Sphere Entertainment Co. (Sphere Entertainment) operates as a premier live entertainment and media company.
Segments
The company operates through two segments: Sphere and MSG Networks.
Sphere is a next-generation entertainment medium, and MSG Networks operates two regional sports and entertainment networks, as well as a direct-to-consumer (DTC) and authenticated streaming product.
Sphere
This segment reflects Sphere, a next-generation entertainment medium powered by cutting-edge technologie...
Sphere Entertainment Co. (Sphere Entertainment) operates as a premier live entertainment and media company.
Segments
The company operates through two segments: Sphere and MSG Networks.
Sphere is a next-generation entertainment medium, and MSG Networks operates two regional sports and entertainment networks, as well as a direct-to-consumer (DTC) and authenticated streaming product.
Sphere
This segment reflects Sphere, a next-generation entertainment medium powered by cutting-edge technologies to create multi-sensory experiences at an unparalleled scale. The company’s first Sphere opened in Las Vegas on September 29, 2023. The venue can accommodate up to 20,000 guests and can host a wide variety of events year-round, including The Sphere Experience, which features original immersive productions, as well as concerts and residencies from renowned artists, and marquee sports and corporate events. Production efforts are supported by Sphere Studios, an immersive content studio dedicated to creating multi-sensory entertainment experiences exclusively for Sphere. Sphere Studios is home to a team of creative, production, technology, and software experts who provide full in-house creative and production services. The studio campus in Burbank includes a 68,000-square-foot development facility, as well as Big Dome, a 28,000-square-foot, 100-foot-high custom dome, with a quarter-sized version of the interior display plane at Sphere in Las Vegas, that serves as a specialized screening, production facility, and lab for content at Sphere. The entire exterior surface of Sphere, referred to as the Exosphere, is covered with nearly 580,000 square feet of fully programmable LED paneling, creating the largest LED screen in the world and an impactful display for artists, brands, and partners. In October 2024, the company and the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) announced that they will work together to bring the world’s second Sphere to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
MSG Networks
This segment comprises the company’s regional sports and entertainment networks, MSG Network and MSG Sportsnet, as well as its DTC and authenticated streaming offering, MSG+ (which is now included in the Gotham Sports streaming product). MSG Networks serves the New York designated market area, as well as other portions of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania; and features a wide range of sports content, including exclusive live local games and other programming of the New York Knicks (the Knicks) of the National Basketball Association (the NBA) and the New York Rangers (the Rangers), New York Islanders (the Islanders), New Jersey Devils (the Devils) and Buffalo Sabres (the Sabres) of the National Hockey League (the NHL), as well as significant coverage of the New York Giants (the Giants) and the Buffalo Bills (the Bills) of the National Football League (the NFL).
Strategy
The company’s strategy is to leverage its unique assets and brands – which include a next-generation entertainment medium, Sphere, and regional sports and entertainment networks – to create experiences for all key stakeholders, including artists, athletes, creatives, guests, viewers, advertisers, and marketing partners. Key components of the company’s strategy include a next-generation entertainment medium; leveraging Sphere’s unique capabilities to drive venue utilization; developing original content; venue of choice for third-party events; unique platform for advertising and sponsorship; pursuing a global network and brand; and a continued commitment to innovation in media.
Substantially all revenues and assets of the company’s reportable segments are attributed to or located in the United States. A majority of the company’s revenues and assets are concentrated in the New York City metropolitan area and Las Vegas.
Business
Sphere
Sphere is a next-generation entertainment medium powered by cutting-edge technologies uniquely built for immersive entertainment experiences. The first Sphere venue opened in Las Vegas in September 2023. Key design features include:
A 580,000 square foot, fully-programmable LED Exosphere – the world’s largest LED screen, which consists of approximately 1.2 million LED pucks, spaced eight inches apart. Each puck contains 48 individual LED diodes, with each diode capable of displaying more than 1 billion different colors.
The main venue bowl featuring a 16K x 16K LED screen – a 160,000-square foot high-resolution interior display plane that surrounds the audience, creating a fully immersive visual environment.
Sphere Immersive Sound, powered by HOLOPLOT – an advanced audio system that delivers crystal-clear, concert-grade sound to every seat in Sphere through beamforming and wave field synthesis technology.
4D multi-sensory technologies – which enable guests to feel experiences, such as vibrations, wind, scent and changing temperatures to enhance storytelling.
Sphere in Las Vegas is a 17,600-seat venue with capacity to hold up to 20,000 guests located on land adjacent to The Venetian Resort leased from Venetian Venue Propco, LLC (The Venetian).
Events
The Sphere Experience. A core content category at Sphere in Las Vegas is The Sphere Experience, which takes full advantage of Sphere’s experiential, next-generation technologies to transport audiences and engage the senses. The Sphere Experience can run multiple times a day, year-round and begins when guests enter the venue’s Atrium, where they can engage with the latest in technological advancements through a variety of immersive experiences.
The experience then continues to the main venue bowl to view an original immersive production. The company has two productions being shown. The first is Postcard from Earth, directed by Academy Award nominee, Darren Aronofsky.
Live Entertainment: The company has deep industry relationships that can drive the world’s biggest artists to Sphere in Las Vegas. Global rock band U2 opened Sphere in Las Vegas on September 29, 2023, and performed 40 shows through March 2024. After U2, Phish performed 4 shows, and Dead & Company completed a 30-show residency at Sphere that concluded in August 2024. In September 2024, the Eagles started a multi-month residency at Sphere, and in late December 2024 into early January 2025, EDM artist Anyma had a multi-show performance, with additional shows subsequently added in late February 2025 and early March 2025. Dead & Company is scheduled to perform 18 shows between March and May 2025, followed by Kenny Chesney and Backstreet Boys, who will both have multi-show runs in the Spring and Summer of 2025.
Marquee Sporting and Corporate Events: Sphere has hosted a broad array of live events, including the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, the 2024 NHL Draft, and bespoke corporate events. In September 2024, Sphere hosted UFC for the first-ever live sports event at Sphere. UFC 306 held on September 14, 2024, at Sphere in Las Vegas set a number of records, including highest-grossing UFC event of all time and highest-grossing single event at Sphere to-date.
Advertising, Sponsorship, and Premium Hospitality Partner Offerings
Sphere in Las Vegas can deliver significant exposure not only to the guests that attend events at the venue and the more than 40 million annual visitors to Las Vegas, and the over 2 million local residents, but also around the world on social media. Sphere offers bespoke advertising and sponsorship opportunities, including externally with the Exosphere and internally with immersive galleries, interactive installations, the Atrium, and suites.
Sphere also offers premium hospitality products that include 23 suites that are available for annual and multi-year license or single-event use, as well as additional hospitality spaces.
MSG Networks
MSG Networks is an industry leader in sports production, content development and distribution. It includes two award-winning regional sports and entertainment networks, MSG Network and MSG Sportsnet, as well as its DTC authenticated streaming product, MSG+ (which is now included in the Gotham Sports streaming product).
Debuting as the first regional sports network in the country on October 15, 1969, MSG Networks has been a pioneer in regional sports programming for more than 50 years, setting a standard of excellence, creativity and technological innovation. Today, MSG Networks’ exclusive, award-winning programming continues to be a valuable differentiator for viewers, advertisers and the cable, satellite, fiber-optic and other platforms (Distributors) that distribute its networks. MSG Network and MSG Sportsnet are distributed throughout all of New York State and significant portions of New Jersey and Connecticut, as well as parts of Pennsylvania, and are also carried nationally by certain Distributors on sports tiers or in similar packages.
In June 2023, MSG Networks introduced MSG+, a DTC and authenticated streaming product (replacing MSG GO), which allows subscribers to access MSG Network and MSG Sportsnet and on demand content across devices. MSG+ is available on a free, authenticated basis to subscribers of participating Distributors (including all of MSG Networks’ major Distributors), as well as for purchase by viewers on a DTC basis. In addition to monthly and annual DTC subscription options, MSG+ also offers single game purchases of MSG Networks’ NBA and NHL game telecasts.
MSG Network and MSG Sportsnet had an average combined reach of approximately 3.4 million viewing subscribers (as of December 2024, the most recent available monthly information) in its Regional Territory, inclusive of annual and monthly subscribers to MSG+.
Throughout its history, MSG Networks has been at the forefront of the industry, pushing the boundaries of regional sports coverage. In the process, its networks have become a powerful platform for some of the world's greatest athletes and entertainers. MSG Networks' commitment to programming excellence has earned it a reputation for best-in-class programming, production, marketing, and technical innovation. It has won more New York Emmy Awards for live sports and original programming over the past 10 years than any other regional sports network in the region.
The foundation of MSG Networks’ programming is its professional sports coverage. MSG Network and MSG Sportsnet feature a wide range of compelling sports content, including exclusive live local games and other programming of the Knicks, Rangers, Islanders, Devils and Sabres, as well as significant coverage of the NFL’s Giants and Bills. MSG Networks also showcases a wide array of other sports and entertainment programming, which includes Westchester Knicks basketball, NY/NJ Gotham FC of the National Women’s Soccer League, the New York Sirens of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), college sporting events, as well as horse racing, soccer, poker, tennis, pickleball and boxing programs.
MSG Network and MSG Sportsnet collectively air hundreds of live professional games each year, along with a comprehensive lineup of other sporting events and original programming designed to give fans behind-the-scenes access and insight into the teams and players they love. This content includes pre- and post-game coverage throughout the seasons, along with team-related programming that features coaches and players, all of which capitalizes on the enthusiasm for the teams featured on MSG Network and MSG Sportsnet.
MSG Networks is also positioned as a premium destination for sports gaming content. MSG Networks produces original sports betting shows and segments featuring a mix of sports gaming experts and former New York athletes covering betting-related topics across the sports world.
In January 2024 MSG Networks and YES announced the formation of GAME, a 50/50 joint venture aimed at capitalizing on technical and operational synergies associated with MSG Networks’ and YES’ streaming services. GAME combines the streaming expertise of two of the largest regional sports networks in the country, and seeks to combine the collective insight, expertise and best-in-class technology not only to enhance MSG Networks’ and YES’ streaming products, but also to offer other networks, teams and sports properties an efficient way to launch a state-of-the-art streaming service. In October 2024, through the GAME joint venture, The Gotham Sports App was launched, which houses both MSG+ and the YES App.
Intellectual Property
The company has filed and continues to file for patent protection in the countries where it operates or plans to operate, and it has been issued patents for key elements of Sphere. The company’s registrations and applications relate to trademarks and inventions associated with, among other of its brands, Sphere, The Sphere Experience, Exosphere, Sphere Studios, Sphere Immersive Sound, and MSG Networks. The company’s ability to maintain and monetize its intellectual property rights, including the technology and content developed for Sphere, The Sphere Experience, MSG Networks (including its DTC and authenticated streaming product, MSG+, which is now included in the Gotham Sports streaming product), and its brand logos, are important to its business, brand-building efforts, and the marketing of its products and services.
Other Investments
The company explores investment opportunities that strengthen its existing position within the entertainment landscape and/or allow the company to exploit its assets and core competencies for growth.
On April 25, 2024, in connection with the company’s strategy to expand its capabilities and enable further innovation across immersive experiences and 3D audio technology, the company entered into a share purchase and transfer agreement to acquire the remaining equity interest in Holoplot not previously owned by the company. Following the acquisition on April 25, 2024, Holoplot is now a consolidated subsidiary of the company.
Community
Following Sphere’s opening in fall 2023, the company launched a partnership with the Clark County School District (“CCSD”) that has so far brought more than 5,600 public school students to the venue for showings of The Sphere Experience. In 2024, Sphere launched the inaugural XO Student Design Challenge, an annual community collaboration between Sphere, CCSD, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (“UNLV”). The Student Design Challenge invited more than 100,000 Clark County, Nevada-based students – from elementary school to graduate school – to create art for the Exosphere, Sphere’s LED exterior, with eight students winning the opportunity to have their artwork displayed on the Exosphere.
Regulation
The company is subject to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (and related state and local statutes), which requires the company to maintain certain accessibility features at its facilities. The company is also subject to environmental laws and regulations.
The company is subject to laws and regulations relating to, among other things, foreign privacy and data protection, such as the E.U. General Data Protection Regulation, currency and repatriation of funds, anti-money laundering, anti-bribery and anti-corruption, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Bribery Act, export controls and sanctions. These laws and regulations apply to the activities of the company, and in some cases, to individual directors, officers and employees of the company and agents acting on the company’s behalf.
The company's MSG Networks business is also subject to regulation by the Federal Communications Commission (the 'FCC'). The FCC imposes regulations directly on programming networks and also on certain Distributors in a manner that affects programming networks indirectly.
Under FCC rules, the company’s programming networks, websites and mobile applications must meet certain requirements for access by persons with disabilities.
History
The company was founded in 2006. It was incorporated in 2019. The company was formerly known as Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. and changed its name to Sphere Entertainment Co. in 2023.