| | | | | | | Presented By SiriusXM | | | | Axios Sports | | By Jeff Tracy · Aug 26, 2022 | | 🎉 Happy Friday! You made it. Today's word count: 1,570 words (6 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: 📺 The sports streaming blitz |  Data: Axios research; Chart: Jacque Schrag/Axios Sports streaming is starting to feel even more difficult to navigate than cable, 20 years after the first live-streamed regular-season pro sports game, Axios' Sara Fischer and I write. Why it matters: Streaming was supposed to make it easier for fans to follow the leagues and teams they love. The backdrop: MLB.TV kicked things off 20 years ago today as the first professional league to live-stream a regular-season game. - MLB's main differentiator was betting big on technology, creating a small division called BAMTech that powered one of the most sophisticated streaming experiences in sports. That technology now powers ESPN+.
- MLB is now considering complementing its service with one that would allow fans to watch local games even without having cable.
 Data: S&P Global Market Intelligence; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios Between the lines: Without being able to bundle streaming alternatives, many fans must now combine increasingly expensive live sports TV packages with specialized services, paying more than ever before. State of play: Dozens of entities with the financial incentive to invest in streaming have yielded a crowded landscape. - Leagues, like the NFL with its newly-launched NFL+, invest in their own services as a way to gather more money and data from fans. Niche sports like gymnastics and poker have their own services, too.
- Networks have recently spent big to keep up in the streaming wars: NBCU's Peacock bought the exclusive U.S. rights to the WWE's uber-popular streamer for over $1 billion in 2021.
- RSNs are the latest group to join the fray, with the New England Sports Network's service launching in June, Bally Sports+ coming in September and the YES Network reportedly not far behind.
- Big Tech companies like Apple, Amazon and YouTube are spending big to bid on live sports rights as a way to draw more fans to their streaming services. The NFL's lucrative Sunday Ticket package is expected to go to a tech company this fall.
Yes, but: Streaming still doesn't have as large or reliable of a distribution as linear TV. CBS All Access' app crashing during last year's Super Bowl showed that the technology still isn't perfect. The big picture: The streaming explosion offers new opportunities for leagues, fans and commercial partners to grow with things like micro-betting that require real-time streaming speed. - But at some point, the landscape must become less expensive and easier to navigate for consumers.
What to watch: Amazon's exclusive Thursday Night Football deal debuted last night with the 49ers-Texans preseason game and will follow with 15 more in the regular season. - To hedge, it brokered a deal with DirecTV to air those games in over 300,000 sports bars, restaurants, hotels and other venues outside of homes.
Go deeper: Big Tech crashes big sports (Axios) |     | | | | | | 2. 🏁 F1 snapshot: Nine races left |  Data: Formula 1; Table: Axios Visuals F1 returns from its summer break on Sunday for the Belgian Grand Prix, the first of nine remaining races on the 2022 calendar. Why it matters: Unless the challengers make some big moves in a hurry, the driver and constructors' championships could be wrapped up pretty soon. Where it stands: With all due respect to the seven other teams and their 14 drivers, the stretch run is all about three teams and six drivers. - Red Bull (431 points): Their enormous lead is a team effort, with Sergio Pérez (173) in third place. But it's reigning champ Max Verstappen (258) who's won eight races, putting Michael Schumacher's single-season record of 13 victories in play.
- Ferrari (334): Given Charles Leclerc's (178) numerous troubles this season, still being in second feels like a miracle. If he and Carlos Sainz (156) clean things up, maybe they can challenge Red Bull.
- Mercedes (304): Seven-time champ Lewis Hamilton (146) and George Russell (158) have combined for seven podiums in their past five races after just four in their first eight. It may be too little too late, but they've got lots of momentum heading into Belgium.
Looking ahead: Here's what the schedule looks like the rest of the way: - 🇧🇪 Aug. 28: Belgian GP
- 🇳🇱 Sept. 4: Dutch GP
- 🇮🇹 Sept. 11: Italian GP
- 🇸🇬 Oct. 2: Singapore GP
- 🇯🇵 Oct. 9: Japanese GP
- 🇺🇸 Oct. 23: U.S. GP
- 🇲🇽 Oct. 30: Mexican GP
- 🇧🇷 Nov. 13: Brazilian GP
- 🇦🇪 Nov. 20: Abu Dhabi GP
Go deeper: Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren agree to part ways (NYT) | | | | | | | | 3. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Oscar Gonzalez/NurPhoto via Getty Images | | | | 🎾 Novak's out: Hours before the U.S. Open draw was released, Novak Djokovic withdrew himself due to his unvaccinated status barring his entry from the country. The tournament begins Monday. 🎾 More Novak: The Professional Tennis Players Association, co-launched in 2020 by Djokovic and Canada's Vasek Pospisil, raised $26 million on Thursday to launch an entity that will help pro men's and women's players monetize their stardom, reports Sportico. 🏀 WNBA ROY: Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard, the No. 1 pick, was named WNBA Rookie of the Year on Thursday. She averaged 16.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals. 🤕 Poor chet: Chet Holmgren will miss the entire 2022-23 season with a Lisfranc injury (foot). Time to tank for Victor Wembanyama? ⚽️ Transfer record: English Premier League clubs have broken their record for the most money spent during a summer transfer window ($1.77 billion) with a week still remaining. 🏛 Content warning: Bills rookie Matt Araiza, the so-called "Punt God," is among those accused in a civil suit filed Thursday of gang-raping a 17-year-old girl last year when he was a junior at San Diego State. | | | | | | | | A message from SiriusXM | | Stream today and get 3 months free | | |  | | | | With SiriusXM, stream expertly curated ad-free music on your devices with channels dedicated to your favorite decades, hits, styles and genres. The deets: Get access to more than 425 channels on the SXM app, plus podcasts, sports talk, Howard Stern and more. See offer details. | | | | | | 4. ⚽️ Champions League group stage set |  | | | The Champions League trophy on display in Istanbul during Thursday's draw. Photo: Lukas Schulze - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images | | | | On the heels of qualifiers, and three months after Real Madrid won their record-extending 14th title, the Champions League group stage has been set after Thursday's draw. State of play: 32 teams representing 15 countries begin their first of six group stage matchdays on Sept. 6, with everything leading towards the final in Istanbul next spring. - Group A: Ajax (Netherlands), Liverpool (England), Napoli (Italy), Rangers (Scotland)
- Group B: Porto (Portugal), Atlético (Spain), Leverkusen (Germany), Brugge (Belgium)
- Group C: Bayern (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Inter Milan (Italy), Viktoria Plzeň (Czech Republic)
- Group D: Frankfurt (Germany), Tottenham (England), Sporting CP (Portugal), Marseille (France)
- Group E: AC Milan (Italy), Chelsea (England), RB Salzburg (Austria), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
- Group F: Real Madrid (Spain), RB Leipzig (Germany), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Celtic (Scotland)
- Group G: Manchester City (England), Sevilla (Spain), Dortmund (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark)
- Group H: PSG (France), Juventus (Italy), Benfica (Portugal), Maccabi Haifa (Israel)
Plus: UEFA's men's and women's player and coach of the year were awarded: - Players: Karim Benzema (Madrid) and Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
- Coaches: Carlo Ancelotti (Madrid) and Sarina Wiegman (England)
Go deeper: Group stage predictions (ESPN) | | | | | | | | 5. 🌎 The world in photos | | Photo: Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images BELGRADE, Serbia — A couple MVPs faced off Thursday in a FIBA World Cup qualifier. Nikola Jokić's (29-8-6) Serbia beat Giannis Antetokounmpo's (40-8-5) Greece, 100-94, with Novak Djokovic in attendance. Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images ATLANTA — Rory McIlroy and Cameron Smith, a staunch PGA Tour defender and reportedly one of LIV's newest golfers, played together Thursday at the Tour Championship. They got on rather nicely. Photo: Rich Schultz/Getty Images PHILADELPHIA — There is absolutely nothing like a baseball sky. | | | | | | | | 6. 📺 Watchlist: It's back |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | Though most teams kick off next weekend, Saturday's 11-game FBS slate provides a tantalizing appetizer to remind us of one thing: college football is back. More to watch: - ⛳️ PGA: Tour Championship (Fri.–Sun. Golf/NBC/ESPN+)
- ⚾️ LLWS: Taiwan vs. Curaçao (Sat. 12:30pm, ABC); Hawaii vs. Tennessee (Sat. 3:30pm, ABC) ... Int'l and U.S. championships; winners meet in Sunday's LLWS World Championship (3pm, ABC).
- 🏈 NFL: 14 games (Fri.–Sun. CBS/NFL/NFL+) ... Final weekend of preseason.
- 🏀 WNBA playoffs: Storm at Aces (Sun. 4pm, ESPN); Sun at Sky (Sun. 8pm, ESPN2) ... Game 1 in best-of-five semifinals.
- ⚾️ MLB: Rays at Red Sox (Fri. 7pm, Apple TV+); Guardians at Mariners (Fri. 10pm, Apple TV+; Sat. 10pm, FS1); Braves at Cardinals (Sun. 7pm, ESPN)
- 🏁 F1: Belgian Grand Prix (Sun. 9am, ESPN)
- ⚽️ Premier League: Arsenal vs. Fulham (Sat. 12:30pm, NBC) ... Arsenal (3-0-0) look to continue their perfect season.
- ⚽️ MLS: Austin vs. LAFC (Fri. 8pm, ESPN); Orlando vs. NYC FC (Sun. 8pm, FS1) ... Top-two matchup in the West; top-five matchup in the East.
- ⚽️ NWSL: Portland Thorns vs. San Diego Wave (Sat. 10:30pm, Paramount+) ... Top-two matchup.
- 🥏 AUDL semis: Chicago Union vs. Colorado Summit (Fri. 6pm, AUDL.tv); Carolina Flyers vs. New York Empire (Sat. 8:30pm, AUDL.tv) ... Championship is on Saturday (8pm, FS2).
- 🏁 NASCAR: Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Sat. 7pm, NBC) ... Final regular-season race.
- 🏒 Women's hockey: USA vs. Finland (Sat. 9am, NHL); Switzerland vs. Canada (Sat. 1pm, NHL) ... World Championship group stage.
| | | | | | | | 7. ⚾️ MLB trivia |  | | | Photo: Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images | | | | Mookie Betts, Team USA's latest commitment for next year's World Baseball Classic, has 55 WAR since his rookie year in 2014 — second only to Mike Trout's 60.2. - Question: Who fills out the top five behind them?
- Hint: All infielders.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 8. ⚾️ Triple Crown watch: Goldy's on fire |  | | | Photo: Quinn Harris/Getty Images | | | | NL MVP favorite Paul Goldschmidt hit two more home runs on Thursday to go along with a run-scoring single and 5 RBI. Why it matters: Goldy is knocking on the door of becoming the first Triple Crown winner since Miguel Cabrera in 2012, and the first in the NL since 1937. - HR: 33, two shy of NL lead (Kyle Schwarber, 35)
- RBI: 105, leads NL (Pete Alonso, 104)
- AVG: .339, leads NL (Freddie Freeman, .326)
| | | | | | | | A message from SiriusXM | | Get 3 months free | | |  | | | | Stream more than 425 channels on your devices for free on the SXM App, including expertly curated ad-free music, live NFL games, personalized stations and more. Next steps: Sign up now to get three months free. Cancel anytime. See offer details. | | | | Have a great weekend, Jeff "Probably streaming something right now" Tracy Trivia answer: Nolan Arenado (48.4), Paul Goldschmidt (47.3), Manny Machado (42.7) 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us on Twitter: @kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. And of course, tell your friends to sign up. |  | | Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 300 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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