Weekly Column: Media, Money, & Momentum in Sports Business

In this week’s column, California Sports Lawyer® CEO, Founder, and Managing Attorney Jeremy M. Evans writes about media, money, and momentum in the sports entertainment business that is leading to change.

Mergers and buyouts have been a major tool, but there is something new afoot that will be a third major shift in the industry.

You can read the full column below. (Past columns can be found, here).

Financial reporting reforms, high-stakes media mergers, and executive shake-ups at entertainment, media, and sports companies are converging to reshape sports business. The sports entertainment industry has seen much change in the last decade and it continues to find ways to survive and thrive. Mergers and buyouts have been a major tool, but there is something new afoot that will be a third major shift in the industry.

The first is President Donald J. Trump’s pursuit of changing the quarterly earnings report through the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). If approved, earnings reports for public companies would be standardized to twice per year as opposed to four times per calendar year. The earning reporting reform would reshape sports company policies and economics by making it less costly and timely going from four reports to two. Secondly, it would allow companies to focus on long-term vision and stock value. Thirdly, it would help calm the stock market for investors, while also making the twice a year reporting more important. One issue with the approach is that if a company has a bad six months it may lead to another bad future for investing and investors. One the other hand quarterly earnings tend to shake up the market too often when a company does not perform in a three-month window during a calendar year.

The second is a continued pursuit of media consolidation. The first major recent shift was from linear to streaming (e.g., the rise of Netflix, Amazon, and others). The second was Disney’s purchase of the FOX entertainment assets and library for $70+ billion dollars. The third is and will be Skydance’s purchase of Paramount Global and a potential for even further consolidation by Paramount Skydance of Warner Bros. Discovery.

The Warner Bros. Discovery merger was a large deal in itself, but has led to the possible splitting up of the companies by its current CEO scheduled for April 2026. However, the cash offer by Paramount Skydance and the Larry and David Ellison team would be to purchase both Warner Bros. and Discovery. Assuming certain cable assets are sold off and the SEC approves of the merger along with U.S. Department of Justice antitrust approval, Paramount Skydance Warner Bros. Discovery will be a major player in sports and entertainment.

In preparation for the upcoming season, there has also been major change in strategic leadership and organization. Paramount’s appointment of Jesse Sisgold to lead its sports and entertainment division underscores a reorganization that could redefine how sports content is packaged, distributed, and monetized globally. The mergers, reorganization, and leadership changes affect negotiations with leagues, athlete exposure, sponsor strategies, and the platforms where fans access games, with risks of fragmentation or consolidation of access. On the other hand, sports will become easier to access by nature of it not being separated by so many platforms and paywalls.

Paramount Skydance’s influence and library would be substantial. Paramount would be merging two of the “Big Five” Hollywood studios (Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery) to compete with Walt Disney Studios (part of The Walt Disney Company), Universal Pictures (part of NBCUniversal, owned by Comcast), and Sony Pictures Entertainment (owned by Sony Group Corporation). Hollywood would become a “Big Four” not to mention streamer-studios like Netflix, Apple, and Amazon. Media, money, and momentum in the sports entertainment business is indeed changing.

About Jeremy M. Evans:

Jeremy M. Evans is the Chief Entrepreneur Officer, Founder & Managing Attorney at California Sports Lawyer®, representing entertainment, media, and sports clients in contractual, intellectual property, and dealmaking matters. Evans is an award-winning attorney and industry leader based in Los Angeles and Newport Beach, California. He can be reached at Jeremy@CSLlegal.com. www.CSLlegal.com.