Allyson Felix earned a bronze medal in the 400-meter final to become the most decorated female track athlete in Olympic history with 10 medals — and did it wearing spikes she designed for her own footwear line. Respect.
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Formula 1/Design: Alex Brooks
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Liberty Media — home to Formula 1, the Atlanta Braves, and SiriusXM — reported Q2 earnings Friday. Revenue was up for all three divisions and increased from $1.91 billion to $2.88 billion overall.
Total operating income reached $622 million compared to $214 million during the same quarter last year.
Formula 1 had the biggest quarter, with revenue jumping from $24 million to $501 million year-over-year and up from $180 million in Q1. The spike comes as the sport continues to gain viewers and evolve its offerings.
- June 29: F1 announced a five-year, $100 million global partnership with Crypto.com.
- April 26: It agreed to a new “sprint” format for qualifying races.
- April 19: It finalized a 10-year deal to race at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Liberty acquired F1 from private equity firm CVC for $4.6 billion in 2017.
The Braves saw revenue surge too, from $11 million to $216 million year-over-year. As venues bring back fans, the Braves have led MLB in total attendance and average attendance per game this season.
SiriusXM — which hosts a wide range of sports programs from NASCAR, ESPN, and others — saw revenue increase 15% year-over-year to $2.16 billion. Liberty owns 78.1% of the satellite radio service.
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DraftKings/Design: Alex Brooks
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DraftKings saw second-quarter revenues increase 297% year-over-year to $298 million.
Monthly unique paying users nearly quadrupled to 1.1 million from 295,000, and monthly revenue per user grew 27% to $80.
However, those figures have not yet eclipsed the hefty cost of operations and marketing. The company took a net loss of $305.5 million, compared to $520.2 million in Q2 2020.
DraftKings has worked to expand and diversify as sports betting companies compete for users.
- On Thursday, DraftKings announced a deal with Genius Sports to access Genius’ data and sports betting products for the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and other leagues.
- Last week, DraftKings said it would open betting-themed sports bars with Sports & Social.
- In July, the company said it was establishing an NFT platform with Tom Brady’s Autograph.
- The company indicated that its March purchase of sports betting media network VSiN was for $70 million.
DraftKings operates in 12 states, representing a quarter of the U.S. population. The company also has a nascent iGaming business, which is active in four states.
Editor’s Note: DraftKings is an FOS partner.
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Beyond Yoga/Design: Alex Brooks
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Levi Strauss, famous for its denim, is adding yoga pants to its portfolio.
The iconic brand entered an agreement to acquire Beyond Yoga in an all-cash deal. While terms were not disclosed, Levi expects the activewear brand to contribute more than $100 million in revenue in its next fiscal year.
Levi hopes that Beyond Yoga — which has more than doubled its revenue and profitability in the last three years — will help grow Levi’s women’s division from one-third of sales to its goal of 50%.
Activewear is one of the hottest categories in apparel right now.
- Wolverine announced its $410 million acquisition of Sweaty Betty this week.
- Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles left Nike for Gap-owned Athleta in April.
- Dick’s Sporting Goods launched VRST back in March.
- In February, Target announced that in-house brand All In Motion generated over $1 billion in annual sales.
Levi Strauss CEO Chip Bergh told CNBC that the company has been looking at acquisitions for a while, and sees “enormous growth potential” in the activewear segment.
Beyond Yoga will operate as a standalone division within Levi. Last month, Levi reported $1.3 billion in Q2 revenue.
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- Sports trading card company Panini is launching the first-ever UFC NFTs.
- Simone Biles’ return to Olympic gymnastics brought 17.4 million viewers to NBC on Tuesday, but the audience was still 32% lower than previous years.
- Cryptocurrency exchange FTX signed a seven-year branding rights deal with Riot Games for “League of Legends” online tournaments.
- In this week’s “Friday Conversation,” Sports Section spoke with Katie Rainsberger, an All-American long-distance runner who’s training for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Get more stories like this in Sports Section — a free, daily newsletter. Click here to subscribe.
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U.S. stocks held steady on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Dow 30 increasingly slightly, and the NASDAQ dropping 0.40%.
Here’s a look at how sports-related stocks performed:
Up:
Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE: GOLF) gained 3.50%
Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLAY) gained 2.99%
Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) gained 2.63%
Down:
Peloton (NASDAQ: PTON) dropped 6.26%
Gravity Co. (NASDAQ: GRVY) dropped 2.08%
Fox Corporation (NASDAQ: FOXA) dropped 1.96%
(Note: All as of market close on 8/6/21)
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“Space Jam: A New Legacy” is already a smash hit at the box office, and you can watch it from the comfort of your home, too.
How to Watch:
In theaters and streaming on HBO Max.*
What’s It About?
After his son is kidnapped by a sentient algorithm gone too far, a basketball superstar teams up with the Looney Tunes for a high-stakes game of hoops that will determine the fate of his family.
Starring:
LeBron James, Don Cheadle, Zendaya, Bugs Bunny
FOS POV:
You loved the original “Space Jam” — which is also streaming on HBO Max. It’s only right that you check out how one of film’s most iconic basketball stories has been updated for a new generation. Whether you watch with the family or solo, the laughs and nostalgia run deep.
*Sponsored content. Only available on the ad-free plan. Streaming on HBO Max for a limited time.
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