SFX Sports this morning formally began consolidating
its recent sports business acquisitions under the SFX Sports
Group umbrella. Beginning today, FAME, The Marquee Group,
ISI, Tellem & Associates, ProServ, The Marquee Group UK and
Hendricks Management Company will all be merged and renamed
the SFX Sports Group. DAVID FALK is Chair & CEO of SFX
Sports Group, with BILL ALLARD serving as President & COO.
The Sports Group will be organized under four operating
units, with ISI co-Founder FRANK VUONO being named President
of Marketing; former SMTI COO BOB O'CONNOR named President
of Events; The Marquee Group co-Founder MIKE TRAGER named
President of TV; former ProServ Senior Talent Rep IVAN
BLUMBERG named President of Talent Representation. FAME co-
Founder CURTIS POLK was named Corporate Exec VP of the
Sports Group (SFX Sports). Falk: "It's not just a branding
exercise, it's a cultural exercise, to say we're all part of
the same team." The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Andy Bernstein
reports that only SFX's Alphabet City Records and Tollin
Robbins "will retain their original names, but they too will
add SFX to their titles with a slash or hyphen." SFX Sports
Group reported total revenue of $110.7M during the first
three quarters of '99, posting earnings of $28.2M before
interest. Bernstein: "That represented the highest gross
margin of any SFX division" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 12/13
issue). In DC, Farhi & Behr write that SFX's sports
operations "will parallel" SFX's entertainment division.
Falk sees "expanding opportunities" for SFX's clients in
cable TV and the Internet. SFX's new www.eSuperstars.com
debuts this week. Falk, on SFX's Sports Group: "Putting all
these companies together is sort of like Crosby, Stills,
Nash and Young getting together. You have four great
talents. If you can get them to harmonize and sublimate
their egos, you'll create great music for a long time to
come" (WASHINGTON POST, 12/13).
