College Athletic Departments Are Becoming Full-Blown Media Companies
College athletic departments are transforming into full‑scale media enterprises, investing heavily in studios, podcasts, and digital studios to produce 24/7 content. Clemson’s 12,000‑square‑foot CAB facility operates as a profit‑center under Clemson Ventures, generating millions through licensing and branded partnerships. LSU’s The Brand employs dozens of full‑time staff and interns, creating a vast content library that fuels NIL deals and sponsorships. Other programs, such as Oregon and UConn, are launching niche studios, signaling an industry‑wide shift toward content‑driven revenue.
Tom Dundon’s Group Buying 80% of Blazers in Deal’s First Phase
Tom Dundon’s investment group is set to acquire 80% of the Portland Trail Blazers in the first phase of a multi‑stage transaction, valuing the franchise at over $4 billion. The group will inject more than $3 billion by month‑end, with the remaining...
WBC Is Bigger Than You Think Now
Aaron Judge, a multiple‑MVP star, recently said the World Baseball Classic (WBC) has become bigger and better than the World Series. The latest tournament saw the United States nearly eliminated due to a coaching misstep and a complex tiebreaker, while...
The Case for College Athlete Unions
The NCAA posted roughly $1.4 billion in revenue for 2024, while the College Football Playoff posted record profits. Labor activist Jennifer Abruzzo, former NLRB general counsel, has been spearheading unionization drives at schools such as Northwestern, Dartmouth and USC. Federal momentum...
Why the NFL’s 2026 Schedule Could Look Very Different
The NFL’s 2026 schedule is shaping up to be markedly different, emphasizing more standalone broadcast windows and a possible Wednesday kickoff to accommodate the league’s first regular‑season game in Australia. The Thanksgiving lineup may expand with a Thanksgiving Eve matchup,...
PGA Tour Pumps Brakes on Players Championship ‘Major’ Talk
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp announced the organization will not pursue elevating the Players Championship to major status at this time. He said the decision lies beyond the Tour and the focus remains on finalizing a comprehensive schedule and structural...
NFL Network Talents Learn Their Fate After ESPN Takeover
ESPN has officially taken over NFL Network, absorbing all existing on‑air talent contracts as of April 1. Employees will remain under their current deals until expiration, after which they must negotiate new agreements with Disney’s ESPN division. The transition has sparked...
Creditors Bash Grand Slam Track, Threaten to Sue: ‘Shocking Levels of Incompetence’
Grand Slam Track’s Chapter 11 plan proposes paying athletes a $6 million boost while offering unsecured vendors a combined $200,000 on the $13 million they are owed. A committee of three vendors filed a court motion accusing the league of incompetence, self‑dealing, and...
Why a College Basketball Game Organizer Is Fighting With Photo Services
A dispute over credential policies forced the Associated Press, Getty Images, and Thomson Reuters' Imagn to boycott a high‑profile Duke‑Michigan neutral‑site game organized by The Gazelle Group. The organizer required photographers to grant the company free, unrestricted use of any...
Underdog Makes Major Job Cuts in Pivot to Prediction Markets
Underdog Fantasy announced layoffs affecting at least 125 employees, roughly 20% of its staff, with two‑thirds of its fraud operations team eliminated. The cuts accompany a strategic pivot from state‑by‑state sports betting and fantasy drafts to a national prediction‑market platform...
ESPN Exec: Caitlin Clark Is ‘Gateway Drug’ to Women’s Sports
ESPN’s women’s sports programming chief, Susie Piotrkowski, called rookie star Caitlin Clark a “gateway drug” for attracting new fans to women’s sports. Even after Clark’s season‑ending injury, the WNBA saw a 3% viewership increase and recorded its most‑watched regular season...
Paramount Plans to Merge Streaming Service with HBO Max After WBD Deal Closes
Paramount plans to merge its Paramount+ service with HBO Max once its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closes, creating a single streaming platform with over 200 million direct‑to‑consumer subscribers. The combined service will sit between Netflix’s 325 million global base and...
How Much of UFC White House Bonanza Will Air on CBS?
The UFC is staging a high‑profile White House fight on June 14 as part of President Trump’s “America 250” celebration, with production costs projected above $60 million. The bout falls under the new seven‑year, $7.7 billion UFC‑Paramount partnership, which primarily streams fights...
F1 CEO Defends Apple Leap: ‘Bigger’ Reach With ‘Other People’
Formula One has shifted its U.S. broadcast rights from ESPN to Apple, securing a $140 million per‑year deal that eclipses ESPN’s $80‑90 million payments. CEO Stefano Domenicali argues the Apple partnership will ultimately reach a larger audience, especially among cord‑never viewers, by...
Penn Settles Long-Running Fight With Activist Investor
Penn Entertainment announced the appointment of three independent directors—Heather Ace, Jeffrey Fox and Fabio Schiavolin—expanding its board from eight to eleven members and ending a two‑year dispute with activist investor HG Vora Capital Management. In exchange, Vora withdrew the lawsuit it...
Are the WNBA’s 9-Figure Losses What They Seem?
Negotiations between the WNBA and the WNBPA are stalled by disputed financials, with the league reporting a $50 million loss in 2024 and warning of "hundreds of millions" in losses under the union's latest proposal. Meanwhile, the league has collected nearly...
IOC Once Again Cracking Down on Olympic Social Media Clips
The International Olympic Committee has deployed an automated monitoring system to purge Olympic clips from YouTube, X, TikTok and other platforms during the Milan‑Cortina 2026 Games, citing protection of media‑rights holders. Even light‑hearted posts, such as a dog watching the...
Unrivaled Leans In to NBA Arenas After Making Millions in Philly
Unrivaled, the 3‑on‑3 women’s basketball league, turned a $2 million Philadelphia pop‑up into a springboard for larger NBA‑level venues, moving its March 2 semifinals from Miami to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The Philly stop delivered over $1 million in ticket sales and $400,000...
‘Have to Pinch Myself’: Chris Berman Marvels at ESPN Getting Super Bowl
ESPN will broadcast its first Super Bowl in February 2027, followed by another in 2031, marking the network’s debut as the sole carrier of the NFL’s marquee event. Veteran sportscaster Chris Berman, a 46‑year ESPN veteran, expressed amazement and confirmed...
Jazz Owner Defends Team After $500,000 Tanking Fine From NBA
The NBA levied a $500,000 fine on the Utah Jazz for benching stars Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the fourth quarter of two games, deeming the action “conduct detrimental to the league.” Coach Will Hardy defended the move as a minutes‑restriction...
Manfred: MLB Will ‘Consider Being in Business With Prediction Markets’
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred announced that MLB is evaluating formal partnerships with prediction‑market platforms, following precedents set by the NHL and MLS. Prediction markets differ from traditional sports betting by operating under a federal commodities framework rather than...
Dodgers $401M Payroll Adds Tension Ahead of MLB Labor Talks
The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the 2025 season with a $401.1 million luxury‑tax payroll, far outpacing any other franchise and intensifying fiscal disparities in MLB. Commissioner Rob Manfred noted the Dodgers’ compliance with the current CBA but warned their spending could dominate...
Panthers Owner Aims to Build Charlotte Into a Destination City
Tepper Sports and Entertainment CEO Kristi Coleman says Charlotte is emerging as a premier entertainment hub, backed by an $800 million renovation of Bank of America Stadium and a new 4,400‑seat music venue with Live Nation. The city’s visitor economy reached...
