018 at a price tag of $350 million — is also home to the NWSL’s Angel City FC.
Banc of California was the previous naming rights holder to the stadium. The facility will be renamed BMO Stadium. BMO is also the naming rightsholder to Toronto FC’s home stadium, BMO Field.
In addition to securing naming rights, BMO has become a founding partner [[link removed]] in Angel City.
The expansion club’s founding owners include actress Natalie Portman, a group of former USWNT stars, and lead investor Alexis Ohanian.
Angel City will continue to bring soccer fans to BMO Stadium.
In September 2022, the club faced the San Diego Wave and set the attendance record for an NWSL game with a sellout [[link removed]] crowd of 32,000 at Snapdragon Stadium, which opened last year.
Let’s Make Another Deal
Earlier this week, the Houston Dynamo and the Houston Dash secured [[link removed]] a new stadium naming rights deal with Shell Energy for an undisclosed amount.
Shell Energy Stadium opened in 2012 with costs that reached $95 million.
As part of the pact, the Dynamo and Shell will integrate renewable energy sources at the 22,000-seat facility, including rooftop solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations.
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Media Netflix Leans Into Sports Docs As Live Sports Put on Backburner [[link removed]]
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Netflix reported $7.85 billion in fourth-quarter revenue and added over 3 million more subscribers than expected.
The streaming service added [[link removed]] 7.66 million subscribers during the quarter — significantly higher than the 4.57 million expected, according to StreetAccount estimates. Netflix also launched a lower-priced, ad-supported plan in November.
Netflix’s new sports and fitness content could be a draw for new customers going forward.
Earlier this month, Netflix released [[link removed]] the first five episodes of its new “Break Point” series chronicling professional tennis’ 2022 season. Netflix is also working on a golf series with the PGA Tour and a documentary series on the Tour de France. In May 2022, it renewed “Drive to Survive” with Formula 1 for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The platform teamed up with Nike Fitness Club to add [[link removed]] fitness classes to its library last month. Netflix will release a total of 90 workouts.
Netflix ended [[link removed]] 2022 with 231 million paid memberships and $32 billion in revenue. It expects 4% revenue growth for the first quarter.
Not Ready To Go Live
While Netflix’s sports content is growing, the company still hasn’t made its way to live sports.
“We’ve not seen a profit path to renting big sports,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said [[link removed]] last month, adding that Netflix isn’t “anti-sports,” just “pro-profit.”
Netflix also announced Thursday that founder Reed Hastings is stepping down as co-CEO and will now serve as executive chairman.
Conversation Starters ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith wants to arrange [[link removed]] an on-air reunion between Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and Mike Francesa on his national morning TV show, “First Take.” The Savannah Bananas, an independent baseball team, turned down [[link removed]] a $1 million group ticket purchase offer that would have brought $500,000 in additional profits. Here’s a look [[link removed]] at the evolution of replacing the Hollywood Park horse racing track with SoFi Stadium — the home field of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers.
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What to Watch
The Villanova Wildcats (9-10) face the St. John’s Red Storm (13-6) on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
How to Watch: 7 p.m. ET on FS1
Betting Odds: St. John’s -4.5 || ML -178 || O/U 149.5
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