Finance Weekly Podcast

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Frank Supovitz, president and chief experience officer of Fast Traffic Events & Entertainment. Fisher and Russo also discuss the National Football League’s development of its NFL+ streaming service, ongoing changes in United States college sports fueled in part by the Big Ten and American Athletic Conferences, the state of the trading cards and collectibles industry, key upcoming business decisions for the NFL, and the improving financial state of LaLiga giants FC Barcelona.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Janet Evans, LA28 chief athlete officer. Fisher and Russo also discuss business results and ratings from Major League Baseball’s 2022 All-Star Game, a Series D funding round for the Premier Lacrosse League, prominent esports entity FazeClan’s $725m (€709.2m) special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal to become a public company, the upcoming National Sports Collectors Convention, and the National Basketball Association’s fan experiences partnership with QuintEvents.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Alon Werber, Pixellot chief executive. Fisher and Russo also discuss a series of business advancements for the National Women’s Soccer League under new commissioner Jessica Berman, the state of Major League Baseball at the All-Star break, the National Football League’s efforts to place flag football in the 2028 Olympics, last week’s SBC Summit North America, and Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees turning to Legends to sell their jersey patch sponsorship.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Tom McMillen, president and chief executive of the college sports’ Lead1 Association. Fisher and Russo also discuss Major League Soccer’s new eight-year betting data and streaming rights deal with Endeavor-owned IMG Arena, the Las Vegas Raiders’ historic hire of new team president Sandra Douglass Morgan, a preview of sports merger-and-acquisition activity in the second half of 2022, a pair of key upcoming industry conferences, and the new five-year employment contract for Live Nation chief executive Michael Rapino.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Brad Griffith, founder and chief executive of mobile-focused ticketing company Gametime. Fisher and Russo also discuss the dramatic move of the University of Southern California and University of California-Los Angeles to the Big Ten Conference, the Big 12 Conference’s hire of new commissioner Brett Yormark, the completion of the revived United States Football League’s first season and new search for additional partners, an investment by US-based Sixth Street into a share of FC Barcelona’s television rights for LaLiga, developing expansion plans for the National Women’s Soccer League, and additional legal turmoil for Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Meredith McPherron, chief executive and managing partner of Drive by DraftKings. Fisher and Russo also discuss ongoing turbulence and change in the golf business spurred by the arrival of LIV Golf, Bruin Capital’s sale of streaming video technology company Deltatre, Susquehanna Investment Group’s new support of sportsbook PointsBet, a non-fungible token partnership involving the National Hockey League and NFT distribution platform Sweet, and moves by Fanatics chief executive Michael Rubin to sell his equity in Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and further position the company into sports betting.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Ameeth Sankaran, Religion of Sports chief executive. Fisher and Russo also discuss Major League Soccer’s landmark global media rights agreement with Apple, the ongoing ownership dispute involving Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles, historic revenue for the National Hockey League during the 2021-22 season, the formation of a new sports investment firm by industry veterans Don Cornwell and Jonathan Nelson, and David Blitzer’s acquisition of an equity stake in MLB’s Cleveland Guardians.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Michael Schreiber, founder and chief executive of Playfly Sports. Fisher and Russo also discuss the tumultuous week surrounding the competitive debut of LIV Golf, the record-setting sale of the National Football League’s Denver Broncos, the NFL’s rising business and talent development interests in Africa, a $50m (€48.6m) round of fundraising for Religion of Sports, and Warner Bros. Discovery’s hire of Luis Silberwasser to lead its sports business.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Matthew Caldwell, president and chief executive of the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers. Fisher and Russo also discuss the dissolution of the planned $1.35bn (€1.26bn) merger between SeatGeek and RedBall Acquisition Corp., the unsolicited offer by Nike co-founder Phil Knight to buy the National Basketball Association’s Portland Trail Blazers, the debut of the New England Sports Network’s new direct-to-consumer streaming service, ratings prospects for the NBA and NHL postseason title rounds, and the new arena pursuit of the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Tony Khan, founder, co-owner, president, and chief executive of All-Elite Wrestling; vice chairman of the English football club Fulham FC; and co-owner and chief football strategy officer for the National Football League’s Jacksonville Jaguars. Fisher and Russo also discuss PepsiCo’s shedding of sponsorship rights to the National Football League’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, the NFL’s partnership with Mythical Games to develop a new gaming experiences centered around non-fungible tokens (NFTs), tennis icon Billie Jean King working with the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association to establish a fully fledged league, the ongoing sale of the NFL’s Denver Broncos amid the record-setting deal for the Premier League’s Chelsea FC, and a $30m (€28m) funding round for upstart ticketing entity Gametime.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Irwin Raij and Chuck Baker, newly appointed by prominent international law firm Sidley Austin LLP as partners and co-chairs of the entity’s Entertainment, Sports, and Media industry group. Fisher and Russo also discuss the abrupt departure of Sean Bratches as LIV Golf’s chief commercial officer, the new global media rights agreement between the revived XFL and the Walt Disney Co., the $380m (€360m) investment deal between LaLiga giant Real Madrid and United States-based global investment Sixth Street, Major League Cricket’s securing of $120m in new funding, and ongoing turmoil involving name, image, and likeness rights in US college sports.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Todd Cooper, founder and chief executive of blockchain technology outfit NuArca Labs. Fisher and Russo also discuss National Football League quarterback Tom Brady’s high-profile plans to eventually join Fox Sports as an on-air analyst, Sorare’s entry into baseball non-fungible tokens (NFTs) with Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, tennis star Naomi Osaka’s move to form her own agency, Rich Strike’s absence from the upcoming Preakness Stakes after the horse’s upset Kentucky Derby win, and EA Sports’ video game licensing split with Fifa.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Sean Bratches, chief commercial officer for LIV Golf. Fisher and Russo also discuss Sinclair Broadcast Group’s developing plans for the Bally Sports+ streaming service, the start of the 26th season for the Women’s National Basketball Association that includes an expanded relationship with Twitter, pending sales for the Premier League’s Chelsea FC and National Football League’s Denver Broncos, the New York Times’ purchase of sports content site The Athletic, and a record-setting sale of a jersey worn by late soccer legend Diego Maradona.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Reagan Carey, the new commissioner of the Premier Hockey Federation. Fisher and Russo also discuss ongoing turbulence in United States college sports with the forthcoming departure of Mark Emmert from the National Collegiate Athletic Association and predictions of a breakup of Division I athletics, Athletes Unlimited’s media rights deal with ESPN, a $300m funding round for German digital sports media entity OneFootball, viewership boosts for the National Hockey League, and Comcast’s successful programming link of the National Football League’s Super Bowl LVI and Beijing 2022 Olympics.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Nikhil Bahel, managing partner for Elysian Park Ventures, the private investment group arm of Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers’ ownership group. Fisher and Russo also discuss Wimbledon’s ban of Russian and Belurusian players at this year’s tournament, the precipitous stock fall for Netflix following a loss of subscribers, a run of jersey patch deals in Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, initial returns from the revived United States Football League, and Formula 1’s upcoming Miami Grand Prix.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Angela Ruggiero, co-founder and chief executive of Massachusetts-based Sports Innovation Lab. Fisher and Russo also discuss the rebirth of American football entity the United States Football League, the beginning of operations for the newly merged media company Warner Bros. Discovery, Major League Baseball’s renewed streaming deal with YouTube, the upcoming 2022 National Football League Draft in Las Vegas, Nevada, and billionaire Elon Musk’s unsolicited $43bn (€34.3bn) bid to acquire social media platform Twitter.