In March, the NFL signed $113 billion in broadcast rights deals. Turns out it was just getting started.

The league renewed its deal with Twitter last week amid its ongoing exploration of new media opportunities and sponsorships. The league has partnered with Twitter since 2013.

Under the agreement, the league will host 20 sponsored conversations on Twitter Spaces — the app’s live audio platform — during the 2021 season. The league partnered with Clubhouse in April for the league’s annual player draft.

The move underscores the NFL’s recent efforts to reshape its media business. 

• The NFL Media Group has cut back on staff as it slims down costs to make itself more attractive to investors, Front Office Sports reported on Wednesday.
• The league tapped Goldman Sachs to explore various options for its media assets, including bringing in investment partners on the NFL Network and NFL RedZone.

“As the whole world of communications and digital media changes, we want to find a partner who can further help us maximize the reach and potential the NFL assets represent,” New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft told the Wall Street Journal.

The league is also taking bids on its Sunday Ticket package of out-of-market games, with both Disney and Apple reportedly interested.

The Tokyo Olympics were supposed to start in July 2020, just 10 days after broadcast rights owner NBCUniversal launched its Peacock streaming service.

We know that didn’t go as planned, but sports have still proven essential for the nascent platform — and NBCU is excited for Peacock to finally get its Olympics boost this month.

The Olympics could increase Peacock’s user base by 30%, according to an estimate published in Bloomberg. As of late April, Peacock had about 42 million signups.

• All Peacock users will be able to watch live track and field, gymnastics, and curated Olympics highlights for free.
• Only Peacock Premium subscribers ($4.99/month) will be able to watch the USA men’s basketball team. Roughly 20% of the service’s 14 million active users are Premium members.

Earlier this year year, Peacock struck a five-year, $1 billion deal to stream WWE content. The service will stream the NFL’s “Sunday Night Football” games, as well.

Comcast said it will invest $2 billion in Peacock in its first two years.

In October, the company will have to negotiate to retain rights to the English Premier League, which it has owned since 2013. The current deal is worth about $150 million per year and expected to increase with any renewal.

Peacock will also stream the 2022 Olympics and Super Bowl in the first quarter of next year.

Epic Games is still awaiting a verdict in its case against Apple, but the video game giant’s war with Google is picking up steam.

Epic sued Google last August for removing “Fortnite” from Google Play after Epic challenged the company’s in-app billing requirements on the platform, which are similar to Apple’s policies on the App Store.

Last week, Epic said it will file amended complaints by July 21.

Apple and Google each take 30% cuts from in-app purchases on their platforms. That number quickly adds up for a game like “Fortnite” that made over $9 billion in two years.

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has gone as far to call Google “a business with a rotten soul.”

Apparently, many state attorneys agree with that sentiment.

• Last week, 36 U.S. states and the District of Columbia sued Google, alleging it used restrictive contracts and bought off competitors, while also condemning the 30% cut it takes from companies like Epic.
• Google’s senior director of public policy, Wilson White, defended the company’s Android platform: “It’s strange that a group of state attorneys general chose to file a lawsuit attacking a system that provides more openness and choice than others.”

Google Play accounts for 90% of Android app downloads in the U.S.

A dispute over parking spaces has put a deal to restructure $240 million of municipal bonds for underused garages at Yankee Stadium on hold, per Fox Business. 

The deal was delayed by the city of New York, as the Yankees sought to change key terms just days before the Bronx Borough Board voted on the issue.

The team wanted Nuveen, the majority holder of debt for the parking garages, to guarantee 5,500 spaces for events, but the provision was excluded from the term sheet. 

Nuveen is holding $156 million of the debt as of May 31. 

“The underutilized parking lots can be so much more than they are today,” said Rachel Loeb, CEO of New York’s Economic Development Corporation. “The South Bronx deserves a plan to build a healthier and stronger community.” 

• Major League Soccer’s New York City FC could begin construction on its $1 billion development plan for a new arena.
• Nuveen and real estate development firm Maddd Equities have proposed building the new arena near Yankee Stadium, along with affordable housing and a hotel.

The city would split the current lease for 13 parking facilities near Yankee Stadium with Maddd and Nuveen, with Maddd paying bondholders $46.3 million for its share.