SBJ Spotlight

SBJ’s Austin Karp talks with Octagon SVP William Mao about the recently announced joint venture between ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery.

Legalized sports betting is in the third inning according to Scott Warfield. The PGA Tour’s VP of Gaming says that the industry is heading in the right direction and there is plenty of opportunity. Warfield joins SBJ’s Abe Madkour and John Ourand from Orlando in this edition of SBJ Spotlight.

Donna Orender has spent her career trying to make things better and more open to all. As a former WNBA President, Orender sees potential for women’s athletics and cause marketing and she joins SBJ’s Abe Madkour and John Ourand from Orlando in this edition of SBJ Spotlight.

Broadcast rights for NBA teams are in flux with Diamond Sports Group and the league trying to find a way forward. The Orlando Magic’s Alex Martins sees the potential for teams given the right leeway. The Magic COO joins SBJ’s Abe Madkour and John Ourand from Orlando in this edition of SBJ Spotlight to talk about the future of team media rights.

The 2023 CAA World Congress of Sports is about making connections and learning out how to position your business for massive changes ahead, said SBJ’s Abe Madkour and CAA’s Mike Levine. In this video, the two industry executives talk about some of the issues they expect to be top of mind when this year’s conference starts today in Los Angeles, including women’s sports, the continued rise in team valuations, and where leaders such as Adam Silver, Steve Ballmer, Ryan Smith and others believe the industry is headed. Madkour and Levine also give their advice on how to make the most of your World Congress experience.

Playfly founder and CEO Michael Schreiber joins SBJ’s Abe Madkour to talk about the growth of the agency, its focus on the fan experience, and what comes next.

Two decades after founding rEvolution, John Rowady reflects on the growth of the business, plans for the next two decades, and the biggest stories, stars and marketing opportunities that he’s watching today.

LIV Golf may have changed its story with a successful event in Boston, even as the PGA Tour takes steps to strengthen its position. SBJ's Eric Prisbell and Josh Carpenter on all of the latest golf news and what could be coming next.

NFF’s Steve Hatchell on what’s next after amazing start to college football season With so much happening around college sports off the field, it seemed almost too much to hope that the opening weekend of football season would live up to expectations. “Finally, we got to cheer for our teams,” said Steve Hatchell, CEO of the National Football Foundation, in an SBJ Spotlight interview looking at the college football landscape. “There was some great attendance at games … some real excitement and just some terrific games. I’m hoping that this type of enthusiasm goes on for the entire year.” Hatchell talked with SBJ’s Ross Nethery about the big stories in college sports and what might come next. On the CFP expansion to 12 teams: “Football is played in all 50 states … and we work with all 774 colleges and universities around the country. So if we can have a playoff that reflects on the investment in coaching and on the players from around the country, I think that’s for the betterment of the game.”

SBJ's Bret McCormick and longtime Charlotte journalist Erik Spanberg dig into the collapse of the Carolina Panthers headquarters project and look at what may come next for Tepper Sports. Spanberg: “There are a lot of bruised feelings, a lot of hurt egos, now that this thing is coming unraveled. The local parlor game is trying to figure out how this failure impacts negotiations going forward.”

SBJ's Abe Madkour, Ben Fischer and Austin Karp dive into some of the biggest questions facing the NFL as the new season gets underway. Topics include the potential for success — or failure — for Amazon’s Thursday Night Football, the future of NFL Media and Sunday Ticket, ratings expectations after last year’s 10% jump, and how owner behavior keeps providing unpleasant storylines around the league.

CNBC media reporter Alex Sherman joins SBJ’s John Ourand to discuss Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming strategy. The two talk about the company’s interest in sports rights, with Sherman noting that the company is in a cost-cutting mode, which is one reason why it has not been active in media rights negotiations over the past several months.

FaZe Clan began trading on the Nasdaq last week after a SPAC merger valued at $725 million. SBJ’s Kevin Hitt and Tobias Seck discuss the digital entertainment and esports brand now being traded as a public company.

While tech companies are consumed with finding ways to compete with TikTok, almost no one in conventional media “spends any time talking about it,” said Recode senior correspondent Peter Kafka in an Spotlight interview with SBJ’s John Ourand. “To me, that’s just an obvious disconnect.” Kafka authored a recent column headlined, “It’s TikTok’s world. Can TV live in it?” He said the main response to TikTok’s growth from traditional media execs has been to “punt and hope it’s someone else’s problem a quarter from now or two years from now.” But Kafka said that ignores the trend of conventional broadcast audiences growing older while a billion younger consumers spend most of their media time watching short video after short video. “If you’re in the business of getting anyone under the age of 30 to look at what you’re putting on a screen, you have to think about the fact that you’re probably asking them to put down TikTok and watch your thing instead,” said Kafka. “That’s a very difficult ask. … [TikTok] is insanely addictive.”

SBJ Facilities Writer Bret McCormick and Soccer Writer Alex Silverman say five U.S. cities are locks to host World Cup matches in 2026. But they have different ideas when it comes to the rest of the field.

The stunning $4.65 billion sale of the Denver Broncos more than doubles the price of the most recent team sale, but that doesn’t mean other owners will feel pressure to sell, said SBJ Football Writer Ben Fischer: “Probably a lot of teams are calling their bankers and just asking the question, but why not hold? There’s no reason to believe that we’re going to hit a cliff where these numbers start declining. Gambling is still coming on line as a revenue stream, just as one of many things that suggest waiting is probably the right thing to do.” Fischer and SBJ Media Writer John Ourand also talked about whether rising team valuations will begin to price potential owners out of the market. Fischer: “I think it’s important to note that not only was there one family willing to pay $4.65 billion, there were at least two other bidders apparently willing to pay $4.2 billion. So while I grant the point that eventually you’re going to run out of people that can buy these teams if we keep doubling every time, the actual evidence suggests that was not a problem in Denver.”

With the signing of Phil Mickelson and several others, plus the USGA’s announcement that the U.S. Open will welcome PGA Tour defectors, SBJ’s John Ourand and Eric Prisbell look at how LIV Golf is doing as it launches its first event.

Abe Madkour and Austin Karp on how high the numbers could be for the NBA and NHL Finals, as well as winners and losers among the major events on Memorial Day Weekend.