A major consolidation in the media world could be at risk if the Department of Justice heeds the call of Democratic lawmakers, but the executives behind the deal appear unconcerned.

AT&T CEO John Stankey said that Congress members’ fears of reduced competition for media workers, particularly among Hispanics, was “unfounded.” Discovery CEO David Zaslav has also brushed off concerns that the merger would stifle competition.

AT&T currently owns WarnerMedia but is seeking to spin it off to focus on 5G and telecommunications.

Speaking at UBS’s Global TMT Conference on Monday, Stankey added that “I’ve seen nothing in this process that is out of pattern or out of skew,” and that he is confident in AT&T “navigating through that.”

• The $43 billion merger of the two media giants would bring WarnerMedia’s CNN, Warner Bros., HBO, Turner Sports, TNT, and TBS under the same roof as Discovery’s Food Network, HGTV, Eurosport, and others. 
• Discovery could add UK Premier League broadcasts to its menu if it successfully usurps DAZN in a deal with BT Sport.
• Discovery holds European rights to the Olympic Games from 2018 to 2024 in a $1.5 billion deal.

The lawmakers, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), and Reps. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), David Cicilline (D-R.I.), and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) wrote, “The merger threatens to enhance the market power of the combined firm and substantially lessen competition in the media and entertainment industry, harming both consumers and American workers.”

DraftKings and the NFL Players Association are linking up on a nascent market: gamified NFTs.

The betting company and NFLPA licensing partner OneTeam Partners announced on Tuesday that they will release products on DraftKings Marketplace during the 2022-2023 NFL season.

The two sides anticipate producing NFTs that can be bought and sold, as well as used in games within the DraftKings platform. The NFTs will be backed by Polygon, blockchain software built on top of Ethereum.

The partnership is the latest embrace of crypto and blockchain products by the NFL after initially shunning the industry.

• In September, the league barred its teams from selling ads or sponsorships to crypto coins, markets, and other blockchain-related products, including NFTs.
• Later that month, the league and the NFLPA announced a deal to release NFTs with NBA Top Shot-maker Dapper Labs.
• In April, the league unveiled its first sports betting partnerships with DraftKings, FanDuel, and Caesars Entertainment. In August, it added FOX Bet, NetMGM, PointsBet, and WynnBET.

While gamified NFTs are still fairly new in the U.S., Sorare has established a presence in European soccer. In September, the European soccer-focused company raised $680 million in one of Europe’s largest-ever Series B rounds, led by SoftBank, at a valuation of $4.3 billion.

DraftKings’ revenue grew 60% year-over-year in the third quarter to $213 million.

Connected fitness platform Strava has recorded a total of 1.8 billion activity uploads in 2021, a 38% increase year-over-year.

“Even as the global athletic community endured another year of pandemic disruptions and restrictions, we saw a persistent desire from athletes to stay connected and keep one another active,” said Strava chief executive Michael Horvath.

Strava — a free-to-use social fitness app — allows users to track exercise-related activities while simultaneously interacting with other users of the platform.

A premium subscription — which costs $5 per month — includes group comparison metrics and advanced tracking features, and serves as the company’s main monetization mechanism.

Strava has benefited from the growing popularity of connected fitness platforms due to gym closures and concerns about working out with other groups in-person.

• The app currently has 95 million users across 195 countries.
• It has seen 2 million people join every month during the past year.
• The app’s users collectively logged more than 20 billion miles this year.
• It saw year-over-year growth across all of its sports types in 2021.

In November 2020, Strava raised $110 million in Series F funding, valuing the company at $1.65 billion.

In early November, consulting firm McKinsey & Company released a study on the global Internet of Things — IoT — market. According to the report, the IoT industry could unlock up to $12.6 trillion in value by 2030. The IoT industry spans a wide array of verticals, including the sports and fitness industries.

Whether it’s smart stadiums, connected fitness, or commerce, IoT and the connectivity of devices has the ability to fundamentally change industries. From the Olympics to the Tour de France to Major League Baseball, new IoT technologies have helped enable interconnectivity and fan engagement.

Overall deal activity for IoT technologies has already reached $10.9 billion and 611 deals across various markets.

In September, the NFL signed a new 10-year deal with Verizon worth $1 billion. One of the key tenets of the deal was a shift in focus from content generated to technology utilized.

• The deal includes 5G Multi-View, which allows fans to see seven different live camera angles and AR overlays of Next Gen Stats.
• Last year, Verizon invested over $80 million to pilot the 5G Multi-View at Super Bowl LV in Tampa.

Wearables, fitness, and health monitoring are another significant use case. Companies such as Whoop, Oura, and Apple will likely see increased adoption and more use cases as 5G technology takes over.

If you want to learn more about the impact of IoT on the sports industry, check out Front Office Sports Insights.