Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is officially closed, and the combined company, Skydance, now holds one of the deepest sports rights portfolios outside of ESPN. But did Netflix, the runner-up in the WBD bidding war, actually get the best deal?

Netflix walked away with a nearly $3 billion breakup fee and the freedom to keep cherry-picking marquee events and postseason packages.

In this highlight, AJ and Charles make the case for Skydance still being the biggest winner, explaining how pairing CBS's broadcast reach with two streaming services gives it a distribution edge matched only by ESPN.

Listen to the full episode here: https://nvgt.com/podcast?ppplayer=1e977ebc536a4f7840f232ca6e253547&ppepisode=e3d135a7572b37994c97094dd04675a9

For more insights, visit our LinkedIn page or learn more about Navigate at https://nvgt.com/.

The Lakers sold for a record $12.5 billion, 25% more than their previous record-setting sale just a year earlier. Still, the bigger story might be what's in the investor pitch deck.

In this highlight, AJ Maestas breaks down the deck's projection that the Lakers will be worth $30 billion by 2037, with an optimistic case of $62 billion. He walks through the assumptions behind those numbers, from NBA media rights doubling to a plan to reclaim 6,000 broker-held season ticket plans worth roughly $35 million a season.

AJ and Charles also discuss the Navigate franchise intelligence model that correctly projected the Lakers most recent sale price.

Listen to the full episode here: https://nvgt.com/podcast/

For more insights, visit our LinkedIn page or learn more about Navigate at https://nvgt.com/.

The Lakers just sold for a record $12.5 billion. Their new owners are already telling investors the team will be worth $30 billion by 2037.

AJ & Charles debut a new episode format: each brings one major sports business story to the table for their discussion.

AJ breaks down the Lakers' sale, the investor pitch behind the $30B target, and how Navigate's Franchise Intelligence Tool valued the team within 1% of the final price.

Charles covers Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, now officially Skydance and what it means for CBS Sports and TNT Sports. For more, you can revisit how our predictions held up from when Netflix was the buyer, in an episode we published in December of 2025.

Timestamps:

• 0:25- Story #1 - The Lakers' $30B price projection
• 12:35 - Story #2 - Paramount-WBD deal closes

For more insights, visit our LinkedIn page or learn more about Navigate at https://nvgt.com/.