SBJ Unpacks: NBA Most Likely "One-And-Done" With Bubble
Tonight in SBJ Unpacks: NBA stakeholders determined to be "one-and-done" with bubble play.
Also:
- French Open adjusts plans for fan capacity
- Why a Mets-Sandy Alderson reunion makes sense
- MLB, Turner Sports reach new rights deal
- John Madden drops off two NFL committees
- LiveLike founder bullish on co-viewing's staying power
WOJ: NBA STAKEHOLDERS SET ON HOSTING FANS NEXT SEASON
- ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports as the NBA nears the finish line within the Orlando bubble, he gets the sense that owners and the NBPA are “going to do everything they can to -- in some shape or form -- have fans in arenas” next season. Wojnarowski: “Even if that means it’s socially distanced.”
- Wojnarowski, on his ESPN podcast, cited the “owners’ appetite … to get the revenue streams back.” He added, “Financially, it’s scary to have the fans out for this long. You just can’t assume everyone’s going to come flooding back. People find other things to do in this world. You don’t want people out of NBA buildings for so long that it’s not a habit anymore.” While Wojnarowski doesn’t believe the league has ruled out another bubble to start the 2020-2021 season, “it’s the last thing anyone wants to do right now.”
- The L.A. Times' Dan Woike cites sources who indicated that both the NBA and its players "believe another significant amount of time spent in a bubble is a non-starter." One veteran NBAer said, "No way we’d ever agree to it."
- Meanwhile, Cavaliers CEO Len Komoroski on CNBC said, "The effort there is how to optimize playing 82 games with a full schedule with as many fans as possible and there’s an amazing amount of effort of that going on. … We’re starting to see fans coming back in sports venues in Ohio and we’re optimistic and hopeful that by the time we get around to our season, those numbers will continue to grow, and that’s really the effort and initiative of our league as well."
FRENCH OPEN CAPACITY REDUCED TO 1,000 PER DAY
- French Prime Minister Jean Castex today announced that the French Open will be limited to "1,000 spectators" per day.
- Organizers had planned on allowing 5,000 per day, but French health officials on Wednesday announced that the country's 5,000-person limit at sporting events had been "reduced to 1,000" in "most major cities," including Paris, due to a resurgence in COVID-19 cases. Meanwhile, virtually all Ligue 1 matches will be played with "1,000 fans or less," as well.
- See more in tonight's issue of SBD Global.
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WELL-RESPECTED SANDY ALDERSON LIKELY HELPS COHEN'S METS BID
- The N.Y. Post's Joel Sherman writes when it comes to Sandy Alderson's expected return to the Mets organization, a "rewrite is possible" under Steve Cohen's potential ownership.
- Cohen and Alderson "speak a common language when it comes to business, technology and long-term strategy." Under the Wilpons, Alderson was "worn down not by age or the cancer ... as much as the endless meddling from above, the bizarre requests, the inability of his bosses to see beyond the next press conference."
- Sherman: "Cohen’s angle is transparent. He is a flawed candidate. There are owners against him at a time when he will need 23 votes to be approved. There is worry about his history with insider trading, gender discrimination and what his $15 billion could mean to blowing out a payroll. For Cohen, Alderson is part cleansing agent, part political whip bringing votes into line."
MLB, TURNER SPORTS FORMALLY AGREE TO NEW MEDIA RIGHTS DEAL
- MLB and Turner Sports finalized a seven-year media rights deal that sources say will see the media company pay around $535 million per year through 2028, report SBJ's Eric Prisbell & John Ourand. Turner now pays an average of $325 million a year under an eight-year deal that expires after the 2021 season, meaning the extension represents about a 65% increase in value. All told, the overall deal is worth $3.7 billion.
- As with every media rights deal these days, this one has a digital component. Turner picked up TV Everywhere rights that will allow TBS to carry games on its platforms to authenticated viewers. Turner Sports websites and apps, including Bleacher Report, will get more highlight rights. And Turner can create complementary apps around its games. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred: "We need to be where young people are -- get them the game where they want to watch it. We believe that Bleacher Report is one of those places."
- Read SBD's full story here.
MADDEN DROPS OFF TWO NFL COMMITTEES; KEY BUSINESS ROLES UNCHANGED
- Legendary coach and broadcaster John Madden no longer has any formal governance role with the NFL, having stepped down from his role as chair of the coaches subcommittee and co-chair of the player safety advisory panel, reports SBJ's Ben Fischer. Chiefs coach Andy Reid replaced him on the coaches committee, and HOFer Curtis Martin replaced him on the player safety panel, where Ronnie Lott continues on as co-chair. A league spokesman said Madden continues to contribute informally.
- There was little turnover this year in the NFL’s most important business committees, where the most powerful owners wield their influence, according to a memo from Commissioner Roger Goodell. “Given the benefits of continuity in the current environment, the changes to the committees are minimal,” Goodell wrote to GMs, club presidents and owners earlier this month.
- Robert Kraft will continue to chair the media committee as rights negotiations heat up, and Jerry Jones will continue to oversee the league’s owned-and-operated media committee. Clark Hunt still oversees finance; Art Rooney II still oversees compensation and workplace diversity; Jonathan Kraft will continue to chair fan engagement & major events; Shad Khan, business ventures and legal sports betting; Joel Glazer, international; John Mara, management council executive committee. The full rosters of those panels are all the same.
- There's one new committee: Research & Innovation, staffed by Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills and led by former NFL Physicians Society President Matthew Matava. It will oversee NFL-funded research programs and give feedback on feasibility and ethics around health and safety research. At the staff level, Exec VP and Chief Administrative Officer Dasha Smith was given three new committees to manage.
LIVELIKE FOUNDER BULLISH ON CO-VIEWING'S STAYING POWER
- OTT sports tech company LiveLike co-Founder & CEO Miheer Walavalkar called the combination of live-sports streaming with an immersive social experience a “big transformation over the past two years, especially accelerated due to COVID.”
- LiveLike during this time has worked with Sky Sports, FloSports, WMT and Georgia Tech, as well as the NBA. Walavalkar, a 2018 SBJ "Forty Under 40" honoree, indicated the sudden pause in programming brought on by the initial pandemic shutdown provided sports and media properties a “chance to focus on innovation and focus on product experience.” He told SBJ’s Andrew Levin, “Everything that’s coming in the next 12 months is effected by these six months. That’s the easiest way to put it. Our product road map is now far more evolved.”
- Walavalkar addressed the significance of such technology for advertisers. “Now, advertising can be completely interactive,” he said. “You can have in-app notifications that are driven through advertising. You can have brand takeovers. This is an advertiser’s dream.”
- Walavalkar also stressed social viewing’s staying power post-pandemic. He said, “As technology advances, delivery mechanisms get better, video quality gets better, hardware gets better and watch parties become more of a habit than a fad, I think those kinds of functionalities are definitely here to stay.”
- For more insights from Walavalkar on social sports watching, check out today’s episode of “SBJ Unpacks: The Road Ahead” podcast.
SPEED READS
- NBC Sports earlier today made Pete Bevacqua the third Chair in its history, following Dick Ebersol and Mark Lazarus, the exec to whom Bevacqua reports. SBJ's John Ourand writes Bevacqua’s promotion comes two years after he joined NBC Sports Group after a stint as CEO of the PGA of America. Bevacqua’s resume during his two-year run at NBC Sports includes renewing NBC’s media rights deal with the PGA Tour and picking up the rights to an NFL Wild Card game for NBC, Telemundo and Peacock this season. Bevacqua also oversaw negotiations to take USGA rights over from Fox Sports, which runs through 2026. Earlier this year, Bevacqua signed a deal to make PointsBet NBC Sports’ official sports betting partner.
- Companies including Fortnite maker Epic Games and Spotify have "forged an alliance to pressure" Apple and other app-store operators to make changes to their marketplace rules, per the Wall Street Journal's Sarah E. Neddleman. The Coalition for App Fairness, a nonprofit registered in D.C., made its public debut today, saying most app stores "collect excessive commissions from software developers on users’ digital purchases and stifle competition by giving unfair advantages to their own products and services." The group was registered after Epic sued Apple and Google over the removal of Fortnite from their respective app stores.
- The Special Olympics named Yankees 2B Gleyber Torres and Cubs C Willson Contreras global ambassadors. They are the first MLB players to hold that title, writes SBJ's Chris Smith. Torres is partnering with Special Olympics New York and Contreras with Special Olympics Illinois, which he has been a celebrity ambassador for since 2017; both will also work with Special Olympics Florida in the offseason and support the Special Olympics’ mission in their native Venezuela. Other Special Olympics global ambassadors include Damian Lillard, Elena Delle Donne, Joe Haden and Dikembe Mutombo, among others.
- Sportradar has reached a comprehensive sports betting partnership with Pearl River Resort, which will gain access to Sportradar's Managed Trading Services (MTS) for trading and risk management, pre-match betting services and live betting services. Meanwhile, Simplebet, a B2B product development company using machine learning and automation, will offer new betting opportunities across PointsBet’s platform as part of a new partnership.
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. Select stories from Sports Business Daily are free, outside the paywall, for the foreseeable future. Below are today's headlines:
SBJ UNPACKS -- THE ROAD AHEAD
- Check out the most recent editions of our SBJ Unpacks podcasts:
- LiveLike co-Founder & CEO Miheer Walavalkar break downs innovations and impacts related to co-viewing and social sports watching amid the pandemic.
- SBJ's Adam Stern joins Bill King to talk Michael Jordan’s foray into motorsports and much more.
- Austin FC President Andy Loughnane on the expansion club readying itself -- amid this global pandemic -- for MLS play in 2021.
- LiveLike co-Founder & CEO Miheer Walavalkar break downs innovations and impacts related to co-viewing and social sports watching amid the pandemic.
Something related to coronavirus and sports business catch your eye? Tell us about it. Reach out to Austin Karp (akarp@sportsbusinessjournal.com) and we'll share the best of it.
