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BFD Expert Voices - Media Deals

BFD Expert Voices

The effort by YouTuber MrBeast to raise around $150 million at a $1.5 billion valuation is not only "reasonable" but could be lower than what he deserves, Spotter CEO Aaron DeBevoise told Kerry.

Why it matters: Creator economy startups like Spotter are emerging to support the growth of YouTubers and other content creators who seek to build mature businesses with multiple revenue streams. 

What he's saying: "I think [MrBeast is] worth a lot of money, and I think a lot of creators are probably worth a significant amount more money than what their AdSense would tell them that they're worth," DeBevoise said during an Axios Pro live event yesterday.

"We talk about creators as thinking about their assets not just as the revenue that they're bringing in, but their brand value, their personal value," DeBevoise said.

Details: MrBeast — who just became the most-subscribed YouTuber — is a client of Spotter, which gives YouTubers upfront cash to grow their business in exchange for future ad revenue from their back catalog on YouTube. 

So far this year, Spotter has deployed $700 million to creators.

"Spotter's main goal is to provide capital and knowledge to creators so that they can grow their businesses independently," DeBevoise said. "Our job is to empower the creator to go out and be able to do as much as they possibly want to do and dream up."

The intrigue: Despite layoffs and hiring freezes across creator economy startups, Spotter has been hiring.

"There is a demand increase overall for content to be watched. We saw this during COVID. Ad rates declined, but viewership skyrocketed," DeBevoise said. "The opportunity is going to get bigger, and I think there'll be more and more hiring in the creator economy."

"In fact, one of the biggest issues for creators themselves is to find more people to hire," he continued. "They actually have a hard time finding behind-the-camera talent and managers and line producers and all sorts of things that there's just a ton of opportunity for."

Of note: Elon Musk is reportedly interested in luring YouTubers over to Twitter. DeBevoise said it would be a "big challenge" unless there's an obvious reward that is "measurable" and "predictable."

"The biggest issue creators have is time," DeBevoise said. "They don't really have tons of extra time."

1 big thing: Spotter CEO chats MrBeast

Photo illustration of Aaron DeBevoise with an image of a ring light with a mobile phone and abstract shapes.

Spotter CEO Aaron DeBevoise. Photo illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios. Photo: courtesy of Spotter

The Atlanta Braves will become its own publicly traded company, Liberty Media Corp. announced today as part of its investor day presentation. 

Why it's the BFD: Money has been flowing into sports. Professional sports teams have seen their valuations increase. 

Details: Liberty Media said its board authorized a split-off of the Atlanta Braves and its real estate development project, which will be called Atlanta Braves Holdings.

It also plans to create three tracking stock groups: the Liberty SiriusXM Group, Formula One Group and the Liberty Live Group.

What he's saying: "Among baseball teams, Baltimore and Washington are rumored to be contemplating a sale. We'd argue, I think with some reasons, that the Braves are a far more attractive asset," Liberty Media president and CEO Greg Maffei said today, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

“We'll see," he continued. "But each new deal seems to set a new benchmark for sports assets, and the valuations as a multiple of revenue seem to continue to go up."

"We see great growth at the Braves," Maffei told CNBC, noting the company's real estate and high fan attendance (fourth-highest in the league). 

Of note: The Braves won the World Series last year. But this year, the team lost in the playoffs to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Liberty Media to split off Atlanta Braves into own public company

2. The BFD: Braves deal

Atlanta Braves A.J. Minter (33) in action, pitching vs Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Game 4. Philadelphia, PA 10/15/2022 CREDIT: Erick W. Rasco

Atlanta Braves' A.J. Minter pitching vs. Philadelphia Phillies on Oct. 15. Photo: Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

Data: S&P Global Market Intelligence; Note: As of October 2022; Chart: Simran Parwani/Axios

Despite being held during a much busier time on the sports calendar, the Qatar World Cup will see revenue grow by 25% compared to the 2018 edition, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. 

Why it matters: That would be the largest games-to-games revenue increase since the 2010 tournament in South Africa, Tim writes.

By the numbers: The $6.5 billion in revenue would be a 25% jump from the 2018 edition in Russia. 

That is more than four times the revenue of the 2002 World Cup, when Team USA had a Cinderella-esque run to the quarterfinals and kick-started Americans' interest in the world's most popular sport.

Most of the revenue comes from lucrative television deals. For the previous World Cup in Russia, 49% came from media rights fees. An additional 26% came from marketing rights from sponsors.

The big picture: This year's World Cup has been besieged by more controversy than most, from the host country's porous human rights record, anti-gay laws and treatment of migrant workers.

The brutally hot temperatures in the summer months also forced FIFA to push it back to late November, where it has to compete with the holidays and NHL, NBA and NFL seasons for attention. 

For example, the much-anticipated U.S.-England match will take place on Black Friday.

3. Charted: Beautiful game's beautiful dollars

NBCUniversal continues its push to offer alternative currencies to advertisers, moving away from the old reliance on Nielsen. 

Driving the news: NBCU executives held a press conference about One Platform — its unified service for media buying — at 30 Rock yesterday, where they announced the creation of The Currency Council, Kerry writes.

Top brands including Marriott Bonvoy, PepsiCo, State Farm, Wayfair, General Motors and T-Mobile have joined the Council and will transact with NBCU's new currencies.  

What they're saying: "You have to go from testing and learning to acting and doing in order to actually help us move forward and scale this new currency," says Kelly Abcarian, EVP, measurement and impact, advertising and partnerships at NBCU.

Details: NBCU tapped iSpot as an alternative measurement partner earlier this year. 

As we covered earlier this week, iSpot led a funding round in TVision and is working more closely with the panel-based TV measurement company.

"We're excited by seeing multiple companies work together because at the end of the day, we don't think there's a single company that can solve it all," Abcarian says. "We think measurement is a team sport."

NBCUniversal taps Currency Council in push for alternative currencies

4. NBCU's measurement deals

Illustration of a vintage television with the NBC Peacock streaming logo.

Digital Virgo, a French provider of digital content monetization solutions, agreed to go public at an implied $513m valuation via Goal Acquisitions Corp. (Nasdaq: PUCK), a SPAC whose management team includes Michael Jordan's former agent, David Falk. https://axios.link/3EGu7av

JUKE, an LA-based digital collectibles startup focused on film and TV fans, raised $3m in seed funding. Castle Island Ventures led, and was joined by North Island Ventures and Multicoin Capital. https://axios.link/3g7ZktL

😱 Horror merger: Jason Blum's Blumhouse will combine with James Wan's Atomic Monster, the New York Times reports. Atomic Monster would become a "creatively autonomous" label inside of Blumhouse and have a first-look deal with Universal. https://axios.link/3AhO2d2

Crunchyroll, Sony Pictures and Wowow signed an anime co-production partnership. https://axios.link/3EGwVUI

Hasbro said it plans to sell part of eOne, the production studio behind "Yellowjackets" and "The Rookie," which it acquired in 2019 for $4b. Peppa Pig would not be part of the deal. https://axios.link/3ge40hz

5. Deal flow

❗Shakeup: CBS' top two programming executives, Entertainment president Kelly Kahl and Senior EVP of programming Thom Sherman, are leaving. Amy Reisenbach will fill Kahl's role. https://axios.link/3AjPBqM

NBC News hired CNN "Early Start" anchor Laura Jarrett as senior legal correspondent. https://axios.link/3UIKMzK

6. Movin' on up (or out)

No longer flush with cash, TV news enters belt-tightening era (THR)

"The challenge for news execs is to get those costs under control without hindering their ability to cover the news. But based on conversations with multiple TV news sources, it isn't all gloom and doom when it comes to where the money is or isn't flowing. Streaming is still a top corporate priority across the board," Alex Weprin reports.

Outside Media lays off 12% of staff (Adweek)

"The layoffs primarily affect roles in content and journalism, and stem largely from slowing consumer appetite and a softening digital ad market, [CEO Robin] Thurston told employees," Mark Stenberg reports.

Sam Bankman-Fried tries to explain himself (Vox)

"It was past midnight Bahamas time, where Bankman-Fried is reportedly still located, and we went back and forth on Twitter for more than an hour. He was, he said, still working to try to raise the funding needed to pay back all his depositors," Kelsey Piper writes. 

7. Channel surfing

Situational awareness: Roku said today it will cut 200 U.S. jobs, amounting to 7% of its workforce. 

@tim_bays: The big move to New York starts this weekend. Will share photos from the long drive! 

@kerrymflynn: "Blue's Big City Adventure" on Paramount+. Devastated this film didn't get the theatrical debut it deserves. 

✏️ Thanks to Michael Flaherty for editing and Katie Lewis for copy editing this newsletter.

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November 17, 2022

1 big thing: Spotter CEO chats MrBeast