laxtreme56 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 11:51 pm
Tank55 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 9:19 pm
laxtreme56 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 2:30 am
Let's not forget Redbird/XFL just hired 2 high level executives from the NFL and ESPN respectively im the past month or so. These guys will be instrumental in working on TV deals and streaming rights. There's already rumors Disney is interested and with Garcia's production company that should cut down costs considerably. Look to bring in Toronto and Montreal in 2023/24 and TSN could easily throw $10-15 million towards the league. This new XFL has way more money and clout than McMahon ever had. I can only see them bolstering their front office over the next 90 days
Well, Redbird does a lot more than just not run the XFL, so I don't think we can assume that any hirings they make have anything to do with anything.
I do think we'll soon if they're actually going to try to make this work on their own. The original XFL 2.0 ramp started in late 2017 and was announced in January 2018. That gave them two full years to launch. We're now 19 months away from February 2023. If they're going to make that date, they need to start building out their team soon.
You're correct in saying Redbird is more than just the XFL, but the 2 guys they hired are well versed in network contract negotiations. What other properties would they need that help in besides the XFL currently? That's like if your car breaks down and and have a mechanic come look at it, perhaps he's also an interior designer and was hired to spruce up the place, but odds are he's just there to get the car up and running again.
While we all think the XFL was running well, how many actually looked at the bankruptcy documents. Remember at one time apparently dozens of interested parties were rumored to buy, but only one group actually placed a bid. Perhaps the saw the dearth of national sponsorship money, the greatly inflated attendance (8k+ tickets comped or discounted for the Guardians home opener) there was something that gave these other parties cold feet. Say what you want about MLS, but franchises are selling for half a billion dollars now and teams have season ticket waiting lists of 20k+ The quick fix is never the answer, slow and steady wins the race.
The fact that VM and many "experts" predicted that the XFL would need nearly $300mm to be launched with no guarantee is one reason why buyers passed. The other is that IF there was no buyer the assets would have been auctioned off for cheap. Thirdly - if you weren't planning to play in 2021, just start a new league and use the $15mm plus $9mm in debt towards that.
We read on XFLNewsHub:
>> “
The XFL had a number of holes in what they were necessarily offering, and all the CFL went through this process. They realized just how much they were bringing to the table. And if they were going to give up some of its game and its traditions, they needed to make sure that financially and logistically they were where they needed to be and that they were going to benefit from this. They ultimately couldn’t get there.” - TSN Farhan Lalji
Bottomline - XFL is looking for financial Partners to share risk... They weren't coming with a check to make it happen with the CFL. That's how this all reads. And its been that way since day one...
Again DG said early on (paraphrase) "we are looking for more than a no fees TV deal" before they move forward. They over estimated Rock's appeal and now they exhausted two options (Fox and CFL) and they still haven't opened a check book.
>> The consensus from sources I was in contact with was that RedBird Capital would not put one more dollar into the XFL until they secured a lucrative media rights deal.
“Going forward, having media rights deals where there are no fees, that’s not the option that we are looking at, and in fact, we’re in robust conversations with numerous partners.”- DG <<
https://xflnewshub.com/columns/xfl-the- ... 22-season/
So they are still banking on leveraging the 5 weeks of games TV ratings in 2021 to get a TV deal in 2023?, yet they will be 3 yrs removed from that. I've stated they needed to play in 2021 to keep that alive, they chose not to and now they passed on 2022. What TV net is giving a non-VM owned XFL with a whole new "vision" a LUCRATIVE TV deal three years later?
These are legit Questions, its not XFL bashing.
So what's changed in 2021? No CFL help and they say 2023? Are they going to move forward and spend money? Doubtful. IMO they are just trying to c##k block the USFL and buy MORE time to find an investor.
USFL biz model will be a much lower cost, lower risk operation at least early on. BWoods/Fox put on a successful TSL 2021 6+1 season and got respectable ratings with nearly zero promo. They are now rebranding as USFL and per MikeM there are investors . I expect it will be a step up from TSL, but still less than XFL 2.0.
We'll see where it goes but B Woods is cost conscious, something FOX sees as an asset. Fox DID give TSL money as B Woods stated in an "the_markcast" podcast prior to the 2021 season. So FOX is more than just a TV partner. FOX is in Need for low cost sports programming, with the TSL/USFL they have major influence on game scheduling etc... FOX has no movie studio or streaming service as the other Nets have (and even some Streaming services) - They are a US TV focused business and need it. They also are invested into gambling and I would expect FoxBET to be another driver for USFL on Fox.
This is going to be interesting...