Liberty Media reported its second-quarter financial results on Friday, recording revenue increases across Formula 1, Braves Group, and Sirius XM.

Revenue for F1 increased 49% year-over-year to $744 million. The division announced a number of deal extensions and renewals during the quarter, which held seven races.

• F1 announced the extension of the Australian Grand Prix through 2035.
• It renewed its exclusive broadcasting deal with Bandeirantes in Brazil through 2025.
• F1 renewed its Netflix deal for the fifth and sixth seasons of “Drive to Survive.”
• Liberty Media agreed to purchase 39 acres of land for $240 million for its new Las Vegas Grand Prix, starting in 2023.

F1 states that the first half of the 2022 season has seen record attendance in both grandstands and the Paddock Club. The division also has a goal to hit net-zero carbon by 2030.

Braves’ Book

Liberty Media’s Braves Group division, which includes the Atlanta Braves, reported a 20% year-over-year increase in revenue to $260 million and a 16% increase in operating income to $37 million. 

Baseball revenue — comprising ballpark operations, local broadcasting rights, and MLB revenue streams — jumped 21% to $247 million, and development revenue increased 8% to $13 million. At the end of the quarter, the Braves’ attendance was up 23% compared to the pre-pandemic 2019 season, and the team had 24 game sellouts as of the All-Star break.

Both F1 and the Atlanta Braves were affected by pandemic-related capacity limitations in 2021.

Real estate developer China Evergrande Group is set to receive $817.8 million after canceling a contract to build a new stadium for China’s most successful soccer club. 

Evergrande initially struck a deal in 2010 to purchase Guangzhou FC — formally known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao FC — for $15.5 million. 

Ten years later, Evergrande signed a contract to acquire land-use rights for a new stadium in the city of Guangzhou for $1 billion, which included plans to have a seating capacity of 100,000. 

• Evergrande had already begun construction on the now-canceled $1.8 billion project.
• It expects to lose roughly $186 million for the total book value of the property.
• A government body had taken over control over the stadium in 2021.
• Rights will go back to the city’s Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau.

The cancellation of the deal comes amid financial woes for Evergrande, which is over $300 billion in debt — more than any other company in the world, according to Markets Insider. 

Approximately $20 billion of the developer’s debt is from investors outside China. 

Also Struggling 

Guangzhou FC has also had financial struggles of its own.

Last year, the club listed all its players on the transfer market in an attempt to raise fresh capital. Evergrande had also considered selling a controlling stake in Guangzhou FC.

The club reportedly has lost between $155 million to $310 million per year as of September 2021.

DraftKings raised its full-year revenue guidance Friday after the sportsbook and fantasy sports giant exceeded expectations in its latest earnings report. 

The Boston-based company generated $466 million in revenue in Q2 2022 — a 57% increase year-over-year — surpassing Wall Street estimates of $438 million in revenue. 

• DraftKings operates mobile betting in 17 states — roughly 36% of the U.S. population.
• Its sportsbook’s monthly customers hit 1.5 million, up 30% compared to Q2 2021.
• The company expects full-year revenue to range between $2.08 billion and $2.18 billion.
• Its previous guidance was between $2.05 billion and $2.17 billion for FY2022.

In May, DraftKings closed its acquisition of Golden Nugget Online for roughly $450 million, a sharp decline from the $1.56 billion all-stock deal expected in August 2021.

DraftKings also benefited from the launch of its sportsbook and iGaming products in Ontario in Q2 2022, which helped the company increase its guidance by more than $30 million.

Coming Soon 

DraftKings has the opportunity to gain market access in Maryland, Ohio, Kansas, and Puerto Rico — all of which have legalized mobile sports betting.

Securing licenses in those four jurisdictions would provide DraftKings with access to an additional 8% of the U.S. population, bringing the company’s total reach to 44% of the country.

DraftKings could also gain market access in Massachusetts after the state’s legislature recently passed a bill — pending executive action —  to legalize retail and mobile sports betting.