Closing Bell

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is on the verge of cutting its support for LIV Golf, according to a report by the Financial Times on Wednesday.

Citing sources, the FT reported that an announcement on the PIF’s involvement with LIV could come as soon as Thursday, but added a final decision has not been made about the future of the league.

As of Wednesday afternoon, LIV remains set to play its tournament in Mexico City this week. The league on Wednesday released tee times for Thursday’s first round and held player press conferences that previously were postponed on Tuesday due to power issues at Club de Golf Chapultapec. The tournament’s pro-am was ongoing as well.

LIV declined comment to FT and has not commented when reached by SBJ.

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A federal jury in New York City determined on Wednesday that Live Nation operated as an illegal monopoly at both the federal and state levels, bringing a nearly two-month trial to an end and re-igniting a long-lingering question about a Live Nation-Ticketmaster breakup.

According to Bloomberg, which first reported the news, the jury found that Live Nation had monopolized the market for concert ticketing and ticketing services, as well as amphitheaters. Presiding judge Arun Subramanian will determine the resulting remedies in a separate proceeding. The jury started deliberations last Friday.

The decision ends a nearly two-year process that started initially as a U.S. Department of Justice-led antitrust lawsuit. That 2024 filing grew to include 39 states and D.C. on the plaintiff side against the Live Nation-Ticketmaster contingent.

While the trial focused mostly on the international event promoter’s music business and venues, Ticketmaster is the dominant ticketing provider in sports (with an even larger footprint in the music scene). Proceedings also featured a steady drumbeat of sports influence:

• Some initial testimonies came from former Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment CEO John Abbamondi and current Wild CFO Mitch Helgerson, both offering perspectives on retaliatory fears around their ticketing provider decisions.
• A combined list of potential witnesses for the sides featured many more sports figures and vendor reps who operate in this industry.
• A settlement agreement between the feds and Live Nation that, if approved by Subramanian, would require the termination of Live Nation’s 2022 deal with Oak View Group to make Ticketmaster the company’s official ticketing provider. That would open up the opportunity for OVG-managed stadiums and arenas to consider new ticketing partners if they want.

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MLS Commissioner Don Garber pushed back against skeptics of the league’s growth trajectory, pointing to a collective enterprise value he said exceeds $25B and its stability relative to top European leagues.

During a one-on-one interview at the CAA World Congress of Sports, SBJ’s Abe Madkour told Garber he had recently had lunch with four sports executives who expressed skepticism about MLS’ growth prospects. In response, Garber suggested many who are bearish on MLS’ prospects are older men who have been saying “soccer will never make it in America” for decades. He countered by citing the combined valuation of the league and its 30 clubs, as well as the fact MLS ranks second globally in total attendance among soccer leagues, behind only the Premier League.

He also asserted that a prospective investor would be better off purchasing an MLS franchise than a Premier League club. As proof points, he cited the massive financial losses suffered by some of the sport’s biggest European clubs, the risk inherent in promotion and relegation and the relative difficulty of building new venues in Europe compared to North America.

“[The investor is] going to buy an MLS team, he is going to build a great stadium, he’s going to have young, diverse, largest Latino fan base of any pro sports league. And guess what? He’s not going to get relegated,” Garber said.

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Netflix has been investing in the unscripted business since 2016, but as the company’s business has evolved, so has its appetite for sports content -- and that has the industry paying attention. Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer, sat with Elle Duncan at the CAA World Congress of Sports and went through the overarching strategy behind what Netflix is seeking to do in sports.

“We want to be great at everything,” Bajaria said. “We knew there were certain kinds of programming that have to be live, and should be live. And we like things that are buzzy and conversational and surprising for the audience. And we knew at that point we had to build live capabilities. And that sounds basic probably to all of you, but when you are built as Netflix -- which is consumer choice and control, on demand, watch what you want -- the entire thing is built that way. And so to actually do something live and say, ‘This is the time we want you to watch something,’ is just a different strategy.”

Bajaria noted the ethos for sports revolves around “go big or go home,” like with the World Baseball Classic being their debut with the sport in Japan.

She called sports “the best soap opera” because the genre “very much connects to great storytelling.” Bajaria used the “Drive to Survive” show as an example of getting fans invested in a sport, and that subsequently leads to fandom for live events -- even if on another platform.

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LOS ANGELES -- Inflation has become a global concern, but how is it impacting the sports economy?

Leaders in the NFL and Premier League were among the panelists who discussed the topic -- and shared views on other industry issues -- in the opening session of the CAA World Congress of Sport on Wednesday at the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE.

Kroenke Sports & Entertainment President of Team and Media Operations Kevin Demoff said teams have “a very good idea” of the “pressure points” that fans are experiencing when it comes to affordability to attend live sporting events.

“It’s not just the price of your tickets. It is about the price of your concessions and … the price of parking, the price of transportation,” said Demoff, who oversees KSE teams including the Rams, Nuggets and Avalanche. “A fan looks at their total bill when they come to a game.”

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The PGA of America on Wednesday named Phil Anderson COO. Anderson joins the association after serving as GM & COO at Hazeltine National Golf Club since 2022. He will begin the position on Monday and be based in Frisco, Texas. He will report to CEO Terry Clark. Anderson’s appointment represents the first of several planned leadership additions. Anderson will work closely with Clark, the BOD and the PGA of America team to execute the association’s plans, align enterprise operations and enhance programs and services that support PGA of America pros. He also will oversee the PGA of America REACH Foundation. At Hazeltine, Anderson led capital projects, championship operations and long-range planning initiatives (PGA of America).

Ohio state gambling regulators said that they “intend to” fine prediction market operator Kalshi $5M for “being an unlicensed sportsbook.” The proposed fine is the “latest salvo in a battle playing out in Ohio and other states” over the N.Y.-based company’s “argument that its sports offerings are federally regulated financial ‘swaps’ and therefore can’t be regulated under state gambling laws.” Kalshi “doesn’t pay the state’s 20% tax on sports-betting receipts,” and its voluntary exclusion program and advertising “don’t meet state requirements.” The Ohio Casino Control Commission “didn’t explain exactly how state regulators calculated” the $5M fine. Kalshi has 30 days to request a hearing on the proposed fine (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 4/15).

The NHL signed a new multiyear, multi-brand partnership with Procter & Gamble in Canada. The partnership launches ahead of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs and brings several P&G brands together under one platform. As part of the agreement, the NHL will collaborate with P&G brands on fan-centric programming, including: Gillette, the official shave partner of the NHL in Canada; Old Spice, the official personal care partner of the NHL in Canada and Tide and Downy Rinse, the official fabric care partners of the NHL in Canada. New initiatives include digital enhanced dasherboard branding, social media content series, coordinated retail marketing across Canada and 2026 Stanley Cup Final sweepstakes opportunities. P&G and the NHL will continue to introduce new activations and touchpoints (NHL).

David Wisnia, President & CEO of NESN and SportsNet Pittsburgh, joins Austin Karp to discuss strong ratings performance for hockey and baseball teams across the two RSNs. Wisnia outlines the success of the Bruins, Penguins, Red Sox and Pirates while emphasizing rapid growth in direct-to-consumer streaming, continued importance of linear TV and an aggressive but disciplined strategy focused on digital expansion, cost efficiency and potential partnerships or acquisitions.

The Premier Lacrosse League debuted its season campaign based around “America’s First Game” and focused on the sport’s history during the draft Tuesday night. The campaign ties into America’s 250th anniversary and lacrosse’s addition to the LA28 Olympics.