Data and Insights
The next competitive edge in sports: investing in your people
Something special is happening in sports -- a quiet but powerful evolution. For decades, we’ve celebrated performance metrics: exit velocity, spin rates, wins above replacement. But the future of sport isn’t just about sharpening data, it’s about strengthening people.
SBJ Jersey and Helmet Sponsor Directory
The first Major League Soccer gameday jersey deals were announced late in 2006 and corporate names began appearing on team jerseys in the 2007 season. The early sponsor roster was diverse, ranging from the first signing - Real Salt Lake’s deal with juicemaker XanGo - to regional plays such as Glidde...
Pacers turn local alliance with Lucas Oil into jersey patch deal
The Pacers have expanded a community partnership with Indianapolis-based Lucas Oil with a multiyear jersey patch deal that debuts at this week’s NBA 2K26 Summer League in Las Vegas. The deal was negotiated in-house.
Audience Analysis: Wimbledon starts hot; F1 stays hot; ION hot even without Caitlin Clark
ESPN got off to a hot start on Monday with Wimbledon, averaging 539,000 viewers from 6am-4pm ET. That marks the network’s best Day 1 on record for Wimbledon, and an increase of 37% from Day 1 last year.
Audience Analysis: Travelers Championship has big weekend; Full NBA Playoffs up 5%
CBS on Sunday drew the best Travelers Championship final round since 2021 (3.5 million viewers), as Keegan Bradley held off Russell Henley and Tommy Fleetwood by a stroke (Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Scottie Scheffler also finished in the top 10 to help with star power). Saturday’s 2.4 million w...
Audience Analysis: UFL title game down big in Year 2
ABC drew 983,000 viewers for the UFL Championship on Saturday in primetime (D.C. Defenders vs. Michigan Panthers), down 38% from just under 1.6 million on Fox last year for Birmingham Stallions-San Antonio Brahmas in a late Sunday afternoon window. In 2023, NBC drew 1.2 million viewers for the USFL ...
Study looks at brand support with women’s sports
Forty-three percent of fans who support women’s sports are more inclined to buy a brand if it has a partnership with a female athlete, according to Parity’s “U.S. Women’s Sports 2025: Give The Fans What They Want” study. Fans who say they watch women’s sports frequently are 67% more likely to choose...
European soccer continues growth in Deloitte annual financial review
The growth of the European soccer industry “continues to show little sign of slowing” after collective revenues for the 2023-24 season climbed to a record $43.6B, according to Philip Buckingham of THE ATHLETIC. Deloitte’s 34th Annual Review of Football Finance reported an 8% increase in turnover acr...
Audience Analysis: Belmont, Red Sox-Yankees score gains for Fox Sports
Sovereignty’s rematch against Journalism helped drive a 5% viewership increase for the Belmont Stakes on Saturday afternoon. Fox and FS1 combined for 3.83 million viewers for the race segment, which is the best of Fox’s three Belmont races since acquiring rights prior to the 2023 event. The race las...
Study shows NBA teams earned 8% increase in sponsorship revenue this season
NBA teams earned a total of $1.62B in sponsorship revenue this season, “an increase of 8% since last year” and 91% from the $850M earned five years ago, according to Lillian Rizzo of CNBC.com. The figures come from third-party data firm SponsorUnited. While the “volume of deals was up just 2.5% sinc...
Report: WNBA signs TV data reporting deal with Nielsen
Nielsen has “struck a new multiyear deal with the WNBA alongside the NBA to measure its television viewership across traditional TV and streaming,” according to a source cited by Sara Fischer of AXIOS. It is the “largest commercial measurement deal that Nielsen has ever struck with a women’s sports ...
Best Sports Business Cities: Soccer
In Sports Business Journal’s third year of its Best Sports Business Cities franchise, we rank the 25 U.S. markets with the strongest soccer economies by factoring in key drivers such as market-specific fan avidity, venue development and commitments from investors and brands (read more about our meth...
Audience Analysis: Fox Sports flat for NASCAR Cup package; NBA Lottery much lower with new spot
Fox and FS1 averaged 3.36 million viewers for NASCAR Cup Series coverage this season (12 races), flat compared to the 2024 package (under a previous rights deal with 16 races). Fox Sports did see a 7% uptick among adults 18-49. FS1 will carry the All-Star events this weekend before Prime Video takes...
Tennessee sees success across numerous teams, but challenges exist in new era
The Univ. of Tennessee has “cultivated a well-earned identity as the ‘everything school’ in athletics because it’s won at a high level in every sport in recent years” but that perception is “about to become more difficult to uphold” in the revenue sharing era, according to Adam Sparks of the KNOXVIL...
Tradable Bits rolls out Octane platform for high-speed data insight
Darshan Kaler, an engineer to the core, is always ready for the next problem to solve. The CEO and co-founder of Tradable Bits often looks to a fan experience he wants to help create in the future: one filled with surprise-and-delight moments for fans that also allows live-event operators to interac...
NCAA picks Genius Sports for betting data distribution
The NCAA has picked Genius Sports as its exclusive distributor of official data for NCAA post-season tournaments. It’s the first time the collegiate governing body will allow its data from championships like March Madness to be available to licensed sportsbooks.
WBZ-FM continue to top Boston’s Nielsen ratings, leads winter period
Sports talk station WBZ-FM again topped the Nielsen Audio rankings in Boston for the winter period, and all of its daily programs finished “first or tied for first in their time slots,” according to Chad Finn of the BOSTON GLOBE. In the targeted men 25-54 demographic in the period from Jan. 9-April ...
Asian American audiences helping drive sports viewership growth
Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are among the biggest consumers of live sports, according to the latest Breakthrough ROI report from Nielsen. The study found AANHPI audiences spend 15% more viewing time than the general public in live sports, and are 33% more likely to subscr...
Survey: L.A. residents doubtful of adequate transportation plans for LA28
A new survey revealed that more than 1 in 4 residents of L.A., or about 27%, said that they “were not confident the city would meet its deadlines for improving public transit infrastructure” ahead of the 2028 Olympics, according to Steve Scauzillo of the L.A. DAILY NEWS. The survey was conducted by ...
NFL teams' apps collected consumer data without clear consent
A combination of websites and apps for all 32 NFL teams “collected detailed data from consumers without directly informing them that their data could be used for targeted advertising” or “providing them with clear ways to opt out,” according to Patrick Coffee of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. A report fro...
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Quote of the Day
Summer weekends, holiday weekends, should be about baseball.-- MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, on how the league is pushing to make the Fourth of July a tentpole day for baseball.
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