Investment in sports media was the topic of an afternoon panel on the first day of the '13 Covington & Burling Sports Media & Technology conference. Falconhead Capital Operating Partner Peter Englehart, whose firm just exited ownership of Competitor Group in a $250M sale, said, “In the consumer space in sports, there are still lots of opportunities that have tangential media connections. But as long as consumerism remains 70% of our GDP, that’s an enormous playground in which you can look for opportunities.”
Englehart believes more deals like Guggenheim’s purchase of the Dodgers are coming, but "what this type of deal is emblematic of is that the acquiring entity – the investing entity – looks at these types of opportunities with professional sports franchises, and really, the sector you can apply the most creativity to is the monetizing of the media rights."
InterMedia Partners Managing Partner Peter Kern said money for smaller properties is a question of the “haves versus the have-nots.”
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