🤑 The Olympics finally paying athletes

This week’s market performance 🏆️ 

S&P 500: -1.69% 📉 
Nasdaq: -0.68% 📉 
Dow 30: -2.40% 📉 
Russell 2000: -3.45% 📉  

TOP STORY
🥇 The Olympics will be paying athletes for the first time

This summer’s Olympics in Paris will be a massive moneymaker for not only NBC but also some of its participants.

But first, the hosts, NBCUniversal:

• $1.25 billion has already been collected in advertising revenue for the Paris Olympics.

• $350 million in advertising revenue from new Olympic advertisers.

• More than 100-day campaigns committed by a handful of brands from this month through the Opening Ceremony on July 26, starting next week.

• At the end of 2023, 31M paid subscribers to Peacock will be able to stream the games directly on their devices.

And, even cooler… for the first time ever, (some) athletes will be awarded prize money.

World Athletics, the world's track and field governing body, has set aside $2.4M for its gold medal athletes:

• Gold medalists only

• $50,000 for each medal

• Relay teams will split the $50,000

The prize money will also be extended to winners of silver and bronze medals at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

• World Athletics is the first international federation to offer Olympians prize money.

• With its president emphasizing the importance of returning revenue to the athletes who contribute to the Games' success.

It makes perfect sense to us, and hopefully, more sports will follow suit.

ENTERTAINMENT
💰️ Medium Rare receives investment from Kygo’s Palm Tree Crew, valuing the company at $50M

Medium Rare, a live events and management company known for producing crazy events like Travis Kelce’s “Kelce Jam” and Shaq’s “Fun House,” has received an investment from Palm Tree Crew, valuing the company at $50 million.

Some background on both:

Medium Rare, founded in 2019, produces celebrity-driven events, organizing everything from ticket sales to sponsorships, particularly in the sports and entertainment world.

The company capitalizes on the cult-like followings of popular athletes, who doesn’t want to chill with Shaq at a party?

Now, the investor:

Palm Tree Crew is an event, artist management, and holding company founded by legendary DJ and producer Kygo.

Similar to Medium Rare, Palm Tree Crew organizes and manages events related to music and entertainment.

But Palm Tree does a bit more. The company also manages artists' careers, handling bookings, promotions, and other professional activities.

As you can see, they also invest in other businesses or ventures, using their resources to support and grow other companies and projects.

The partnership between Medium Rare and Palm Tree Crew shows reflects a larger trend of next-generation production companies blending epic live experiences, celebrities, and events.

This week’s sector performance 🏆️

Semiconductors ($SOXX): -2.16% 📉
Bonds ($TLT): -1.02% 📉
Technology ($QQQ): -0.74% 📉
Dividends ($SCHD): -2.86% 📉 
Emerging Markets ($EEM): -2.31% 📉 
Energy ($XLE): -2.04% 📉 
Financials ($XLF): -3.73% 📉
Gold ($GLD): +0.43% 📈 
Industrials ($VPU): -1.76% 📉
Cybersecurity ($CIBR): -1.86% 📉 

SPORTS
🎟️ Ticketing platform, StubHub, is eyeing a $16.5B IPO this summer

A little background on StubHub:

• StubHub was founded in 2000 and purchased by eBay for $310 million in 2007.

• It was reacquired by its co-founder Eric Baker in 2020 for $4 billion, a major oof.

• Lucky for Baker though, StubHub was valued at $16.5B in late 2021 during its latest round of private funding.

Over the past couple of years, StubHub has been working with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs on the IPO.

If StubHub does go public, it will be valued right in the middle of competitors Vivid Seats ($SEAT) and Live Nation ($LVY).

Here’s what else you might’ve missed…

Apple ($APPL) produced $14B worth of iPhones in India last year.

Famed investor Cathie Wood reveals stake in OpenAI.

Wrexham, the soccer club owned by Ryan Reynolds, has been promoted to League Two, which is two tiers below the Premier League.

"Tax Day," the traditional tax deadline day, is coming up on April 15.