The SBD/SBJ editorial staff compiled the top sports business stories of '11, in no particular order. Today, we present five of them.
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Hunter and Stern repeatedly clashed publicly
throughout NBA lockout negotiations
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LABOR PAINS -- AND GAINS: It was built up as a watershed year in labor/management relationships, and at the end of it all, the NFL, NBA and MLB all reached new labor agreements, but only MLB reached a deal peacefully. The NFL and NBA talks tested the mettle of owners, lawyers and players, as the back-and-forth often turned contentious. The NFL went to the wire, reaching an agreement barely in time to avoid losing games, with the annual HOF preseason game the only casualty. However, the NBA was forced to scrap its original calendar, and now is prepared to start a shortened season on Christmas Day.
EBERSOL, BODENHEIMER EXIT STAGE LEFT: The year saw two longtime media leaders move on, with Dick Ebersol stepping down from NBCUniversal Sports and Olympics, and George Bodenheimer announcing his decision to step away from day-to-day operations at ESPN. Ebersol, who later returned as an adviser to Mark Lazarus, provided more of a ripple effect on the industry, as the move allowed Comcast to assert its authority over NBC Sports. ESPN should see fewer changes. Bodenheimer’s replacement as president, John Skipper, has pledged to keep the business running the same it has for the past several years.
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McCourts divorced last year and led Dodgers
into one of franchise's lowest points
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THE SAD DECLINE OF THE DODGERS: Last year’s ugly divorce trial between Dodgers Owner Frank McCourt and ex-wife Jamie turned out to be only a prelude to '11’s epic battles between the team, MLB and Fox Sports. The cash-strapped club nearly missed several payroll deadlines, briefly had a league monitor assigned to it and ultimately filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. After a fractious summer of legal volleys between the Dodgers and MLB, McCourt struck a settlement in which he agreed to sell the franchise by April '12. It was a low point for one of the most revered and historic teams in all of sports.
FOX SCORES UPSET, LANDS THE WORLD CUP: ESPN appeared to be an easy choice to renew its FIFA World Cup deal in October. Its top execs, especially John Skipper, are big soccer fans, and its comprehensive coverage during the '10 event was widely praised. But Fox surprised the industry by paying $450-500M for the rights to the '18 and '22 events, which will be held in Russia and Qatar, respectively. NBC-owned Telemundo agreed to pay $600M for the Spanish-language rights. Fox’ jaw-dropping bid should help the company’s Fox Soccer Channel, which still has a lot of room to grow.
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Scott put Pac-12 at forefront of college
realignment and conference TV contracts
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THE GROWTH -- AND PR PROBLEMS -- OF COLLEGE SPORTS: Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott was hired to mine more revenue out of the conference’s rights, but even he could not have envisioned the record $250M-a-year haul from ESPN and Fox that vaulted the Pac-12 from a sleepy West Coast afterthought to the leader of the pack. Seeing revenue riches, schools and conferences constantly wrestled with realignment, which fed a damaging public perception that college sports was more about revenue growth than the student athletes.
