Fast Track: LKYSUNZ's Billion-Dollar F1 Ambition Accelerates Alongside Asia's Ascent 🏎
Plus, Rebecca Derrick discusses the 'unbundling' of women’s football and MrBeast's Feastables sponsor the NBA's Charlotte Hornets.
Welcome to Sports Pundit, the sports business newsletter which delivers sports industry news faster than VAR can check offside 😉
In today’s email;
An F1 Hopeful Raises a Billion Dollars 🏎
The 'unbundling' of Women’s Football 🤔
MrBeast Partners with an NBA’s Team 🍫
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TOP STORY
Fast Track: LKYSUNZ's Billion-Dollar F1 Bid Accelerates Alongside Asia's Ascent 🏎 🗺
LKYSUNZ, an Asian motorsports team, has successfully secured an astounding $1 billion in funding, a monumental step towards their potential entry into Formula One.
This substantial funding demonstrates their willingness to meet the request set by current F1 teams, which involves making a substantial $600 million 'anti-dilution payment.’
In their pursuit to join the grid, LKYSUNZ faces fierce competition, notably from Andretti, which earlier this year formed a compelling partnership with General Motors. This partnership holds particular interest for F1 as it could introduce additional American representation alongside Haas, aligning with the sport's growth in the States.
LKYSUNZ, however, has a distinct vision. As the inaugural Asian-based team, they are committed to expanding F1's fan base and nurturing talent from underrepresented communities in Asian, as well as Africa.
In doing so, they carry the potential to serve as a significant source of representation for the global racing series, helping the sport transcend its traditional Western and European core.
Sports Pundit says
🤔 It's worth emphasising that out of the 8 billion people inhabiting our planet, Asia is home to a staggering 4.7 billion, with an additional 1.2 billion in Africa. This accounts for nearly 75% of the global population.
Furthermore, by 2024, projections from the World Data Lab (WDL) suggest over half of Asia's population will fall into the economic classifications of "middle class" or "rich." This shift signifies that, for the first time in Asian history, the consumer class will outnumber the vulnerable and impoverished segments of the population.
This is a significant economic milestone that rightsholders around the world are sure to be paying attention to.
Whether or not F1 chooses to welcome LKYSUNZ, their bid raises a crucial query for the sport and broader sports industry: How are you going to actively engage with and captivate the vast and progressively affluent Asian market?
OPINION
The 'unbundling' of Women’s Football 🤔
Arsenal, Adidas, and Stella McCartney have collaborated on Arsenal Women's first bespoke kit, set to debut tonight (October 6) in their fixture away at Manchester United in the FA WSL.
With women’s spending power the story of the summer (See: Taylor Swift, Barbie, and Beyonce) Rebecca Derrick, Global Director at 50 Sport, is delighted to see a world-leading club deliver a kit that is principally focused on the women - and that is worthy of a global women’s sports brand:
”We're seeing it more-and-more. Sport brands delivering fashion-forward kits that non-fans will be interested in, which in turn, converts them to football fans… for so long, sportswomen have felt the need to appear less physical, less feminine, to not enjoy make-up or fashion. We love that this trend is officially dead.”
”We've long used the term 'unbundling' - meaning separating women's sport from the men's. Having such a bespoke, carefully designed and fashion-forward kit allows women to carve their own space, build their own equity into the Arsenal brand and rely less on the men's side. [The result is that it shows] Arsenal clearly give a s**t about their women's side: giving the women's side its own platform, assets and products to grow their game.”
📚 Further Reading: Manchester City Women have named Joie as stadium naming partner, a first for the WSL.
HIGHLIGHTS
ESPN will televise the inaugural season of TGL presented by SoFi, the new golf league set to begin play in 2024 ⛳️
Formula 1 could be coming to Apple as it mulls offering up to $2 billion a year to show races globally 📺
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) has awarded an expansion team to Boston, with the new franchise set to begin play in 2026 ⚽️
Disney Hotstar streams Cricket World Cup for free in India, with the hope of generating greater audiences, revenue and signups 🏏
League One Volleyball (LOVB) has brought in $35 million in its second round of fundraising, including investment from Amy Schumer, Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum 🏐
Roma announce Riyadh Season as their new front shirt partner, one of the world's largest winter entertainment events 🎭
CREATOR-BOOM
Sweet Carolina: MrBeast’s Feastables Wrap Up NBA Jersey Patch Partnership 🍫
Feastables, the confectionary brand fronted by MrBeast, has become the official jersey patch partner of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets for the 2023–2024 season.
MrBeast, aka Jimmy Donaldson, launched the line of chocolate bars last year and is reported to have reached $10 million in revenue within a matter of months.
However, Donaldson has even bigger ambitions for the brand.
Aiming to take on industry incumbents like Hersheys, he stated in an interview with Lex Fridman that he soon expects to be in as many as 50,000 locations.
He also has eyes on going global, expanding to the UK in June.
In doing so, Feastables were tipped to follow in the footsteps of PRIME – another popular YouTuber-backed brand that has taken the world by storm.
However, it appears they have now also followed PRIME's lead on another aspect, too.
Backed by KSI and Logan Paul, the energy drink has notched up notable partnerships with the likes of Arsenal F.C, FC Barcelona, FC Bayern München, and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Sports Pundit says
🤔 Feastables has predominantly relied on marketing via YouTube and social media until now. However, like Prime, the brand will be hoping that a high-profile association with a major sporting organisation can help them to unlock new audiences and further legitimise the product offering.
There’s huge upside for the Hornets, too.
With over 160 million subscribers on YouTube, you can only imagine the impact of solidifying a relationship with such an influential creator, particularly given that he is a North Carolina native (and he's even based his corporate headquarters locally, in Greenville, NC).
Interestingly, Reed Duchscher, CEO of Night Media, the talent agency which represents MrBeast, has said he is “excited to see how creator-brands and the NBA continue to work together into the future,” hinting this may not be the only collaboration he has planned.
Duchscher’s Night Media also represent a host of other top creator talent, including Kai Cenat, Dream, and Nessa Barrett.
📚 Further Reading: At the Apple Event, Tim Cook referenced content-creator Marques Brownlee instead of a major press outlet.
📚 Further Further Reading: Mr. Beast's Feastables sent an email to 200,000 subs and drove 2,000,000+ clicks.
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What is happening in the Sports Industry? 🎱 🤔
Sports Pundit has published 75 newsletters over the course of the year so far... In the process, covering a number of trends from application of AI, to competitive socialisation 📰 🗞
While some examples become dated, many of the lessons written about continue to apply... including these eight stories aggregated below in this free to download PDF 👇
JOB BOARD
Head of Marketing - The Championships Wimbledon (London, UK)
Senior Content Strategy and Planning Manager - Premier League (London, UK)
Partnership Development - Women's Team - Tottenham Hotspur (London, UK)
Ecommerce & Partnerships Executive - Fanatics (Manchester (UK)
Head of Digital Assets - FC Barcelona (Barcelona, ESP)
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