Sports team values keep climbing as media rights fuel growth
Speakers
Chris Marangi
— Co-CIO, Gabelli Funds
Mike Ozanian
— Senior Sports Reporter, CNBC
Summary
Mike Ozanian and Chris Marangi discuss why sports team values keep climbing, driven by media rights, sports betting, and scarity. Marangi highlights his firm's investment in MSG as a way to capitalize on this trend, while Ozanian points to the NFL and NBA as the best-positioned leagues.
- Sports team values continue to rise, supported by media rights deals, sports betting, and live content demand
- Mike Ozanian argues this is not a bubble and that NFL and NBA are best positioned in North America, with soccer dominant globally
- NFL is renegotiating rights early and could see a 50% increase, while NBA expansion fees could reach $7-8 billion
- Chris Marangi says sports franchises are scarce, cyclically resilient assets with growth drivers including media and betting
- Gabelli Funds owns MSG, the parent of the Knicks and Rangers, and sees a potential split creating further value
- The discussion also touches on the impact of sports betting and live event consumption expanding the ecosystem
Ideas
Scarce sports franchise growing with media rights
Sports franchises like Madison Square Garden Sports (MSG), owner of the Knicks and Rangers, are scarce, growing assets with financial underpinnings from media rights growth, sports betting, live entertainment, and tax advantages. The potential splitting of the company creates additional options and value.
Up Next
This CNBC video, published June 18, 2026, features Chris Marangi discussing MSGS. 1 trade idea extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.
Speakers: Chris Marangi · Tickers: MSGS