Welcome back to the Spotlight! This time of year, the color orange not only evokes pumpkins and falling leaves, but also basketball. Indeed, the NBA season tipped off this past week, replete with intrigue and excitement on and off the court. Notably, the offseason media rights shuffle reunited the NBA with NBC (reviving the sweet sounds of John Tesh’s “Roundball Rock”) and brought old faces to new places with the “Inside the NBA” team of Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith debuting on ESPN after having moved over from TNT (the latter two hosts predicted a certain orange (and blue) team from New York would be playing for an NBA championship this year).
Regrettably, however, orange also evokes jumpsuits as much as it does jump shots, with the Department of Justice announcing the FBI’s arrest of current and former NBA players Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones and Terry Rozier in connection with a federal gambling probe that uncovered several alleged conspiracies involving fixed poker games and sharing of inside information with bettors. To be sure, the timing is awful for the NBA (if there ever was a time for a sports league to have its integrity called into question). But it is also rather inauspicious timing for it to be announced this very same week that collegiate athletes and schools’ athletics staff will now be permitted to gamble on professional sports. Perhaps the conduct of the pros will serve as a cautionary tale for collegiate athletes rather than a foreshadowing of things to come in this sports business environment. At the very least, it should serve as a reminder of the need for athletes’ mentors and advisors to encourage the exercise of better judgment regarding the use of money and the privileged position that allows them to earn it.
Having already launched a lifestyle brand, “American Riviera Orchard” (recently rebranded “As Ever”) Meghan Markle looks poised to be next to wade into the crowded waters of celebrity-branded beauty products. A word of advice to Markle’s potential business partner: go heavy on the equity – she tends to distance herself from royalties.
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bruce Springsteen, when asked about Jeremy Allen White’s portrayal of him in the biopic “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere,” said that he could not tell the difference between White’s voice and that of his own on certain recordings. AI-driven music companies, when asked about Jeremy Allen White’s portrayal of Springsteen in the biopic “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” said “stay in your lane!”
Ari Emanuel’s global events and experience company MARI acquired digital ticketing platform TodayTix, in what I can only assume is a gross overpayment for tickets to see “Wicked” on Broadway.
Endorsement Deals, Sponsorships & Investments
How Favorite Daughter Benefitted From the Netflix Effect
October 23, 2025 via The Business of Fashion
Sober Celebrities Pour into Nonalcoholic Beer
October 23, 2025 via Food Dive
Chelsea’s Front-of-Shirt Sponsorship Race Heats up Following Global Success
October 22, 2025 via Sports Business Journal
Ketchum Company Signs Endorsement Deal with Major League Player
October 22, 2025 via Idaho Business Review
Audi Renews Multi-Year Deal as Major League Soccer’s Official Automotive Partner
October 22, 2025 via Audi
Victoria Beckham’s Glow-Up Could Fetch $700 Mln
October 21, 2025 via Reuters
Sprouts Farmers Market Announces Seven New NIL Deals Across Women’s Sports
October 21, 2025 via Business Wire
DraftKings Acquires Railbird Technologies, Will Launch DraftKings Predictions
October 21, 2025 via Sports Betting Dime
Adapti, Inc. Signs Letter of Intent to Acquire Levelution Sports, Expanding NIL and Athlete Representation Capabilities
October 20, 2025 via Lancaster Online
Ari Emanuel’s Holding Company MARI Acquires TodayTix
October 20, 2025 via Deadline
Meghan Markle Set To Compete With Selena Gomez And Hailey Bieber? Rumours of Her Own Beauty Brand Swirl
October 19, 2025 via International Business Times
Apple and F1 Reach 5-Year Media Deal, Bringing all Races to Apple TV Streaming in the U.S.
October 17, 2025 via CNBC
Hailey Bieber has Shared What She Will do with the $1 Billion she Made from her Rhode Sale to e.l.f. Beauty Earlier this Year
October 17, 2025 via Fortune Magazine
Sports
Heat's Rozier Arrested in Gambling Case
October 23, 2025 via ESPN
Sports-Betting Money is Good, but it's Not Cheap
October 23, 2025 via ESPN
Has Parity Arrived in College Football? Transfer Portal, NIL Money Credited for Tighter Games
October 22, 2025 via Lancaster Online
SDSU Alum Donates $5 Million to Men's Basketball Program
October 21, 2025 via 10news
With Jordan and Tesh in Tow, NBC Leads the NBA Back to the Future
October 21, 2025 via Sportico
University of Nebraska Now Spends More on Administrators and Managers than on Faculty
October 17, 2025 via Associated Press (AP)
Music Biz
Taylor Swift, LL Cool J, David Byrne Among 2026 Songwriters Hall of Fame Nominees
October 23, 2025 via Variety
Broadway Strike Averted as Musicians Reach Tentative Deal on New Contract
October 23, 2025 via Variety
Bruce Springsteen “Couldn’t Tell on a Couple” of Recordings Whether It Was Him or Jeremy Allen White Singing
October 23, 2025 via Hollywood Reporter
Music Industry Moves: Milk and Honey Launch Record Label to Support Songwriters ‘Like Never Before’
October 22, 2025 via Variety
Napster’s Next Move is… Holographic AI Companions on Your Desk?
October 21, 2025 via MusicAlly
How AI-Created Music is Making Thousands from Streaming Platforms
October 20, 2025 via Digital Journal Top News
T.I. and Tiny Accuser Loses Bid to Get Defamation Lawsuit Reinstated, Plans Appeal
October 17, 2025 via Rolling Stone Magazine
Film & TV
Wonder Studios, Backed by OpenAI, DeepMind Execs, Raised $12M to Bring AI Content to Hollywood
October 23, 2025 via Tech Crunch
‘Allen Iv3rson’: Shaquille O’Neal on Producing Docuseries About Game-Changing NBA Rival-Turned-Business Partner
October 23, 2025 via Variety
‘Stranger Things’ Series Finale Gets Simultaneous Theatrical & Streaming Release In First For TV Show
October 23, 2025 via Deadline
What the Tilly Norwood Moment Should Teach Us
October 22, 2025 via Fast Co Design
Amazon Paid $20 Million for Control of James Bond, But There’s Fine Print That Isn’t Public
October 22, 2025 via Hollywood Reporter
OpenAI Blocks MLK Jr. Videos on Sora After 'Disrespectful Depictions'
October 17, 2025 via GPB News
Emerging Sports
Twitch Unveils its Next Era: Dual-Format Streaming, AI Clips, and New Sponsorship Tools
October 17, 2025 via Mashable!