2026-01-14
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Finance & Investments
The private equity firm is raising its third fund after closing a $4.1B pool last year.
Simultaneously, Arctos is negotiating selling a majority stake to global investment giant KKR.
Arctos currently holds minority ownership stakes in major teams like the Golden State Warriors and LA Dodgers.
Private equity giant CVC is raising €2.7B in debt to help its sports subsidiary buy more global assets.
The group currently owns stakes in major leagues like the Six Nations, French football, and women’s tennis.
This financing helps the firm hold investments longer and prepares the business for a potential public listing.
The company secured an eight-figure sum from Liberty Media and high-profile sports executives.
The startup shifted focus from media to technology, offering advanced analytics software for game planning.
Four NFL teams currently use the proprietary platform for strategy and in-game management.
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Media, Broadcasting & Sponsorships
Global investment manager Ares marks its first sports sponsorship by rebranding the event the Ares Pickleball Slam.
Tennis legend Andre Agassi competes for a $1M prize against top pickleball pros this April on ESPN.
This multiyear deal replaces the mixed group of sponsors used during the previous three tournaments.
The sportswear retailer partnered with production company OBB Media to create films, series, and live events.
Debut projects include a Tom Brady documentary and the official film for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
This move expands the company's business beyond merchandise into entertainment with partners like ESPN and WWE.
The sports network secured its best ratings in eight years, capturing 35% of the total sports media market.
First Take, a debate show featuring Stephen A. Smith, averaged a record 517K viewers amid high football interest.
NFL Live viewership jumped 18%, proving that fans increasingly prefer personality-driven analysis over simple score reporting.
The Packers-Bears game drew 31.61M viewers, becoming the most-watched NFL event ever on a streaming platform.
This audience size beat the previous streaming record of 27.52M held by subscription service Netflix.
Viewership jumped 43% from last year's comparable game on Amazon.
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Teams & Leagues
The oversight body rejected 524 contracts that lacked valid business purposes or appeared to be recruiting bribes.
The commission approved $127M in total deals, clearing most valid requests within 24 hours to avoid delays.
Nearly half of the 10,000+ benefitting athletes play sports other than football or men’s basketball.
President Charlie Baker announced a $300M revenue increase, driven largely by lucrative television contracts with major networks.
Officials are expected to approve commercial sponsorship patches on team uniforms to open new advertising streams.
High demand for the football championship has pushed resale ticket prices to a record average of nearly $4,000.
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Miscellaneous
Sports tycoon Stan Kroenke purchased 937K acres in New Mexico, the biggest US land deal since 2011.
This acquisition raises his total portfolio to over 2.7M acres across the American West and Canada.
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