Sports & Entertainment Spotlight

Welcome back to the Spotlight! Sports and entertainment junkies rejoice, for this weekend not only marks the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milan/Cortina Italy, but there is also a pretty big (dare I say, “super”?) football game on Sunday, as the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots square off in Santa Clara, CA in Super Bowl LX. Both events are likely to be star-studded and brimming with fanfare and intrigue. That’s all to say nothing of Sunday’s oxytocin and serotonin-inducing Puppy Bowl. Speaking of dogs, while I am cheering on Team USA in the Olympics, I can’t say I have one in the fight for the Super Bowl. On the one hand, there’s the New England Patriots, who have won championships all too often (except for when they play my New York Giants), on the other hand there are the Seattle Seahawks, who would otherwise be a more sympathetic team but for the fact that a victory will mean that my Washingtonian colleagues will have bragging rights for at least the next year. So, I guess I am just hoping for a good, entertaining game. Some pigs in a blanket wouldn’t be bad either. The wonderful thing about the Super Bowl is that it has something for pretty much everyone. And on one day, nearly the whole country sets aside their differences and gravitates to the game, Super Bowl parties, betting and the high-priced, high-profile commercials. In normal times in which everything is not politicized, you might also include the halftime show in that list, but for some reason, some folks are uncomfortable with a musical performance from a bilingual US Citizen. Perhaps they just don’t like bunnies or at least not the “bad” ones.

Regardless of your motivations for tuning in, both events will certainly be part of the discourse for the foreseeable future. I think we can all agree it would be really bad timing (hypothetically, of course) for a prominent newspaper to shut down its sports newsroom…

• • In light of recent geopolitical tensions, Canadian pop star Tate McRae is in hot water north of the border for appearing in an NBC Sports commercial in support of Team USA if she keeps this up, she might have to start paying for healthcare.
  • Leveraging a multiyear partnership and endorsement deal with farm equipment company Kubota, country music star Blake Shelton drove a tractor to Caesars Palace to announce additional dates for his Las Vegas residency. A creative, yet curious sight in a town less famous for tending, than for betting, the farm.
  • National Women’s Soccer League expansion team, Boston Legacy FC nets a sleeve sponsorship with Hyundai Motor Company, because nothing says “Boston Legacy” like a South Korean car company. After all, who could forget Paul Revere’s midnight ride on his Sonata?!

Welcome back to the Spotlight! Just one year ago, many wondered whether The Grammy Awards would go forward in light of the massive wildfires that devastated Southern California. Nevertheless, the show went on, with partnerships nobly geared towards relief efforts and showing appreciation for firefighters. This year, instead of fire, we have ice and frigid temperatures marring much of the country, though the world most assuredly is still burning (tip of the hat to Billy Joel). So what to expect this year on “music’s biggest night?” Look for the K-Pop revolution to take center stage, emerging talent who got their start on TikTok, Travis Kelce to have a role reversal with Taylor Swift by cheering on her (award) receptions and a whole slew of human expression and creativity on which to train AI models. Without further ado, let’s see the nominees for this week’s Spotlight (where the winner is always you).

• • Jordan Brand is discontinuing its signature sneaker partnership with New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, after his pro basketball career has fallen short of lofty expectations, leaving him on poor footing with the marketing team.

• • Recording Artist A$AP Rocky is entertaining a run for New York City Mayor. Aside from the fact that I appreciate the whimsy of Rocky, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, being referred to as “Mayor Mayers,” he and his potential First Lady Rihanna could certainly wield influence to work (work work work work) to address the City’s…”----in’ problems.”

• • TikTok creator Khaby Lame, who rose to prominence for his viral “life hack” videos made the ultimate life hack by selling an equity stake in his company Step Distinctive Limited at a nearly $975 million valuation. On a related note, I will henceforth take it as a compliment whenever someone calls my content “Lame.”

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! With a trip to the Super Bowl on the line in each of this weekend’s NFL Conference Championship matchups, and the NFL’s playoff television ratings reaching levels not seen since the ‘90s (oh, how I miss you) I’d be willing to bet that tens of millions will be tuned in After all, with the arctic temperatures and impending winter storm in the U.S., many will be staying indoors, so what *else* are you going to do? Talk to each other?!?!

I’d also be willing to bet that the number of dollars bet on the games will be at least equal to the number of viewers of said games. Some might even call that a “sure thing” particularly because of the proliferation and soaring popularity of legal sports gambling. In case you haven’t noticed from the ubiquity of sports betting advertisements before, during, after, throughout and [insert your favorite preposition here], a sporting event—including by current and former athletes. Interestingly, a recent YouGov poll observed that such advertisements don’t have a material impact on gamblers’ decisions to gamble, but instead make brands seem less authentic. Not only that, but I would surmise that athletes’ peddling gambling platforms call into question the integrity of their sports. In that regard, it’s not particularly helpful that there have been so many betting schemes that have been uncovered in just the past 24 months across all levels of competitive sports. Still, there seems to be little appetite for messing with the formula. Changes on the horizon? Don't bet on it.

• • The Sphere is Las Vegas has raked in $260 million for its “The Wizard of Oz” show, because well…there’s no place like dome.

• • Duke University sues its Quarterback Darian Mensah to enforce its revenue-sharing agreement and keep him from transferring to another school – just the latest instance of schools and athletes duking it out in the NIL era.

• • Ryan Coogler’s blues-y horror film Sinners may pull off a laugher at this year’s Academy Awards, having earned 16 award nominations – the most in history for a single film. In other news, the folks behind Saints are shedding tears as they were not nominated.

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! Many people ask me the same question: “how do you write the Spotlight week after week?” After feigning thinking about it for a moment, I reply: “one keystroke at a time.” In all seriousness it is hard to do, particularly nowadays when the world is, well…all seriousness. Often, I feel constrained in what I write (hard to believe, I know), so the finished product is merely a speck of what’s on my mind at any given time. That might be for the best. In any event, against the backdrop of all the depressing, really-not-so-great things we hear about on a daily basis I’d like to take cues from the very industries that are the backbone of the Spotlight (Sports and Entertainment, if you haven’t gotten that yet) and embrace some hope and indulge in a much-needed distraction. So, we can lean into this year’s awards season (just as long as the stars don’t presume to lecture you on a topic they know nothing about), and even what has so far been some rather captivating NFL playoff games. And if, on the heels of signing a future Hall of Fame head coach (John Harbaugh), my unbridled enthusiasm for the New York Giants’ prospects for next season (following a dismal showing this past year) is any indication, you need not even have a dog in the race. After all, everyone loves a good comeback story.

• • Legendary singer-songwriter Sir Elton John launches (like a rocket man) an alcohol-free sparkling wine. Great news for revelers who want to down an entire bottle of wine and proclaim, “I’m still standing!”

• • New York Yankees’ MVP slugger Aaron Judge prevails in a decade long battle to block an individual from registering trademarks for Judge’s nicknames “ALL RISE” and “HERE COMES THE JUDGE.” So, maybe a good omen for a World Series victory also…?

• • Teenage British Darts phenom Luke Littler signs a $27 million sponsorship deal with Target Darts. I’ll repeat: $27 million to sell darts. Those of us working away with our nose to the grindstone must think that is a big load of bulls…eye.

• • Former U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team star Alex Morgan invests in Women’s Indoor Golf League, WTGL, a joint venture between the LPGA and TMRW Sports. OMG that’s a lot of letters, LOL.

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! If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to delve into the uber-interesting sports and entertainment business world with a witty bent, congratulations, you are on the right track! If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to be more active, then perhaps you need to find a track. That’s right, folks – the kid’s still got it. Though I was off for a few weeks, it seems writing in this space is akin to getting back on a bicycle. I understand the same can be said of skiing, but I haven’t attempted that since age five when I was pushed down a hill backwards by my skiing instructor (that explains a lot, doesn’t it?). Mercifully, my plans to try skiing again over the holidays got cancelled, so this Spotlight comes in the form of a reprise (or re-prize) rather than a requiem. Anyway, enough yammering on – there is already so much to cover in just the first week of 2026 that I can tell it will be a busy year. So let’s get to it…

• • Mere days after signing a $4M revenue-sharing deal committing to play football at the University of Washington for the 2026 Season, then apparently indicating his intent to transfer from Washington, Quarterback Demond Williams, Jr. is staying at UW. The change of heart might be due to his signing a contract that would have required him to forfeit the $4M – so it’s true what they say: the demond is in the details.

• • Hip Hop Artist Drake finds himself in hot water for allegedly scheming to artificially inflate his songs’  streaming numbers. Would it have killed him to artificially inflate my readership numbers, too?!

• • Social Media Influencers are increasingly finding success in obtaining “extraordinary artist” visas to immigrate to the United States, bringing life to Emma Lazarus’ words inscribed on a plaque at the The Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, your skincare routines…”

• • Warner Bros. is encouraging its shareholders to reject Paramount’s takeover bid and stick with Warner’s Netflix deal. Ironically, the film “He’s Just Not That Into You” is available to stream on Netflix.

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! I’m not going to sugarcoat it. We live in some dark times. From one week to the next, we’re confronted by a parade of horribles that threaten to take our light. The events of this past week have been no exception—whether it be the antisemitic terror attacks at a Hanukkah celebration in Australia or the tragic murder of the wildly talented director and entertainer Rob Reiner.

But even when the days are darkest, the lights always have a way of driving out the dark. From where I sit, it is fitting that this Sunday is the winter solstice, marking the day of the year with the least daylight, yet it is the last night of Hanukkah, on which each of the candles on the menorah are lit, pushing out the dark. And then every day thereafter, we get more and more daylight. Candles and Sun aside, we can all do our part to bring a little light to our communities—and I am fortunate to work in the sports and entertainment, helping others share their light. 

• • On the heels of the New York Knicks’ NBA Cup Championship, Chipotle rolls out a new high-protein burrito in collaboration with Knicks’ Josh Hart. Hart signaled his approval with a big thumb up.
  • Sony acquires the intellectual property to Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” characters and comics. With a purchase price of nearly half a billion dollars, Sony hardly paid peanuts—that type of money is enough to turn Snoopy snooty.
  • Netflix leans further into the podcast industry, acquiring distribution rights to three Barstool Sports podcast series in a deal reported valued in the eight figures. No word on whether Paramount will stir the pot.

With that, we wish you a happy holiday season full of light and love. We will circle back with you after the New Year.

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! If you stopped by last week, you might recall that I discussed Netflix and Warner Bros. coming to an agreement for Netflix to acquire the latter’s content production business in a cash and debt deal valued at about $82 billion (or about the GDP of Panama). I mentioned that deal would unquestionably be part of a year end retrospective. What I didn’t anticipate was that Paramount would put forth an all cash $108 billion (about the GDP of Oman—as in the oil-rich nation or “oh man that’s a lot of money”) hostile takeover offer for all of Warner Bros. Discovery. Either deal would result in massive media consolidation and fundamentally change the entertainment business. So it seems the book is not only yet to be closed on that story, but rather we’ve only just begun.

If I could channel the wisdom of my ancestors, like the great King Solomon, I would settle this by cutting WBD down the middle. Instead we’ll just have to wait and see what shakes out—though in the spirit of the season of giving, I wouldn’t be opposed to offering myself as a third buyer. Sure, I don’t have nearly the funds to compete, but what’s a few billion dollars amongst friends?

• • Jay-Z’s MarcyPen Ventures is partnering with Korean firm Hanwha to create a $500 million fund to further fuel the K-culture boom—be it K-pop or bibimbap (the latter of which sounds like it could serve as a bass line on Jay’s next single.
  • With a $1 billion investment in OpenAI’s Disney is bringing 200 of its characters to the video creation platform Sora. So yeah, nothing is sacred anymore.
  • The New York Jets are in the midst of a trademark fight to get trademark protection for “Gotham City Football.” Fitting for their fans who are one losing season away from Arkham Asylum.

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! With our entering the 12th frame of 2025, so begins a cavalcade of holiday parties, overindulgences, Spotify Wrapped statistics, Mariah Carey, timeless film classics, travel and year in review retrospectives. Despite recent momentum and tens of millions of dollars poured into lobbying efforts by NCAA commissioners, it does not look like 2025 will be the year that is remembered for Congress’ passing legislation to comprehensively regulate college sports, as lawmakers failed to advance the SCORE Act because (get this:…) Congress could not reach consensus. Go figure! I mean, Congress usually sings “Kumbaya,” respects one another and agrees on everything, right? So, we will have to wait (at least) until 2026 for an overarching federal framework for name, image and likeness rights, medical and mental health benefits for athletes, regulation of agents and NIL contracts.

But, not to worry, my fellow sports and entertainment business junkies, a late entrant to the year in review will be Netflix’s monumental acquisition of Warner Bros. in a deal valued at $82.7 billion, which is, according to my calculations, a lot of money. The deal will bring valuable intellectual property to Netflix for the development of new projects, while providing a direct pipeline of content to the Netflix platform. What it will ultimately mean for theatrical distribution of films—already challenged by the dominant streaming industry is unclear, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start fine tuning your popcorn recipe in case things go sideways.

• • Nationwide Insurance renews its close ties to the NFL with an extension of its sponsorship deal that keeps them as a presenting sponsor of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. With their also having an endorsement deal with NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, it’s clear they’re willing to pay-tons for the exposure.
  • Veteran actor Tom Selleck decides to switch agencies from CAA to UTA. His mustache is still mulling over its options.
  • The US Supreme Court heard arguments from the record industry and internet service provider Cox Communications in connection with a billion dollar lawsuit alleging that Cox is liable for copyright infringement by failing to boot serial copyright infringers off its services. In other words, Cox is facing the music because it didn’t make others face the music for taking the music.
  • Two members of Australian children’s music group, “The Wiggles” found themselves in hot water for appearing in a music video alluding to drug use for musician Keli Holiday’s new song, “Ecstasy.” The video was eventually withdrawn, which seems appropriate since a symptom of withdrawal is the wiggles.

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! With a little under a week until Thanksgiving, it has once again become fair “game” for small talk to be dominated by mostly unsolicited advice as to how one should prepare their turkey. Personally, I like to use a dry brine, rub a compound butter under the skin and load up the bird with aromatics, I digress. The truth is, there are many ways to cook the versatile poultry. The Spotlight is much the same way: stuffed with a tantalizing array of complementary flavors.

For instance, a deep fried turkey, like an Installment of the Spotlight can be a juicy crowd pleaser—each likely to bring (or burn) down the house in their own right. Other times, a roasted turkey can be tough and dry—adjectives that I would prefer to think of as describing the Spotlight’s commentary and sense of humor rather than its readability. The ingredients (sports/shallots, film/fennel, music/mushrooms, television/thyme, etc.) can vary depending on what’s available and interesting in the “kitchen.” Invariably, both turkey and the Spotlight pair nicely with a glass of wine, and yes, they may even make you drowsy. Still, even when the turkey or my writing is uninspired and bland, there’s usually some noteworthy sides to fill you up. So with that, however your turkey comes out, may your mac and cheese be as cheesy, and your cornbread as corny, as yours truly. For now, feel free to dig in on the below and fill your plate with enough to last you to when the Spotlight returns In December.

• • Injured New York Giants rookie sensation running back Cam Skattebo faced criticism after making a fun appearance on “WWE Monday Night Raw” at Madison Square Garden in which he had a scripted scuffle with wrestlers. In fairness to Skattebo, he was shut out of the New York Philharmonic.
  • Recording artist Usher sues a group of investors to recover an unpaid $700,000 on an original $1.7 million that he lent for the purchase and development of Atlanta restaurant and lounge space. Asked about whether he is optimistic about his chances of prevailing, Usher replied “Yeah!”
  • On the heels (and soles) of last week’s announcement that Steph Curry and Under Armour were parting ways, Curry has been “courting” other brands by wearing their sneakers in his past few games. First Nike, then Reebok. Undoubtedly, he has other plans afoot.

Welcome back to the Spotlight! Is it just me or are sports scandals becoming more and more prevalent? Perhaps it’s that there’s so much money changing hands, including in legalized gambling, there is more opportunity and temptation to game the system. Perhaps it’s that digital fingerprints make it easier for bad actors to get caught. Perhaps morals are loosening. Or perhaps people are just flouting Mary J. Blige’s (shoutout to the 914) pleas for “No More Drama.” Whatever the explanation (I’m pretty sure it is the last one), new indictments and punishments came down this week stemming from game manipulation for betting purposes—just weeks after similar allegations taking place in the NBA. The NCAA announced that a handful of former student-athletes were involved in schemes in which they intentionally did not score or “threw” their game.

Not to be outdone, in the MLB, Cleveland Guardians’ pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz allegedly purposely threw balls so that gamblers could bet on pitches being balls or strikes. Clase and Ortiz are both excellent relief pitchers—the former being one of the top closers in all Major League Baseball—but the ultimate relief would be that each of these allegations prove to be false. However, all indications seem to be that the allegations are credible. Unfortunately, these incidents do not happen in a vacuum and inject a level of cynicism and skepticism whenever an umpire or referee makes a questionable call, a player sits out with an injury or makes a bone-headed play. Hopefully, all of these events will in the long run serve as examples of what not to do, but at least in the near term these instances all are unsettling affronts to the integrity of the games to which these scandals relate.

• • Twelve years after Under Armour beat out a notoriously ill-prepared Nike pitch to sign then NBA superstar Steph Curry to an endorsement deal, Curry and Under Armour are parting ways, with Curry taking all of his IP out on the open market. If you listen closely, you can hear an army of brand executives rehearsing the proper pronunciation of Curry’s name.
  • Financial giant Goldman Sachs buys a majority stake of sports talent agency Excel Sports Management. As part of the deal, Excel will get a direct pipeline to capital, while Goldman will get a direct pipeline of talent to appear at its executives’ children’s bar/bat mitzvahs, christenings, sweet 16s and quinceañeras.
  • Actors Michael Caine and Matthew McConaughey link up with AI audio company ElevenLabs, allowing virtual reproduction their famous voices. McConaughey’s voice is not yet available through ElevenLabs’ marketplace out of the company’s fear that users will overwhelm the system with requests for “Alright, alright, alright.”

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