Private Equity's New Venture: Youth Sports
a day ago
- #monetization
- #private equity
- #youth sports
- Private equity firms like Black Bear Sports Group are monetizing youth sports by banning parents from recording games and forcing them to subscribe to expensive streaming services.
- Black Bear Sports Group, backed by private equity, owns numerous hockey rinks and leagues, enforcing policies that prohibit parents from recording games unless they pay for the company's streaming service.
- Parents face threats of penalties, including blacklisting their children's teams, if they attempt to record games themselves.
- Black Bear's streaming service costs between $25 and $50 per month, with additional fees for premium features, making it more expensive than professional sports streaming services.
- The company has introduced a $50 'registration and insurance' fee per player in some leagues, adding to the already high costs of youth sports participation.
- Youth sports, particularly hockey, have become increasingly expensive, with average annual costs rising to $1,016 per child, pricing out lower-income families.
- Private equity firms are applying their typical business model to youth sports: acquiring facilities, increasing fees, and cutting costs to maximize profits, often at the expense of service quality.
- Black Bear Sports Group has expanded its control over youth hockey by owning rinks, managing leagues, and launching its own streaming service, Black Bear TV, which charges high fees for access.
- Legal actions and petitions have been launched against Black Bear and similar companies for anticompetitive practices and excessive fees.
- The commercialization of youth sports is leading to concerns about accessibility, with many families unable to afford the rising costs, turning sports into an activity primarily for the wealthy.