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Sports Business Awards

Sports League of the Year

Major League Soccer

Led by the response to Atlanta United’s championship year, MLS set records for viewership, attendance and product sales. Its expansion process also continued, with four new clubs joining the league — Cincinnati this season, Nashville and Miami in 2020, and Austin in 2021 — through expansion that shows no signs of stopping.

National Basketball Association

After breaking attendance records for the fourth straight season, the NBA saw worldwide streaming subscriptions increase 64% and viewership growth throughout the regular season and playoffs, while being named the third Most Innovative Company of the Year by Fast Company. 

National Football League

It was a resurgent year for the NFL with increases in ratings and attendance and all of its business metrics pointing up. It also signed its first official casino deal with Caesars; extended deals with Visa and CBS; and saw a 29% drop in concussions from last season.

PGA Tour

It was a year of innovation for the PGA Tour marked by a $2 billion deal with Discovery for its international TV rights, a partnership with IMG to sell its gambling data and the integration of new technologies such as artificial intelligence into tournament telecasts.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: May 10, 2024

Start your morning with Buzzcast with Austin Karp: A very merry NFL Christmas on Netflix? The Braves and F1 deliver for Liberty Media investors; the WNBA heads to Toronto; and Zelle gets in on team sports sponsorship.

Phoenix Mercury/NBC’s Cindy Brunson, NBA Media Deal, Network Upfronts

On this week’s pod, SBJ’s Austin Karp chats with SBJ NBA writer Tom Friend about the pending NBA media Deal. Cindy Brunson of NBC and Phoenix Mercury is our Big Get this week. The sports broadcasting pioneer talks the upcoming WNBA season. Later in the show, SBJ media writer Mollie Cahillane gets us set for the upcoming network upfronts.

SBJ I Factor: Molly Mazzolini

SBJ I Factor features an interview with Molly Mazzolini. Elevate's Senior Operating Advisor – Design + Strategic Alliances chats with SBJ’s Ross Nethery about the power of taking chances. Mazzolini is a member of the SBJ Game Changers Class of 2016. She shares stories of her career including co-founding sports design consultancy Infinite Scale career journey and how a chance encounter while working at a stationery store launched her career in the sports industry. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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