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I hope you had a great Diwali! In fact, I know you did, what with India’s spectacular form in the men’s cricket World Cup, which has seen the Men in Blue power their way into the Sunday’s final unbeaten in 10 matches. 

You could even say Rohit Sharma and Co. saved some of their employer’s blushes after all the scheduling and ticketing-related chaos that preceded the tournament. More recently, the Indian cricket board has also been accused of switching the pitch that was used for Wednesday’s semi-final between India and New Zealand at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium to suit the hosts without the consent of the International Cricket Council (ICC). 

But who cares. If India lifts the World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, all will be forgiven and forgotten.

I have a short edition for you today as we at The Signal were on a break this week for Diwali. Here’s a look at what’s been up in the world of sports business this past week.

⚡️Quick Singles

🏏🏆 The Indian cricket team may also have given one-day cricket a new lease of life. Disney+ Hotstar broke the peak concurrency record for a cricket match for the fourth time in this World Cup, with 53 million viewers watching at a particular point in time during the India-New Zealand semi-final. The ICC’s chief commercial officer Anurag Dahiya revealed that the tournament also saw over a million fans attending matches across 10 venues. According to The Economic Times, the ICC is set to earn a record ~$150 million from this World Cup, which will also provide a ₹13,000 crore-₹20,000 crore ($1.6 billion-$2.4 billion) boost to the Indian economy.

📺⛳️ Netflix streamed its first live sports event earlier this week. Formula One driver Carlos Sainz and two-time PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas won the inaugural Netflix Cup, a celebrity golf tournament that the streaming giant organised to test the sports live streaming waters. There was some chaos, including Sainz dropping and smashing the trophy, but there were no reports of server crashes. The Sports Business Journal reported that Netflix has expressed interest in buying the rights for the NBA’s In-Season Tournament. With live sports being tailor-made for ad-supported streaming, which Netflix got into recently, it’ll be interesting to see what the streaming giant does next.

👟👩‍💼 Nike has hired Muge Erdirik Dogan, a longtime Amazon fashion executive, as its new chief technology officer, per Bloomberg. Dogan was at Amazon for 16 years, where she worked in various consumer categories and delivery operations before becoming the president of Amazon Fashion in 2021. Her appointment ties in with Nike’s recent push to sell merchandise directly to its customers online rather than via retail stores. Meanwhile, Nike’s Swiss rival On, backed by Roger Federer, has fired an ace in its earnings report for the September quarter. Its net sales increased by 46.5% year-on-year to $540.2 million. 

⚽️🔵📈 Manchester City broke the Premier League record for revenue earned in a season, raking in £712 million ($885.4 million) in the year ended June 2023. That’s up from £613 million ($762.3 million) the year before and also more than rival Manchester United’s £648.4 million ($806.3 million) revenue for the last financial year. City made a net profit of £80 million ($99.5 million) in the year. The club’s annual report also mentioned the 115 charges levelled against it by the Premier League for breaching financial fair-play, stating that “there are a number of risks and uncertainties which could have a material impact on the club’s performance”. 

⚽️🔴 Manchester United CEO Richard Arnold is stepping down from his position after 16 years at the club. The decision was expected as British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s purchase of a minority stake in the club nears completion, which is also expected to see his team take over the footballing operations. Meanwhile, American billionaire investor Leon Cooperman has taken a stake in United, with reports saying he’s purchased just under a million shares currently valued at $16.8 million. A number of hedge funds, including Psquared Asset Management AG and Antara Capital, have also recently bought stakes in the club.

📖 Weekend Reading

Jasprit Bumrah is a species of exactly one [ESPNcricinfo]

School's out as Rohit, Iyer rip up the textbooks in Mumbai [ESPNcricinfo]

F1’s Biggest Bro Also Makes Clothes. Meet ‘Enchanté.’ [The Wall Street Journal]

Before You Go…

…can you tell me what’s wrong with this picture?

That’s all for this week. If you enjoyed reading The Playbook, please share it with your friends, family, and colleagues. Please also subscribe to it (for free) if you haven’t already. 

You can reach out to me at jaideep@thesignal.co with any feedback (good, bad, or ugly), tips, and ideas. I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading, and see you again next Friday!