February 17, 2023
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Amazon is playing hardball [[link removed]] with the Pac-12 when it comes to media rights negotiations. The tech giant is holding out for the best matchups and financial terms from the Conference of Champions, whose current set of 12 deals between Fox and ESPN — worth an annual average of $250 million — end in 2024.
Teams Qatar Confirms Full Takeover Bid for Manchester United [[link removed]]
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With Friday’s “soft” deadline for proposals arriving at 5 p.m. ET, speculation is rampant over who could take over Manchester United.
Interested parties will only need to detail [[link removed]] the amount of their bid and provide proof of funds — whether that’s for an entire takeover or a smaller stake.
Saudi Arabia has reportedly [[link removed]] submitted a bid for the Premier League icons, with several private groups from Riyadh making formal inquiries.
Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani confirmed [[link removed]] his bid for a full takeover of the club on Friday. Bloomberg previously reported [[link removed]] Qatari investors were set for an opening bid of $6 billion, which would be a record price tag for a sports team.
The bid from Qatar will carry no debt.
British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s company INEOS previously announced plans to bid for the club with the help of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Investors from the U.S. are also reportedly interested.
The Glazer family, which bought the club in 2005 for $942 million, hired the Raine Group in November to explore a full or partial sale. Recent reports suggest [[link removed]] the family wants to secure a partner investor rather than sell in full.
As of May, the club was the world’s third-most valuable soccer club at $4.6 billion, per [[link removed]] Forbes.
Media PENN Entertainment Completes Purchase of Barstool Sports [[link removed]]
Evert Nelson / USA TODAY NETWORK
PENN Entertainment now owns Barstool Sports in its entirety.
On Friday, the company announced it had finalized an acquisition of the remaining 64% of Barstool for a total of $388 million.
“This is a huge moment for Barstool Sports,” the media outlet’s CEO Erika Ayers said in a statement.
PENN bought the first 36% of the company in 2020 for about $163 million, then launched a sportsbook.
Penn said in a press release that since it first got involved with Barstool, the media outlet’s ad sales have gone up 160%, and its audience has grown 194%. It also launched [[link removed]] new properties, like the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl.
Penn Entertainment — which recently rebranded from Penn National Gaming — also owns Canadian media outlet theScore.
“Barstool, combined with theScore’s reach and highly engaged user base, creates a massive digital footprint and ecosystem that will serve to propel Barstool Sportsbook and our uniquely integrated media and gaming business,” Penn Entertainment CEO and president Jay Snowden said in a statement.
SPONSORED BY META
Virtual Reality 🤝 Sports
Is virtual reality the next big thing in sports? Quite possibly.
Together with Meta, our latest free course, Metaverse Essentials: Building the Future [[link removed]], dives deep into the ever-evolving connection between sports and the metaverse, exploring where we are today and what the future holds.
Check out the final lesson [[link removed]] of the course, Virtual Reality: Sports & Fitness, where Meta’s Director of Sports Creator Partnerships Kevin Cote sits down with an all-star panel of leaders from X Games, Rezzil, GOLF+, and FitXR to discuss how virtual reality will transform the way sports are played, viewed, and experienced.
Earn your digitally verified badge today! Register now [[link removed]].
Markets DraftKings Stock Soars as Revenue Beats Expectations [[link removed]]
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
DraftKings continues to successfully ride the wave of legalized sports betting.
The sports betting platform reported [[link removed]] $855 million in fourth-quarter revenue, an 81% increase from $473 million during the same period last year — beating analysts’ estimates [[link removed]] of $800 million.
Monthly unique payers rose 31% year-over-year to 2.6 million, with average revenue per monthly unique payer jumping 42% year-over-year to $109.
DraftKings reported a net loss of $1.4 billion for the full year.
During the quarter ending Dec. 31, DraftKings launched its online sportsbook product in Maryland, followed by one in Ohio on Jan. 1, 2023. It now operates mobile sports betting in 20 states and iGaming in five.
The company’s 2023 revenue guidance is $2.85 billion to $3.05 billion, up from the range of $2.8 billion to $3 billion reported in November.
DraftKings expects to launch in Massachusetts and Puerto Rico, pending licensure and regulatory approvals — and has been “found preliminarily suitable” in the Bay State.
CEO and co-founder Jason Robins said [[link removed]] DraftKings was the most downloaded sportsbook app in the U.S. on Super Bowl Sunday.
At market close on Friday, DraftKings’ stock was up 15%.
Conversation Starters Rams quarterback Matt Stafford has bought [[link removed]] a $10.5 million Hidden Hills estate [[link removed]] — complete with a vineyard and several teammates for neighbors. Want to jump into your favorite NBA highlight video? Well, the NBA has launched [[link removed]] a new feature on the NBA app. Professional pickleball player Tyson McGuffin joins Front Office Sports Today to talk about the sport’s meteoric rise of pickleball and his experiences from the pro pickleball lifestyle. Listen on Apple [[link removed]], Google [[link removed]], and Spotify [[link removed]].
PRESENTED BY PITCHBOOK
A Business Born From Community
After 20 years of playing beach volleyball professionally, Kerri Walsh Jennings stepped away from the pro tour in 2019. Not because the five-time Olympian and three-time gold medalist lost a love for the game, but rather because she thought it needed changing.
Walsh Jennings wanted to broaden the game and bring more people to the sport by highlighting all it encompasses – nutrition, wellness routines, and the overall lifestyle. That’s why in 2019, she and her husband launched p1440, a company dedicated to providing resources for aspiring athletes, coaches, and all interested in living a life of intention.
In the latest episode of Driven with Michelle Wie West [[link removed]], in partnership with PitchBook, learn more about Walsh Jennings’ journey to becoming an entrepreneur, the importance of the people around you, and more.
Watch the full episode [[link removed]] here.
What to Watch
The Los Angeles Kings (30-18-7) take on the Anaheim Ducks (17-32-6) on Friday at the Honda Center.
How to Watch: 9 p.m. ET on ESPN
Betting Odds: Kings -1.5 || ML -260 || O/U 6.5
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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