Finance & Law
Features
Monkey Knife Fight looks to advance status as industry disruptor
An upstart daily fantasy company with an unusual name and unconventional approach has quickly risen to prominence by challenging established market leaders DraftKings and FanDuel and striking a large series of team sponsorships.
CBA players may be set for income bump under new image rights rules
Liu Jiadi, partner, and Jeffrey Wilson, counsel, at Chinese law firm JunHe, explain the significance of new player image rights rules in the Chinese Basketball Association League.
Despite Covid uncertainty and 23 Capital’s demise, football’s financiers are here to stay
Covid-19 may have proved too much for 23 Capital, but business is booming for other lenders in the football finance sector.
Darren Heitner | Who owns a social media account?
Darren Heitner, founder of Florida-based Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., and an active attorney practicing sports law and contract law, explores the ramifications of an ongoing legal case surrounding the ownership of a college baseball team's Twitter account.
“Over time we plan to make acquisitions” | Simon Bazalgette on his new advisory firm
Former Jockey Club chairman Simon Bazalgette describes how the Covid-19 pandemic has forced him to adapt plans for a new consultancy business and how there will be an even greater need for right-holders to control operational costs when sport resumes. Ben Cronin reports.
Mediapro ‘set to join Bain-led bid’ for stake in new Serie A media arm
Spanish media giant Mediapro is in “advanced negotiations” with private equity firms Bain Capital and NB Renaissance Partners to join their bid for a stake in Serie A’s new media-rights business, accor…
Nike’s sales and profits surpass projections
US sportswear company Nike reported direct sales worth $3.7bn (€3.2bn) for the first quarter of the fiscal year – up 12 per cent on a reported basis.
Nike’s net income was $1.5bn,
RFU and Premiership Rugby seek bailouts as UK government prepares aid package
England’s Rugby Football Union has warned of “severe consequences for the sport” if venues remain closed to fans throughout the winter.
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Laporte questioned in French probe, denounces attempted ‘coup’
Bernard Laporte, president of the French Rugby Federation (FFR), has been questioned by police as part of an ongoing inquiry into claims he favoured Top 14 club Montpellier, which is owned by his friend,…
Ospreys has potential to become one of sport’s most renowned franchises
James Davies-Yandle, founder and chief executive of Y11, which recently acquired Welsh Rugby Union club Ospreys, speaks to SportBusiness about the ambitions for the club and the opportunities he sees on the horizon.
Mind the gap: How football clubs can access financing after lockdown
Jerry Korczak, managing director, sports finance, at Macquarie Group, considers the range of finance options available to football clubs to help them navigate the challenges ahead
“There’s a value opportunity” | Why investors are circling Serie A
As Serie A weighs up six proposals from private investors, Ben Marlow, managing director, Asia Pacific, for football consultancy firm 21st Club, explains the sudden interest in the league and tells editorial…
Serie A | Can new investors wake football’s sleeping giant?
Ben Marlow, managing director of 21st Club in Asia Pacific, looks at the rise and fall of Italian Serie A, and considers the ways in which the league can rise once again
Robert Weisbein, Gregory Marino, and Emily Ostreich | Has a trademark Hog muddied the Washington Football Team’s name change plans?
A trio from Foley & Lardner LLP look at the complex trademark issues surrounding the pending name change for the Washington Football Team.
Varnish Employment Appeal ruling may not be the end of the road
Emily Chalkley, senior associate at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, explains why the UK’s Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled against cyclist Jess Varnish’s claim that she was employed and unfairly dismissed by British Cycling and assesses the impact of the decision
Doug Harmer | FFP: Strong leadership is now required by Uefa
In light of the recent developments concerning CAS's decision to overturn Uefa’s two-year Champions League ban on Manchester City, Doug Harmer, partner at Oakwell Sports Advisory, discusses the role of Uefa and navigating the fiscal challenges of a post-lockdown world
“The math just kept getting worse” | Why Toronto Wolfpack pulled plug on Super League season
Toronto chief executive Bob Hunter tells SportBusiness the club is expecting to face serious "consequences" of withdrawing from 2020 campaign at late notice due to coronavirus-enforced financial problems
US college sports face critical juncture as Covid-19 cancellations mount
Months after Covid-19 wiped out the entire spring season in US college sports, still-growing virus case rates now imperil the fall season and escalate economic tension around the country
How Kevin Durant and Philadelphia Union both stand to benefit from NBA player’s minority stake
Philadelphia Union majority owner Jay Sugarman and Durant's business manager Rick Kleiman tell SportBusiness why Brooklyn Nets forward's investment in MLS team will be mutually beneficial and explain how the deal came about.
Sports broadcasting: Cancellation and compensation in the time of Covid-19
The negotiations between sports organisations and their commercial partners around the cancellation, postponement and non-delivery of rights has been one of the biggest storylines during the coronavirus crisis. Jody MacDonald, partner at international law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, takes a closer look at the implications
David Berdugo | Money management issues for athletes during the Covid-19 crisis
David Berdugo, manager for the sports and entertainment department for the MBAF accounting firm, explores the large-scale impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has levied upon professional and amateur athlete income.
Garth Shephard: ‘The sports tech market feels like it’s going through an early adopter phase’
Garth Shephard, a partner at recently-launched sports tech investor and adviser Sightline Ventures, discusses how technology is driving sport in response to generational shifts and how swifter adoption of new technologies will keep significant new revenue within sport and not in the pockets of third parties
Cricket Beyond Covid | Connor, Gould and McCrum on the postponement of The Hundred
In part 2 of our cricket roundtable interview with Clare Connor, managing director of Women's cricket at the ECB, Jake Lush McCrum, chief operations officer for the Rajasthan Royals and Richard Gould,…
Infront’s Bruno Marty – Smaller properties can flourish if they innovate and engage
Bruno Marty, senior vice-president of the ProSports unit at Infront, discusses the impact of sport's Covid-19 induced liquidity crisis, how properties can emerge stronger, the role of private equity i…
Bruno Marty: Sticking to guiding principles is key to building the post-Covid-19 future
Private Equity firms can partner rather than exclude established agencies
Co-operation not confrontation needed to address liquidity crisis
Wall Street embraces promise of US sports wagering
Despite ongoing turbulence in the US stock market due to Covid-19, sports gambling has been a high-performing sector with analysts expecting robust long-term growth
Charles Schwab ready to seize its moment in spotlight as PGA Tour makes return
Multi-national financial services company will gain huge reach as the title sponsor of the first event back on the PGA Tour in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, writes Bob Williams
How the AFL used its biggest asset to tackle Covid-19 financial woes
The Australian Football League is using Melbourne's Marvel Stadium to help secure its fiscal future from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Tom King reports.