CBS Sports’ Post

This week on the blog we've got big updates from the increasingly globalized world of live sports — and the opportunities they could provide for your organization. Read up on why regular-season European soccer might be coming to U.S. soil for the first time, Mexico City's plans to go 4-for-4 on hosting America’s major pro sports leagues, and how Big 12 and Allstate are teaming up to invest big in women's collegiate athletics. Plus: other assorted nuggets of internet wisdom from the worlds of commerce, media and live entertainment. https://lnkd.in/gy-B6z25

Let’s start with the bad news. Record-setting rookie #CaitlinClark won’t be making her Team USA Basketball debut in 2024 💔 Bummed? Me too. It’s a fair reaction, especially considering the lift in ad engagement that advertisers experience when Clark is featured in a TV program or ad. It’s what EDO has dubbed “The Caitlin Clark Effect.” Now the good news. Clark’s absence from the #Olympics doesn’t imply a decline in viewership or ad effectiveness for this year’s games. Star power and a good narrative fuel live sports engagement, and Team USA has both in abundance. The women’s team will seek its 8th straight title since 1992 with WNBA icons including Britney Griner, Diana Taurasi, A’ja Wilson, and Breanna Stewart suiting up for their shot at gold. Also consider the WNBA’s double-digit growth in ad effectiveness over the last two seasons, and women’s basketball will have no trouble enticing a hugely engaged audience in Paris – with or without Clark. https://lnkd.in/ewfdiN4c EDO, Inc.

Did you know that average NBA game attendance has now officially passed 18,000 with a record of 791 games sold out this past season? With the youngest and most diverse fanbase in the U.S., basketball is on the rise! Read our new NBA #FanScore report to learn about just how valuable the NBA's reach is 🏀

📈 Viewership ratings for the past 10 men's and women's NCAA Basketball Championship games (last nights men's championship excluded) It would be difficult to overstate the power and importance of the 18.7 number this weekend's matchup between the Iowa & South Carolina women generated. This data, and a heap of other metrics that quantify the level of engagement this entire NCAA WBB season has driven, flies in the face of outdated POV's about the business value of these properties and others like it that have dominated this industry historically. The latest NCAA basketball tournament broadcast rights deals valued the men's tourney at about $870M per year and the women's tourney (as part of a package including NCAA championship broadcast rights of several sports) at $65M per year... This begs the question: Why has the industry been undervaluing this sport and these incredible athletes so severely? 🤔 #sportsmedia #sportsbusiness #womeninsports #NCAA #gamechanger

“Despite what media coverage might suggest, talent in women’s hoops is not a new phenomenon (as Clark alluded to in her SNL segment) and knee-jerk labeling Clark as the GOAT of women’s hoops is shortsighted at best. This isn’t to take away from Clark’s obvious talent, but to highlight the vast depth of skill in women’s basketball, both college and pro, that has largely gone unnoticed thanks to a lack of investment and media coverage from traditional sports media outlets. Thankfully, that is set to change–women’s sports have been dramatically increasing in coverage and popularity, particularly since the pandemic–but for those on the sidelines and in the media who have been watching women’s basketball for years (or even decades), it’s a bit of a slap in the face to hear so much commotion surrounding one singular player when there have been plenty of Clark-esque talents throughout the years. … Of course, there’s Dianna Taurasi, the three-time WNBA champion, two-time Finals MVP, and the only player to score over 9,000 points at women’s basketball’s highest level. There are also the players Clark paid homage to on SNL like her proclaimed basketball hero, Maya Moore, four-time WNBA champ, whose career potential was never fully realized as she left the game in 2019 to focus on criminal justice reform. And Sheryl Swoopes, the first-ever WNBA Draft pick, consecutive four-time WNBA champion, and both a three-time WNBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year. Or Lisa Leslie, the four-time Olympic gold medalist who helped lead the 1996 Olympic Dream Team to its third gold medal–the first of seven consecutive gold medals for Team USA–as a formidable center and a feared defender. By now, everybody knows Dawn Staley, who has won two national championships and only suffered three losses in the last three years as the head coach at South Carolina long after her own impressive college, Olympic, and professional playing careers concluded. As Clark pointed out, Cheryl Miller, whose playing career was cut short by a devastating knee injury, also deserves praise after winning two national championships and the Naismith Player of the Year three times at USC in the 1980s.” I have nothing but respect for Caitlin Clark and her skill is undeniable. But focusing so much media attention on one player when women’s basketball has seen so much talent over the years is a disservice to fans—especially those like me who have been watching for over a decade. It’s my hope that sports media won’t make the same mistake with current college players like Paige Bueckers, Juju Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo, and others in coming seasons. My full take for Awful Announcing:

The Varsity 1. It seems increasingly possible that ESPN’s decision to sublicense games to Warner Bros. Discovery might end up being scrutinized by regulators—for reasons pertaining to Venu, f.k.a. “Spulu,” the streaming sports joint venture between Disney, WBD, and Fox. 2. Operating on the theory that WBD is on the outside looking in with the NBA, many will suggest that WBD should sell its rights for the 2024-25 season to NBC, allowing the network to get back into the NBA business a year earlier than planned. But I don’t expect it to happen. 3. Cathy Englebert on Pat McAfee/Stephen A.: “Being in the mainstream conversation is a good thing. This is what comes with the rise of being a growth stock..." 4. The most notable detail of Diamond's bankruptcy hearing this week affair was the NBA’s lawyer pushing back on a proposed six-week delay. The league, which was once among the friendliest with Diamond, has truly lost its patience with the R.S.N. company. 5. It’s one thing to create a marketing campaign around your biggest sports events, like the Super Bowl or World Series. But Fox Sports is preparing a marketing blitz around a couple of MLB regular season games and a Triple Crown horse race this Saturday. Players of the week: Gary Bettman: If you're going to gave Florida and Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Final, you should have them in the third year of a seven-year deal. (The NHL has already enjoyed a rollicking ratings postseason.) Jimmy Pitaro: If both the NBA Finals and the NHL Stanley Cup Finals go to seven games (I know, a big if…), ABC will feature a big-time sporting event in primetime for 14 of the next 19 nights. Down to the J.V. Eddy Cue: Tomorrow night should have been a huge boon for Apple TV , which had exclusive rights to the Dodgers-Yankees game. But, Apple is allowing YES Network and Spectrum SportsNet to simulcast the contest in New York and Los Angeles, respectively. Plus, the NBA may be a league with great stars and incredible content, but it’s also benefiting from the fact that there won’t be any other major rights to acquire for the foreseeable future. Other than the UFC, whose deal with ESPN expires next year, there really won’t be any big-time sports rights up for renewal until 2029, which is when the NFL is expected to exercise an out in its contracts. https://lnkd.in/eudYuQak

Great insight from Youth Sports industry leaders! Thanks Sports Business Journal for hosting.

According to SportBusiness analysts, the global value of sports media rights has increased to just under $56bn and will pass $60bn in 2024 thanks to the Olympic Games in Paris and Uefa Euro 2024 #SportsStreaming 🥊