Roundup: Sunday Ticket 🔜 YouTube TV

NFL Sunday Ticket appears to have new streaming home, Michael Rubin's global dominance, World Cup ratings record

Welcome to our new weekly cadence -- to your inbox Monday-Wednesday-Friday morning with news and updates in sports, gambling, and media. On Thursday, takes directly from our text threads.

Lots of news yesterday, so I'll skip the quippy intro and just tell you what's coming.

In the email today:

1) The National Football League might have found its Sunday Ticket outlet 🏈

2) Michael Rubin, Fanatics are COMING to sports gambling 💰

3) The World Cup final set ratings records ⚽️

Baby, it's cold outside.

1) NFL SUNDAY TICKET MIGHT BECOME A YOUTUBE OFFERING 🏈

On Monday, it was reported that Apple had passed on the NFL's Sunday Ticket offering. We said it had value, just not for Apple.

LOL, it didn't take long for another suitor to ask for the NFL's hand.

Joe Flint has the goods here. Quickly: there is no intel on what YouTube paid here. Flint's story does at least give invaluable peripheral information.

"Terms being discussed for the agreement couldn't immediately be learned...DirecTV currently pays $1.5 billion annually" to broadcast the Sunday Ticket.

Flint hit at the heart of what this newsletter was built on: "A potential move of Sunday Ticket to YouTube is further evidence of major sports migrating from traditional TV."

Kyle's take: It's worth noting here that YouTubeTV is the streaming offering that most resembles traditional cable bundles. I've had it for years now and have almost never had an issue with interruptions. I would, in fact, trust watching the Eagles in the Super Bowl on it. In my view, this is a punishing blow for traditional cable and certainly DirectTV. Anyone who is compelled by NFL Sunday Ticket to subscribe to YouTube TV will find that nothing looks foreign to their Comcast or Verizon bundle, and it just works better on more devices, with unlimited DVR.

2) THE FANATICS SPORTSBOOK FOOTSTEPS ARE COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE! 💰

Even our casuals here know that Fanatics generally and Michael Rubin specifically are just below obsessions here. Like, it's not time for a restraining order, but the authorities are watching.

Rubin isn't helping us at all with stuff like this.

Ben Strauss has all of the latest information on the very clearly about to happen Fanatics sportsbook.

We have been (probably) overstating the odds on Rubin kicking the likes of FanDuel and DraftKings to the curb once Fanatics is in the online betting millieu. The Strauss story is the gust of wind that precedes the hurricane.

3) THE WORLD CUP FINAL SET RATINGS RECORDS ⚽️

Here at Raising Stake we have no dog in the "is soccer really that popular in the U.S.?" fight. We care, but not enough to take a side.

That said, when the World Cup final between Argentina and France does these numbers, it's at the least the canary in the coal mine.

Jennifer Maas filled in the gaps on this headline in her Variety piece. "Argentina's victory at the 2022 World Cup Final on Sunday was also an epic win for Fox, which saw the biggest-ever audience for a FIFA event on the U.S. network with 16.8 million viewers."

Maas added that the final "was the most-watched men's World Cup telecast in Fox history," eclipsing the USA/England match from the tournament's group stage.

From our seat, this is not "soccer is taking over" as much as it is "soccer is taking a seat at the table."

Whoever had the idea to broadcast European soccer matches on American weekend mornings (dead space theretofore) is as brilliant as whoever decided that gamblers would wager chips instead of cash. As with the casinos, it's just a money printing press.

JOB LEAD OF THE DAY 💰

Today's Job Lead of the Day is a blind posting for an "Entertainment, Media and Sports Associate Attorney." 

No salary data is provided in this listing, but just based on the job description, you should be paying them.

4) BONUS STORY -- ROBERT SARVER IS SELLING THE PHOENIX SUNS 🏀

You know you aren't a respected member of the NBA community when TMZ.com heralds your decision to sell your franchise with this headline: "Disgraced Owner Robert Server Selling Suns." Ouch babe.

Don't shed too many tears for Bobby on his way out the door, though. The price tag is $4 billion.

Quite a windfall for an owner who was found to have used racist slurs in his professional dealings. All we can hope for at Raising Stake is that new owner Mat Ishbia's Suns win the championship that eluded Sarver like decency and dignity.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON? 😎

  • Missouri is once again considering legalizing sports gambling. ⚖️

  • The Nashville Predators and BetMGM have entered a multi-year agreement to make the betting site the Preds' "official sports betting partner." 🥅

  • Pundits continue to bang the soft drum around how many sports bets are being made illegally as online sports betting continues to be illegal in half of the United States. 💵

  • Fox dodged a Roger Goodell-sized bullet on Sunday when the World Cup final (which extended to extra time and penalties) ended minutes before the early NFL kickoff window. 🏈

  • While Disney fluffs around thinking about purchasing sports rights, one analyst thinks the company should just jettison ABC and ESPN outright. 🎙

  • LIV Golf struck a blow against the PGA Tour as Augusta National Golf Club announced that LIV Tour players will be permitted to tee it up at the 2023 Masters. 🏌️‍♂️

WHAT TO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR BEFORE THE NEXT SEND 👁️

This email was compiled today by the Raising Stake staff. Jason and Kyle contributed. Images from Getty.

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