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Originally Posted by BobC
I can see Topps possibly trying to raise some type of anti-trust argument in the courts, especially since they weren't even afforded a chance to compete and bid on the new licensing agreements.
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I read somewhere that Topps was actually given the opportunity to match the Fanatics offer but that it was ~10x the valuation of Topps' prior agreement with MLB/MLBPA and they simply couldn't compete.
I suspect most of the squeeze by Fanatics will come from the distribution channels. I think this is most likely to hurt local card shops and breakers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobC
So with this joint colloboration between the three major US sports leagues and their respective players associations, if the combined effort to control licensing works out and and they prevail against any potential legal challenges, do they go ahead and form their own exclusive TV/cable network next and do away with anyone else ever airing any MLB, NFL, or NBA games ever again? Might not be as easy as the TV contracts aren't handled the same in all three sports, but the lure of money could lead to a lot of compromises among the various leagues and teams. Time will tell.
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Very interesting question. I could definitely see something like this happening. Especially in the modern era where most households have streaming services. They could just skip local broadcasts altogether and create their own version of Netflix for sports.
Whatever they do for sports cards and TV content going forward though, I think we'll see them contracting/licensing that out, or acquiring companies like Topps or Panini. Why build from the ground up when you can just buy it from someone else who already specializes in it and who almost certainly does it better?