Closing Bell

Thrive founder Joshua Kushner said that the firm is “taking a stake” in the S.F. Giants, a “major bet on a sports business by a firm known for high-tech bets.” A source said that the investment is a “minority, non-controlling stake.” It is the “first investment” from the firm’s newest strategy, called Thrive Eternal, a permanent capital vehicle “focused on making a small number of long-term investments in franchises and cultural institutions that can’t be replicated” by AI. Former Disney CEO Bob Iger, who recently rejoined the firm “in an advisory capacity,” will “help with the new effort” Other Thrive investments include Spotify, Instagram, A24 and SKIMS. (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/24).

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said there were representatives from 10 different cities in Pittsburgh Thursday night for the first round of the NFL Draft “scouting” to see if they would be interested in hosting the event. Goodell, during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” Friday, added there is a “long list” of cities that want to host, and it is “because more cities can actually host the Draft than they can a Super Bowl.” Goodell: “The Super Bowl has gotten to a point where, it’s not the stadium size ... but also it’s hotel rooms and all the other facilities that are necessary. [Hosting the Draft] is slightly easier, but it’s getting more difficult.” Goodell added the growth of the event means that “we’re going to probably have to start allocating the drafts a little further in advance” (“The Pat McAfee Show,” ESPN, 4/24).

Cognizant Classic of the Palm Beaches Tournament Director Todd Fleming was “among the 56 PGA Tour employees who were laid off on Thursday.” The event is expected to proceed in 2027 “with an interim director.” The Cognizant Classic has been run by PGA Tour Events for the past three years (SI, 4/24).

NBC Sports has averaged 4.9 million viewers for six NBA playoff games on NBC and Peacock from April 19-21, up 38% vs. comparable coverage last year, making it the most-watched first Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights of the playoffs since 1994. Trail Blazers-Spurs Game 1 averaged 5.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched game of the 2026 NBA Playoffs to date. This postseason has marked NBC Sports’ first playoff coverage in 24 years. NBC sourced the data to Nielsen Big Data + Panel and digital data from Adobe Analytics. Last year’s data was panel only (NBC Sports).

Turkey’s Istanbul Park circuit “will return” to the F1 calendar “for at least five years” beginning in 2027, marking the “culmination of Turkey’s ​years-long campaign to return to the sport.” Eren Uclertopragi, president of Turkey’s Automobile ​Sports Federation, said that “preparations were underway for the 2027 race.” The 14-turn Istanbul circuit last hosted a race in 2021 “as a stand-in” during the COVID-19 pandemic. ‌It ⁠also hosted grands prix between 2005 and 2011, as well as in the 2020 season. While Turkey “continued negotiations to return to the sport after the 2021 grand prix, talks stalled from 2022 partly due to the tens of millions of dollars needed to secure an ​agreement that competitors, such as ​Qatar, were able to finance.” But ⁠in 2024, race operator Can Bilim Egitim Kurumlari A.S. “earned rights to operate the Istanbul Park circuit for a 30-year period” ​for some $117.8M, “with a contractual task to bring F1 back by 2026” (REUTERS, 4/24).

Togethxr has linked up with the NWSL to launch the first league-wide Everyone Watches Women’s Sports capsule collection. The collaboration is anchored by Togethxr’s Everyone Watches Women’s Sports T-shirts in the primary colors of all 16 NWSL clubs along with an NWSL-branded edition. The league-wide collection launches May 7 on NWSL and Togethxr platforms (Togethxr).