Bezos' move on Commanders; MLS/Apple launch new media model; Changes in year two of LIV Golf and challenges in the esports team business
Abe Madkour:
I'll be heading to the National Sports Forum in Los Angeles starting Sunday and leading a conversation onstage Monday with the great Will Ferrell. If you'll be there let me know, be great to say hello. And this is your Morning Buzzcast for Friday, February 24th. Good morning, I'm Abe Madkour. Thanks for listening to the Buzzcast.
Well, we start with some potentially significant news when it comes to the sale of the Washington Commanders, as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos hired the investment firm Allen & Company to evaluate a possible bid for the franchise. This is important, because it's Bezos's first major move showing interest in possibly bidding for the team, and Allen & Company is incredibly connected, influential, and very involved in the sale process of sports teams. Now, it's not definite that he will make a bid, and we've heard all the speculation that there is no way current owner Dan Snyder would sell to Bezos because of the way Snyder feels about coverage in The Washington Post. But retaining Allen & Company is a significant move showing that Bezos is serious about potentially moving forward.
Allen & Company knows the sale process very well. They've been handling the sale side of the deal of the two most recent sales of NFL franchises. They represent an ownership of the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos. Now, there has been some activity around the Commanders as we know. One potential buyer, 76ers and Devils co-owner Josh Harris, has visited the Commanders facility, but now Jeff Bezos, everyone's presumed favorite to land the team, could be making his move.
Let's move on. A big weekend for Major League Soccer as it kicks off its 28th season with 13 matches on Saturday. And remember, the league moved to a consistent schedule of games on some Wednesdays, and mostly on Saturdays. I love that consistency. This weekend, MLS is expecting a crowd of more than 70,000 fans at the Rose Bowl on Saturday to watch the Los Angeles Galaxy take on the defending MLS league champion, LAFC. Now, we said yesterday that this year also includes the new franchise, St. Louis City SC, which is well positioned to have a strong year on the business side. MLS features 33 official sponsors this season, including 10 that have joined the league in the past year, which shows some real strength in MLS's national sales team.
But the big story this year is how MLS will have most of its games on Apple TV as the first year in a 10 year, $2.5 billion contract. Now, it could be a dream for the hardcore soccer fans, as all the MLS content, and studio shows, and highlight shows, will be accessible in one central service. It will cost $79 a year with an Apple TV subscription. If you don't have an Apple TV subscription, it's $99 for the year. But there will be several games each week outside of the Apple paywall, and in fact, all the games this Saturday - tomorrow - will be available for free outside that Apple paywall.
So sure, there will be some games during the season on Fox, but the story of the season is Apple. And why is that? It's a new model. Very little national linear broadcast and no regional networks will have MLS content. In addition, every other league is watching to see how a sports league works with Apple in the adoption and performance of a newly launched direct-to-consumer product. Also, don't overlook what Major League Soccer has done. They are taking over all of the production of the matches, so the games will be done from their purview. They also absorbed the cost and built a huge studio in New York City. They hired more than 90 on air talent personnel, and they had to staff production personnel. All of this done in just over about seven or eight months. It's incredibly ambitious. It's been an immense undertaking. But I can tell you that every top executive in sports that I've spoken with is watching this deal, and the performance of Apple MLS very closely.
Let's move to golf, because LIV Golf's second season starts today in Mexico, and here are a few interesting elements to keep your eye on. The biggest is that LIV Golfers won a big victory as they will be able to compete in all four majors this year, as the PGA of America outlined its eligibility requirements this week, and now those players will be allowed to play in the PGA Championship. This was a big, big move, as the narrative for a while was that LIV Golfers would be prohibited from competing in the PGA Championship and other majors. But the move by the PGA of America comes after the RNA announced that the Open Championship will remain open to LIV Golf players. Remember, Augusta National and the USGA had previously announced that their tournaments for 2023 will remain open to LIV Golfers.
Meanwhile, SI reported that LIV Golf is not doling out all the cash, or as much as it did last year. Last year, LIV Golf provided players with four airline tickets, they paid for caddies to travel, they paid for accommodations and meals at every event, but we have talked on the Buzzcast about how LIV Golf is really focusing on the franchise and team model, and part of that model is that each team will get some money from the LIV Series as an allowance, but the rest of a team's expenses are paid for by the team's winnings, the team's sponsorship sales, or any other revenue that the team raises. That will go to pay for each respective team's expenses, so a different business model for LIV Golf this year. And so the second season starts this weekend in Mexico.
We're going to move to esports, because it was a tough day in the business as there are more and more questions about the long-term viability of esports on the team side. Kroenke Sports & Entertainment has laid off the vast majority of its esports division in what appears to be an exit from the esports and gaming space according to our Kevin Hit. Kroenke Sports owns various esports teams, including the Call of Duty's LA Guerrillas and the Overwatch League's LA Gladiators. And Kroenke Sports informed staff of layoffs and changes this week. The organization plans to continue to operate both of their esports teams until they can find a buyer or a partner, but if they fail to reach any type of deal, there is a chance the teams could be phased out completely after their seasons end.
So remember, they were major sports owners that got involved in esports, both in Overwatch and Call of Duty. We're talking about the Wilpon family, Robert Kraft and the Kraft Sports Group, Dan Gilbert. So we will want to see how they manage their operations going forward. It's been a difficult few years or so for the esports industry as the growth there certainly has slowed, and teams and organizations are really looking to cut costs, and you could see more consolidation and restructuring in the future.
So let's end the Buzzcast around a name in the news. Charles Barkley said he is considering hosting a weekly primetime show on CNN, because he is intrigued with the idea of co-hosting it with Gayle King. Barkley said he would like to help Warner Brothers Discovery, which of course owns CNN. Barkley signed a 10-year contract with the company last year. Now if the partnership with Gayle King were to come to fruition, it would likely not be until later this year in the fall at the earliest. And Barkley, who admits he has great respect for Gayle King, is first seeing if she would be available and commit to the show before he decides to move forward with this weekly news and talk show idea. I think it could be a home run. I think he would be phenomenal with Gayle King as cohost of a weekly show.
So that is your Morning Buzzcast. Thank you for listening to the Morning Buzzcast. I'm inviting you to check our best subscription, SBJ All Access, at a special price. Head to our website and to our subscribe page, and use the code BUZZCAST19 at checkout to receive your first month of SBJ All Access for only $19. That is Buzzcast and the number 19. Use that at checkout for your first month of All Access for only $19. This offer ends March 12th.
And so that is your Morning Buzzcast for Friday, February 24th. I'm Abe Madkour. Thanks for listening to the Buzzcast, thanks for spreading the word on the Buzzcast. My colleague David Albright will bring you the Buzzcast on Monday. Until I speak to you again, stay healthy, be good to each other. I'll talk to you next week.