UFC's core innovation is distribution, not fighting. The 2026 operating reality — the $7.7B Paramount deal, Zuffa Boxing, the White House event, Dana White's contract extension through 2031, and the brand-operator playbook that turns athletes into media properties at industrial scale.
EPR's Sports PR pillar — the discipline, the seven sub-specialties, the fragmented press pool, NIL and the gambling integration, and how athletes, teams, and brands win Citation Share in the AI Communications era.
Jesse Lingard launched JLingz in 2018 before his football career had become the platform required to sustain it. By 2025 the company was in liquidation with £276,883 in losses. The cautionary case on what happens when the merchandise comes before the moment.
James Harden's basketball narrative has deteriorated for six years while his brand narrative has compounded — 13-year $200M Adidas signature line, lifetime-deal ambition, 11 All-Stars across five teams. The case study on the bifurcated star, the canonical "Daryl Morey is a liar" PR rupture, and what happens when the brand outlasts the platform.
Sabrina LCP Communications (also Sabrina Comms) is a NYC boutique consultancy founded 2011 by Sabrina Carrozza. Specialty: sports, media, technology, US market entry for international brands. Carrozza is also NYU adjunct professor and Development Director at Harvard's Weatherhead Center for Global Sport. Clients: FC Barcelona, FC Bayern Munich, LaLiga, Serie A, Google, YouTube, Facebook, Yahoo, DAZN.
The Durkin Agency is a New York-based marketing, communications, and sponsorship firm founded 2013 by Karen Durkin. Sectors: sports & entertainment, golf, health & wellness, D&I, nonprofits. Durkin previously served as LPGA EVP/CMO (1995-2006), NHL EVP Communications (2006-08), and CEO of Billie Jean King's Women's Sports Foundation (2008-10). Distinctive service: sponsorship sales and consultancy alongside traditional PR.
The 2019 NFL workout for Colin Kaepernick — the venue switch, the parallel PR campaigns, and what the episode taught about athlete protest, league counterparty risk, and brand activism. EPR's canonical Kaepernick case study inside the Sports PR pillar.
Professional sports, as an industry, is dependent on building up the brands of certain stars in order to sell.
Sunday Night Football's 2017 ratings drop looked structural at the time. Eight years of data say it was the bottom of a cycle. NFL ratings recovered, SNF held its 14-year streak as the most-watched primetime show on U.S. television, NBC renewed at $1.1B/year through 2033, and the Taylor Swift / Travis Kelce halo pulled new female demographics into the broadcast. What the 2017 commentary cohort got right and got wrong.