Faced with the loss of nearly two-thirds of the regular season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, MLB and its clubs are significantly expanding the frequency and locations for virtual advertising this season.
Hall: Covid-19 and declines in media rights fees have created appetite for virtual advertising
Roger Hall, the new chief executive of virtual advertising company uniqFEED and a veteran of the digital replacement technology and broadcast sectors, says the sports industry will have to develop new commercial models to fully exploit the potential of virtual advertising
MLB aims to ‘democratize’ esports with inclusive push around Home Run Derby VR game
Major League Baseball's developing esports strategy, much more inclusive and based on a game title much simpler to play, veers heavily from other major US sports properties
Years of market research led to MLB’s lucrative global deal with FTX
The five-year, global deal with cryptocurrency exchange FTX, secured in June, saw Major League Baseball join the growing list of sports rights-holders signing up cryptocurrency exchanges after a long evaluation…
Braves sign pair of student-athlete NIL deals
Agreements represent a new link between a MLB club, college sports
Trading card sale marks third new industry record in a year
Wagner T206 card garners more than $6.6m in auction
Fanatics strikes exclusive Ohtani memorabilia, collectibles partnership
Global sports merchandising giant Fanatics has secured an exclusive, multiyear memorabilia and collectibles partnership with Major League Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani
Francini: PE poses threat to agencies, but it won’t make them irrelevant
Ioris Francini, the former co-president of WME IMG, current chairman of IMG Media and now specialist commercial advisor to the sports industry, gives his take on the shifting dynamics in rights brokerage and distribution and the spate of private equity deals sweeping through sport. Ben Cronin reports.
Jaguars look to use Lawrence effect to transform fortunes on and off field
Thanks to the arrival of superstar quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the approval of a $120m football performance center, there is a renewed sense of excitement and optimism surrounding the Jacksonville Jaguars, as team president Mark Lamping tells SportBusiness.
Mediapro fights back after Ligue 1, Serie A setbacks and Covid
In his first major interview since the collapse of the media rights deals for France’s Ligue 1 and Italy’s Serie A, Mediapro founder Jaume Roures strongly defends the company’s approach in both markets and insists that neither deal fell through on concerns about Mediapro guarantees.
Sportradar looks ahead to accelerating future despite rocky IPO day
Shares in global sports data provider Sportradar fell more than 7 per cent in their first day of trading in the United States. But company officials remain resolute in their long-term growth prospects. US editor Eric Fisher reports.