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: DIRECTV -- You can look at the numbers in a variety of ways. The company's NFL deal may be a tough pay off, but it has surely helped business. Due to a popular promo for NFL Sunday Ticket this season, DirecTV added 327,000 U.S. subscribers in Q3, the most in seven years. While the rest of the operators and distributors try to figure out the best sports play, the DBS operator blew away analysts' expectations with the numbers.
LOSE: PENN STATE -- The institution suffered significant damage in a swift, sudden week that saw it become the trending topic of America based on the actions -- and lack of action -- from its athletic department. All anyone is talking about is how all of this could happen, and the events have led to full court media coverage, a high volume of charged opinions and a Big Ten institution that will never be the same.
DRAW: TIGER WOODS -- He’s winning the Australian Open and he’s gearing up for the Presidents Cup with all eyes on his performance. He also signed a new endorsement deal for his bag, but unlike previous blue chip brands that he was traditionally aligned with, this new five-year deal with Fuse Science is in the sports and nutrition category, marking another deal with a small company (with upside) as Tiger’s penny stock strategy again shows his standing in today's marketplace.
