SBJ Unpacks: Tiger's debut gives TGL 9% boost from Week 1

TGL just cleared 1 million viewers on Tuesday night for the second match of TGL (1.005 million), a rise of 9% from the first episode last week. Tuesday’s match featured the debut of Tiger Woods playing competitively, and it also was slotted in the 7pm ET window vs. 9pm ET in Week 1. The audience likely could have been higher, but TGL had a lopsided score for the second consecutive week, with L.A. GC easily beating Woods’ Jupiter GC.

Week 2 peaked at 1.13 million viewers from 8:30-8:45pm ET (the telecast aired from 7-9:18pm ET). The match was technically over at 8:50pm ET.

TGL was well above what ESPN had in the same window last year (Syracuse-Pitt men’s hoops, 566,000 viewers). It also doubled the audience its “SportsCenter” lead-in (502,000). TGL started the night with 775,000 viewers at 7pm ET. It kept an audience of over 1 million viewers from 7:45-9:00pm ET before going off the air with an audience still around 908,000 viewers.

TGL was also the second-best sports programming for Tuesday night, behond only TNT/truTV's Cavaliers-Pacers game, which drew 1.033 million viewers. TNT/truTV's late window drew 961,000 viewers with Nuggets-Mavericks starting at 9:35pm ET. TGL was also well above the 587,000 viewers for Miami-Duke men’s hoops, which aired immediately after TGL on ESPN.

When Endeavor merged UFC with WWE to form TKO Group Holdings in September 2023, it created a $21 billion sports and entertainment powerhouse. But the landmark deal was also seen as validation of Endeavor’s wide-reaching strategy. The transaction valued UFC at $12.1 billion, roughly triple what Endeavor paid for the business just seven years prior, and some within the company have heralded that explosive growth as a result of how Endeavor’s extensive portfolio of complementary businesses could unlock value.

And to be clear, no sports company had compiled a more diverse collection of assets than Endeavor, which at the height of its scale owned subsidiaries focused on combat sports, bull riding, athlete representation, hospitality, event management, streaming video distribution, youth sports and betting data, just to name a few.

But despite UFC’s success, that wide-ranging approach could not withstand the scrutiny of public markets. Endeavor’s share price has floundered since the company went public in 2021, even while the broader market has rallied. 

In April, control owner Silver Lake finalized plans to take Endeavor private once more. That deal, which will include investments from Mubadala Investment Company, Michael Dell’s DFO Management family office, Lexington Partners and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, gives Endeavor a $13 billion equity value.

As a result, the Endeavor empire is now being pulled apart.  

Some assets are being offloaded to TKO; others have been, or are being sold, to external buyers; and still more remain up for sale. The whirlwind of M&A activity has left many observers wondering what, exactly, will be left of Endeavor once the dust settles. The various transactions won’t close until later in the first half of 2025, but conversations with sources close to Endeavor, who were granted anonymity due to sensitivities around the ongoing take-private process, have detailed plans for a reorganized and far more concentrated business.  

Following the deal close, Endeavor will once again be renamed William Morris Endeavor. The company will focus solely on representation, including both individuals and brands, thanks to a remaining portfolio that will include talent agency WME, creative agency 160over90 and licensing giant IMG Licensing.

“The public market wasn’t giving us credit and the proper value for the assets and returns of the Endeavor portfolio,” said Mark Shapiro, Endeavor’s president and COO. “These are super profitable businesses that collectively have a healthy leverage ratio. And now we’ll be able to grow those representation businesses outside of the scrutiny of being a public company, all to the benefit of the private investors that we have assembled.” 

While Endeavor’s full lineage can be traced back to the 1898 founding of the William Morris Agency, its modern history starts in 2009, when Ariel Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell orchestrated the merger of their Endeavor Talent Agency with William Morris, forming William Morris Endeavor. 

But it was when that Hollywood agency teamed up with private equity firm Silver Lake in 2014 to acquire IMG Worldwide for $2.4 billion that it transformed into a power across the sports business. The company previously known for representing actors and musicians was suddenly a major player in golf, tennis, collegiate sports, media and consulting. 

And that was just the start.

The rebranded WME-IMG acquired Professional Bull Riders in 2015 reportedly for more than $100 million, followed by the landmark $4 billion acquisition of UFC the next year, marking a then-record value for a sports transaction. 

The company became Endeavor in 2017, and its M&A binge didn’t slow. The $250 million acquisition of NeuLion in 2018 led to the formation of Endeavor Streaming; Endeavor added hospitality business On Location for $660 million in 2020; and from late 2019 to early 2021, WME Sports, led by co-heads Karen Brodkin and Josh Pyatt, grew its representation practices in baseball, basketball, football and coaching (to say nothing of the division’s advisory work on media rights and original content). 

As Brodkin described it to Sports Business Journal in 2022, a new approach to representing athletes for the entirety of their careers sought to leverage Endeavor’s ability to touch nearly every facet of the sports and entertainment ecosystem: “What we didn’t have was the young rookie football players, the rookie basketball players, where we could really lean into our network and as we continue to build out the Endeavor platform — speaking, books, equity and talent venture deals, social and digital content strategy.”

Indeed, while Endeavor stitched together an increasingly complicated web of business units, the company’s leadership promised a corporate-speak “flywheel” effect, wherein Endeavor’s various segments would leverage each other for insights and potential business relationships. 

Instead, the complexity of Endeavor’s structure proved a challenge after the company went public in April 2021 at a $10.3 billion valuation. Despite the firm’s strong topline profile — Endeavor reported 2023 revenue of $5.96 billion, up 13% over 2022 — Endeavor’s stock price lagged in a historic bull market. 

In October 2023, less than three years after its IPO, Endeavor announced it would commence a “formal review to evaluate strategic alternatives.” Later the same day, Endeavor controlling shareholder Silver Lake revealed it would explore taking the company private. 

Those plans were finalized in April, with Silver Lake agreeing to pay $27.50 per share, a 14.6% increase from Endeavor’s IPO (the S&P 500 climbed 30% in that time). The mass selloff soon followed.

Endeavor actually began simplifying its operations earlier in 2023, selling youth sports developmental school IMG Academy to BPEA EQT at a $1.25 billion enterprise value in June of that year, and then later downsizing its minority stake in Learfield from around 42% to approximately 1%. 

The prior sale of 80% of Endeavor Content to South Korea’s CJ ENM for $775 million in 2022 was essentially forced by a franchise agreement with the Writers Guild of America that caps talent agencies at 20% ownership of a production company. A recent Endeavor filing revealed the firm’s minority stake in the content business, since rebranded Fifth Season, is now 15%.

Most notably, the September 2023 merger of UFC with WWE to form TKO Group Holdings created a $21 billion sports and entertainment juggernaut. The new standalone public company is majority owned by Endeavor and led by Emanuel and Shapiro. 

But Silver Lake’s take-private plans announced last April sparked widespread speculation Endeavor would soon make a concerted effort to further consolidate operations. It wasn’t hard to guess, given that Shapiro’s employment contract was updated to include new bonuses related to the sale of non-core Endeavor assets (though he later waived his asset sale bonus eligibility).

The latest wave of Endeavor divestments began in October, when TKO Group agreed to an all-equity deal to acquire PBR, On Location and IMG, including its Euroleague Basketball joint venture, for $3.25 billion. In explaining the move, Emanuel said the three assets fit into TKO’s “pure-play sports strategy.” 

“This acquisition strengthens our global position in sports rights, experiences and hospitality, and it adds PBR to our portfolio as another valuable and growing sports league,” Emanuel told investors on a recent TKO earnings call. “These assets will power our profile, give us greater scale, strengthen our position in the sports marketplace and accelerate returns for shareholders.”

The following month, Emanuel and OpenBet CEO Jordan Levin backed a management buyout of Endeavor’s data and tech segment, composed of betting data firm IMG Arena and sportsbook tech provider OpenBet. The $450 million acquisition is being financed through a combination of cash and seller note; Endeavor had acquired OpenBet for $800 million in late 2022. Endeavor has indicated it may also still find a third-party buyer for IMG Arena.

Silver Lake has said the sale of Endeavor’s gambling-related businesses is necessary for it to complete the take-private transaction. Though the PE firm didn’t provide further explanation, a source familiar with the process said the extensive regulation of betting-related companies could pose regulatory complications. 

And Endeavor is now early into exploring the potential sale of several of its events, including the Miami Open, Madrid Open and Frieze art fair business.

The remainder of Endeavor’s assets, including WME, 160over90, IMG Licensing and other representation units, will remain under the soon-to-be rebranded William Morris Endeavor. Sources with knowledge of Endeavor leadership’s thinking say there are no plans for the company to divest any of its current representation subsidiaries.

As one source close to the company summarized it, the new structure has essentially split Endeavor’s wide-reaching portfolio into three buckets: sports assets consolidated under TKO, representation assets consolidated under William Morris Endeavor, and nearly everything else being sold to external buyers.

One apparent exception is Endeavor Streaming; Endeavor has not yet indicated plans for the business, which doesn’t appear to fit neatly into either Endeavor or TKO’s areas of focus. 

That’s hardly the only remaining mystery about the futures of Endeavor, TKO and their various holdings, though insiders have shed some new light on a few of the biggest open questions:

What happens to WME Football?

Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban was recently approved by NFL owners to acquire a 7.5% stake in the Las Vegas Raiders. As part of the deal, Durban assured the league that WME will divest its on-field football representation to be compliant with the NFL’s conflict-of-interest rules. 

A source close to Endeavor said WME Football will be split off from WME but retain its name, similar to how IMG Academy has kept the IMG branding despite no longer being affiliated with the parent business. Though it will be divested, there are no current plans for a formalized sale process for WME Football, which comprises football agents and player contracts.

One possibility that’s been floated is for the new WME Football to be led by Whitesell, currently Endeavor’s executive chairman. In that scenario, Whitesell would be required to divest any financial interest in Endeavor. His potential leadership of WME Football would also be entirely separate from Whitesell Group, a proposed sports and media business that would be backed by $250 million from Silver Lake, which a source said would not be the company’s only investor

Will there be a conflict between WME Baseball and Diamond Baseball Holdings?

Endeavor launched Diamond Baseball Holdings, a roll-up of minor league baseball teams, at the end of 2021. Less than a year later, it was forced to offload the business under pressure from the MLB Players Association due to a conflict of interest with WME Baseball. Endeavor ultimately sold DBH, then comprising 10 minor league teams, to Silver Lake for $280 million. 

Following Endeavor’s take-private, Silver Lake will own and control both DBH and WME Baseball.

Sources close to Endeavor and Silver Lake said the firms will further explore the situation before closing the take-private. The MLBPA declined to comment, though the union would be expected to review the new structure for potential conflicts after the take-private is completed, as it did previously when DBH was owned by Endeavor.

Who will buy Endeavor’s for-sale events?

Endeavor has found a buyer for all of the assets it currently plans to sell with the exception of several events, including the Madrid Open, Miami Open and Frieze art fair business. Each of those assets will be sold individually, and it’s too early to predict how the various sale processes may play out. 

That said, SBJ has confirmed a prior Bloomberg report that Emanuel is raising capital to launch a new live events business and has emerged as a potential bidder for Endeavor’s events assets. His overall aspirations are believed to extend beyond the events in Endeavor’s portfolio. 

Will TKO Group pursue any further acquisitions?

TKO’s planned additions of IMG, PBR and On Lo-cation will broaden the scope of the company, and have led some to speculate about potential further acquisitions. Shapiro, however, has been emphat-ic in his public remarks that TKO’s current focus is on fully combining UFC and WWE, to say noth-ing of the incoming trio of Endeavor assets; altogether, that integration process may carry on well into 2026.

When pressed on a potential expansion into box-ing, Shapiro recently told investors that while TKO may explore the sport, it does not plan to acquire any existing promotions.

“If we were to get involved in boxing, we would expect to do so in an organic way, not an M&A way,” Shapiro said on a TKO earnings call in November. “So we’re not writing a check. And if we launch the vertical at any time, we kind of see it as doing it with a partner who would fund it and pay us to operate.”

 Just before this story went to press, The New York Times reported that TKO is nearing a deal with a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to launch a boxing league that would see TKO become a managing partner with an equity stake and revenue share. 

The UFC continues to attract more mainstream brands as sponsors, now bringing on Verizon’s Total Wireless prepaid cell service as the MMA outfit’s “Official Wireless Provider.” A source with knowledge of the deal described it as one year, plus options.

Nonetheless, bagging a Verizon sub-brand as the UFC’s first wireless sponsor in around five years continues momentum from when the UFC brought on IBM as “Global AI” and “Official Technology’’ sponsor in November.

“We’ve been looking hard at this category for years, but we’re very judicious, because [cell service] has become one of sports’ most valuable categories,” said Grant Norris-Jones, EVP & Head of Global Partnerships at TKO Group, the Endeavor unit which owns both WWE and UFC. “With WWE now, we can bring sponsors more young, male fans than the NFL, so we’re making headway.”

The domestic rights deal includes octagon branding, programming integration -- including title sponsorship of the “Fighter Walkouts” -- and custom content, along with digital and social media inventory. Pass-through rights for potential cell hardware brands are also included, along with access to a “Brand Ambassador” program that will tie in UFC athletes.

Activation will commence with UFC 311 this weekend at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. Zenith Media’s VM1 agency consulted on the deal for Verizon/Total Wireless.

Total Wireless is hoping UFC rights will attract younger, male customers and achieve more consistent branding. The prepaid phone carrier started as a TracFone sub-brand until Verizon acquired it in 2022, subsequently rebranding to “Total by Verizon” in 2022, and then back to “Total Wireless” last summer. Other Total Wireless sponsorships include the Big3 3x3 basketball league and boxer Amanda Serrano.

The UFC’s last wireless service sponsor was MetroPCS, which later became Metro Mobile and then Metro by T-Mobile. The sponsorship lasted for most of the 2010s.

Meanwhile, with UFC’s upcoming media rights deal expected to be one of 2025’s largest pacts, UFC is in talks with other elusive categories, like insurance and QSRs. “We’re excited about how any of those will support our next media deal,” said Norris-Jones. “It feels like we’re at a point where brands that just wouldn’t do UFC before can’t ignore us -- even categories we haven’t been able to crack.”

Learfield has announced a multiyear renewal with the Univ. of Houston, SBJ has learned.

The agreement will see Houston use Learfield’s Fanbase data platform and social media content, along with NIL, digital marketing and corporate partnership solutions. Learfield is expected to also add an NIL business manager and a content production position to its local Houston subsidiary.

“They wanted to step up in a big way and really show not just others out there what existed [in the marketplace], but they also wanted the leadership [at Houston] to work hand-in-hand with them,” Houston AD Eddie Nuñez said. “And it aligned perfectly.”

Learfield’s re-up with Houston has varying layers, which includes working with Nuñez, who was hired in August and previously worked with Playfly and Van Wagner during his time as New Mexico’s AD.

Houston began vetting potential MMR partners near the end of Chris Pezman's tenure as AD, and discussions continued after Nuñez was brought on (Houston consulted with the Leona Group in its search for an MMR provider).

While Nuñez couldn’t disclose exact details, he noted part of the appeal with Learfield was its willingness to rework its agreement from a standard guarantee and revenue share to one more centered on profit sharing, a structure similar to what he had at New Mexico.

“For me, having an incumbent [provider] here and saying, ‘Look, we're going to look at things differently,’ and the willingness of Kim [Damron] and Cole [Gahagan] to say, ‘We see the vision. We see what you're trying to do. We see how much you want to be invested,’ [went a long way],” Nuñez said. “Their vision aligned very much with what I was looking for.”

Houston is the latest signee in a run of prominent deals for Learfield, including inking agreements with Mississippi State, Seton Hall, Boise State and Toledo since September. 

Monumental Sports Network and Sports Business Journal announced today the launch of the TV series “Sports Business Journal: Inside the Industry,” which will be seen on the D.C. regional sports network.

The program, scheduled to debut Jan. 27 at 6:30pm ET, will provide viewers with insight and analysis of the rapidly changing business of sports along with in-depth look-ins around trends, leaders and innovations shaping the industry.

Monumental Sports reporter Tarik El-Bashir will host each episode and provide exclusive access behind the publication’s robust annual conference lineups and commentary from its editorial team.

New episodes of “Inside the Industry” are scheduled to release the final Monday of each month. “Inside the Industry” will also use Monumental’s RSN studio and production facility in D.C.

The first episode of “Inside the Industry” will focus on cutting-edge sports venues and in-venue fan experiences. El-Bashir along with Jordan Silberman, MSE President of Venues,  and SBJ’s Abe Madkour and Joe Lemire also discuss some of America’s newest venues including the Clippers’ Intuit Dome, the Cowboys “The Star” campus and the upcoming redevelopment of Capital One Arena in D.C.

Future episodes will touch on innovations in sports media and technology, the next generation of women leaders and industry disruptors. Episodes of “Inside the Industry” will be available on monumentalplus.com after they air and SBJ’s platforms 30 days after airing on MNMT.

It is no secret that female fandom in sports continues to thrive globally, with nearly three out of four women proclaiming themselves avid fans across many genres. According to a study cited by Sports Business Journal, women are far more likely to have developed their fandom in recent years. The study found that 50% of female sports fans have become fans within the last five years, compared to 39% for male sports fans. This year-over-year growing female enthusiast is no stranger to the highest class of international racing, Formula 1.

For years, F1 had attracted an overwhelmingly male fan base, but under new ownership, the sport is no longer just a boys club. In November 2022, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali shared with Forbes that  40% of global F1 fans were women, up 8% from 2017. According to an F1 Global Survey, it is women and younger viewers who account for much of the growth of F1, with Gen Z and millennials  making up 60% of F1’s U.S. fan base.

The F1 female fan base is a powerful opportunity for commercial events to capitalize on the buying power of this important influential segment. New fan base demographics means new ways to market, increasing the types of brands that show up, and presenting more creative ways for them to show out.

F1 has been steadily evolving ever since U.S.-based Liberty Media bought it for $8 billion in 2017. The new owner had growth very much in its sights — expanding the locations in its racing calendar, attracting new audiences and bringing in more sponsorship dollars. 

Netflix’s docuseries “Drive to Survive,” produced by Box to Box Films, was just one part of this growth strategy, but it is often credited with sparking greater interest in motor racing among female fans. Showing fly-on-the-wall detail and behind-the-scenes drama of the F1 teams, the series offers insight on the sport — and indeed the whole culture around it — that increased knowledge and interest among a new wave of fans. 

All of this said, it may come as a surprise that this following comes without any women on the F1 grid. There have only been two female drivers in Formula 1 history: Maria Teresa de Filippis in 1958 and Lella Lombardi in 1975 and 1976. More recently, we saw Monisha  Kaltenborn as the first woman to take charge of an F1 team (CEO of Sauber in 2010), and Claire Williams as deputy team principal at Williams Racing in 2013.

The industry is putting forth more effort, though, particularly with the F1 Academy, a new all-female series launched in 2023. Established as a platform for female drivers to compete at a higher level, the program is heralded by Susie Wolff, a former competitive driver, as managing director. Wolff has succeeded in getting all 10 established F1 teams — including Ferrari and Aston Martin — to support the F1 Academy. 

Of particular note? Wolff has also brought in new teams, including Tommy Hilfiger and Charlotte Tilbury, heralding commercial partnerships never seen before in motor racing. Luxury brands have long been associated with the sport — LVMH has signed a top-tier sponsorship with F1 worth almost €100 million — but these new deals have brought additional fashion and cosmetics brands into the mix, making a very clear statement of how extending the audience will also extend the commercial opportunities. 

F1 Academy has also drawn support from brands more familiar to the racing circuit. This year, American Express became an official partnerof the academy. In keeping with its broader business strategy, Amex  will be supporting small women-owned businesses in cities hosting F1 Academy races including food vendors and merchandising companies, thereby supporting women in F1 — and their fans — more widely.

The rise of more casual, street-friendly brands that activate around F1 racing can also be credited for growing a female fan base and pushing the sport out of the traditional. Puma named A$AP Rocky as creative director for its F1 partnership in 2023, and have put out a large number of fashion collaborations that have skyrocketed in sales. It is now the official supplier of accessories, shoes and apparel at all F1 races, and has signed on to sponsor the Academy as well. Brands take note: Newer fan bases are not always attracted to the legacy of the sport — they are far more likely to look forward.

F1 is a sport that enjoys truly global interest — the Grand Prix  race circuit covers six continents and spans multiple countries. F1’s concerted effort to expand accessibility to a female audience means that a newly engaged fan base is available to brands. Now is the time to include women in those brand stories as the sport grows for drivers, leaders and fans alike. Look to expect more brands to be attracted to the F1 spectacle and marvel and bring the right investment to meet the moment.

Robin Lickliter is chief experience officer at experiential agency Sparks.

• LIV Golf formally named Scott O'Neil as its CEO, effective immediately. SBJ first reported O'Neil's expected hire in November, and O'Neil has been working at the league since the early part of this month, sources tell SBJ's Josh Carpenter.

• ESPN will lean on NL teams during the first two months of “Sunday Night Baseball” this season, with the Dodgers leading the way with three appearances in April and May, writes SBJ's Austin Karp. The Braves and Padres each have two appearances, including the “SNB” opener on March 30.

• FanDuel will provide branded odds on the PGA Tour’s app and website and integrations during some event broadcasts as part of an extension of its official betting operator agreement that runs through 2027, notes SBJ's Bill King. In other tour news, Carpenter reports that the tour is launching a promotional campaign that emphasizes its history and player legacy.

• Unrivaled, the women’s 3-on-3 basketball league set to debut on Friday, named Sprite the presenting sponsor of the league’s 1-on-1 tournament and BodyArmor as the league’s official sports drink, writes SBJ's Tom Friend.

• Dodgers President and CEO Stan Kasten joined the board of trustees with the U.S.-Japan Foundation, an organization that seeks to improve relations between the two countries through philanthropy and innovation, notes SBJ's Mike Mazzeo.

• Tylenol awarded $10,000 to 10 female athletes as part of its Athlete Recovery and Care Commitment Grant in partnership with the Women’s Sports Foundation, reports SBJ's Trevona Williams.