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Table of Contents:
What I Watched Last Week
What I Am Watching This Week
Deep Dive: NFL Sunday Ticket
What I am Reading
What I Watched This Week
MLB
Hitter of the Week: Bryce Harper
Bryce Harper has continued his torrid pace to capture yet another HotW. His recent play has nudged him ahead of presumptive-favorite Fernando Tatis Jr. in OPS, fWAR, and wRC+. If he can carry this Phillies team to the playoffs, I cannot propose an argument against him winning the NL-MVP.
Pitcher of the Week: Max Scherzer
If the Dodgers repeat World Series titles, many will attribute their success to Max Scherzer. To add to his accolades, Scherzer may be etched into history as the most significant midseason acquisition. Since joining the Dodgers, Scherzer has accumulated a stat line of 58 IP, 0.78 ERA, 79 K, and 7 BB. If the Dodgers cannot catch the Giants in the NL West race, they should feel comfortable facing the Cardinals, Phillies, or Reds in a one-off Wild Card game with Sherzer on the bump.
NFL
Giants 29
Football Team 30
The NFL continued its hot start for primetime games in the '21/'22 season as the TNF matchup went down to the wire. Seemingly, the Giants won the game off a missed field goal. However, replays showed that the Giants lined up offsides — especially troubling considering Joe Judge’s background as a special teams coordinator. The error proved costly as Dustin Hopkins connected with his second attempt.
Rams 27
Colts 24
The story of the day was Matthew Stafford starting 2-0 in his Rams tenure. Despite nursing a sore right thumb, Stafford has looked strong in his two starts. There has been an emphasis on fostering a connection with receiver Cooper Kupp; Kupp amassed 163 yards on nine catches and two touchdowns. On his performance, Stafford said, “I was as calm as you could be. It's just doing whatever it takes to win the game. Last time I was here (in Indy), it was a two-minute drive and field goal to win it. I felt like ‘Why not go do it again?'"
Cowboys 20
Chargers 17
The Cowboys escaped SoFi Stadium with a 20-17 win over the Chargers. Touchdowns by running back tandem Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard defined the first half. Turnovers marred the second half as both Justin Herbert and Dak Prescott threw interceptions. Down three in the fourth quarter, the Chargers QB put together a surgical drive that culminated in a game-tying field goal after a controversial sack. With the game tied, Prescott marched the Cowboys down the field to kick a 56-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein to win.
Titans 33
Seahawks 30
Remember the pundits questioning whether Derrick Henry would be as effective without Arthur Smith? Well, Henry put those claims to rest with a monstrous 237 total yard day, which included three scores. The Seahawks squandered a 15-point half-time lead with Pete Carroll’s conservative playcalling. The game should have ended with a walk-off safety, but the referees wrongfully deemed Russell Wilson’s forward progress stopped at the one-yard line. Subsequently, the Titans rushed Henry into field goal range and won via a kick from Randy Bullock.
Vikings 33
Cardinals 34
This matchup continued the trend of the late window games decided by field goals. Or in this case, lack thereof. Kyler Murray threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns but also two costly interceptions. The Cardinals appeared doomed as Viking kicker Greg Joseph stepped up to kick a 37-yard field goal. Joseph easily converted two 52-yard attempts earlier in the game; however, pulled his final kick wide right as time expired.
Champions League
Barcelona 0
Bayern 3
How the mighty have fallen. The Camp Nou no longer remains the impenetrable fortress of years past. Their squad is a mixture of players on their last legs and inexperienced youngsters, with the old guard of Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, and Pique far past their primes. Barcelona’s finances have led to a further decline in squad quality, namely the swapping of Luuk de Jong for Antoine Griezzman. For Bayern, they have taken kindly to new manager Julian Nagelsmann’s “gegenpressing” tactics.
Inter Milan 0
Real Madrid 1
A massive result for Real, with Rodrygo breaking the deadlock in the 89th minute.
Club Brugge 1
PSG 1
The Champions League debut for the MNM trio was underwhelming. Brugge deserved the point and kept their dreams alive in the group of death.
Liverpool 3
Milan 2
The match of the day saw Liverpool besting Milan at Anfield. For all soccer fans, it was heartwarming to witness AC Milan’s return to the Champions League after their eight-year absence. Liverpool scored first, yet the momentum swiftly swung in Milan’s favor after Mohamed Salah missed a penalty. Milan scored two goals within five minutes, separated by half-time: “Klopp’s men slackened off and paid the price as Ante Rebic and Brahim Diaz both netted in the space of two minutes shortly before the break to give Milan the half-time lead.”1 Later, Liverpool would notch ahead from an outside-the-box strike from Jordan Henderson.
Man City 6
RB Leipzig 3
I hope you had the over in this match. It was surprising to see such woeful defending from a Pep-managed side.
Jesse Marsch is off to a rough start in Leipzig, with multiple players disagreeing with his tactics. Leipzig might shift their sights towards securing Europa League qualification.
Deep Dive: NFL Sunday Ticket
Once I matriculated to college, I quickly realized the difficulty of watching my out-of-market Jets games. I eventually bit the bullet and purchased NFL Sunday Ticket. As a student, Sunday Ticket was heavily discounted: $96 for the year. To solely purchase Sunday Ticket, one must prove they live in a location that prohibits satellite dishes; if so, they have earned the luxury of purchasing Sunday Ticket for $293.94 without a DirecTV subscription. Despite Sunday Ticket becoming synonymous with DirecTV during their 27-year marriage, I am not surprised to hear the rumblings that the exclusive rights will move elsewhere once the current licenses expire after '22/'23 season.
At its core, DirecTV’s issue with retaining the rights revolves around money. The satellite provider has “paid about $1.5 billion per year for ‘Sunday Ticket’ for the past seven seasons.”2 While it remains unclear how many individuals pay the full rate of $293.94, DirecTV would need just over 5.1 million subscribers to break even. According to insiders, “DirecTV has averaged closer to 2 million “Sunday Ticket” subscribers for many years.”3 The loss on Sunday Ticket was acceptable to DirecTV as they considered the package a loss-leader to acquire customers. Accordingly, the company records the $1.5 billion fee as a “marketing expense.”4
Both anecdotal and empirical data reinforces Sunday Ticket's inability to drive subscription growth for DirecTV. In my case, I have no intention of subscribing to DirecTV. The firm’s reluctance to pay the updated rates of “$2 billion to $2.5 billion per year” furthers the point that others share my sentiment.
The price increases from the NFL coincides with fewer quality games on Sunday. Executives at DirecTV and AT&T argued that Sunday Ticket has become “increasingly diluted over the years as the NFL removes Sunday games and adds Thursday, Saturday and Monday Night games.”5 With CBS, NBC, and FOX shifting their strategies to DTC with Paramount +, Peacock, and FOX Now, the networks now have the apparatus to broadcast the best matchups via their streaming services. The remaining games are broadcasted on Sunday Ticket and mainly appeals to diehard fans of lesser teams, like my beloved New York Jets.
Additionally, DirecTV and AT&T have undergone behind-the-scenes changes that further prohibit their retention of the rights. AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV has been an unmitigated disaster. The telecom provider decided to spin out DirecTV, AT&T TV, and U-verse into a joint venture with private equity firm TPG Capital.
AT&T is spinning off its DirecTV into a new company for a fraction of the $48.5 billion it paid for the satellite TV service in 2015. DirecTV has lost millions of customers on AT&T's watch, and is valued in the deal at just $16.25 billion, including debt.
Private equity firm TPG will own 30% of the business, while AT&T holds the rest. The telecom company will receive $7.8 billion in cash, including $1.8 billion from TPG and $5.8 billion from the new DirecTV firm, which is borrowing that sum. The new DirecTV will also take on $200 million in debt from AT&T. (USA Today)
The spin-off provides some needed breathing room to AT&T’s balance sheet. TPG is one of the more renowned PE firms; therefore, their decision to forego the Sunday Ticket licenses is confirmed by detailed modeling.
The question becomes: if not DirecTV, then whom? My mind first jumped to the NFL pivoting towards a direct-to-consumer approach similar to the MLB (MLB.tv) and NBA (League Pass). I would be remiss not to mention the utter success the MLB has experienced with MLB.tv. In 2000, the league’s owners looked to pioneer the online streaming of sports, entirely in-house. Two years later, the league “broadcasted their first live Major League game. Roughly 30,000 people tuned in to watch a Yankees-Rangers tilt on a date nearly three years earlier than famed video site YouTube would even launch on the web.”6
The MLB prioritized the streaming approach through significant capital expenditures: “by 2005, they had installed a private fiber network dedicated to streaming in all 30 MLB ballparks.”7 Now, the MLB is the gold standard for streaming. More, the MLB used their streaming startup, MLB Advanced Media, to assist other firms in pivoting towards streaming. The outsourcing arm grew quickly and recently sold under the rebranded name BAMTECH to Disney with a “$1 billion – a $3 billion valuation.”8 The NBA echoed the MLB’s approach for League Pass. In a joint effort, Turner and the NBA “migrated all of their League Pass technology over to iStreamPlanet, per sources familiar with the technology.”9 The NBA, too, effectively built their own streaming service from the ground up.
Shifting back to the NFL, it makes little sense for the juggernaut to invest in a DTC service when many broadcast providers are clamoring to obtain the rights. But, who is poised to take over from DirecTV after the '22/'23 season? I suspect Amazon will make a strong push, as argued by CNBC.
Unbundling the product from DirecTV opens up a new customer base
Amazon’s recent spending in streaming
Amazon’s relations with the NFL
Living in a city, I have the luxury of being in a DirecTV-less zone. When signing up, one must prove they cannot house a satellite dish to purchase Sunday Ticket as a standalone service. Amazon Prime would open the service to those who desire Sunday Ticket but live in a dish-accessible location.
Amazon has been on a tear recently, partnering with the Yankees and Seattle Sounders in addition to its pending purchase of MGM Studios. Amazon is positioning Prime Video to be the predominant streaming provider and, in turn, generate large amounts of advertising revenue.
[Amazon’s] “Other” unit, which is primarily made up of advertising but also includes sales related to other service offerings, grew revenue by 87% year-over-year in the second quarter to more than $7.9 billion, the company reported Thursday. That’s up from the 41% year-over-year growth the segment saw in the second quarter of 2020 and up from the 77% year-over-year growth it saw last quarter. (CNBC)
Their efforts have led to a fruitful partnership with the NFL. Amazon recently acquired the rights to exclusively carry “Thursday Night Football” in an 11-year, $1 billion per year deal.10 Amazon Web Services has worked directly with the NFL on developing “Next Gen Stats, which has analyzed and stored data on every NFL player and play since 2017.”11 These partnerships have fostered the necessary relationships for Amazon to obtain the rights for Sunday Ticket. Like DirecTV, Amazon would use Sunday Ticket as a loss-leader to add subscribers to boost advertisement revenue. Lastly, Amazon has the cash to outbid every other suitor and has utilized M&A as a means for growth across all of its sectors.
As a user of Sunday Ticket, I am keen on knowing what comes next for the service. If Amazon purchases the rights, do they become the predominant NFL broadcaster and supplant CBS and FOX? Perhaps the main takeaway is that, in this world, nothing is certain except NFL television rights increasing in value.
What I’m Watching This Week
Monday
Blue Jays vs Rays at 7:10 PM on MLB.tv
Lions vs Packers at 8:15 PM on ESPN
Mariners vs Athletics at 9:40 PM on MLB.tv
Tuesday
Blue Jays vs Rays at 7:10 PM on MLB.tv
Giants vs Padres at 10:10 PM on MLB.tv
Wednesday
Man United vs West Ham at 2:45 PM on ESPN+
Chelsea vs Aston Villa at 2:45 PM on ESPN+
Wolves at Tottenham at 2:45 PM on ESPN+
Blue Jays vs Rays at 7:10 PM on MLB.tv
Mariners vs Athletics at 9:40 PM on MLB.tv
Giants vs Padres at 10:10 PM on MLB.tv
Thursday
Roma vs Udinese at 2:45 PM on Paramount+
Giants vs Padres at 4:10 PM on MLB.tv
Panthers vs Texans at 8:20 PM on NFL Network
Friday
Yankees vs Red Sox at 7:10 PM on MLB.tv
Saturday
Man United vs Aston Villa at 7:30 AM on Peacock
Chelsea vs Manchester City 7:30 AM on NBC
Leeds United vs West Ham at 10:00 AM on NBC
Notre Dame vs Wisconsin at 12:00 PM on FOX
Texas A&M and Arkansas at 3:30 PM on CBS
Yankees vs Red Sox at 4:10 PM on MLB.tv
Sunday
Arsenal vs Tottenham at 11:30 AM on NBC
Bears vs Browns at 1:00 PM on FOX **
Bengals vs Steelers at 1:00 PM on CBS **
Chargers vs Chiefs at 1:00 PM on CBS **
Colts vs Titans at 1:00 PM on CBS **
Saints vs Patriots at 1:00 PM on FOX **
Dolphins vs Raiders at 4:05 PM on CBS **
Buccaneers vs Rams at 4:25 PM on FOX **
Seahawks vs Vikings at 4:25 PM on FOX **
Yankees vs Red Sox at 7:08 PM on ESPN
Packers vs 49ers at 8:20 PM on NBC
*All times are EST*
** Local Listings
What I’m Reading
Sports
Inside Rams QB Matthew Stafford’s 3 season-opening passing touchdowns and why they worked **
Rosenthal: Chaos looms! Assessing the races for divisions, wild cards and individual awards *
Tony Romo shows why he’s the best, Drew Brees’ debut and 23 more NFL media thoughts from Week 1 **
A weekend for the strikers: Analysing Ronaldo 2.0, clinical Lukaku and centurion Salah *
‘A brave new world’: How and when the NFL changed its mind on gambling and Las Vegas **
Cristiano Ronaldo’s first Manchester United debut – told by those who witnessed it ***
Champions League: 10 players set to light up the group stage **
Jose Mourinho, from game one to game 1000 *
‘A beacon of hope’: In Bucs’ Mike Evans, Galveston cherishes its ‘favorite son’ **
Sports on TV: A look at Week 1 NFL viewership from the end of the highway **
Baker Mayfield’s contract talks. Stephon Gilmore as a trade chip? What I’m hearing around the NFL **
The Phillies’ stretch run is a race to not waste Bryce Harper’s historic season *
Business
Uranium Heats Up, and Hedge Funds Score ***
Goldman to buy specialty lender GreenSky for $2.2bn **
Quick approval of Nord Stream 2 would balance gas prices in Europe, says Russia *
Investment banks accelerate efforts to automate junior ‘grunt work’ *
Frictions arise between Wall Street and private equity clients **
Wall Street Influencers Are Making $500,000, Topping Even Bankers *
World Bank Cancels Flagship ‘Doing Business’ Report After Investigation *
A Big Bond Market Headache, Courtesy of the SEC **
Why Kirsten Green Might Not Invest in the Next Warby Parker ***
Ben Dugan Works for CVS. His Job Is Battling a $45 Billion Crime Spree. *
How Disney and Scarlett Johansson Reached the Point of No Return *
Wall Street hits four-week low as policy outlook remains uncertain *
Where Are All The .400 Investors? ***
Brunello Cucinelli Interview: The King of Cashmere ***
*** Must Read
** Very Good
* Recommended
https://theathletic.com/2825800/2021/09/16/champions-league-liverpool-enjoyed-more-iconic-fightback-ac-milan-immensely-satisfying/
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/10/amazon-likely-front-runner-for-multi-year-nfl-sunday-ticket-deal-sources.html?&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_term=null
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/10/amazon-likely-front-runner-for-multi-year-nfl-sunday-ticket-deal-sources.html?&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_term=null
https://theathletic.com/2812994/2021/09/09/sunday-ticket-stays-with-directv-will-ratings-rebound-nfl-tv-business-forecast-for-new-season/
https://theathletic.com/2812994/2021/09/09/sunday-ticket-stays-with-directv-will-ratings-rebound-nfl-tv-business-forecast-for-new-season/
https://www.basketballinsiders.com/news/how-nba-league-pass-is-changing/
https://www.basketballinsiders.com/news/how-nba-league-pass-is-changing/
https://www.basketballinsiders.com/news/how-nba-league-pass-is-changing/
https://www.basketballinsiders.com/news/how-nba-league-pass-is-changing/
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/03/amazons-thursday-night-football-package-will-begin-in-2022-instead-of-2023.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/10/amazon-likely-front-runner-for-multi-year-nfl-sunday-ticket-deal-sources.html?&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_term=null