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WNBA prepares to add three $250M expansion teams
The league will vote by April 9 on adding franchises in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia, each requiring a $250 million expansion fee. Cleveland and Detroit have already secured outside capital at post‑money valuations of $290 million and $325 million respectively, backed by owners Dan Gilbert and Tom Gores.
TNT Sports and CBS Sports will air an alternate broadcast of the Michigan‑Arizona Final Four semifinal on truTV and HBO Max, featuring the reunited Michigan "Fab Five" as on‑air commentators. The production uses a remote‑integration (REMI) workflow anchored by NEP’s SS65 mobile unit, sending feeds to TNT’s Atlanta Techwood facility while keeping the on‑site footprint minimal. The hybrid model blends courtside personality‑driven commentary with centralized control, marking the unit’s first deployment at a college basketball championship. The experiment reflects a broader push toward flexible, audience‑centric sports presentations.
Caleb Williams, the 2024 NFL first‑overall pick, filed a trademark for his nickname “Iceman” on March 16, aiming to control merchandise bearing his name. The filing sparked an IP clash with NBA Hall of Famer George Gervin, who filed a...
It’s Saturday, which means The Highlight Reel, @Sportico’s recap of the top #SportsBiz stories. Sign up for all of our newsletters here: https://t.co/YDv6TFimqx https://t.co/B252dlmLIU
The WNBA’s two 2026 expansion franchises, Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, completed a quiet draft that yielded no marquee superstars. Portland used its No. 1 pick to secure forward Bridget Carleton, while Toronto selected wing Marina Mabrey, both tagged as Potential...
An NFL Partner 👇 Fox, Sinclair Decry NFL Antitrust Exemption as Sop to Streamers https://t.co/ORRVrmc6xZ via @sportico @crupicrupicrupi
President Donald Trump issued a second executive order aimed at reshaping college athletics by imposing a five‑year eligibility window, limiting transfers to one free move and a second after a four‑year degree, and banning "professional" athlete participation. The order also...
Arizona assistant coach Tommy Lloyd declined UNC's offer, signing a five‑year extension with Arizona that makes him one of the highest‑paid college coaches. The contract averages about $7.5 million per year, includes a $9 million buyout and larger bonuses, and raises his...
The NBA leveraged its new media rights to air “Sunday Night Basketball” against March Madness, delivering a combined 3.4 million viewers for the Knicks‑Thunder matchup on NBC. This marked the league’s strongest March‑Madness‑era audience in a decade, surpassing the 2016...
Netflix broadened its sports footprint by expanding its EverPass Media partnership, allowing the Tyson Fury‑Arslanbek Makhmudov fight and future events to be streamed in bars and restaurants. Crunchyroll opened fan voting for the 2026 Anime Awards, extending participation to MyAnimeList...
The NCAA is reviewing three rule proposals that would let college athletes accept prize money without jeopardizing eligibility, a move likely spurred by a February settlement with tennis players Reese Brantmeier and Maya Joint. Currently, athletes may only keep prize...
Braylon Mullins’ deep three-pointer with seconds remaining knocked Duke out and propelled UConn to its third Final Four in four years. The shot places him among March Madness legends, but unlike past heroes, he now faces potential NIL deals worth...
DIRECTV is promoting its MySports Genre Pack at a discounted $45 per month for the first two months, positioning it as the cheapest way to stream every game of the 2026 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Final Four and national championships....
Boston Legacy FC announced a multi‑year regional media partnership with WBTS (NBC 10) and NBC Sports Boston, securing live coverage of 13 matches for its inaugural NWSL season starting April 3, 2026. The schedule features eight home games and five away contests...
. @MattBelloni writes about the NFL media rights negotiations from a Hollywood perspective. "One of the biggest threats to the film and TV industry maybe isn’t A.I. or YouTube or whatever studio Larry Ellison is consolidating today. It’s football." https://t.co/d0FHLVav0X
Encompass Digital Media and Techex have unveiled Altitude Events, a cloud‑native master control service that combines Encompass’s Altitude Media Cloud platform with Techex’s tx darwin transformation engine and Densitron UI. The solution handles the full live‑event chain—from signal acquisition and dynamic...
How Sports Ad Market Could React to This Dicey Economic Moment https://t.co/82dIgPJh0A via @sportico @crupicrupicrupi
DAZN is teaming with TikTok to livestream a Serie A match—Juventus versus Genoa—directly to users in the UK and Ireland. The free broadcast will appear on the @DAZNFootball TikTok channel on April 6, 2026, kicking off at 6 pm BST. Both companies frame...
Brands are tightening budgets amid a crowded sports calendar that includes the Super Bowl, 2026 Winter Olympics and FIFA World Cup. Global ad spend is set to exceed $1 trillion, but live‑sports slots remain prohibitively expensive, with 30‑second Super Bowl spots...
TNT Sports CEO Luis Silberwasser says the network is "extremely interested" in extending its NHL partnership and is ready to begin talks whenever commissioner Gary Bettman decides. The league’s renewal timeline may be tied to the NFL’s ongoing media‑rights negotiations,...
Main Street Sports Group announced it will wind down its FanDuel Sports Network regional sports networks within roughly five weeks, ending NBA regular‑season coverage and NHL first‑round playoff broadcasts. The move follows the loss of its core Major League Baseball...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the Ivy League’s policy of offering no athletic scholarships, confirming the league’s antitrust compliance. The court found the plaintiffs failed to define a relevant...
Riot Games launched 2XKO with a high‑budget esports vision, but costly skins, aggressive marketing and a top‑down structure clashed with the fighting‑game community’s authenticity‑first culture. Early layoffs of most of the development team signaled waning corporate commitment, while community‑run events...
Marchand: "ESPN is interested in retaining NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, whose contract is up at the end of the month." https://t.co/eixYomd1T7
The Coca‑Cola Company and its largest bottler, Coca‑Cola Europacific Partners GB, have been named the Official Soft Drinks Partner for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games and an Official Partner of Team Scotland. The agreement designates Coca‑Cola Zero Sugar, Powerade and...
Netflix streamed its first live MLB game on Opening Night 2026, attracting roughly 3 million viewers – the largest Opening Day audience since the pandemic‑shortened 2020 season. The 18‑49 demographic was the strongest for an MLB opener in nearly a decade,...
College basketball’s Final Four this year featured unprecedented size, with each of the four teams averaging at least 6‑foot‑6 when weighted by minutes. The height surge, now in the 90th percentile of Division I history, has translated into elite offensive rebounding,...
HBO Max will stream the 2026 NCAA Men’s March Madness Final Four (April 4) and championship (April 6) without additional fees, but it offers no standalone discount. Viewers can instead subscribe to a Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max ad‑free bundle for $33...
So Much to Discuss From @kbadenhausen's great work on the Highest-Paid Athletes of All-Time: https://t.co/quqjLta1pg via @sportico
Sky Sports has signed a multi‑year exclusive deal with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) to broadcast its new women’s boxing platform, MVPW, in the UK and Ireland. The agreement guarantees two all‑female fight nights each year, starting with a...
ITV announced that its streaming service ITVX logged over 1 billion streams in 2026, reaching the milestone eight days earlier than the previous year. The growth was driven by strong performance of flagship events such as the Rugby Six Nations and...
Complex announced a multiyear partnership with Fanatics to launch Complex Bets, an editorial vertical that will embed Fanatics Sportsbook and Fanatics Markets data into its content. The new offering will have a dedicated home on the Complex website, social channels, and...
💰New Episode💰 - A Conversation With @kbadenhausen About the Richest Athletes 👇 Sporticast: The Next Wave of Athlete Billionaires Is Coming https://t.co/7iRuBER3bh via @sportico
Son Rise: LAFC Cashes In With Another Korean Culture Tie ⚽https://t.co/CnlplBlvLe via @sportico @JustBirny @LAFC
WSL Football has launched an official mobile app for the Barclays Women’s Super League and WSL 2, offering fans a centralized hub for live match stories, statistics, streaming, and personalized content. The app was shaped by a beta program with 2,000...
LAFC announced a partnership with California‑based Hello Soju, bringing the Korean spirit to BMO Stadium and expanding the club's Korean‑focused activations. The deal follows a string of Korean‑linked sponsors—including Paris Baguette, WireBarley, and Seoul Tourism—secured after Son Heung‑min’s $26 million transfer. Son’s arrival...
In this episode of The Sportacast, hosts Scott Sashnik and Eben Novi‑Williams dive into the world’s highest‑paid athletes, highlighting Michael Jordan’s unparalleled earnings, Tiger Woods, Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, and Lionel Messi. They discuss how Jordan’s Jordan Brand generates roughly...
Sporticast’s latest episode breaks down the 50 highest‑paid athletes of all time, with Michael Jordan topping the list at $4.5 billion, followed by Tiger Woods, Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James and Lionel Messi. The methodology blends salaries, endorsements and business deals tied...
Publicis Groupe has acquired 160over90, a leading sports and culture agency with more than 670 employees, to bolster its Publicis Sports division. The undisclosed‑price deal, pending regulatory clearance, brings expertise across events such as the Super Bowl, Olympics and World...
The Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys are slated to play a Week 3 NFL matchup in Rio de Janeiro, marking the first of three Brazil games scheduled over the next five seasons. This will be the third NFL contest ever...
18-49 👀 Netflix Connects with TV’s Dollar Demo in MLB Debut https://t.co/bBajOiM693 via @sportico @crupicrupicrupi
ESPN signed former Eagles star Jason Kelce with expectations of a football‑centric analyst role, but his on‑air presence has been scattered across Monday Night Countdown, a short‑lived late‑night show, NHL coverage, and now golf events like the TGL and the...
Veteran broadcaster Ian Eagle once warned that NIL deals and the transfer portal could dim March Madness, fearing roster churn would erode team chemistry. He now says the opposite: player‑movement freedom and name‑image earnings have lifted on‑court talent and fan...
Boston Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs told The Athletic he remains optimistic about regional sports networks (RSNs) despite industry headwinds. He highlighted that pay‑TV households have dropped from over 100 million to roughly 62 million, eroding the traditional RSN revenue model. Jacobs pointed...
Varsity Brands, backed by KKR, announced the acquisition of online retailer Lax.com and Sports Endeavors, the parent of Soccer.com, World Soccer Shop and 431 Sports. The Sports Endeavors deal is valued between $300 million and $400 million, while the price for Lax.com was...
Jordan's Furniture has pledged to refund all sales made between Jan. 20 and March 1—about $50 million—if both UConn men’s and women’s basketball teams reach the national championship. The promotion is backed by a custom insurance policy that caps the retailer’s direct exposure....
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed that Steve Tisch is no longer an owner of the New York Giants, having transferred his stake to family trusts as part of estate planning. The league’s investigation found no violation of the NFL’s personal...
New pod: @JeffPassan on the wonders of the robot umps, MLB's momentum and the future of the World Baseball Classic. https://t.co/rOfROjqUgt
The episode dissects the surprising UConn upset over Duke and its impact on the Final Four ratings, highlighting how teams like Michigan, Arizona, and Illinois boost viewership despite UConn’s historically low draw. Hosts John Lewis and Armand Brody debate the...
Netflix has secured exclusive live streaming rights for WWE in Italy, replacing Discovery+ and DMAX. The deal covers WWE's flagship shows—RAW, SmackDown and NXT—as well as all Premium Live Events, starting with WrestleMania 42 on April 18‑19. Italian viewers will receive localized...
UConn’s dramatic comeback win over Duke in the Elite Eight attracted an average 13.4 million viewers on CBS, a 15% increase over last year’s comparable game but still modest for the late‑Sunday window. The broadcast peaked at 18.9 million viewers, ranking it...
