SBJ Morning Buzzcast
SBJ Morning Buzzcast: July 29, 2024
Start your morning with Buzzcast with Reginald Walker: The Paris Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies are a hit; Warner Bros. Discovery suing the NBA over media rights; the WNBA media rights' reevaluation possibilities; and Intersport to launch a dedicated soccer partnership practice.
- Duration:
- 8m
- Broadcast on:
- 29 Jul 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
(upbeat music) - This is your morning buzz cast for Monday, July 29th. I'm Reginald Walker, filling in for a mad court. So far, so good. Even despite the weather issues during the opening ceremony in Paris, it seemed to be very much ahead. The opening ceremony, very successful, a brilliant backdrop that is Paris, always something that can be picturesque. And it seems viewers are engaged in NBC sports as well as Friday drew the best opening ceremony for a Summer Olympics since London in 2012 with an audience of more than 28 million viewers. Now, to be fair, that audience includes live coverage starting at 1.30 p.m. Eastern on NBC and Peacock, added to the primetime tape version that aired Friday night and using a combined live and taped audience is something unique for the opening ceremony given the time zone differences and entertainment crossover of the game's presentation by NBC sports. Now, that number is up 60% from 17.9 million viewers for the Tokyo version in 2021 and was even better than the 26.5 million that Rio drew in 2016. For context, here is the Summer Olympics primetime viewership trend for NBC sports. In 2021, in Tokyo, remember, that was the delayed Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tokyo saw 15.6 million viewers on average. 2016's Rio Olympics saw 27.5 million average viewers. And the 2012 games in London saw 31.1 million viewers on average. Again, a very good start so far for the Paris Olympic games. And we know this is being looked at as the city and the Olympics that could really revive the Olympics following the three games in Pyeongchang, Tokyo, and Beijing that didn't perform two expectations. But Paris, on the other hand, is considered an ideal spot for the games by many. And oh, by the way, for those of you keeping score at home, as of Monday morning, the top three countries in the metal count, the United States with 12, China with nine, and host country France, third with eight. If you thought things were over between Warner Brothers Discovery and the NBA, well, not so fast. The tension continues to increase between the two, as Warner Brothers Discovery is suing the NBA over the league's refusal to honor the matching rights provision in their current broadcast contract. Now, this, of course, comes after the NBA announced that ESPN, NBC, and Amazon would broadcast games as part of an 11-year deal that begins with the 2025-26 season. The NBA claims, on the other hand, that Warner Brothers Discovery did not effectively match Amazon's package. Amazon is slated to pay around $1.9 billion for their deal, which includes WNBA games, but Warner Brothers Discovery feels they matched it on economics and distribution. Warner Brothers Discovery says keeping the NBA on Warner Brothers Discovery's services would be, quote, "in the best interest of fans," end quote. The NBA called the suit without merit. Who knows how long this is going to take to finalize and be completely over with, but I can tell you right now, the relationship between Warner Brothers Discovery and the NBA, not good, might be an understatement. And I'll be very interested to see how leadership of Warner Brothers Discovery, how they are viewed as this thing continues to play itself out. Speaking of Warner Brothers Discovery on Friday, Charles Barkley, who has said in the past that he expects to retire after the Warner Brothers Discovery deal with the NBA ends after this upcoming season, now he is saying, as he said on "The Dan Patrick Show," he's going to at least listen to any and all networks that reach out to him. So, something to keep your eye on there with Charles Barkley. Speaking of basketball media deals, CNBC reports that the WNBA's new media rights deal includes a price re-evaluation after the 2028 season to assess where the league is. Now, remember, the WNBA's contract is worth $2.2 billion for 11 seasons, an average of about $200 million per year. CNBC reports that endeavors media consulting team led by EVP content strategy and partnerships, Karen Brodkin and IMG Media SVP Hillary Mandel were retained to assess the value of WNBA rights and that endeavor valued the rights at about $125 million per year. Again, the average got up to $200 million per year and sources said the partners will reassess that value after the 2028 season with the $200 million per year cost serving as a floor value for the league's rights and that the league will again work with a third party to assess a possible increase in rights based on TV ratings, expansion, and where the league is. I'll be very interested to see down the road what some of these additional expansion fees look like. And speaking of expansion, add Pittsburgh to the list of cities that are interested in the WNBA. Yes, Pittsburgh, as the Pittsburgh Sports and Exhibition Authority has approved an agreement with CAI con to conduct a financial feasibility analysis that would be used to help attract a WNBA franchise to that city. The company is looking at the costs of operating a WNBA team in Pittsburgh, estimated operating revenues and other financial aspects. Once complete, the Sports and Exhibition Authority will present the findings to potential ownership groups and the WNBA to make the case for a team. Remember, the WNBA will add two expansion teams, Golden State in 2025 and Toronto in 2026. Speaking of Golden State, the Valkyries have eclipsed 15,000 season ticket deposits marking the first team in women's sports history to do so. Something to keep an eye on down the line as it relates to this? WNBA Commissioner Kathy Engelberg has said they want to get all the way to 16 teams. They currently sit at 12, Golden State would mark 13, Toronto would mark 14, a couple of more opportunities expected in the coming years. They're very interested to see as the game continues to grow in viewership and many, many other metrics, what the expansion fees could look like for teams 15 and 16. It seems everyone's trying to take advantage of the World Cup in the U.S. in two short years, and that's a smart thing. And now Chicago-based InterSport is the latest major U.S. agency to launch a dedicated soccer partnership practice ahead of the event. The business unit known as InterSport FC will be led by soccer industry veterans Alfonso Alana's Q and Rob Swain following InterSport's acquisition of their boutique agency, O Street Consulting. The two are well connected in the soccer world and will instantly make InterSport relevant in the soccer space. InterSport FC will focus on sponsorship consulting for brands looking to get into the sport, with plans to help brands find opportunities related to different leagues, players, and federations. A number of agencies have been looking to get into the space ahead of the World Cup as Chicago-based revolution and Wisconsin-based GMR marketing each launched their own soccer-specific divisions in the past year. And finally, Sports Business Journal has announced the 50 honorees who will be recognized as part of the 14th class of Game Changers Women in Sports Business. The honorees will be recognized on September 25th in New York the day before the annual Game Changers Conference at the Marriott Marquis Times Square. For more information, visit sportsbusinessjournal.com. Thanks for listening to the Morning Bus Cast on this Monday, July 29th. I'm Reginald Walker filling in for A-Mad Corps. Have a great day, and we look forward to delivering you the Bus Cast again tomorrow. 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