Thursday, January 9, 2025
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Start your morning with Buzzcast with Ted Keith: Previewing a big football weekend featuring the CFP & the NFL Playoffs; a look at the viewership for TGL's debut and an update on the ownership future for two MLB franchises

NFL viewership down 2% after late season drop

By Austin Karp

Getty Images
NFL regular-season viewership dropped 2% this season after pacing toward the league’s best mark for most of the schedule. A dip at the end of the season in terms of competitive games hampered numbers for many media partners. Prime Video and NBC saw gains, while Fox, CBS and ESPN were lower this season.
The Chiefs were the definitely America’s Team in the viewership numbers this season, playing in six of the 15 most-watched regular-season games. The Cowboys, Packers and Ravens each played in three, while the Lions, 49ers, Bears, Vikings and Eagles each played in two of the top 15.

NFL plans for L.A. game, but fires may move it

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The NFL said it "currently plans for the Rams to host the Vikings during their playoff game Monday night at SoFi Stadium" in Inglewood, south of where massive fires burned across L.A. on Wednesday, but it "has a contingency plan if the fires adversely impact the ability to host the game." The league said in a statement that if the game must be moved, it would be "played on Monday night at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz." Wind gusts reaching nearly 100 mph have "fueled" the Palisades, Eaton, Hurst and Woodley fires, which started Tuesday and were responsible for at least five deaths and have burned more than 1,100 buildings as of Wednesday afternoon. With a scheduled day off from practice Wednesday, it "remains to be seen whether the Rams will explore practicing somewhere other than their Woodland Hills facility later this week." The Chargers, who also play their home games at SoFi Stadium but are opening the playoffs on the road Saturday against the Texans, will donate $200,000 in "wildfire relief efforts." The money will be split across the American Red Cross, the L.A. Fire Department Foundation, Team Rubicon and pet rescue organizations sheltering animals displaced by the fires (L.A. TIMES, 1/8).

Nashville SC makes key moves in C-suite

By Alex Silverman

Nashville SC
Nashville SC has promoted COO Lindsey Paola to Chief Business Officer as founding CEO Ian Ayre transitions to Vice Chair, a high-level advisory role. Ayre and Paola, who began their new roles on Jan. 1, each report directly to Majority Owner and Chair John Ingram.

Ayre, who previously served as CEO of Liverpool, joined Nashville SC as an unnamed expansion franchise in 2018 ahead of its 2020 MLS debut. The 61-year-old executive told SBJ the club has evolved out of its startup phase, making it the right time for him to step back from the club’s day-to-day business operations.

“The real draw for me when I was offered the opportunity here back in 2018 was to come and build a whole soccer team, build everything from the ground up,” Ayre said. “I don't really want to run an MLS team long term -- that was never my goal -- but at the same time, I have a lot of love for the people in this building and in this club, so this is a perfect solution to that.”

As Vice Chair, Ayre will continue to oversee Nashville SC’s annual budget and lead special projects such as team investments and capital raises. He will remain the Board of Governors representative for both Nashville SC at MLS meetings and Huntsville City FC at MLS Next Pro meetings.

Ayre characterized Paola’s promotion to the CBO role as a natural progression for someone who spent two years with the club’s eponymous USL predecessor before joining the MLS franchise ahead of its launch. Paola, who spent the first decade of her career in national politics, became Nashville SC’s COO in 2023 after serving as Chief of Staff for four years.

“Outside of our organization, Lindsey is probably a relatively unknown quantity, but I think the true value is the longevity she has,” Ayre said. “She probably knows more about this operation than I do. Having succession from within is such a valuable thing.”

Paola said continuing to build up the non-MLS event business she has spearheaded at Geodis Park will be a key priority in her new role. Over the past two years, the stadium has hosted Guns N' Roses, Pink, Green Day and Shania Twain. The team will also host three FIFA Club World Cup matches this summer and begin discussions later this year on a kit sponsorship renewal with Renasant Bank, whose deal expires after the 2026 season.

TGL audience exceeds expectations on ESPN

By Austin Karp
TGL
The debut of TGL on Tuesday night from 9:00-11:00pm ET averaged 919,000 viewers on ESPN, with the 9:15-10:15pm window maintaining an average of around 1.04 million viewers. ESPN gave the new golf league a Pitt-Duke men’s hoops lead-in, but that game was out of hand early and only drew 751,000 viewers (a difference of 22% between the two events).

TGL then began with only 932,000 viewers at the start of the telecast, before peaking twice at 1.1 million viewers (9:15-9:30pm and 9:45-10:00pm). The debut TGL match -- Bay GC vs. New York GC -- was also a blowout, and officially a win for Bay GC by 10:36pm (Ludvig Aberg, Shane Lowry and Wyndham Clark defeated Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele). But TGL easily outperformed the same Duke-Pitt matchup in the same 9pm window on the same night last year (up 28% from that game).

The TGL debut was higher than the NBC window (4-6pm) for the final round of The Sentry on Sunday (868,000 viewers), though that's typically one of the least-viewed PGA Tour network windows of the year and had head-to-head Week 18 NFL competition. The tour, which is an investor in TGL, had a network average last year that was closer to 1.9 million. TGL also easily topped “The Showdown” that aired in late December on TNT/TBS and featured Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler vs. Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka. The 625,000 viewers for that match would have been the second-lowest in "The Match" series, which follows a similar format. 

Tiger Woods will play in the second TGL event next Tuesday, which will have a 7pm start and a “SportsCenter” lead-in (TGL will lead into a Duke-Miami men’s hoops game).

Power 4 propose more control of NCAA governance

A proposal from the power conferences stands to “potentially remake the NCAA governance and championship structure, shifting more authority to the power leagues over rule-making, policy decisions and, even, postseason events." The proposal would “grant the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC rights to manage postseason championships,” such as the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, "assuming control over events that have long been operated" by the NCAA. The proposal is described only as a “working document” and is “not a complete or approved product.” But it indicates a “clear direction” from the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC, which “want an expansion of their previously existing autonomous legislative powers." Such changes to the NCAA governance structure “may require a vote of the full Division I membership -- likely a difficult majority to obtain” (YAHOO SPORTS, 1/8).

Main Street SG hires former ESPN exec Williamson

Main Street Sports Group is expanding its senior leadership team with the appointment of former ESPN exec Norby Williamson as President of Production & Programming, effective January 13. Williamson will be responsible for overseeing live productions for NBA, NHL and MLB events, as well as original programming for FanDuel Sports Network’s 16 RSNs. Williamson’s career at ESPN stretched nearly 40 years, beginning in the mailroom in 1985. His most recent title was Executive Editor & Head of Event and Studio Production. His duties at Main Street Sports Group will include pre-game, game and post-game strategy and innovation, along with managing operations and content across linear and digital platforms. Williamson will report to Main Street Sports Group CEO David Preschlack. The moves follows Main Street Sports' rebrand from Diamond Sports Group after emerging from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings (SBJ). 

Cosm set to show WWE programming at venues

By Rob Schaefer
Cosm
Cosm is adding pro wrestling to the programming docket of its experiential venues in L.A. and Dallas through a new multiyear partnership with WWE.

The deal, for which financial terms were not disclosed, will grant Cosm rights to produce and present select WWE Premium Live Events (i.e., WrestleMania, Summer Slam, Royal Rumble) in its immersive, 87-foot-diameter LED domes. The first two on its schedule are Royal Rumble on February 1 and Elimination Chamber on March 1.

“The focus is their larger tentpoles,” Cosm SVP/Content & Media Peter Murphy told SBJ. “We’ll work with them throughout the year on layering in select, Premium Live Events. That’s how it will start. Then, it’s a multi-year relationship, and the hope is that we can grow and extend as we experience success together.”

Murphy highlighted WWE’s excitable fanbase as a factor that made the partnership a fit, saying “we’re seen when you have such passionate, intense, invested fans that they enjoy the experience at Cosm.”

WWE Co-Head/Revenue Alex Varga, who worked closely on the deal with WWE President Nick Khan, Cosm President & CEO Jeb Terry and Murphy, pointed to synergies with WWE’s global distribution strategy as well.

“We’ve brought over half of [our PLEs] to international destinations, and we’re going to look to expand on that global effort,” Varga said. “Cosm provides an amazing experience, if you think about fans who are here domestically and aren’t able to make that trip for the event.”

RELATED: Cosm’s NFL-player-turned-CEO has big plans for its future

In 2024, Cosm opened locations in LA and Dallas and announced upcoming ones in Atlanta and Detroit. Varga views all as “really strong wrestling communities.” WWE this week debuted its new decade-long “Monday Night Raw” rights deal with Netflix at the Intuit Dome, and in the past three years has hosted PLEs in Atlanta (Bad Blood), Detroit (Summer Slam) and Dallas (WrestleMania 38).

Cosm’s league deals -- e.g., NBA, UFC, NFL -- sometimes require cooperation with properties’ media partners, as Cosm produces the content displayed in its venues via specialized cameras on site. In this case, Cosm’s production team will work directly with WWE, which produces all its events in-house and licenses that content to partners (i.e., Peacock for domestic streams of PLEs). This agreement does not involve “Monday Night Raw.”

Cosm was recently named one of Sports Business Journal’s 10 Most Innovative Sports Tech Companies and is a finalist in the Best in Immersive Technology category at the 2025 Sports Business Awards: Tech. Award winners will be announced and recognized live during SBJ’s three-day Tech Week conference in N.Y. next March. The festivities kick off with a ceremony celebrating award nominees and winners, as well as SBJ’s 10 Most Innovative Sports Tech Companies for 2025, at the Hard Rock Hotel on March 4.

 

MLS hosting annual media day event in Miami

By Alex Silverman

Getty Images
More than 150 journalists are credentialed to cover MLS' annual Media and Marketing Day at the Miami Beach Convention Center today. The 50 MLS players in attendance will include seven U.S. men’s national team members, who are currently training in Ft. Lauderdale. Seven MLS coaches will also be available, as will U.S. men’s national team coach Mauricio Pochettino and Canada men's national team coach Jesse Marsch.

The event floor will feature 60 distinct media and marketing stations, including eight from Apple highlighting MLS Season Pass and the league’s forthcoming docuseries on Apple TV+. Other presenters will include the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the MLS Players Association and several MLS corporate partners. There will also be a dedicated station highlighting MLS’ partnership with On Location to promote hospitality experiences for 2026 World Cup.

Franklin, Freeman to make history in CFP matchup

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Penn State coach James Franklin and Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman will make history when they meet in the College Football Playoff semifinals Thursday night, with the winner becoming the first Black head coach to reach the college football national championship game. Here is a sampling of the talk around the matchup and what it means for the sport as a whole: 

Titans to interview Browns' Hickman for GM role

The Titans have been "granted permission to interview" Browns Assistant GM & VP/Football Operations Catherine Hickman for its open GM position after firing Ran Carthon earlier this week. Hickman has been in her role with the Browns since 2022 after being hired in 2019 as the football operations coordinator for the Eagles. Hickman is currently the NFL’s highest-ranking female executive with a team. Meeting with Hickman will help Tennessee meet the Rooney Rule that requires a team to interview at least two outside candidates who are either a person of color or female (AP, 1/8).

BetMGM rolling out promos around NFL playoffs

By Bill King

BetMGM
BetMGM rolls out a pair of NFL playoff promotions this week, including a free-to-play contest that offers account holders shares of a $1M bonus bet pool for correctly predicting the answer to three questions tied to games each weekend, with payouts of $250,000 in bonus bets in the wild card and divisional rounds and $500,000 in the conference championship games.

BetMGM also will offer a $250,000 bonus bet pool for those who place a wager of $10 or more on the player who ends up scoring the longest TD of each playoff weekend.

Bonus bets in the free-to-play contest will be paid in increments of $50. Bonus bets won in either contest expire after seven days.

Scrum Ventures closes first sports fund at $68M

Scrum Ventures, an early-stage investment firm based in Tokyo and S.F., has closed its first sector-specific fund, Scrum Sports & Entertainment Fund I, at $68M. Scrum previously raised four other general purpose funds that included startups working in the sports space -- including Zippin, Maestro and LiveLike -- but SSE will hew more closely to the sports and entertainment theme, although still do so broadly.

The managing directors of the new fund are Mike Proman, a former Coca-Cola and NBA executive, and Kazuhiro Kiyoshige, a longtime international sports marketer at Dentsu. Proman indicated that Scrum Ventures will approach the vertical “in a way that probably isn't as industry endemic as some of the peer funds that do invest in sports technology.”

SSE has already made 20 investments in 16 companies, deploying about half of the new fund. Among the notable startups in its portfolio are TMRW Sports, Misapplied Sciences, Campus Ink, Bandit Running and Volo Sports.

“If I dissect our initial 16 companies, many of them wouldn't necessarily qualify as a sports tech company on its face, and I think that's just a reflection of how the industry has evolved,” Proman told SBJ by phone while roaming the aisles at CES. “Sport and entertainment is now more or less ubiquitous with general culture and lifestyle.”

When asked about themes of interest right now, Proman said, “AI is a huge one for us. The other ones are looking at areas that support massive disruption -- licensing is a good example of that in the space. Anything that touches strong IP is a general theme, or can further accelerate or democratize IP.”

He added that Scrum keeps its eyes on “nascent pockets of the industry,” such as college athletes and legalized sports betting which are a few years old but still relatively new when viewed through “the venture lens.” He also recently wrote a piece for Crunchbase, noting the appeal of “tribal tech” -- platforms that build community and purpose.

Sports Media Pod: CFP semis, NFL playoffs

On the pod this week, co-hosts Austin Karp and Mollie Cahillane take a deep dive into the CFP semifinals as Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Texas look to get to the championship. The duo also discuss the NFL playoffs getting underway (with the Houston Texans in a familiar Wild Card window). They are then joined by ESPN SVP/Digital, Social & Streaming Content Kaitee Daley and she shares her insights on what keeps her group so successful. Later in the show, S&P Global Ratings Managing Director Naveen Sarma breaks down what Wall Street is eyeing around sports.

Morning Hot Reads: Master Innovator

SI went with the header, "Jessica Berman Is SI’s 2024 Innovator of the Year." Berman joined the NWSL as commissioner "in a moment of crisis." The league was "roiled by a series of abuse scandals" and it "had only just started to negotiate" its first CBA with its players’ association. Berman had a long career in professional sports, but she "had never worked in soccer." It was "daunting to consider taking on a situation where trust was that broken." And the league’s place in the sports landscape was "tenuous." There were "major questions" about what the league would do without the support of U.S. Soccer, which had managed the league prior to Berman's arrival. It "needed to grow in order to survive." The NWSL "did that over the last two years," and the moves it "pulled off to keep building momentum this season" have made Berman Sports Illustrated’s 2024 Innovator of the Year. 

Also

Social Scoop....

Off the presses....

The Morning Buzz offers today's back pages and sports covers from some of North America's major metropolitan newspapers:

N.Y. Post N.Y. Daily News Newsday Boston Herald Chicago Sun-Times Philadelphia Daily News Indianapolis Star Centre Daily Times Chicago Tribune Miami Herald Cleveland Plain Dealer Dallas Morning News