On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including Georgia’s college football national championship. It was the school’s first title since 1980, and Bulldogs fans immediately set a Fanatics record for merch sales following a championship game.
The win over Alabama, played in its standard Monday evening time slot, drew an average of 22.7 million viewers across ESPN platforms. That’s the second-lowest total ever for a College Football Playoff title game, but it’s also the most-watched non-NFL sporting event (and most-watched cable broadcast) in two years. It’s also renewed debate about whether the game should be played on a different day of the week.
The hosts also talk about the latest in the potential sale of the Denver Broncos. The trust that controls the team recently won a legal battle against the family of a former owner that claimed it had the right of first refusal on any sale. The resolution of that case, which can still be appealed, should pave the way for the team to hit the market, where the Broncos will fetch the highest price ever paid for a U.S. sports team.
Lastly, the hosts discuss Apple’s talks to stream MLB games, and an odd situation in a recent Golden State Warriors game, in which a pre-announced cameo by Draymond Green led bettors to free millions at a number of sportsbooks.
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