The NHL is selling its 10% stake in Disney Streaming Services, providing a sorely needed cash influx of $350 million. 

The league exercised an option in its contract with Disney to trigger a sale on Aug. 3. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.

The streaming technology company, originally created by MLB as “BAMTech,” has become the backbone of Disney’s rapidly growing streaming empire, which includes Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu.

• MLB, which owns a 15% stake, may exercise a similar option in September 2022. Disney said that the minimum price for MLB’s stake is currently $752 million.
• MLB established BAMTech in 2015, with the NHL as a minority investor, to be the technology company behind MLB.tv and NHL.tv. 
• Disney bought a 33% stake in 2016, which it increased to 75% in 2017 for $1.58 billion. 

ESPN+ launched in 2018, and Disney+ launched the following year. The subscriber base of the two services grew by 75% and 100% year-over-year, respectively, in the fiscal quarter ending July 3. 

The NHL lost an estimated $3.6 billion in revenue last season due to limited game attendance. Commissioner Gary Bettman said in January that the league would save money if it canceled its games.

Asics reported second-quarter earnings Friday, recording a 42.6% increase in sales to $1.9 billion and a 51% increase in North American net sales.

Sales surpassed $1.8 billion for the first time in four years, with all regions posting an increase of more than 50% year-over-year. Operating income exceeded $182 million for the first time in six years, turning profitable.

Despite the pandemic’s temporary suspension of operations in Oceania and part of South America, production issues stemming from a factory shutdown in Vietnam, and temporary retail store closures, e-commerce sales rose more than 30% year-over-year.

Asics, which sells footwear across a variety of sports, including tennis, wrestling, and running, chalked up a number of other wins during the quarter.

• Novak Djokovic, the world’s No. 1 tennis player and an Asics ambassador, won the French Open in June wearing a pair of Asics shoes. Djokovic announced in May that he would extend his partnership with the footwear brand.
• The Japan-based company was the official sportswear sponsor for the Japan Olympic and Paralympic team, as well as a Tokyo 2020 Gold Partner.

The global sports footwear market is estimated to reach $134.99 billion by 2028, up from $97.42 billion in 2021.

Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Washington Wizards, is looking to attract a new jersey sponsor with an asking price of $12 million per year, according to CNBC.

The sports and entertainment company is creating a “unified offer” to attract a new corporate sponsor by combining its NBA G League, esports teams, and WNBA’s Mystics franchise into one asset.

Geico was MSE’s first-ever jersey patch sponsor in 2018. Jersey patch sponsorships have become a hot commodity in the NBA.

• The Golden State Warriors have the largest NBA deal at $20 million per season.
• Last month, the Portland Trail Blazers became the first NBA team to land a jersey patch deal with a cryptocurrency platform.
• Only three of the 30 NBA teams do not have active patch deals.

Jersey patch deals have increased sponsorship in the NBA by 70% since the 2016-17 season, the last season before their integration.

The NBA generated a record $1.46 billion in sponsorship revenue for the 2020-21 season, a 6% increase year-over-year.

The league added 13 new sponsors during the 2020-21 season, including Microsoft, which brought in roughly $115 million in new spending, according to IEG.

Chinese sportswear brand Li Ning reported financial earnings last week, marking a 65% increase in year-over-year revenue to $1.57 billion for the first six months of the year. Profits rose 187%.

The numbers put the company one step closer to attaining its goal of expanding from a domestic brand to “an internationally recognized top-class” brand, according to chairman and joint CEO Li Ning.

Despite Better Cotton Initiative’s crackdown on the textile industry in China, the country’s sportswear brands continue to post better-than-expected numbers.

• Anta Sports Products, which sells its own products along with brands like Fila and Descente, said in July it expects sales to increase by 55% in the first six months of the year.
• Athletic apparel company 361 Degrees forecasts a 30% increase in year-over-year earnings.

Li Ning expects to capitalize on the growth of sports in its home country, too.

China released a five-year plan on Aug. 3 to grow the country’s sports industry to $772 billion by 2025, adding fitness facilities and cultivating a modern sports industrial system. Chinese homegrown brands had an annual growth rate of 41.6% in the first six months of the year, according to iiMedia Research.

German sportswear adidas saw second-quarter revenue fall 16% in the same region, with Nike missing analyst expectations of $2.25 billion in greater China at just $1.93 billion.