🔊 NWSL Makes History In Women's Sports

📰 TOP STORY
NWSL Makes History With $240 Million Media Rights Deal

• NWSL announced a new media rights deal, reportedly paying $60 million annually. On Thursday, the National Women’s Soccer League announced a historic four-year contract beginning in 2024 with:

• CBS

• ESPN

• Prime Video

• Scripps Sports

The contract includes agreements for 118 national windows on the media channels which is expected to generate “record-breaking distribution and revenue.”

The NWSL will begin each regular-season weekend with Friday night matches on Prime Video, followed by double-header Saturday night games on Scripps’ ION network.

The league will also air a package of regular-season matches on CBS and stream live on Paramount+.

Additionally, ESPN will air a package of matches across its various channels, including live streaming on ESPN+ in English and Spanish.

NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman had this to say in a statement:

Overall, women’s sports have been experiencing a major boom in investment, deals, and partnerships.

Some of the top headlines this year include:

• Monarch Collective raised $100 million to fund women's pro sports

• Mercury 13 group raised $100 million to buy women's clubs

• League One Volleyball raised $35 million in a Series B round

• The Australian government is investing $200 million in women’s sports fund after Matilda’s World Cup run

• Marc Lasry launches sports investment fund for women's sports

• 83% of brands have plans to increase their investment in women's sports media in 2024

💰 MONEY MOVES 
Sports Betting Giant Spends $188 Million On Acquisition

• Sports betting media group Better Collective to buy Playmaker Capital for $188 million. Sports media group Better Collective has agreed to buy Canada's Playmaker Capital in a deal that will nearly double its audience across the globe (more here).

• Relo Metrics raises for sports sponsorship analytics. Relo Metrics, a subsidiary of ad intelligence company GumGum that specializes in tracking sponsorships in sports, is raising a Series B Plus (more here).

• Legends signs deal to acquire ASM Global. Legends, a premium experiences company announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire ASM Global, a global leader in venue and event strategy and management delivering cutting-edge technologies to venue owners. The deal is valued at more than $2.4 billion, according to industry sources (more here).

• Game Theory acquires Matchday.ai for enhancing sports gamification. With the acquisition, Game Theory aims to use deep tech capabilities to enhance gameplay for sports enthusiasts at all levels. They offer a platform that can connect badminton, squash, and swimming enthusiasts, among others, as well as track scores, monitor health levels, etc… (more here).

• Vivid Seats buys Vegas.com for $240 million amid the city’s sports boom. Vivid Seats, which is backed and led in part by Chelsea owner and Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers co-owner Todd Boehly, has purchased Vegas.com in a $240 million cash-and-stock deal. The website provides a range of information on entertainment and attractions in Las Vegas, as well as flight and hotel bookings (more here).

 🤝 PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABS
BrainLit Installs New Tech In Sacramento Kings Facilities

• BrainLit announces a new partnership with the Sacramento Kings. BrainLit, the creator of Biocentric Lighting, announced a new partnership with the Sacramento Kings to install its technology throughout the team's locker room and practice facility (more here).

• Globant and Major League Rugby announce a new partnership on sports technology. Globant, a digitally native company focused on reinventing businesses through innovative technology solutions, announced a new strategic partnership with Major League Rugby in which Globant will serve as the League's exclusive “Official Digital Transformation and Tech Solutions Partner” (more here).

• CityPickle signs as one of the early adopters of PodPlay, a new game-changing tech platform. PodPlay, the first tech platform that integrates hardware-enabled features like replays, scoreboards, and door access with core venue management software for sports like pickleball, padel, and ping pong, has publicly launched its offering to racket sports venues. More than 30 venues have signed on to the platform, including CityPickle, the urban home for pickleball with locations in New York City. (more here).

• UCI Track Champions League and Infinite Reality unveil a new and first-of-its-kind mobile metaverse experience. This past week cycling fans had access to a first-of-its-kind virtual world that will enable them to engage with each other, the riders, and the sport like never before, as the world’s first immersive UCI Track Champions League metaverse experience launches (more here).

🔊 OTHER HYPE
NBA Future Analytics Program Opens Up

• NBA announces the Future Analytics Stars (FAS) program. The program is designed to attract, develop, and pipeline talent among all groups as future leaders in basketball, business, and marketing analytics. This 5-month virtual program will provide participants with access to mentorship, networking, and development opportunities, as well as real-world insights (more here).

• Las Vegas tech firm works to combat illicit college sports betting. Betting on sports has become a huge business, with the American Gaming Association saying that more than $93 billion was spent on sports gambling just last year. As that number continues to grow, so do the scandals (more here).

• Fanatics helps pro athletes transition to life after sports with its business immersion program. The company is expanding a pilot program to offer business education and exposure to players with the WNBA and MLB via a partnership with the University of Southern California. Through the one-week immersion program, players get in-classroom learning combined with hands-on experiences in Fanatics’ different business units (more here).

• Flutter shares fall after disappointing earnings — but it insists FanDuel is No. 1 in sports betting. FanDuel parent Flutter is insisting the online gaming platform is the market leader in sports betting in the United States. DraftKings last week claimed the top spot in the market. Flutter shares plummeted after the company reported disappointing third-quarter results (more here).

• What Role Can AI Play in Sports? Wharton professors examine how the latest developments in AI, statistics, and data science impact the sports industry (more here).

• World Football Summit highlights blockchain’s pivotal role in the future of sports. Insiders and technology builders gathered at the World Football Summit in Sevilla, Spain, to visualize the cutting-edge innovations that could ensue in the sports industry in the next decade (more here).