Welcome back to MoneyCall, The Athletic’s weekly sports business cheat sheet. (Was this story forwarded to you? Subscribe here.)
Name-dropped today: Adam Schefter, Katie Feeney, David White, Adam Silver, Madeline Hill and Charlotte Wilder, Jesse Cole, Jordan Larson, Jim Frevola and more. Let’s go:
Driving the Conversation
ESPN-NFL partnership: Game-changer?
When Disney holds its quarterly earnings call this morning, the headline will be ESPN’s blockbuster trade with the NFL: The network will acquire the league’s NFL Network and substantial rights to RedZone, along with other content assets, in exchange for the league getting a 10 percent ownership stake in ESPN, as first reported by my colleague Andrew Marchand.
Dovetailing with the just-announced August 21 launch of ESPN’s $29.99 direct-to-consumer streaming service (branded, aptly, “ESPN”), which is also expected to be a critical detail within the call, this is a huge news day for both ESPN and its parent company.
I may not be an equity analyst on the earnings call, peppering Bob Iger or Jimmy Pitaro with queries, but the future of ESPN most definitely begs a few questions, the answers to which we will learn over the next few hours (and, likely, weeks and months to come):
- How is success for “ESPN” (the service) defined: Number of direct subscribers? Number of fans with cable or YouTube TV who engage with the app?
- If the ESPN-NFL deal requires any level of government regulatory approval, what kind of influence will President Donald Trump want to have?
- Beyond NFL Network or RedZone, will any other sports networks be bundled into the app for fans to buy? (Wednesday morning, ESPN announced a partnership with WWE for fans to access events such as WrestleMania through the app.)
- If both Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport have the same scoop, who gets to tweet it out first? (Kidding aside: How might the new business realities impact ESPN’s coverage of the league?)
For additional insight, I called Rich Greenfield from LightShed Partners, a media industry analyst, for questions on his mind as well:
- What are the NFL’s liquidity rights? Can they exit in some number of years? Can the NFL compel ESPN to be spun out into a separate company? How does the NFL feel about the ESPN Bet relationship?
By midday today, we’ll hopefully have at least a few answers. More in next MoneyCall.
Get Caught Up
Big talkers from the sports industry:
Name to Know: Katie Feeney, ESPN’s newest on-air talent and — with more than 14 million fans across TikTok, Snapchat and other social media platforms (a number that tops almost every other ESPN talent, including Stephen A. Smith) — immediately one of the most relevant people at the network.
And if you’re saying “Who?”, that’s the reason she is such a consequential hire, because the Gen Z person in your life absolutely knows her.
WNBA’s Connecticut Sun selling (or not?): There is an eager buyer and willing seller, but two snags: 1) A potential relocation from CT to Boston is in serious question, and 2) the league still has to approve it, which makes 1) highly relevant.
Embattled NFLPA hires interim leader: David White was the runner-up for the role the last time it was open, and he steps into the job with tons of questions and open issues swirling.
NBA x Europe intrigue continues: NBA commish Adam Silver met with Real Madrid on a recent trip to Europe to talk about the league’s ambitions on the continent.
No. 1 vs. No. 2 opens college football on Aug. 30: Will Texas-Ohio State be the most-watched college football season opener of the past 25 years? “No. 1 vs. No. 2” won’t hurt, and I’ll say yes.
Other current obsessions: NBA players as college hoops GMs (Dame!) … Business execs as college ADs (Stanford!<) … The return of the Presidential Physical Fitness Test (which I never passed as a kid) is less interesting to me than ESPN’s new “Take Back Sports” campaign to keep kids playing … “The Sports Gossip Show” (featuring Madeline Hill and Charlotte Wilder) joining The Athletic’s podcast lineup … Jacob Robinson’s fantasy football advice …
What I’m Wondering
What can MLB learn from the Savannah Bananas?
“I’m not trying to make a billion dollars. I want a billion fans.” — Savannah Bananas founder Jesse Cole
I’ve been watching a ton of Savannah Bananas on TV lately and obviously followed them as one of the great sports-entrepreneurship stories of the 21st century. Then my colleague Britt Ghiroli tackled this topic yesterday:
What can MLB learn from the wildly popular barnstorming baseball party?
Money quote: “If it’s not careful, MLB may find that fans have moved on, perhaps in favor of another brand of the game that’s a little lighter on the wallet. Banana Ball is wacky, but it’s also a competitive brand of baseball that prioritizes fun and fan experience. Isn’t that what professional sports were supposed to be about in the first place?”
Grab Bag
Breaking News in Branding: League One Nebraska
As broken this morning by my colleague Asli Pelit, League One Volleyball has brought in a new ownership group for its Omaha pro team — led by Olympian Jordan Larson — which includes a rebrand from LOVB Omaha to LOVB Nebraska, to reflect the state-wide mania for the sport.
Data Point: 91,032
That’s the MLB regular-season record-smashing attendance for the MLB Speedway Classic in Bristol, Tenn., last weekend. The weather didn’t cooperate, and there were notable logistical snafus related to concessions, but as noted in last week’s MoneyCall, MLB should continue pushing the pedal down on these “eventized” games.
Ratings Watch: 6.9 million
That’s the number of people who tuned in for last Thursday’s NFL Hall of Fame Game exhibition, the biggest audience since 2021. Harbinger of massive NFL TV ratings to come this season.
Investor of the Week: Fox Sports
Bought one-third of Indy Car, the auto-racing league that has seen new traction with the U.S. audience through Fox’s coverage of races this season and moves like hiring F1 commentator Will Buxton.
Executive Q&A series: Bournemouth’s Jim Frevola
Great conversation between my colleague Adam Crafton and the president of business operations for the ascending Premier League side about successfully navigating being a U.S. owner of a UK soccer club.
Key quote from Frevola: “From a U.S. fan perspective, if you just decide to pick Arsenal or Manchester United or Liverpool or Chelsea, that’s easy, that’s lazy. That’s like picking the (New York) Yankees (as your baseball team). We want fans who want to own a club from the ground up; we’re a young, aggressive, hungry club that’s got ambition through the moon.”
Beat Dan in Connections: Sports Edition
Puzzle #317
Time: 00:33
Try it here!
Worth Your Time
Great business-adjacent reads for your downtime or commute:
“Texas Tech’s willingness to splash the pot has opposing schools griping and expectations skyrocketing. But the Red Raiders haven’t even played for a Big 12 football championship in the league’s 29-year existence. … But that’s what the money is for: for Texas Tech to break new ground and spend its way to success. It’s Big 12 title — and College Football Playoff — or bust.” – Sam Khan Jr., on TTU’s “open checkbook” ambition to rule the Big 12.
Two more:
(1) The Big Ten and private equity: Why college sports’ richest conference is doing its homework.
(2) When a team loses a star performer, like USC did with JuJu Watkins, how should leaders react?
Back next Wednesday! MoneyCall has always been proudly direct-to-consumer. That’s a great reason to please forward this to a couple friends or colleagues with your recommendation to subscribe! And, as always, give a (free!) try to all The Athletic’s other newsletters.
(Photo: Mike Windle / Getty Images for ESPN)
