2025-12-18
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Finance & Investments
Monumental Sports & Entertainment owns the NBA’s Wizards, NHL’s Capitals, and WNBA’s Mystics.
The firms are acquiring equity from Laurene Powell Jobs, a roughly 20% owner since 2017.
This price exceeds the $4.05 billion valuation established during a separate June 2023 investment.
The Chicago-based acquirers also own the Florida Everblades, a minor league hockey team.
This transaction marks the second ownership change for the franchise in four years.
The deal requires formal approval from the NHL Board of Governors to close.
Funds will reduce roughly $500M in debt after the baseball club canceled a full sale.
Investors include the owner of the NHL’s Wild and a specialized credit deal executive.
Tom Pohlad replaces his brother as the franchise’s primary liaison to the league.
Sinclair recently bought an 8.2% stake for $15.6M before bidding $7 per share.
The suitor claimed a merger would unlock over $300M in annual cost savings.
Target assets include Ion TV, broadcasting WNBA and NWSL games nationally.
WBD deems Paramount’s financing illusory compared to Netflix’s binding, secured commitments.
The media giant faces $4.3 billion in fees and costs if the Netflix deal collapses.
Directors contrasted Netflix’s $400 billion value against Paramount’s $15 billion market cap and debt.
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Media, Broadcasting & Sponsorships
“Pardon My Take” and two other shows move video exclusively to Netflix in early 2026.
Audio episodes remain available on podcast apps while video becomes exclusive to the streamer.
The move follows a similar October agreement with Spotify for "The Bill Simmons Podcast."
Main Street Sports operates the successful FanDuel Sports Network direct-to-consumer streaming service.
The deal adds local sports rights to DAZN’s current combat sports and soccer portfolio.
DAZN aims for profitability next year and may cut expensive linear cable networks.
Sky seeks programming after its contract with U.K. promoter Boxxer expires.
The company recently recruited British female talent like Caroline Dubois and former champion Chantelle Cameron.
Paul’s firm partnered with Netflix in 2024 for a broadcast reaching over 100 million.
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Teams & Leagues
The total payout rose 50% from 2022, awarding the tournament champion a $50M prize.
Final match tickets average $6,147, exceeding the original bid projections by 459%.
Each qualified team receives at least $10.5M, while FIFA projects $13B in cycle revenue.
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Miscellaneous
Collectors spent over $416M in August, marking the highest recorded month for online sales.
Pack prices rose 7.76% annually since 1989, significantly outpacing the 2.70% average inflation rate.
Investors recently purchased a rare Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan card for $13M.
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