Business 5d

The Super Bowl remains must-watch TV, while the Oscars' decline continues

— This year, the Super Bowl drew an estimated audience of 127.7 million viewers, the largest audience for a Super Bowl in TV history. Meanwhile, the Oscars viewership has shown a general decreasing trend over the last two and a half decades. In 2000, almost 50 million people tuned in to watch the Oscars. This year? Less than 20 million.

Business 9d

Tom Brady is the highest-paid sports media personality in America

— Stephen A. Smith’s new 5-year $100M deal with ESPN puts him at No. 3 among the highest-paid sports media personalities in America. Shaq and Charles Barkley are in the mix too with big TNT contracts. But no one comes close to Tom Brady—his $37.5M annual salary with Fox is in a league of its own.

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The Bagel Report

Data visualizations & concise insights into the business of your favorite sports. The Bagel Report is your weekly insight, delivered straight to your inbox.

Business 13d

F1 is still the most popular Netflix Sports documentary

— In 2019, F1 Drive to Survive set the standard for the sports-documentary model. Since then, many other sports have partnered with Netflix to boost popularity, but none have quite had the same success. Netflix doesn't plan on pausing its model, with a 2025 lineup including all-women driving F1 Academy, SEC College Football, and Cricket. But the question remains - will any of these have the special sauce that makes F1 Drive To Survive so popular?

Business 13d

Polymarket makes waves in the sports market

— The prediction market sees $348 million in sports trade volumes in December, a big gain from the $66 million it saw in October. Polymarket eyes sports and crypto as its two key categories of expansion as it looks to reduce its reliance on the 4 year cycle of politics.

Business 21d

The NFL Salary Cap reaches all-time high in 2025

— The NFL Salary Cap per team has increased from $224.8 million in 2023 to $279.2 million today, the largest 2-year increase ever.

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The Bagel Report

Data visualizations & concise insights into the business of your favorite sports. The Bagel Report is your weekly insight, delivered straight to your inbox.

Business 23d

Lakers vs. Mavericks Delivers Blockbuster TV Ratings

— Luka and LeBron’s Lakers vs. Mavs averaged 2.5M viewers, the highest NBA audience on cable since Opening Night.

Business 30d

NBA All-Star Ratings Can't Stop Falling

— The 2025 game was the second-least watched ever.

Business 31d

The Rise And Rise Of The Golden State Warriors

— Since drafting Steph Curry in 2009, the Warriors' valuation has grown from $315 million to $8.8 billion.

Business 56d

WNBA Finals hits million viewer mark for the first time in 21 years

— WNBA Finals Game 1 viewership, in the last decade

Business 61d

Roger Federer-backed On soars to new heights

— On sees impressive revenue growth and profitability, while footwear giants Nike and Under Armour aren't doing so well.

Business 118d

Tennis Players Get the Short End of the Racket

— Tennis players receive the smallest share of total revenues compared to other major sports.

Business 131d

Gauff surpasses $20 million in career prize money

— The American is the first player born in 2004 or later to reach the milestone.

Business 136d

The return of Sinner's fox logo

— Nike wants Sinner fans to reconnect with the symbol that he identifies with.

Business 137d

We've officially entered the Alcaraz era

— Alcaraz overtakes Djokovic to become the highest-paid tennis star in 2024.