FOS PM: Disney’s $3B Cricket Rights – Front Office Sports

June 13, 2022

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Louis and John Angelos, the sons of Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, are in a heated legal fight over the last-place club’s future. On Monday, John said the team “will never leave” the city after a suit alleged he could move it to Tennessee, where his wife owns a Nashville-based entertainment company.

The auction for media rights to the Indian Premier League began Sunday, with Viacom18 and Disney among the winners walking away.

Viacom18, a joint venture between Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, Paramount Global, and investment company Bodhi Tree Systems, secured streaming rights to the months-long tournament as part of a five-year, $2.6 billion deal.

The IPL’s TV rights reportedly went to Disney for $3 billion over the next five years.

• Star India, which Disney acquired in 2019 through its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox, paid roughly $2.5 billion for rights from 2017 to 2022.
• This year’s auction marks the first time the Board of Control for Cricket in India is selling the IPL’s broadcast and streaming rights individually.
• In 2020, 44% of Indian households watched an IPL match live, totaling 61 billion viewing minutes.

Two packages are left to be sold — TV and digital broadcasting rights outside India and non-exclusive rights for certain matches — and the auction will resume Tuesday.

IPL Appeal

The growing price tag for the IPL’s media rights aligns with its teams’ growing valuations. 

Indian billionaire Sinjiv Goenka bought two teams for $950 million and $750 million last year, expanding the tournament to 10 teams. IPL clubs’ valuations are growing at a faster rate than NFL and NBA teams.

Adidas has filed a lawsuit against competitor Nike, alleging that the Swoosh is infringing on nine of its patents. 

The lawsuit allegations range from shoe designs to technologies released years ago.

• Adidas claims Nike infringed on the 2005 released Adidas_1 — which Adidas says is the first shoe to ever sense and adjust “the comfort of the shoe while the shoe is worn” — with Nike’s Adapt technology.
• The Nike app SNKRS allegedly infringes on Adidas’ Confirmed app, which both allow consumers to reserve products. Confirmed rolled out before SNKRS in 2015.
• Nike’s Run Club and Training Club apps are also named as infringement examples in the lawsuit, specifically over location-based run tracking, training plan systems, and audio feedback.

Adidas is seeking an order blocking Nike from infringing on patents, as well as “damages in an amount sufficient to compensate Adidas for the defendant’s infringement.”

Nike reported $10.9 billion in third-quarter revenue, and Adidas posted $5.58 billion in first-quarter revenue.

Checks Over Stripes?

The lawsuit marks the first time Adidas has sued Nike, but not the first time the pair have battled in court.

In December, Nike filed its own complaint against Adidas, claiming that at least 49 of the latter’s shoes that are made with Adidas’ Primeknit technology infringe on Nike’s Flyknit technology. Nike’s request for the International Trade Commission to block Adidas’ imports and its lawsuit is still pending.

Nike sued Adidas in 2005 over two patents, but the companies dropped the case two years later.

With streaming becoming a distribution option for a wide range of leagues and teams, there is a growing market for technology that can affordably bump up broadcast production value.

Pixellot, a company that uses AI to make cameras follow game action and can automate sports video production, announced Monday that it raised $161 million in a Series D round. 

• The round reportedly valued the Israeli startup at $500 million. 
• Tech-focused investment firm PSG led the round, with participation from existing investors, including the Israeli Secondary Fund. Two executives from PSG joined Pixellot’s board.
• The company says it has its systems deployed at 23,000 courts and venues across 70 countries, producing more than 350,000 hours of live sports per month.

Full Spectrum

The company works with some of the most valuable teams in the world, including FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich, but also partners with high schools and lesser-known leagues.

“The market for video production solutions in all levels of sports broadcasting, from grassroots to the professional leagues, is ripe for disruption,” said Pixellot CEO Alon Werber. 

The company also works with ESPN, the NBA, and MLB for youth sports competitions, LigaMX teams, and Genius Sports.

Pixellot claims it “produces and livestreams more hours of team sports than any company in the world.”