MSG’s current sports segment created 52% of its $1.24B overall revenue in the nine months ended March 31GETTY IMAGES
MSG Co. plans to "explore separating its sports business ... from its concert-hosting and entertainment-venue operations," according to Stephen Nakrosis of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The company said that it has "hired advisers to help it study a potential spinoff of the sports business, but noted no timetable has been set for its board to make a decision." The sports company "would include" the Knicks, NHL Rangers, WNBA Liberty, G League Westchester Knicks, AHL Hartford Wolf Pack; the NBA 2K League Knicks Gaming and a majority stake in esports organization Counter Logic Gaming. The live-entertainment company would include MSG, the Hulu Theater at MSG, Radio City Music Hall and Beacon Theatre, the Forum in Inglewood, Chicago Theatre the Wang Theatre in Boston. MSG’s Sports segment "accounted for 52%" of the company’s $1.24B of "overall revenue in the nine months ended March 31." The Entertainment business is "seeing stronger revenue and operating income growth from the year-earlier period." MSG said that if the spinoff moves forward, Exec Chair & CEO James Dolan would "serve as executive chairman and chief executive at both firms" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/28). MSG's potential spinoff Entertainment business would "include upcoming state-of-the art venues called MSG Sphere, the first of which is scheduled to open in Las Vegas" by the end of '20 and the "second to open in London a year later" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 6/27). MSG in October "hired communications and management consulting firm Teneo Holdings to stem mounting pressure from hedge funds to split or sell assets" (N.Y. POST, 6/28).
