The 4th Quarter: Latest In Sports Tech This Week, December 6th

Apollo & NFL Invest in Liga MX, AI-powered Punching Bags, New Job Board

Sid Balaga & Suraj Peramanu

Dec 06, 2024

Skip To What You Want To Read ⬇️

I. NFL & Apollo Global Management Invest in Liga MX

II. Sports-Tech Market Activity: IPOs, VC, M&A, Deals, Strategic Ventures, New Funds, Lawsuits

III. Weekly Job Board: Sports, Media, Entertainment, Technology

Apollo x NFL Investment Could Reshape Liga MX

Apollo and the NFL just teamed up on a transformative investment in Liga MX, the premier soccer league in Mexico. Following up on a previous $1.25B investment proposal (“Project Goal”) two years ago, the American private equity giant is seeking to restructure the league’s corporate governance and consolidate the commercial rights of its franchises. Uniquely, Liga MX allows individual teams to develop their own broadcasting/media partnerships. Through a new corporate structure, Apollo and NFL could now have a piece of the sponsorship pie: 20% of the profits from the league’s non-Mexican media rights over 50 years.

Our Take

This is a big bet on whether Mexican soccer can capture a growing audience in the U.S. market. The league is already a juggernaut, drawing over 31M viewers during the 2023 season. But the question remains: how much of that success is driven by U.S. viewership, and can it grow any further?

We think so.

With top-tier talent, high-quality play, and strong parity between franchises, Liga MX has been crushing viewership in the United States alone:

Most watched soccer league in the United States
845K+ average U.S. viewers in 2022; nearly double the English Premier League (EPL)
33-35% of total audience from America is for the Liga MX championship

This number will only grow post-investment, as the deal may expand MLS and Liga MX’s ongoing partnership with a possible “Leagues Cup 2.0”. Leagues Cup, an annual soccer competition between the MLS and Liga MX, has been paramount for the Mexican league to gain exposure with die-hard MLS fans and a broader American demographic (Liga MX viewership in the U.S. are of Mexican descent).

Apollo and the NFL are dream partners for this deal. Apollo brings its media expertise with its ownership of Yahoo, while the NFL flexes its muscle as the powerhouse of U.S. sports media deals, dominating almost all major U.S. cable networks and streaming platforms. This duo can help Liga MX pave a path to expand outside of traditional Spanish-speaking media - think beyond Televisa Univision, Telemundo, and ESPN Deportes - and secure lucrative, mainstream media deals that could redefine the league’s reach in the U.S.

Sports-Tech Market Activity: Investors & Deals

Venture Capital

Growl, a fitness tech startup that produced the first ‘AI-powered boxing bag/coach’, raised $4.75M in Seed funding (Dec. 4th)
- Taking pre-sale orders in Q1 2025, beginning shipping around Q2 2026
- Expected to cost $4,500 at time of launch with $60/mo for software subscription
- Investment was led by Skip Capital; other investors include Kima Ventures, and Teampact Ventures among others [Athletech News]
Former NBA champ Metta World Peace launches ‘Tru Skye Ventures’ targeting sports tech space (Dec. 5th)
- Seeking to raise $100M fund by end of Q1 2025
- Already invested in sports beverage company Barcode
- Targeting sports-tech, health & wellness, and digital media
- Stepping up from angel investing alongside co-investor Stephen Stokols, former Boost Mobile CEO [Sportico]
Lucra Sports, a B2B social gaming platform, raised $10M in funding to further drive fan engagement and brand loyalty (Dec. 5th)
- Reportedly signed over 20 key partnerships in 2024
- Ramping product development alongside free-to-play games for sports bar networks and social tournaments featuring alternative currencies
- Investment was led by 7GC, SeventySix Capital; other investors include Giannis Antetokounmpo and Ark Invest among others [Yahoo Sports]

360Player, an all-in-one sports-tech software service for sports organizations, raised $25M in strategic growth funding (Nov. 27th)
- Expanding service internationally alongside product features and capabilities
- Investment provided by B2B software investor, Five Elms Capital [FinSMEs]

T1 Entertainment & Sports, a South Korean Esports platform, is seeking $35M in funding, supports PC gaming café ‘T1 Base Camps’ (Nov. 27th)
- Created as a joint venture between SK Telecom and Comcast Spectacor in 2019
- Seeking to expand brand to locations in Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, and China [Esports Insider]
Koora Break, a Saudi soccer media app, received ‘multi-million-dollar’ investment from former footballer ‘Rio Ferdinand’ to expand across Europe and Asia (Dec. 2nd)
- Minority stake acquired by 'The Ferdinand Group'
- Koora Break reports roughly 800M monthly visitors on the platform
- Currently holds partnerships with Italian 'Serie A' and Saudi Pro League [AGBI]

M&A and Investments

Apollo, NFL reportedly reached formal agreements for Liga MX investment (Dec. 1st)
- 18 teams set to vote to approve pooling league’s commercial rights
- Apollo previously bid at $1.25B back in 2022— “seeking 20% of profits from league’s non-Mexican media rights”
- Moelis acted as an advisor for the league
- Financial terms were not disclosed [Sportico]

Atwater Capital leads $100 million investment in youth-to-pro League One Volleyball (LOVB) ecosystem (Nov. 27th)
- Raised $160 million in funding to date
- LOVB Pro Season set to begin January 2025
- Existing investors, including Ares and Left Lane Capital, also participated in the funding round [Athletech]

Avenue Sports Fund invests in 3-on-3 basketball league ‘Unrivaled’ (Nov. 27th)
- Co-founded by WNBA’s Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart,
- Following multi-year media rights partnership with TNT alongside an undisclosed investment in the league announced last month [SportCal]

Marc Lasry abandons bid to acquire NWSL's North Carolina Courage citing restricted PE investments in the league (Nov. 29th)
- The acquisition bid valued the club at $180M
- Signed letter of intent offered to acquire a 60% controlling stake [Sportico]

Audi sells F1 minority stake to Qatar Investment Authority ahead of 2026 entry (Nov. 29th)
- Stake is estimated at 30%
- First major investment by Qatar's Sovereign Wealth Fund in Formula 1 [SportCal]

*Photo: Growl’s AI-powered punching bag*

Strategic Ventures

Virtuix, an immersive VR company that develops range of VR experiences, launches full-body system ‘Omni One Core’ for PC gaming (Dec. 5th)
- Raised over $40 million in total funding since its founding (2013)
- Omni-directional VR treadmill, pair of overshoes, foot trackers, and Bluetooth dongle
- Priced at $2,595; $3,495 including additional accessories, headset, and controllers [VentureBeat]
Apple and Real Madrid in talks for augmented reality Vision Pro glasses collaboration for fans (Nov. 27th)
- ‘Infinite Santiago Bernabeu’ will provide users around the world with stadium-like feel through visual and auditory experiences [Insider Sport]

Robinhood “keenly looking” to delve into sports betting space according to CEO (Dec. 4th)
- Following their move into the event contracts back in October
- Seeking unconventional model where users can trade contracts with each other rather than placing bets against the house [Casino.Org]

EFL set to feature matches at Cosm’s immersive shared reality venues (Nov. 28th)
- Previous partnerships include the Premier League, NBA, NFL, and UFC
- Minimum of 6 Sky Bet EFL matches to be broadcasted including first match Wrexham v Barnsley on 3 December [Insider Sport]

Infront taps Genius Sports for French LFP to implement tracking technology solutions (Nov. 27th)
- Partnership covers Ligue 1 McDonald's and Ligue 2 BKT
- LFP will tap into Genius Sports’ AI and data platform, ‘GeniusIQ’ [SportCal]
Saudi ‘Pro League’ extends deal with Stats Perform to integrate AI solutions (Dec. 2nd)
- Partnership integrating ‘Opta Vision’ — combining computer vision and gen AI for event & player tracking and predictive metrics among other features [InsiderSport]

Bruin Capital launches ‘AS1’ soccer agency valued at $310M (Dec. 4th)
- Clients featuring over 300 players and coaches
- Following acquisition of four agencies: Nomi Sports, Position Number, Promoesport, and Football Division Worldwide [Sportico]

Euroleague Final Four set to take place in Abu Dhabi following successful €50M bid (Dec. 4th)
- Joint venture between IMG and Euroleague has successfully reached €100M in additional revenue after Abu Dhabi’s investment [Euroleague]