Morning Buzz

Sports Business Journal is pleased to introduce its 15th class of Game Changers: Women in Sports Business. The impact they have on the industry spans professional and college sports and plays out on the biggest stages. Learn more about the 50 honorees, their journey in sports business and how they are changing the future of the industry.

In addition to introducing this milestone class, the Game Changers special edition looks back at all past classes -- beginning in 2011 -- and checks in with some past honorees about how their careers have changed and been affected by the Game Changers recognition.

SBJ will celebrate the Class of 2025 at an awards celebration Sept. 24 at the New York Marriott Marquis, followed by the daylong Game Changers conference Sept. 25.

Playfly Sports today is broadening its efforts around helping partners better monetize in-market streaming, as the company will expand its Home Team Advantage (HTA) ad tech platform. HTA will become the first such platform to provide end-to-end digital advertising solutions for all U.S.-based local/regional games across NBA, NHL and MLB partners, which is particularly important as those teams have seen a 36% year-over-year increase in streaming of games.

HTA had been deployed for partners previously, but this expansion gives teams, networks and other rightsholders better support as in-market streaming becomes more ubiquitous. The increased local effort comes via an expanded partnership with FanServ, which developed HTA, and will allow partners like Twins.TV, MavsTV and Root Sports Stream (Mariners) to get better incremental revenue from advertisers via unique streaming inventory management. The expansion of HTA will make it the only full-service platform that offers both direct and programmatic ad transactions for the local sports ecosystem.

The Reign’s match against Racing Louisville on Sunday “was suspended at halftime” after Louisville MF Savannah DeMelo “lost consciousness and needed medical attention.” DeMelo “didn’t make contact with anyone, she sat down and then passed out.” After “receiving on-field care,” DeMelo was “carted off the Lumen Field turf in an ambulance and the announced four minutes of stoppage time wasn’t played.” The game was suspended “with the teams level at 0-0,” and the Reign said in a social media post that “the remainder of the match will be rescheduled.” A crowd of approximately 7,000 people “slowly dispersed” after being told the match was called (SEATTLE TIMES, 9/14).

DeMelo was “stable and alert” after she was taken by ambulance from the match. The remainder of the game “will be played on a date mutually agreed on by both teams, and will be picked up where it left off.” Earlier this year, Angel City D Savy King collapsed during a match in L.A. “and required heart surgery.” The league “was criticized because the match went on after King was taken from the field by ambulance.” Days later, the league “expressed regret for the decision and said the game should have been called off" (AP, 9/14).

Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion Deputy Chair & CEO Paul Barber has “joined the board” of Australian A-League club Melbourne Victory, but he says “his day-to-day priority remains his role” at Albion. Barber “has been appointed a non-executive director” at the Melbourne club in which Albion Chair Tony Bloom “made an investment in March.” Since then, Barber has been working with Victory Managing Dir Caroline Carnegie on “a knowledge-sharing relationship to help benefit both clubs.” Barber becomes the first British football executive to serve in board level roles in the Premier League, EFL Championship, MLS and USL in North America, and A-League in Australia (Brighton and Hove ARGUS, 9/15). Barber will be in Australia in October “to be introduced to sponsors, the media and to give a speech” at Victory’s season opening event. He “will miss Brighton’s clashing home game against Newcastle United” on Oct. 18. He will “visit Australia no more than once or twice a season, attending the majority of board meetings via Zoom” (THE ATHLETIC, 9/15).

Meanwhile, Brighton named Jason Ayto its new sporting director, replacing David Weir, who left the club on Friday. The confirmation of former Arsenal executive Ayto’s appointment will arrive in the “next few days” (BBC.com, 9/13).

The 49ers fans were “well represented inside the Caesars Superdome” for the team’s Week 2 game against the Saints, and the Fox broadcast team “opened up the game with a shot of the large amount of 49ers fans waiting in line outside ... before cutting to a sea of red shot inside the dome.” Fox’s Kevin Kugler pointed out the amount of road fans, saying, “49ers fans flood the Superdome.” An estimate from Vivid Seats noted 49ers fans “were expected to represent 55 percent of the crowd.” When the 49ers took a 7-0 lead with 3:25 left in the first quarter, “there was a loud roar from San Francisco faithful” (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 9/14).

In New Orleans, Jeff Duncan wrote the “grim reality of a hopelessly forlorn season is starting to set in.” Duncan: “No wonder so many Saints fans elected to skip the game and sell their tickets on the secondary market.” The lower bowl of the Superdome “had a noticeable scarlet red hue to it” Sunday as Niners fans “took over the stadium down the stretch.” Duncan: “Week 2 might seem early to be throwing in the towel, but Saints fans are understandably trying to secure a return on their investment where they can” (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 9/14).

Several NFL teams held moments of silence or tribute for Charlie Kirk after the “decision to do so was left to the 15 respective home teams” on the Week 2 slate. Titans had a picture of Kirk -- who was killed Wednesday in an attack -- with his family “on the jumbotron for its moment of silence.” The Dolphins “had a moment of silence for Kirk, the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks ‘and any other victims of violence.’” The N.Y. Jets “also honored Kirk, as did” the Cowboys. Prior to the national anthem in New Orleans, the Saints “observed a moment of silence.” The Chiefs “held a moment of silence prior to the national anthem but with no specific purpose,” while the Arizona Cardinals “honored Kirk” (USA TODAY, 9/14). The Steelers did not do an audible tribute, but had a pregame flyover and kept the flags at half-staff at the stadium in line with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s statewide order. There are two games set to be played tonight, so decisions by the Texans and Raiders have not been accounted for yet (SBJ).

The Lions, Bengals, Ravens, Colts and Vikings “did not pay tribute” to Kirk. The Colts “explained that the team instead held a moment of silence for Forrest Lucas -- founder of Lucas Oil, the namesake of their stadium -- which was always planned" after he passed away last month (DAILY MAIL, 9/14).

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones “compared Kirk’s murder to political murders in the 1960s, such as those of Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy, in explaining why the team chose to honor such a divisive figure" (FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 9/14). In Fort Worth, Mac Engel wrote Jones “violated his own code by allowing a moment of silence for a person who was a private citizen” with “no ties to the Dallas Cowboys, or the NFL.” However Jones, and the NFL, “spin this one, observing a moment for Kirk at a major sporting event, especially in this climate, is a political statement.” So much for “keeping it about football.” Jones “has made it clear where he stands on political statements of any kind” -- he “doesn’t.” Because his “priority is not alienating half of the Cowboys’ fan base” (FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 9/14).

In this week’s issue:

• SBJ technology writer Joe Lemire examines how leagues and governing bodies decide whether and how much to deploy automated officiating. There’s a newfound emphasis in sports on using tech not to review decisions, but to automate binary calls: ball or strike, in or out, offside or not. Learn how various sports and leagues stand with the technology and what their plans are for the future.
• Changes in the College Football Playoff format have created a trickle-down impact on the bowl system, affecting sponsorship deals and conference affiliation agreements. SBJ college writer Ben Portnoy details how bowl organizations are diversifying their operations by bringing more and varied events to their markets to weather the seismic changes.
• Live Nation’s billion-dollar plan to build 18 music venues involves numerous projects within sports venue-anchored, mixed-use developments in cities such as Atlanta, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Raleigh and Salt Lake City. SBJ facilities writer Bret McCormick looks at these projects, including 5,000-seat MGM Music Hall next to Fenway Park in Boston, and how they will fill a capacity gap in those markets.
• Basketball writer Tom Friend’s profile of Lara Beth Seager, the business manager for Lakers G Luka Dončić, chronicles the unique role she plays -- part brand officer, part big sister, part shoulder to lean on -- and how she helped him navigate his tumultuous departure from Dallas. Dončić and past clients Mike Modano and Dirk Nowitzki are like family to Seager, who has no shortage of siblings.
• SC Holdings, founded by Jason Stein and Daniel Haimovic in 2018, has investments in nearly 20 companies across sports. SBJ finance writer Chris Smith describes how they are focused on backing what Stein calls “format innovations,” or the reimagining of existing sectors and business models.