4 ms·

Hmm - that's such a tightly controlled market, with such limited ability to disrupt the core business model (tickets + merchandising + licensing rights = cash),

• bdcravens 11y ago
  But it's sportsball! I don't like it, players are paid too much, so it must be a bubble! It's not fair that the Patriots or the Yankees are worth more than my uber-for-toilet covers! /s
• padobson 11y ago
  Most of the revenue comes from TV contracts which have exploded in recent years as sports have become the primary reason to continue to have a cable subscription. Netflix has almost 70 million subscribers[1], and cable-based companies, especially for sports networks like ESPN[2], are hemorrhaging subscribers. TV contracts for sports are overvalued as a dying delivery mechanism throws all of its capital at the last stronghold it has. When cable companies shrink to the point where they can no longer afford to offer these contracts, you're going to see revenue in all the major sports sharply contract. It's going to be fun to watch. Protracted labor disputes as revenue based CBAs are re-negotiated, mass sell-offs of franchises as sub-billionaire owners are forced out, and (perhaps most exciting) the rise of professional gaming - an industry ahead of the curve in streaming media. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix [2]http://www.forbes.com/sites/mattconnolly/2015/11/27/espn-down-7-million-subscribers-in-2-years-biggest-loser-among-disney-cable-channels/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/mattconnolly/2015/11/27/espn-dow...