Welcome back to Spotlight! Perhaps you didn’t have heardor you avoid news that does not include depOn Wednesday, the verdict was announced in the libel case of Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, which lasted several weeks, and Depp “prevailed” over Heard. Tea real winners? The seven members of the jury and the rest of us. The former will always have, at worst, great cocktail party stories, if not prime time interviews and book deals. The latter will no longer have to hear about the defamation trial of Amber Heard and Johnny Depp. Those of you who are hoping for an appeal? You, like Mr. Depp, should know (::cough, cough:: “Pirates of the Caribbean”) that a sequel is rarely as interesting as the original. One notable exception to this rule?: (Maybe…? I hope…? Probably not, but just agree…) “Spotlight”.
- Top Gun: Maverick seems like another sequel, but I attribute the box office success to introducing the main characters and interacting with an audience accustomed to wearing masks on the plane.
- The man who stood out like a sore thumb at this year’s Masters golf tournament for showing up with a beer but no phone among the crowd of spectators who captured the awe of the Tiger Woods T-shirt shot on their smartphones may not have left with a self-made photo. /Woods video, but he left with an endorsement/trade deal from Michelob. It’s enough to make me want to put my phone away.
- No one will mourn for Justin Timberlake and let the sun in his pocket slip away as he becomes the latest songwriter to make a $100 million windfall from selling his song catalog.
- The FTC’s latest crackdown on TikTok influencers highlights another way that college athletes looking to profit from their NIL need CYA.
Endorsement deals, sponsorships and investments
Pepsi drops another sponsorship, not renewing Gatorade for the NHL
June 1, 2022 via Bloomberg (subscription may be required)
Gatorade, owned by PepsiCo Inc., is ditching sponsorship of the National Hockey League to focus on deals related to women’s sports and college athletes, the company’s head of sports marketing, Jeff Kearney, said in a LinkedIn post.
Violation: UCF signs FBC Mortgage as new football stadium naming rights partner
May 31, 2022 via Biz Journal
The University of Central Florida has a new naming rights partner for its football stadium. On May 31, the UCF Board of Trustees approved a $19.5 million 10-year deal with Orlando-based FBC Mortgage LLC to make the facility the FBC Mortgage Stadium.
How to build an empire like Shaq using your name, image and likeness
May 31, 2022 via Forbes (subscription may be required)
When Shaquille O’Neal was selected in the 1992 draft, the world was amazed at his athleticism. Now, 30 years later, the business world is taking note of how O’Neill used his name, image and likeness to build an empire.
Exclusive: Camille Kostek on her Rowdy Energy partnership, SI swimwear launch and more
May 26, 2022 via Forbes (subscription may be required)
Model, TV presenter and entrepreneur Camille Kostek has joined Rowdy Energy as the company’s director of wellness for their new Power Burn calorie-burning product line. Power Burn was launched in February this year and has been clinically tested to burn up to 150 calories per can.
Sports
NBA sponsor revenue hits record $1.64 billion with Crypto Influx
June 1, 2022 via Sportico (subscription may be required)
The NBA Finals kicks off Thursday with a big game for league leaders as the Boston Celtics and their historic brand take on the TV ratings darlings the Golden State Warriors. Another reason for optimism: the booming sponsorship climate.
Chelsea sale completed: Roman Abramovich says goodbye
May 28, 2022 via Sportico (subscription may be required)
The sale of Chelsea is complete. The group, led by Todd Boly and Clearlake Capital, will pay the team about $3.16 billion and commit to spend another $2.21 billion to help it stay competitive.
Donda Sports Kanye West signs Aaron Donald and Jaylen Brown
May 31, 2022 via Front Office Sports
As elsewhere, Kanye West made a splash in the world of sports. Within 48 hours, West’s marketing agency Donda Sports signed three-time NFL top defenseman Aaron Donald and 2021 NBA star Jaylen Brown, according to TMZ.
Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes say it’s ‘no way’ to stay below budget limit as they fear F1 fines
January 6, 2022 Sky Sports.
Top F1 teams Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes all face fines for going over their sports budget limit.
Music business
What slide are you on? Calvin Harris and ‘huge machine’ accused of stealing songs from French artists
May 26, 2022 via Scottish Sun
Superstar DJ Calvin Harris was part of a “huge machine” that stole a song from two other artists and then “humiliated them” by refusing to pay royalties, the court heard.
Justin Timberlake just sold his song catalog to a Blackstone-backed firm that has spent nearly half a century on musical intellectual property.
May 26, 2022, Fortune Magazine.
Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen… Justin Timberlake? Now they are all part of the same club as musicians sell the rights to their precious platinum sales catalogs, a practice that began to gain momentum in 2020 when 81-year-old Dylan sold his for around $300 million.
Justin Timberlake sells his song catalog for $100 million
May 26, 2022 New York Post.
Singer Justin Timberlake has become the latest artist to cash in his song catalog by selling the rights to hits like “SexyBack” and “Cry Me a River” to a London-based music investment company backed by private equity firm Blackstone.
Sony Music Expands Royalties Commitment to Stranded Legacy Artists
May 26, 2022 via full music update
Sony Music has announced that it is expanding its artist royalty program on unpaid old recording contracts, so that all artists who signed those old contracts over 20 years ago will now benefit as a new group of artists qualify every year.
Film and TV
Disney finds three key sponsors for ESPN’s Fifty/50 Title IX initiative
June 1, 2022 via AdWeek
Disney Advertising Sales is kicking off Title IX’s 50th anniversary celebration with a massive Fifty/50 initiative, signing Champion, Gatorade and Google as sponsors.
EA honors John Madden with three covers for Madden NFL 23
June 1, 2022 via Venturebeat
If you’ve ever followed the NFL, you’ve heard of John Madden. Madden was a player, coach, commentator, and face of Electronic Arts’ NFL series of games.
Paramount Uses Tom Cruise to Overcome Super Bowl Absence to Lead May Index
June 1, 2022 via Sportico (subscription may be required)
The Sportico index fell about 3% to close at a 19-month low, but there are positive signs in video game publishers, broadcast networks and WWE. Paramount (PARA) topped the 40 component sports index.
NBC deal with eye-tracking pilot startup wins viewers, Comcast backs
May 31, 2022 via Sportico (subscription may be required)
The newest part of the NBC camera doesn’t get into golfers’ heads, but gets as close to it as possible. A miniature lens, created by startup Headvantage, sits under a competitor’s baseball cap and captures what’s happening from their point of view.
Will a drop in IPL viewership affect a major media rights auction?
May 31, 2022 via Business Standard
The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League ended on Sunday. The debutant Gujarat Titans emerged victorious after beating the Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets.
FIBA negotiates Japan World Cup rights with TV Asahi, Nippon TV
May 30, 2022 via Sport Business (subscription may be required)
Japanese free-to-air broadcasters TV Asahi and Nippon TV have reached an agreement with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) for media rights covering next year’s World Cup and current World Cup qualifiers. Japan, along with the Philippines and Indonesia, will host the 2023 FIFA World Cup.
TV rights fees drain profits as live sports keep industry afloat
May 27, 2022 via Sportico (subscription may be required)
While live sports programming is the only thing keeping the Big Four broadcast networks alive and the glue that holds the rickety cable harness together, the skyrocketing costs of acquiring and maintaining the rights to the most coveted leagues are starting to eat into TV channels. arrived.
Class of 2022 Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator Backed by Boomtown Announces 21 Partner Business Deals
May 27, 2022 Business Wire
Comcast announced the second class of the Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator backed by Boomtown, which has secured 21 pilots, partnerships and commercial deals as a result of their participation in the customized launch program.
Exclusive: Dorsey Pictures signs YouTube star Brandon Jordan to develop
May 26, 2022 via RealScreen
Dorsey Pictures, a subsidiary of Red Arrow Studios, has confirmed it has entered into a TV development deal with aqua fitness-focused YouTube star Brandon Jordan, whose ‘Jiggin’ With Jordan’ adventure channel has attracted three million subscribers since its launch in 2013. .
ESPN Adds World Lacrosse Championship Rights as Olympic Push Boosts
May 26, 2022 via Sportico (subscription may be required)
World Lacrosse, the sport’s international governing body, and ESPN have reached an agreement to broadcast three championships through 2023.
Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
NFT Tech and Run It Wild are partnering with The Sandbox, Decentraland, Vegas City, DAPPCRAFT, Voxel Architects and The Metakey to expand the Elvis On-Chain metaverse strategy.
May 31, 2022 Business Wire
NFT Tech Inc., a leading technology company bringing decentralized ownership, NFT and the metaverse to public markets, has announced that it is a strategic partner in the launch of the first fully networked Elvis NFT from Elvis Presley’s estate.
MusicFX Launches Integrated NFT Music Player With Charity Release
May 31, 2022, State Journal.
MusicFX.io, the leading digital community that connects artists with their fan bases through NFT, is pleased to announce that it has released a unique built-in music player.
VeeCon 2022: Snoop Dogg on building a brand around his bored monkey and growing his Death Row Record label
May 26, 2022 via Benzinga
Rapper Snoop Dogg was one of the featured guests at VeeCon and shared some thoughts on how his agent and son helped him understand the value of NFT for the future.
Music platform NFT FanTiger raises $5.5M to empower independent artists
May 26, 2022 via Yahoo Finance
Technology Inc, which runs music marketplace NFT FanTiger, said it raised $5.5 million in a seed round led by Multicoin Capital.