NEON16’s Post

What went into the #NHL Draft this past weekend at Sphere Entertainment Co. ? Here’s a quick read!

Music 🤝 Sports   From basketball phenoms that double as rappers to budding superstar relationships, the intersection of music and sports is as strong as ever. But music stars attending sporting events are not the only thing that increases fan engagement. Our Octagon strategy team found that a great playlist at your event can increase spectator engagement by more than 20%. 🎧 🏈   Octagon SVP Eileen Waller shared additional insight on the impact of music in sports, saying "Music has always been a part of the sporting experience, driving fan and athlete emotion throughout the game. Whether it be an MLB player's walk-up song, WNBA in-game fan activation, or the Super Bowl halftime show, brands should think holistically about the fan experience to connect people with their passions and continue to reach new audiences."   What's been your favorite music-sports crossover in recent years?    #ResearchAtPlay

New Post: NBA Finals Livestream: Here’s How to Watch Tonight’s Celtics vs. Mavericks Game Online for Free - https://lnkd.in/gUj7bMHc - All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. It’s game time! The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks will face off in Game 4 of the 2024 NBA Finals at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Friday (June 14). The game will broadcast live at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Boston currently leads the series 3-0 after beating the Mavericks 106-99 on Wednesday. The Celtics could win the Championship after tonight’s game (no other NBA team has rebounded from a 3-0 deficit in the Finals) marking the teams first NBA Finals win since 2008. The Mavericks last won a championship in 2011. “It really just comes down to I’ve been here before and I know what it feels like to lose and I never want to feel that again,” Celtics power forward Jayson Tatum told NBA TV after Wednesday’s win. Meanwhile, the Mavericks still have hope for Game 4. “It’s not over until it’s over,” Luka Doncic told reporters on Wednesday. “We just gotta believe.” If you don’t want to miss all the NBA Finals action, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of ways to watch and stream games from your TV, laptop, desktop, tablet and any other compatible device along with links to buy tickets to games. How to Stream the 2024 NBA Finals Without Cable The 2024 NBA Finals continue on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT on ABC. Those who already have cable or local channels through a TV antenna, can check local listings for additional channel information. Basketball fans can also watch the NBA finals live on ABC.com in addition to ESPN outlets such as ESPN+, ESPN2, ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes. No cable? No worries! You can stream the 2024 NBA Finals games live with a free trial from DirectTV Stream, Fubo and Express VPN — if you’re streaming outside of the U.S. Shopping for the best streaming deals? Join DirectTV Stream and save $44.99 with select plans, plus a free trial for five days. directv stream: free trial DirectTV Stream’s most popular plan — the Choice package — is $98.99 (regular $123.98) for 125+ channels including ABC, NBC, Fox, CBS, ESPN, TNT, Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, VH1, TLC and HGTV; access to on-demand content and DVR storage. DirectTV Stream also offers free Max, Starz and other channels with higher-priced streaming plans. Related Drake’s OVO Teams Up With ESPN for Limited-Edition 2024 NBA Finals Varsity Jacket 06/

"NBC is near an accord with the league to pay an average of $2.5 billion a year, people familiar with the deal talks said. It would show around 100 games per season, with about half airing exclusively on the Peacock streaming service, reflecting a major bet on the future of streaming. Games would air on NBC on Tuesdays and Sundays when there isn’t a conflict with NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.” Amazon’s $1.8 billion-a-year package would include regular-season and playoff games, the new NBA in-season tournament, and the “play-in” games in which teams compete for the final playoff spots. It also would have a share of the conference finals, which the media partners will split in a rotation, the people familiar with the terms said. Disney would retain an NBA package and would continue to air the NBA Finals, with payments averaging about $2.6 billion a year, people familiar with the terms say, up from $1.5 billion under the current deal. Disney would get fewer games than under its current deal. ESPN’s deal will allow the company to air games on its direct-to-consumer streaming service, which is set to launch in 2025.  Warner, led by Chief Executive David Zaslav, still has a right to match a rival package, and the league could always carve out a new package for the company in the final stretch, but its options are limited.  The deals would go into effect after the 2024-2025 season and will include rights to WNBA telecasts, as that league grows in popularity with the rise of rookie sensation Caitlin Clark. Owners must approve the deals, and any announcement could still be a few weeks away. The deals are clarifying the media industry’s pecking order and could set the table for big mergers down the road. For the league, the deals would translate into a windfall that will help fund blockbuster contracts for stars like Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic in the coming years."

As the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks prepare to face off in the NBA Finals, the league is on track to score big: It is closing in on deals with NBC, ESPN and Amazon that would bring in about $76 billion in media revenue over 11 years, people familiar with the discussions said. The NBA sweepstakes has turned into a defining moment for the TV industry, highlighting the anxieties of traditional media companies about the collapse of cable and their uncertain financial futures in the streaming world. It has put front-and-center the paradox that sports content is outrageously expensive but also critical to own in an industry in which it is one of the few reliable ways to draw in audiences. The NBA is on track to increase its annual fees by more than 2.5 times under the new deal, to an average of nearly $7 billion. The NFL roughly doubled its fees under its last deal to around $10 billion a year. The NBA has much lower average ratings than the NFL, but it has more games and a young audience that is important to advertisers. It is very popular abroad, which is a big motivator for Amazon’s Prime Video. #nba #professionalsports #basketball #nfl #mlb #television #streaming #nbc #espn #amazon #disney #wnba #sportsmarketing #warnerbrothers #tnt #entertainment #media #sportsmanagement

🏀 📺 We've got ourselves a showdown in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it's not the playoffs. After not reaching a deal during its exclusive negotiating period, Warner Bros. Discovery - parent company of Turner (Turner Broadcasting System, Inc) - is in danger of losing the NBA media rights it's held for nearly 40 years to NBCUniversal, as NBC has come in with a significant offer of $2.5 billion, nearly 120% over the current agreement. The agreement puts WBD in a Catch-22. Keeping the rights would surely mean overpaying (reports are saying they'd need to come in at $2.8 billion to have a shot), and the company is already in challenging financial times. But, if it loses the rights, it drastically weakens its cable business due to being unable to maintain its carriage rights, which are among the highest out there ($3/subscriber) and generates $2.56 billion annually for the company. Decisions, decisions. In this week’s SBP, you’ll learn (with the assistance of some memes): - How the NBA is carving up its new media rights package - The “tale of the tape” between WBD and NBC - The outcomes of either scenario (and NBC's ultimate angle) - What I think the NBA will do - The ramifications this broader deal will have on the industry as a whole Check it out below! 👇 https://lnkd.in/gtizrPdY

The Varsity * The NBA is continuing to talk with Warner Bros. Discovery and NBC, but negotiations are not far enough along yet for the league to start conversations around WBD’s all-important matching rights. NBC and the NBA would have to be close to a signed deal for negotiations over those matching rights to truly commence. * Comcast and Diamond have barely spoken in the nine days since the cable operator dropped all of the Bally Sports Networks from its Xfinity cable systems. Both sides are entrenched in their positions, and it doesn't look like any deal is close. * CBS Sports’s deal with the Italian soccer league Serie A expires in a couple of weeks and the two sides are not close on a renewal. The Italian soccer league will either have to accept a much lower rights fee from CBS or find a new partner in the U.S. market. * Former Turner Sports president Lenny Daniels was considered one of the early favorites to replace Norby Williamson, but now has become a much longer shop as ESPN is not moving off its desire that the role will be based in Bristol, Conn. * Streaming, Paramount, women's sports, Spulu and sports betting were the top topics on the minds of NFL lawyers who gathered in Washington, D.C. this week. I spoke to the group on Wednesday morning about the changing media landscape, and these were the focus of most of the questions I fielded. * It looks like Netflix will wind up carrying the two NFL games scheduled for December 25, per a bevy of sources. It’s a first-of-its-kind deal, and almost certainly not the last. https://lnkd.in/eQN-tqcj

🏀The National Basketball Association (NBA) is about to score big!🏀 It is closing in on deals with NBC, ESPN and Amazon that would bring in about $76 billion in media revenue over 11 years! The deals would go into effect after the 2024-2025 season and will include rights to WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) telecasts, as that league grows in popularity with the rise of rookie sensation Caitlin Clark. The NBA sweepstakes has turned into a defining moment for the TV industry, highlighting the anxieties of traditional media companies about the collapse of cable and their uncertain financial futures in the streaming world. It has put front-and-center the paradox that sports content is outrageously expensive but also critical to own in an industry in which it is one of the few reliable ways to draw in audiences. “Entertainment is a swamp, and sports is the only firm ground,” said former FOX Sports chief David Hill. The NBA is on track to increase its annual fees by more than 2.5 times under the new deal, to an average of nearly $7 billion. The NFL roughly doubled its fees under its last deal to around $10 billion a year. The NBA has much lower average ratings than the NFL, but it has more games and a young audience that is important to advertisers. It is very popular abroad, which is a big motivator for Amazon’s Prime Video. Reflecting on my career 15 years ago as a media banker at Scotiabank, where I worked with the NBA, National Football League (NFL), and Major League Baseball (MLB), it was evident that sports would always captivate audiences. Now, more than ever, sports maintain a magnetic pull on audiences, and are a prized asset for advertisers regardless of the distribution channels - cable or streaming. In an era where subscriber acquisition is mission critical, sports programming stands alone in its ability to draw live viewers with its unmatched ability to captivate and unite audiences in real-time. What do you think about the future of sports media? Will live sports continue to dominate in the streaming era? Share your thoughts below! 👇 #SportsMedia #NBA #Media #Streaming #Sports

After a smashing show at Wrigley Field packed with 35,038 roaring fans, the Chicago Red Stars are now searching for a new venue for their September 21st clash against the San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. Why? Well, turns out Douglas Park, got double-booked with Riot Fest. Red Stars President Karen Leetzow didn't mince words, "It is unfair and unfortunate to have our club put in this situation, shining a light on the vast discrepancies in the treatment of women’s professional sports vs. men’s professional sports." She's got a point, doesn't she? Now, let's play devil's advocate for a moment. Picture this: if it were a men's pro team facing the same double-booking dilemma at Douglas Park, would we see the same? Probably not. They tend to have more backup options, more clout to negotiate, and let's face it, a smoother path to getting things sorted. This situation with the Red Stars is more than just a scheduling hiccup. It's a neon sign flashing "inequality" in bold letters across the sports landscape. Women's sports leagues and teams deserve the same respect, resources, and problem-solving prowess as their male counterparts. It's about time we level the playing field, quite literally. #equity #sportsbiz #nwsl #sportsbusiness #sportsmedia

📈 Something for us in #Sportsbiz to continue to watch: According to Axios, Americans continue to disengage in political and general news, as evident in the web traffic data screenshot below. This aligns with the increase in average viewership across sports; for example, in 2023, the NFL saw a 7% increase in viewership at 17.9M on average, per ESPN. We expect to see this translate to more brands coming to the table in 2024 to acquire and expand sponsorship rights and assets from sports properties, athletes, and broadcasters. It will be interesting to see how this continues as we lead into the election, and how this impacts churn on streamers who are acquiring sports rights. Shout out to Sara Fischer for the stellar media coverage.