Fox’s investments in sports are paying off.

The company reported a 4% year-over-year increase in second-quarter revenue to $4.61 billion and a 4% increase in advertising revenue to $2.5 billion.  

The latter is attributed to the FIFA Men’s World Cup, Fox Sports’ NFL programming, political advertising revenue, and growth at streaming service Tubi.

• Fox paid $425 million for the English-language rights to broadcast the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
• Fox noted that the advertising revenue was partially offset by the absence of “Thursday Night Football,” which was acquired by Amazon for around $1 billion annually.

Net income reached $321 million compared to a net loss of $73 million during the same period last year.

Fox’s NFL results could be even stronger in 2024, when Tom Brady starts his reported 10-year, $375 million contract as the network’s No. 1 NFL analyst.

Super Bowl Expectations

Fox is expecting a successful sports-driven third quarter, too.

One Fox executive reportedly said that if trends during the NFL playoffs continue, Sunday’s Super Bowl could bring in a record viewership of 115 million.

Super Bowl XLIX between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks in 2015 holds the viewership record with 114.4 million.

The company expects to generate more than $500 million in advertising revenue for the game.

The New York Rangers or Knicks — or both — could bring on a new minority owner.

“We have no plans to sell either team … but we would certainly not rule out the possibility of selling a minority stake in the Knicks or the Rangers,” Madison Square Garden Sports president and COO David Hopkinson said Tuesday.

• Hopkinson referenced changes to the NBA’s ownership rules that allow sovereign wealth funds and private equity firms to invest in teams. 
• “These are incredibly scarce assets, they’ve got strong business fundamentals that we just reviewed, and we believe they’ve got significant opportunities for long-term growth,” Hopkinson said.

But a new majority owner seems to be out of the question.

James Dolan, owner of both teams through Madison Square Garden Sports, said last month that he’s “not retiring anytime soon. It’s a family-controlled asset, so someone in the family will eventually own it.”

By the Books

Forbes last valued the Rangers at $2.2 billion, a 10% year-over-year increase, and the Knicks at $6.1 billion, a 5% year-over-year increase. The only other NBA team worth more is the Golden State Warriors at $7 billion.

MSG Sports reported $353.7 million in second-quarter revenue on Tuesday, a 22% year-over-year increase.

Las Vegas wants its Formula 1 marriage to last.

The Clark County Commission has granted permission to stage the Las Vegas Grand Prix each year through 2032. F1 will make its first appearance in Sin City for decades this November.

• F1 has a three-year deal to race on the Las Vegas Strip, which ends in 2025.
• Clark County commissioner James Gibson said they “anticipate a lifetime in partnership.” 
• The measure seeks to keep the F1 race in the same spot on the calendar, granting use of Las Vegas Boulevard South on “Wednesday to Sunday, the week prior to Thanksgiving.”

F1 is targeting $500 million in revenue for the race weekend. Hotels are also expecting a bonanza, with both race founding partners Wynn and Caesars each offering luxury packages costing at least $1 million. 

FIA President Steps Back

The FIA, F1’s governing body, announced that its president Mohammed Ben Sulayem will no longer oversee the organization’s day-to-day operations but will remain in a strategic role.

Ben Sulayem has recently butted heads with many F1 teams over his openness to adding teams, particularly one headed by Andretti Global and Cadillac. 

The FIA ruffled feathers with a declaration in December requiring drivers to receive permission to make or display “political, religious, and personal statements or comments” at races. F1 president Stefano Domenicali seemed to moderate that this week, saying F1 “will never put a gag on anyone.” 

The FIA said that Ben Sulayem’s role shift has been planned for a long time.