Here are the latest articles curated by Sports Geek Reads. Get these updates as a podcast by subscribing to Sports Geek Rapid Rundown.
Today's edition is presented by DigitaltoDollars.com.
Key Reads
How to Unlock the Value of Your Fan Base – Notice Sports *
NRL case study on turning fan data into revenue.
AU, NRL, Data, CRM, Sponsorship
Cal's New Naming Rights Deal Isn't What You Think – Huddle Up
Inside Cal's Databricks deal and stadium naming risk.
US, College Sports, Sponsorship, Finance, Data/Tech
How to plan 2027 when traffic is down and AI won't attribute – Growth Memo
Marketing strategy when AI search kills your web traffic.
Global, AI, Marketing Strategy, Attribution
Professional Sports
Can US$300m investment, player equity and team stake sales save LIV Golf? – SportsPro
Unpacking LIV Golf's financial restructuring and survival chances.
Global, Golf, Private Equity, Finance
Inside MLB's Contingency Plan for a Potential Lockout – The Athletic
How MLB plans for sponsors, media and fans if games stop.
US, MLB, Business Strategy, Labour
NFL Wants to Know Which Combine Measurements Actually Matter – Front Office Sports
Crowdsourcing analytics to refine the NFL Combine's metrics.
US, NFL, Analytics, High Performance
Australian Athletics and Nine Announce Landmark 7‑Year Broadcast Partnership – Australian Athletics
Seven-year deal positions Nine as home of athletics.
AU, Media Rights, Athletics, Broadcast
Digital & Social
X brings its Gametime feature to MLB games – TechCrunch
New X feature targets real-time second-screen MLB engagement.
US, MLB, Social Media, Fan Engagement
SportsPro and Meta to spotlight exceptional athlete storytelling on social – SportsPro
Meta-backed awards shine light on athlete-led storytelling.
Global, Social Media, Athletes, Sponsorship
Goalhanger goes big on Substack newsletters – Digital Content Next
What Goalhanger's 100k paid subs mean for rights holders.
UK, Creator Economy, Newsletters, Media
Media & Entertainment
Disney+ Will Stream Super Bowl For First Time in 2027 – ESPN Press Room *
Super Bowl on Disney+ reshapes premium rights distribution.
US, NFL, Media Rights, Streaming
The Emmys Move to Streaming-Only on Prime Video – The Hollywood Reporter
Emmys ditch broadcast – what that signals for live sport.
Global, Streaming, Media Rights, Sponsorship
Charlotte Hornets Name DAZN Exclusive Direct-to-Consumer Streaming Partner – Sports Video Group
Hornets choose DAZN-only DTC for local NBA rights.
US, NBA, Media Rights, DTC
Geek Out
Home at Highmark Stadium: Buffalo Bills' New Venue Drives Fan Experience With Exterior Tech Center, Internal IP-Powered Infrastructure – Sports Video Group
Buffalo's new stadium shows what an IP-first venue looks like.
US, NFL, Stadiums, Infrastructure
University of Washington's New Sundodger Studios Leverages ST 2110 to Bring Broadcast, Videoboard, and Creative Under One Roof – Sports Video Group
College sports builds a $25m unified IP production hub.
US, College Sports, Production, ST2110
AI
The Formula for Agentic AI Value – BCG
CxO playbook for getting real value from AI agents.
Global, AI, Strategy, Ticketing, Sponsorship
Performance Max and Advantage+ grade their own homework – Substack
Why you can't blindly trust Google and Meta's AI ROAS.
Global, AI, Digital Marketing, Attribution
NVIDIA, Microsoft kick off a new beginning for Windows PCs with RTX Spark and AI agents – NVIDIA Blog
Local AI agents are coming to every sports front office PC.
Global, AI, Productivity, Sponsorship
Make You Think
Why Formula 1 Makes So Much Sense for Revolut – Culture of Sport
Revolut's integrated F1 play as a sponsorship blueprint.
Global, F1, Fintech, Sponsorship
Warren Buffett Bought a Dying Brand in 1988. It Now Pays Him $848 Million a… – Medium
Buffett, Coca-Cola and lessons for long-term sponsorship value.
Global, Brand, Sponsorship, Strategy
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Featured image credit: MMG, “Super Bowl LX first quarter crowd view”, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.


