February 16, 2023
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Barcelona could be looking at relegation amid accusations of bribing referees. Get all the details in the latest episode of Front Office Sports Today — plus Mike McCarthy on Super Bowl LVII’s missed opportunity.
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Sports Betting Expanded Legal Betting Access Leads to Record Year [[link removed]]
Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
As legal sports betting becomes more prevalent across the United States, the industry continues to break revenue records.
Commercial sports betting revenue hit a new all-time high of $7.5 billion in 2022 — a whopping 72.7% increase from 2021’s record [[link removed]] of $4.3 billion — per data from the American Gaming Association.
Legal sportsbooks handled $93.2 billion in bets last year — another record and a 61.1% increase over 2021’s handle. When the tribal sports betting handle is reported later this year, that number will likely surpass the $100 billion mark.
The industry got a boost from the additions of a legal betting market in Kansas and the launch of mobile betting in Louisiana, Maryland, and New York — the latter led all individual states with $1.4 billion in revenue last year.
Three other states passed the half-billion mark: Illinois ($795M), New Jersey ($763M), and Pennsylvania ($597M). All but two markets increased their handles last year: Delaware (-32.3%) and Mississippi (-9.2%).
Since PASPA was struck down in May 2018, American bettors have placed $190.3 billion in wagers, creating $14.6 billion in sports betting revenue and $3 billion in state and federal taxes.
Media MLB Prepared to Take Over Broadcasts, End Blackouts [[link removed]]
Patrick Breen/ USA TODAY NETWORK
Major League Baseball is preparing for a potentially huge change in its media distribution model that could end blackouts on its streaming service.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred explained how the league will respond if Diamond Sports Group — which owns 19 Bally Sports-branded regional sports networks, 14 of which broadcast local MLB games — misses payments and files for bankruptcy.
“Under every single one of the broadcast agreements, that creates a termination right, and our clubs will proceed to terminate those contracts,” Manfred explained.
In that scenario, MLB would produce the broadcasts of those teams through its MLB Network cable channel and negotiate a price with cable distributors such as Comcast and Charter Communications.
As part of those negotiations, MLB would seek “flexibility on the digital side” that would allow fans to stream [[link removed]] local games through MLB.TV. In previous years, fans have been unable to stream games in their local area because RSNs held exclusive rights.
Manfred acknowledged that the league’s contingency arrangements would lead to reduced revenues for the affected teams in the short term.
The issue could play out in the coming weeks, as many teams are owed payments from Diamond before Opening Day on March 30.
Diamond said Wednesday [[link removed]] that it would miss a $140 million interest payment on $9 billion in debt, triggering a 30-day grace period in which it will negotiate with leagues and creditors.
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Markets Paramount+ Adds Record Subscribers With Help of NFL [[link removed]]
Paramount+
Paramount’s streaming service had record subscriber growth in its fourth quarter, partially thanks to its NFL content.
Paramount+ subscribers increased [[link removed]] a record 9.9 million to nearly 56 million in the three months ending Dec. 31.
The streaming service — which saw revenue increase 81% year-over-year — airs the NFL’s AFC Sunday games as part of a broader deal with Paramount reportedly [[link removed]] worth $2.1 billion per season.
Paramount also announced [[link removed]] it would increase prices for Paramount+ — previously CBS All Access — when the service combines with Showtime in the third quarter, which coincides with the start of another NFL season.
CFO Naveen Chopra said the premium tier will jump from $9.99 to $11.99, while its lower tier will increase by $1 to $5.99. The former will include Showtime content.
The NFL brought in viewers on traditional TV, too. Paramount reported that CBS had the highest average viewership among all networks during the NFL playoffs.
The company’s earnings report wasn’t all positive.
Paramount reported $8.13 billion in fourth-quarter revenue — missing analysts’ estimates [[link removed]] of $8.17 billion — and $21 million in net profit. Its direct-to-consumer business revenue rose 30% to $1.4 billion.
Conversation Starters In the latest episode [[link removed]] of Driven with Michelle Wie West, in partnership with PitchBook, learn more about Kerri Walsh Jennings’ journey to becoming an entrepreneur, the importance of the people around you, and more.* On Super Bowl Sunday, the total [[link removed]] number of tweets in the U.S. was up 20% year-over-year, and total tweeters were up 18% year-over-year. Sports Illustrated publisher The Arena Group laid off [[link removed]] 17 staffers on Wednesday, and SI announced the pending retirement of co-editor-in-chief Ryan Hunt.
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What to Watch
The Los Angeles Clippers take on the Phoenix Suns on Thursday at Footprint Center.
How to Watch: 10 p.m. ET on TNT
Betting Odds: Suns -1 || ML -110 || O/U 223.5
Win A Vegas VIP Hoops Package
We have teamed up with the Pac-12 Conference to provide a VIP experience [[link removed]] to the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas from March 8 to March 11, 2023.
One lucky winner will receive two (2) all tournament passes with club access to the tournament at T-Mobile Arena. The winner will also receive a hotel room at an MGM Resorts property for four (4) nights in Las Vegas, a $300 food and beverage voucher valid at MGM restaurants, and two (2) tickets to Cirque du Soleil’s Mad Apple show. For more information on the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament, visit Pac-12.com [[link removed]]. Deadline for entry is February 22, 2023. See Official Rules [[link removed]] for details.
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