Sports BIZ Brief

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) - Not all aspects of the popular National Football League are thriving. NFL Films laid off 21 of its 283 employees last week, including some who had been with the company for decades, according to a report philly.com. The directive came from the league, which owns NFL Films.

NFL Films president Steve Sabol, who founded the Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based company with his father, Ed, in the mid-1960s, delivered the news to the employees. "It was very difficult," Sabol said. "One of the most difficult things I've ever had to do. These people were like family." Sabol acknowledged that HBO's recent decision not to renew the long-running series, "Inside the NFL," was a big reason for the layoffs. The program, which featured Films-produced highlights of each week's games, generated about $5 million in revenue for the league. "Films is facing economic challenges just like any other media company, including the newspaper industry," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said. "Ongoing technological changes also forced us to re-evaluate the way we operate to remain competitive. "To address these issues, NFL Films has had to look for ways to better structure its organization, which resulted in the termination of 21 people."

According to the report, one NFL general manager said the continuing struggles of the NFL Network also played a role in the layoffs. The league is currently battling with the nation's two top cable operators - Comcast and Time Warner - over the cost and placement of the four-year-old network on their cable systems. Comcast has placed it on a sports tier, which means subscribers have to pay extra for it. The network is not available on Time Warner. "The network is making money, but not nearly as much as the owners want," the unnamed GM said. "And that's primarily because of this standoff with Comcast and Time Warner. The subscription number (for the NFL Network) is nowhere near what they expected at this point." McCarthy said the NFL Network's issues had nothing to do with the layoffs.

Sports BIZ Brief: Five Invest in NBA China

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- The NBA continued its expansion into the world's most populous nation Monday, officially announcing the formation of NBA China. The new body was introduced after the league secured $253 million worth of investment from five partners - ESPN, Bank of China, Legend Holdings, the Li Ka Shing Foundation and China Merchants Investments.

"The opportunity for basketball and the NBA in China is simply extraordinary," NBA Commissioner David Stern said. "The expertise, resources and shared vision of these immensely successful companies will help us to achieve the potential we see in the region." NBA China will oversee all league operations in China and will be run by chief executive Tim Chen, who joined the league from his role as CEO of Microsoft Greater China in October.

Basketball has become enormously popular in China, where 300 million people play the sport and 83 percent of people between the ages of 15 and 24 claim to be NBA fans. The emergence of Chinese native Yao Ming, the 7-6 All-Star center of the Houston Rockets, along with the international appeal of NBA superstars such as LeBron James, Steve Nash, Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal has led to the league's huge following in the country with a population of 1.3 billion.

The NBA has a relationship with 51 Chinese television stations which provide programming to over a billion viewers. Nearly 20 percent of traffic to NBA.com come from China, according to the league. The league has also worked with the Chinese Basketball Association since 1985, helping the CBA to grow basketball in the country.

Sports BIZ Briefs

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The Cleveland Indians sold the naming rights of their ballpark Friday, reaching a 16-year agreement with Progressive Auto Insurance. The Indians announced that their ballpark, formerly known as Jacobs Field, will be called Progressive Field. The Cleveland-based car insurance company will annually pay the Indians approximately $3.6 million as part of the contract - a total of nearly $57.6 million. Jacobs Field, commonly known as "The Jake" opened in 1994 and was named for former team owner Richard Jacobs. When the team was sold in 2000, it was agreed that the naming rights would expire in 2006, allowing the team to seek a buyer.

Sports BIZ Briefs

LAS VEGAS (PRNewswire) - Verizon Wireless, the leading wireless company and Fox Soccer Channel today announced they are delivering video highlight content from England's Barclays Premier League to V CAST Video-enabled phones. The relationship makes Verizon Wireless the first wireless distributor of Fox Soccer Channel's exclusive Barclays Premier League mobile highlight package, delivering more than 35 video clips per week -- including near-live, in-game coverage -- to V CAST Video customers from coast-to-coast.

Customers with select V CAST-enabled phones can check out V CAST whenever they want for just $3.00 for 24-hour use or by signing up for the $15.00 V CAST VPak monthly subscription, which also includes access to Verizon Wireless' ESPN MVP, Get It Now(R) and Mobile Web 2.0(SM) services. Customers get unlimited basic video -- including video from Fox Soccer Channel -- but application download fees apply for 3D games and premium video. There are no airtime or megabyte charges to download, stream or watch V CAST content with any V CAST subscription.

Sports BIZ Briefs

Fathead Taps Into Even More NBA Stars
LIVONIA, Mich.--(Business Wire) - Fathead^®, the number one brand in sports and entertainment wall graphics and the brand best-known for its official life-size images of NBA athletes, scores big by producing 3 more NBA stars in an already dazzling line up consisting of 20+ All-stars and almost 40 incredible images of NBA players and 13 team logos to chose from. The new look “Celtics green” Kevin Garnett, break-out rookie Seattle Supersonics sensation Kevin Durant, and 3-time NBA Champion Tony Parker are now ready to compete on the court and the wall with Fathead top sellers like; LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant. These great NBA players and Fathead athletes are set to be finger-rolled under the tree with a big red bow.

Sports BIZ News

Sprint to Feature Live NFL Games on Mobile Phones
(Business Week) - Sprint and the National Football League (NFL) are giving Sprint wireless subscribers access to live NFL game coverage on their mobile phones. Coverage will include red zone drives and other key moments of all games televised on NFL Network in 2007. The coverage will be provided by NFL Network which will produce a three-hour studio-based show that will be streamed live on NFL.com and via wireless exclusively to Sprint subscribers. Highlights of that coverage include live game action when a team enters the red zone, during scheduled time slots at the :15 and :45 marks, and at other critical moments in a game. The show also features replays, in-game highlights and analysis from that night's action, and the halftime show featuring host Rich Eisen and analysts Steve Mariucci, Marshall Faulk and Deion Sanders.

PNC Bank Sponsors Nationals Premium Seats
(Washington Business Journal) - The Washington Nationals have signed PNC Bank to a seven-year contract to put its name on a batch of premium seats and hospitality space at their new ballpark opening next spring. The deal, whose financial value team marketer Tod Rosensweig would not disclose, gives the Pittsburgh-based bank naming rights for about 1,300 Diamond Seats behind home plate and the indoor/outdoor club on the first suite level above those seats. The bank also has all the ballpark's ATMs. The PNC Diamond Seats are in the 15 rows behind the $300 Presidential Seats, the only seats at Nationals Park with a higher price tag. The 500 Presidential Seats include access to a gourmet buffet inside a separate restaurant.

(GameZone) - NBA Ballers Franchise Coming to Next Generation Consoles in Spring 2008
Midway Games Inc., a leading interactive entertainment software publisher and developer, today announced NBA Ballers: Chosen One as the next installment in its top selling NBA Ballers franchise. The fast-paced one-on-one and two-on-two action returns as players can select from more than 65 NBA superstars to be the next "Chosen One". NBA Ballers: Chosen One is scheduled to ship for the Xbox 360™ and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system in Spring 2008. "NBA Ballers: Chosen One will allow players to live the life of an NBA superstar," said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway. "Featuring new competitive combo and super-move systems, the NBA Ballers Franchise returns with the amazing realistic graphics for which the franchise is known as players take part in the ultimate challenge to become the next 'Chosen One."