The SBJ/SBD editorial staff compiled the top sports business stories of '17, in no particular order. Today, we present five of them.
ONE FOR THE MONEY: The fight pitting boxing’s flamboyant, undefeated champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. against UFC superstar Conor McGregor at T-Mobile Arena, hyped by a four-city tour in the month before the August bout, generated a live gate of $55.4M, placing it second in combat sports gates of all time, behind the $72.2M the '15 Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
L.A. SEALS DEAL ON '28: Bid Chair Casey Wasserman and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti delivered what no American city had been able to in more than a generation: a Summer Games. By deferring to '28, with the '24 edition going to Paris, LA 2028’s agreement with the IOC brings sweeteners such as a $180M cash advance, permission to spend up to $160M of the IOC’s money on local youth sports initiatives and several waived fees.
DISNEY GOES BAM: In August, Disney acquired a majority stake in BAMTech for $1.58B, paving the way for the debut of an ESPN-branded video streaming network early next year, followed by a Disney-branded OTT service in '19, both of which will be supported by BAMTech technology. The latest deal values BAMTech at $3.76B. MLBAM will retain a stake of slightly more than 15% of BAMTech, while the NHL has slightly less than 10%.
A MARRIAGE OF COLLEGE MARKETERS: IMG College and Learfield agreed to merge in the most dramatic consolidation of the fragmented collegiate industry. If approved by the Justice Department, the merger would bring together multimedia rights to 200 schools under one banner for the first time, creating an enterprise worth $2B. Learfield President & CEO Greg Brown would run the merged business, which would be a 50-50 split between the two companies.
MERGER WAS JUST A FANTASY: Almost eight months after announcing a proposed merger, DraftKings and FanDuel announced that they were abandoning their plans and would continue to operate, and compete, as separate companies. The Federal Trade Commission had filed an antitrust lawsuit to block the merger amid concerns that the combined company would represent a near monopoly with 90% of the U.S. market for paid daily fantasy sports.
