Mark J. Burns

By Mark J. Burns Top Stories The ACC will debut its new linear television network this evening, becoming the fourth Power Five conference with its own dedicated channel. The network, which is owned by ESPN but splits revenues and costs with the conference, should help bring more shared money to the ACC’s membership, which currently […]

By Mark J. Burns Top Stories The MLS announced that St. Louis will become the league’s 28th team in 2022. The ownership group, which is led by members of the founding family of car rental company Enterprise Holdings Inc., is the first in league history to be mostly comprised of women. (The Associated Press) Former […]

By Mark J. Burns Top Stories According to FIFA, the international soccer body has received an “unprecedented” amount of interest from countries contemplating a bid to host the 2023 Women’s World Cup, a list that includes Brazil, Argentina and Japan, among others. Belgium was the most recent and 10th nation to express interest, though a […]

By Mark J. Burns Top Stories Rapper Jay-Z reportedly will have a “significant ownership interest” in a NFL franchise in the “near future,” though it’s unclear exactly which team. The business mogul previously held a minority ownership stake in the Brooklyn Nets, which he sold in 2013. (TMZ Sports) Former NFL running back and Texas […]

By Mark J. Burns and Cameron Easley Week in Review Soccer The Seattle Sounders announced the addition of 11 families to its ownership group, including two high-profile couples — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and his Grammy Award-winning wife, Ciara, and rapper Macklemore and his wife, Tricia Davis — and Microsoft’s CEO and CFO and […]

By Mark J. Burns Top Stories Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Executive Vice Chairman Joe Tsai will pay about $3.5 billion to purchase the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center arena from current owner and Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, according to a person familiar with the agreement, and the deal could be announced as soon as today. […]

By Mark J. Burns Top Stories MLS reportedly plans to announce that St. Louis has secured an expansion club, with an event said to be scheduled next Tuesday. Around this year’s All-Star Game, Commissioner Don Garber praised the efforts made by the ownership group, led by Carolyn Kindle Betz, president of Enterprise Holdings Foundation, and […]

By Mark J. Burns and Cameron Easley Week in Review TV and streaming CBS Corp and AT&T Inc. resolved a 20-day standoff and blackout, agreeing to a new multi-year carriage agreement that includes retransmission consent for all 26 CBS-owned stations in 17 markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco. The blackout had […]

By Mark J. Burns   Top Stories D.C. United announced that Wayne Rooney will leave the team after the 2019 season and return overseas to coach and play for Derby County, which plays in the second-tier English Football League Championship. United has already been preparing to fill the void left by Rooney — who has […]