Tonight in SBJ Unpacks: Disney reports its second consecutive quarterly loss, but ESPN+ subs offer a silver lining.
- NFL, teams begin strategizing for 2021
- RBC analyst says Nike poised for more growth
- Masters contingency plan could place final holes on ABC and ESPN
- ESPN's Michael Eaves goes behind the scenes at The Masters
- Overtime's Zack Weiner on targeting Gen Z
- Ironman Group CEO talks virtual, in-person racing
- This free newsletter keeps you up to date on the biggest challenges facing sports. Click here to sign up to receive nightly updates on the industry's winding road to recovery.
ESPN+ A BRIGHT SPOT FOR HARD-HIT DISNEY FINANCIALS
- Disney "reported its second consecutive quarterly loss" today as the pandemic "continued to affect the entertainment company’s results," per the Wall Street Journal. Disney said it had a Q4 loss of $710 million. That follows the loss it reported for Q3, which was Disney’s first quarterly loss since 2001.
- The company logged revenue of $14.71 billion, which "fell 23% from a year ago." Analysts were expecting $14.15 billion. Disney "reported operating losses in its parks, experiences and products segment and in its direct-to-consumer and international segment."
- One positive came from the performance of ESPN+. Overall, Disney’s direct-to-consumer segment "saw revenue grow 41% year-over-year to $4.9 billion, while its operating loss fell from $751 million in Q4 2019 to $580 million this year," per TechCrunch. Disney attributed the shrinking losses to “improved results at Hulu and ESPN+, partially offset by higher costs at Disney+, driven by the ongoing rollout.” Disney revealed ESPN+ now has 10.3 million subscribers, "more than doubling from 3.5 million a year earlier."
VETERAN SPORTS PROPERTY MARKETER DAVID NEWMAN REJOINS METS
- Veteran sports property marketer David Newman is joining the Mets' new management under Steve Cohen as Exec VP and Chief Marketing, Content & Communications Officer, reports SBJ's Terry Lefton. The move comes some two years after Newman left the Mets, where he’d been Senior VP/Marketing & Communications for 13 years.
- “It’s a great opportunity that’s really unique, because it’s a mix of what’s now really a new brand with a great heritage. And it’s working with a solid new management team and establishing what’s, in many ways, a new organization,’’ said Newman, who will report to Mets President Sandy Alderson.
- Newman will start Nov. 16 and be responsible for overseeing consumer marketing, advertising and promotion strategy; brand, fan research and engagement; digital/social, content creation, and distribution across all Mets-owned media assets; as well as in-game entertainment and events, along with internal and external communications.
- Prior to his first Mets gig, Newman held marketing slots with the USTA, the NFL, MTV and MSG Network.
NFL, TEAMS BEGIN STRATEGIZING FOR 2021
- Nearly all of the NFL’s energy is focused on navigating this pandemic-plagued season, but teams are trying to prepare for 2021 too, writes SBJ's Ben Fischer. In a virtual meeting set for tomorrow, Commissioner Roger Goodell and other league execs are scheduled to begin answering some of their questions about the path forward amid COVID-19.
- Agenda items include club preparation and fan engagement for 2021, the offseason calendar -- such as the Senior Bowl, Combine and Draft -- updates on all commercial partnerships and something called a “marketing innovation preview,” per sources.
- This would normally be fairly routine stuff, but it comes as clubs struggle to sell and plan for 2021 with little clear picture of what business conditions await them. Despite this week’s optimism over a vaccine, current information suggests attendance restrictions will continue next fall, insiders say.
RBC ANALYST: NIKE POISED FOR MORE GROWTH
- A focus on fitness and athleisure amid the pandemic has helped Nike grow its business in 2020, but Under Armour has not taken advantage of the same macro trends. That analysis is courtesy of a new note from RBC Capital Markets' Kate Fitzsimmons, who believes Nike’s stock could push toward new all-time highs. Fitzsimmons credited Nike’s strong direct-to-consumer success and growing digital business, as well as its “ongoing product innovation, expanding online sales, strong marketing efforts, and gains in key international markets like China.”
- Barron’s notes Nike’s stock has risen 26% in 2020, which UA being down 33.5% year to date. Fitzsimmons calls a potential turnaround for UA "intriguing" as it repositions itself for domestic and international growth while exploring opportunities in categories like footwear. But she believes the brand needs “greater visibility on the strength of the North American recovery.”
SOURCES: MASTERS CONTINGENCY COULD PLACE FINALS HOLES ON ABC/ESPN
- ABC and ESPN will carry the final holes and championship presentation of this year’s Masters in the unlikely event that Sunday’s round runs past 4:00pm ET, according to several sources cited by SBJ's John Ourand & David Rumsey.
- The use of ABC and ESPN is not Augusta National’s only contingency plan should the tournament run long. CBS Sports Network, CBSSports.com and Masters.com also would carry live coverage in the event of an unexpectedly late ending.
- ABC's fellow Disney subsidiary ESPN holds rights to The Masters coverage today and Friday. CBS’ announcers and production crew still would be used even if the ending comes on ABC and ESPN. Still, it would be jarring to see the 2020 Masters Champion crowned on a channel other than CBS, which has carried every Masters tourney since '56.
TONED-DOWN MASTERS WEEK NOTABLY DIFFERENT
- ESPN’s coverage of The Masters began this afternoon after rain delayed the first round by a few hours, just another hiccup in the most unique year of the storied tournament’s history. “SportsCenter” host Michael Eaves caught up with SBJ’s David Rumsey to talk about how ESPN is handling this year’s event and also shared some insight on what else is different around the grounds of Augusta National.
- “There are so many events that take place all the nights prior to the tournament starting, even once the tournament gets underway,” Eaves said. “So many different companies and industry representatives are down.” But this Masters week has not provided those same familiar meet-ups. “You catch up on those old friendships, relationships, you go out to dinner and things of that nature. You have none of that (this year),” Eaves said.
- Last year, Eaves shared a rental house in Augusta with fellow ESPNers Matt Barrie and Marty Smith, but this week he has an entire four-bedroom house to himself. “The social aspect of this week, which I think is very unique and very special, is completely gone,” he said.
- One last difference -- perhaps the most disappointing for some covering the tournament -- was the cancelation of the traditional Masters media lottery that allows several lucky reporters to play Augusta National the following Monday. For that reason (along with the lack of colleagues to play with), Eaves said, “I’m not even bringing my clubs.”
Eaves (l) has been in Augusta all week hosting "SportsCenter" ahead of today's first round of The Masters
OVERTIME AT FOREFRONT OF CHANGING VIEWER HABITS
- Overtime, a cross-platform media company launched in 2016 focused on short-form content, now has 30 million followers, 40 shows across seven platforms and a billion video views per month. Co-founder Zack Weiner, appearing at the SBJ and Leaders' Media Innovators virtual event, credited the growth to "squarely targeting" Gen Z and millennial consumers under the age of 35.
- Weiner, a member of SBJ's inaugural New Voices Under 30 class, said: "Ultimately, it's the voice of the content. This is content made specifically for this generation. If you're a legacy media company, you have to target a wide range of consumers. If you have to choose between the 25-year-old and the 55-year-old, you're probably going to choose a 55-year-old ... because that's ultimately who's spending for the cable bill. For us, we don't have that -- we're not encumbered by that -- so we can squarely focus on this demo."
- Quick hits:
- On working with younger NFL and NBA players: "They have the same voice as that audience. They're very relatable."
- On the pandemic's impact on Overtime's business: "We've been able to create a lot of off-court content, a lot of off-field content. A lot of content around sneakers, around music, around different aspects that are not so literal to sports. ... (But) do I want sports to return in full tomorrow? Absolutely."
NEWS YOU NEED FROM SPORTS BUSINESS DAILY
- During this crisis impacting the sports business, we want everyone to be up-to-date on the latest news and information. Tonight, the entire Sports Business Daily section covering SBJ and Leaders' Media Innovators virtual event is free, outside the paywall. Below are the headlines.
- ViacomCBS Relying On Sports Content To Aid Streaming Strategy
- PLL's Paul Rabil Shares How League Weathered Pandemic
- How SnapBack Sports Takes Its Content Beyond The Field Of Play
- Original Sports Content More In-Demand Now Than Ever Before
- Looking At How Sports Content Can Bring Different People Together
IRONMAN GROUP CEO TALKS VIRTUAL, IN-PERSON RACING AMID PANDEMIC
- Bringing triathletes back to in-person races in this challenging environment was no small task, but after almost 200 days of COVID-19-induced hiatus, the Ironman Group has returned to competition in earnest. On the latest “SBJ Unpacks: The Road Ahead,” Ironman Group CEO Andrew Messick spoke with SBJ’s Andrew Levin about returning safely and the future of the fitness space.
- Messick said the group during its stoppage took a “hard pivot” toward creating a virtual racing product. He explained, “For athletes who weren’t able to get out and ride 100 kilometers on their bike, they could do it indoors, and they could run on a treadmill, or they could run in their neighborhood. … Having weekly virtual races really helped our athletes an enormous amount.”
- Messick broke down Ironman’s protocol for its in-person return in September: “We eliminated in-person athlete briefings, and we translated those to virtual. We eliminated banquets. Places where people congregate, we’re providing other opportunities for people to virtually get together. We’ve changed aid stations. We’ve changed transition areas. We’ve changed the start. We’ve changed the finish.” He concluded, “All of those are designed to allow people to be able to … dramatically minimize human contact by 90% or more.”
- Trends in the fitness space that Messick is keeping his eye on? “What we’ve seen through the pandemic is that digital delivery of community has been something that has been enormously popular. … We believe that there is a huge opportunity in our space to be able to provide connected-fitness opportunities for our athletes,” Messick said. He added, “More broadly, I think we’re going to see that COVID is going to really result in more people being physically active.”
- NOTE: Ironman and SBJ are both entities under the umbrella of Advance Publications.
SPEED READS
- Former Texans VP/Communications Amy Palcic has hired Houston lawyer Joseph Ahmad, he confirmed to SBJ's Ben Fischer earlier today. Ahmad “represents executives in a variety of matters, including breach of contract, trade secrets, covenants not to compete, breach of fiduciary duty and other matters,” according to his website. Palcic hired Ahmad less than 48 hours after her surprise firing by Texans President Jamey Rootes. See more in SBJ Football.
- ESPN has taken "College GameDay" to some unique settings over the years, but nothing like what the network will experience at Augusta National on Saturday morning. Octagon VP Matt Chelap, who works on activating Home Depot's longtime sponsorship of "GameDay," said excitement was off the charts for those who will be on site for the first-of-its-kind pregame show from the par 3 course. See more tonight from Michael Smith in SBJ College.
- Venn, the TV network that launched in early August, has signed a digital content syndication deal with Microsoft, notes Cablefax. The non-exclusive pact will see clips from select Venn series shared on the new MSN Esports vertical. Venn, which focuses on the overall gaming landscape as opposed to specifically covering esports, has drawn investment from the likes of Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill and aXiomatic Gaming (whose investors include owners Ted Leonsis and Jeff Vinik).
- A majority of sports fans in stadium and arenas may take to mobile ordering in a post-coronavirus world, reports SBJ's Karn Dhingra. Over half of sports fans (55%) surveyed by Appetize, a point-of-sale and digital ordering platform company, expect to use mobile ordering at venues after the pandemic. Appetize also found that more than half (51%) of American sports fans want to use mobile ordering directly from their seats, versus 18% who want to use self-service kiosk at concessions and 3.8% hawkers with mobile devices.
- The Angels today hired Braves Assistant GM Perry Minasian as the team's next GM. It is the "first time Minasian will lead a team’s baseball operations," per the L.A. Times. He replaces Billy Eppler, who was fired Sept. 27 after five losing seasons. Minasian was "chosen from a field of more than 16 candidates, including four who previously served as a general manager."
SBJ UNPACKS -- THE ROAD AHEAD
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