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Welcome back to The Varsity, the now thrice-weekly private email on the deals and
personalities that dominate the sports business. I’m John Ourand, and I’m in San Francisco, where the locals are still in shock over the Warriors’ capitulation to the Clippers on Sunday. The loss relegated Steph, Draymond, and Jimmy to the Play-In Tournament, which tips off later tonight at Chase Center.

It’s Tuesday, so it’s Julia Alexander Day—and she has a banger of a story that analyzes the
true value of F1 media rights. This must-read piece, and all of Julia’s work, is exclusively available to Inner Circle subscribers, so click here to upgrade. It’s a Marchand-free safe space!

Before ceding the floor to Julia, I want to highlight a viewership stat that crossed my desk this morning. Remember back in November and December, when everyone was blaming
excessive three-pointers, and scant defense, for the NBA’s double-digit viewership decline in nationally televised games? Well, the final numbers are in, and the audience bounced back in the second half. It was still down, but only by 2 percent year over year, which is hardly sky-is-falling territory. For the record, ABC games were up 10 percent, ESPN was flat, and TNT was down double digits.

Now, let’s get to Julia…

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