Moves and Motives
@faneconomist.bsky.social
I’m Olisa, and this is Moves and Motives. The stories and the strategies behind the world’s biggest sports and media deals.
It cost $1,348 to watch every NFL game via streaming last season.YouTube TV: $876
Prime: $139
Peacock: $72
Netflix: $186
NFL+: $75Eight platforms. Seventeen games.The DOJ just opened an investigation into whether this is legal.sportsmba.substack.com/p/why-sports-r...
Prime: $139
Peacock: $72
Netflix: $186
NFL+: $75Eight platforms. Seventeen games.The DOJ just opened an investigation into whether this is legal.sportsmba.substack.com/p/why-sports-r...
legal.sportsmba.substack.com
April 17, 2026 at 2:25 PM
It cost $1,348 to watch every NFL game via streaming last season.YouTube TV: $876
Prime: $139
Peacock: $72
Netflix: $186
NFL+: $75Eight platforms. Seventeen games.The DOJ just opened an investigation into whether this is legal.sportsmba.substack.com/p/why-sports-r...
Prime: $139
Peacock: $72
Netflix: $186
NFL+: $75Eight platforms. Seventeen games.The DOJ just opened an investigation into whether this is legal.sportsmba.substack.com/p/why-sports-r...
The WNBA lost money for 29 consecutive years.
In 2025, they FINALLY triggered revenue sharing for the first time ever.
Revenue jumping from $300M to $600M in 2026.
And they're about to risk it all over refusing to pay players an extra 10% of revenue.
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
In 2025, they FINALLY triggered revenue sharing for the first time ever.
Revenue jumping from $300M to $600M in 2026.
And they're about to risk it all over refusing to pay players an extra 10% of revenue.
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
The WNBA Spent 29 Years Building This Moment. They're About to Blow It.
The pressure is on the LEAGUE, not the players, to avoid fumbling this moment.
open.substack.com
March 9, 2026 at 3:16 PM
The WNBA lost money for 29 consecutive years.
In 2025, they FINALLY triggered revenue sharing for the first time ever.
Revenue jumping from $300M to $600M in 2026.
And they're about to risk it all over refusing to pay players an extra 10% of revenue.
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
In 2025, they FINALLY triggered revenue sharing for the first time ever.
Revenue jumping from $300M to $600M in 2026.
And they're about to risk it all over refusing to pay players an extra 10% of revenue.
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
WNBA approaching $1B in revenue, paying players 7% of that.
Unrivaled launches, pays everyone six figures, generates $30M Year 1.
WNBA can't hide behind "we're not profitable" anymore
Full Breakdown:
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
Unrivaled launches, pays everyone six figures, generates $30M Year 1.
WNBA can't hide behind "we're not profitable" anymore
Full Breakdown:
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
Why Unrivaled Is One of the Most Brilliant Power Move in Sports History
Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier built a domestic alternative that destroyed the WNBA’s "financial constraints" narrative right before the 2026 CBA showdown.
open.substack.com
March 4, 2026 at 3:23 PM
WNBA approaching $1B in revenue, paying players 7% of that.
Unrivaled launches, pays everyone six figures, generates $30M Year 1.
WNBA can't hide behind "we're not profitable" anymore
Full Breakdown:
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
Unrivaled launches, pays everyone six figures, generates $30M Year 1.
WNBA can't hide behind "we're not profitable" anymore
Full Breakdown:
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
College sports just got a real regulator.
524 NIL deals rejected.
$15M wiped out.
MMR “shell” deals called out.
This isn’t a rubber stamp — it’s selective enforcement to set the rules of the game.
If you care about NIL’s future, read this 👇
sportsmba.substack.com/p/the-15-mil...
524 NIL deals rejected.
$15M wiped out.
MMR “shell” deals called out.
This isn’t a rubber stamp — it’s selective enforcement to set the rules of the game.
If you care about NIL’s future, read this 👇
sportsmba.substack.com/p/the-15-mil...
The $15 Million Warning Shot: Why NIL Enforcement Just Got Real
Inside the College Sports Commission’s first true test — and what it means for athletes, schools, and the future of college sports
sportsmba.substack.com
January 15, 2026 at 6:25 PM
College sports just got a real regulator.
524 NIL deals rejected.
$15M wiped out.
MMR “shell” deals called out.
This isn’t a rubber stamp — it’s selective enforcement to set the rules of the game.
If you care about NIL’s future, read this 👇
sportsmba.substack.com/p/the-15-mil...
524 NIL deals rejected.
$15M wiped out.
MMR “shell” deals called out.
This isn’t a rubber stamp — it’s selective enforcement to set the rules of the game.
If you care about NIL’s future, read this 👇
sportsmba.substack.com/p/the-15-mil...
Live Sports Engagement (2025)... Netflix's integration of WWE Raw and NFL Christmas games provided the "Chokehold" strategy needed to eliminate churn.
December 27, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Live Sports Engagement (2025)... Netflix's integration of WWE Raw and NFL Christmas games provided the "Chokehold" strategy needed to eliminate churn.
Here’s the trick other leagues haven’t pulled off yet:
The NBA took a boring part of its calendar and turned it into:
✔ a narrative
✔ a financial incentive
✔ measurable audience engagement
✔ real commercial value
That’s media rights alchemy.
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
The NBA took a boring part of its calendar and turned it into:
✔ a narrative
✔ a financial incentive
✔ measurable audience engagement
✔ real commercial value
That’s media rights alchemy.
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
The NBA Just Fixed Its Worst Two Months — With a $500K Check
Why the NBA Cup didn’t just crown the Knicks, but quietly solved the league’s midseason attention problem
open.substack.com
December 17, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Here’s the trick other leagues haven’t pulled off yet:
The NBA took a boring part of its calendar and turned it into:
✔ a narrative
✔ a financial incentive
✔ measurable audience engagement
✔ real commercial value
That’s media rights alchemy.
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
The NBA took a boring part of its calendar and turned it into:
✔ a narrative
✔ a financial incentive
✔ measurable audience engagement
✔ real commercial value
That’s media rights alchemy.
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
YouTube TV is finally doing what cable never would: a sports-only bundle for ~$40–50.
All the major networks. All the ESPNs. TNT. FS1. Add Sunday Ticket + RedZone if you want.
This is the real beginning of the unbundled sports era.
All the major networks. All the ESPNs. TNT. FS1. Add Sunday Ticket + RedZone if you want.
This is the real beginning of the unbundled sports era.
December 10, 2025 at 9:01 PM
YouTube TV is finally doing what cable never would: a sports-only bundle for ~$40–50.
All the major networks. All the ESPNs. TNT. FS1. Add Sunday Ticket + RedZone if you want.
This is the real beginning of the unbundled sports era.
All the major networks. All the ESPNs. TNT. FS1. Add Sunday Ticket + RedZone if you want.
This is the real beginning of the unbundled sports era.
ESPN’s RedZone takeover is already cracking.
10 minutes of static. Ad load doubled. Fans pissed.
This isn’t a glitch — it’s the cost of a multi-billion-dollar deal colliding with the collapse of cable economics.
Full breakdown:
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
10 minutes of static. Ad load doubled. Fans pissed.
This isn’t a glitch — it’s the cost of a multi-billion-dollar deal colliding with the collapse of cable economics.
Full breakdown:
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
ESPN’s RedZone Takeover Is Already Cracking — And Fans Aren’t Quiet About It
Why the 2025 RedZone Outage Exposes ESPN’s Bigger Problem: You Can’t Monetize a Religion Like It’s Cable TV
open.substack.com
December 10, 2025 at 3:45 PM
ESPN’s RedZone takeover is already cracking.
10 minutes of static. Ad load doubled. Fans pissed.
This isn’t a glitch — it’s the cost of a multi-billion-dollar deal colliding with the collapse of cable economics.
Full breakdown:
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
10 minutes of static. Ad load doubled. Fans pissed.
This isn’t a glitch — it’s the cost of a multi-billion-dollar deal colliding with the collapse of cable economics.
Full breakdown:
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
Does this new Streaming/Entertainment landscape seem accurate to you if the Netflix acquisition of WBD goes through? 🤔
#NetflixWB #paramount
#NetflixWB #paramount
December 9, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Does this new Streaming/Entertainment landscape seem accurate to you if the Netflix acquisition of WBD goes through? 🤔
#NetflixWB #paramount
#NetflixWB #paramount
Netflix thought it had WBD locked.
Then Paramount showed up with an all-cash offer that turned a merger into a street fight.
This is really about HBO—the last prestige brand standing.
Chaos incoming.
Full breakdown 👇
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
Then Paramount showed up with an all-cash offer that turned a merger into a street fight.
This is really about HBO—the last prestige brand standing.
Chaos incoming.
Full breakdown 👇
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
Paramount’s Hostile Bid for Warner Bros Discovery Just Blew Up Netflix’s Deal
Skydance-backed Paramount crashes Netflix’s planned acquisition of WBD with a $30-per-share all-cash offer—igniting the most chaotic takeover fight Hollywood’s seen in decades.
open.substack.com
December 9, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Netflix thought it had WBD locked.
Then Paramount showed up with an all-cash offer that turned a merger into a street fight.
This is really about HBO—the last prestige brand standing.
Chaos incoming.
Full breakdown 👇
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...
Then Paramount showed up with an all-cash offer that turned a merger into a street fight.
This is really about HBO—the last prestige brand standing.
Chaos incoming.
Full breakdown 👇
open.substack.com/pub/sportsmb...