SBJ Morning Buzzcast
SBJ Morning Buzzcast: August 5, 2024
(upbeat music) We enter the final week of the Paris Games with the closing ceremony on Sunday. Big sports are left, more track and field, soccer, basketball, among others, as the US continues to try and add to its metal count. And you think people are ready for some football? They were nearly 50,000 fans for the Eagles' only public practice of the preseason at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday night. Many teams have cut back the number of public practices and the number of fans in Philly just shows you how much people are clamoring for football. And this is your morning buzzcast for Monday, August 5th. Good morning. I'm Nate Mancourt. Thanks for listening to the buzzcast. With their new media deals done, the NBA can start thinking of a lot of fun and exciting things to focus on. And Commissioner Adam Silver said that the league is studying how best to increase its footprint in Europe, either through an annual tournament or an NBA operated league. Adam Silver believes there is an enormous opportunity in both the commercial and competitive potential of basketball in Europe. And there is support among NBA owners for additional investment in global basketball, whether a new league or a new event or competition. Now, there is no timeframe for any decision, but this adds to the to-do list for the NBA. The NBA has been working with the RAIN group, the financial firm, to explore its opportunities in Europe. And let's stay with basketball but shift to the W because the W's media rights deal that was part of the NBA's 11 year deal is a healthy increase and the story isn't over. You know, I heard pockets of criticism about the deal and I just found that hard to fault negotiators for the end result. Let's break it down. The WNBA receives an average annual value of $43 million a year from its current partners. This year, the 24 season, the league is receiving $60 million in media rights fees. Now, starting in 2026, the deals with Disney, NBC and Amazon will have an average annual value of $200 million over 11 years. And that doesn't include current partners like CBS and ION, and the league could renew them or bring on additional partners, which could, could push the WNBA's total average annual value to between $260 and $300 million per year. That's more than six times its current deal. And then in 2029, three years in, the partners have agreed to reevaluate the agreements to make sure they are at the appropriate market rate. So the fees can't be reduced, they can only go up or new components at it. So, bottom line, for the number of games and a short four month season, I found this to be a remarkable increase. While all the business metrics for the W are trending up, remember, this is a league that the NBA has invested more than $500 million in since its inception in 1997 and sources tell me the league is likely to still lose 40 to $50 million this year alone. But this new media rights deal was such an increase in value, about a 365% increase in its average annual rights fee should help the WNBA tremendously. And again, I think it's a very healthy and positive deal for the W. So let's shift to two big names in sports media that could be eyeing some new options. First, Skip Bayless, he announced on Friday that it was his last show on FS1's undisputed ending his eight year run on the program and he is leaving Fox Sports and planning to pursue other opportunities. Now this 72 year old was a cornerstone of Fox Sports. He is a star talent. And in a day and age where star talent draws major audiences, there will be a lot of people wondering what's next for Skip Bayless. Speaking of star talent, Bill Simmons pushed back on a report that he could soon become a free agent. The New York Post had reported that Bill Simmons five year deal with Spotify is up in early 2025. Remember, he signed a deal back in 2020 with Spotify worth an estimated $250 million. So the New York Post reported that Simmons has had conversations with other companies about launching a new platform, but, but, but, a spokesperson close to Simmons pushed back and said that he and Spotify have had ongoing dialogue about the possibility of a new deal and dismiss the New York Post story as incorrect. So we'll see about the futures of both Skip Bayless and Bill Simmons. You know, we have talked about how much emphasis the NFL is putting on flag football. And here is another example. As the Arizona Cardinals, State Farm and Arizona's family have partnered to produce what will be a first of its kind telecast in flag football. They will air the Cardinals high school girls flag football game of the week presented by State Farm. This is the first time an NFL team will produce an air a high school girls flag football game. Eight games will be produced over the season. They'll start in September and in November, take place on Tuesday and Thursday nights. And the growth of the sport in Arizona is on fire. It nearly doubled within the last year. 57 schools sanctioning the sport is now at 104 schools sanctioning girls flag football. And so that's why the Cardinals are getting behind this. They have hosted flag football games during halftime. This year the Cardinals will host flag football games during pregame. So many NFL teams have focused on flag. My conversations with the Dolphins, the Falcons, the Broncos and now the Cardinals all while the NFL gets behind flag football with significant resources. So again, flag football, girls flag football, a sport on the rise. We talked last week about the immersive experience destination Cosm which recently closed a $250 million funding round featuring a number of big name investors. Now Cosm has an official open date for its next shared reality venue. This is in the colony in Texas just outside of Dallas. It will open August 31st. Perfect for college football games. That's how the facility will open around three big college football broadcasts. HKS designed the Texas venue. Now Cosm opened its first venue in Hollywood Park in California in June. They're gonna open another one in Atlanta's Centennial Yards. They have a number of other cities in mind for future venues again. This viewing experience of sports is real. It's an assault on the senses. It's up close. It's powerful. So Cosm will open its facility in the colony, Texas August 31st. And finally on a very sad note, I was away traveling when I heard that longtime Philadelphia sports journalist Andy Jasner, who is a former editor at Sports Business Journal, passed away unexpectedly Thursday at the age of 55. Andy was an incredibly sweet soul. He worked here at Sports Business Journal in the early 2000s for a few years as an editor on our daily editions. Incredibly well-liked. He always had a poppiness step, had a smile on his face. When Andy got an assignment or a task, he'd always say, "I'm on the case," which was a saying of his father. And I loved, loved how he wanted and always followed in the footsteps of his father, Phil Jasner, who was a longtime beat writer covering the Philadelphia 76ers. Andy left Charlotte returned to Philadelphia and he was especially connected in the Philadelphia sports media market. There was a service today, Monday for Andy Jasner. Everyone at Sports Business Journal is thinking of his wife, Taryn, and his three daughters, Jordana, Shira, and Leah. And we know, I know particularly, how much Andy loved being a husband and how much Andy loved being a father and how proud he was that one of his daughters was headed to Vanderbilt as a freshman this fall. Andy Jasner gone way too soon at 55. God bless and God watch over Andy Jasner. And so that is your morning buzz cast. For Monday, August 5th, I made Matt Corps. Thanks for listening to the buzz cast. I'll be on assignment in New York tomorrow and Wednesday my colleagues will bring you the buzz cast. I'll return on Thursday. Until I speak to you again, stay healthy, be good to each other, be thankful for every day we're here. And I will speak to you later in the week. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music)