Diamond Sports files suit against the Suns and Mercury, F1 rolls into Miami with a healthy sponsor roster and NYRA looks to rebuild Belmont Park.
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Good morning, it's Thursday, May 4th, and this is your SBJ Morning Buzzcast. I'm David Albright, filling in for Abe Madkour. Diamond Sports filed suit against the Suns and Mercury in bankruptcy court in an effort to block the team's efforts to form a new media outlet. The suit, which also names media partners Gray Media and Kiswe Mobile, cites the failure to comply with their contractual duties that would put Diamond Arizona's business in significant peril. Diamond is currently in Chapter 11 proceedings, but the lawsuit is not a surprise. The RSN warned the Suns and Gray before the two announced on April 28th they would create new distribution channels for Suns games starting in the 2023/'24 season. Diamond is seeking for the court to avoid the Suns agreements and award damages, possibly including punitive.
F1 rolls into Miami this weekend with 19 corporate sponsors, the same number as last season when eight were added to coincide with North American expansion. Paramount Plus joins the F1 roster this year as an official partner after a trial sponsorship last year, even though the Paramount Global streaming service does not have live media rights to the races. The deal is for multiple years and will have a broader scope, with activations in branding for various Paramount Plus shows set to appear this weekend in Miami, but also across other stops later in the season.
The longest tenured sponsor continues to be Logistics company DHL, which has been an F1 partner since 2004. DHL handles shipping operations of up to 2,000 tons of freight to the racetracks each week, including cars, replacement parts, marketing and hospitality equipment. DHL also sponsors the Fastest Lap Award and Fastest Pit Stop Award. For more sponsorship insights and the sponsor roster for all F1 teams, check out sbjatlas.com.
13 brands will enjoy top tier sponsor status at the Kentucky Derby this weekend, reports our David Broughton, including brands in four categories that are new to the Churchill Downs portfolio. First-year sponsor, Ford's Garage, a restaurant chain with 23 units in the US, will serve as an official watch party location for the run for the Roses. FanDuel also on board with naming rights to the Starting Gate Rooftop Garden. Among existing sponsors, Brown-Forman extended its partnership by five years through 2027, and this week it will debut the new Woodford Reserve Paddock as part of the Churchill Downs' $200 million renovation that is scheduled to wrap up in time for the Derby's 150th running next year. Brown-Forman is the longest tenured sponsor at the Derby, dating back to 1999.
The New York Racing Association will receive a loan of 455 million to rebuild Belmont Park under bills that were passed by the state legislature, following negotiation between leaders and New York Governor Kathy Hochul, according to the Daily Racing Form. Legislative leaders and Hochul had given their support to the Belmont project prior to the bills being negotiated and passed. The passage of the bills will now allow NYRA to tear down Belmont Park and replace it with a smaller year-round facility, approximately one fifth the size of the current grandstand.
Under the bills, once the construction is substantially complete, NYRA will give up its lease to Aqueduct racetrack and downstate New York Racing will be consolidated at Belmont. The state owns the deeds to both tracks. The Breeders' Cup has said that Belmont Park will be added to its rotation of host sites if the renovations are complete. NYRA last hosted a Breeders' Cup event in 2005 at Belmont Park. NYRA will pay back the loan to the state over a 20-year period, using revenues the association receives from casino gambling in the state.
Altius Sports Partners has entered into a new alliance with NBC Sports Athlete Direct. The NIL platform that links college athletes with NBC advertisers and sponsors, reports our Michael Smith. The new arrangement will enable Altius to provide NIL strategic guidance and consulting to help broaden the reach of NBC Sports Athlete Direct. Altius will use its on-campus executives to locate and sign college athletes to NIL opportunities. The firm uses its GM Program to place its executives on campuses across the country where Altius has an advisory relationship with the school.
Altius will start the partnership with NBC in four markets, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. NBC Sports Senior VP of Strategic Initiatives, Damon Phillips, oversees the NIL program. He said he looks forward to tapping into Altuis's expertise and campus connections to enhance deal-making opportunities. Altius will provide ongoing NIL guidance to NBC Sports Athlete Direct at both a national and local level, to advise on best practices when working with athletes within NCAA state and school guidelines.
We'll close on a programming note from new Super Bowl viewership numbers, to FL draft news. The NFL is a hot topic for hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand on this week's Sports Media Podcast. The two also discuss Amazon's plans around a Black Friday game, and Comcast's decision to drop then pick back up the NFL Network. With the NBA and NHL playoffs in full swing, the two predict how each league will fare, based on the teams that remain. They revisit ESPN's layoffs, which hit ESPN Radio particularly hard, and then spend some time talking about the Phoenix Suns and Mercury new local media deals with Gray Television and Kiswe, NASCAR's media rights negotiations, and what to expect from this weekend's Kentucky Derby. You can download the Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
And that's your SBJ Morning Buzzcast for Thursday. I hope everyone has a great day and we'll see you back here tomorrow morning.