Apollo Targets The NFL After Yankees

Sports investment firm Apollo recently closed a $2.6B deal with the New York Yankees to help the baseball franchise pay down debt.

The team's owners, the Steinbrenner family, will retain control while using the new funds to restructure finances and grow the business.

Apollo is now seeking an investment partnership with the NFL to tap into the football league's massive global revenue.

Spanish telecom giant Telefonica will pay sports streaming service DAZN €330M a season on average, up about 18% from the €280M it pays now.

In LaLiga, Spain's top soccer league, DAZN holds TV rights to five of the 10 games each matchday, and Telefonica holds the other five.

With both halves, Telefonica's Movistar Plus TV service can show every game for five seasons, from 2027-28 through 2031-32.

Investment firm Breach Inlet Capital Management holds about $40M of non-voting stock in the Braves, one of only two publicly traded MLB teams.

The Los Angeles Angels' sale just set a record $4B valuation, but Breach warns a player lockout expected in December could lower bids.

Breach says a tax law affecting public companies could cost the Braves over $20M starting next year, leaving less to spend on players.

Janet Evans, an executive for the 2028 games, told advertisers the upcoming event will offer unprecedented marketing opportunities.

Organizers claim the daily operations will be as massive and complex as hosting seven Super Bowls.

The games expect 5B viewers, 15K athletes, and 14M ticket sales, giving companies a massive global audience.

Payments giant Visa will provide payment technology at official venues for both tournaments in Australia and sponsor the Player of the Match award.

Visa fills the spot left by rival Mastercard, which had sponsored the tournament since partnering with governing body World Rugby in 2008.

Visa says big events draw overseas spending, with foreign Visa card payments up nearly 20% year over year in a major event's host cities.

Since the 2018 legalization of sports betting, athletes and their families have faced rising harassment from individuals losing money on wagers.

Leagues want state gaming regulators to mandate that sportsbooks proactively monitor accounts and permanently ban anyone who threatens sports personnel.

The joint request only included major men's sports, sparking public disappointment from women's leagues like the WNBA who were excluded.

South Korean authorities arrested a tech developer and a distributor for building 153 illegal betting sites and processing $200M in virtual money.

Police are now targeting the hidden corporate supply chain rather than individual website operators to permanently disrupt this massive underground industry.

Investigators froze $739K in suspected profits and issued global warrants for fleeing accomplices, preventing criminals from simply rebuilding their networks elsewhere.