Latest news with #OnTheRecord
CNBC
5 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
CNBC Sport: MLB Commissioner says Sunday media rights could go to NBC, Apple — or back to ESPN
A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Sport newsletter with Alex Sherman, which brings you the biggest news and exclusive interviews from the worlds of sports business and media. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox. Welcome to the end of the slowest U.S. sports week of the year! Fortunately, I can help you fill the void a bit. In anticipation of the MLB All-Star Game, I flew down to Atlanta this week to chat with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred . You can watch (or listen to) the wide-ranging interview in this week's On The Record, below. Manfred broke some news in our sitdown. He confirmed NBC, Apple and ESPN are the three bidders for the league's "Sunday Night Baseball" package, which ESPN opted out of earlier this year. Manfred told me he plans to choose a winner for those rights within the month and that they could be split up between two bidders. The reemergence of ESPN as a potential home for "Sunday Night Baseball" is both surprising and not surprising. It's surprising given Manfred's blunt comments after ESPN chose not to pay an average of $550 million a year for the last three years of the rights. "We do not think it's beneficial for us to accept a smaller deal to remain on a shrinking platform," Manfred wrote to MLB owners in February in a memo first obtained by The Athletic. That seemed to close the door on ESPN. And yet, here ESPN is back in the mix. Manfred may be able to strike a deal with ESPN without going back on his word to owners: He told me he's in talks to include five MLB teams' local rights in these renewed discussions. MLB currently produces and distributes local games for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins and San Diego Padres. If ESPN were to strike a deal with MLB, it would want those rights immediately – in time for the 2026 season. This isn't surprising. ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro has publicly spoken about his desire to be part of MLB's long-term local solution as the league moves away from relying on regional sports networks for the majority of its local revenue. ESPN could pay more to get those local rights and include them with its soon-to-be-launched direct-to-consumer service. It will be interesting to see if MLB can get north of $550 million if it splits the package between two bidders. That could allow Manfred to not just save face with MLB owners but even score a win. ESPN sources tell me there's renewed optimism a deal can be struck with MLB – when a few weeks ago it looked like a long shot. One reason ESPN's return to the table isn't a shock — ratings for ESPN's MLB games are up 6% from last season, averaging 1.71 million viewers per game. That's the highest average audience at the All-Star break in eight years. Home Run Derby ratings this week were up 5% over last year. That aired on ESPN, and those rights are part of the vacated "Sunday Night" package for 2026-2028. Given ESPN's influence on American sports, it probably behooves MLB to stay in business with the Disney division. Now it'll be up to ESPN to pay enough to keep Manfred satisfied. A deal will almost certainly be just a three-year agreement, so that MLB can reorganize its media rights after the 2028 season. "Our goal would be to accumulate all of our rights (national and local), go to the table, and develop in concert with the potential buyers packages that are most valuable to them," Manfred told me. "I think our goals would be to have more national exposure, increase our reach. In addition, we think we have a cluttered environment right now. There's a lot of places you have to go if you're a fan of a particular team, and we think that we should strive to create a more fan friendly environment." Manfred also suggested that pooling local rights and distributing that revenue among all of MLB's 30 teams could replace the league's current revenue-sharing system. He was a little cryptic here, so I'll include the full back-and-forth: Alex : From a local standpoint, what do you need to do to get buy in from all of the teams to say, "You know what? It makes sense for us to give our rights to the league so that they can do what they want with it." Manfred : The best way to explain it, I think, is that when people speculate about this, they assume we're going to make this media change only. That is really not the case. There is a bigger set of changes involving a larger set of tradeoffs between large and small markets that I'm very confident will put us in a position to accomplish what we need to do. Alex : What do you mean? Elaborate on that. Manfred : Well, I'm going to be a little limited here. But for example, if, in fact, you centralize your media, and the revenue from those media streams are shared 1/30th, there's much less need for the kind of local revenue sharing system that we have today. For the large markets, whose payments into that system escalate as disparity grows, that's very appealing. It's also very appealing from an incentive perspective, because you get rid of what is essentially a 48% marginal tax rate. Manfred's marginal tax rate comment has to do with teams being forced to pay taxes on local revenue into the shared pool. His argument here is he may be able to convince big-market teams with profitable RSNs to hand streaming rights over to the league if a new system can be put in place that avoids the taxation. Manfred admitted to me that some of this may be subject to the MLB's collective bargaining agreement – which is set to be renewed after the 2026 season. Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC. On the record With Manfred ... I asked Manfred about the two elephants in the room regarding that upcoming CBA: 1. Do you expect a lockout? 2. Will you push for a salary cap? He told me owners haven't "discussed" or "decided" either of those things yet. Still, he admitted the league has a competitive balance problem on its hands when it comes to team spend. "Sports sell competition," Manfred said. "We do have fans in a significant number of our markets who are really concerned about the issue of competitive balance and the competitiveness of the teams in their markets, and it's something we're going to have to pay attention to." I pushed Manfred a bit regarding the salary cap. Critics of a cap note it wouldn't solve arguably MLB's biggest spending problem – which isn't that the Dodgers or Mets spend too much, it's that the Pittsburgh Pirates, Athletics, Miami Marlins and other teams spend too little. A salary floor, rather than a cap, could force certain small-market owners to spend more on players. Manfred said he's open to a floor but cautioned a cap would probably come with it. "I do agree with the idea that a salary floor is an important part of the system, and in fact, every salary cap system also includes a salary floor. Rarely, however, in collective bargaining, do you get a change that goes only one direction," he said. I also asked Manfred about the potential of robot umpires calling balls and strikes. "The fact of the matter is, it's an automated system that helps the umpire," said Manfred. "The umpire doesn't become a robot. You know, he's still the man behind the plate that runs the game." And I asked him about expansion and how much he'd charge for potential expansion fees, given the WNBA just got $250 million per team for its three new teams. Manfred said he couldn't even estimate because "it would probably lowball where we'll end up being." He did guarantee it'll be a number in the billions. Also, for the A's fans (like myself) … Manfred said the Athletics relocation is now "resolved," and that the team is full-go to move to Las Vegas. "I was out there a couple weeks ago, shovels in the ground. We're going to Vegas," Manfred said. You can watch our entire conversation here . Or listen here and follow the CNBC Sport podcast if you prefer the audio version. CNBC Sport highlight reel The best of CNBC Sport from the past week: Media companies are increasingly elevating executives with a finance-first focus rather than a content-first outlook, reports CNBC's Lillian Rizzo . That could significantly affect the fates of which sports rights end up with which TV networks and streaming platforms in the future. CNBC's Julia Boorstin sat down with new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp at Allen & Co.'s Sun Valley media and tech conference. Rolapp was previously the NFL's chief media and business officer. Boorstin asked him about the potential combination of LIV Golf and the PGA and how to grow the Tour's digital footprint. Portland's WNBA team will be called the Portland Fire – a callback to Portland's previous WNBA team that existed from 2000 to 2002. The team begins play during the 2026 season at the Moda Center in downtown Portland and has a new logo, reports CNBC's Ali McCadden . U.S. soccer legend Alex Morgan and NFL Pro Bowlers C.J. Stroud and Micah Parsons are backing a new company that makes premade peanut butter and jelly sandwiches called Jams. CNBC's Jess Golden reports Jams will be available exclusively at 3,000 Walmart stores nationwide. The big number: 38 That's how many home runs Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has at the All-Star break – the second-most ever at the break and just one fewer than the record from Barry Bonds in 2001, the year he hit 73. Raleigh isn't even close to a household name, although his nickname – the Big Dumper – is gaining social media traction . I asked Manfred if there's anything he can do to jumpstart the star power of MLB's newer talents. "We think we've made huge strides in the last few years in terms of [social media] presence," Manfred said. "It's not just followers, it's engagement. How much engagement are you getting with that content that you're putting out there? So, you have to work at it. Some of our markets are obviously bigger than others, and it's easier. But when you have talent like Cal has, people are going to figure out who you are." Quote of the week "We don't feel quite the need to experiment with the game that maybe some other sports does, because ours is widely regarded to be the best of the all-star performance." — Manfred on if he'd consider a U.S. vs. World approach for the All-Star game, like the NHL has embraced and the NBA will adopt for next season. Around the league Pretty much every year, whatever media company has Super Bowl rights begins charging a record high price for 30-second TV commercials. Well, guess what? NBC already wants a record $8 million for a 30-second spot, AdWeek reports . While Fox Sports sold some spots for $8 million last year, Fox initially priced ads around $7 million, AdWeek noted. This year, NBC is going with $8 million from the jump – a figure that will likely rise as the game draws closer. I enjoyed this delightful episode of "Pablo Torre Finds Out" about the Malik Beasley NBA gambling investigation and the surprising link to Jontay Porter, the ex-NBA player who already pled guilty to a gambling scheme. The NBA is already exploring expansion opportunities, Commissioner Adam Silver said this week . He noted that he wants more clarity on the future of regional sports networks and local TV revenue before making a decision.
Black America Web
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Black America Web
Russell Simmons Sues HBO For $20M Over ‘On The Record' Doc
Russell Simmons has launched a lawsuit against HBO for $20 million over the release of the 2020 documentary, On The Record , which detailed a number of he mogul's sexual assault allegations. Simmons also named the filmmakers behind the production of the documentary. Russell Simmons, 67, filed the lawsuit in a Manhattan court on Tuesday (June 3), naming HBO and On The Record direcctors, Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick as reported by Deadline . In the summons that was filed in court, Simmons' lawyer Imran Ansari laid out their offensive move. 'Despite voluminous support for Mr Simmons in the form of credible information, persuasive evidence, witness statements, and calls for further investigation by notable members of the media, politics, and the civil rights movement, the defendants simply disregarded it, and released, and continue to re-release globally, a film that tremendously disparaged and damaged Mr Simmons with salacious and defamatory accusations that he vehemently denies,' Ansari and co-counsel Carla DiMare shared in a statement. Although the statute of limitations for defamation has long since expired, Simmons and his team are hoping to move things in their favor because the documentary was shown in the global market, thus resetting the timeline. HBO sidestepped the lawsuit, calling it unfounded according to Deadline 's report. 'We dispute Mr. Simmons' allegations, stand by the filmmakers and their process, and will vigorously defend ourselves against these unfounded allegations,' a spokesperson for Warner Bros. Discovery shared with the outlet. Russell Simmons' team claims that evidence could potentially alter the timeline of events and give new weight to the Def Jam Records co-founder's stance that the dozens of women who allege that he assaulted them are selling a falsehood. — Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty SEE ALSO Russell Simmons Sues HBO For $20M Over 'On The Record' Doc was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Russell Simmons Sues HBO Over Sexual Assault Doc He Claims 'Suppressed' Evidence In His Favor
Russell Simmons has filed a lawsuit against HBO and the filmmakers behind their 2020 On The Record documentary for defamation, as it explores the sexual assault and misconduct allegations leveled against him by several women over the last decade. Within the suit obtained by Variety, Simmons' attorney, Imran Ansari, states that the film 'disregarded and/or suppressed' evidence supporting the former music executive's claims of innocence. 'Despite voluminous support for Mr. Simmons in the form of credible information, persuasive evidence, witness statements, and calls for further investigation by notable members of the media, politics, and the civil rights movement, the defendants simply disregarded it, and released, and continue to re-release globally, a film that tremendously disparaged and damaged Mr. Simmons with salacious and defamatory accusations that he vehemently denies,' Ansari and co-counsel Carla DiMare said in a written statement. 'Defendants were requested to review this evidence and information by multiple luminaries in media and politics, including but not limited to, civil rights leaders and members of Congress, and other high-profile black leaders; and board members within the Defendant corporation(s) itself,' Ansari added to the filing. The Bali resident is seeking the 'immediate removal' of the documentary from HBO's platforms, as well as at least $20 million in damages. In all, more than 20 women have accused the Def Jam figurehead of sexual assault, some of which were covered within the HBO doc. More from Eminem Sues Meta For $109 Million - But Why? Smokey Robinson Accused Of Sexual Assault, Hostile Work Environment From Past Employees Misa Hylton Insists She Never Lost A "Real" Friend Amid Mary J. Blige Lawsuit
The Guardian
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Russell Simmons sues HBO and film-makers over documentary detailing alleged sexual abuse
Russell Simmons is suing HBO and the film-makers of a 2020 documentary detailing allegations against the music mogul of sexual abuse, claiming that together they defamed him and ignored his version of events. On The Record, directed by Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick, expanded on reporting by the New York Times, the Hollywood Reporter, the Los Angeles Times and other publications on numerous allegations against Simmons. It featured the testimony of several women who claim they were sexually assaulted by Simmons in the 1980s and 90s, when he was at the height of his influence as the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, the hip-hop label behind LL Cool J, Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys and other top acts. Simmons has consistently denied all allegations. He seeks $20m for defamation, alleging the film-makers 'disregard[ed] and/or suppressed' information provided by his representatives, according to a summons filed in Manhattan court on Tuesday by Simmons' lawyer, Imran Ansari. 'Despite voluminous support for Mr Simmons in the form of credible information, persuasive evidence, witness statements, and calls for further investigation by notable members of the media, politics, and the civil rights movement, the defendants simply disregarded it, and released, and continue to re-release globally, a film that tremendously disparaged and damaged Mr Simmons with salacious and defamatory accusations that he vehemently denies,' Ansari and co-counsel Carla DiMare said in a statement. The suit comes after the statute of limitations for defamation in New York, which is one year from the date of first publication. To prevail, Simmons and his legal team will have to demonstrate that HBO is liable for 'republication' in international markets. On the Record premiered to strong reviews at the Sundance film festival in January 2020. The film was initially supposed to stream on Apple TV+ as part of producer Oprah Winfrey's deal with the company, but ended up at HBO Max that May after Winfrey abruptly withdrew her support ahead of the film's premiere, citing unspecified 'inconsistencies'. (Though no longer affiliated with the film, Winfrey continued to publicly support its subjects – 'I stand with the women, I support the women, and I do hope that people see the film,' she told CBS that January). Winfrey's shock withdrawal from the project 'blinded' the film-makers, who maintained that she was incorrect. 'There are no inconsistencies,' Dick told the Guardian in May 2020. 'These stories were reported by the New York Times, the LA Times and the Hollywood Reporter and very extensively vetted.' According to Simmons' filing, he and his lawyers unsuccessfully lobbied HBO leaders at the time to stop distribution of the film with unspecified contradictory evidence. 'Defendants were requested to review this evidence and information by multiple luminaries in media and politics, including but not limited to, civil rights leaders and members of Congress, and other high-profile black leaders; and board members within the defendant corporation(s) itself,' the filing states. Simmons is one of several high-profile music figures, including fellow producer Sean 'Diddy' Combs and R&B singer Chris Brown, to face multiple lawsuits for sexual misconduct, including from women who appeared in On the Record. He has also followed their footsteps in suing the distributors of documentaries detailing the allegations. Brown claimed defamation in a $500m suit against Warner Bros Discovery for releasing the 2024 documentary Chris Brown: A History of Violence, filed this past January. Diddy, who is currently on trial in New York for racketeering and sex trafficking, sued NBC Universal and its streaming service Peacock in February for Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy, a 90-minute film on the allegations of sexual abuse made in over three dozen lawsuits. Simmons was most recently sued in February 2024 by an anonymous former executive at Def Jam Recording, for an alleged rape in the 1990s and sexual harassment that 'disrupted and derailed' her career. In 2023, he reached a confidential settlement with three women, including documentary participant Sil Lai Abrams, who alleged in the film that Simmons raped her in 1994. In all, more than 20 women have accused Simmons of sexual assault. Ansari, his lawyer, works for Aidala, Bertuna & Kamins, a New York-based law firm that is currently representing Harvey Weinstein in his criminal trial for sexual assault and misconduct. Simmons seeks 'immediate removal' of the documentary from HBO's platforms and $20m in damages.
Campaign ME
02-06-2025
- Business
- Campaign ME
Podcast: Spiro's Virginia Ocampo: ‘Move from planned events to strategic experiences'
On the latest episode of Campaign Middle East's On The Record podcast, Virginia Ocampo, the Director of Global Strategy at Spiro, discusses how to build meaningful, experiential strategies, ensuring cultural relevance, brand safety and consistency in global brand positioning while leaning into data analytics and AI-led consumer behaviour insights. Beginning the conversation, Ocampo said, 'Artificial intelligence and LLMs are just tools that permit us to derive insights from raw data. Those insights then inform a strategy that guides the direction of specific brand experiences. We don't jump into tactics, because tactics without strategy are an expensive noise. That's why we always take the route of data, insights, strategy and then look into the creative direction of that experience. What this ensures is that connections – between brands and consumers – will have a higher impact.' Ocampo also breaks the myth that it's hard to prove return-on-investment (ROI) within experiential marketing while discussing ways to quantify the effectiveness of experiential marketing on long-term brand equity. 'We need to stop viewing experiential as a cost and start viewing it as a strategic investment into brand equity. For this, we need the right metrics to have a measurable experience – in a way that speaks to impact. This goes beyond return-on-investment (ROI) to include what is the return on the objectives, on the experience and on the community that impacts your brand on that activation,' Ocampo said. She added, 'The time has to move away from planning events to designing experiences. If you could forget about everything you know about events, do it, and then take this new approach. It's time to rethink how we design experiences. We have the tools, strategies and frameworks that can guide this process to create impactful experiences,' Calling for a strategic approach to experiential marketing, Ocampo says that it's time for brands to define clear key performance indicators (KPIs) and clear objectives, without which any efforts put into it are wasted. 'We have tools such as the Gravity Index, which breaks down seven drivers in audiences that helps brands be more accurate in the design of their experiences. This definitely results in higher impact and engagement with your audience,' Ocampo explained. She also goes on to explain the need for marketers to embrace training programmes and cross-disciplinary workshops to ensure that brands develop effective experiential strategists within their teams. Spiro recently conducted several such workshops for brands and partners in the Middle East. 'Even if brands have been in the market for 30 years, it's never too late to assess where they are it in terms of their portfolio of events; the way they communicate; and the consistency of their messaging, especially in big industries where they have different business units that have different audiences and require curated messages for each audience,' she added. For more insights from a very intriguing conversation, watch the full video above. CREDITS: Guest: Virginia Ocampo, the Director of Global Strategy, Spiro Host: Anup Oommen, Editor, Campaign Middle East Production: Surajit Dutta, Content Production Manager, Motivate Media Group Videography: Mark Mathew, Creative Content Producer, Motivate Media Group Studio: Ahmed Abdelwahab, Studio Manager, Motivate Media Group Editing: John Melencion, Content Producer, Motivate Media Group
