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Welcome to the new year of scoreboards. It’s been a busy week for TKO, the publicly traded organization that hosts both WWE and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
On Monday night, WWE debuted on Netflix as part of a 10-year, $5 billion live streaming deal. On the same day, Meta announced that UFC boss Dana White would be joining its board of directors, giving the social media company direct links to Donald Trump’s inner circle.
You can read more about White’s move to Silicon Valley in this profile. We’ll have more information about Netflix and WWE in the coming days and weeks.
It’s been a big week for serial sports investor David Blitzer. The billionaire Blackstone executive owns stakes in the NBA team Philadelphia 76ers, the NFL’s Washington Commanders, and a string of European soccer teams.
But two of his recent investments have made their long-awaited debuts in recent days. They are the simulator golf league TGL and the women’s volleyball competition LOVB. Today’s newsletter covers both.
And finally, the next FT’s Business of Football Summit is fast approaching and the line-up is already impressive. Chelsea chairman Todd Boley, Atalanta owner Stephen Paliuca and Crystal Palace chairman Stephen Parish are among a number of prominent figures on the agenda. You can see all the details and buy tickets here. But before you do, read on — Josh Noble, Sports Editor
Send tips and feedback to scoreboard@ft.com. Not receiving our email newsletter yet? Sign up here. Everyone else, let’s go.
Virtual golf debuts in prime time
Simulated stimulation © AP
Does professional golf’s salvation lie in South Florida’s space-age soundstages? This week, the game’s latest attempt to reach a younger demographic made its much-hyped debut, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy at the helm.
TGL is an indoor golf simulator league backed by the forces that seek to prop up the PGA Tour against the Saudi-funded startup LIV Tour. TGL has fielded six four-person teams of PGA Tour pros for midweek competition during the winter season. The lavish indoor venue, along with forced banter and game-like rivalries, is aimed at drawing in the TikTok generation uninterested in traditional weekend outdoor golf tournaments.
The opening game pitted New York Golf Club, owned by hedge fund manager Steve Cohen, against Bay Golf Club, owned by billionaire private equity manager Mark Lasry (each team was assigned a geographic direction). However, note that all games will be played at the SoFi Center near Palm Beach).
Two of the biggest players involved in the TGL, Woods and McIlroy, showed up last week to offer their support in preparation for the opening round of TGL golf in the coming weeks.
Aired on ESPN’s prime slot, reviews and TV ratings turned out to be decent. And its backers, the true figures of sports investing, have a simple answer to criticism from golf purists. This is not designed for you.
But the cloud hanging over the professional golf world remains ominous. The PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund have not yet struck a deal to reunite the sport (the PGA Tour has already received billions of dollars in investment from the so-called Strategic Sports Group to revamp its circuits). As a result, the LIV Tour’s biggest stars, including Bryson DeChambeau, Cam Smith and Jon Rahm, along with Lowry and Scottie Scheffler, are still not allowed to participate on the TGL or PGA Tour.
TGL can’t erase this divide, but once a week for a few hours, fireworks can be an interesting distraction.
One sport, two completely different investments
Opportunity at hand: David Blitzer helps LOVB © 2024 NHLI
This week also debuted LOVB Pro (League One Volleyball), a new women’s professional volleyball league backed by Ares Management, David Blitzer, Atwater Capital and venture capital firm Left Lane Capital.
The idea is to build competition strong enough to keep America’s top players at home. In the past, it was common for top American athletes to head to Europe or Asia when they turned pro.
The Ares-backed project comes four years after CVC Capital Partners made a big bet on the sport. In early 2021, the company formed Volleyball World, a joint venture with volleyball’s governing body FIVB, at a valuation of $300 million.
Both initiatives have something in common. It is the belief that volleyball is not commercialized. Investors point out that they estimate that between 700 million and 900 million people are interested in the game worldwide, a number that is boosted by a sizable following in China. .
But while LOVB and VW are both betting on the sport, they are taking very contrasting approaches to capitalizing on its popularity.
CVC is focused on organizing the international calendar, centralizing media rights, and providing fans with a one-stop shop to access volleyball content through dedicated streaming services. As a result, the company believes that once volleyball gambling takes off, it should bring further benefits, such as increased interest from sponsors and more valuable data rights. By partnering with gaming governing bodies, CVC hopes to bring about change from the top down.
LOVB is from a completely different angle. It started five years ago as a network of amateur clubs. Currently, there are 58 of them, with 1,500 junior teams playing. All of these young athletes pay membership fees that cost thousands of dollars a year, just like in other junior sports in the United States. The Pro League is the final part of the plan and is essentially a landing zone for players coming out of the club network.
So LOVB looks like a very typical private equity rollup. A company acquires many smaller companies in an industry to create one large, consolidated business. The company’s current business model is more like a gym chain than the company’s stated goal of creating the “NBA of volleyball.”
Selling media rights and team franchises is a long-term commitment for LOVB and is a large part of its investment thesis. But for now, the professional leagues appear to be more of a marketing tool than a source of income.
transfer market
Follow the money © AP
Former Manchester United CEO Richard Arnold has been appointed non-executive chairman of Teneo’s sports finance advisory. Mr Arnold, who trained as an accountant, became Old Trafford’s chief executive following the departure of Ed Woodward, but resigned in 2023 as Sir Jim Ratcliffe negotiated a share purchase.
highlights
Early Gambit © EPA-EFE
Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen has teamed up with German technology investor Jan Bütner and New York-based Left Lane Capital to create a league inspired by sports such as Formula 1 motor racing. I launched it.
Real Madrid is fighting to save a billion euro project to turn its stadium into a world-class concert venue after being forced to cancel the music events that turned the football club into the world’s richest noisy neighbor. are.
David Beckham’s brand business paid out about $124 million in dividends and saw profits soar thanks to endorsements, digital content and new consumer product launches.
In Canada, hockey is more than just a game. It’s a cultural phenomenon. However, the popularity of this sport has declined in recent years. Many attribute this to the falling cost of equipment and the increasing competitiveness of gaming.
final whistle
cigar moment
It’s been a great few days for those who enjoy big celebrations. AC Milan’s new manager Sergio Conceição has decided to recreate a classic dance routine to commemorate his team’s last victory over rivals Inter in the Italian Supercoppa final (currently being held in Riyadh).
But even more impressive was Barcelona president Joan Laporta’s jubilant reaction to the court’s ruling, which granted the club permission to register two players despite continuing financial problems. Ta. The fist pumps and hugs are the latest signs that on-court competition is becoming an increasingly essential part of modern elite soccer.
The celebrations may still be short-lived as La Liga, which had previously banned Dani Olmo and Pau Victor from playing for Barça, has appealed.
The scoreboard was created by Josh Noble, Samuel Agini and Arash Massoudi in London, James Fontanella-Khan and Anna Nicolaou in New York, and is a collaboration between the Due Diligence newsletter production team, the FT’s global network of correspondents and the data visualization team. We have received contributions from.
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