Go to Source Author: Eric Fisher The exact number of subscribers that MLS and Apple have generated for their new MLS Season Pass remains one of the industry’s most guarded secrets. But Inter Miami’s managing owner, Jorge Mas, says the count has more than doubled since Lionel Messi’s heralded arrival at the club.Mas posted Thursday what had long been expected and seen elsewhere in league and club business: Messi has drawing power like no one else.“The Messi Effect is real!” Mas added on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Also, Spanish-language viewership on MLS Season Pass has surpassed 50% for Messi matches, and continues to rise. How exciting for a truly global fan base!” MLS officials haven’t confirmed Mas’ statement, and the exact subscriber count

Go to Source Author: David Rumsey FC Barcelona completed a crucial funding deal on Friday to help address lingering questions about the club’s finances heading into the new La Liga season.The Spanish club is creating a new company, Barca Media, which will be valued at $1 billion and listed on the U.S. stock market. Several steps were taken to facilitate the move. Barca is merging its digital content units with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called Mountain & Co. I Acquisition Corp to form Barca Media in a deal expected to close by the end of the year. The team also announced new investors in Barca Vision (previously known as Barca Studios) — which comprises the club’s Web3, blockchain, and metaverse efforts

Go to Source Author: Andrew Cohen NFL insider Dianna Russini is leaving ESPN for The Athletic, according to The New York Post. She would be the latest big-name employee to leave ESPN after around 20 on-air employees were laid off in June.Russini will write NFL stories and make video and podcast contributions for The Athletic, which The New York Times acquired for $550 million in January 2022. The Post reports that ESPN wanted to keep Russini and offered her a raise to stay. She joined ESPN in 2015 and has been a lead NFL reporter for NFL Live, Sunday NFL Countdown, Fantasy Football Now, Get Up, SportsCenter, and ESPN Radio. At ESPN, Russini started as a SportsCenter anchor before she moved to NFL,

Go to Source Author: Andrew Cohen Golfer Phil Mickelson has bet $1 billion on sports over the past three decades, according to a new autobiography from sports gambler Billy Walters.Mickelson, the former PGA Tour star who joined LIV Golf in 2022, had a gambling partnership with Walters from 2010 to 2014, Walters wrote in an excerpt of his Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk book. Mickelson is said to have lost nearly $100 million on gambling, and he allegedly asked Walters to place a $400,000 for him in 2012 on Team USA to win the Ryder Cup, but Walters refused to place the bet for Mickelson since he played in the tournament.Between his PGA Tour earnings and LIV Golf payday, Mickelson

Go to Source Author: Andrew Cohen TNT NBA analyst Kenny Smith is perplexed by the decision-making of ESPN as it let go of top NBA commentators Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson amid broader layoffs at the network.“I’m not really sure how they’re [ESPN] doing it. I’m not really versed on why they’re doing all their cuts and how, is it budgetary? Because certain guys are getting let go, and then you hire someone else for more money. I have no idea why they’re doing it, but stability is what brings success,” Smith told Front Office Sports.  ‘The Jet’ spoke to FOS at a youth basketball camp in The Hamptons organized by The Program, a startup looking to revitalize New York City’s youth

Go to Source Author: Owen Poindexter David Adelman, who chairs 76 Devco — the company seeking to build a new arena for the 76ers in downtown Philadelphia — is looking forward to the NBA team owning its own arena. “They’ve been good landlords,” Adelman said to Front Office Sports Today of Comcast, which owns the Wells Fargo Center, the 76ers’ current home. “But I’m not convinced they understand what’s needed to operate an arena in the NBA today.” The Wells Fargo Center recently underwent $400 million in renovations, but Adelman said those improvements, such as the additions of restaurants and luxury boxes, were “cosmetic” in nature. “They rank near the bottom in almost every major category [in the NBA fan survey],” said Adelman. “Comcast is

Go to Source Author: David Rumsey While the Pac-12 struggles to survive the defection of five more teams, the ACC’s most influential schools are pondering how they can remain competitive in the increasingly consolidated landscape of college sports.Before the wheels fell off the Pac-12’s wagon on Friday afternoon, the ACC was scheduled to meet that evening to discuss its own expansion plans, according to Yahoo Sports. A “coast to coast” idea included the possibility of adding as many as seven Pac-12 schools. Florida State has particularly been making noise, and its power brokers are clearly worried about the school’s future. The ACC is locked into a media rights deal with ESPN that pays the conference just $240 million a year through 2036 — which

Go to Source Author: Eric Fisher Already bankrupt and attempting to reorganize amid a splintering media landscape, Diamond Sports Group now faces a set of fast-approaching deadlines heavily impacting its ability to survive.The Bally Sports parent is looking to complete its Chapter 11 reorganization plan by Nov. 9, with renewed and expanded carriage deals with key distributors. But DirecTV told a U.S. bankruptcy court that DSG “should not assume” the carrier — critical to DSG’s viability — will renew its agreement, and that talks have “barely begun” to account for the recent loss of the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Diamondbacks from Bally Sports Arizona.“Even agreements on preliminary matters related to such renewal discussions … have thus far not been reachable,” DirecTV said.A

Go to Source Author: Daniel Myrick The USWNT has advanced to the knockout round of the Women’s World Cup, but many fans aren’t pleased with the team’s performance. Newsletter co-author David Rumsey explains why the pressure is on for the United States, and how Jamaica crowdfunded their women’s team out of the group stage. Plus, FOX Sports Digital’s SVP Michael Bucklin joins us to share what it takes to broadcast the Women’s World Cup across the world to the United States. Related StoriesUSWNT, Fox Lose Primetime World Cup Viewing Slots After Shaky Performance Fox Sports Facing Prospect of World Cup Without Big Draw of USWNT Fox Sports And Fox News Have Split Narratives On Women’s World CupFor more on how sports impacts business and culture, subscribe

Go to Source Author: Eric Fisher The San Antonio Spurs’ business is significantly escalating — and not just thanks to the heralded arrival of rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama.On Thursday, the NBA team completed an arena naming rights pact with longtime sponsor Frost Bank to rename the former AT&T Center to the Frost Bank Center.That deal is only the beginning of the franchise’s revitalization. Next month, the Spurs open their $500 million practice center and mixed-use campus, the Rock at La Cantera, a project combining a next-generation training facility with parkland, an event plaza, and commercial space. The team also received 4,000 new season-ticket deposits this summer, thanks largely to Wembanyama.“We’ve been building a team for the future, a franchise for the next generation,