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Rogers Communications paid $3.06 billion (C$4.35 billion) for Kilmer Sports' remaining 25% stake in MLSE, taking full ownership of the Maple Leafs, Raptors, Toronto FC and Scotiabank Arena at a valuation north of $12 billion. Rogers and Kroenke Sports & Entertainment are now the only sports conglomerates owning three or more major professional teams. But unlike KSE, all of Rogers' assets sit in the same city, the fourth-largest in North America.

Speaking of a big week for big cheques, Sky agreed to buy ITV's media division for $2.1 billion. Versant picked up Full Swing from Bruin Capital for $530 million. And the Las Vegas Jacks secured $8 billion in financial commitments as they compete for an NBA expansion franchise.

This week's lead is a sit-down with Dutch Sport Tech Fund CEO Alexander Janssen at a pivotal moment: Fund I approaching maturity, exits being engineered, a US office opening in January. One of the first case studies in how a dedicated sports tech fund actually realises value. Part 1 of 2.

How One of Europe's Most Active Sports Tech Funds Is Engineering Its Exit

A conversation with Dutch Sport Tech Fund CEO Alexander Janssen, ahead of Fund II.

Since our inception, SportsTechX has tracked the evolution of the global sports tech ecosystem.

We've analysed where money is flowing, which companies are attracting attention, and which investors are shaping the market.

But following the money only tells part of the story.

For our next piece of primary research, we wanted to understand what happens before a deal gets done. We spoke with 30+ leading sports tech investors to unpack how they source opportunities, evaluate founders, and make investment decisions.

Every fund has its own approach, but the underlying frameworks are often more similar than they appear. We'll be sharing those insights soon.

In the lead-up, we got a rare opportunity to sit down with one of the most active funds in the space, and at an especially pivotal moment.

Founded in 2020, the Amsterdam-based Dutch Sport Tech Fund (DSTF) is one of Europe's earliest and most active dedicated sports tech investors. Five years in, the fund is hitting its maturity milestone. The story now shifts from portfolio building to something harder to execute: exits.

The lifecycle of a venture capital fund is a well-rehearsed narrative: raise, deploy, build, exit. Yet sports tech remains a young and highly fragmented market, with few historical examples to guide the journey from investment to exit. Many of the funds now approaching maturity are effectively becoming the industry's first case studies in how value gets realised.

In Part I of a two-part series, we sat down with DSTF CEO Alexander Janssen to talk about the fund's upcoming exit journey, the mechanics of building an "acquirable" ecosystem, and how their planned US expansion ties it all together. All ahead of the already-announced Fund II.

DSTF Fund I & Fund II At A Glance

Engineering a Portfolio With Exits Baked In

DSTF believes the value of Fund I lies not only in its individual portfolio companies, but in how they fit together.

"From day one, our strategy was never to simply collect isolated startups," says CEO Alexander Janssen. "We deliberately engineered a synergistic portfolio. In sport-tech, value compounds exponentially when platforms, data capabilities, media reach, and commercial networks actively reinforce one another."

Today, the portfolio sits at 16 companies, most having graduated from early-stage startups into established scale-ups, with a handful already operating at Series A or B level. For strategic buyers, Janssen argues, the interconnected structure is the proposition.

"Because of how we built the fund, we can offer buyers incredible optionality," he says. "A strategic buyer might come in to acquire a single standout asset, or they might look at a multi-asset transaction acquiring a cluster of connected companies within a specific vertical to secure immediate market dominance."

The Separation of the Pack

Five years of active portfolio management creates clarity. Janssen doesn't soften the picture.

"We are seeing a clear separation of the pack, in the best way possible. Right now, we have roughly seven high-growth frontrunners that have already surpassed a 3x MOIC. These companies have significant commercial momentum. In fact, some are already attracting inbound interest and are in active acquisition discussions as we speak."

But MOIC multiples aren't the only signal he's watching.

"We also hold a number of businesses that intentionally chose a more capital-efficient, organic growth route. They didn't play the hyper-scaling game, but they have rock-solid fundamentals and sustainable revenue. For the right strategic buyer looking for profitability and stable market integration, these are prime targets."

Not every portfolio company follows the same trajectory. Asked about the rest of the portfolio, Janssen remains optimistic: "We currently have no true laggards in the portfolio. The overall execution maturity is incredibly high."

Not Passive Capital

One consistent differentiator DSTF points to is what they call the "active shareholder" approach: staying embedded in commercial expansion, internationalization, and governance rather than sitting quietly on cap tables.

As the exit window opens, that hands-on posture is intensifying.

"Right now, the work is no longer about product-market fit or validation. It's about scaling readiness," says Janssen. "We are actively working with our founders to professionalize sales pipelines, sharpen strategic narratives, and align their financial reporting with the exact standards that global corporate buyers and PE firms expect. We want our companies to be plug-and-play for acquirers."

The LA Move: Timing Is Everything

Perhaps the most concrete signal of where DSTF is heading: effective January 1, 2027, the fund opens an office in Los Angeles.

The timing isn't incidental. With the FIFA World Cup underway and the 2028 Olympic Games approaching, Los Angeles is becoming an increasingly important hub for sports business, media, and investment activity.

"The LA office is a direct bridge for our portfolio companies," says Janssen. "It puts them face-to-face with major US sports stakeholders, media conglomerates, and tech buyers. The years leading up to an Olympic Games see a massive concentration of dealmaking and infrastructure spending. We are positioning our companies right where the capital is flowing."

Fund II: The Model, Scaled

While Fund I focuses on unlocking liquidity, DSTF is simultaneously laying groundwork for its next vehicle.

"Fund I proved the model, but Fund II is about scaling it," says Janssen. "While the first fund took early-stage risk, Fund II will focus exclusively on mature, late-stage scale-ups and Series A/B companies with proven traction."

The rationale reflects a broader market shift, one we've been tracking in our own research.

"The technical barriers to entry have fallen. Anyone can build a product quickly now. Therefore, technical differentiation alone is no longer a moat. The real winners of tomorrow are defined by execution, go-to-market dominance, and crucially user retention.

Fund II will back companies that have already proven they can retain customers, and we will use our global sports network to help them achieve international dominance."

Our Take:

The sports tech market is entering a new phase of maturity. After years focused on company creation, attention is increasingly shifting toward consolidation, acquisitions, and ultimately liquidity.

That makes DSTF's position particularly interesting. As one of Europe's first dedicated sports tech funds, it is among the first specialist investors approaching the exit stage at meaningful scale.

Whether the fund can successfully translate portfolio performance into realized returns remains to be seen. But if it does, DSTF could become an important case study for how dedicated sports tech funds create and realize value across a full investment cycle.

And if the market does move toward consolidation, few funds appear better positioned. Early entry, a concentrated portfolio, an active ownership model, and a growing international footprint could prove valuable advantages as the sector enters its next chapter.

In Part 2, we look under the hood of Fund I: the six investment verticals, the due diligence process, and the specific companies being positioned for strategic acquisition.

To learn more about DSTF's portfolio companies, Fund II, or ongoing strategic initiatives, visit their website or email them directly on info@dutchsporttechfund.com.

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

⚽ Chelsea launched on Strava in a Premier League and Barclays Women’s Super League first, using the fitness app to connect the club’s global fanbase through running, training, and wellness.

🏀 Euroleague Basketball unveiled Euroleague Basketball+, a new strategic vision to become the digital home of European club basketball, combining competitions, content, technology, commercial opportunities and fan experiences into one integrated ecosystem, designed around a fan-first philosophy.

🏀 Euroleague Basketball also launched its franchise process as part of a long-term strategy to strengthen and expand Europe’s top club basketball league.

📺 Netflix, Disney, and YouTube showed interest in FIFA World Cup U.S. rights for 2030 and 2034, with FIFA likely to sell English and Spanish-language packages together in a deal that could reach $2 billion.

💸 The NRL (National Rugby League) sealed $3.7 billion in seven-year media rights deals with Foxtel, Nine, and Sky NZ, marking the richest broadcast contracts in Australian sporting history.

🏅 The International Olympic Committee lifted Russia’s suspension provisionally, opening the door for Russian athletes to compete for their country at the LA 2028 Olympic Games.

🏟️ Manchester United confirmed the proposed location for its new 100,000-seat stadium, marking another milestone in the club’s long-term plan to transform the Old Trafford area.

⛳ LIV Golf faced a $603 million lawsuit from plaintiffs who alleged Saudi Arabia’s PIF used their stolen golf league concepts after a failed $490 million deal.

💸 AO Ventures invested undisclosed amounts in Scottish wearable technology company PlayerData and sports media platform ScorePlay, taking the Tennis Australia and Australian Open venture arm’s portfolio to six companies as it backed technologies shaping sport and entertainment.

🤝 Rogers Communications agreed to acquire Kilmer Sports’ remaining 25% stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment for $3.2 billion (C$4.35 billion), increasing its ownership of MLSE to 100% and bringing the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC, Toronto Argonauts, and Scotiabank Arena under full Rogers ownership.

🤝 Sky agreed to acquire ITV’s Media & Entertainment division for $2.1 billion (£1.6 billion), combining Sky’s pay-TV, broadband, and streaming operations with ITV’s free-to-air channels and ITVX while leaving ITV Studios as a standalone production company.

🤝 Viaplay Group agreed to sell its Dutch streaming and broadcasting operations to DPG Media-owned Videoland for $166 million (€142 million) on a cash and debt-free basis, including a rights portfolio with Premier League, Bundesliga, Formula 1, and PDC darts.

🤝 Hudl acquired youth and high school athletics fundraising startup TeamUp for an undisclosed amount, marking its 19th sports technology acquisition and rebranding the product as Hudl Fundraising.

🤝 LeagueApps acquired the National Center for Safety Initiatives for an undisclosed amount, adding background checks and safety compliance services to its youth sports management platform.

🤝 Versant Media Group agreed to acquire golf simulator company Full Swing from Bruin Capital for $530 million in cash, expanding the Golf Channel owner’s sports technology and digital portfolio.

💸 APEX took a strategic stake in the Northern Super League for an undisclosed amount, marking the first completed private equity investment in a professional women’s soccer league globally and supporting Canada’s first professional women’s soccer league across commercial expansion, audience development, digital innovation, and international distribution.

💸 The Las Vegas Jacks secured $8 billion in financial commitments as the Jerry Colangelo-led group competed to acquire a prospective NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas.

💸 JD Sports created a $1.4 million (£1 million) fund with BBC Children in Need to increase young people’s access to work experience and develop their skills and confidence.

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NBA Europe has gone into full-court press mode. Recent updates from the NBA revealed that final bids are now in from more than 20 ownership groups, with some markets reportedly attracting offers north of $1 billion per franchise ahead of the planned October 2027 launch. The league's financial model projects franchises breaking even by year three and more than $10 billion flowing through the European basketball ecosystem over its first decade. Big numbers. Now comes the hard part: converting the game plan into real points scored.

In other news, Novak Djokovic joined the growing list of star athletes becoming "strategic partners" as he teamed up with General Atlantic, the $90 billion AUM investment platform. And June's dealflow roundup came in at $207 million across 25 deals, with Cosm's $100 million Series C doing most of the heavy lifting. Full breakdown below.

💡 INTELLIGENCE HUB

Sports Tech Monthly Investment Roundup

June 2026 kept up the year's habit of leaning on one giant round. Funding came in at $206.8M across 25 deals, down from May's $336.6M though busier by deal count, and nearly half the disclosed amount traced to a single company: Cosm's $100M Series C, led by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Along with two undisclosed acquisitions, putting total disclosed deal flow for the month at $206.8M.

Here's a quick summary:

• Geography: Funding by deal count was led by the USA, followed by France, the UK and India, with a long tail of smaller markets. By capital the US was well clear, carried by Cosm's $100M round out of Los Angeles. On the M&A side, the deals were split between India and the USA.

• Sectors: 'For Fans' dominated funding again, taking $160.1M (77.5%), with Cosm doing the heavy lifting. 'For Executives' edged past 'For Athletes' for second this month, $23.9M (11.6%) to $22.7M (11.0%). The two acquisitions landed one apiece in 'For Fans' and 'For Executives'.

• Top Deals: Apart from Cosm, on the M&A side, all three deals were undisclosed: FitnessForce Club Management Software (Mumbai) was acquired by Daxko (Birmingham, Alabama); Sports Card Investor (Atlanta) by CardsHQ (Atlanta); and ProCamps (Cincinnati) by FlexWork (Canton, Ohio).

Access every deal and see a more detailed breakdown on the Intelligence Hub.

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

💸 NBA Launchpad expanded its pilot program to Asia with a dedicated track for regional startups in the program’s fifth year.

💸 Dubai Sports Council launched the Club Accelerators Programme as part of the Dubai Sports Sector Strategic Plan 2033 to strengthen club development across Dubai’s sports sector.

💸 Michigan State Athletics launched Spartan Ventures, a new commercial and revenue-generation initiative designed to support Michigan State Athletics in the evolving college sports landscape.

📺 Comcast planned to separate NBCUniversal and Sky from its connectivity business, splitting its media, film, theme park, and streaming operations from cable and broadband as competition intensified.

⚽ FIFA agreed a joint venture with European Football Clubs to operate the Club World Cup, likely expanding the 2029 edition and allowing more Premier League clubs to participate.

🥊 UFC Freedom 250 delivered 34 million total global viewers, becoming the most-watched UFC event ever in the U.S. while doubling its historic domestic audience internationally and generating 126 billion social views.

💸 Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner explored a bid for the NBA’s Las Vegas expansion team after hiring investment bankers and discussing plans for the potential franchise.

🏀 The NBA set the salary cap for the 2026-27 season at $164.961 million, with the salary cap and tax level taking effect on July 1.

🏀 The NBA laid off dozens of employees in a league office reorganization focused on expansion, local broadcasts, and new priorities including potential teams in the U.S. and Europe.

⚽ UEFA fined 14 clubs, including Juventus, Newcastle United, Aston Villa, and Chelsea, for breaching financial sustainability rules during the 2025-26 season.

💸 The NRL neared a $5 billion media rights agreement with Nine Entertainment and Foxtel, which would become the most expensive sports broadcast deal in Australian history and make the rugby league competition more valuable than the AFL for the first time.

🎾 Leading tennis players stood down from their Wimbledon prize money protest after two days following constructive meetings with tournament officials.

🎾 Andy and Jamie Murray launched The Set, a tennis-focused YouTube channel with long-term plans to expand into live events, podcasts, and sponsor-led opportunities.

💰 TwelveLabs, a video intelligence company, raised $100 million in Series B funding co-led by NEA and NAVER Ventures, with participation from Amazon, Radical Ventures, Korea Investment Partners, Index Ventures, Quadrille Capital, and Red Bull Ventures.

💰 Premier Lacrosse League closed a $100 million Series E financing round led by Ares and Joe Tsai, with additional investment from ESPN, Glen Powell, Rob Mac, Warren Zeiders, Tony Cavalero, and others, to expand media distribution, sponsorship, the Women’s Lacrosse League, and youth access ahead of lacrosse’s return at LA28.

💸 The NBA received finalized bids from more than 20 groups for NBA Europe, with some markets drawing offers above $1 billion for franchises in the planned European basketball league set to launch in October 2027.

💸 Novak Djokovic joined General Atlantic as a global strategic advisor, supporting the investment firm’s global platform through his experience across elite sport, wellness, longevity, and entrepreneurship.

💸 The Lewis family planned a $137 million (£100 million) cash injection into Tottenham Hotspur to help fund the Premier League club’s revamp after a difficult run of seasons.

💸 Gasol16 Ventures completed a $64 million (€55 million) investment in Liga F, acquiring between 35% and 49% of the clubs’ future commercial revenue rights to professionalize the league’s commercial model and accelerate international expansion despite Real Madrid dissent.

💸 The Premier Jumping League raised $50 million (£38 million) from the first sale of a team in the Frank McCourt-backed showjumping startup, with US investor and racing driver Jason McCarthy buying one of the 16 franchises ahead of the league’s launch next year.

💸 The Cleveland Cavaliers neared a deal to sell a 5% to 10% limited partner stake to Blue Owl at a combined $5.5 billion valuation for the NBA franchise and Cleveland’s incoming WNBA team.

💸 Lukas and Samantha Walton bought a minority stake in the Chicago Bulls and United Center, while the Reinsdorf family retained control of the NBA franchise.

🤝 DPG Media’s Videoland agreed to acquire Viaplay’s Dutch streaming and broadcasting business for $162 million (€142 million), gaining live sport for the first time through a rights portfolio including Premier League football, Bundesliga, Formula 1, and PDC darts.

🤝 FlexWork Sports acquired rival youth sports camp operator ProCamps in an eight-figure transaction, more than doubling its annual event offerings to around 1,000 while adding ProCamps’ G3 Marketing brand activation agency.

🤝 William Blair completed its acquisition of Inner Circle Sports for an undisclosed amount, adding the boutique investment bank focused on the global sports, media, and entertainment ecosystem to expand its advisory and capital markets platform.

🤝 City Football Group transferred all shares it held in Yokohama F. Marinos to Nissan Motor Co. for an undisclosed amount, while the Japanese club said it would continue its relationship with CFG as a partner club.

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Sony Pictures Entertainment invested $100 million in Cosm, leading the immersive venue company's Series C as it expands its Shared Reality locations across the US.

This week's feature digs into what's driving smart-venue investment in 2026: from LED glass floors to AI concessions to predictive scheduling. We look at how the building itself is becoming a tech product.

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The Full-Stack Venue

Smart venues just got a $100M headline. Sony Pictures Entertainment invested $100M in Cosm, leading the company’s Series C and taking a minority stake in the immersive technology, media and entertainment company. Cosm uses its Shared Reality technology to blend live sports and entertainment content with physical venues, and already has locations in Los Angeles, North Dallas and Atlanta, with Detroit and Cleveland next in line.

In our tracker, Organisations & Venues had already recorded $99.4M across 18 deals in 2026 so far. Counting Cosm, the broader smart-venue and immersive-venue set now sits at roughly $199M across 19 deals. The money is going into smart floors, venue checkout, event scheduling, predictive operations, immersive audio and smart training spaces.

The useful signal is who is getting involved. Sony, the NBA, NHL, USTA and Australian Open are all putting capital or strategic support behind the infrastructure layer of sport. The building itself is becoming a technology product.

The venue is becoming a media format

Cosm is the clearest example. Its Shared Reality venues take live sports and entertainment content and turn it into a ticketed, immersive in-person experience. Sony’s investment is explicitly tied to experiential entertainment, fandom and technology, with capital going toward venue expansion and technology development across sports and entertainment.

That matters because the venue is no longer limited to hosting the event. It can become a distribution format of its own: part cinema, part stadium, part live broadcast environment. For rights holders and media companies, this creates another way to package premium sports content beyond traditional broadcast and streaming.

The floor is now part of the media layer

ASB GlassFloor secured €30M in equity funding in late 2025 to scale its LED glass sports floor through a new rental and services model. Its LumiFlex floor turns the playing surface into a programmable display for graphics, advertising, training data and event content.

The technology moved into a major US competition this year when the Big 12 used ASB’s LED court for the 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments, marking the first official US competition use of the floor. The court supports real-time branding, in-game activations, data-driven visuals and fan-engagement moments during play stoppages.

The concourse is being rebuilt around speed

Concession queues remain one of the clearest revenue leaks inside venues. VisioLab closed an $11M Series A in April to scale AI-powered self-checkout across US sports venues and global food service.

Its system uses visual recognition rather than barcode scanning, allowing fans to place food and drinks under a camera and pay faster. The company has deployments at the Orlando Magic’s Kia Center, Inter Miami’s new stadium, Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Bank of America Stadium, with existing operator relationships across Levy, Aramark and Delaware North.

The event now runs on software

Venue technology is also moving into scheduling, routing, staffing, ticketing, broadcast windows and event operations.

Fastbreak AI raised a $40M Series A in November 2025, with participation from the NBA, NHL and TMRW Sports. The company builds AI-driven scheduling and operations software for professional and amateur sports, helping leagues optimise travel, ticket sales, TV viewership and event logistics. USTA Ventures also invested in Fastbreak to optimise adult league match scheduling. The USTA said more than 300,000 players compete in its leagues each year, generating more than 2 million court hours that are currently scheduled manually.

Recentive Analytics raised a $45M Series B in March for predictive modelling across sports, entertainment and media. Its work covers ticketing, merchandise, viewership projections, scheduling and demand forecasting, with customers and partners including the NFL, MLB, NWSL, ESPN, Live Nation, USTA, Big Ten and others.

The Australian Open is also moving into this layer. AO Ventures announced its first investments in 2026, including Raven Controls, a platform for real-time incident management and operational coordination across large venues. It also backed Bolt6, Mindspring Padel and Padel Haus, linking officiating, financing and participation infrastructure under the same investment umbrella.

The fan experience is getting more immersive

Audio is also part of the venue stack. Shure became a minority investor in Edge Sound Research, a startup developing experiential audio technologies for sports, broadcast and venues. Shure said the NBA, MLS and USTA have worked with Edge Sound Research to enhance broadcasts for fans.

The use case is straightforward: better sound can make live and remote viewing feel closer to the action. For venues, premium suites and in-arena environments can become more immersive. For broadcasters, audio can become another layer of differentiation.

The grassroots venue is getting smarter too

This shift is also reaching amateur sport. Canada’s DRIVE Hockey secured a $100K government AI grant in June to support its smart arena network for hockey analytics. Its system uses sensors and AI to bring advanced tracking and performance data to amateur hockey environments.

That matters because the smart-venue opportunity cannot sit only inside premium arenas. If the same tools move into clubs, academies, training centres and community facilities, the market becomes much larger.

What this tells us

The building is becoming a product. Floors can display media. Concession stands can process fans faster. Schedules can be optimised for revenue. Audio can make the experience more immersive. Amateur venues can collect data that used to sit only at the elite level. Immersive venues like Cosm can turn live sports into a new form of in-person media.

That is the real smart-venue story. The next phase of sports infrastructure will be about making every surface, queue, schedule, seat and training space more measurable, more flexible and more commercially useful.

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

⚙️ ESPN launched ESPN Fan House, a fan-centric engagement hub powered by Flowcode, to connect fans more deeply with ESPN experiences.

📊 Omnicom unveiled Acxiom Fan Graph, a sports marketing intelligence platform designed to unify media, commerce, and consumer engagement data so brands could better understand, activate, and measure sports audiences.

💸 The International Olympic Committee created a $100 million athlete grant fund that allowed Olympians to apply for $10,000 grants after competing at a Summer or Winter Games.

💸 Arctos Sports, RVX Ventures, and Magellan Development Group launched a national sports-anchored development platform to build mixed-use real estate projects around sports venues.

🥊 Electronic Arts launched EA SPORTS UFC 6 worldwide on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, using Markerless Capture, next-gen Sapien Technology, Flow State mechanics, Real-Time Contact, Frostbite-powered ragdoll physics, and new modes including Hall of Legends and The Legacy.

📺 Warner Bros. Discovery and AWS announced an agentic AI-powered advertising technology platform built on AWS to unify WBD’s linear and digital ad inventory planning, activation, and optimization.

🎾 Wimbledon and IBM introduced new watsonx-powered AI fan experiences and modernized digital platforms across the Wimbledon app and wimbledon.com to provide seamless and personalized experiences for global tennis fans during The Championships 2026.

🏋️ Hong Kong secured the 2027 Hyrox World Championships after growing from hosting Asia-Pacific’s inaugural Hyrox event in 2022 with fewer than 1,000 athletes to around 20,000 participants this year.

📺 iShowSpeed partnered with FIFA, Fox Sports, and YouTube to stream live FIFA World Cup matches during the tournament.

🎾 Wimbledon’s Hawk-Eye technology shut down during qualifying at Roehampton after 36°C heat caused a power issue that disrupted the electronic line-calling system five days before the Championships, though organisers expected the system to operate normally at the event.

⛳ Clubhaus won Golfweek Tech Lab’s Business Solutions category with a QR-code ordering system designed to make on-course food and beverage ordering easier for golf courses.

🏀 Real Madrid signed a ten-year extension with Euroleague keeping the club tied to the competition despite recent NBA Europe speculation.

🎾 Leading tennis players planned to expand their prize money protest at Wimbledon despite the tournament increasing its 2026 prize pot by 20%.

🎾 The International Tennis Federation rebranded as World Tennis, changing the name of the governing body that oversaw the Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, and tennis at the Olympics and Paralympics.

🏟️ Manchester United secured a crucial land deal as the club advanced plans for a £2 billion, 100,000-seat stadium designed to transform the area around Old Trafford.

💰 Sony Pictures Entertainment invested $100 million in Cosm, a global technology, media, and entertainment company, to accelerate its immersive venue and Shared Reality technology experience across sports and entertainment content.

💰 Enhanced Group announced that it has entered into an agreement for a $50 million strategic equity financing via a private investment in public equity financing transaction led by Apeiron Investment Group, the family office of Enhanced Co-Founder and Chairman Christian Angermayer, with participation from Co-Founder and CEO Maximilian Martin and leading global institutional investors.

💰 Sportway Media Group raised $23.3 million (€20 million) in financing led by Gamma Waves with continued participation from existing shareholders, valuing the AI-driven sports media company at approximately $107 million (€92 million) post-money as it scaled automated sports broadcasting from youth leagues to national federations.

💰 ALT Sports Data closed a $5 million financing round led by Game Changers Ventures, with participation from Relay Ventures and Scrum Ventures, to scale its League Operating System combining official data, integrity and compliance, fan engagement, media distribution, and sports betting commercial activation for more than 30 leagues worldwide.

💰 Sir Mo Farah’s URUNN secured a seven-figure raise from private investors and continued investment from FitTech platform 10XU to accelerate talent expansion, product development, and global user growth for its performance-driven running app.

🤝 Daxko acquired FitnessForce for an undisclosed amount, broadening its global fitness software portfolio with an API-first membership management platform built for multi-location, franchise, and international fitness operators.

🤝 Michele Kang agreed to acquire 87.8% of Eagle Football Group SA, the parent company of Olympique Lyonnais, from Eagle Bidco through court-appointed administrator Cork Gully for an undisclosed amount.

🤝 Bay Collective completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Sunderland Women for an undisclosed amount, adding the English WSL 2 club to its women’s football portfolio.

🤝 South Shields co-owner Geoff Thompson agreed to acquire a majority shareholding in Durham Women for an undisclosed amount, saving the WSL 2 club’s future after it warned it could cease operations without new investment.

🤝 MSP Sports Capital acquired a majority stake in New Zealand SailGP team the Black Foils for an undisclosed amount, extending its sports portfolio as SailGP continued its commercialisation push.

💸 KKR-owned Arctos Partners, RVX Ventures, and Magellan Development Group backed a $288 million mixed-use sports entertainment district at the University of Tennessee as the first project in their venue-adjacent development partnership.

💸 Newcastle United held talks with KKR-owned Arctos Partners over a potential investment into the Premier League club and its stadium.

💸 The Professional Women’s Hockey League secured its first outside investments from Kilmer Sports Ventures and Ilitch Companies, which joined the league as strategic partners.

💸 CVC Capital Partners IX invested in Chess.com for an undisclosed amount, joining longstanding investor General Atlantic as the world’s largest online chess platform expanded its global community offering.

💸 Ex-Newcastle co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi considered a potential West Ham United takeover.

📺 DAZN restructured its business to make it easier to raise new equity or pursue a potential IPO as the lossmaking sports streaming company sought fresh capital.

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The athlete-to-investor pipeline continues gushing as Gareth Bale launched a $500 million fund alongside Juggernaut Capital Partners, while former NFLer Marques Colston and retired MMA fighter Nick Edwards launched The Champion Fund. Meanwhile, LVMH-backed L Catterton made its first CHAMP (CHampion Athlete Managing Partner) fund deal and has reportedly entered talks to buy into HYROX.

In this week's feature we look under the hood at the tech engine running the World Cup. The Trionda ball sending 500 data points per second to VAR, robot dogs patrolling stadiums, digital twins monitoring venue operations in real time, referee body-cam footage used in broadcast. It isn't just the biggest stage in sports, it's the biggest live test bed for sports technology.

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The Tech Layer Running Underneath the World Cup

The World Cup is the biggest stage in sports - for teams, players, broadcasters, sponsors and host cities alike. It's also the most demanding live test bed for the technology now operating underneath major sporting events. This year’s ball, the Trionda is a great example. At its core is a 500Hz inertial measurement unit (IMU) motion sensor chip, developed in collaboration with German tech firm Kinexon. The sensor measures the movement of the ball 500 times per second, capturing data on its speed, spin and direction.

That’s just one example. While the Al Rihla ball at Qatar 2022 also had a chip, this year’s expanded 48-team tournament across the USA, Canada, and Mexico is deploying new tools across fan movement, team engagement, player data, officiating, security, advertising, and accessibility:

📣 Fans

• EB Systems: Kansas City startup EB Systems is using its CrowdFlow Beacon technology to measure real-time fan movement across venues and brand activations. Its beacons are being used by brands at every FIFA Fan Festival and host stadium throughout the United States. The real use case is sponsor measurement: understanding whether fans actually engage with activations, how crowds move, and which event investments work.

• Google Gemini: Google signed official technology sponsor deals with the Iraq and Morocco national teams, focused on fan engagement through AI-generated cheering visuals, team anthems, match analysis and fan activations. The pattern worth noting: AI platforms are entering national team sponsorship not as infrastructure providers, but as fan engagement tools, giving teams content capabilities that didn't previously exist at scale.

🏃 Athletes

• FIFA Power Rankings, powered by Aramco: FIFA match data and Enhanced Football Intelligence algorithms power FIFA’s new player Power Rankings. Every eligible outfield player receives objective scores across attacking, creativity and defending, while goalkeepers are assessed across possession and goal-defending categories. Every player at a World Cup has a publicly visible, algorithmically generated performance score.

• Wearables and GPS tracking: GPS vests and recovery wearables are already embedded in elite football. Reporting around this World Cup points to teams using systems from companies such as Catapult and STATSports, while England players have been seen using WHOOP to monitor recovery, sleep and strain during the tournament. The useful point here is practical: performance tech has moved from training-ground support to tournament-day decision-making.

👀 Officiating

• Advanced SAOT, Hawk-Eye and Lenovo AI: Originally debuted at Qatar 2022, in 2026 FIFA introduced Advanced Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT). FIFA says clear offsides can be sent directly to match officials on the pitch, speeding up decisions. Lenovo is also supporting VAR provider Hawk-Eye Innovations with infrastructure, while AI-enabled 3D player avatars will be used in offside replays and broadcast visualisation.

• Referee View: Referee body cameras are also back after being trialed at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. For FIFA 2026, Lenovo’s AI-driven stabilisation overlay is being used to improve picture quality, giving broadcasters referee-view footage with steadier images. Referee-view footage is becoming a necessary broadcast asset.

🏟️ Stadium Operations and Security

• Digital twins and robot dogs: Lenovo’s tournament operations stack includes digital twins of venues, designed to help FIFA monitor situations in and around stadiums and support real-time operational decisions. On security, Hyundai and Boston Dynamics’ Spot robots are being deployed at the venues in Dallas and New York/New Jersey, while Mexican authorities have also deployed the four-legged robots for security support around Monterrey. Venue operations and security moving from reactive to predictive, with AI-assisted monitoring replacing manual oversight at scale.

🪧 Advertising

• Sportradar: Sportradar is positioning the 2026 World Cup as a major use case for AI-led, real-time advertising. Its advertising stack includes programmatic display, digital out-of-home, video, podcast audio, paid social and paid search products. The broader point is that live sports data is becoming a creative trigger, helping advertisers adapt campaigns around match context, fan behaviour and real-time moments.

❤️‍🩹 Accessibility

• FIFA accessibility services: FIFA 2026 is the first FIFA tournament to provide sign language interpretation broadcasts for every match. Group-stage matches in the USA and Canada will feature American Sign Language (ASL), while matches in Mexico will feature Mexican Sign Language (LSM). FIFA is also providing audio-descriptive commentary for all matches, plus the opening and closing ceremonies, through the FIFA Audio app.

The World Cup has always been a proving ground for sports technology. This edition is broader than broadcast and officiating. It now touches crowd analytics, fan content, player scoring, venue operations, robotics, advertising and accessibility.

That is the real shift. Major events are becoming full-stack technology environments. The companies and systems being tested here will not stay limited to the World Cup. Versions of the same tools will move into leagues, clubs, venues, sponsors and fan experiences over the next few years. The best players get scouted at tournaments. So does the technology.

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

• 💸 USTA launched the inaugural USTA Connect Innovation Challenge, a nationwide open call for US-based tech innovators, engineers, and startups to build tennis technology using USTA and US Open datasets, with three finalists receiving funded travel to pitch at the 2026 US Open and one winner taking a $10,000 prize.

• 📊 DAZN and ADI Predictstreet launched a free-to-play FIFA World Cup 2026 prediction market experience on DAZN, giving fans real-time predictions, sentiment tracking, leaderboards, rewards, and the chance to win match tickets.

• ⚽ FIFA confirmed that a technical outage prevented VAR’s semi-automated offside technology from being used on the controversial call that led to Switzerland’s opening goal against Qatar.

• 📺 CNBC added 11 simulcast WNBA games to expose the league to an affluent business-news audience as the network moved further into live sports after spinning out from Comcast.

• 💸 Indian cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal launched the SprintX Playmaker Accelerator in Hyderabad to support SportsTech, gaming, eSports, and New Age Media startups in India including funding support of up to $30k (Rs 25 lakh).

• 🎮 Electronic Arts pushed further into sports-linked advertising by introducing EA Advertising, a platform designed to connect brands with EA’s portfolio across in-game, community, and real-world experiences tied to franchises including Madden NFL and EA Sports FC.

• ⛳ Topgolf announced that its latest venue in Parsippany, New Jersey venue opens on July 3, 2026 as its first new prototype, featuring golf games, arcade games, reimagined outfield targets and slope the “My Bay, My Way” personalized app offering and 350 to 400 expected jobs.

• 💸 Play the Game launched a public donation-backed Journalism Fund to finance original, investigative, and analytical journalism on corruption, governance failures, abuse of power, human rights violations, and the political use of international sport.

• 🏀 The WNBA expanded its regular season from 44 games to 50 games beginning in 2027, marking another growth milestone for the league.

• 🏀 Knicks championship merchandise became Fanatics’ top-selling championship gear across all sports within the first 24 hours of a title, following New York’s first NBA Finals victory in 53 years.

• 🏀 The 2026 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs averaged 20.6 million viewers on ABC and ESPN, becoming the most-watched NBA Finals since 1998 and capping the league’s most-watched postseason in 28 years.

• 🏏 JioStar reported that IPL 2026 became the tournament’s most-watched season ever, crossing 1.2 billion viewers across platforms, reaching 870 billion minutes of watch time, and drawing more than 400 million viewers for the final.

• 🏎️ Formula 1 reported a 35% reduction in its carbon footprint since 2018, keeping the series on track for its Net Zero 2030 target after cutting emissions across freight, logistics, broadcast, race operations, factories, facilities, and offices.

• 🎾 Wimbledon increased its 2026 prize money by 20% to a record £64.2 million, the largest uplift in tournament history, with ATP and WTA champions set to receive £3.6 million each and first-round losers receiving £80,000.

• 💸 Gareth Bale and Juggernaut Capital Partners launched the Juggernaut Sports Fund, targeting more than $500 million to invest across teams and leagues, youth sports, women’s sports, and golf, hospitality and experiential assets.

• 💸 Retired athletes Marques Colston and Nick Edwards launched The Champion Fund to make sports investing more accessible, with four early investments already made.

• 💰 Rocapine, a Paris-based wellness venture studio building apps designed to help people build healthier habits, raised $13 million in Series A funding led by Educapital, with participation from Daphni, Ring Capital, Centre Court Capital, and high profile individual investors.

• 💰 swsh, a New York-headquartered AI-powered fan engagement platform for live experiences, raised $4 million in seed funding led by Game Changers Ventures, with participation from Stellation Capital, SignalFire, MaC Venture Capital and prominent individuals.

• 💰 Hexis, a performance nutrition platform built on carbohydrate periodisation science, raised $2.1 million (€1.85 million) in seed funding led by APEX Capital, with participation from Enterprise Ireland and ScaleX, to accelerate its elite sport offering and fund a direct-to-consumer expansion later this year.

• 💰 Vibefam, an AI-powered operating system for fitness and wellness businesses with operations in Singapore and New York, raised $1 million in seed funding led by a Singapore-based family office, with backing from Hustle Fund, Ignite Asia, and strategic fitness and wellness investors.

• 💰 DRIVE, a Vancouver-based sports technology company building a Smart Arena network for hockey analytics, secured a $100k government AI grant from the National Research Council’s IRAP to bring Sports AI to market and passed its 2025 player-tracking volume in record time.

• 💰 Rohit Sharma invested in fitness startup Fittr for an undisclosed amount, moving from ambassador to investor.

• 🤝 Fox Corporation agreed to acquire Roku for $22 billion, in cash & shares to combine Fox’s news, sports, and entertainment channels with Roku’s streaming hardware, Roku Channel platform, and connected-TV reach.

• 🤝 Seven Seven Six, Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital firm, acquired college-focused trading card company ONIT for an undisclosed amount, with sports executive Evan Parker joining as CEO.

• 💸 L Catterton is eyeing the fast-growing fitness racing market as their CHAMP fund invested nearly $50 million for a minority stake in US activewear brand Rhoback, while also reportedly entering exclusive talks to buy a stake in extreme fitness brand HYROX from Infront Sports & Media for an undisclosed amount.

• 💸 BIG3 agreed to go public through a business combination with Graf Global Corp. at a $290 million pre-money valuation, with Ice Cube, Jeff Kwatinetz, and Clyde Drexler continuing to lead the 3-on-3 basketball league and the transaction expected to close in Q4 2026.

• 💸 Pau Gasol’s Gasol16 Ventures proposed a $63 million (€55 million) investment in Spain’s Liga F and its 16 clubs to professionalize the women’s football league’s commercial model and accelerate its internationalization, pending approval at an extraordinary club assembly on June 29.

• 🤝 Daniel Kretinsky agreed to buy additional West Ham United shares from Vanessa Gold for an undisclosed amount, making the Czech billionaire the club’s largest shareholder.

• 🤝 Ares Management and Michele Kang have neared a deal to take control of financially strained French football club Olympique Lyonnais for an undisclosed amount.

• 🤝 The US billionaire owners of Crystal Palace explored a sale of the Premier League club for an undisclosed amount and appointed Raine Group to handle a process.

• 💸 Manchester United took out a further $125 million in long-term debt, refinancing borrowings linked to the Glazer family’s 2005 takeover and taking total debt to $550 million at a higher interest rate.

Powering Innovation & Investment Insights in Sports. Every Week.

If you were around the sports tech ecosystem pre-Covid, the ASICS TENKAN-TEN program in Barcelona will ring a bell, one of the earliest sports tech focused accelerators. It went quiet after Covid, but ASICS is back with a new competition. More details below.

May's monthly roundup came in strong at $1.5 billion in total dealflow, $1.2 billion of which was Genius Sports' acquisition of digital sports and gambling media network Legend. Any bets on next month's number?

💡 SPORTS TECH MONTHLY DEALFLOW

$1.5 BILLION IN TOTAL INVESTMENT THIS MAY

May 2026 split into two very different stories. Venture funding cooled to $336.6M across 15 deals, down from April's $819.4M, with a single round doing most of the heavy lifting: Pickleball.com's $225M raise accounted for roughly two-thirds of the month's total. The bigger story sat in the M&A column, where Genius Sports completed its $1.2 billion acquisition of sports and gaming media network Legend. Together, that pushed total dealflow past $1.5 billion for the month.

Here's a quick summary:

• Geography: Funding was overwhelmingly USA-led, powered by Pickleball.com's mega-round, with India the next-largest market on the back of Nazara Technologies. The remaining capital spread across the UK, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Germany. On the M&A side, disclosed value was 100% US-based, anchored by the Genius Sports acquisition of Legend in Eugene; by deal count, the five transactions also touched Norway and the Netherlands.

• Sectors: 'For Fans' dominated funding again, capturing $279.4M (83.0%) and continuing its run as the most-funded sector of the year. 'For Athletes' followed at $49.3M (14.6%) and 'For Executives' at $8.0M (2.4%). M&A by deal count was led by 'For Athletes' and 'For Executives' (two deals each, 40% apiece), with 'For Fans' making up the remaining one (20%).

• Top Deals: Pickleball.com raised $225M to anchor the month, followed by Nazara Technologies at $54.4M and Muybridge at $16M. On the M&A side, Genius Sports acquired Legend for $1.2 billion, the only disclosed transaction of the month; the racket-sports tie-up between SportAI and Padelytics was among the deals left undisclosed.

See a more detailed breakdown on the Intelligence Hub below.

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

💸 ASICS Ventures launched Kenzen, a startup pitch competition focused on customer experience startups across movement, retail, digital communities, and wellness and offering an $80k prize plus potential ASICS pilot. In partnership with the University of Michigan and LEAD VC, the inaugural edition will be held in Ann Arbor on October 22, 2026. Applications close July 30, 2026.

⚽ The DFL introduced Captain, a dialogue-based AI feature in the Bundesliga app that gave fans access to live statistics, historical match data, tactical analysis, trivia, and video highlights through individual requests.

More from the upcoming FIFA World Cup:

• 🎮 FIFA and Netflix Games announced FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition, a new football gaming experience launching exclusively on Netflix Games on 11 June, featuring all 48 participating teams, all 16 tournament stadiums, more than 1,200 players, phone-as-controller gameplay, at no additional cost for Netflix subscribers.

• ⚽ The FAA established temporary flight restrictions over FIFA World Cup 2026 stadiums, fan events, and base camps across the United States, banning unauthorized drone operations within match-day restricted airspace and warning operators of fines up to $100k, drone confiscation, and federal criminal charges.

• 📺 FOX Sports developed BRISK, its Broadcast Remote IP Studio Kit, to support remote FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage across North America through portable server racks that connected remote cameras and sets to its Los Angeles studio via IP workflows.

⛳ The Athletic added PGA TOUR highlights to its golf coverage from every round, beginning with the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, as PGA TOUR footage became the latest addition to The New York Times Company’s sports coverage.

🏎️ Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team deployed an all-electric Mercedes-Benz Trucks eActros 600 to cover all nine European races of the 2026 Formula One season, transporting key operational infrastructure over approximately 15,000 km as part of its wider sustainable logistics program.

🏎️ NASCAR Impact and DraftKings hosted the inaugural Veteran Tech Accelerator during the 2026 Coca-Cola 600 weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, welcoming seven veterans transitioning to civilian life for behind-the-scenes exposure to motorsports technology, broadcast production, live event operations, mentorship, and career pathways.

📺 CBS Sports secured English-language US rights to the Barclays Women’s Super League through the 2029-30 season, with Paramount+ set to stream 183 matches each season from September 2026, CBS Sports Network airing one weekly match, and select games airing on CBS Sports Golazo Network.

📺 Zee Entertainment struck a last-minute $40 million FIFA World Cup 2026 broadcast deal for India, avoiding a blackout less than two weeks before kick-off and securing live games for its Unite8 Sports linear channels and Zee5 streaming platform.

🏀 The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder Western Conference Finals averaged 10.8 million viewers per game on NBC and Peacock as the most-watched Conference Finals in 24 years, while Game 7 averaged 15.9 million viewers and peaked at 17.7 million.

🏀 NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that NBA Europe remained on track to launch in the 2027-28 season with FIBA, with final franchise bids due in June and team announcements expected later this year as London and Manchester stayed in contention for potential franchises.

⚽ Forbes reported that the world’s 30 most valuable soccer clubs were worth a combined $87 billion in 2026, with Real Madrid retaining the top spot and the ranking featuring 11 Premier League clubs.

💸 TMRW Sports and Alex Morgan’s Trybe Ventures added world No. 1 tennis player Aryna Sabalenka, two-time Olympic hockey gold medalist Hilary Knight, and five WNBA players to WTGL’s investor group, strengthening the new women’s team golf league being developed in partnership with the LPGA before its fall launch.

💰 Agilitas, an India-based vertically integrated sportswear platform, raised $26.5 million (Rs 225 crore) from Nexus Venture Partners and Rainmatter by Zerodha to strengthen manufacturing, brand building, retail, and technology as its pushing toward global scale.

💰 Noa, an online wellness startup raised $5.7 million (€5 million) in a round led by Founders Future with participation from Kima Ventures, Drysdale, Eden, Intuition, and mobile-sector business angels to launch its first fitness and Pilates app designed first for women and build a premium online wellness brand.

💰 Nardo, an Australian sports technology platform for grassroots and semi-professional clubs, secured $1 million in pre-seed funding as former Socceroo Tim Cahill joined as an investor and strategic partner to accelerate commercial expansion across the United States, United Kingdom, and the Middle East.

💰 Vivilo, an Italian AI-powered event content startup formerly known as Jubatus, raised $715,000 (€628,000) in pre-seed funding from Italian investors to support growth, platform development, team expansion, and the creation and distribution of personalized photo and video content for event participants.

💰 TIVA Performance, a French performance cosmetics company, secured $600,000 (€525,000) in a pre-seed round led by APEX to establish tactical topicals across pro sports, fitness racing, and gym settings through products including grip-enhancing gel and friction-mitigating balm.

💰 US tech company Teamworks will expand its Belfast engineering team over the next three years, advancing the company’s research and development in AI, data and platform capabilities. Invest Northern Ireland offered Teamworks $0.5 million (£398,077) in financial support for a three-year Belfast R&D project.

💰 CardsHQ and Sports Card Investor merged after receiving an undisclosed strategic growth investment led by Shamrock Capital alongside EnOne Ventures to merge into a single CardsHQ platform and fund new stores, and deeper integration of content, commerce, live breaking, and community for trading card collectors.

🤝 RTL Group completed its $78 million (€68 million) acquisition of Sky Deutschland from Comcast, bringing together two major German-speaking European media and broadcasting operations.

🤝 Brand Velocity Group acquired RCX Sports from Raine Partners for an undisclosed amount to scale the North American youth sports platform that manages official league-backed programs including NFL Flag, MLS GO, Jr. NBA and Jr. WNBA Leagues, MLB Pitch, Hit & Run, and NHL Street.

💸 Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić invested in an ownership group led by former Dallas Mavericks executive Donnie Nelson that purchased Italian Lega Basket Serie A club Vanoli Cremona for an undisclosed amount, with the team eyeing an NBA Europe future.

💸 The Sacramento Pitch secured $1.8 billion in public-private funding for a shovel-ready 50-acre stadium site as business, civic, tribal, and community leaders launched a campaign to bring an MLB expansion franchise to Greater Sacramento.

💸Members of the Glazer family are reportedly studying a part or full divestment of their Manchester United stake after more than 20 years of ownership, as the club continued to operate under a split ownership structure involving the family and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS.

💸 885 Capital acquired full control of CD Leganés in a deal valuing the Spanish second division club at around $116.5 million (€100 million), after buying out Blue Crow Sports Group’s stake and increasing its ownership to 99.1%.

💸 A pair of South Florida-linked families bought roughly 15% of the Miami Marlins at a $1.55 billion valuation, giving owner Bruce Sherman new capital as the MLB franchise addressed its debt position.

💸 Nationwide Mutual Insurance agreed to buy a 37% stake in the Columbus Crew at a $900 million valuation, after partnering with the Haslam family to secure the 18th NWSL franchise in Columbus.

💸 Melinda French Gates joined the Seattle Kraken as a minority investor, pending NHL approval, becoming part of an ownership group led by majority owner and managing partner Samantha Holloway alongside investors David Wright, Andy Jassy, and Jerry Bruckheimer.

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A US consortium put in a $2.3 billion bid for SSC Napoli. FIFA World Cup prep is accelerating - Fan IDs live, AI concierges across host cities, 40 matches headed to Cosm's 12K LED domes. But such events don't take place without their fair share of controversy, this time it's ticket prices (surprise) as the New York and New Jersey attorneys launch an investigation into ticketing practices.

In our lead this week we recap SPORT[GEN] Summit in Paris - a strong debut means they have earned their place on our ‘recommended events’ calendar.

💡 EVENTS

SPORT[GEN] Summit Recap: Paris Puts Sports Innovation in Focus

The first edition of SPORT[GEN] Summit brought the sports business community to Paris for two days of conversations across investment, technology, media, women’s sport, fan engagement and performance. The event’s strongest part was the breadth of the room: rights holders, investors, startups, technology partners, media companies and sports organisations all looking at how the industry is evolving with new capital, AI, emerging formats and changing fan behaviour.

The summit also featured The Draft, a startup competition supported by BNP Paribas, PSG Labs, AWS & SportsTechX.

Nine companies pitched, three made the podium:

• 🥇 PLAYBACK: An integrated platform for players, coaches and fans. Combining video, GPS, operations, tagging, analytics, clip distribution and player data in one interface. The platform includes AI match tagging, instant video breakdowns, player benchmarks and automated clip delivery, making it relevant for teams trying to reduce fragmented workflows across performance and analysis.

• 🥉Sports Impact Technologies: Focused on athlete safety through real-time head impact monitoring. The Dublin-based startup is developing wearable technology to detect and monitor head impacts, addressing one of the most important welfare challenges in contact sport.

• 🥈 Billy: Next-gen event ticketing platform for promoters across concerts, festivals, conferences, sport events and live shows. The French startup is focused on helping organisers create branded ticketing experiences, sell tickets and grow communities around events, which makes it directly relevant to the fan experience and live sports economy.

The SPORT[GEN] Summit landed as a top-tier conference. Add the fact that it's a first edition really shows the direction of travel for sports tech events.

Great speaker lineup, classy venue, strong engagement amongst attendees. Everything you need to make a conference worth the trip.

Sports tech events are absolutely taking it up a notch. Thanks for the invite, looking forward to the next one.

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

⚽ England and Manchester United defender Harry Maguire co-founded and invested in Feedz, an AI coaching app that converted spoken audio notes into structured player reports for athletes, parents, and coaching staff.

⚽ Lots of news about the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026

• FIFA launched the FIFA Fan ID, a free physical card and fan memento available to every FIFA World Cup 2026 ticket holder across all 104 matches and 16 stadiums, unlocking a digital experiences.

• Fanatics Markets and ADI Predictstreet launched a FIFA World Cup 2026 Hub for U.S. fans, combining global football prediction markets with tournament news, official player data, and in-app content across the Fanatics Markets app and website in 23 U.S. states and four territories.

• Cosm and FOX Sports expanded their FIFA World Cup 2026 partnership to show 40 matches at Cosm’s shared reality venues in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Atlanta on 27m-wide 12K+ LED domes, while Diversified was set to host a US v Australia watch party at InfoComm.

• The BBC planned to skip the first-ever FIFA World Cup final halftime show featuring Shakira, Madonna, and BTS on its main broadcast and keep its traditional halftime coverage focused on pundit analysis.

• FIFA World Cup host cities deployed AI concierges for visitors, including Frisco’s GuideGeek-powered Frankie, NYC Tourism’s Ellis and Libby bots, and an Official NYNJ World Cup Concierge backed by the New York New Jersey host committee.

• An investigation by the New York and New Jersey State Attorneys into FIFA’s ticketing practices for the upcoming World Cup.

🏎️ Scuderia Ferrari HP used IBM’s AI to overhaul its fan app with games, AI-written race summaries, behind-the-scenes team and driver stories, predictions, and an AI companion, as the team aimed to turn race data into more personalized storytelling for fans.

🏈 The Canadian Football League signed six-year media agreements with Bell Media’s TSN and RDS, added DAZN as a broadcast partner, and named YouTube as a premier platform partner from 2027 in the largest media rights deal in league history.

⚽ Apple TV streamed the LA Galaxy vs Houston Dynamo FC MLS match from Dignity Health Sports Park as the first major professional live sports event captured entirely on iPhone 17 Pro, with iPhones positioned across the venue and paired with a $265k Fujinon Duvo 25-1000 cinema box lens.

🏏 South African cricket legend AB de Villiers joined AI-powered cricket technology platform Kabuni as a super coach, alongside Sourav Ganguly and Shane Watson, as the company expanded its coaching and development platform powered by AI, biomechanics, motion capture, and real-time tracking in India’s grassroots cricket ecosystem.

⚾ Major League Baseball announced a partnership with RISE Worldwide, a wholly owned Reliance Industries subsidiary, to grow baseball in India through marketing, social media, commercial initiatives, grassroots activations, digital content, and a live event in Mumbai in October 2026.

🏏 SI (formerly Sportz Interactive) enabled six IPL franchises to build more than 10 million first-party fan profiles during the 2026 season through its FanOS engagement operating system, converting passive social followers into known, consented users owned directly by each franchise.

🏀 Euroleague CEO Chus Bueno said the league remained open to a partnership with NBA Europe but warned cooperation was not inevitable as Euroleague prepared a major direct-to-consumer push and targeted a €3 billion valuation.

🏒 The PWHL Players Association published individual player salaries for the first time, with 194 players earning between $37k and $126k only 10 players receiving six-figure compensation, and roughly two-thirds earning less than $60,000.

💰 PlayerData, a Scotland-founded performance tech company, raised $12 million in Series A funding led by Pentland Ventures, Darco Ventures, and Bolt Ventures, with Tennis Australia and Kevin Durant’s 35V joining as strategic investors, as it expanded from a lower-cost GPS wearable into connected ball technology and AI-powered video.

💰 Coachbetter, a Zurich-based sports technology company modernizing the operational infrastructure of amateur and youth soccer clubs, secured $8.2 million in pre-Series A funding from Brighteye Ventures, Swiss Founders Fund, ZEN11, Hansi Flick, Paul Lambert, and Julian Draxler to expand its engineering and product teams, enhance platform functionality, strengthen collaborations with professional soccer organizations, and scale into new international markets and club structures.

💸 Zlatan Ibrahimović joined Italian sports performance analysis company K-Sport as a shareholder, global ambassador, and anchor investor to support its international expansion across Europe, the United States, and Asia as the company launched a new funding round.

🤝 SportAI acquired Padelytics for an undisclosed amount, bringing together two AI and video analysis companies to build a racket sports platform focused on padel, tennis, and pickleball.

🤝 Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong bought a Major League Volleyball expansion team in Los Angeles for an undisclosed amount, with Ben Priest set to co-own the franchise ahead of its debut next year.

🤝 Athvance Sports acquired a significant stake in Benelux MMA organization Levels Fight League for an undisclosed amount, adding a fast-growing fight platform with proven fighter development and international expansion potential to Athvance Capital’s sports IP portfolio.

💰 LIV Golf is seeking up to $350 million in new investment and planned to shrink to a 10-event schedule while giving players equity stakes, as it tried to survive the loss of Saudi PIF backing after 2026.

🤝 A US consortium led by Underdog Global Partners offered about $2.3 billion (€2 billion) to acquire SSC Napoli from the De Laurentiis family.

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A busy week in the world of sports: US Democrats are trying to ban PE in youth sports, LIV Golf is preparing for a potential US bankruptcy filing, the Esports World Cup is moving to Paris, MSG Sports is splitting the Knicks and Rangers into separate companies, the NBA Playoffs just delivered their highest viewership in 29 years, and so on. So actually, just a regular week in sports in 2026.

Speaking of big announcements: ~$5 billion in committed capital has been announced so far in 2026 across sports-focused funds. For context, we're 38.9% into the year. From billion-dollar buyout vehicles to €5 million angel collectives, this week we mapped every active fund, who's behind them, and the four themes capital is concentrating around.

💡 INTELLIGENCE HUB

We're not even five months into 2026 and the industry has already announced roughly $5 billion in committed capital across sports-focused and sports-adjacent funds. Private equity, venture, athlete-led platforms, women's sport, betting infrastructure, sustainability, accessibility, sports IP, we have the full spectrum.

Announced commitments are one thing. The bigger question is deployment. How much gets put to work, and when, is what actually matters. That's what we'll be watching. Here's the full list of funds launched and active in 2026:

1. Otro Capital, Fund I, $1.2B (USA): Dedicated sports buyout fund targeting control stakes in premium sports assets. Closed oversubscribed at more than double its $500M original target. Existing exposure includes Alpine Racing (F1), Two Circles, FlexWork Sports and Utah Brands & Entertainment. The largest first-time dedicated sports buyout fund ever raised globally.

2. Bruin Capital, $1B (USA): New global sports platform capitalized by Bruin, 26North, TJC and other partners. George Pyne's firm targets sports economy "second-level enablers" including technology, data, media and commercial services. Total capital raised since 2015 now exceeds $2B.

3. Domain Entertainment Fund II, $768M (USA): Atlanta-based vehicle from Domain Capital Group, investing in film libraries, television participation and music catalogs. Sports is included as an additional entertainment-related allocation. The vehicle sits in the sports-adjacent category alongside literary works and theatrical productions.

4. L Catterton, CHAMP, reported $500M (USA): Athlete-led consumer co-investment platform with Patricof Co, where 250+ athletes co-own portfolio companies. The strategy spans food, apparel, wellness and adjacent consumer categories. Named athletes include Cooper Flagg, Tyrese Haliburton, Mike Trout, Dak Prescott and Kevin Durant via 35V.

5. 154 Partners, Fund I, $400M (USA): Debut lower-middle-market PE fund closed at hard cap, founded by former Blackstone colleagues Isaac Harrouche and Mike Berlin in partnership with David Blitzer. Sports and live events identified as a core opportunity area. Has already invested in a sports and live event-focused guest services platform.

6. Ariel Investments, Project Level, $250M first close (USA): Chicago-based women's sports growth capital vehicle led by Mellody Hobson and Jason Wright. Reached its $250M first close in February with a reported $1B total target. Initial investments in Denver Summit FC (NWSL) and League One Volleyball.

7. EnOne Ventures, reported $250M target (USA): Joint vehicle from OneTeam Partners and EnTrust Global, focused on athlete-backed businesses where athlete IP drives value creation. Coverage spans tech, consumer platforms, health, wellness and youth sports. Anchor investors include an Asian sovereign wealth fund, family offices and Fanatics. Initial investments: MARI and The Realest.

8. Sideline Group, Fund I, $155M (USA): NYC-based vehicle backing the "offline economy" across consumer, sports, media, entertainment, active lifestyle and live experiences. Founded by Greg Mazlin (ex-Silver Lake, Tiger Global). Portfolio includes Bandit Running, Urban Golf Performance, MARI and Milky Way Park.

9. Synergy Sports Capital, Fund I, $150M target (USA): Houston-based PE vehicle targeting controlling stakes in emerging sports leagues, teams and ecosystem assets outside the Big Four. Founded by ex-NFL receiver Terrence C. Murphy Sr., with Reggie Bush as a Partner. First deals: Atlético Dallas (USL) and LOVB Salt Lake.

10. InStudio Ventures, Sports & Performance Fund, $50M (USA): Los Angeles-based early-stage sports and performance technology fund led by Danny Cortenraede with an emphasis on AI-led businesses. Anchored by stakes in the Buffalo Bills, LA Chargers and Aston Martin F1. Existing portfolio includes Springbok Analytics.

11. Pleasant/Rock (USA): Sports and real estate investment and development platform founded by Malcolm Jenkins and Brian K. Hinds Jr. New Jersey-headquartered with $200M+ in active developments. Targets $500M in total investments by 2028 across sports-adjacent real estate, workforce housing and modular development.

12. Gamma Waves Partners, €55M of €100M target (Netherlands): Amsterdam-based permanent capital platform at the intersection of Sports IP and Sports Tech. Founded by former Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, Giorgio Chiellini and Rocco Benetton, with Kyang Yung as CIO. Targets minority stakes in clubs, teams, athletes and growth-stage sports tech.

13. COREangels SportsTech, €5M (Portugal): Lisbon-based pan-European angel collective backing early-stage sports tech startups across AI, data, wearables, fan engagement and esports. Launched in 2025 with first close and first investments deploying in 2026. Co-managed with OW Ventures, average ticket ~€120K.

14. BettingStartups Capital (Canada): Founder-funded pre-seed and seed vehicle for sports betting, iGaming and B2B infrastructure startups, writing checks of $100K to $250K. Co-led by former Pinnacle CEO Paris Smith, investor Magnus Hedman and BettingStartups founder Jesse Learmonth. First investment: InsightPlay.ai.

15. Wales Golf G4D Accessibility Fund, £500K (UK): Grant programme from Sport Wales with Welsh Government support, administered by Wales Golf and tied to Wales hosting the G4D Open at Celtic Manor. Clubs can apply for capital projects up to £20K each with 20% co-funding.

16. Admiral Group Sustainability in Sport Fund II, £100K (UK): Welsh grant programme run by the Welsh Sports Association in partnership with Admiral's Green Fund Initiative. Second-year round opened in late 2025 with winners announced and capital distributed in 2026. Supports grassroots organisations driving environmental change through sport.

Four themes from this list:

1. Scaled buyouts are getting serious: Otro at $1.2B, Bruin at $1B, 154 Partners at $400M. These aren't opportunistic plays. Dedicated sports PE is institutionalising.

2. Athletes are becoming capitalists: L Catterton's CHAMP, EnOne, Synergy, Pleasant/Rock. Athletes co-owning the businesses built around their names and IP. Has been happening for a while and isn’t going to stop. The endorsement deal is starting to look quaint.

3. Women's sport is getting real money: Ariel's Project Level at $250M targeting $1B, LOVB, Denver Summit FC. Not tokenistic cheques. Structured growth capital with return expectations attached.

4. The edges of the ecosystem: Betting infrastructure, sustainability, accessibility, angel collectives. BettingStartups writing $100K cheques in Canada. Wales Golf running a £500K grants programme. The money is going everywhere now.

The industry is attracting every kind of money. The deployment numbers will tell the real story. Watch this space.

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

• 🎮 EA Sports FC Pro Mobile launched a global esports circuit with qualifiers, regional events, and a $350,000 prize pool leading to a World Championship.

• 🎮 ESL FACEIT Group and TikTok launched the first esports vertical livestream broadcast product co-developed for TikTok, debuting at Intel Extreme Masters Atlanta to reach the global gaming community.

• 🎮 The Esports Foundation announced that the 2026 Esports World Cup would be hosted in Paris, France.

• 🏅 FORM won the Smarter Athletics & Aquatics Innovation Award for its HeadCoach 2.0 technology at the 2026 Smarter Sports Awards (formerly the STA Awards), becoming a three-time winner, building on back-to-back best wearable tech victories in 23 and 24.

• ⚙️ Apple expanded Apple Sports to more than 90 new countries and regions, bringing availability to more than 170 markets globally.

• 🏀 The 2026 NBA Playoffs delivered the highest viewership through the Conference Semifinals in 29 years, averaging 4.5 million viewers per game across ABC, ESPN, NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video.

• 📺 FIFA finalized a World Cup broadcast agreement in China worth a reported $60 million just weeks before the tournament began.

• 🏎️ NASCAR is shifting away from using Nielsen's new "Big Data" formula for counting ratings for the rest of the season, amid concerns that it's uniquely harming the auto racing series. NASCAR viewing was down 1% for the Fox portion of the 2026 season with Big Data but up 1% with the old Panel-only method.

• 🏃 Athlos announced that its all-female track meet would make its London debut in September as the event expanded to two editions.

• ⚽ UEFA vowed to strictly enforce rules preventing clubs under the same ownership from competing together in the Women’s Champions League.

• 🎾 French Open players planned a media protest over prize money after claiming their share of revenue had dropped to 14.3% compared with 22% at other events. A topic we covered in depth in our recent report. 

• 🏈 The NFL planned to expand its international schedule in 2027, with executive vice president Peter O’Reilly saying the league was exploring future game sites in Asian markets including Japan. While also targeting a 2027 launch for a professional flag football league.

• 🏀 The San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans scheduled regular-season games in Paris and Manchester in 2027, with Manchester set to host its first NBA regular-season game.

• 💸 MSG Sports advanced plans to split the New York Rangers and New York Knicks into separate companies through an SEC filing.

• 🏟️ DraftKings announced plans to close its in-person sportsbook at Wrigley Field after operating the venue for about two years.

• 💰 Zerodha acquired more than 3.5 million shares in Nazara Technologies for $10.9 million (₹93.05 crore), while its promoter entity Axana Estates purchased 14.8 million shares for $46 million (₹392.9 crore).

• 💰 Muybridge raised $16 million in a Series A funding round led by Investinor, Fairpoint, Idekapital and RunwayFBU, to expand its software-defined imaging platform for virtual real-time camera perspectives in sports and live event production.

• 💰 SponsorCX, secured an additional undisclosed investment into their Series A funding round led by Kickstart, with participation from Blueprint Equity, Capital Eleven, Frazier Group, Helm Ventures, to further develop its partnership operations platform for sponsorship management.

• 🤝 Panasonic Projector and Display Corporation acquired UK-based media technology company Hive Media Control to strengthen its live production and media workflow capabilities.

• 🤝 Global sports, music, and entertainment company THE·TEAM acquired a significant ownership in Italian football talent representation business, GG11.

• 🏟️ The Tampa Bay Rays, Hillsborough County, and the city of Tampa agreed on a new funding memorandum for a proposed $2.3 billion stadium project in West Tampa.

• 🏅 US Democrats are pushing a new legislation to ban private equity firms from owning youth sports businesses amid growing investor activity in the sector.

• 💸 A private equity fund acquired the Owen Sound Attack, making the franchise the first Canadian Hockey League team owned by a private equity group.

• 💸 Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund considered selling a minority stake in Newcastle United to help finance a potential £1 billion stadium and infrastructure redevelopment project.

• 💸 Ari Emanuel and Michael Dell joined a group of investors purchasing a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders.

• 💸 LIV Golf began preparing for a potential US bankruptcy filing if it failed to secure new funding by the end of the season.

• 💸 TKO Group executives Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro invested in the Las Vegas Raiders alongside other investors at a reported $9.9 billion valuation.

• 💸 The United States Tennis Association seeks $400 million in private debt financing from institutional investors to refurbish Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.

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Jake Paul isn't the only one taking big swings in boxing. This week Bruin Capital stepped into the ring with a 15% stake in Matchroom at a valuation north of $1.35 billion, backing its US expansion. Elsewhere, a Sergio Ramos-led consortium agreed to acquire Sevilla FC for €444 million, the NBA is apparently putting $3 billion on the table to cover potential early losses for its European league, and Cristiano Ronaldo invested in a sports streaming platform ahead of the World Cup.

This week's feature from our Global SportsTech Ecosystem Report breaks down the structural momentum behind competitive running: record participation, record retention, and a $13.8 billion events market that keeps growing.

Are you running to a finish line this year or would you rather run a bar tab? Let us know in the poll below.

💡 GSTER26: COMPETITIVE RUNNING IS HAVING ITS MOMENT

Record finishers, record revenues, and a new breed of runner turning race weekends into destination experiences , competitive running has become one of the fastest-growing segments in global sports.

• 59,226 finishers at 2025 NYC Marathon , largest US race ever

• 3.1% race churn rate in 2025 , record low

• $13.8B global marathon events market (2024)

INSIGHT

Competitive running is shifting from a niche endurance sport into a global, event-driven participation economy.

Record-breaking marathon participation is no longer an outlier, it's the new baseline. The 2025 TCS New York City Marathon reached 59,226 finishers, while London matched that scale with 56,000. This growth is not episodic , it is structural.

The clearest signal: only 129 of the 4,209 races with over 500 participants failed to return in 2025 , a churn rate of 3.1%, down from 3.9% in 2024 and 5.0% in 2023, and a record low. The market isn't just expanding , it is stabilizing, professionalizing, and consolidating.

WHY IT'S HAPPENING

1. Events as the Anchor

   75% of Gen Z athletes report that a signed-up race is the primary driver keeping them training. A race entry creates a fixed goal, social accountability, and a financial commitment. It anchors training in a way gym memberships don't.

2. Running as Social Currency

   Running has become a visible identity. Training runs, gear, and race completion are shared across platforms for status , from Strava to TikTok and even LinkedIn. Especially as major races are oversubscribed, lottery-based, and increasingly exclusive. Entry itself has become a signal: something to earn, not just buy.

3. The New Third Space

   As traditional social venues decline, run clubs have emerged as vital community infrastructure. For Gen Z and Millennials, they replace dating apps and networking events , one in five Gen Z users has gone on a date with someone they met through exercise.

4. Move for Mental Health

   Runners cite stress and anxiety management as a major motivator. The structured, goal-oriented nature of race training creates routine and focus. Completing a race, a goal set months in advance, delivers a measurable sense of progress and accomplishment that few other activities can replicate.

Continue reading about why it’s happening and why it matters in the full Global Sports Tech Ecosystem interactive web report.

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

⚙️ IBM launched and kicked off the IBM Sports Tech Startup Challenge at Web Summit Vancouver, marking the first showcase in a global initiative to find and accelerate cutting-edge AI startups transforming the world of sports.

⚙️ The San Francisco Unicorns developed an AI-driven product to support team operations and performance analysis as the franchise continued building on its early Major League Cricket success.

🤝 FIFA and Fanatics signed a long-term exclusive collectibles licensing agreement covering trading cards, stickers, and trading card games as part of an expanded commercial partnership.

⚽ FIFA introduced collectible debut patches for players making their first World Cup appearance during the upcoming tournament.

📺 FOX Sports and Cosm partnered to broadcast 40 FIFA World Cup 2026 matches at Cosm venues in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Atlanta.

⚽ Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund signed an agreement to become an official supporter of the FIFA World Cup 2026 ahead of Saudi Arabia hosting the 2034 tournament.

⛳ The PGA Tour relaxed its social media policy to give players greater access to official content for audience growth and fan engagement.

🏅 US lawmakers introduced legislation requiring private equity firms to divest from youth sports businesses following scrutiny of investor involvement in the sector.

⚙️ Genius Sports filed a patent infringement lawsuit against SportsCastr over technology involving real-time graphics integrated into live sports broadcasts.

⚽ Manchester City opened a new £10 million women’s first-team facility at the City Football Academy to support its women’s football operations.

📺 FOX Sports funded a three-year fandom and social connection research initiative at Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center to study sports audiences and community engagement.

📺 The WNBA surpassed $3 billion in total media rights value after adding more than $900 million in new agreements since deals with Disney, Amazon, and NBCUniversal were announced in 2024.

🏒 The NHL increased its salary cap by $8.5 million to $104 million, creating significant financial shifts across the league.

💰 PE firm Bruin Capital agreed to purchase a minority 15% stake at a valuation north of $1.35 billion (£1 billion) in sports promoter Matchroom who aims to accelerate its US expansion.

💰 Stockholm-based tennis tracking startup PlayReplay raised $12 million (with participation from Centre Court Capital) as it expands electronic line-calling, now a fixture at elite events, to lower-level play.

💰 Professional Sports Authenticator’s parent company, Collectors, is investing $200 million into the authentication and grading giant to expand operations over the next 18 months.

💰 United Sports Rock partnered with Athleteq.App to support the expansion of technology designed to measure and train mental performance in professional sports.

🤝 ve2ventures acquired sports content platform Content Stadium in its largest deal to date to expand its sports and media ecosystem.

🤝 Cristiano Ronaldo acquired a stake in sports streaming platform LiveModeTV, linked to Brazil’s CazéTV, as part of his expansion into digital sports media ahead of the next World Cup.

🏀 The NBA offered $3 billion to accelerate the launch of a new European basketball league after prospective owners raised concerns about profitability timelines.

💸 Sixth Street is pitching a dedicated sports and entertainment fund to Australian investors and wealthy families while simultaneously exploring active investments in the Australian sports market.

🤝 A consortium led by Sergio Ramos and backed by the Five Eleven Capital has reached an agreement in principle worth around €444 million to acquire Sevilla FC in January.

🤝 The WNBA and NBA Board of Governors approved the sale and relocation of the Connecticut Sun to Houston under new owner Tilman Fertitta ahead of the 2027 season.

🤝 Aston Villa's ownership group, V Sports, are advancing in talks to acquire a controlling stake in French second-division club, FC Annecy, as part of their multi-club ownership strategy.

💸 The World Surf League is evaluating bringing on new investment, including the possibility of selling, after receiving a significant amount of inbound interest as investor interest rises in niche sports leagues

💸 Venezia FC, the professional football club of Venice, announced that it completed a significant minority investment from an investment vehicle led by Tim Leiweke and Francesca Bodie, as part of a €100 million fund raise during 2025-26.

💸 A takeover of Exeter Chiefs by the owners of Premier League AFC Bournemouth has been approved by the Prem rugby club.

💸 ITV continued active discussions with Sky regarding a potential sale of the broadcaster’s network assets.

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Four PE deals across four very different sports this week: football's third tier, pickleball, golf clubs, and the IPL. Anyone had that bingo card? Maybe last week, definitely not five years ago.

Our GSTER26 deep dive looks at the structures that decide how athletes actually get paid once the capital that's flying about finally lands.

💡 GSTER26 : WHO HOLDS THE POWER - HOW ATHLETES GET PAID IN SPORTS

Three payment models run professional sport:

• The team that employs you

• The tour that pays you to compete

• The promoter who controls access to the stage

The nuances of each model determine who holds the power in sports, who carries risk, and who actually gets rich.

• ~50%: Share of league revenue NBA players receive, protected by decades of collective bargaining. By comparison, the Premier League average is 60-70%, while in the IPL it’s 18%.

• +33%: Jump in PGA Tour prize money in a single season (by ~$150M) after LIV Golf launched. In the previous eight years combined, the purse had grown just 19%.

• $375M: UFC antitrust settlement paid to fighters in 2025, after a ten-year lawsuit proved the promoter suppressed pay through exclusive contracts and buyouts of rival promotions.

THE STRUCTURE DECIDES

Cristiano Ronaldo earns his wage whether he scores or sits injured in the stands. Novak Djokovic earns nothing from competition the weeks he doesn't play, for any reason. Two of the greatest athletes of their generation - opposite financial realities. The difference is the structure their sport chose.

Every sport, consciously or not, made a foundational decision about how money flows to athletes. That decision shapes everything downstream: who holds leverage, who absorbs financial risk, and who accumulates lasting wealth. There are three models.

• THE TEAM PAYS YOU - A guaranteed salary in exchange for your movement, your image, and your leverage. Football. Basketball.

• THE TOUR PAYS YOU - Prize money based purely on results. No safety net, but no one owns your upside either. Tennis. Golf.

• THE PROMOTER PAYS YOU - Whoever controls access to the biggest stage controls the purse. Boxing. MMA.

Most sports blend elements of all three. The interesting question is always which model dominates and who decided.

More than decisions, these were actually structures built by the people who already had power. The UFC generated $775 million in revenue in the first half of 2025 alone. Its fighters received 17% of it. The sport itself isn't the variable. The structure is.

HOW WE GOT HERE

• THE SHIFTING LEVERAGE: For most of sports history, the imbalance was large but hidden as deals were private. Athletes had no data, no advisors, no alternative. The Bosman ruling in 1995 began slowly shifting leverage. What changed everything was scale and transparency. Sport got richer, deals got public, and social media gave athletes a direct line to their own fanbase. For the first time, the leverage sat with the athlete.

• ATHLETE REVENUE SHARE BY SPORT: Ranges of how much of the money reaches the athletes, across sports, geographies and structures

THE SHIFT

For most of sports history, athletes accepted the model they were born into. Three moments made that impossible to continue.

• LIV GOLF: When Capital Challenged a Century-Old Monopoly

  For 93 years, the PGA Tour held a structural monopoly over professional golf. No guaranteed income, no safety net, no alternative.

• UFC ANTITRUST: When Fighters Finally Fought Back

  UFC fighters were not simply under-paid, averaging $7,500 per fight while their promoter signed billion-dollar television deals, they had no other option.

• NIL: When the Last Unpaid Workforce Got Theirs

  The NCAA spent decades generating billions from athletes prohibited from earning a cent from their own name.

Read more about this shift and where we go from here in the full interactive web report. And how now, for the first time, athletes have enough capital, enough data, and enough alternatives to build something of their own.

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

🎾 AO Startups opened applications for its latest cohort after helping startups including BOLT6 progress from a 2023 pilot to Australian Open commercial deals in 2024 and beyond, while Raven Controls advanced from a 2024 United Cup pilot to an AO Ventures investment in 2026.

🏎️ ALT Sports Data and Caesars Entertainment partnered to launch a new Formula 1 betting product powered by official data, predictive modeling, and race-level simulations across Caesars Sportsbook and William Hill platforms.

📺 LaLiga announced plans to shut down its OTT streaming platform LaLiga+ after nearly a decade of operation.

⚾ The NCAA rules committee approved the experimental use of robot umpires to challenge balls and strikes during the SEC Tournament.

🏈 The NFL introduced new broadcast technology initiatives for the 2026 season after television ratings for the NFL Draft declined despite record in-person attendance.

🏈 YouTube and Netflix prepared to split the NFL’s new five-game media rights package under the league’s latest broadcast agreement.

🎳 Triple B Media launched Bowling TV, a free ad-supported 24/7 FAST channel dedicated to bowling and distributed across platforms including Prime Video, LG Channels, Xumo Play, and DISH TV.

🎾 Accenture and the WTA announced a multi-year partnership focused on improving player experiences and shaping the future of women’s tennis through technology and innovation.

⚙️ Fit:match AI, a 3D body analytics platform for sports performance, announced a strategic partnership with Playmaker Recruiting to provide college coaches, scouts, and recruiting staff with direct access to verified 3D anthropometric athlete data.

🏀 CNBC reported that the Golden State Valkyries became the first WNBA franchise valued at $1 billion in its 2026 team valuation rankings.

🏀 The 2026 NBA Playoffs delivered the most-watched first round in 33 years, with Game 7 between the 76ers and Celtics averaging 11 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.

📺 FIFA faces broadcast uncertainty for the upcoming World Cup in China and India after broadcasters in both countries had yet to finalize media rights agreements weeks before the tournament.

📺 UEFA secured global broadcast agreements across 19 territories approaching $6 billion in annual revenue for competitions including the Champions League.

🏏 Cricket Australia paused plans to sell stakes in Big Bash franchises after resistance to the proposed privatization strategy.

💸 KKR, a leading global investment firm, announced that it has closed its previously announced acquisition of Arctos Partners, a premier institutional investor in professional sports franchise stakes globally and a leader in asset management solutions for sponsors. The transaction has received the specified sports league approvals required for closing.

💸 KKR made a strategic investment in MLS NEXT Pro through a new entity called Hometown Soccer Holdings to accelerate league growth, community engagement, and new market opportunities.

💸 Apollo Global Management led a $225 million investment into Major League Pickleball and the PPA Tour, which will operate under a new parent company called Pickleball Inc.

💰 Stockholm-based tennis tracking startup PlayReplay raised $12 million to expand its electronic line-calling technology for lower-level tennis after deploying the system across 350k sessions ranging from junior tournaments to professional events.

💰 Saudi Arabia-based healthtech company Metafare raised $1 million in funding from Harmonics Ventures and family offices to scale its virtual wellness solutions platform.

⛳ Private equity firm ‌KSL Capital Partners has agreed to buy Invited Clubs, an operator of golf and membership clubs, for around $3 billion, including debt

🤝 DAZN acquired streaming technology company ViewLift for close to $100 million to support its expansion ambitions in the United States.

🤝 Genius Sports completed its acquisition of digital sports and gaming media network Legend for an undisclosed amount to expand its capabilities across official sports data, media, advertising, and iGaming.

🤝 Betterguards acquired the smart fabric intellectual property of fellow NBA Launchpad graduate Nextiles to advance data-driven injury prevention technology.

🤝 William Blair agreed to acquire boutique investment bank Inner Circle Sports to strengthen its presence across the global sports, media, and entertainment ecosystem.

🤝 Billionaire Lakshmi Mittal and his family acquired a 75% stake in IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals for $1.65 billion as Kal Solmani’s proposed deal collapsed.

🤝 A US consortium led by Arise Capital Partners completed the takeover of Sheffield Wednesday, ending Dejphon Chansiri’s ownership of the club.

⚽ American investors expressed interest in acquiring INEOS-owned French football club OGC Nice, which has been formally up for sale for several months.

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Another week, this time its two new sports funds. InStudio Ventures launched their $50 million fund anchored by stakes in the Bills and Chargers. While former Juventus president Andrea Agnelli launched Gamma Waves Partners targeting sports IP and tech.

April's monthly roundup shows $819 million in sports tech funding across 16 deals, with Stats Perform's $750 million haul doing most of the heavy lifting. Full breakdown below.

Plus, the NBA is fielding $10B expansion bids from Las Vegas and Seattle, Brighton announced Europe's first purpose-built women's football stadium, and Man City launched a VR fan experience.

💡 INTELLIGENCE HUB

SPORTS TECH INVESTMENT MONTHLY ROUND UP

April 2026 continued the strong momentum from March, with funding reaching $819.4M across 16 deals, while no M&A values were disclosed despite a few transactions taking place. The month was heavily driven by two large rounds from a single company (Stats Perform), skewing both sector and geographic distribution.

Here’s a quick summary:

• Geography:
  Funding was overwhelmingly concentrated in the USA, which accounted for $752.8M (92.3%) of total capital raised. The remaining activity was split across China ($28.0M, 3.4%), India ($23.6M, 2.9%), and Germany ($11.0M, 1.3%).
  On the M&A side, both deals were US-linked, making North America 100% of activity by count.

• Sectors:
  Funding was almost entirely driven by ‘For Athletes’, which captured $782.8M (95.5%) of total funding. ‘For Fans’ accounted for $23.6M (2.9%), while ‘For Executives’ made up just $13.0M (1.6%).
  M&A activity was split evenly between ‘For Athletes’ (50%) and ‘For Executives’ (50%).

• Top Deals:

  Stats Perform raised $475M in debt financing and an additional $275M funding round, accounting for the majority of April’s dealflow.

  On the M&A side, ViewLift was acquired by DAZN, and Sportsbox AI was acquired by Bryson DeChambeau, with both deal values undisclosed.

See a more detailed breakdown on the Intelligence Hub and the Global Sports Tech Ecosystem Report.

🏹 SPORT[GEN] SUMMIT

The deals don't happen in the stands, they happen in this room.

1,000+ professionals. 300 organizations. 70% director level.

27 & 28 May 2026 - Pavillon Gabriel, Paris

This is where sport business gets done. Not watched.

SPORT[GEN] Summit is an international, premium event dedicated to the sports business, bringing together on May 27–28, 2026 at Pavillon Gabriel in Paris, executives, rights holders, investors, brands and sponsors, media, and technology solution providers.

With over 1,000 decision-makers and speakers from organizations such as the ATP Tour, PSG, SailGP, the NFL, AWS and JP Morgan, SPORT[GEN] is the platform to build partnerships and shape the future of sport.

You can get a 30% discount on any Startup or Pro tickets using the code: STXPARIS

Don’t miss out on this trip to Paris!

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

⚽ Manchester City launched City Space, an official VR experience built on the Xtadium platform in partnership with YBVR to deliver immersive fan engagement.

⚽ Major League Soccer selected five AI companies for its third Innovation Lab cohort to advance player performance, fan engagement, and media technology.

💸 Monshaat launched a 24-week sports innovation incubator program to support entrepreneurship across sports and connected technologies in Saudi Arabia.

🏓 Researchers developed a table tennis robot called Ace capable of competing with elite players, highlighting advancements in robotics and sports technology.

📺 Gray Media and RAJ Sports launched Rose City SportsNet, a new Portland-based regional network focused on women’s sports programming.

🏀 Meta introduced Live Chats on Threads to enable real-time public group conversations around major cultural events including the NBA Playoffs and Finals.

📺 The NFL and Skydance Sports formed a new studio partnership to develop sports content as part of their broader media collaboration.

⛳ Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund planned to withdraw funding for LIV Golf after the 2026 season following years of multi-billion dollar investment in the circuit.

⚽ Brighton & Hove Albion announced plans to build Europe’s first purpose-built women’s soccer stadium, joining two existing venues in the United States, with an estimated cost of £75–80 million.

🏀 The NBA received interest from multiple investor groups for potential expansion teams in Las Vegas and Seattle, which the league planned to sell for up to $10 billion.

🏟️ The Canadian federal government pledged $660 million over five years to national sport organizations to address participation and funding challenges.

🏅 Magpies Sporting Club launched a Community Grants program to fund athletes and community organizations across men’s sport, women’s sport, and development initiatives in Mackay, Australia.

💸 InStudio Ventures launched a $50 million sports investing fund anchored by small stakes in the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers to target sports technology startups.

💸 Former Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, former ⁠Juventus player Giorgio Chiellini, ​and Rocco Benetton, heir of the Italian family ​behind the global fashion brand, came together to launch new fund Gamma ‌Waves Partners to invest in sports-related intellectual property and technology.

💸 EquiDeFi launched a platform allowing fans to invest in emerging sports leagues, starting with Gamebred Fighting Championship, through a private investment model.

💸 Domain Capital Group launched a Sports Credit Strategy and closed a new separately managed account focused on receivables tied to European football player transfers and media rights.

💸 UCF approved the creation of an Athletics Strategic Investment Fund to support one-time initiatives and adapt to the evolving financial landscape of college sports.

💰 Metasports Interactive, a mobile gaming company, raised $20 million in user acquisition funding from London-based growth financing firm Metica to scale marketing efforts and expand its multiplayer cricket game Hitwicket globally.

💰 SportVot, an India-based sports-tech platform, raised $3.9 million (Rs 32.7 crore) in a funding round led by IAN Alpha Fund to drive international expansion and enhance its AI-led sports production and distribution platform that streams over 500,000 matches globally.

💰 Ohio State student Eric Ishekwene secured $50,000 in startup funding through the President’s Buckeye Accelerator to develop his sports-tech venture.

💰 Teamworks secured a significant growth investment led by Hg to accelerate its AI and data strategy across elite sports organizations.

📺 Warner Bros Discovery shareholders approved a proposed $110 billion merger with Paramount Skydance, pending regulatory approval and potential legal challenges.

💸 Thrive Capital acquired a minority stake in the San Francisco Giants through its new holding company Thrive Eternal to expand into professional sports ownership.

🤝 BSN Sports acquired Sports Endeavors and Lax.com for an undisclosed amount to expand its presence in sports apparel, equipment, and direct-to-consumer retail.

🤝 HOK acquired Detroit-based architecture firm Rossetti, known for its sports venue design and renovation work, for an undisclosed amount to strengthen its global sports architecture portfolio.

💸 Big 12 Conference secured a private capital deal to add at least $12.5 million to the conference, with an optional $30 million per school, without granting ownership or governance stakes.

🏟️ TD Garden announced a $100 million multi-year redevelopment investment plan to transform its premium hospitality offerings, including upgrades to the Society Suite experience and event-level clubs.

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An incredibly busy few days coming out of the incredibly successful 1st edition of PEAK. That's likely not news if you've spent 5 mins on LinkedIn in the last week. Already vying for the must-attend event on the sports tech calendar. Can't wait for next year.

And a busy week in sports deal-flow (which is the norm right now). There are only so many ways we can say "another week, another fund", but it actually never gets boring.

This week alone: L Catterton launched a $500M athlete-backed consumer fund with Durant, Trout and Cantlay. Mark Cuban's Harbinger Sports Partners closed at $450M targeting professional sports assets. The San Diego Padres are nearing a $3.9B sale, a new MLB record if it closes. Lewis Hamilton is opening a trading card shop chain. TickPick made its second acquisition in a year. Yup, busy.

Plus a deep dive on NBA Europe from our recent report, for good measure.

In NY for 2 more days, drop a message if you want to grab a coffee or a slice. We have a pizza spot hit-list 🍕

💡 GSTER26

THE NBA IS COMING TO EUROPE

A 16-team league launching October 2027 , the most structurally ambitious expansion in the NBA's history.

• 1 in 6 - Current NBA players who are European. Five of the last seven MVP awards won by European-born players

• $500M–$1B - Projected franchise fee per team. Before a single game is played

• 16 - Teams across Europe's major cities. London, Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Milan, Istanbul and more

HOW WE GOT HERE

• THE TALENT PIPELINE EUROPE BUILT: Roughly one in six current NBA players is European. Five of the last seven MVP awards went to players who grew up in European basketball systems. The NBA's best players increasingly learned the game in a system the NBA has no structural relationship with and no commercial stake in. That was always likely to change.

• THE INFRASTRUCTURE EUROPE FAILED TO BUILD: European basketball produces world-class talent, not world-class commercial infrastructure. The EuroLeague attracts serious basketball but not serious money. Domestic leagues are fragmented. Arenas are outdated. Broadcast deals are a fraction of US sports and European Football. A continent of 700 million potential fans, a generation of homegrown superstars, and a structurally underdeveloped market. There is an obvious gap.

• THE ANNOUNCEMENT: After protracted negotiations with the EuroLeague, in March 2025, the NBA and FIBA announced they were moving forward with a new professional basketball league in Europe, targeting an October 2027 launch. The planned 16-team format calls for 12 permanent franchises across target cities (see map). JPMorgan Chase and the Raine Group are advising on the process. Dozens of prospective ownership groups are already under NDAs reviewing financial projections.

WHAT'S AT STAKE

• THE FRANCHISE ECONOMICS: Entry fee alone is a nine-figure commitment , projected between $500 million and $1 billion per franchise, before a single game is played. The Celtics ($6.1B) and Lakers ($10B) sales reset expectations on what NBA equity is worth. European franchises are starting lower, but the trajectory is the point. Adam Silver has been explicit: this is not a short-term investment.

• THE COMPETITIVE DISRUPTION: The EuroLeague faces direct competition for clubs, talent, and commercial partners simultaneously. New arenas will need to be built. Broadcast deals negotiated from scratch. The existing ecosystem does not slot neatly into the NBA's structure. What gets absorbed, what gets displaced, and what gets built from zero are all still live questions.

• THE SPORTS TECH OPPORTUNITY: A 16-team league built from scratch needs everything. Ticketing, analytics, broadcast production, fan engagement platforms, arena technology, none of it exists yet. No legacy systems or entrenched vendor relationships, NBA Europe will be building its entire operational stack in a compressed timeframe, across multiple languages and jurisdictions. That is a genuinely rare greenfield opportunity for sports tech companies positioned to move fast.

Learn more about why it’s happening and why it matters in the full Global Sports Tech Ecosystem interactive web report.

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

🏀 The WNBA launched an enhanced version of its app powered by WNBA ID to deliver a next-generation fan platform with personalized digital experiences.

⚙️ Catapult and Mercury13 partnered to deploy performance monitoring hardware and software across Mercury13’s women’s soccer clubs to enhance athlete tracking and research.

🏎️ Lewis Hamilton announced plans to launch Card Culture, an international chain of trading card shops, with its first location set to open in Frankfurt, Germany.

🏹 The World Fencing League launches this weekend in LA with AI-powered Sword Tip Visualization System to track fencing movements in real time and make them visible for analysis and training.

📺 Major League Baseball considered bundling broadcast rights for the next World Baseball Classic with its broader US media rights packages in 2028 as part of ongoing rights negotiations and scrutiny over streaming costs.

🏈 The NFL shopped a five-game package for the 2026 season to broadcasters including YouTube, Netflix, and Fox as part of broader media rights renegotiations.

🏟️ Ohio lawmakers proposed legislation to introduce a fee on sports betting wagers to fund publicly owned stadiums and school athletics programs.

⚽ Sportico reported that the top 50 soccer clubs reached a combined valuation of $95.5 billion, led by Real Madrid at $7.7 billion and Barcelona at $6.65 billion, with MLS featuring the most teams on the list.

⚽ Chelsea FC Women announced that from the 2026/27 season the first team would play all Women’s Super League matches at Stamford Bridge, marking a new phase for the club.

⚽ Premier League clubs raised concerns over rising costs and uncertainty tied to the Independent Football Regulator and how much each club would be required to contribute.

🏫 UNT Athletics launched multiple fundraising challenges as part of its April 27 Day of Giving to support various athletic initiatives.

⛳ The PGA Tour cut 56 full-time roles, representing about 4 percent of its workforce, as part of organizational changes.

💸 L Catterton is launching a $500 million “Champ” athlete-led consumer fund backed by investors including Kevin Durant, Mike Trout, and Patrick Cantlay to target investments in consumer companies.

💸 Harbinger Sports Partners, a private equity fund focused on professional sports and led by Mark Cuban, secured $450 million in investor commitments at the first close of its flagship fund, according to people familiar with the matter; eventually targeting $750 million and could expand to as much as $1 billion to accommodate investor demand.

💰 VisioLab, a Germany-headquartered AI-powered visual self-checkout company for food service, raised $11 million in a Series A round co-led by eCAPITAL Entrepreneurial Partners and Simon Capital, to expand its AI-powered checkout solutions across sports venues and food service environments.

💰 PressBox, an AI startup helping sports properties personalize digital content for fans, raised $2 million in a seed round led by Relay Ventures to expand its agentic AI platform delivering hyper-personalized multi-modal sports content for leagues and media.

💸 BIHUB, FC Barcelona’s innovation hub, invested in technology company Drelife to create, together with Barça Licensing & Merchandising (BLM), the first official second-life marketplace for authentic FC Barcelona merchandise, combining resale technology with global e-commerce operations.

💸 Golden State Warriors guard Moses Moody joined AI analytics firm SportsVisio as an investor and product advisor alongside Duncan Robinson to support the development of computer vision-driven basketball analytics tools.

🤝 TickPick, the modern transparent ticket marketplace of the event ticketing industry, announced the acquisition of Momento, a mobile app that helps fans capture, share and relive their live event experiences, for an undisclosed amount. This is the second acquisition TickPick has made since raising $250 million in growth financing in 2024, following its acquisition of Fanimal last year, which expanded its offering for organizers.

🤝 Backcountry acquired eco-focused apparel brand Coalatree as part of launching its Backcountry Garage outdoor brand incubator platform.

💸 The San Diego Padres are nearing a sale to a group led by billionaire investor José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones in a deal valued at approximately $3.9 billion. If completed, the transaction would mark the highest price ever paid for a MLB franchise, surpassing the $2.42 billion paid by Steve Cohen for the New York Mets in 2020. The deal still requires approval from at least 75% of MLB’s 30 owners.

💸 West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle was named co-owner of a Glasgow-based franchise set to compete in the inaugural European T20 Premier League (ETPL).

💸 The Welsh Rugby Union confirmed that Cardiff would remain under its control after takeover negotiations with the owners of Ospreys collapsed.

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TPG Sports, launched in partnership with Rory McIlroy in 2025, is reportedly set to acquire college athletics media company Learfield in a $2B deal, one of the biggest in collegiate sports. Turns out the buttons on his 2nd Green Jacket weren’t the only thing McIlroy and his team were closing last week.

Elsewhere, Messi added “club owner” to his CV, the WNBA Draft pulled in 1.5M viewers, and Shanghai-based PongBot raised $28M to build AI-powered training robots.

We’ll be on the ground at PEAK 2026 in Las Vegas next week, April 20–22. Come find us at the Playmakers booth (#605) or at one of the panels we’re part of. Details below.

💡 PEAK 2026

3 days to go - See you next week in Las Vegas!

PEAK 2026 is right around the corner and the whole industry is gearing up for it.

With the main conference kicking off on Tuesday, team SportsTechX will be on the ground for both days at Fontainebleau Las Vegas (April 20–22). If you're flying in, here's where to find us and what we're up to.

Full event schedule right here.

• Come say hi at the PLAYMAKERS Booth - #605

  Our Sports Tech Founders Network Playmakers booth will be our home base at PEAK. Stop by to meet the team (Thomas and Rohn), see what some of the top Sports Tech companies in the world - Camb AI, Oliver Sports and SportsVot - are up to, and find out how to join.

TUESDAY

Moderating two panels on the Breakout Stage

• Beyond the Pitch: How Borussia Dortmund Uses Tech & Data for Players and Fans 
  Monday, April 21 · 9:30–10:00 AM · Breakout Stage

  With Marc Lingenhoff (Managing Director, BVB) and BVB legend Patrick Owomoyela on how the club approaches international growth, youth development, and engaging a global fanbase through tech.

• The Capital Stack: Global Venture Capital and SportsTech Investment Monday, April 21 · 12:45–1:20 PM · Breakout Stage

  With Aadit Parikh (Sony Ventures), Mustafa Ghouse (Centre Court Capital), Laurie Pinto (Pinto Capital), and Dustin Drees (Profluence Capital), on how different types of investors with different agendas think, make decisions and operate in global markets.

WEDNESDAY

• Hosting the Startup World Cup Finals on the Main Stage

  We’re hosting the global finals on-site at PEAK. The founders who made it through the regional qualifiers and some wildcard entries will be pitching for the title live on stage Wednesday morning.

We’ll also be joining the morning run on Day 1, hosting a private dinner and generally moving through the event to make sure we meet as many people as possible.

Quick PEAK recap if you still haven't locked your ticket:

• 1,000+ sports executives, founders, and investors across three days

• 100+ sportstech companies exhibiting - from athlete performance to smart venues

• Speakers from NVIDIA, Populous, PSG, Sportradar, Las Vegas Raiders, UFC, MLS, WTA, PGA of America, USA SailGP

• NBA Launchpad & Sports Tech HQ booths featuring their top startups

• FIFA, U.S. Soccer, Sevilla FC, and Villarreal in the Groundbreakers Challenge with GSIC powered by Microsoft

• PEAK Night Summit closing party at LIV Beach

If you're at the event, drop by Booth #605 or catch us on stage. If you haven't booked your ticket yet, you should get on it.

See you in Vegas 🎲

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

📺 Jomboy Media and Fubo have launched a 24/7 creator-led channel to expand baseball-focused digital content distribution.

📰 Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal have launched a new sports vertical focused on the business of sports alongside a live event strategy.

🤖 IBM announced a Sports Tech Startup Challenge at Web Summit Vancouver to advance its sports technology initiatives and industry presence.

📊 Africa Sports Unified has launched a pan-African sports deals tracker to improve market transparency and decision-making.

💰 Major sportsbook funds have contributed $48 million to a super PAC supporting sports betting legalization efforts in the US.

🏟️ Starr Vegas has unveiled a $10 billion, 63-acre Las Vegas Strip development featuring an NBA-ready arena and year-round sports hub.

🏟️ Massachusetts launched a $2 million grant program to support public safety needs ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

🏟️ MetLife Stadium will temporarily change its name during the FIFA World Cup as part of tournament branding requirements.

🏈 Tom Brady’s flag football venture is facing uncertainty after a Saudi-backed funding deal was thrown into doubt.

⚽ The NWSL plans to restrict which brands players can display on-field, requiring companies to secure league-level commercial agreements.

📺 NBA viewership rose 16% season-on-season, driven by new media rights deals and expanded distribution partnerships.

📺 The 2026 WNBA Draft drew 1.5 million viewers, marking the second-highest viewership in league history and continued growth in fan engagement.

💸 TPG Sports acquired Learfield for $2 billion alongside Rory McIlroy to expand its collegiate sports media and rights portfolio.

💸 Lionel Messi has become the new owner of Catalan club Cornella (third division of Spanish football), and has formalised 100% acquisition of the club.

💰 PongBot, Shanghai-based sports training robot maker for tennis and table tennis, completed a series A round totaling nearly $28 million (200 million yuan), in a round backed by BlueRun Ventures, Shenqi Capital, MingShi Venture Capital, Jinqiu Fund, and Huachuang Capital.

💰 GameRun, a startup using AI to analyze athlete movement and performance, raised $4 million in funding from a bunch of investors consisting of former athletes, professional team owners, college coaches and athletic directors.

💰 BASE Sports Group raised $2.5 million, including $1.5 million from Balius Partners via Primetime Holdings, to scale its youth sports sponsorship platform across 40+ US states.

💰 Saudi Arabia-based sportstech company ElGoat has raised $266k with a valuation of $2.66 million in a seed round via Trigon, to build a skill-based football gaming platform.

💰 Balius Partners invested $1.5 million in BASE Sports Group through Primetime Holdings to expand youth sports sponsorship infrastructure.

💰 9 strap, a San Clemente, CA-based sports performance brand, received an investment of $800K in a round was led by Daniel Lubetzky, Rashaun Williams, Kevin O’Leary, and Kendra Scott.

💰 USTA Ventures invested an undisclosed amount in Fastbreak AI to optimize scheduling across millions of USTA League matches using its software platform.

💰 Real (box score app) raised funding from The Chernin Group to build a sports-focused social and stats-based fan engagement platform.

💰 David Blitzer’s Bolt Ventures invested in two golf-focused businesses targeting next-generation players and fans during Masters week.

🤝 A Bryson DeChambeau-led investor group acquired Sportsbox AI for an undisclosed amount and launched “SAMI,” an agentic AI coaching platform built on its kinematic technology.

💸 AUBL (Asian University Basketball League) raised Series A funding led by Blue Pool Capital to support league growth and development.

💸 WME sold 160over90 to Publicis Groupe for $500 million to expand data-driven sports and culture marketing capabilities.

💸 Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund sold Al Hilal to Kingdom Holding Company for an undisclosed amount as part of a broader sports asset restructuring.

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Powering Innovation & Investment Insights in Sports. Every Week.

Another week, another fund. This time it's 154 Partners (New York based, founded by former Blackstone colleagues) raising $400 million for its debut sports-focused vehicle backed by David Blitzer. Targeting sports media, betting and adjacent opportunities.

Keep 'em coming.

This week's main feature pulls from our recent Global SportsTech Ecosystem Report, diving into the accelerating DTC broadcasting shift we've seen over the last 12 months. We break down why it's happening and what it means for leagues, broadcasters and fans.

Plus, the NHL's new Innovation Lab, GTCR acquired LiveBarn for $400M, and NBC launched AI-powered vertical video for live NBA games.

💡 GSTER26

Sport Is Going Direct

An extract from our recently published Global SportsTech Ecosystem Report 2026

A structural collapse in the US and a strategic awakening internationally have combined to make 2025/26 the year the DTC shift stopped being theoretical.

INSIGHT: The question of whether leagues and teams would go direct-to-consumer was treated as a thought experiment for years. Infrastructure wasn't ready, rights structures were too complex, broadcasters were paying too well. Not anymore.

KEY DTC LAUNCHES 2025–2026: 12 launches across MLB, NHL, Premier League, Ligue 1 and more , the RSN collapse accelerated everything. Full list in the report.

WHY IT'S HAPPENING

1. The US Catalyst: Diamond Sports Group filed for bankruptcy in 2023, rebranded as Main Street Sports Group, and is heading for liquidation in April 2026, taking local rights of 29 franchises with it.

   • The RSN model is over. Leagues and teams are building their own alternatives.

   • MLB: 22 of 30 clubs had in-market streaming by March 2026.
   • NBA: Preparing a central streaming hub for 2026/27 with major platforms involved.

2. The Global Wave: Across Europe, declining broadcast revenues and fewer buyers are pushing leagues to own distribution.

   • Ligue 1: Crossed 1 million subscribers within a month of launching Ligue 1+.
   • Top 14 Rugby: Launched a global streaming platform across 170+ territories.
   • Premier League: Rolling out Premier League+ as a controlled test.

3. The Infrastructure Moment: Streaming infrastructure is now accessible. Costs have dropped. Rights are being renegotiated with digital carve-outs. Leagues are retaining control over distribution and data.

WHY IT MATTERS

1. Data Layer Shifts to the League: Leagues now own fan data, viewing behaviour, and monetisation insights.

2. Broadcasters' Role Shift: Platforms like DAZN, Amazon, and YouTube TV are moving toward distribution roles.

3. The Fragmentation Problem: More platforms mean more paywalls. Fragmentation and piracy risks are rising.

The infrastructure is shifting, the rights structures are moving, and the broadcasters are adapting. The only question left is who pays, and how much fragmentation fans will accept.

Learn more about why it’s happening and why it matters in the full interactive web report.

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

🏒 The NHL opened its Innovation Lab powered by Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, creating a simulated arena to develop and test new fan experience and venue technologies.

🚀 Applications are also open for the next PSG Labs batch, Paris Saint-Germain’s global innovation platform. Based at STATION F, they’re looking for the next cohort of ventures to test and deploy practical solutions for the benefit of sport and entertainment.

🏅 Women’s Sport Trust partnered with YouTube to launch a five-month accelerator supporting current and former athletes with content creation and audience growth.

📱 Source Media Group launched Source Golf, a creator-led YouTube network backed by Bolt Ventures featuring athletes like Bryson DeChambeau to target younger digital-first audiences.

🏀 NBC’s Peacock launched an AI-powered vertical video feature for live NBA games that automatically tracks on-court action and delivers a 9:16 optimized viewing experience.

⚽ FIFA partnered with ADI Predictstreet to introduce a global prediction market platform ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

⛳ LIV Golf partnered with Novig to activate a prediction market at a live event for the first time, including on-kit branding for players during a 2026 major.

📺 Reports indicate that the NFL is negotiating a new media rights deals that could increase annual revenues from $10 billion to over $15 billion, putting pressure on broadcasters to reallocate budgets from scripted content.

📉 FIFA reduced its India media rights asking price to $35 million amid weak broadcaster demand for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups.

📊 Deloitte projected that global women’s elite sports revenues will reach $3 billion in 2026, marking a 340% increase since 2022.

📺 The NCAA men’s March Madness title game drew 18.3 million viewers, up 23% year-on-year despite continued dominance by power conference teams.

⚽ UEFA agreed a new Champions League ball deal with Nike from 2027, ending Adidas’ 25+ year run and replacing the iconic star-ball design introduced in 2001.

🤝 Lenovo partnered with David Beckham to showcase how data-driven technology supports athlete and coach performance ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

Source: Republic

💸 154 Partners, a New York-based PE firm founded in 2025 by former Blackstone colleagues Isaac Harrouche and Mike Berlin, raised $400 million for its debut sports-focused private equity fund, backed by David Blitzer to invest in sports media, betting and related opportunities.

💰 ElGoat raised $0.27 million in seed funding via Trigon, reaching a $2.66 million valuation to build a skill-based football gaming platform.

🤝 Bay Collective acquired Sunderland AFC Women for an undisclosed amount to support the club’s next phase of growth under Sixth Street.

🤝 Publicis Groupe acquired 160over90 for an undisclosed amount to integrate it with Publicis Sports and build a data-driven sport and culture agency powered by Epsilon.

🤝 A Bryson DeChambeau-led investor group acquired Sportsbox AI for an undisclosed amount, launching a new agentic AI coaching platform “SAMI” built on its kinematic technology.

🤝 GTCR acquired LiveBarn for over $400 million to expand its presence in live-streaming across amateur and youth sports.

🤝 Major League Baseball acquired a stake in Jomboy Media for an undisclosed amount as part of a strategic partnership to drive digital content growth.

💸 AFC Wimbledon closed fan investment at a $33.7 million (£26.8 million) valuation through a crowdfunding initiative, with 96% of the $91k (£68k) allocated to 481 investors.

💸 Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds backed $24 billion of Paramount’s proposed Warner Bros. Discovery takeover, highlighting growing capital flow from the region into global media assets.

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Big news heading into the long weekend. Whoop announced the largest funding round of the year so far, and 2x Super Bowl Champion Malcolm Jenkins launched a new $200M sports and real estate fund.

On the data side, March was the biggest month of Q1 even before the Whoop deal lands in the numbers. A strong end to the quarter, and a good moment to take a breath.

💡 GSTER26

Q1 2026 Sports Tech Investment Summary

The biggest investment month of the year so far, March 2026 closed with $800.4M in funding across 16 deals and $109.1M in disclosed M&A from 6 transactions. A strong end to the quarter

Here’s a quick summary:

• Geography:
  Funding was overwhelmingly concentrated in North America ($689.3M, 86.2%), followed by Asia ($102.5M, 12.8%), with Europe contributing just $8.2M (1.0%). M&A activity was evenly split, with Europe and North America each accounting for 50% of deals by count.

• Sectors:
  Funding was dominated by ‘For Athletes’, which captured $699.5M (87.4%) of total capital raised. ‘For Fans’ accounted for $55.5M (6.9%), while ‘For Executives’ made up $45.4M (5.7%). M&A activity was more distributed, with ‘For Fans’ (40%), followed by ‘For Athletes’ (20%) across two deals.

• Top Deals:

  Whoop raised $575M in a Series G round, with backing from investors including Qatar Investment Authority, Mubadala Investment Co, and Cristiano Ronaldo, making it one of the largest funding rounds of the year.

  On the M&A side, Best Play was acquired by Nazara Technologies for $88.4M, the largest disclosed transaction of the month.

Q1 2026 opened with steady momentum and closed with a surge. January and February were low on investment but bigger on M&A. March skewed the quarter heavily with one of the largest funding rounds of the year so far for Whoop.

In total, the quarter recorded approximately $1.1 billion in funding and $2.1 billion in disclosed M&A, showing a market that is active and increasingly concentrated around acquisitions and high conviction bets.

Something we’ve spoken in detail about in the latest Global Sports Tech Ecosystem Report.

Beyond the data, this year we went deeper with…

THREE STRUCTURAL TRENDS:

1. SportsTech is Buying Itself: Consolidation from within - sportstech-on-sportstech deals tripled from 21 in 2016 to 68 in 2025

2. Competitive Running is Having Its Moment: London Marathon applicants grew from 458K in 2020 to 1.1M in 2025, chasing ~60K spots

3. Sports Broadcasting is Going Direct 2 Consumer: The US Regional Sports Network collapse and a strategic awakening internationally pushed Direct-to-Consumer streaming to an inflection point in 2025/26

THREE DEEP DIVES:

1. The Private Equity Timeline: Two decades of institutional capital finding its way into professional sport ownership

2. Inside The NBA Europe: The 16-team European league, launching October 2027

3. Who Holds The Power: Athlete revenue share varies dramatically: ~70% in the Premier League, ~50% in the NBA and NFL, ~20% in the UFC, we examine payment structures across sports.

Learn more about why it’s happening and why it matters in the full interactive web report.

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

⚽ adidas, DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga, Slalom, and Amazon Web Services launched a global student hackathon focused on reimagining fan experiences in football through new technology solutions.

⚾ The Big 12 introduced Microsoft Surface tablets in baseball dugouts under an experimental NCAA rule to enable in-game scouting and data analysis.

📺 ESPN launched ‘Courtside,’ a new Women’s Final Four alt-cast designed to deliver an alternative viewing experience around the tournament.

⛳ Wales Golf launched a $630k (£500,000) G4D Accessibility Fund to support golfers with disabilities ahead of The G4D Open at Celtic Manor.

🎾 UTR Sports and Baseline Vision expanded their partnership to integrate real-time data streaming and electronic line calling into the UTR Pro Tennis Tour globally.

⚽ Chelsea reported an EPL-record $349 million loss for the 2024–25 season despite achieving their highest league finish since 2021–22.

🏅 Ghana’s Sports Ministry outlined the role of its newly established Sports Fund in improving accountability, infrastructure, and long-term athlete support across the country.

⚖️ A US sports industry loan broker faced a lawsuit after allegedly failing due diligence in a scam where an individual posing as NFL player Xavier McKinney stole $4.4 million.

💸 Super Bowl Champion Malcolm Jenkins launched a $200 million investment fund through a newly co-founded firm targeting opportunities across real estate and the sports industry.

💸 OneTeam Partners and EnTrust Global launched EnOne Ventures to provide institutional investment opportunities linked to athletes and sports-related assets.

💰 Whoop raised $575 million in a Series G round backed by Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Rory McIlroy, sovereign funds, and Abbott, valuing the performance wearable platform at $10.1 billion.

💰 Solo60 raised $2 million (£2 million) in funding led by the Bauer Family Office to expand its private, tech-enabled wellness spaces.

🤝 Teamworks acquired Pro Football Focus’ enterprise business to strengthen its presence across professional and college football and expand AI-driven performance solutions.

💸 The NFL announced that it is partnering with TMRW Sports to develop and operate a professional flag football league for women and men. The new professional league will launch with support from a broad and influential investor pool, including NFL clubs, established institutional and strategic investors, and current and former NFL players.

💸 KKR-backed Varsity Brands acquired Soccer.com and Lax.com for an undisclosed amount to expand its youth sports commerce portfolio following its $4.5 billion sale to KKR.

🤝 Synergy Sports Capital acquired the Salt Lake LOVB franchise for an undisclosed amount as part of its $150 million fund strategy to invest in sports leagues and teams.

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Powering Innovation & Investment Insights in Sports. Every Week.

Nine editions in. The Global Sports Tech Ecosystem Report is now live - and for the first time, it's a fully interactive web experience. This one hits different.

Beyond the report: IPL franchises are trading at eye-watering prices, the NBA is eyeing a $20 billion dual expansion, and the US broadcast model keeps cracking - DirecTV is out of Sunday Ticket after 32 years, and Ligue 1+ is haemorrhaging viewers to piracy.

Plenty to get into.

💡 GSTER26

The Global Sports Tech Ecosystem Report 2026 is LIVE

The ninth edition of GSTER, the most comprehensive review of the SportsTech ecosystem, is now a fully interactive web experience. Every trend, every deal, every data point: explorable, filterable, built to navigate.

For the purists: you can still download the PDF. We don't forget where we came from.

Now, into the report.

Trends: Covering three structural shifts

1. Sports Tech is buying itself, consolidating from inside-out. Sportstech-on-sportstech acquisitions tripled from 21 in 2016 to 68 in 2025 — with 87% of all acquisitions now made by SportsTech companies.

2. Competitive Running is having its moment - record finishers, record revenues, and race weekends turning into destination experiences.

3. Sport Broadcasting is going Direct-to-Consumer. A structural collapse in the US broadcast model and a strategic awakening internationally have made 2025/26 the year the DTC shift accelerated.

Deep Dives: Into three broader themes

1. Tracing Private E'quity’s two-decade path into professional sport ownership

2. Breaking down the NBA's 16-team European league launching October 2027

3. Mapping the three athlete-payment models that determine who really holds the power in different sports

The biggest names in global sports innovation see the same thing. Hear from them firsthand.

Now the numbers behind the story.

• $35.8 billion invested in SportsTech from 2021–25. $8.7 billion in 2025 alone.

• Europe overtook North America for the first time - $4.5B vs $4.0B, claiming 51% of 2025 funding.

• Average deal values climbed to $43.6M, up from $28.1M the year before, across roughly the same number of rounds.

• 46 unicorns now carry a combined $210.2B valuation.

• 58 new investors and initiatives entered the ecosystem in the past 12 months.

As always, the report maps all the investors, initiatives, and programs across every major region. This time the web report has an interactive map while the full lists are hosted on our Intelligence Hub.

You’ll also find startup picks from the featured innovators, PEAK finalists and our recommendations. See if you’ve made it there ;)

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

1. ⛳ IBM and the Masters Tournament announced new and enhanced digital fan features now available on the award-winning Masters digital platforms, that enables fans to search and access 50 years of tournament video footage ahead of the 2026 edition.

2. 🎾 Wimbledon introduced video review technology for the first time at the 2026 tournament to support officiating decisions.

3. 📺 UEFA plans to follow in the Premier League’s footsteps and trial a new direct-to-consumer streaming service for Champions League matches as early as 2027, initially targeting Asian markets in the next media rights cycle.

4. ⚽ WSL Football and Nike launched a new data-driven performance and broadcast initiative powered by Sportable to enhance tracking and insights in women’s football.

5. ⚽ TransferRoom launched its women’s transfer marketplace, reporting early traction as clubs adopted the platform to facilitate player movement in women’s football.

6. 🥊 Asian Boxing launched an official global streaming platform ahead of the Ulaanbaatar 2026 event to enhance digital distribution and fan access to the sport.

7. ⚽ Content creator KSI will live stream Dagenham & Redbridge's National League South fixture with Hampton & Richmond on his YouTube channel this weekend. It will be the first time a National League match has been streamed live on YouTube in this way.

8. ⚽ IFAB approved new VAR capabilities allowing review of last-touch decisions for corner and goal kicks, set to debut at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

9. 🏀 The NBA explored expansion into Las Vegas and Seattle in a process that could value new franchises at up to $20 billion combined, with an investment bank engaged to advise.

10. 🏈 Thirty-two years after NFL Sunday Ticket launched exclusively on DirecTV, the satellite provider is officially exiting the Sunday Ticket business. EverPass will become the exclusive provider of Sunday Ticket for commercial establishments.

11. ⚾ Netflix mismanaged the first automated ball-strike (ABS) call broadcast in MLB history, with production issues and an in-game manager interview overshadowing the milestone moment.

12. 📺 Ligue 1 lost hundreds of millions of euros in revenue as a majority of French fans watched matches illegally, undermining adoption of the league’s Ligue 1+ DTC streaming service.

1. 💰 Cult.fit raised $47 million (₹440 crore) from Temasek via MacRitchie, who increased their stake to 12% in the health and wellness platform that is reportedly hearing up to IPO.

2. 💰 Denver Summit FC secured $40 million through a private placement arranged by Mesirow, marking one of the first bond financings for a women’s professional sports franchise.

3. 💰 Pro Padel League raised $15 million to accelerate expansion across the U.S. as investor interest in padel continued to grow.

4. 💰 NurivaTech raised $8 million in seed funding to develop its smartphone-based baseball training app supported by an MLB veteran advisory group.

5. 💰 Sportlight Technology raised $6.3 million (£5 million) in a new investment round to expand its sports tracking and AI technology platform.

6. 💰 fibionic raised $3.2 million (€3 million) in seed funding led by Redstone with Euregio+, Caesar, and Leap435 to scale its bionic lightweight engineering technology.

7. 💰 Working Capital Partners raised a Series A round for an undisclosed amount to scale its structured capital platform supporting elite talent across sports, music, and entertainment.

8. 💰 idPair secured funding for an undisclosed amount led by Game Changers Ventures to expand its gaming and sports data infrastructure platform.

9. 🤝 Seat Unique acquired P1 Travel for an undisclosed amount to expand its premium ticketing and hospitality offering across global sporting events.

10. 🤝 Ascent Sports Group acquired LiveBarn for an undisclosed amount to strengthen its youth and amateur sports video streaming and engagement platform.

11. 💸 Blitzer-led consortium acquired Royal Challengers Bengaluru for $1.8 billion, while Rajasthan Royals were sold for $1.6 billion as IPL franchise demand intensified among global investors.

12. 💸 Monarch Collective acquired a minority stake in the Cleveland WNBA expansion franchise for an undisclosed amount, marking its first major investment outside women’s football.

13. 💸 Synergy Sports Capital acquired the LOVB Salt Lake franchise for an undisclosed amount as part of its strategy to invest in emerging volleyball leagues.

14. 💸 Domain Capital Group LLC, a private investment management firm, announced the closing of $768 million in equity commitments for its Domain Entertainment Fund II to invest across sports, media, and entertainment assets.

15. 💸Mac Murchadha Bespoke Financing announced its official launch, identifying the sports card market as a $33 billion asset class.

16. 💸 TRNR authorized a $0.5 million share repurchase program representing approximately 20% of shares outstanding as it projected over $30 million in pro forma 2026 revenue.

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Powering Innovation & Investment Insights in Sports. Every Week.

This week's edition is heavy on broadcasting news: FIFA handing YouTube preferred platform status for the 2026 World Cup, Peacock doubling down on mobile-first, interactive sports viewing, and the NFL going back to CBS looking for an extra $1 billion.

It felt like the right moment for our deep dive into the D2C shift that's been reshaping the industry over the past 12 months. A story we'll be covering in more depth in the upcoming Global SportsTech Ecosystem Report 2026. Stay tuned.

💡 INTELLIGENCE HUB

Who Needs a Broadcaster Anyway?

This is an extract from our upcoming Global SportsTech Ecosystem Report 2026.

We've been talking about this for years: the question of whether leagues and teams would go direct-to-consumer was treated as a thought experiment. Infrastructure wasn't ready, rights structures were too complex, broadcasters were paying too well.

Not anymore.

A structural collapse in the US and a strategic awakening internationally have combined to make 2025/26 the year the DTC shift stopped being theoretical.

The US catalyst: An Industry in Freefall

Diamond Sports Group filed for bankruptcy in 2023, rebranded as Main Street Sports Group, and is now heading for full liquidation in April 2026, taking the local broadcast rights of 29 MLB, NBA, and NHL franchises with it.

The Regional Sports Network (RSN) model isn't struggling. It's over. And leagues and teams aren't waiting for a replacement, they're building one.

• MLB: Braves and Tigers are launching new DTC networks, while the Astros already operate one; MLB had in-market streaming available for 22 of 30 clubs by March 2026.

• NBA: Fast-tracking a streaming hub for 2026/27; Amazon, YouTube TV, ESPN, and DAZN all in talks; up to 22 franchises, a deal worth billions

The Global Wave: Different Problem, Same Destination

The US collapse is the loudest signal, but it isn't the only one. Across Europe, leagues facing a different problem - eroding broadcast revenues and a shrinking pool of viable rights buyers - are arriving at the same conclusion: own the platform, own the relationship.

• Ligue 1: Announced Ligue 1+ in July 2025 after the domestic market failed to produce a viable rights buyer; passed one million subscribers within a month

• Top 14 Rugby: Launched TOP 14 Rugby TV in November 2025, across 170+ territories; not a domestic fallback but a deliberate global growth play

• Premier League: Announced Premier League+ in February 2026, in Singapore for 2026/27; explicitly framed as a learning exercise before any broader rollout.

The Bigger Picture: What Does It All Mean?

📊 The data layer shifts to the league: Viewing habits, purchase behaviour, device preference, data, data, data! An uber-valuable commercial asset now owned by the league, not the broadcaster.

🤝 Broadcasters’ role shift: The big players aren't disappearing, they're repositioning. DAZN, Amazon, and YouTube TV are in talks to carry the NBA's streaming hub not as rights holders, but as distribution partners.

⚠️ Fan fragmentation the unresolved tension: Every new DTC launch adds another paywall. The Premier League's own CEO flagged piracy as a live concern. At some point, fragmentation becomes the enemy of reach.

The infrastructure is coming into place, the rights structures are shifting, and the broadcasters are adapting. But who ultimately pays for all of this, and at what price?

We'll be covering this and other defining trends in the 2026 Global Sports Tech Ecosystem Report. Out soon.

Submit your interest to get featured.

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

📡 FIFA partnered with YouTube as a Preferred Platform for the 2026 World Cup, expanding digital distribution and fan engagement across one of the largest global events, including allowing Media Partners the option of live streaming the first 10 minutes of every match and stream a select number of matches in full on their YouTube channels.

🏈 The NFL launched its Draft Innovation Challenge to crowdsource fan engagement technologies, opening its innovation pipeline to external developers and startups.

🏋️ Peloton is expanding into commercial gyms with a new line of connected fitness equipment, aiming to grow its software ecosystem beyond home users.

📱 Peacock is expanding into mobile-first live sports, and gaming, betting on vertical formats and interactive experiences to drive platform growth.

🏟️ Daegu Techno Park is launching an initiative to foster sports tech startups combining AI, blockchain, and advanced ICT, strengthening South Korea’s regional innovation ecosystem.

📊 Prediction markets updates:

• Major League Baseball named Polymarket its official prediction market exchange partner and signed an agreement with the CFTC to establish an integrity framework as it formalizes its position in the growing prediction markets space.

• Cmpetitor platform Kalshi has been charged with operating an illegal betting operation in Arizona, adding regulatory pressure to the fast-growing sector.

🎓 On the college sports front:

• The rebuilt Pac-12 will sell official betting data through a new partnership with Genius Sports, marking a significant step in monetizing data rights within college sports.

• Big 12 has decided to drop their glass floor for remainder of the Big 12 tournament.

🏀 The NBA is preparing to vote on expansion into Las Vegas and Seattle, targeting the addition of two new franchises by the 2028–29 season, while LeBron James stated he has no current interest in pursuing team ownership.

📺 The NFL is seeking an additional $1 billion from CBS as it begins renegotiating its media rights deal, targeting a roughly 50% increase from its current agreement with Paramount.

🏀 The WNBA and WNBPA reached a verbal agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, avoiding disruption to the 2026 season after prolonged negotiations.

🕶️ On Wednesday Meta announced their decision to shut down Horizon Worlds, the company’s VR social network, and then 24 hours later did a U-turn after backlash, keeping the platform live with limited support while continuing its broader shift toward mobile-first experiences. Apparently a lot can happen in a day in the Metaverse.

Recentive Analytics

💰 Predictive modeling firm Recentive Analytics raised $45 million in a Series B round to scale its AI-driven scheduling and analytics solutions, working with leagues and broadcasters including the NFL, MLB, NWSL, and ESPN.

💰 Five Iron Golf announced a Series E investment led by Coral Tree Partners to fuel expansion of its indoor golf and entertainment venues.

💰 Nomadar secured a strategic investment from international investor Christian Septien to accelerate the growth of its global sports development and high-performance training platform.

🤝 Nazara Technologies agreed to acquire controlling stakes in Spanish startups Bluetile Games and BestPlay Systems for $100 million to expand its presence in casual gaming and player engagement.

🤝 Social sports gaming startup Joa acquired GreenPark’s intellectual property as it launches a renewed “playable fandom” strategy, including a partnership with ONE Championship.

💸 EQT Group is preparing a $2–$2.1 billion bid to acquire IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru, intensifying the sale race against bidders including Avram Glazer-backed Lancer Capital.

💸 Ariel Investments is targeting $1 billion for its Project Level fund focused on women’s sports, positioning it as one of the largest dedicated investment vehicles in the segment.

💸 Mercedes is in talks to acquire a stake in the Alpine F1 team from Otro Capital, with additional interest from groups linked to former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

💸 Erling Haaland invested in a new global chess tournament with a $2.7 million prize pool, backing the launch of a revamped world championship format expected to debut next year.

💸 Mike Repole committed a $1 million matching campaign to support St. John’s Red Storm Legacy Fund aimed at strengthening athlete investment and program development.

💸 Sir James Dyson acquired a 50% stake in Premiership Rugby club Bath Rugby, partnering with current owner Bruce Craig to co-own the defending champions.

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CVC raised $4 billion, backed by Pimco, KKR and others, to scale its sports portfolio that already spans LaLiga, Ligue 1, Six Nations and the WTA. Meanwhile, new entrant Synergy Sports Capital is raising $150 million for emerging leagues. Institutional money is scaling into sports faster than ever. We trace how we got here in this week's main feature.

Plus, Apollo took control of Atlético Madrid, a 1% Dolphins stake priced the franchise at $12.5 billion, and women's football sponsorship in Europe jumped 53%.

💡 INTELLIGENCE HUB

How Private Equity Finally Got Into Sports

Source: 365247 Sports

Two new PE deals worth $4+ billion landed this week. That doesn't happen by accident, it's the result of two decades of structural change that finally unlocked sports as a formal asset class.

How we got here:

• Leagues deliberately kept institutional capital out for decades. Individual owners, family approvals and no standardised frameworks meant that the doors to this exceptional asset class were closed. Capital could see all the benefits - scarce supply, loyal customers, recession-resistant demand, and media rights providing predictable long-term cashflows - but couldn't get in.

• CVC bought Formula 1 in 2005 for $2 billion, then sold to Liberty Media for $8 billion. The thesis was proven - sports properties could generate institutional-grade returns when run with commercial discipline.

• MLB broke the dam in 2019, becoming the first North American league to formally allow PE minority stakes. The NBA, NHL and MLS followed within two years. Arctos, RedBird and Sixth Street moved in and started building multi-sport portfolios.

• Then the NFL - the last and most valuable holdout - voted 31-1 in August 2024 to allow a pre-approved list of funds (Ares, Arctos, Sixth Street, Blackstone, Carlyle, CVC) to buy passive stakes capped at 10% per team. The final door was prised open.

• The Valuations boom followed. The Boston Celtics sold for $6.1 billion in March 2025. The Los Angeles Lakers went for $10 billion three months later. Total sports club deal value hit $23.6 billion by August 2025, surpassing the prior annual record by 42%.

• KKR's $1.4 billion acquisition of Arctos in February 2026 sealed it. A $744 billion AUM firm paying that price for a sports investing platform tells you everything about where this sector sits now.

Three firms have defined this model:

• Arctos Partners pioneered the model: passive, diversified minority stakes across all five major North American leagues. KKR's $1.4 billion acquisition tells you how well it worked.

• RedBird Capital Partners takes the opposite approach: buy control positions in under-monetised sports IP, professionalise the commercial operation, extract value. AC Milan, Fenway Sports Group, Alpine F1, and now a push into college sports.

• CVC Capital Partners went bigger than all of them: buying stakes in entire leagues. LaLiga, Ligue 1, Six Nations Rugby, WTA, all consolidated into Global Sport Group, its $13.6 billion sports division formed in 2025.

We'll be covering this and other defining trends in the 2026 Global Sports Tech Ecosystem Report. Out soon.

Submit your interest to get featured.

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

🎟️ StubHub launched HerSportsHub, a dedicated platform designed to help fans discover and attend women’s sports events while spotlighting major upcoming competitions across leagues, with real-time ticket availability, smart buying guidance, and the data behind the demand.

🏟️ VitalMatch, a new sports and wellness innovation hub opened in Turin, backed by CDP Venture Capital with partners including Juventus and Startupbootcamp.

⛳ The PLAYERS Championship introduced new broadcast and on-course technologies at TPC Sawgrass, including enhanced data integrations and production tools designed to improve fan viewing experiences.

📡 NBCUniversal expanded its AI-powered Peacock Performance View broadcast feature to linear NBC NBA games after first debuting the advanced analytics viewing option on the Peacock streaming service.

🏀 The NBA accelerated plans to build a centralized local game streaming service as uncertainty around regional sports networks grows and operator Main Street Sports Group nears bankruptcy.

📺 Disney+ secured rights to live stream the men’s and women’s NCAA March Madness basketball tournaments in the UK, Europe, and Australia as ESPN expands its sports footprint on the global streaming platform.

⚽ The Women’s Premier Soccer League appointed EasyCoach as its exclusive sports management technology provider to support club operations and performance analysis across the league.

🏫 JPMorgan Chase partnered with Hudl to deliver financial literacy programming to millions of high school athletes through the platform’s video and team management ecosystem.

📊 Blueprint Capital Advisors named sports figures including Magic Johnson, Serena Williams, and Shaquille O’Neal to its 2026 Power100 list of influential leaders across finance, business, and culture.

⚽ Women’s football sponsorship grew 53% across Europe’s major leagues since the 2022/23 season, with Italy’s Serie A Femminile recording the largest increase in new commercial partnerships.

💸 The world's biggest sports PE, CVC's Global Sport Group, raised $4 billion (€3.7 billion) in new financing at a $7.6 billion (€7 billion) valuation, including around $1.6 billion (€1.5 billion) in debt from Pimco and $1.5 billion (€1.4 billion) in capital from KKR to expand its sports investment portfolio.

💸 Terrence Murphy launched Synergy Sports Capital, a new private equity firm, with a target of raising $150 million to invest in emerging sports leagues and growth-stage sports businesses.

💰 Fitura Brands, a performance-driven wellness holding company, announced its official launch following an initial financing round at a $20 million pre-money valuation. The company is building a franchise-ready platform across three of the fastest-growing sectors in fitness: racquet sports, athletic reformer Pilates, and contrast therapy recovery.

💰 Racquet 360 raised $9 million to accelerate expansion of its U.S. racquet sports portfolio, including RacquetX, the National Padel League, Racket Central, and Racket Social Club.

💰 Aiko raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding from private investors to expand its real-time sports intelligence platform for broadcasters and interactive entertainment companies.

💰 SPORTL raised $320k (£250k) in pre-seed funding to launch its pay-as-you-train fitness booking platform connecting users with gym studios across London.

🤝 Interactive Strength acquired connected fitness company Ergatta for $8.8 million to expand its portfolio of digital fitness platforms.

🤝 Underdog Fantasy acquired prediction markets exchange, Aristotle, for an undisclosed amount as it pivoted its business toward sports prediction markets while closing its sportsbook in North Carolina.

💸 Apollo Sports Capital took control of Atlético Madrid for an undisclosed amount as part of a consortium restructuring the club’s ownership group.

💸 Mercury13 acquired a majority stake in FC Badalona Women for an undisclosed amount, expanding its women’s football multi-club ownership network.

💸 Chinese-American tech billionaire Lin Bin purchased a small 1% stake of Miami Dolphins at a valuation of $12.5 billion, ​in the holding company that owns the Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium, Formula 1's Miami ​Grand Prix and part of the Miami Open ​tennis tournament.

💸 Marc Lasry’s (former NBA co-owner of Milwaukee Bucks) Avenue Sports Fund has reached an agreement to invest $40 million into NWSL club North Carolina Courage at a $155 million pre-money valuation.

💸 Tropion Sports Partners completed an investment in NBA-related assets through Blue Owl’s Home Court Partners platform for an undisclosed amount.

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Featured by SportsTechX: Interviews, articles, events, and more

🏆 You’re invited to join the SportsTechX Community at PEAK 2026

We’re inviting our community to join us in Las Vegas for PEAK 2026 - The Global Home of SportsTech & Innovation.

Taking place April 20–22, 2026 at Fontainebleau Las Vegas, PEAK brings together 1,000+ sports executives, founders, and investors shaping the future of sport and technology – and it’s an event we believe is highly relevant for our members.

What to expect at PEAK 2026:

• 100+ SportsTech companies exhibiting advancements in athlete performance, fan content and engagement, management, organizations, stadiums and more.

• The first 50 speakers announced include senior leaders from teams, leagues, and rights holders including the Las Vegas Raiders, UFC, MLS, WTA, PGA of America, USA SailGP Team, and more.

• Founders and operators from companies like Teamworks, TeamSnap, WSC Sports, GameChanger, and more

• Stay up to date on the most critical SportsTech themes today, including AI-powered front offices, fan experience, emerging leagues, athlete performance, pathways to pro, smart venues, revenue innovation, and the future of sports investment.

• Exhibitors like Pixelott, Hudl, Lenovo, Microsoft, NBA Launchpad and 100+ more are showcasing their tech in the Tech Expo.

• Curated networking and 1-to-1 meetings designed for real partnerships, not just conversations

PEAK is built around an immersive Tech Expo, practical case studies, and high-quality connections - making it one of the most actionable SportsTech events globally.

Where: Fontainebleau Las Vegas

When: April 20–22, 2026

Use this link to claim $500 off the current price and save a total of $1300+ door prices!

If you’re building, investing, or operating in sport and technology, this is an event we strongly recommend attending.

PEAK is designed for innovators at the forefront of sports, including:

• Founders
  Visionary founders who are at the forefront of innovation, actively building the future of sports.

• Sports Executives
  VP to C-suite decision-makers who are leading technology and innovation across their organization.

• Innovation Leaders
  Leaders in the innovation trenches, from Managers to Heads, pioneering new initiatives across their organizations.

• Investors
  From VC to LPs, those that are financing the future of sports and the forces behind the curtain shaping the industry.

If that wasn’t enough, here are some more highlights:

• NBA Launchpad has confirmed their booth in the Tech Expo, featuring a selection of their top startups.
  

• FIFA, U.S. Soccer Federation, Sevilla FC, and Villarreal are joining the Groundbreakers Challenge with GSIC powered by Microsoft - an impactful Pitch to Pilot startup competition.
  

• First 60 speakers are confirmed including NVIDIA, Populous, PSG, Sportradar and more.
  

• Leaders from Nike, MLS, Mariners, Angel City 49ers, plus Viewpoint VC, JP Morgan locked in their tickets this week.
  

• PEAK Night Summit will take over LIV Beach - a private rooftop, open-bar experience for PEAK attendees to connect, celebrate, and close the event in style. Live DJ and more to be announced.

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Powering Innovation & Investment Insights in Sports. Every Week.

February was a slow investment month in sports tech: $102.1M in funding across 24 rounds, all outshone by Genius Sports' $1.2B acquisition of Legend - taking total deal flow to $1.3 billion.

The week though was busier: Eight Sleep joined the unicorn club with its latest fundraise at a $1.5B valuation. While elsewhere, the NFL is crowdsourcing new innovations, ESPN is planning an animated NHL broadcast themed around Pixar's Inside Out, and Euroleague Basketball is exploring a €2.5B franchise model overhaul with NBA collaboration on the table. .

💡 INTELLIGENCE HUB

Sports Tech Monthly Investment Roundup

February 2026 saw a slowdown in funding but a sharp spike in M&A activity like we spoke about last week. The month recorded $102.1M in funding across 24 deals, while disclosed M&A reached $1.22B across 5 transactions, driven almost entirely by a single large strategic acquisition by Genius Sports, acquiring Legend for $1.2B

Here’s a quick summary:

• Geography: Funding activity was heavily concentrated in North America ($79.2M, 77.6%), followed by Europe ($15.9M, 15.6%) and Asia ($7.0M, 6.9%).
  On the M&A side, North America accounted for 60% of deals, with Europe representing the remaining 40%.

• Sectors: Funding was dominated by ‘For Fans’, which captured $80.1M (79.1%) of total capital raised. ‘For Athletes’ followed with $20.9M (20.6%), while ‘For Executives’ saw just one small deal.
  M&A activity by deal count was evenly split between ‘For Athletes’ (50%) and ‘For Fans’ (50%).

• Top Deals:
  Novig raised $75M in a Series B round from investors including Pantera Capital, Multicoin Capital, Makers Fund, Edge Equity, Forerunner, NFX, and Perceptive Ventures, making it the largest funding deal of the month.

  On the M&A side, Legend was acquired by Genius Sports for $1.2B, accounting for the vast majority of February’s disclosed acquisition value.

An in depth breakdown of more such upcoming trends will be out in the 2026 Global Sports Tech Ecosystem Report soon, read by investors, sports orgs and decision makers all over the globe. Submit your interest to get featured.

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

🏈 The NFL launched the Draft-inspired Innovation Hub Challenge to crowdsource new technologies that enhance fan experience and event operations.

⚙️ TWG Global launched RightsHelper, a ticketing analytics and operations platform built to help sports and live entertainment rightsholders optimise revenue strategy.

🏎️ Formula One signed Betway as an official betting operator in a multi-year deal covering Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, Canada and Mexico as the series expanded its presence in regulated sports betting markets.

🏒 ESPN and the NHL planned an animated alternate broadcast for an April 5 Capitals–Rangers game themed around Pixar’s Inside Out and produced with Sony’s Beyond Sports technology.

🏟️ Cosm announced it would open its new immersive sports entertainment venue in Atlanta on June 10 with a ticketed viewing of Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

🎮 India announced the Indian Super Gaming League as the country’s first franchise-based national esports competition featuring eight teams competing across five gaming titles.

⚙️ Genies signed a partnership with the National Basketball Players Association to create AI-powered digital avatars and fan engagement experiences, marking the platform’s second deal with a major sports union in two months.

🛍️ 37 Partners, a talent and IP venture platform co-founded in 2025 by NBA All-Star and Champion Metta World Peace, launched Perpetual Celebrity Commerce (PCC), a platform that enables professional talent to deploy officially licensed AI-powered digital likenesses for live commerce and fan engagement across global markets.

💸 OffBall and TOGETHXR partnered to share production, distribution, and commercial resources in a lean sports media collaboration aimed at scaling content without raising new capital.

🏀 Shoot 360 launched “HER Month,” a nationwide initiative aimed at reducing the gender gap in basketball through programming supported by Nike, collaborations with former WNBA player Tayler Hill, and charitable activations throughout March.

📺 The Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings launched Detroit SportsNet, a regional sports network that will carry all in-market MLB and NHL broadcasts for the two franchises.

🏉 The AFL and Telstra launched a 40-camera optical tracking trial at Marvel Stadium aimed at improving officiating accuracy and unlocking new fan engagement data across broadcasts.

🤖 Carnegie Mellon University opened a new robotics research centre in Hazelwood focused on developing machines capable of complex physical tasks including jumping, swimming and flying.

💰 Eight Sleep secured new investment of $50 million, led by Tether Investments, that valued the company at $1.5 billion as it accelerated development of predictive health tech built on its sleep optimisation platform.

💰 Temple raised $54 million to develop a neurotechnology wearable designed to optimise cognitive performance and recovery for elite athletes.

💰 ROXFIT raised $2.4 million (£1.9 million) in Seed funding led by DSW Ventures with participation from strategic angel investor Peter Markham to expand its digital training platform for hybrid athletes as participation in hybrid competition grows globally.

💰 Equipe raised $1.5 million from Game Changers Ventures to grow its customer data platform designed for sports organisations.

🤝 Lin Bin acquired a 1 percent stake in the Miami Dolphins at a $12.5 billion franchise valuation, becoming the latest limited partner investor in the NFL team and its related businesses.

🏀 Euroleague Basketball explored raising €2.5 billion ($2.7 billion) and shifting to a franchise model while continuing discussions with the NBA about potential collaboration in Europe.

💰 Paramount moved closer to acquiring Warner Bros Discovery in a deal valued at $111 billion after Netflix withdrew from negotiations.

⚽ Sunderland Women entered talks with US investment fund Sixth Street over a potential investment or sale of the women’s team as the club pursued long-term funding to support ambitions of returning to the Women’s Super League.

⚽ KSI acquired an ownership stake in English sixth-tier club Dagenham & Redbridge, becoming the latest influencer investor to enter professional football ownership.

🥊 GFL Sports & Entertainment launched as a publicly traded mixed martial arts league and opened a public equity raise of up to $5 million through a shared-ownership model designed to align athletes, fans and partners.

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