- Business travel booked for flights into Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport for Feb. 5 through Sunday is up 100% compared to the number of flights into the city during the same period last year, according to data provided to SBJ by FCM and Corporate Traveler USA. Bookings are also outpacing last month’s Notre Dame-Georgia CFP quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl by 450%. FCM and Corporate Traveler are the business travel divisions of Flight Centre Travel Group, one of the world’s largest booking companies.
- In this week’s SBJ Media newsletter, Mollie Cahillane reports on the role IMG is playing in the NFL’s ambitions in Europe.
- Chiefs owner Clark Hunt blessed the NFL’s plans for a professional flag football league today, sketching out his vision of teams playing under established NFL team names and brands, writes SBJ’s Ben Fischer.
Elsewhere in the industry
- Comcast’s Xfinity telecommunications brand will end its title sponsorship of NASCAR’s second-rung series after 2025, reports SBJ’s Adam Stern, while renewing its broader premier partnership of the sanctioning body for multiple years and with fresh strategies.
- Peacock drew 1 million viewers for Arsenal-Manchester City on Sunday, which is tied for the third-best streaming audience on record in the U.S. for a Premier League match, writes SBJ’s Austin Karp.
- Prime Video greenlit a four-part docuseries, “For the Win: NWSL,” from Words + Pictures, which follows the 2024 NWSL playoffs and championship, notes Cahillane.
- Madison Square Garden Sports, the parent company of the Knicks and Rangers, is facing an uncertain media rights future, reports SBJ’s Chris Smith following the company’s earnings call Tuesday.
- Adam Davis is departing Two Circles in April, notes SBJ’s Terry Lefton. He’s been the managing director of North America since Oct. 2021.
- On Feb. 12, MLB Network’s offseason morning program “Hot Stove” will broadcast live from the MLB Flagship Store in N.Y., marking the first time MLBN has produced a studio show from that location, writes SBJ’s Mike Mazzeo.
- At Padres FanFest on Feb. 1 at Petco Park, the team and Budweiser welcomed fans of legal drinking age to contribute in a small way to the $7 million renovation of the Western Metal Building, notes SBJ’s Bret McCormick.
- In tonight’s op-ed, US Sports Camps COO Siera Love discusses the importance of not just promoting sports for girls but actively supporting individual athletes. “Breaking the rules is the key to shaping a future that’s limitless. That’s what happens when we invest in girls through sports: We unlock the potential of the next generation.”
