Sporticast: English Soccer Cashes American Check, Red Sox Buying Penguins
On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including the English Premier League’s new six-year, $2.6 billion deal with NBCUniversal. The deal covers the league’s rights for both English- and Spanish-language broadcasts in the U.S.
It’s the most valuable American TV agreement for a European soccer league, eclipsing the $1.4 billion deal that Spain’s LaLiga inked with ESPN earlier this year. It’s also an important keep for NBC, which recently lost its NHL rights and has used prior EPL seasons as a way to drive subscriptions for its Peacock streaming service.
More from Sportico.com
Sporticast: 'Mark My Words, 2022 Is Going To Be A Bonanza' for Live Events
NBA Grabs 3% of Data Giant Sportradar in New Eight-Year Deal
The hosts also discuss Fenway Sports Group’s pending deal to acquire the Pittsburgh Penguins. If it is approved by the NHL, the deal would put the Penguins into a sports and entertainment portfolio that also includes the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park and Roush Fenway Racing. Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy discussed the group’s expansion ambitions in a prior Sporticast podcast.
The hosts close by discussing two more stories—Sportradar’s new eight-year partnership with the NBA, a deal worth more than $1 billion in cash and equity, and the New York Islanders’ new $1.1 billion arena, which opened over the weekend.
(You can subscribe to Sporticast through Apple, Google, Spotify or wherever else you get your podcasts.)