On this day in 1974, Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record with a no-doubter to left-centerfield. MLB will honor Aaron, who died in January, at this year’s All-Star Game.
|
|
|
|
StockX/Design: Alex Brooks
|
|
After a year of record-high revenue, sneaker and clothing reseller StockX completed a new round of funding, boosting its valuation by 35%.
The company, founded in 2015, is now worth $3.8 billion after closing a $195 million secondary tender offering, along with $60 million in Series E-1 primary shares. StockX was last valued at $2.8 billion in December.
The all-cash offer included new investor Dragoneer Investment Group, with Altimeter Capital leading a group of current investors. Both firms previously led a $520 million round of financing for Roblox.
“The company has rapidly established itself as one of the most important online marketplaces for Gen Z and millennial consumers,” said Jared Middleman, partner at Dragoneer.
StockX’s numbers from last year would agree.
- Generated over $400 million in revenue
- Closed over 7.5 million trades
- Reached $1.8 billion in gross merchandise value
The extra funding will assist in the company’s continuous growth — it added gaming consoles to its list of products last year.
“Our focus right now is on global expansion and category diversification, while continuing to grow our core business,” a StockX spokesperson told CNBC. “There are massive opportunities ahead, and our mission right now is to execute.”
StockX is expected to go public in the second half of 2021, Dow Jones reported this week.
|
|
|
|
|
The court battle between Apple and Epic Games is amping up. Dueling CEOs Tim Cook and Tim Sweeney may soon take the stand in federal court.
The legal fight between the tech colossus and the maker of “Fortnite,” one of the most lucrative video games in history, appears to be reaching a climax. Both sides released lengthy legal arguments on Wednesday and listed top executives as witnesses in the case.
What’s at stake? The May court hearing could have far-reaching consequences for Apple’s profit flow. If Epic is successful, others will surely copy its method for avoiding Apple’s fees.
Last August, Epic created a workaround to avoid Apple’s 30% commission fee on in-app purchases, and Apple responded by pulling “Fortnite” from its App Store. Epic sued, kicking off a legal contest that now includes parallel fights in the U.K. and against Google.
A core question before Oakland-based district court judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is whether the App Store represents a monopoly.
“Apple does not permit any competing means for developers to distribute apps to users, and Apple requires all in-app purchases to flow through its IAP,” Epic wrote in its proposed findings of facts and conclusions. “Apple even prohibits app developers from informing iOS users that Apple’s monopoly is costing them more for each app they purchase.”
Apple argued in its legal brief that the “App Store competes in an increasingly crowded market of game app distribution platforms,” citing Google Play, Steam, and game developers like Epic.
|
|
|
|
|
DAZN is considering an IPO to facilitate growth. The move would make it the first global sports streaming company to go public.
Dubbed the “Netflix of sport” and owned by billionaire Len Blavatnik, DAZN first launched in Germany and Japan in 2016 before making its debut in the United States two years later.
“I can see us tapping the public capital markets or the private capital markets over the next few years,” co-CEO James Rushton told Reuters.
DAZN suffered as sports were put on hold during the pandemic. Previously acquired broadcasting rights went unused and users canceled the service, forcing the streamer to explore new options to stay afloat.
But as sports return to normal, DAZN anticipates recovery. This year, the company expects to bring in more than $100 million in advertising revenue.
Earlier this month, DAZN appointed former Disney executive and TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer as Chairman of the Board. Mayer has his sights on growing the service’s presence in Europe and Asia and has already made progress.
In March, DAZN beat out Comcast subsidiary Sky to acquire domestic rights to broadcast Italian soccer league Serie A for the next three seasons. Its $2.95 billion bid is supported by Italy’s largest phone carrier, Telecom Italia, which backs the offer by 40% annually.
Rushton has hinted that acquiring rights to broadcast the English Premier League may be DAZN’s next goal.
|
|
|
|
- Electronic Arts partnered with Augusta National Golf Club to feature the Masters tournament exclusively in “EA Sports PGA Tour.” The Masters made its first video game appearance with EA in 2011.
- The French Open has been postponed by one week due to the pandemic. The Grand Slam will begin May 30 and finish June 13, two weeks before the start of Wimbledon. The tournament hopes to welcome an increased number of fans as a result of the delay.
- Meet and engage with International Sports Federations, host cities and venues at the IFS virtual summit April 21-22. Choose from a series of highly-focused, intimate workshops allowing interactivity and strong connectivity. Registration free for sports rights holders; 25% discount for suppliers with FOS25.*
- Watch TeamSnap’s partner showcase where they shared how technology is being utilized to help sports organizations get back to playing safely.*
*Sponsored Content
|
|
|
U.S. stocks experienced gains on Thursday as Q1 earnings season approaches. Here’s a look at how sports-related stocks performed:
Up:
Peloton Interactive, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTON) gained 7.31%
Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE: PLNT) gained 5.68%
The Liberty Braves Group (NASDAQ: BATRA) gained 4.61%
Down:
GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) dropped 4.34%
ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC) dropped 3.65%
NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) dropped 2.20%
(Note: All as of market close on 4/8/21)
|
|
|
The Masters began today in Augusta, GA and will come to a close on Sunday. The top-ranked player in the world, Dustin Johnson, returns to the event in hopes of winning back-to-back titles. The tournament, which began in 1934, will see 88 players compete for the trophy.
How to Watch:
*4/8 – 4/11 on ESPN+
Betting Odds:
- Jordan Spieth +800
- Jon Rahm +1000
- Patrick Reed +1100
*Sponsored Content
Pick: Coming off his first PGA Tour win since 2017 last week, Jordan Spieth has emerged as a frontrunner to conquer Augusta National. Spieth won the Masters in 2015 but has a tall task in knocking off Dustin Johnson, the 2020 PGA Tour Player of the Year and last year’s winner. Take Dustin Johnson as the outright winner of this year’s Masters.
Who ya got? Reply to this newsletter with your prediction for who wins the Masters and, for the tiebreaker, their total number of strokes. Don’t forget to include your Twitter handle.
Shoutout: On Wednesday, we asked you to pick the winner, final score, and high scorer of the Jazz-Suns tilt. FOS reader Jeff Golner (@GolnerJeff) was the only person with faith in Phoenix, who won 117-113. No one predicted Donovan Mitchell going off for 41 points.
|
|
|
