On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including the unexpected playoff success of the New York Islanders. The team is up 1-0 on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL’s semifinals, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The Islanders are opening a new $1.5 billion arena next season, and the playoff run has sent ticket sales soaring.
They also discuss the proposal for a 12-team College Football Playoff, which appears to be gaining steam across the sport. Expanding from four teams to 12 would make the playoff more inclusive and a lot more lucrative. ESPN pays about $600 million per year under its current TV contract, and experts say that could jump to roughly $2 billion under the 12-team model.
The hosts also talk about an ongoing NFT sale that carries a 1% ownership stake in a Mexican soccer team, the strong pay-per-view numbers from Floyd Mayweather’s boxing exhibition against Logan Paul, and the potential sale of Stats Perform, one of the biggest data providers in sports.
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