Liberty Media, led by billionaire chairman John Malone and CEO Greg Maffei, is getting into the SPAC game. An affiliate of the company filed to raise $500 million to look for a merger in technology, media or telecommunications. 

Amongst the glut of SPACs currently in market, the 79-year-old Malone and his Liberty platform could stand out with its already wide-ranging portfolio across sports and media, including:

• Atlanta Braves
• Charter Communications
• Formula One
• SiriusXM
• TripAdvisor

It’s a SPAC world: It’s been a record year for SPACs, with nearly $67 billion raised by 188 SPACs through IPOs this year, with another 57 ready to file. Last year set the previous high mark, with 59 companies raising $13.6 billion. 

Up in Boston: A pending deal between Red Sox owner Fenway Sports Group and the RedBall SPAC could create a chance for fans and public equity investors to own a share of the storied MLB franchise, Fenway Park, Liverpool FC and other properties. 

Fenway Sports Group is also reportedly “looking into” buying another North American sports team, a move that could be funded in part by the SPAC IPO.

FIFA is set to introduce new maternity leave protections for female soccer players and coaches, marking the first time there will be a worldwide standard in the sport.

• Under the new rules, which still need FIFA Council approval in December, players would be entitled to a minimum of 14 weeks of maternity leave while making at least two-thirds of their salary. 
• Clubs would also be “under an obligation to reintegrate” players to the team upon returning and provide “adequate ongoing medical support.”

FIFA could impose transfer bans on any clubs not meeting the new standards. National governing bodies can also put higher standards in place.

Laying the groundwork: Back in January, the WNBA and its players’ association announced a new collective bargaining agreement that included fully paid maternity leave for the first time in the history of professional women’s sports. 

• Players also won some family planning benefits, including up to $60,0000 in reimbursement for veteran players for costs associated with adoption, surrogacy, and fertility options like egg freezing. 

Leagues aren’t the only entities with power in this space, however. Brands, including Nike, have recently changed policies at the demand of sponsored athletes to ensure they are not financially penalized for taking maternity leave from their sport.

The music industry is clamping down on NFL teams using copyrighted music in social media posts.

While some of the complaints focus on teams inserting music into highlight reels, many revolve around music that is playing in the background of videos, like locker room celebrations.

The Arizona Cardinals have reportedly already struck a six-figure settlement deal over one complaint, and the NFL could look to work out a wide-ranging licensing deal. “As a content provider we respect the work and copyrights of music publishers,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.

These social posts are the latest part of the sports and entertainment world to get targeted by major U.S. music organizations through Digital Millennium Copyright Act notices. 

Twitch has been extensively targeted: Streamers on the Amazon-owned platform have been hit with thousands of DMCA notifications this year over music playing in the background of video clips.

A group including the Recording Industry Association of America and the Recording Academy sent a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Twitch CEO Emmett Shear in October accusing the platform of allowing streamers to use music without authorization.

Pressing Pause:

• Teams like the Houston Rockets and Auburn football have previously had their Twitter accounts suspended due to copyright infringement.
• Several NBA teams have recently received DMCA notices, but it’s unclear how widespread the notices are beyond that.
• Twitch is expanding the technology it uses to block the use of copyrighted music, and is providing streamers with authorized tracks.

Financial forecasting has become increasingly difficult for sports betting operators like DraftKings because of this year’s unpredictable sports calendar.

The pandemic has drastically changed the sports schedule, and DraftKings had to create a new customer behavior model to estimate how bettors would spend money with multiple events and games on the same day. Any shifts change DraftKings’ quarterly financial modeling.

Despite the uncertainty, DraftKings projections continue to go up: 

• In August, the company forecast its 2020 revenue to be between $500 million and $540 million. 
• This month, it raised that forecast to between $540 million and $560 million, up 30% year-over-year.
• Its 2021 guidance forecasts $750 million to $850 million in revenue — if sports are played as planned.

DraftKings has yet to turn a profit, but is hoping that its aggressive marketing spend and new launches in states like Illinois and West Virginia will boost results. It had about 1 million monthly active users in its most recent quarter, up 64% year-over-year.

Notable Earnings Reports This Week: 

11/24 — Dick’s Sporting Goods

11/25 — Daktronics