Switch helps continue Nintendo’s hot streak, a top content executive is leaving ESPN, ski resorts prepare for pandemic winter, and Augusta hotels struggle without Masters fans.
During the same six month period, Animal Crossing: New Horizons sold more than 14 million copies. Thanks to the success of both, Nintendo’s operating profit in the first half of its fiscal year climbed to $2.8 billion, up 209% compared to the previous year.
Nintendo has raised its forecasts and expects Switch sales to hit 24 million this year and profits to reach $4.3 billion. Shares are up nearly 40% year-to-date.
ESPN Executive Vice President of Content Connor Schell is departing the company at the end of the year. Schell was a major creative force behind ESPN successes like “The Last Dance” and “OJ: Made in America.”
“As ESPN has tried to move away from live sports and expand content they own and control — nobody was more important to their future than Connor,” Lightshed media analyst Rich Greenfield told FOS.
For the last 6 months, you’ve been trying to figure out how to reopen your venue with fans.
With so much uncertainty, it’s tough to know who really has the answers.
Our friends at EngageMint are chatting with executives who have actually opened their doors and welcomed fans, in college, MLS, NASCAR, and NFL. On Dec. 1, they’ll be hosting an open conversation with these leaders. Sign up now and you can ask your own questions and learn from what they know.
Winter Is Coming
Andy Nelson via Imagn
COVID-19 cut last ski season short, causing Vail Resorts’ fiscal year revenue to drop 67% compared to 2019. Now, ski resorts are working to safely reopen as the coronavirus looms over the start of this season.
Vail issued $600 million in debt in May and believes it has enough cash to survive a 2021-22 shutdown if needed. Smaller resorts and outdoor retailers might not be so lucky: revenue at the family-owned Alpine Shop in Burlington, Vt., sank 50% in March.
Bolton Valley Resort in Vermont has spent $100,000 in an effort to boost online transactions. The family-owned resort aims to sell 90% of lift tickets digitally this season, up from 30% last year. Strict protocols, including masks, will likely be a familiar sight on ski slopes this winter.
Hotel Vacancies
Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
Hotels in Augusta, Ga., are struggling without fans at the Masters, which begins Thursday. The missed Masters week will cost hotel owners more money than several months of COVID-related slowdowns.
Masters week — postponed from its usual April date — normally fills up 7,200 hotel rooms and 4,000 rental home listings. At least one hotel, the historic Partridge Inn, is more than 60 days delinquent on its $15 million mortgage.
In a normal year, the golf tournament is estimated to be worth $120 million in economic impact to the city.
WHITE PAPER
What NFL Fans Want This Season
Front Office Sports has teamed up with Satisfi Labs, a Conversational AI platform that creates custom and conversational answer engines for experiential brands and destinations.
Together we examined the start of the NFL season and what insights can be gathered based on fan behavior and questions directed towards their favorite teams.
In 2020, TB12 — the wellness company co-founded by Tom Brady — has not only expanded to Tampa Bay, Fla., it also saw a 200% increase in its e-commerce sales. The company recently inked a licensing and brand deal with talent management company IMG to grow on the success.
The NFL’s combined TV and digital audiences bounced back in Week 8, growing 3% to 16.2 million average viewers. At halftime of the 2020 season, the league is averaging 14.9 million viewers.
Question Of The Day
Are you planning on skiing or snowboarding this winter?
53% of respondents have not purchased a video game this year; 15% have bought one game; 18% have purchased 2-3 games; and 14% have purchased four or more.
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