Formula 1 is becoming more integrated into U.S. culture — and American brands are buying in.

There were 161 deals between U.S. companies and F1 teams in 2022, a 21.1% year-over-year increase and a 66% rise from 2020, per Sport Business.

• Oracle became a title sponsor to the Red Bull team in February in a five-year deal worth a reported $500 million. 
• In March, McLaren linked up with Google on a multiyear deal.
• Haas, F1’s only team owned by an American (Gene Haas) scored a title sponsorship deal with Dallas-based MoneyGram last month. The team will be called MoneyGram Haas starting next year.

“We had interest, serious interest, from another company, and we chose MoneyGram, and one of the reasons was because the other company was not American,” Haas team principal Guenther Steiner told the Associated Press.

Formula 1 will add a third U.S. race next year, with Las Vegas, joining Austin, Texas, and Miami on the calendar.

Ferrari Zooms Ahead

Ferrari, second in this year’s constructor’s standings, has benefited from its F1’s team’s success.

The company’s sponsorship revenue rose 29.5% year-over-year to $121.6 million in the third quarter, which it primarily attributed to its improvement from sixth place in F1 in 2020 to third place last year.

Sponsorship revenue grew 26% to $345.2 million over the first nine months of the year.

Ferrari’s net revenues hit $1.24 billion in the quarter, a 19% year-over-year increase.

Major League Baseball is stepping in to help clear up the biggest unresolved question pertaining to a sale of the Washington Nationals.

The league is seeking to bring clarity to a contentious situation regarding the Nationals’ and Baltimore Orioles’ shared Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, according to the Washington Post.

• The Orioles own around 77% of the regional sports network, with the Nationals holding the balance, part of an arrangement established when the Montreal Expos moved to the Orioles’ region in 2005 and renamed the Nationals.
• In 2019, an arbitrator sided with the Nationals, ruling that MASN owes the team $105 million in unpaid rights fees. MASN is appealing that decision.

A sale could present an opportunity to renegotiate the MASN deal, but it’s unclear how willing the Orioles are to part with their majority share. 

The O’s have contract language on their side: A 2005 settlement between the team and MLB states that “​​the assumption of the Nationals’ obligations under this agreement shall be made a binding condition of the purchase of the Nationals’ franchise.”

Leonsis in the Lead

While a handful of well-heeled individuals and groups have shown interest in the Nationals, it is believed that Washington Capitals, Wizards, and Mystics owner Ted Leonsis is the frontrunner.

Leonsis’ group, which includes Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein, has had talks with the investment bank managing the sale. 

The team could also opt to sell a minority stake, which could include a future option to buy a majority share.

A Paramount Global streaming platform has emerged as the fastest-growing service in America thanks to its commitment to live sports. 

Paramount+ reported 46 million subscribers for the third quarter ending Sept. 30. The service — which launched in March 2021 — added 4.6 million subscribers in Q3 but lost 1.9 million. 

In August, Paramount extended its deal for U.S. media rights to the UEFA Champions League on a six-year, $1.5 billion pact that runs from 2024 to 2030. Paramount has held U.S. rights to the soccer competition since the 2019-2020 season, for which it previously paid $100 million per year.

Paramount beat out Amazon as a finalist after UEFA also met with FOX, ESPN, and others. 

• In Q3, Paramount+ was the top streaming service in the U.S. in signups and gross subscriber additions.
• The growth was driven by the start of the NFL regular season, the UEFA Champions League, and launches in international markets.
• Outside of the U.S., the Premier League also helped add to the service’s subscriber base.

Despite the growth, Paramount’s streaming options have yet to turn a profit. In H1 FY2022, Paramount’s streaming services — which include the free platform Pluto — lost $901 million. 

The losses have spurred speculation of a merger with Warner Bros. Discovery or NBCUniversal to compete with Disney and Netflix — the only profitable major streaming service. 

Missed Estimates

Paramount generated $6.92 billion in revenue in Q3 2022 — a 5% increase year-over-year — but missed Wall Street estimates of $7 billion. Paramount attributed the missed mark to a decline in advertising revenue and consumers changing from pay-TV subscribers to streamers.

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s new technology-focused sports company will have to build a large conference room.

TMRW Sports announced a lengthy who’s who of famous faces as “strategic investors” Wednesday morning, a constellation of sports celebrities with a combined social media reach of nearly 500 million across Twitter and Instagram.

• Tennis stars Serena Williams and Andy Murray
• The NFL’s Josh Allen, former stars Tony Romo and Larry Fitzgerald
• The NBA’s Steph Curry and Chris Paul, and the WNBA’s Diana Taurasi
• MLB’s Shohei Ohtani and Trea Turner
• The NWSL’s Alex Morgan, F1’s Lewis Hamilton, NHL great Sidney Crosby, Justin Timberlake, and gamer Ninja.

Connect Ventures and 25madison co-led the institutional investment round. Stephen Price, the latter’s CEO, said it was a “no-brainer” to invest his money: “Tiger, Rory, and Mike (McCarley) are all titans of both golf and business.”

TMRW (pronounced “tomorrow”) investors include Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, Boston Red Sox owner John Henry, and Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren, as well as Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.

The Concept

In August, Woods, McIlroy, and McCarley unveiled TGL, a new golf league that will operate in partnership with the PGA Tour and debut in January 2024.

TMRW’s tech-infused golf league is viewed as a potential “Monday Night Football” for golf — with six teams of three playing in a 15-event series of two-hour virtual competitions.