Sports & Entertainment Beat

Welcome back to the Spotlight! Many of you are basking in the afterglow of the end of tax season, with tax day (not to be confused with taxing day—which is seemingly every day) passing us by on April 15. Others (most likely none of whom are reading this, but hit me up if I’m wrong!) may be basking in the afterglow of having gone to Space and back on the day prior. Of course, I’m speaking of the celebrity-studded Blue Origin flight NS-31 that made history for commercial spaceflight as the first all-women mission. Right or wrong, the mission, which counted singer-songwriter Katy Perry and broadcaster Gayle King amongst the crew, has come under scrutiny for what some view as falsely virtuous optics that gloss over some of the more pressing issues of our day on our home planet. As for me, I’m here to offer a different criticism: Perry reportedly sang a rendition of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” while viewing the planet from space. Now, as my colleagues know, that is my go-to karaoke song. By contrast, Perry has a catalogue of her own songs she could have sang. “Extraterrestrial” would have been a fine choice. “Firework” might have worked too, though its lyrics could have caused unnecessary anxiety amongst the crew (singing about an explosive projectile while traveling in a rocket 66 miles above the Earth’s surface will do that). All of that is to say: stay in your lane, Katy!

• • Former New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony launches his cannabis brand STAY ME7O, following in the footsteps of fellow retired athlete Mike Tyson in the industry and following in the footsteps of the Spotlight with clever wordplay. 
     
  • As if you needed another reason to love the 90s, the Alicia Silverstone film “Clueless” is in development for a new Peacock series. My guess is that it will involve a new generation, perhaps Silverstone cast as a mother, and Paul Rudd still somehow convincingly playing a high school student. 
     
  • The reboot of the ill-fated music festival Fyre Fest has been postponed and moved to a different location. Ticketholders can now either take this as an opportunity to roll the dice and take this news as evidence that the organizers have learned lessons from the past or embrace this as a sign that it’s still not too late to change their plans.

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn. 

Welcome back to the Spotlight! Before jumping in this week, allow me to clear the decks and orient you: it’s cold as winter through many parts of the country, though allergy season is very clearly in full effect. TikTok is again living on borrowed time, channeling Fredo from “The Godfather” (just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!) having been given another few months to find a suitable purchaser for its US operations. The global retaliatory tariffs on foreign goods in the US have similarly been delayed on every country that isn’t China (and, as a result, negotiations with respect to TikTok are off). The graph line on my 401(k) needs an emesis bag. That’s where we are today -- or at least I think. To add to the uncertainty, the NCAA basketball tournaments have concluded (congratulations to the UConn Huskies on the women’s side and Florida Gators for the men’s side) and many of those players in this year’s tournament will vie to compete in next year’s tournament – albeit for different schools. Indeed, thousands of basketball players have entered the NCAA transfer portal (that for some reason opened in the middle of the aforementioned basketball tournaments), looking for greener pastures (emphasis on “green”) as they seek out more lucrative deals from brands and schools. The upshot?: Hard as it may be to plan in this volatile environment, adaptability, creativity and nasal decongestant will go a long way to ride out the choppy waters.

• • University of Southern California-bound Alijah Arenas, son of former NBA all-star Gilbert Arenas follows in his dad’s footsteps, signing a endorsement deal with Adidas. If Alijah’s career takes off, he may make footsteps of his own in a signature shoe.
     
  • In case you’re starting to sour on pickleball, another emerging racquet sport, padel is on the rise with the Professional Padel League raising $10 million for an expansion into the U.S. market. Approximately half of that will be spent to educate people on how padel is different from pickleball.
     
  • Visual artist Daniel Arsham sues rapper Quavo and his record label Quality Control Music for copyright infringement after one of Arsham’s works appeared in a promotional music video. It is as much a reminder to make sure your lawyer reviews works for rights and clearances, as much as it is a breath of fresh air to have a copyright lawsuit against a recording artist that doesn’t argue a song is sort-of, kind-of, reminiscent of another song.   

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn. 

Welcome back to the Spotlight! Much as I would love to take your attention away from the “T” word (no…not “torpedo bats”), I feel obliged to open this week with a discussion on the impact of the across-the-board US tariffs on the sports and entertainment industries. At first blush, you might assume that there would be a minimal impact on sporting events, films and television or live musical performances – none of which being commodities in the traditional sense. But step back and consider, for example,  fan merchandise. Regardless of whether your official tour t-shirt or your favorite team’s jersey is made in the US, the price is almost certainly going to be higher – either because the tariffs drive up the costs of imported goods, or because they provide an economic incentive for domestic manufacturers to increase their prices up to the amount of what the imported goods would be. The same is true of production equipment – much of which is already made elsewhere, if not assembled in the US from foreign components. Concessions prices? Yep.  Imported beer and domestic beer (both of which seem especially enticing after looking at your savings) is likely to experience the same price increases. Yes, dear reader. Like a depressing game of “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” – everything is interconnected.

• • Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions leads a $45 million funding round in creator-driven golf, media and lifestyle brand, Good Good Golf. Manning—who has rode a legendary professional on-field career to success in the years after he hung up his cleats—will not only be able to leverage Omaha Productions to produce new content for the brand, but he may also be able to see what ordinary people do when they retire.
     
  • Rapper Cardi B and Revolve Group announce a beauty and fashion joint venture, seeking to provide “Finesse” to “Girls Like You.”
     
  • Carolina Panthers Wide Receiver Xavier Legette lands an endorsement deal with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.  With Legette revealing last year that he eats racoon for Thanksgiving, I am encouraging my children to triple-check the label when Halloween comes around.

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn.