Recently, the XFL announced eight cities that will host the league’s teams next year. Coaches have been assigned. Meanwhile, Ticketmaster is lined up to sell tickets for the 43-game season. But the troubled league will have to do more than just plan to find vindication. The XFL plans to start […]
On Monday, the NFL announced a new streaming service, NFL+. Since the sports streaming landscape is already crowded, the announcement made little splash. Also, NFL+ will have some limitations, so as not to irritate both current and future NFL media providers. For instance, one provider is getting ready to pay […]
F1 chose to renew its media rights deal with ESPN through 2025. Amazon’s bid to stream the prestigious auto racing series, however, was significantly higher, according to Sports Business Journal sources. Still, ESPN will have to cough up a lot more than it paid to cover the previous three years. […]
Apple has a new deal to stream MLB games on Friday nights. The exclusive $85 million, multi-year, contract marks Apple’s first foray into live sports coverage. Meanwhile, the news could give MLB players a bit more leverage in their ongoing CBA negotiations. There were rumors that Apple was in the […]
Walt Disney’s ESPN is looking to generate more than $3 billion in sports-betting licensing deals. Once reluctant to associate with gambling, the multimedia company has gradually changed its tune. Initially tentative to offer sports-betting content, the company is now looking to leap into ESPN-branded sportsbooks. According to the Wall Street […]
It’s been more than 15 years since ESPN last broadcast NHL games on its family of networks, but that will change in 2022, thanks to a new seven-year deal that includes the rights to four Stanley Cup Finals. Multiple media outlets reported on Tuesday that ESPN and the NHL reached […]
Cricket and sports betting came up multiple times during Walt Disney’s earnings call on Thursday. It was a knuckleball for Disney analysts who normally focus on theme parks and movies. They failed to predict the impact of Disney’s newest revenue streams. Disney’s parks can’t operate at full capacity, due to […]
The NFL’s expanded slate on wild-card weekend, with several networks opting to expand their footprint by simultaneously broadcast on alternate networks or streaming, did not yield a ratings bonanza. Instead, overall viewer numbers were down year over year and in some cases were the lowest in five years or more. […]
Entain CEO Shay Segev announced he is leaving his post less than a week after the company turned down an $11 billion takeover offer from online betting partner MGM. Segev said he’s headed to digital sports broadcaster DAZN and will join James Rushton there as a co-CEO. Speculation has run […]
While the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL have suffered rating sags since the COVID-19 virus touched down in the U.S. last spring, ESPN’s New Year’s Day bowl broadcast numbers remained steady compared with the previous six years of the format, averaging close to 19 million viewers across its pair of […]
With tech giants like Amazon emerging as players in NFL broadcasting, ESPN is staking its reputation on streaming this weekend with its first-ever NFL “MegaCast.†The idea is to broadcast the Ravens vs. Titans wild-card game at 1:O5 p.m. ET across six Disney-owned networks with different viewer experiences on each. […]
UFC regulars will pay more to watch premiere fights starting Friday, as ESPN Plus will up its pay-per-view rates on select matches. The price increase coincides with parent company Disney’s focus on streaming services and partnerships with sports betting operations. ESPN’s streaming service is the exclusive broadcast home of the […]
Betting giant Entain, the Isle of Man-headquartered parent company of Ladbrokes, rejected an £8.1 billion ($11b) buyout offer from US partner MGM Resorts Monday, sparking a rally in its stock as MGM shares took a dip. Entain officials said the offer from MGM, owner of several high-end resorts and casinos […]
Fire up the Zoom, crank up the Keurig, and make sure the mute button’s off. ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit will broadcast from home after testing positive for COVID-19 on the eve of college football’s biggest weekend. The network’s college GameDay analyst tweeted Tuesday night that he was diagnosed with the virus […]
UK sportsbook William Hill, acquired by Caesars Entertainment in September for $2.9 billion, announced Sunday that it picked up a majority stake of Columbia-based Alfabet SAS—an online casino and sports gambling operation run under the BetAlfa name. Alfabet and BetAlfa are relatively new players on the scene, having been in […]
With NFL broadcast contracts coming to fruition for all three legacy networks at the end of next year, an emerging player is already setting the stage for what may be a once-in-a-generation shift in how we watch football. You can see the beginning of what that change looks like this […]
It looks like the coaches and committee members who complain the loudest get their way, as the College Football Playoff semifinal scheduled for the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 is moving to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The announcement came Saturday night as the Tournament of Roses was denied a […]
ESPN anchor Scott Van Pelt revealed Thursday evening he has tested positive for COVID-19. The 54-year-old host of ESPN’s late-night SportsCenter said in a tweet that he would be off the air after testing positive for the virus. Won’t be doing shows for a bit after a positive Covid-19 test. […]
Last week, Disney officials announced several initiatives that will pivot the media behemoth toward a future focused on online sports gambling. At its Investor Day last Thursday, Disney executives highlighted ESPN’s multi-year partnership with Caesars Entertainment signed in September. The deal includes link integrations from ESPN’s digital platforms to William […]
Friday Disney promised $3 billion to the Southeastern Conference for a decade of rights to broadcast the conference’s entire sports catalog on its ABC and ESPN networks. The deal solidifies collegiate sports’ valuation as equal to its professional counterparts. And it comes just days after California state senators Nancy Skinner […]
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