Finance Weekly Podcast

In this week’s episode podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Mitesh Mehta, senior vice president of betting, gaming, and strategic sports for NBC Sports Next, the network’s technology and innovation division. Fisher and Russo also discuss the still-increasing presence of the cryptocurrency industry in sports sponsorship, New York City’s decision to exempt pro athletes from a Covid-19 vaccine mandate, an accelerating march into United States college sports by data companies such as Genius Sports and Sportradar, and Nike’s recent earnings report that was quickly followed up by a renewed relationship with the estate of the late Kobe Bryant.

In this week’s episode podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Chris Giles, co-founder and chief executive of California-based FanRally. Fisher and Russo also discuss the recent earnings report from Ultimate Fighting Championship parent Endeavor Group Holdings Inc., ESPN’s high-profile acquisition of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman for its Monday Night Football booth, ongoing sports-related issues from the Russian invasion of Ukraine including the forthcoming sale of the Premier League’s Chelsea, and a ballpark development setback for Major League Baseball’s Oakland A’s.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Lou DePaoli, managing director at global sports consulting and management firm General Sports Worldwide. Fisher and Russo also discuss the new collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, MLB’s streaming rights agreement with Apple, continued developments with the Premier League’s Chelsea and Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, the National Football League’s season-long suspension of Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley for gambling offenses, and ownership moves for the Premier Hockey Federation’s Toronto Six and Boston Pride.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Julie Uhrman, Angel City FC co-founder and president. Fisher and Russo also discuss Major League Baseball’s cancellation of the first week of the 2022 regular season and further impacts from the ongoing labor dispute with the MLB Players Association, the move of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich to sell the Premier League’s Chelsea FC, a $1.5bn fundraising by Fanatics that now values the company at $27bn, and rising political pressures surrounding National Hockey League star Alexander Ovechkin.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Jessica Berman, National Lacrosse League interim commissioner. Fisher and Russo also discuss ongoing labor negotiations with the MLB Players Association, heightened turbulence in the United States sports betting market impacting entities such as DraftKings and Churchill Downs Inc.’s TwinSpires, a new funding round for digital sports media company Wave Sports + Entertainment, the sports industry’s response to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, and the state of spring leagues for American football.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Ishveen Jolly, founder and chief executive of OpenSponsorship. Fisher and Russo also discuss the state of the National Basketball Association as it reached its All-Star Game, rising prospects in motorsports for both Nascar and Formula 1, a $100m fundraising round for WSC Sports, the College Football Playoff’s decision to stand pat with a four-team format, and opioid issues surrounding Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Angels.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Wayne Kimmel, managing partner of SeventySix Capital. Fisher and Russo also discuss events happening in and around the National Football League’s Super Bowl LVI, the state of sports streaming following a robust earnings report from the Walt Disney Co., a resurgence in international games from the NFL and National Hockey League, and ongoing labor negotiations in Major League Baseball.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Dave VanEgmond, founder and chief executive of Bettor Capital. Fisher and Russo also discuss the historic $75m capital raise for the Women’s National Basketball Association, the departure of WarnerMedia News & Sports chairman Jeff Zucker, mounting off-field issues for the National Football League ahead of the upcoming Super Bowl LVI, and the start of the Beijing Olympics.

In this week’s episode podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Alexandre Dreyfus, chief executive of blockchain platform Socios.com and its parent organization Chiliz. Fisher and Russo also preview the upcoming Beijing Olympics facing widespread political and operational challenges, discuss recent financial news surrounding Genius Sports and Comcast, and look ahead to forthcoming developments surrounding the National Football League’s Denver Broncos and Washington Football Team.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Carsten Koerl, Sportradar global chief executive. Fisher and Russo also discuss the demise of the split-season plan advocated by Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays, new funding rounds for non-fungible token (NFT) companies Autograph and Animoca Brands, historic investment into the Premier Hockey Federation, a large-scale betting pact between Fubo Gaming and two Texas-based pro soccer clubs, and a reimagined model of governance for US college sports.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Mike Raffensperger, FanDuel chief marketing officer. Fisher and Russo also discuss the start of the National Football League playoffs following a banner regular season for the property, the completion of a digital rights agreement between Sinclair Broadcast Group and the National Basketball Association, and the Covid-19 drama between Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic and the Australian government.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Ken Solomon, Tennis Channel president. Fisher and Russo also discuss The New York Times Company’s $550m (€486.9m) deal to acquire sports media outlet of The Athletic, Fanatics’ market-shifting, $500m purchase of the sports and entertainment assets of The Topps Co., and the National Football League’s deliberations around the forthcoming Super Bowl LVI in California amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Varun Sudhakar, co-founder and chief executive of sports betting platform startup BetDEX. Fisher and Russo also discuss ongoing challenges in the sports industry due to the Covid-19 pandemic, preview forthcoming developments in 2022 in the team acquisition, media rights, and sports betting sectors, and they remember recently deceased National Football League icon John Madden.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Peter Freund, chief executive of the Endeavor-controlled Diamond Baseball Holdings. Fisher and Russo also discuss the National Football League’s initial awarding of international business rights to certain clubs; the official placement of Super Bowl LVIII in 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada; heightened issues in the sports industry due to Covid-19; and they recap their top stories of 2021.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview David Nugent, co-founder and chief executive of Next League. Fisher and Russo also discuss Endeavor’s dramatic entry into Minor League Baseball, Genius Sports’ large-scale data rights and digital media pact with the Canadian Football League, and the diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Beijing Olympics by several nations.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview 777 Partners managing director Juan Arciniegas. Fisher and Russo also discuss Major League Baseball’s lockout of the MLB Players Association, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s new digital rights deal with the National Hockey League, and the $840m funding round for India-based fantasy sports platform Dream Sports.