🔊 NBA Media Rights Reaches $76 Billion

📰 TOP STORY
Here’s The Scoop On The New $76 Billion NBA Media Rights Deal

• NBA Secures $76B TV Deal With NBC & Amazon. This week, the NBA secured a multi-year TV deal worth $76B that is set to make NBC and Amazon new regular season telecast partners and maintain ESPN’s rights to broadcast the NBA Finals. However, longtime NBA partner TNT Sports may match the terms of the deal to keep its broadcast rights. The deal will last for 11 seasons and still awaits approval from the NBA’s board of governors, who are sending the finalized contracts to TNT Sports. This gives TNT the ability to match the offer within five days. Amazon is expected to pay up over $1.8B a year under the new deal while NBC will spend $2.5B each year. Regular season games would be nationally televised nearly seven days a week, with games on Amazon Prime Video primarily being streamed on Friday nights and Saturdays while NBC and Peacock games will air on Tuesdays and Mondays, respectively. Amazon will also have the In-Season Tournament and alternate conference finals with NBC, while ESPN also gets a conference final and the NBA Finals every season. TNT Sports could be looking at its last season with the NBA after 34 years of partnering with the league if it does not match the deal, bringing an end to its and ESPN’s $2.6B, nine-season NBA agreement (more here).

💰 MONEY MOVES 
Infinite Reality Is On A Spending Spree

• Metaverse Firm Infinite Reality Acquires Landvault For $450M. Infinite Reality, the company working on metaverse-like technologies, has raised $350M and acquired game developer Landvault for $450M. So far this year, Infinite Reality has spent more than $800M on previous acquisitions including the purchase of The Drone Racing League ($250M), Ethereal Engine ($75M), Action Face ($10M), and Stakes ($8M). The company currently works with several sports brands and properties (more here).

• TGI Sport Agrees To Acquire Ad Tech Firm Supponor For €100M. TGI Sport, the tech-led sports media and marketing agency part-owned by Bruin Capital, has tightened its grip on the virtual advertising sector in a deal to acquire leading technology provider Supponor. The deal is reportedly worth roughly $108M. TGI first invested in Supponor in 2019, and the two groups have partnered on recent efforts with a particular focus on the international market. Supponor is headquartered in London while TGI Sport operates in 50 countries (more here).

• Gymdesk Raises $32.5M. Gymdesk, an Austin, TX-based provider of member management software for fitness and wellness businesses, raised $32M in funding. Five Elms Capital led the investment. The company intends to use the funds to expand and strengthen its solutions for the fitness industry and widen its customer base across new verticals (more here).

• Recast Secures $5M In Funding. Recast, an Edinburgh-based sports streaming platform has raised $5M in an investment round led by US venture capital fund Morpheus Ventures as it looks to evolve from a pure streaming service into a micropayment platform for the sports industry. Airstream Ventures, co-founded by former Manchester United vice-chairman Ed Woodward, and law firm Cooley also participated in the round (more here).

• GameAbove Sports Acquires Fourth Founding BIG3 Expansion Team. GameAbove Sports, a sports-focused business development and strategic investment entity announced the purchase of the fourth BIG3 franchise with plans to base the team in Detroit for the 2025 season. The GameAbove Sports ownership group led by Founder and Chairman Keith J. Stone consists of individuals including NBA Hall of Famer and BIG3 Coach George Gervin and two-time NFL Pro-Bowler and Super Bowl Champion T.J. Lang, Joe Januszewski, Karen LeVert, Dan McClory, Skyler Stone, Corey Welch and co-founder of Born in Detroit apparel Anthony Tomey. Former NBA point guard Earl Boykins will also be involved with the organization (more here).

• Apax Sells Final Tranche Of Genius Sports Shares. Apax Partners, the private equity advisory firm that had been Genius Sports’ largest shareholder, has sold its last remaining shares after winding down its stake across the last three years. The British private equity firm first acquired a majority interest in Genius Sports in September 2018 and has supported the company through a period of transformational growth over the last six years (more here).

 🤝 PARTNERSHIPS
Comcast SportsTech Adds A New Partner

• Notre Dame Joins As Partner Of Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech. Comcast SportsTech announced that The University of Notre Dame has joined the partner consortium for Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech, powered by Boomtown as the program’s first collegiate organization. Starting with SportsTech’s fifth class, which will begin in 2025, companies selected to join the innovation program will be able to explore collaborations and engage directly with experts and leaders from the University and its network (more here).

• Aires Tech & Canada Basketball Form Partnership. American Aires Inc. aka Aires Tech was named as Canada Basketball's Official Partner and Official EMF Protection Technology Partner, underscoring a significant step in the dedication of Aires Tech to performance and wellness innovation. The multi-year marketing partnership grants Aires Tech exclusive logo usage, promotional rights, and activation opportunities, enabling the brand to amplify its presence and support across Canada's basketball community (more here).

• International Golf Federation & TMRW Sports Form Partnership. TMRW Sports, the tech-focused venture co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, has partnered with the International Golf Federation (IGF) to see how digital innovation can drive participation in the sport. The two parties will work together to see which technologies should form part of plans to grow the game (more here).

• Kraken & Atlético de Madrid Form Partnership. Kraken, one of the largest crypto platforms globally, is partnering with Atlético de Madrid, one of Spain’s most iconic football clubs, ahead of the 2024 season. Kraken will become the Official Crypto and Web3 Partner, and the Official Sleeve Partner for all Atlético de Madrid men’s and women’s football shirts (more here).

• Legends & FSU Enter 10-Year Multimedia Partnership. Florida State University Athletics and Legends, a global premium experiences company, announced a new 10-year multimedia rights partnership. This collaboration aims to enhance the university's multimedia rights and maximize its commercial platforms. Legends also supports premium seating for the $260M renovation of Doak Campbell Stadium and manages hospitality, including concessions, premium suites and clubs, and catering for FSU Athletics (more here).

• Perfect Game Partners With Stalker Sport. Perfect Game, the world's largest youth baseball and softball platform, and scouting service, announced a partnership with Stalker Sport, a company that specializes in baseball radar gun technology. As part of the partnership, Stalker Sport will have annual on-site participation at select Perfect Game events around the country as Stalker offers the only handheld sports radar guns with spin rates and ranges of up to 500 feet and up to five hours of battery life (more here).

🔊 ATHLETES & OTHER SPORTS NEWS
Former NBA Player Jontay Porter Pleads Guilty

• Jontay Porter Pleads Guilty To Federal Fraud Charges. Former NBA player Jontay Porter admitted on Wednesday that he schemed to take himself out of games for gambling's sake, pleading guilty to a federal conspiracy crime in the scandal that already got him banned from the league. The wire fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison but the former Toronto Raptors player agreed not to appeal anything less than five years. Porter will also pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and restitution (more here).

• Private Equity-Owned TeamSnap Helps Parents Coordinate Youth Sports. Peter Frintzilas, CEO of TeamSnap, joins CNBC’s ‘The Exchange’ to discuss the company’s business model, and the growth of youth sports (more here).

• Digging Into Professional Sports Teams’ Soaring Valuations. CNBC’s Mike Ozanian and Deirdre Bosa join ‘Power Lunch’ to discuss the soaring valuations of sports teams (more here).

• As Women’s Sports Reign Supreme, Brands & Media Cash In. Women’s sports is officially entering its renaissance era. Deloitte predicted revenue generated by women’s elite sports to surpass $1B in 2024—a prediction that may soon become reality as more sports fans eagerly clamor for women’s sports content (more here).

• Tennis Champion Coco Gauff Has This Advice To Entrepreneurs: ‘Be Delusional’. Coco Gauff joined Forbes senior writer Jabari Young to discuss how she’s expanding her business empire and a new extension with shipping giant UPS (more here).

• Rangers Are Bringing Robots To Globe Life Field Ahead Of 2024 MLB All-Star Game. The Texas Rangers unveiled two new robots capable of making alcoholic beverages to enhance the customer experience during the 2024 MLB All-Star Week. The first is ADAM, an AI-driven service robot created by Richtech Robotics Inc. specializing in hospitality and healthcare. ADAM can make drinks, clean up, greet customers, and carry on simple conversations (more here).