THE DAILY each Friday offers our take on the performances over the past week of people and entities in sports business. Here are this week's newsmakers:
WIN: BLEACHER REPORT -- The sports website took some big steps toward increased credibility this week, signing five well-known journalists as part of its new "lead writers program" and securing $22M in new venture capital funds. The hires will go a long way toward shaping the site's editorial direction, as critics of Bleacher Report have always lambasted its decentralized and amateur nature. The VC investment, which eclipses the sum total of all previous rounds, also clearly recognizes that the site continues to outperform traffic and revenue projections.
LOSE: NFL IN-GAME EXPERIENCE -- Wasn’t this one of Commissioner ROGER GOODELL's priorities? Getting fans off their comfy couches, away from their HDTVs and into a stadium? Well, after last week’s ugly brawl in S.F., who could blame fans for staying home? While the teams were proactive after the incident, where was the league’s public response condemning such behavior? This is a league issue. The problem, however, is that any solution risks striking at the bottom line -- we are talking about per caps, the cost of security, the cost of training and the cost of revoking season tickets. But sooner or later, this has to be dealt with.
DRAW: INDYCAR -- With DANICA PATRICK making the move to compete full-time in NASCAR next season, IndyCar loses what has clearly been the face of the series and open-wheel racing in the U.S. for many years now. However, despite Danica' popularity, she was not helping move the needle on TV ratings or the league's popularity. There might even be some execs who are glad Danica, who has just one win in seven years on the circuit, has moved on so that IndyCar can better promote drivers who reach Victory Lane on a more consistent basis.
