Interest in trading card collecting — which, like many hobbies, was rejuvenated during the pandemic lockdowns — is still going strong, with consumer sales of cards on both the primary and secondary markets on the rise. As a result, sports and entertainment properties continue to actively forge agreements in the category. Following are some of […]
Tag Archives | Fanatics
Embracing Change in Collegiate Licensing
The collegiate sports market has been experiencing upheaval over the past several years, with the advent and evolution of name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities; growth in athlete transfers; coaching turnover; conference realignment; revenue sharing with athletes; and more. These trends are accompanied by broader issues impacting colleges and universities, such as falling enrollments and […]
Licensees Kick Off World Cup Season
The FIFA World Cup comes to North America, in locations across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, from June 11 through July 19, 2026. This year’s event takes place in one of the world’s biggest consumer markets and, in the case of the U.S., one of the fastest-growing markets for soccer. The competition has also expanded […]
Will Sports IPs Bet on Prediction Markets?
Prediction markets are exchange platforms that allow users to buy and sell contracts whose value is tied to the outcome of specific future events. It is essentially investing in — many observers would say betting on — whether a certain event will occur, with values based on probabilities, supply and demand, and other factors. On […]
Women’s Sports Reach New Merch Milestones
Interest in women’s sports remains strong, as does demand for merchandise tied to women’s leagues, teams, and athletes. But product supply, variety, and quality continue to lag behind the men’s game. A few key milestones in the past year have contributed toward reducing some of these deficits, however: In July, the Orlando Pride of the […]
Taking a Gamble on Licensed Casino Games
Anyone who has been to Licensing Expo in Las Vegas has likely noticed the important role licensed properties play in slot machines, with examples on display throughout the casinos. Recent announcements illustrate the importance of licensing in not only slots but all forms of casino gaming, as IPs already established in this sector expand into […]
The Fine Art of Football
Soccer clubs around the world have been creating collaborative jerseys and fanwear by pairing with nonsports properties, including an expanding range and variety of licensed IPs, from musicians to anime. Their partners also increasingly include artists, as some recent examples illustrate: In May of this year, the Frida Kahlo brand and its German agent Bavaria Media Licensing announced […]
Fashion Labels Shoot and Score with Hockey
As is true of almost all property types, sports IPs have increasingly been collaborating with designers and fashion brands. These are collections that are more fashion-forward or otherwise innovative, and typically more premium-priced, than traditional licensed fanwear ranges. Hockey—which is, in North America, currently deep in the first round of the National Hockey League (NHL) […]
Is U.S. Cricket Licensing on a Sticky Wicket?
Cricket is the second most popular sport globally, after football/soccer, with an audience of more than 2.5 billion across 180 countries. It is particularly strong in South Asia (Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Afghanistan, and especially India); Australia and New Zealand; England (the birthplace of the sport); the West Indies including Trinidad and Tobago; South […]
Two-Sport Athletic Deals
With the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Finals in progress, WWE, the wrestling entertainment brand, announced last week that it was creating an officially licensed legacy championship belt for the winning team. The belt, like those given to winners of wrestling events, highlights the Stanley Cup in the center, where the WWE logo usually resides, […]