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Bloomberg Business of Sports
Mexico's Cartel Raid Spooks Visitors Ahead of World Cup; Hockey's Olympic Springboard
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Vanessa Perdomo
Brought to you by Capital One. As a founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports, Capital One is here to bring you closer to the athletes and teams you care about. And with checking accounts that have no fees or minimums, Capital One is here to handle your banking needs too. Just ask the Capital One bank guy. It's pretty much all he talks about
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Nicole McCormick
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Nicole McCormick
The thing about AI for business, it
- [01:01]
Michael Barr
may not automatically fit the way your business works.
- [01:04]
Nicole McCormick
At IBM, we've seen this firsthand.
- [01:07]
Gonzalo Soto
But by embedding AI across hr, IT
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Nicole McCormick
and procurement processes, we've reduced costs by millions, slashed repetitive tasks, and freed thousands
- [01:16]
Gonzalo Soto
of hours for strategic work.
- [01:19]
Nicole McCormick
Now we're helping companies get smarter by putting AI where it actually pays off, deep in the work that moves the business. Let's create smarter business.
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Gonzalo Soto
IBM
- [01:31]
Nicole McCormick
Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio News this is the business of sports.
- [01:39]
Gonzalo Soto
Sports are the greatest unscripted show on earth.
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Alex Silverman
The next generation of players really grew up with tech and believe in tech.
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Vanessa Perdomo
Your face is your ticket. Your face is your wallet. Your face is your access to a club.
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David Eagleman
These are such iconic and important buildings
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Alex Silverman
for businesses, for fans.
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David Eagleman
Covid was one of the best things that ever happened to golf.
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Michael Barr
The NFL is a bulletproof business.
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Alex Silverman
Racing's unique because there is absolutely no
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Nicole McCormick
reason why we can't compete with the guys.
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Alex Silverman
Come on, is pro pickleball real? Are people really going to tune into this? If you're playing Moneyball with a huge bag of money, you're going to be really, really good.
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Nicole McCormick
Bloomberg Business of Sports From Bloomberg Radio,
- [02:15]
Michael Barr
this is the Bloomberg Business of Sports, where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Michael Barr.
- [02:22]
Vanessa Perdomo
And I'm Vanessa Perdomo. Damien Sassour is out this week.
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Michael Barr
Coming up today, we will talk about hockey and the momentum from the Winter Olympics, as well as how the Olympics impact youth sports. That is straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of Sports. But first, we have a sensitive situation in Mexico A top cartel leader was killed last week in a raid carried out by Mexican forces.
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Vanessa Perdomo
The show of force calls into question the nation's security just ahead of hosting the World cup in Guadalajara. Bloomberg's Gonzalo Soto joins us from Mexico City to give us a report of the situation.
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Michael Barr
Gonzalo Soto, welcome. This is a topic that, well, many soccer fans are concerned about. Mexican officials are rushing to keep Guadalajara as the World cup host. And this is in part because of the killing of Mexico's most powerful drug cartel leader, and it triggered citywide unrestricted. Can you tell us more about, I guess, what the mood is right now in Mexico about the World cup as Guadalajara tries to host this?
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Gonzalo Soto
Yeah, sure. Thank you for having me. I mean, as you well said, Mexican officials basically rushed to guarantee FIFA since Sunday that security was sufficient for Guadalajara to maintain its status as a World cup host city this summer. The killing of El Mencho, this powerful drug kingpin, really disrupted the country. We're talking about the Jalisco new generation cartel, which is probably the most powerful drug cartel in the world. So basically, they set ablaze several roadblocks. They just burned hundreds of cars, vehicles across the state in Jalisco, where Guadalajara is capital, and other states in the country. But most importantly, several of these roadblocks and a lot of this violence happened very close to where Akron Stadium, the stadium where the World cup is scheduled to happen next summer. Many of this occurred less than a mile from that place. Therefore, FIFA was concerned and local policymakers and several of the organizers held conversations with FIFA to confirm that security conditions will be met and that vote teams and visitors that come to the World cup will be safe. Of course, there's a lot of tension. The president, Mexico, Claudia Scheinbaum, repeated that whether the hat is ready, that there is absolutely no threat, that everything is going to be fine. But of course, after Sunday's image, several of Sunday's images, this looks like something that a lot of people is putting in doubt.
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Vanessa Perdomo
And amidst this, I mean, how do officials make sure that FIFA feels comfortable and that teams are going to feel comfortable? Obviously, there already has to be security, you know, measures in place for cities to host the tournament. But are they asking for more security, you know, because of this situation?
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Gonzalo Soto
I think the best example happened Wednesday evening when Mexico, Mexico's national team faced Iceland. It was a, according to several reports, it was a complete security zone. And there were army personnel, national Guard personnel, local police, state police were stationed in the area surrounding the Corregidor Stadium in Queretaro, where the game took place, some blockades happened near the city of Queretaro, where the game happened on Wednesday evening. Not really in the city, but again, I think it was the first test, very recent, not too far from the date of the killing of El Mencho. Therefore, it was a big test for the local authorities and for local organizers of the tournament. They have been reassuring over and over to FIFA that things are going to be fine. And one sigh of relief that local organizers got was Wednesday afternoon when Janni Fontin, of course, the president of FIFA, declared from Colombia that he was, you know, he was calm, that he trusted that things were going to go smoothly. But of course, I mean, he can't say otherwise right now.
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Michael Barr
Right. We're talking with Bloomberg's own Gonzalo Soto and we're talking about Mexico and the World cup. And unfortunately there have been many stories and I have been reporting on it throughout the several days of American tourists. And I'm going to take Puerto Vallarta as an example, who were stuck in their rooms and in fact, they didn't want to leave because there was all the violence going on. I think most of them now were able to get out of Mexico. What is going to be the problem if Americans want to visit Mexico to see the World Cup?
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Gonzalo Soto
I mean, there's a lot of concern, of course, about what's going to happen during the tournament. As I said, Mexican authorities have really gone out of their way to reassure visitors that this is going to be a safe tournament, that they can come to Mexico and, you know, face absolutely no risk. That's exactly what the President said. She said there is no risk, none. She reassured, you know, to a follow up question about visitor safety. But, you know, she said also that Mexico is fully prepared to host the tournament, to host the event, to guarantee the security. There are a lot of military personnel right now in the city and in the state in general, knowing that, of course, a lot of visitors, not all only from the States, but from Europe and from South America, from, you know, all over the world, are not just going to visit Guadalajara. They will probably head to Puerto Vallarta, where some of the initial reports of roadblocks happened. And I think some of the most dramatic scenes occurred. You know, those photographs where you can see the beautiful beaches and the city, of course, several places with these roadblocks and all these fires and the smoke. So, I mean, it's a huge contrast. President Scheinbaum, for example, invited to her daily press conference, invited the Secretary of Tourism, Josefina Rodriguez, and she basically laid out like, come visit. There is no problem. You can eat, you can have fun. You can have a lot of great experiences here in the country. But I think the mood right now, not only among expats and not only among visitors, but also with some of the local population, is, yeah, we're having second thoughts about this tournament happening with absolute safety.
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Nicole McCormick
Yeah.
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Vanessa Perdomo
It's interesting, too. Obviously, beyond the, you know, pride that. That a place has for hosting the World cup, it really is all about economic impact. So is there any concern about that? If tourists start to reconsider their stance on going to a certain place in Mexico to see the games or whatever, is there any concern that the economic impact might drop?
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Gonzalo Soto
The Mexican government is expecting 5.5 million visitors during 2026, most during the World Cup. That is. That would be basically a record number. Therefore, yes, there is.
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Nicole McCormick
There.
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Gonzalo Soto
There could be a potential economic impact if there is a cancellation of one of those whole cities, particularly Guadalajara. I mean, so far, several analysts have ruled out this possibility as the government, you know, could succeed in containing some of the violence before begins. But then again, if things do not improve markedly, you could start seeing a lot of cancellations for visitors or, you know, FIFA having second thoughts about keeping Guadalajara as a host city. I think another big test or the biggest test for Guadalajara in the upcoming weeks is the playoff games for the World Cup. Let's remember that Congo, Jamaica and New Caledonia have to play in Guadalajara. Those games have not been canceled, canceled yet. And they have to come to Mexico. They have to play with Alexa, and they have to, you know, the Mexican government, the Mexican authorities have to lay out a security plan that keeps FIFA calm, that. That. That reassures visitors and soccer fans that this is going to be a safe tournament for them.
- [11:02]
Vanessa Perdomo
You know, we are about 100 days out from the tournament. Do you think that that's enough time for, you know, the government to alleviate, you know, the concerns there?
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Gonzalo Soto
People we've spoken to, they say that it's more than enough time to really secure the city that put in place a big enough plan to keep visitors safe, to avoid some of the scenes or many of the scenes that happened. Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of people are, you know, very expectant of what the plan is going to be. FIFA as well, is, you know, pushing local authorities to really show them what, you know, what the next steps are regarding visitor safety and the national team safety. So far, I think the Mexican authorities feel confident enough that they could do this. Of course, the scenes are going to be, you know, somewhat grim. You Know, with a lot of military personnel, probably a lot of National Guard, you know, patrolling the streets, patrolling around the stadiums. Then again, I mean, that's the situation that's, you know, that's prevailing still in the city.
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Michael Barr
We're talking with Bloomberg's own Gonzalo Soto in Mexico City. And yes, unfortunately, some Americans are concerned about going to Mexico, but that works the other way because there are many people from Mexico concerned about coming to the US to watch World cup games because they've seen the ICE arrests and all the immigration stuff that's been going on. Can you tell us more about that?
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Gonzalo Soto
I think a lot of Mexicans hoped for, you know, going, hope to go to the United States to go watch a game not only, you know, for only Mexican national team, but any game because of the majority of games we're going to be match is going to be played in the States. Guadalajara is only hosting four games. Monterrey is only hosting four games. Mexico City will host five games. Including, including the inaugural game. Therefore, thousands of Mexicans hoped, you know, to visit the United States for the tournament. There is, of course, concerns, especially after Minnesota, especially after some of the green scenes that we've seen over and over repeated in several parts of the States. But I don't think that so far that could or that will hinder a lot of them to actually cancel their plans if they have already some in place from the World cup for fan expectations, maybe this could be put in the back in the back mirror and a lot of them will just venture to the States or foreign visitors venture to Mexico.
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Vanessa Perdomo
That was Bloomberg News. Gonzalez Soto out of Mexico City.
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Michael Barr
Up next, we speak with senior vice president of Team Snap, Nicole McCormick. That is straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of sports for my colleague Vanessa Perdomo. I'm Michael Barr. You are listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports, Bloomberg Radio around the world.
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- [16:19]
Nicole McCormick
is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
- [16:24]
Michael Barr
This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports. Welcome to Youth Sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Michael Barr.
- [16:30]
Vanessa Perdomo
And I'm Vanessa Perdomo.
- [16:32]
Michael Barr
Youth sports usually see a bump in interest coming out of the Olympics and this year is no different.
- [16:38]
Vanessa Perdomo
Here to discuss the power of the Olympics and the business of youth sports is Senior Vice President and General Manager of Brand Solutions at team snap, Nicole McCormick.
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Michael Barr
Nicole, welcome to the Bloomberg Business of sports. And I'm going to give you a chance to brag about Team Snap. It is the number one platform in youth sports. Tell us about it.
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Nicole McCormick
Nice to be here. Thanks for having me. Team Snap, as you said, is the number one platform in youth sports. Our consumer mobile app is in the pockets of over 30 million coaches and parents and players and administrators. And then we also work with almost 20,000 clubs and leagues who use the Teamstep platform to manage the business of sports. So we're doing everything from organizing team schedules and rostering and communication to helping those sports organizations create teams, register kids, assign coaches, and really just power the whole ecosystem of youth sports.
- [17:37]
Vanessa Perdomo
Nicole, it's this interesting thing, right, that now, you know, we have all this technology. I mean, you and I both played Division 1, you know, sports, and we played youth sports growing up. It's so different now though, with all of this technology and, and how everything's changing and the business of youth sports is, is so vast. Can you tell us why this platform, you know, needs to exist in the current landscape for youth sports?
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Nicole McCormick
Well, I think we go back a little bit to the origin story which the it was TeamSTEPP was founded, gosh, probably 15 years ago by a couple of sports dads who just wanted to tackle the problem that I think, Vanessa, you and I have been there. Our parents were there back in the day of we showed up at the wrong field at the wrong time because we missed the phone chain or the text chain or the email chain.
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Capital One Advertiser
Right.
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Nicole McCormick
And so that was really where it started. But youth sports is so central to families lives. You know, people talk about like share of wallet and I often talk about youth sports and the share of life that it has in families lives. But it's complicated and there's a lot of organization that needs to go behind it. And so that's really where TeamStep tries to step in and organize that chaos. Let coaches focus on coaching and having a great experience for the kids on the field. Let administrators do their job to run the programming of sport and then keep parents sane and organized during these busy, these busy times for them.
- [19:02]
Michael Barr
That reminds me of the old Michael Waltrip commercial from years ago. I'm at the wrong track.
- [19:09]
Vanessa Perdomo
That literally has happened to me all the time.
- [19:12]
Michael Barr
I want to bring up Women's in Sports Day and it has recently passed celebrating the 40th anniversary of honoring the achievements, power and leadership of female athletes. Tell us about.
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Nicole McCormick
Yeah, so it was at the beginning of February, so just a little earlier this month and as you said, the 40th anniversary of it. But I think this year it was particularly special, the timing of it because it came right before the Winter Olympics as well and the Milan Olympics. And you know, one of the storylines of those Olympics, which have been incredible and amazing to watch, but one of the storylines was that they were the most, most gender balanced Winter Olympics in history. 47% of the athletes in the games were female. We had 50 women's events, which was a record. And we saw really cool things for the first time, like women and men competing at equal Distances in cross country skiing. And so I think National Girls and Women in Sports Day is always a moment to recognize and celebrate the achievements of female athletes and the progress and advancement we. Advancements we've made in women's sports. But this year, I thought it was particularly special coming right before the Milan Olympics.
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Michael Barr
Go women's hockey. Go hockey. Go. Oh, yeah, the men won two.
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Nicole McCormick
Go ahead.
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Vanessa Perdomo
No, exactly, Michael, exactly. And I think the interesting thing there is, you know, the way women represented on the stage. And Nicole, is there any correlation, do you know, of. Of after the Games, you know, the momentum of more girls staying in sports or. Or trying new sports for the first time.
- [20:51]
Nicole McCormick
So we always see this, Vanessa, after a big global sports moment like that, especially, by the way, we'll talk about when it's on U.S. soil. So we have the World cup coming up, which we expect to drive a surge in youth soccer participation. We saw it in 94, we saw it in 99 when it was on our soil. We have LA28 coming up, of course, but even the Milan Olympics, especially to your point, with how well women performed, especially, you know, 8 of 12 golds for the US came from women, 21 overall medals for the women female athletes. And so we will absolutely see a surge in youth sports participation, both from boys and girls, which is wonderful, but definitely from the girls as well.
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Michael Barr
We're talking with Nicole McCormick with Team Snap, and you brought it up. The latest Olympics, the Winter Olympics, the stereotypes, the women. Women have to face some of these stereotypes. Can you tell us more about that?
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Nicole McCormick
Yeah, I think a couple of things when you talk about the stereotypes, you know, one, I think to some extent Mulan has been a reflection of the broader women's sports ecosystem as well. And there's some of the stereotype that, you know, what's happening is kind of a moment, and I don't think, you know, that's true at all. And this is the business of sport. We can get some of the economics behind women's sports, but one of those stereotypes is like, oh, it's having a moment. Or, you know, it looks like Milan is like this sudden surge of interest. And it's not. It's really delayed recognition and kind of a market correction that we can talk about. The other thing about the stereotype, and Vanessa, you alluded to it a few minutes ago, is keeping girls in sports, right? Girls are really the foundation of the whole women's sports ecosystem. And happened in Milan didn't start in Milan. It started at youth fields and rinks and arenas. All across the country. But one of the challenges we have is that girls drop out of sports at a rate two times that of boys by the age of 14. And some of that, Michael, is related to sort of stereotypes of, you know, what a girl is supposed to be, what feminine is supposed to look like, you know, who sports are really for. And those are some of the things we have to continue to challenge and overcome to keep this whole women's sports and girls sports ecosystem going.
- [23:29]
Vanessa Perdomo
Absolutely. I mean, Chloe Kim said it best when she said, I think I can snowboard better than I can walk. Cause she grew up on a snowboard. You know, I love that.
- [23:36]
Nicole McCormick
That's right.
- [23:37]
Vanessa Perdomo
I love when she said that. So, you know, like you had mentioned, let's get a little bit into the economics of women's sports and. And of. Of girls sports and of youth sports there. What is the economics behind girls and youth sports in that particular? Business. Business, yeah.
- [23:53]
Nicole McCormick
Well, first of all, we have to recognize how massive youth sports is just broadly right. There are 60 million kids in this country participating in youth sports. When you add in their parents and their coaches and those referees and administrators, youth Sports really touches 50% of the US population, which is massive. And, you know, when we talk about the economics, the other thing we look at, I work with a lot of brands who are starting to lean in and invest in youth sports. We estimate that the youth sports audience has $3 trillion in spending power. So that's sort of setting the landscape, Vanessa, of youth sports more broadly. And then what's exciting to see on the girls front? 36% of girls are participating in team sports regularly. That's the highest it's been since 2012. Now, it still trails boys 45% of boys. But we see some exciting progress on teamstep. For example, 58% of teams, team Snap, have girls on the roster, which is huge and super exciting. And, you know, we're seeing huge surges in certain sports in terms of growth, whether that's volleyball, whether that's flag football for girls. But, you know, just a lot of great growth of. Of girls in sport.
- [25:08]
Michael Barr
One athlete that I think a lot of women and I think men look up also is Lindsey Vonn. Now, unfortunately, she had a tough time in this one because she had a bad crash as she was downhill skiing, and she almost lost her leg. In general, they were thinking about amputation, but they were able to save it. But I think that a lot of females look to Lindsey Vaughn and say, hey, you know what? Okay, she's done it. This didn't go well this time. But you know what?
- [25:45]
Alex Silverman
What?
- [25:45]
Michael Barr
She's my idol. And can I get your thoughts on that?
- [25:47]
Nicole McCormick
Yeah. Well, what a story of grit and guts and resilience, right, for her to come back. And then, yes, of course, the Olympics didn't go the way she wanted or any of us wanted to see. But I agree with you. And that's really important for girls in sport. It's the sort of, you've got to see it to be it. Right. And so to have those role models, whether it's Lindsey Vaughn, whether it's Michaela Schiff and whether it's Chloe Kim or Alyssa Lu, you know, or Eileen Gu or the names just, you can go on and on from this Olympics as an example. But to have those role models is, is a really important part of this.
- [26:28]
Vanessa Perdomo
Nicole, when we're looking at, you know, the youth sports landscape, I mean, we're talking about how big the business is, and it's, and it's great that it's expanding and obviously Team Snap in the innovation of it, but also it's gotten really expensive. Can you tell us a little bit about that and, and how we can balance, you know, the people who are going to be competing in the Olympics and, you know, their track and then some people who just want to have fun in youth sports.
- [26:55]
Sonesta Advertiser
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- [26:56]
Nicole McCormick
Well, you touched on two topics. Yes, it has definitely gotten expensive, which is the downside of it because, of course, we don't want to be limiting access to youth sports. And a key reason for that is we know youth sports involvement and participation in SP drives, positive outcomes for kids, higher graduation rates. You know, if you look on the. Again, we're talking women and girls in sport. If you look on the female side, 90% of women in C suite positions played sports growing up because they developed those leadership skills and the resilience and the confidence and all those good things. So with the rising costs, the challenge is how do we not limit access? And you're right. You know, since I think the status. Since 2019, the cost of youth sports has increased 46%, which is massive. You know, you're looking at $197 average registration costs, $414 average annual travel costs, which is probably low. So you're right about that. And we can talk a little about some of the ways that we can try to combat that.
- [28:01]
Michael Barr
I know we're running out of time, but I want to talk about one of the most most important topics, the money. Global women's sports revenue projected to reach 2.35 billion in 2025. That's up from 2024. Where do you think it will be now in 2026?
- [28:18]
Nicole McCormick
I don't have an estimate on where it'll be, but I think if you look at the indicators and the biggest one is media rights, right? And some of the deals that are happening, you know, WNBA 11 year 2.2 billion media rights deal, NWSL the highest ever at 240 million. You know, broadcasters don' those kind of long term dollars unless audiences and advertiser demand are predictable and durable. So Michael, you know, this isn't the ceiling. I think we're going to continue to see those kind of numbers, 25% year over year growth, etc. And we're going to continue to see more sponsorship dollars coming into women's sports as well. I think sponsorship dollars doubled last year as well. So a lot of room for growth here.
- [29:02]
Vanessa Perdomo
That was Nicole McCormick, senior vice president and General Manager of Brand Solutions at Team Snap.
- [29:07]
Michael Barr
Up next we talk hockey and how the sport in the US Stands to benefit from two big gold medal wins. That is straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of Sports. I'm Michael Barr with Vanessa Perdomo. You are listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports, Bloomberg Radio around the world.
- [29:28]
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This sports spotlight is brought to you by Capital One. Capital One offers no fees or minimums on checking account counts. Did you know that 1998 was the first year that the Olympics featured a women's ice hockey competition? Team USA led by captain Cammie Granado won a perfect six zero zero and took home the very first women's hockey gold, defeating Canada three to one in Nagano, Japan. Capital One, what's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com bank for details. Capital One NA member FDIC running a
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- [31:50]
Nicole McCormick
Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
- [31:54]
Michael Barr
Thanks for joining us on the Bloomberg Business of sports. We explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Michael Barr.
- [32:00]
Vanessa Perdomo
And I'm Vanessa Perdomo.
- [32:01]
Michael Barr
Now let's talk some hockey.
- [32:04]
Vanessa Perdomo
With both the US Men's and women's teams winning gold in the Winter Olympics, hockey has huge momentum going into the later part of the season.
- [32:10]
Michael Barr
Here to tell us about how this will impact the NHL and the PWHL is sport business journalist Alex Soell. Alex, welcome to the Bloomberg Business of sports.
- [32:23]
Alex Silverman
Thanks for having me, guys.
- [32:24]
Michael Barr
You got a chance now to really see the NHL take off because after the break from the Olympics. Let's see. I think the men's team won the gold. I think the women's team won the gold. They just went in all over the place, man. It's. It's a great feeling, especially now that the NHL is back.
- [32:51]
Alex Silverman
Yeah, it's a good time to be an American hockey fan. I was actually, I was just at a conference, the Sports Business Journal, National Sports Forum. And, you know, it's good mix of American and Canadian attendees and, you know, the dynamic was kind of flipped from. From what it would usually be with hockey dominance. So, yeah, it's an interesting time.
- [33:09]
Vanessa Perdomo
I think that's the interesting thing there is that obviously the NHL isn't just this American league and neither is the pwhl. They both have, you know, a massive presence in Canada. But what does winning the gold do? Like, how much of an impact does it actually have on the popularity of the momentum going back into those seasons?
- [33:27]
Alex Silverman
Yeah, you know, it's really interesting. Like when the NHL and its owners decided to stop sending players to the Olympics after the 2014 Games in Sochi, you know, the owner's view basically was that any sort of halo effect that, that they were getting was outweighed by the disruption to their season, the risk of severe injuries to players. So at least at the time, they didn't really feel like they were seeing the lift in ratings, ticket sales, sponsorship growth that would have really made it worth it to them. But like you said, the difference this time is the US winning for the first time since 1980, and it's the first time ever that the US has won at the Olympics with NHL players involved. And while Gary Bettman won't say it, I'm sure the US Winning is the best thing that could have happened for the NHL. So it'll be different. It'll be interesting to see, you know, if all the people who were clamoring to buy Jack Hughes jerseys after he scored the game winning goal will now, you know, support their local NHL teams.
- [34:27]
Michael Barr
We're talking with sports business journals, Alex Silverman, and you brought up Jack Hughes. They gave him a hero's welcome when he played, when he came back from the Olympics.
- [34:38]
Vanessa Perdomo
And to New Jersey. Yep, New Jersey.
- [34:40]
Michael Barr
Unfortunately, they lost that game to the Sabres 2 1. But we won't talk about that. This, what it is bringing is an attendance that the NHL loves because they're going to see another season of record attendance.
- [34:56]
Alex Silverman
Yeah. And they've been on pace for that. So I don't want to give the sense that that's entirely, you know, due to this Olympic bump. But yeah, I definitely have seen some early indications that, that, that ticket sales in certain markets have been stronger since the Olympics. I think the one place for the NHL that they're going to really see a direct impact is the World cup of Hockey. They're bringing that back in 2028. That's an event that they and the NHLPA own and operate. So they'll directly see revenue upside from that event. And, and the momentum from this Olympics is no doubt, you know, proof to brands and media companies that international hockey is captivating and can get people to watch who aren't necessarily going to be watching the NHL on a, on a day to day or week to week basis. To quote Al Michaels, the people who don't know the difference between the blue line and the clothesline. So. So, you know, I think Sponsorship and media rights for the 2028 World cup of Hockey, you know, definitely became more valuable as a result of this year's Olympics. Again, I'm just really, really interested to see whether you know, it affects sort of the, the 30 clubs or 32 clubs and, and the league's kind of day to day operations.
- [36:07]
Vanessa Perdomo
Well, I think the interesting thing there is, is what Michael kind of had alluded to about Jack Hughes and Hillary Knight on the women's team is that it creates now this sense of they're now household names, right? You see them win big and you see them do big things on the world's biggest stage and hopefully that carries over. That's what, what the World cup, the Women's World cup had, you know, relied on for a really long time was, you know, these stars at the, the biggest level carrying over and trying to get them to people to root for their club teams. But that's how, that's how the WNBA grows, that's how the NBA grows is, is star power. Do you think that that is going to have a massive impact? Is now that them actually having more household names and people knowing these stars?
- [36:51]
Nicole McCormick
Stars, yeah.
- [36:53]
Alex Silverman
You know, even though the men's game had, you know, considerably higher viewership than the women's game, which also set a record. And I think the PWHL is probably in the best position to benefit from this. I mean it's a two year old league. A lot of people probably didn't even know it exists quite yet. And now, you know, not only is the fact that, you know, not only is women's hockey in the spotlight, but like you said, you're making stars like Hillary nuts Knight and Megan Keller, Aaron, Frank Frankel. So I think it's really, that's where I think you can, you'll see a lot of impact. I mean certainly in the NHL as well. You had to have a guy like Jack Hughes. I mean that photo of him with you know, his missing teeth and, and the flag wrapped around him is one of the most iconic, instantly iconic sports photos I've ever seen. It'll definitely help, you know, the NHL and you know, I think, think NHL players have kind of struggled relative to players in other leagues to generate off ice marketing activity, especially in the U.S. you know, they had a lot more opportunities in Canada. So yeah, I'm curious to see what happens with you know, Jack Hughes's endorsement portfolio and some of these other guys as well.
- [38:01]
Michael Barr
Unfortunately, there is an impact when in the NHL and when a star participates in the Olympics. There's the risk for injury. And it happened to Sidney Crosby. He's going to be out for several weeks after he had taken an awkward hit. Star for the Pittsburgh Penguins. That is a risk if you're going to play in the Olympics for the United States of America, for Canada, whichever you're with, it's going to be a risk, period.
- [38:36]
Gonzalo Soto
Sure.
- [38:37]
Alex Silverman
And, you know, I'm kind of of the mind that, you know, whether your player gets hurt in the Olympics or in a regular season game, the result is sort of the same. Maybe you can argue that the risk for injury at the Olympics is slightly higher than in a regular season game just because of the stakes and the intensity. There is more kind of like playoffs in the NHL. But, yeah, I mean, that's definitely one of the reasons that owners, you know, aren't necessarily as. As gung ho about their players participating in the Olympics as, you know, fans are and the players themselves are. You know, that's also partially been a negotiating position by the league. You know, they keep saying, oh, we're doing this for our players, we're doing this for our players. You know, they, the players had to sort of negotiate for the right to go back to the Olympics and collective bargaining. So there's some sort of rhetorical tricks there, but by the league. But, but, yeah, no, it's definitely a concern. And, you know, Kevin Fiala for the Kings being out for the season is a big blow to them. So, yeah, it's, it's a consideration.
- [39:34]
Vanessa Perdomo
You had mentioned earlier that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman had spoken at the SBJ National Sports Forum. Tell us more about what he said there. You know, what's, what's interesting going into the last part of the season here for the NHL.
- [39:48]
Alex Silverman
Yeah, I mean, on the Olympics front, what really interested me about what he said is he said, of course, this was a great, great tournament. We knew the hockey was going to be great, and it, you know, exceeded all expectations. But there's a lot that we can do, hopefully with the cooperation of the ioc, the International Ice Hockey Federation and NBC, to make this tournament more impactful, both for the NHL, but kind of for the sport as a whole. For example, the NHL hasn't been able to use highlight rights for these Olympic Games involving its players, because the IOC is very protective about that, that the gold medal game started at 8am Eastern Time, 5am Pacific Time. You know, Gary Bettman said that he thinks that the rating based on the NHL's data could have been close to double what it was had the game started in the afternoon. And that's something that the NHL would like to have influence on going forward. So that was really an interesting takeaway for me from. From Bettman's comments that he really wants. Wants to continue to refine this relationship. He talked about meeting with Christy Coventry, the new president of the ioc, while he was over there. So I think the NHL, you know, yes, they're back in the Olympics after not going for a long time, but I think they still, you know, I think they want to take more control over this going forward.
- [41:09]
Vanessa Perdomo
Is that really a possibility, though? I mean, I mean, like you said, the IOC is very protective over their ip and so is, you know, the NBC is very protective over their coverage of the Olympics. Is it really even a possibility that the NHL will be able to take some of that control?
- [41:24]
Alex Silverman
I mean, that's a question. I mean, for the benefits for the IOC and NBC of the NHL players being there are very obvious. Like, no one has cared about men's Olympic hockey the past two cycles. When the NHL players weren't there, NBC wasn't doing 18 million for the gold medal game. So I don't know. I've been honestly a little bit surprised by how. How little the NHL has been able to extract to this point, but I think given how well this year's tournament went and how big of a part NHL players were in that, that that maybe the NHL has a better bargaining position.
- [42:02]
Michael Barr
By the way, a shout out to Kenny Albert. He gave you guys a very big thank you for the NHL saying that. He called, by the way, 24 hockey games during the Winter Olympics, and you guys had a chance to speak with him, and he put the Milan hockey on par with his biggest event that he has ever called. Can you tell us more about that?
- [42:28]
Alex Silverman
Yeah, he spoke with my colleague Austin Karp for the sports media podcast, and yeah, like you said, he really put this. This event at the top of his list of games that he's called. And I mean, Kenny Albert, he's called Super Bowls, you know, other just massive sporting events, Stanley cup finals. And yeah, it just. It does seem like this Canada U.S. rivalry, the. Just the. The heat of it, the stakes have really, you know, made for a special moment. And for Kenny Albert to say that is.
- [43:04]
Odoo Advertiser
Is.
- [43:04]
Vanessa Perdomo
Is pretty incredible as the World cup comes around. Alex, I'm curious, You know, I feel that with this momentum that hockey has going on and then going into the World Cup, I'm curious what your take is, because I know you cover both on which sport really is the number three most watched, most power. Like what has the most, you know, fans? And what is the number three sport in the US in terms of fan? Is it hockey or is it soccer?
- [43:31]
Alex Silverman
Soccer, it's a good question. I think, you know, soccer is, is such a different animal because there are so many different competitions, leagues, federations. So the NHL is, is clearly still a much bigger business than Major League Soccer. But you know, there are plenty of American soccer fans who aren't necessarily watching mls, but they're watching the Premier League or La Liga or the UEFA Champions League. So I think, think, you know, the, the, the sense that I've gotten is that if you kind of aggregate all that soccer interest, it's bigger than hockey, but all of the hockey interest is sort of concentrated on the NHL, whereas the soccer interest is fragmented.
- [44:14]
Vanessa Perdomo
That sport Business Journal reporter Alex Silverman, Sports Business Journal has partnered with Bloomberg through our new subscription bundle, which gives readers across both Bloomberg's business reporting and sbj's industry leading sports coverage.
- [44:26]
Michael Barr
Oh man. That's it for today. Thanks for joining us. Tune in again next week for the latest on the stories moving big money in the world of sports.
- [44:34]
Vanessa Perdomo
And don't forget to catch our podcast on all your podcast platforms. And go to bloomberg.com to subscribe to the Bloomberg Business of Sports newsletter to stay up to date on all our juicy insights.
- [44:44]
Michael Barr
You're listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. Around the World.
- [44:54]
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