FOS Daily 5/26/20

The NFL expects stadiums to be full this fall. NFL Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent said that’s the league’s position of the moment, and will change if and when the medical community says otherwise. Vincent also said the league has prepared plans for half and three-quarters stadium capacity. The NFL stands to lose $5.5 billion if there are no fans in person this season.

College football is less unified. University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel said there’d be no intercollegiate athletics without students on campus. Michigan’s approach is different from fellow Big Ten schools Ohio State and the University of Illinois, whose teams are expected back on campus in early June. 

Comeback Recap: 

• The NBA formally announced talks of returning to play at Disney World.
• NHL Players Association approved the 24-team playoff proposal, with the league moving forward with Phase 2 – meaning players can resume voluntary workouts at team facilities.
• Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball season is expected to begin June 19, without fans.
• The EuroLeague announced the rest of its basketball season is canceled.

Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning took home bragging rights from Sunday’s “The Match: Champions for Charity” against Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady, but the foursome delivered a hole in one for tournament organizers and Turner. 

With 5.8 million average viewers across TNT, TBS, truTV and HLN, the program became the most-watched golf event ever on cable TV.

Other Notable Numbers:

• 38 Million video views on Bleacher Report digital and social platforms
• 5 million social engagements and 172 million impressions for content leading up to and during the event
• No. 1 trending topic on Twitter
• More than $20 million raised for charity

DAZN owner Len Blavatnik is reportedly looking to sell an equity stake in the startup streaming service, but an outright sale isn’t out of the question. Without sports, customers have paused subscriptions and the broadcaster has looked to defer rights payments to leagues. DAZN has $4.5 billion in commitments for exclusive broadcasting rights that include top-level European soccer leagues and boxing.

Reports suggest the $3.6 billion valuation the company reached when Japanese advertising agency Dentsu bought 10% in 2018 is unlikely. DAZN has reportedly unsuccessfully approached large media companies, including Liberty Global, for investment. An effort to raise $500 million last year was stopped when the coronavirus pandemic took off.

While the future of group fitness remains cloudy, Peloton continues its push for industry dominance. The company’s sales jumped 66% in the third-quarter, and it now has more than 2.6 million members.

CEO John Foley said Peloton is focused on developing a lower-priced bike model. “If you can get to 20 bucks a month per person, you’re starting to get below Planet Fitness-style, low-end gym chain affordability, and we think that that’s a pretty big opportunity for Peloton,” Foley said. The current bike costs more than $2,000, or three years of $58 monthly payments.

While Peloton continues to surge, the boutique fitness industry remains at a crossroads. The International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association believes the U.S. fitness industry has lost $2.8 billion during the shutdown.