00:00I think there's a lot of people making money, and it's great to be with you guys.
00:03It is a unique moment here in the sport of soccer and the World Cup, and all of the numbers
00:08are up.
00:08So viewership, attendance, revenue.
00:10The branding, Paul. Paul, you've led on this. I mean, you were an optimist about it. It's unreal.
00:15It's amazing. So, I mean, give us a sense of the economics associated with the World Cup here in North
00:20America.
00:21Well, I mean, the original projections were really bullish, and I think people were skeptical on whether or not that
00:26would come true.
00:26You know, like the attendance was 3.5 million in 2022, and this year, you know, already they've surpassed that.
00:34It's going to be close to 6.5. And so everything falls from that, right?
00:38Ticket revenue, sponsorship revenue, TV rights.
00:41The TV rights, too, really interesting, and most people don't realize this,
00:44but the World Cup and soccer is really becoming more of a mainstream thing that people are watching.
00:49To that point, Game 5 of the NBA Finals and the last game of the U.S. men's national team
00:55were comparable,
00:56close to 30 million viewers.
00:58And possibly with the controversy that you mentioned, Tom, I think that we could see even bigger numbers tonight.
01:04The hydration breaks, revenue generators, nothing more than that, right?
01:09For the advertisers, it's a concession to the advertisers.
01:11I mean, that's a great question.
01:13You got lucky with the 100-degree temperature.
01:15Right, right. The temperatures last week, they definitely needed it.
01:19Those athletes did. But for sure, it definitely doesn't hurt to have another break that you can sponsor.
01:24So what's this mean for just the professional soccer in the United States?
01:29We have leagues. We've got dedicated stadiums.
01:31There's a, I would say, meaningful and pretty compelling case for it.
01:37And then fan bases, maybe you're smaller, but they're pretty determined.
01:41What's the professional soccer mandate here in the U.S.?
01:43Yeah, well, professional soccer in the U.S. has been waiting for this moment and building towards it
01:47and planning to capitalize on it.
01:49U.S. soccer, CONCACAF, MLS all got together earlier this year in Atlanta at a conference that I was at
01:55and talked about how do they capitalize on this momentum.
01:57And you mentioned, like, purpose-built soccer stadiums.
02:00Inter-Miami just opened one up right here in our backyard.
02:03NYCFC is looking to open up a new, specifically built soccer stadium in the United States.
02:07Like, that wasn't a thing in the past.
02:09And so we're seeing a huge explosion in this sport.
02:12Youth participation is way up.
02:13The messy effect.
02:15Like, people are coming and watching this sport now.
02:17And I think that it's going to go from being the fifth sport in the U.S. to more than
02:22that soon.
02:22Okay, but that's coming back.
02:25I mean, I go back to the Rochester Lancers, which is back when they made the ball round.
02:29But I look at the development.
02:31Right now, is MLS profitable a going concern?
02:37I think that it's going towards being profitable.
02:40I think the TV rights are the number one things that drive the profitability of both the teams and the
02:44leagues.
02:44And what you'll see is that that follows interest.
02:48So viewership, fan interest, engagement, youth participation lead to then future media rights deals.
02:53And so for the next deal that MLS has, I think that a lot of the owners are counting on
02:57that to take it to the next level.
03:00And they're making the investments via infrastructure and players from Europe and other places that will drive that interest.
03:07The NFL, for every most – I'm trying to think of ownership here and franchise values.
03:13The NFL, that's just a thing unto itself.
03:14Only billionaires and consortium of private equity can play there.
03:18Arguably, Major League Baseball is getting to that point.
03:21You think about the Dodgers.
03:21Where is the next ownership opportunity for sports in this country?
03:25Where is the next big place that you're telling your clients, this is where there's real value?
03:29Well, I mean, sports assets and sports-adjacent assets continue to be very scarce.
03:34And so it is difficult to invest in.
03:35And there are fewer and fewer people that can play in that space.
03:39Interestingly enough, private equity has really jumped in.
03:41And some of those spaces to invest are overseas.
03:44They're not in the U.S.
03:45There's currently 40% of the teams in Europe have U.S. investment.
03:4920 seconds.
03:49Got to go.
03:50Isabel Lee's – it's like her people are upset.
03:53Sean Quill, as clear as I can, how does March Madness look at their future after what we're witnessing right
04:01now?
04:02Oh, I think it's really comparable.
04:03Actually, the viewership for FIFA World Cup for all the opening matches mirrored the viewership for March Madness.
04:09And I think, like, that structure is solid and strong.
04:12Expand it.
04:13Lengthen it.
04:14Absolutely.
04:15Like, build into this interest, just like FIFA did with the World Cup by expanding to more teams.
04:19Do you agree, Paul?
04:19There's more interest.
04:20It enables more countries to be involved, more groups of people that can follow the sport.
04:25It's an exciting moment.
04:26And there's more growth on the horizon.
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