Sports Media Specialists: Leveling The Playing Field

Santa Monica, CA

(310) 393-2-WIN

Desser Media/Sports Media, Inc. advises premiere sports and media organizations on media rights, M&A, litigation/arbitration, and strategic business development. We use the unique analytical tools and experience developed both from negotiating over 120 team and league media agreements over the past 19 years and, prior to that, from over 23 years as the senior media executive in the NBA Commissioner’s Office. The combined value of the media agreements we have completed and the major sports M&A transactions we have advised on already total more than $50 Billion.

One of our primary focuses is media rights transactions, which are highly technical, infrequently negotiated, and ultimately hugely important to an organization’s bottom line and brand. Rightsowners must contend with the savvy of Fortune 500 media companies that routinely acquire rights, have dedicated specialized staff, and have developed a myriad of defenses to thwart owners from achieving fair market value. What if you could have the equivalent of the NBA’s lead media negotiator in your corner? In addition, we perform comprehensive valuation analysis, serve as an expert witness providing dispute resolution support, and design media business plans across both traditional and emerging digital media platforms. Collectively our team has more than 200 years of hands-on sports media expertise.

We are a sports media boutique, not part of a large agency, law firm, player representative or investment banking organization. We are independent and dedicated to you. We have no other agendas, but rather specialize in, and are completely devoted to, sports media matters on behalf of our clients. We provide this range of services to the full spectrum of sports media participants ranging from professional and collegiate content owners to networks/intermediaries, distributors/retailers, and tech companies; from linear networks to streaming platforms and other digital media, in the U.S., Canada and internationally. We have unmatched contacts and relationships, a deep understanding of the operations and perspectives of networks, distributors, teams and leagues, plus our up-to-the-minute specialized knowledge of the sports media marketplace to help you level the playing field.

We are passionate about this work, always looking to learn and extend our knowledge on behalf of clients. Over time, our clients have seen the value of our out-of-the-box solutions and thought leadership. I am confident that we can customize our work to help you solve whatever puzzle you are confronting, and achieve an outcome that balances the long term needs of your organization and those of your business partners. Please review this site and reach out to us to discuss your needs.

Client List

LEAGUES/CONFERENCES/ASSOCIATIONS/NATIONAL EVENTS

PRO

Canadian Football League
Euroleague Basketball
Major League Baseball
Major League Lacrosse
Major League Soccer
National Basketball Association
National Football League
National Hot Rod Association
PGA Tour
Professional Bowlers Association
Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
The Jockey Club
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
US Pro Cycling Challenge
World Wrestling Entertainment

COLLEGIATE/AMATEUR

American Athletic Conference
Big 12 Conference
Big East Conference
California Interscholastic Federation
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Properties (USOPP)
Western Collegiate Hockey Association

TEAMS/LOCAL RIGHTS/VALUATIONS/NEGOTIATIONS

NBA

Atlanta Hawks
Brooklyn/New Jersey Nets
Dallas Mavericks
Detroit Pistons
Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trailblazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Seattle Sonics
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz

NHL

Atlanta Thrashers
Calgary Flames
Dallas Stars
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Winnipeg Jets

MLB

Atlanta Braves
Houston Astros
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays
Washington Nationals

MLS

Chivas USA
LA Galaxy
Seattle Sounders
Toronto FC
Vancouver Whitecaps

LITIGATION/ARBITRATION/MEDIATION

Altitude Network (Paul Weiss)
Big 12 Conference (Polsinelli)
Brooklyn / New Jersey Nets (Debevoise)
Diamond Sports v. Sinclair Broadcasting ( Paul Weiss)
DIRECTV (Wiltshire & Grannis)
ESPN (Cravath)
FINA (Latham & Watkins LLP)
Fox Corporation (Dechert)
Fox Sports vs. LA Dodgers (Jenner & Block)
House v. NCAA, Big 10, Big 12, SEC, ACC, Pac-12 (Winston)
Jenkins et., al. vs. NCAA, Big 10, Big 12, ACC, SEC, Pac 12 (Winston & Strawn)
Joint Sports (NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, NHL) vs. MPAA et., al. (Arnold & Porter)
Major League Baseball vs. LA Dodgers (White & Case)
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (Goodmans)
Miami Heat vs. Clear Channel (Stearns Weaver)
National Basketball Association (Proskauer; Skadden)
NASCAR (Baker Bott)
NBC Universal (Wilkie Farr)
O'Bannon et., al. vs. NCAA (Hausfeld)
PGA Tour (Skadden/Keker)
Portland Trailblazers (Cable Huston)
Sacramento Kings
TELUS
Tribune Company
Videotron
Walt Disney Company (Debevoise & Plimpton)
Walt Disney Company (Cravath)
Warner Bros. Discovery (Weil, Gotshal & Manges)
WWE (Paul Weiss)

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Chicago Cubs/Paragon Capital
Coleman Research
CVC Capital Partners
Dallas Stars
Gerson Lehman Group
Goldman Sachs
Guidepoint Global
Houston Astros
Los Angeles Dodgers/Caruso Affiliated/Joe Torre
Maple Leaf Sports + Entertainment Ltd.
Sacramento Kings/Seattle Sonics/ Valiant Capital Management
Sterling Investment Partners
Washington Nationals
Weather Channel/NBC

MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT/TECHNOLOGY

Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG)
Caesars Entertainment / William Hill
DirecTV
Google/YouTube
Kilmer Van Nostrand, Ltd.
Leafs TV
Maple Leaf Sports + Entertainment
McKinsey & Co.
NBA TV Canada
Qualcomm, Inc.
Rogers Communications
Sinclair Broadcasting
TELUS
The Hollywood Reporter
Time Warner Cable
Tribune Company
Videotron

COUNTER PARTIES

AT&T
Bell
CBS
Chicago Cubs
Citadel
Clear Channel
Comcast
ESPN
Fox Sports
Guggenheim Partners/L.A. Dodgers
KSPN
Liberty Sports
NBC
Rogers Sports Net
Rural Media Group
The Score
Time Warner Cable
TSN
YES