Scarce Sports Asset Owners
wayne simonetti@wayne
−1.0%
since Sep 30
The idea
I believe live sports and sports collectibles are scarcity economies: there is only one Formula One, one UFC, one Kentucky Derby, a fixed set of major franchises, and a capped supply of graded cards, while demand from streamers, sponsors, and collectors keeps growing. So instead of chasing the networks that bid for broadcast rights, I own the scarce assets themselves: league and event IP, franchise owners, irreplaceable venues, and the marketplaces where collectibles trade.
What it owns
- Major league teams are fixed in number and almost never for sale, so the few available on an exchange carry real scarcity value as their worth rises with league revenues. · Madison Square Garden SportsIt owns the Knicks and Rangers in the largest US market at a time when league expansion and team sales show franchise valuations rising faster than what buyers pay for operating access to them., Atlanta Braves HoldingsIt is the only Major League Baseball franchise available to buy directly on a public exchange, making it the most accessible way to own a sports team as a public investor., Manchester UnitedIt is one football club with a global fanbase no new team can replicate, benefiting from rising international broadcast rights and sponsorship money., FerrariIt deliberately caps production below demand, running a scarcity economy on purpose, and also owns one of Formula One's iconic racing teams.28%
- Owning the league or event itself means owning the scarce thing everyone else pays to access, from broadcast rights to sponsorships to hosting fees. · TKO Group HoldingsIt owns both the UFC and WWE outright, the only promoters of their kind, and collects rising fees each time networks and streamers pay to broadcast them., Liberty Media Formula OneIt owns Formula One, the only series of its kind, so everyone who broadcasts, sponsors, or hosts a race must pay it a fee., Churchill DownsIt owns the Kentucky Derby and the track where it runs, an irreplaceable event that nobody else can create or relocate., The Walt Disney CompanyIt owns ESPN, which bids for sports rights, and also controls irreplaceable IP and parks that cannot be copied, positioning it on both sides of scarce assets.28%
- Irreplaceable arenas and live-event gatekeepers benefit from the same shift of money toward things that cannot be copied or easily replicated. · Madison Square Garden EntertainmentIt owns Madison Square Garden, an irreplaceable venue above Penn Station that cannot be built again, collecting rising ticket and sponsorship revenue., Live Nation EntertainmentIt controls the venues, ticketing systems, and promotions that scarce live events must pass through, collecting a toll on the entire category., Liberty Live GroupIt is a tracking stock for Liberty's stake in Live Nation, the gatekeeper of venues and ticketing that scarce live events must pass through., Sphere EntertainmentIt operates the Sphere, the only venue of its kind anywhere, making it irreplaceable event real estate with no direct competition.15%
- Cards and memorabilia are fixed-supply assets, and the platforms where they trade earn a cut of every sale as collector demand outpaces supply. · eBayIt operates the largest marketplace for graded cards and sports memorabilia, where fixed-supply collectibles trade and the company earns a fee on each sale., CoupangIt owns Farfetch, the luxury resale channel where scarce and finite goods trade at rising prices as demand outpaces supply., FunkoIt produces licensed collectibles in limited runs that trade above retail, benefiting from growing collector demand for finite branded products.11%
- Exclusive official data rights to leagues are scarce assets that every sportsbook and broadcaster must license, creating a recurring revenue stream. · Sportradar GroupIt holds exclusive rights to official data from major leagues, a scarce asset that every sportsbook must license and pay for., Genius SportsIt owns the official data rights to the NFL, and there is only one NFL, making it the sole source sportsbooks must license.8%
- Cash10%