FIFA and Saudi Arabian state oil giant Aramco today announced a "major sponsorship agreement" until the end of 2027 that "involves sponsorship rights for multiple events," including the 2026 men's World Cup and the Women's World Cup the following year. The deal also sees Aramco become FIFA's Major Worldwide Partner exclusive in the energy category. The deal is the "latest high-profile investment in global sports" for Saudi Arabia, which has "already been confirmed" as the only bid for the 2034 World Cup (AFP, 4/25).

The deal was expected and "became inevitable" once Saudi Arabia was all but sealed last October as the 2034 host of the men's World Cup. The value of the deal was not disclosed but is "likely the richest ever for FIFA by average annual value." It "could include" the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup being hosted next year in the U.S. FIFA President Gianni Infantino "has built close ties" to Saudi Arabia and its Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman since before the 2018 World Cup (ESPN.com, 4/25).

Comcast's flagship streaming service Peacock added 3 million subscribers in Q1 of FY24, while revenue at the platform increased 54% year over year to $1.1B. Losses at the streamer "narrowed" to $639M compared to a loss of $704M in the prior-year period. The company previously said 2023 would be the year of "peak losses" at the streaming service. In total, Peacock subscribers have climbed 55% year over year to reach 34 million. In the first quarter, media revenue, which included Peacock along with the company's TV networks, grew 3.6% year over year to $6.4B -- above consensus estimates of $6.3B. Domestic advertising revenue within the segment "came in flat, primarily driven by lower network revenue," which was "offset by an increase in revenue" at Peacock. But the upcoming Paris Olympics "should serve as a boon to advertising dollars" (YAHOO FINANCE, 4/25).

Comcast beat Q1 earnings expectations today as broadband "drove revenue even as the company and its peers have seen customer growth slow." For the quarter that ended March 31, net income rose 0.6% to $3.86B compared with $3.83B a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA slid 0.6% to roughly $9.4B. The company’s revenue grew 1.2% to $30.06B. Revenue from the domestic broadband customers segment "boosted that growth as rates increased," even as Comcast lost 65,000 customers during the quarter (CNBC.com, 4/25).

Rogers Communications and the NHL have reached an "exclusive agreement" with Amazon’s Prime Video to carry Monday regular-season games in Canada for the next two seasons. Rogers and the league unveiled today that "Prime Monday Night Hockey" will stream "all national regular season Monday night NHL games in English" for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. It marks the NHL’s first exclusive broadcast deal with a digital-only streaming service in Canada. The package will include "a new broadcast team" providing analysis and play-by-play. The NHL's broadcasting agreement with Rogers is set to expire after the 2025-26 season, which will "coincide with the end of the Prime deal" (CP, 4/25).

St. Louis-based software company World Wide Technology has renewed its track naming rights deal with World Wide Technology Raceway for another five years, extending a deal that started in 2019 toward the end of this decade. Terms were not released, but the deal is worth well into the seven figures in total, according to a person familiar with the matter, and it includes financial support of the Confluence musical festival the venue holds around its annual NASCAR weekend. The venue, which sits on 700 acres, got its first Cup Series race in 2022 and sold that event out plus the second edition in 2023. The deal goes through 2029 with the track, which also hosts an annual IndyCar and NHRA event weekend among other shows.
 
Between the annual race weekend and a new officially licensed restaurant it’s opening in the St. Louis Lambert International Airport this summer, the market has risen in importance for NASCAR in recent years. The extension announcement was made today as part of an event the track held with senior NASCAR execs and around 200 local business leaders from St. Louis, with President Steve Phelps, CMO Pete Jung, VP/Diversity Brandon Thompson, VP & Chief of Staff Nicole Haves and Toyota Racing Marketing Manager Mike Pricer among those in attendance. The NASCAR execs presented about the state of the sport. World Wide Technology says it has $20B in annual revenue, and it’s a major supporter of sports in the city, also having deals with the Blues and the Cardinals, while CEO Jim Kavanaugh is part of St. Louis City SC’s ownership group.
 
Meanwhile, the track has hired NASCAR team owner Tad Geschickter’s Brand Activation Maximizer to help the venue in sponsorship deals, including getting retail placement at grocery stores with brands that partner with the facility. While the venue is only about 10 minutes from St. Louis, it’s technically located in Madison, Ill.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a complaint against the ACC in a state circuit court today, accusing the conference of "violating the state’s public-records law." Specifically, Moody (and Florida State) have "asked for the conference’s TV contracts with ESPN," which involve hundreds of millions of dollars. The language of that contract -- "and related ones, like the grant of rights -- are at the heart of FSU’s dueling lawsuits with the conference." The ACC denied her initial request in January and "has been careful about what portions are included in lawsuits," citing "concerns about sharing trade secrets." The league lets member schools inspect the contract at its office in N.C. "under very strict circumstances." Moody is asking the court to "declare that the records are public." She’s also seeking "reasonable costs of enforcement" and asking for "an immediate hearing" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 4/25).

MLB is bringing back its Players’ Weekend on Aug. 16-18 to provide a platform to showcase players’ interests, backstories and charitable causes. A different aspect of players’ lives will be highlighted each day through in-stadium game presentation elements, broadcast enhancements with media partners and social media content.

During the weekend, players will wear special New Era caps featuring each players’ uniform number on the side panel in a youthful design. Players also will be able to utilize customized bats during the games and, as is customary throughout the regular season, can wear cleats with personalized designs. There will be no changes to the uniforms or players’ names on their jerseys. Players’ Weekend coincides with Fox’s broadcast of Dodgers-Cardinals on Aug. 17 and ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcast of Yankees-Tigers in the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa.

The original Players’ Weekend took place from 2017-2019 and featured specially designed uniforms with players’ nicknames on the back and allowances for cleat and bat designs. The initiative is aimed at resonating with younger fans, an area where MLB has gained momentum in recent years. The median age of ticket purchasers has dropped six years since 2019 from 51 to 45, according to data provided by the league. The percentage of ticket buyers ages 18-35 has increased by 9.8% in the last four years, and the average age of newly created accounts in MLB’s fan database has decreased by more than seven years since 2019 from 43.4 to 36.2 (These are people who have at least one digital engagement over the past year, which includes watching an MLB.TV stream, a ticket purchase or scan, and an MLB shop purchase, among other touchpoints).

Serie A club Juventus and sports marketing agency Two Circles have agreed a five-year partnership to collaborate on the club's new commercial partnerships program. The deal aims to leverage Two Circles' expertise and data driven approach to foster growth and innovation within the club's commercial roster. The partnership will function as a single, integrated team dedicated to both nurturing existing commercial relationships and developing new partnership opportunities. With a focus on expanding Juventus' fanbase and partnership network, the collaboration will introduce campaigns designed to resonate with the club's global fanbase of over 561 million people. The scope of the deal encompasses all commercial partnerships -- including Principal, Global and Regional partnership categories (Two Circles).

The second retractable roof at Roland-Garros will be inaugurated on the opening day of the French Open next month. Organizers gave the update today regarding the project, which was also "planned with the Paris Olympics in mind." A ceremony for the roof over the 10,000-seat Suzanne Lenglen court will be held on May 26 "when play starts in the main draws," according to French Open Tournament Dir Amelie Mauresmo. Even before the inauguration, the roof "can be closed if rain comes" during qualifying rounds on the six previous days. Mauresmo "praised the new roof as giving more flexibility in scheduling matches and ensuring play" for 25,000 fans on the grounds and TV viewers worldwide. The tournament is sold out for the first week with daily crowds of 75,000 expected, and about 650,000 across the three weeks including qualifying. The main 15,000-seat Philippe Chatrier court has had a retractable roof since 2020 (AP, 4/25).

Wrexham AFC announced today that they will face the Vancouver Whitecaps "in an exhibition game on July 27 at B.C. Place." Hints that actor Ryan Reynolds' team could be visiting his hometown had "been all over social media the past few days." The friendly will be a part of the Red Dragons' three-game "2024 Wrex Coast Tour," but it is the only match "against North American competition." Wrexham will also play matches against AFC Bournemouth in Santa Barbera, CA and Chelsea FC in Santa Clara, CA (VANCOUVER SUN, 4/26).

Adidas has added NFL prospects Rome Odunze, Michael Penix Jr., Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Legette to the brand’s professional athlete roster. Odunze and Penix Jr. first signed NIL deals with Adidas in October 2023 as they were the brand’s first NIL football athletes. The group joins Adidas’ pro roster that includes Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jets WR Garrett Wilson, Chiefs DE Chris Jones, Browns TE David Njoku, Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa, Vikings RB Aaron Jones, Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence, 49ers QB Brock Purdy and Vikings WR Jordan Addison (Adidas).

The Commanders will retire the No. 28 jersey of Football HOFer Darrell Green this season, making his the fifth jersey to be retired by the franchise over its 92-year history. The game and date for Green’s jersey retirement will be announced "after the NFL releases its schedule in early May" (WASHINGTON POST, 4/25).

Magic Gaming has agreed to an official partnership with 7 Brew, making 7 Brew the official coffee partner of the team. As part of the partnership, 7 Brew will have their logo featured on official Magic Gaming jerseys, joining the existing jersey patch partners AdventHealth and leAD Lake Nona (Magic Gaming).

Perfect Game announced a partnership with RaceTrac that will see the convenience store company serve as the title sponsor for Perfect Game’s annual Southeast Spring World Series. The event will take place May 3-5 at the East Cobb Complex in Marietta, Ga., and surrounding facilities. Over 200 teams from nine states are expected to participate in the Southeast Spring World Series with around 400 games being played that weekend. RaceTrac is Georgia’s second-largest privately held company (Perfect Game).

Real Madrid has partnered with financial services firm Ouro to launch co-branded products, including prepaid debit cards and a digital wallet, in the U.S. and global markets including Brazil, France and Mexico. Ouro, which will also be the team’s official sponsor in the prepaid, debit and credit card categories, has existing sports partners in the NBA's Heat, MLB's Rangers and WWE, among others (Chris Smith, SBJ).

Australian State Development and Infrastructure Minister Grace Grace revealed that taxpayers have "forked out nearly $4.5m in the past three years for the Queensland government to outsource work on the 2032 Olympics and Paralympic Games." External consulting services and advice "made up 70 per cent -- or $3.1m -- of spending to the end of February 2024" (Brisbane COURIER-MAIL, 4/25).

The Spanish government has formed a special committee that will oversee the country's football federation (RFEF). The committee "will be in place until the governing body holds new elections" following the scandal surrounding its former president, Luis Rubiales (BBC.com, 4/25).

The Korea Baseball Organization has "provided clubs with devices that will follow calls from the automated ball-strike system (ABS) in real time." The KBO said that all 10 clubs will each have an in-ear device that will "relay calls from the ABS at the same time as the home plate umpire receives them." The league implemented the ABS this season to "ensure more accurate ball-strike calls" (KOREA TIMES, 4/25).

More:

• Scheme aims to capitalise on Hong Kong women's Tokyo 2020 Olympics success to empower city's youth

"Jewish students have had to endure a level of fear and intimidation that I am not sure any other group in modern times this century has had to face on a college campus spread by people that are meant to protect them, not hate them" -- Patriots owner Robert Kraft in an op-ed written today regarding the ongoing pro-Palestinian protests at his alma mater, Columbia Univ. (N.Y. POST, 4/24).

Marvin Harrison Jr. has yet to sign a preliminary NFLPA licensing agreement that all draftees typically sign, which would allow his name and likeness to be monetized after he is picked tonight and before his NFL contract is signed, per sources. His jersey will not be available…

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 25, 2024

Wait for it...

📍@SoFi Field in Hermosa Beach pic.twitter.com/fVzDQ7kjze

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) April 25, 2024

Roughly 7 hours before the first pick, fans are already beginning to fill Campus Martius Park for the 2024 NFL Draft. pic.twitter.com/sdeRnDV1qX

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 25, 2024

Thinking "rapidly evolving college sports landscape" needs to join "wild wild West" as Phrases We All Gotta Stop Saying So Much

— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) April 24, 2024

🦁😤 Highest-Paid Tackle in @nfl history‼️‼️ @peneisewell58 signs a 4-year, $112M extension with $85.0M GTD #A1Family #NFL pic.twitter.com/EsWf4caQm5

— Athletes First (@AthletesFirst) April 24, 2024

An active bomb from World War II was found in the area around Mainz home stadium during renovations.

They are currently working to defuse the bomb 😳 pic.twitter.com/ZZlHoTnAI0

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 25, 2024

Statement from FCC Commissioner Branden Carr on WADL Detroit sale paints bleak picture for local TV. "We are at a break glass moment for America’s broadcasters. They are facing unprecedented headwinds and competition, including from their largely unregulated Big Tech competitors.…

— Joe Flint (@JBFlint) April 25, 2024

Lions QB Jared Goff shares how lessons from Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F helped him adjust to the city after he was traded from the Rams.

48.3% -- Recent analysis showed that nearly half (48.3%) of the 29 NFL stadiums with entitlement sponsors provided a positive net sentiment lift to their respective sponsor’s brand in traditional online news coverage (Prosek Partners).