Is Apple eyeing Pac 12 and is that a fit? Overtime sees boxing as Gen-Z draw; LIV Golf eyes sponsors for team concept and the NBA honors The Doctor
I am recording this before participating in a state of sports roundtable for Charlotte Sports Business today at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in my hometown of Charlotte. I'll be joined on the panel by Checkers' COO Tera Black, NBC Sports' Jim Donofrio and Bespoke Sports & Entertainment's Mike Boykin. Certainly looking forward to that discussion.
And this is your Morning Buzzcast for Wednesday, February 22nd. Good morning. I'm Abe Madkour. Thanks for listening to the Buzzcast. Well, one of the most talked about stories among sources I speak with is where the PAC-12's media rights will land. They have been actively on the market for some time, and the delay in landing a deal has led some to question how vibrant the marketplace is for the PAC-12. So the latest report comes from Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, who reports that Apple TV is now emerging as a potential landing spot for PAC-12 football rights.
So what does this mean? Well, first sources have indicated that there is not overwhelming interest in the PAC-12 by ESPN or Fox Sports. We do know Amazon has held some productive talks with the PAC-12, and now Apple has emerged. Marchand reports that PAC-12 commissioner, George Kliavkoff, could present Apple as a possibility to schools very soon. But this would be a big indicator of the unity of the PAC-12 presidents and chancellors. Remember, they came out with a statement just a few weeks ago that they were unified and that a new media deal was coming soon. But I don't know if each institution would be interested in a potential all streaming deal, especially if many games are behind Apple's paywall. This could lead some schools to be open for business and talk about departing to other conferences. Our Michael Smith in SBJ College newsletter reported last night that the MLS Apple deal could provide a roadmap for how such a PAC-12 deal could look like.
Apple will stream many of its MLS games behind a paywall. A handful of games will appear on Fox, but fans who want to see the whole schedule of their favorite teams must buy a subscription. So that could be a challenge for the leaders of the PAC-12 as the conference is not known for its rabid college football following. And most of the conferences leaders are trying to amplify exposure for PAC-12 football, not make it more challenging to find or potentially reach a smaller audience. So this is why the PAC-12 media deal is being watched so closely.
A lot has changed for golfer, Dustin Johnson, he of course, was one of the high profile golfers to join the LIV Golf tour last year, and now he is reportedly ending his 15-year relationship with Adidas Golf. And the reason is he will now focus on building his brand for his LIV Golf team, which is called the 4 ACEs. This is according to a report on ESPN. Adidas has also reportedly ended its long relationship with LIV golfer, Sergio Garcia as well. So the second season of LIV Golf starts Friday in Mexico, and you'll see more and more emphasis on their team concept, as much of the hope for LIV Golf rest on its concept of team golf.
And I was always told that part of the business model would be to sell title sponsorships to each team. And one report has that LIV Golf sponsorship model includes selling ad space for logos on shirts. And a sponsor would have full branding on the shirt. So that would impede any conflicting sponsor. So we'll wait to see how these assets can be sold if these assets are sold. But that is the plan for LIV Golf in its sales strategy as it heads into its second season, like I've said, starting Friday in Mexico. But the bottom line, it seems like Dustin Johnson's longtime deal with Adidas Golf coming to an end.
I want to shift to the first weekend of the XFL because it is in the books, and we'll be keeping our eye on in-venue attendance. One market that holds its season opener game Thursday night is in Seattle where the Seattle Sea Dragons play at Lumen Field. And this is a market to watch because in 2020, Seattle was a very strong market for the XFL. Their home opener in 2020 drew nearly 30,000 fans. So Thursday night could be an indicator or a good indicator of the appetite for the XFL in 2023 in Seattle. So far, opening season weekend attendance was mixed as you had a range of 12,000 fans in Houston, Washington DC, Arlington Texas and you had a high of 24,000 fans at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. So we will continue to watch attendance at the XFL.
One company I know we're all continuing to keep our eye on is Overtime. Overtime, which of course built its brand through social and through basketball before expanding into football. Well, now Overtime is expanding into a third sport, boxing. And it's aligning with the DAZN in a move that it believes will continue Overtime's pursuit and drawing of younger audiences. So Overtime is launching Overtime Boxing, or it's called OTX. It will start this summer. There will be four weekend cards at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta that holds about 1200 spectators. The fights will be seen on the DAZN. Nutrabolt and it's drink brand C4 Energy will be the first sponsor of OTX in a multi-year deal. Overtime Boxing's GM is Brandon Rhodes. He is an SBJ New Voices Under 30 honoree in 2020.
I first came across Brandon at the University of Michigan. He was part of the team that always produced and presented the school's Great Sports Business conference in the fall. This is a great opportunity for Brandon Rhodes, to build a brand. And he said OTX will sign younger male and female fighters who are looking to make a name for themselves. They'll build their personal brands around creating and distributing digital and social content, that has been their playbook over time, that has successfully built their basketball and their football leagues. OTX will hold all their fights in their first year at that Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. It could eventually take the show on the road.
Now, Brandon Rhodes is a longtime boxing fan. He took up amateur boxing during the COVID Pandemic, and he said that overtime is making this move into boxing because the company's data showed that boxing was the fourth most popular sport for Gen Z behind football, soccer, and basketball. So I found that data point interesting and that of course led them to create OTX. So Overtime is led by CEO Dan Porter, Zack Wiener. Overtime has investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Liberty Media, Sapphire Sport among others. Overtime is a brand many keep their eye on. And now, Overtime entering into boxing.
And how perfect is this? We'll end with this. The NBA continues to do such a good job amplifying its history and never letting the stars that help build the league ever be forgotten. You go to an NBA All-Star game, and it's always a week long tribute to former greatness. And I love how the NBA has named the trophy given annually to the winner of the All-Star game Slam Dunk Contest after the great one who defied air and space and one of the greatest dunkers ever. Yes, one of my heroes growing up, the legendary Hall of Famer, Julius Erving. So that will now be called the Dr. J All-Star Game Slam Dunk Contest Trophy. That's a great, great honor for Erving. Very, very appropriate. So that is your Morning Buzzcast for Wednesday, February 22nd. I'm Abe Madkour. Thanks for listening to the Buzzcast. Thanks for spreading the word on the Buzzcast. Stay healthy, be good to each other. I'll speak to you tomorrow.