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Leagues and Governing Bodies

Armed With New CBA, MLB Will Get Down To Business At This Week's Winter Meetings

After surpassing its record $7B in revenue this season, MLB "heads into its winter meetings this week primed for another season of lucrative free-agent contracts," according to Matthew Futterman of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Though MLB's business "isn't perfect, it is probably as healthy as it has been since the rise of the players union in the 1970s." Despite a "struggling economy, the game's 30 teams sold more than 73.4 million tickets this year," its fifth highest total ever and the most since '08. MLB Exec VP/Business Tim Brosnan said, "Our story is about content, content, content and the value of it." Futterman notes MLB "isn't without its trouble spots," with 17 teams that "sold less than 65% of their tickets" in '11. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has said that he was "troubled by the small audiences for the first round of the playoffs, which are broadcast exclusively on cable channels TBS and TNT." Additionally, the Rays and A's "are desperate for new ballparks and without public support may be forced to relocate." Still, several broadcasters "are preparing to bid for national television rights." The current contracts "expire after the 2013 season, and the sport is set to take advantage of what has become a fervent market for the rights to the highest profile sports." Media experts believe that national rights fees will "increase 25% to 40% from the current level of roughly $700 million per year." In addition, the league-owned MLB Network "is now in 65 million homes and collects roughly $200 million a year in subscriber fees" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/5).

WINTER WONDERLAND: In Denver, Troy Renck notes with a CBA "in place, with budgets mapped out and deep-pocketed owners eager to Christmas shop, the possibilities are limitless" for this week's winter meetings in Dallas. Cubs GM Jed Hoyer said, "It's going to be an exciting time with a lot of action" (DENVER POST, 12/5).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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