Bally’s Bets Big on Sports Networks

Big news: Sinclair’s regional sports networks (RSN) have rebranded following a sponsorship deal with Bally’s for $85M over 10-years.

Quote from Laura Mickelson – VP, production @ Bally Sports Networks:
“It has been 25 years since the [Fox Sports] RSNs started out, and this is the first major rebrand. It’s massive in scope across the board. It’s not like just remodeling your own home; it’s like remodeling an entire neighborhood that is spread across the country — all with different dimensions, sizes, and needs.”

Key numbers for Sinclair/Bally Sports RSN rebrand:
1) 64 different desks for hosts
2) 500+ pieces of artwork
3) 2.8K network/team/player animation graphics
4) 120 templates for in-game graphics
5) 3K+ new sponsorship graphics

Why this matters: The average U.S. pay-TV subscriber’s monthly bill includes $20 in fees for sports networks. This is a big bet for Sinclair and a massive undertaking.

Worth the time: Brad Adgate has an excellent deep dive on this topic.

Average revenue per subscriber (YoY growth) for regional sports networks according to S&P Market Intelligence:
1) 2015 – $2.50 (↑ 14%)
2) 2016 – $2.60 (↑ 4%)
3) 2017 – $2.90 (↑ 12%)
4) 2018 – $3.10 (↑ 7%)
5) 2019 – $3.30 (↑ 6%)
6) 2020P – $2.60 (↓ 21%)
7) 2021P – $3.70 (↑ 42%)
8) 2022P – $4.00 (↑ 8%)
9) 2023P – $4.30 (↑ 8%)
10) 2024P – $4.50 (↑ 5%)

Total revenue (YoY growth) for regional sports networks according to S&P Market Intelligence:
1) 2019 – $6.1B (↑ 1.7%)
2) 2020 – $6.2B (↑ 1.6%)
3) 2021P – $6.4B (↑ 3.2%)
4) 2022P – $6.5B (↑ 1.6%)
5) 2023P – $6.6B (↑ 1.5%)

Flashback #1: Baseball Saw a Million More Empty Seats. Does It Matter?

Flashback #2: Sinclair Buys Regional Sports Networks From Disney in $10.6 Billion Deal

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