Highlight Reel: 'Content + Commerce' the perfect equation for Amazon 🏈🛒

This week's top stories feature Amazon, the NFL, Premier League, Major League Pickleball, TikTok, and collection of awesome female athletes.

Oct 21, 2022

Not yet a subscriber? Join 1000+ sports business leaders from Fnatic to Formula 1 that read Sports Pundit every week to get impactful industry insights.

Happy Friday!

The weekend is approaching but before your mind starts to wander, take this opportunity to reflect on the week just gone. Here’s the 5 stories that grabbed the headlines, and my attention, this week👇

NFL announces Black Friday game in 2023
Premier League set to stage a Pre-Season Tournament in the USA
European Super League could be in place by 2024/25 season
Female athletes drawing huge engagement on social
Kevin Durant becomes latest sports star to own Pickleball franchise

NFL announces Black Friday game in 2023 🏈

Amazon and the NFL have announced that in 2023, Prime Video will exclusively stream a newly scheduled "Black Friday" game, routinely the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States since 2005. It intensifies a growing trend of matching sports content and commerce - as alluded to here by Gary Vaynerchuk.

Joe Pompliano @JoePompliano

Amazon is out here playing 4D chess by making everyone stay home on Black Friday to watch football

Tom Pelissero @TomPelissero

Black Friday Football is coming! The NFL and Amazon announced today that Prime Video will exclusively stream a newly scheduled Black Friday game the day after Thanksgiving at 3 p.m. on Nov. 24, 2023.

Premier League set to stage a Pre-Season Tournament in the USA 🇺🇸

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, The Premier League are set to stage a pre-season tournament in the USA next summer, as they look to enhance the experience of the league for people abroad. The tournament would take place across multiple cities and be another boost to the bottom line of teams and the league.

Andy Marston @AndyMarstonSP

The @premierleague is set to stage an enhanced pre-season tournament in USA next summer 🇺🇸 While not finalised, @TheAthleticUK report it’ll involve ~6 clubs in 2 groups with games in multiple cities on east/west coasts ⚽️ Thoughts? 🤔 👇 theathletic.com/3698551/2022/1…

theathletic.comOrnstein: Premier League US pre-season tournament, Drake’s crypto bet, Jota’s World Cup fearsPlans are afoot for the Premier League to hold a pre-season tournament in the US in July 2023

European Super League could be in place by 2024/25 season ⚽️

A new European Super League with no permanent membership could be up and running by the 2024/25 season, the chief executive of the company behind the failed project has revealed.

P.S. If you’re wondering why has this come about (again) and what is driving it, check out this LinkedIn article from Paul Whitehead.

Martyn Ziegler @martynziegler

EXCL: New European Super League dossier details increasing dominance by English clubs - “backed by hedge funds, public investment funds, sheikhs, oligarchs” - as urgent reason for new competition. New exec claims re-launch could take place within 3 years

thetimes.co.ukEuropean Super League set to be revived to halt English dominanceNew plans to relaunch the European Super League within three years have been revealed because of fears that English clubs have become too dominant.A new dossier

Female athletes drawing huge engagement on social 👀

A recent report from Sponsor United suggests female college athletes produce 4.5x more engagement than their male counterparts. This aligns with findings from Brett Morris, CEO and Co-Founder at World 1 League, who posted on LinkedIn this interesting graphic showing that women’s individual sports make up many of most viewed "sports competition" videos on TikTok. Certainly provides food for thought…

Sportico @Sportico

NEW: per @sponsorunited, female college athletes have ~half as many brand partnerships as their male counterparts, but produce 4.5x more engagement Men's: Active brands: 731 Total deals: 1055 engagement: 6mil Women's Active brands: 354 Total deals: 568 engagement: 28mil

Kevin Durant becomes latest sports star to own Pickleball franchise 🎾

Kevin Durant has joined the list of superstar athletes to own a Pickleball team. The Brooklyn Nets star was announced on Thursday as an owner of a Major League Pickleball expansion team, along with manager Rich Kleiman and their joint Thirty Five Ventures.

Kurt Badenhausen @kbadenhausen

Kevin Durant joins LeBron and Brady as a pickleball investor. The recent MLP expansion team fees are $1M, according to multiple sources. sportico.com/leagues/other-… via @Sportico

sportico.comPickleball Expansion Fees Hit $1 Million as Durant Buys TeamKevin Durant and his longtime business partner, Rich Kleiman, have purchased a Major League Pickleball expansion team through their investment venture arm, 35V. KD joins fellow sports icons LeBron …