Welcome to the Thursday Briefing, sports media consumers. It has been a hectic week for yours truly, working full-time, looking after my health, and trying to get a side hustle off the ground. Making it your full-time job is hard work, but someone’s got to do it, right!
Anyway, in this week’s briefing, we’ll cover the possible sale of Foxtel, everyone’s favourite rugby league subterranean mammal is back from holiday to give you his midweek scoops, and rumours about who will be the entertainment at next year’s NFL Super Bowl halftime show.
As always, sit back, relax with your favourite beverage, and enjoy the best sports media news from here and abroad.
Not for Sale
In my last column, I wrote that Tabcorp had spoken with DAZN about buying Foxtel, following an Australian Financial Review article. AFR followed up with the headline: Foxtel questions emerge just after DAZN’s 3.4bn takeover. Sadly, I couldn’t read that article because it is behind a paywall, and I already have too many subscriptions to afford another right now.
However, TV Tonight reports in a note to Foxtel staff on Monday afternoon, DAZN chief executive Shay Segev said, “DAZN is not looking to sell Foxtel. Quite the opposite, we are investing in the business and its future growth. Australia is a core market for DAZN and an important part of our long-term global strategy.” Segev added that “Foxtel is a highly profitable business, which we expect to remain profitable for years to come.”
That doesn’t sound like a company looking to sell, but it will be interesting to see what the next six months hold, and whether AFR uncovers anything further about Foxtel’s future.
Watch this space.
Moley, Moley, Moley
After taking time off after the NRL season, The Mole has returned with his mid-week scoops, and he reports the Roosters are looking to bring back grand final-winning centre Joey Manu for one season before he goes to the PNG Chiefs in 2028. It would be a good stop for Manu and the club, as they lose a wealth of experience while still trying to chase players like Herbie Farnworth to strengthen their backline.
Another interesting takeaway from Moley’s Midweek Scoops is that the son of former Knights player and Sharks coach John Morris has signed with the Rabbitohs. I watched Morris in my late teens/early 20s, so it makes me feel old as hell to know his son is coming through the ranks. Thanks for making a guy feel old, Moley!
Whether you like him or you don’t, The Mole gets the scoops!
From a concrete Jungle to a stadium in Inglewood
US entertainment website Puck reports that Jay-Z will headline the 2027 Super Bowl halftime show, according to multiple sources. A quick history lesson: In 2019, Jay-Z and Roc Nation signed a $5 million-a-year deal to curate and produce the halftime show. The deal was renewed in 2024 for another five years. The NFL hired Jay-Z ‘to make halftime cool and build goodwill with fans who were turned off by the P.R. spasms of the Colin Kaepernick era,’ Puck reporter Dave Brooks writes.
The halftime show caused quite a stir at this year’s game, when Bad Bunny performed in Spanish, with Kid Rock putting on a halftime show to compete with the NFL’s. Kid Rock was so outspoken about the whole thing; he even called Jay-Z a ‘DEI Hire’ despite ‘Hova’ being one of the best hip-hop artists in the world.
Even with names like Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus thrown around for the halftime show, Jay-Z would be an interesting choice, especially after the backlash Bad Bunny faced this year, with some critics determined to undermine his performance despite Spotify naming him the most-streamed artist of 2025, with 19.8 billion streams. If the reports are true, Jay-Z isn’t just putting his hand up to perform at the Super Bowl – he’s putting his name on the direction the halftime show is heading. After the reaction to Bad Bunny’s performance, he could have chosen another artist to take centre stage. Instead, the reports suggest he’s prepared to step into the spotlight himself. To me, that’s a show of confidence in the direction Roc Nation has taken the halftime show, rather than a retreat in the face of criticism.
That ends this edition of the Thursday Briefing. Thank you for taking the time to read. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me anytime in the comment section here, or at josh@justmerce.com.
Until next time, take care!
Merce
