My tenure as a TV producer at BNN Bloomberg in Toronto had yet to reach two years by August of 2023, but my then-boss came to me with a shiny new assignment, and a wonderful opportunity.
We would publish a monthly newsletter focused on the business of sports. As someone who had worked exclusively in sports coverage from 1999 until the very end of 2019, I initially balked at the idea of honing in specifically on the business aspects of the sports industry.
“I don’t really know that side of it,” I told her.
“You’re a journalist, like everyone here,” she responded. “Research the material and report the facts.”
And so the BNNB Business of Sports newsletter was born, and for the past three years I have learned so much more about sports than I ever did before. Where I used to know batting averages, points per game averages and goal totals, now I have a keen interest in valuations, emerging sports leagues and media rights revenue.
The first edition of the newsletter dropped on September 6, 2023. My story was titled “Television deals, ratings generate record-setting NFL revenue.” For me, it was an education in just how powerful the NFL is. I had always spent my autumn Sundays watching the games on TSN in Canada, but I hadn’t considered the real two plus two of the whole thing - the league was printing money by broadcasting its games.
In the years that followed we covered the birth of the Professional Women’s Hockey League, the WNBA’s explosive growth and the awarding of the Toronto Tempo franchise. The Canadian Elite Basketball League has been covered in detail, and we have provided lists of the top paid Canadian athletes in the world.
A FIFA World Cup in our country came and went, the ownership of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment was solidified and Tom Brady moved from the football field to the broadcast booth. Like the NFL’s TV deal, these were the kinds of moves that involved outrageous sums of money.
I came to realize that the stories about how sports actually operate were as fascinating as the tales we follow on the ice, the court, the field, and in the pool. The wheeling and dealing in sports is mesmerizing - see the Los Angeles Lakers - and the dollar figures are astronomical. That’s why the smaller leagues are shooting their shots, trying to get their own slice of a pie that never seems to stop expanding.
After three years of stories about the Blue Jays, Scottie Barnes and Connor McDavid, the BNN Bloomberg Business of Sports newsletter will take its leave. We aimed to keep our readers informed of happenings in the sports business but with the passion of sports fans. That’s the intersection I enjoyed the most - the dual interest of sports and their business. It made it all the more exciting to cover.
Today’s issue will be our last. I thank Maryam Behmard, the boss who originally dreamed up the newsletter, Ryan Smith, who got it on the website in the first two years, before Jennifer Ferreira taught me how. Special thanks to regular contributors Neil Acharya, Paul McGaughey, and Aleksa Cosovic, a young, up-and-coming writer who’s original stories really brought a journalistic voice to the Business of Sports.
Most of all, thank you, for being subscribers and readers, and providing us with a reason to share these amazing sports stories. It has been a pleasure learning about the business and sharing the findings with you.
Follow Dan Gladman on Instagram, X and Blue Sky: @dgontheroad
