Is it a Bad Time to Buy the Seahawks?
Plus: Do fans understand what's on WNBA League Pass, and Opraaaaah!
Here are six things we’re discussing on this Tuesday morning…
What I’m Wondering 🤔: Is now a bad time to buy the Seahawks? The market for the Super Bowl champs is “soft,” a team owner told ESPN last week. There are some unique factors at play here, including the fact that current owner Jody Allen has a directive to sell the team as part of her late brother’s will, and the issue that only so many humans can pony up the billions required to buy a majority stake of an NFL team these days. But maybe there’s also some hesitancy given that Seattle is at the top of the league competitively and the only direction for them to go is down. The new owner will be tasked with retaining talent and keeping fans happy, while taking over a franchise that was 17th in revenue by Sportico’s last count.
During Super Bowl week, there was talk of a playoff run boosting the team’s value. However, I could see a wannabe-owner lining up instead to be the person who brings the NBA back to Seattle.
What I’m Following ⛹️♀️: The WNBA season started this weekend, and with it, a new round of complaints about how hard it is to watch sports on TV these days. The league’s nationally televised games are split up between CBS, ABC, ESPN, NBC, Peacock, Prime Video, Ion, USA Network and NBA TV.
There are also still ~150 games on WNBA League Pass, which makes it a pretty good buy at $40, but my Threads algorithm was overrun with fans confused about what that subscription got them. Or maybe they were just ginning up some engagement bait…
Richard Deitsch asked WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert about the fractured landscape for Sports Business Journal.
“The WNBA is not unique in this battle, right?,” she said. “Obviously the challenge is making sure fans can find our games when they want to.” Weekend 1 indicated there’s still work to do.
What I’m Working On ⚾: Meanwhile in MLB, the Padres and Cardinals played on four networks over four days this weekend—ESPN, Apple TV, Fox, and their local channels. There needs to be a name for this. I love naming things unnecessarily, but have struggled to come up with a sure-fire winner. A Stream Slam? A tic-tap-toe? Help me out here!
What I Was Right About 👀: I was so glad to hear many of you comment about how homeplate ads impact your viewing experience (and hope I didn’t inadvertently up that number with last week’s email). Meanwhile in tennis…
What I Love ❤️: Shoutout to Sickos Committee for doing the real work, looking at each MLB team’s stadium policies to determine how many would likely allow fans to bring a gallon of spaghetti into the ballpark.
One More Thing I Was Right About 📺: In January, I wrote about Netflix’s sports podcast play as a bid for daytime attention. Its battle with YouTube to better serve viewers in quiet moments throughout their routines continues—and now Prime Video is getting into the action too, with Oprah, the longtime queen of daytime television. My first thought when I saw the news? I wonder if this means we’re going to get an Oprah-hosted Thursday Night Football altcast!
Club Sportico is a community organized by Sportico, a digital media company launched in 2020 to cover the business side of sports. You can read breaking news, smart analysis, and in-depth features from Eben, Jacob and their colleagues at Sportico.com, and listen to the Sporticast podcast wherever you get your audio. Contact us at club@sportico.com.
Seattle New ownership probably looking at Washington state new income tax as well. Not just for athletes but businesses. Plus what happens when folks bail and legislature looking for new cash cows
Amen on the broadcast situation!
My wife finds out her brother and nephews are at Twins/Guardians Friday night so she does what any sane person would: Try to see them on TV. She opens every app except for the one the game was actually on (AppleTV) and I got the brunt of that vent.