Cuộc họp công bố kết quả kinh doanh quý 4 năm tài chính 2026 của MSG Sports (MSGS): Chức vô địch của Knicks thúc đẩy doanh thu

Tóm tắt chính

• MSG Sports đạt doanh thu 1,15 tỷ USD và thu nhập hoạt động điều chỉnh (AOI) là 58,7 triệu USD trong năm tài chính 2026.
• Doanh thu quý 4 tài chính tăng lên 278,7 triệu USD từ mức 204,0 triệu USD. AOI cải thiện lên 39,6 triệu USD so với lỗ hoạt động điều chỉnh 16,8 triệu USD.
• Doanh thu liên quan đến sự kiện tăng 43% so với cùng kỳ năm ngoái lên 200,7 triệu USD, trong khi doanh thu từ phòng VIP, tài trợ và biển quảng cáo tăng 23% lên 39,1 triệu USD.
• Knicks mang về 182,0 triệu USD doanh thu liên quan đến vòng playoff trong quý 4, so với 115,2 triệu USD của cùng kỳ năm trước, dù cả hai giai đoạn đều tổ chức 9 trận playoff trên sân nhà.
• MSG Sports dự kiến hoàn tất thương vụ tách công ty đối với Rangers vào cuối tháng 10, tùy thuộc vào các điều kiện bao gồm sự phê duyệt của Hội đồng quản trị.
• Ban lãnh đạo dự kiến doanh thu năm tài chính 2027 sẽ tăng trưởng ở tất cả các danh mục kinh doanh, cùng với chi phí thù lao cho đội bóng, thuế xa xỉ và chi phí chia sẻ doanh thu cao hơn.

Dữ liệu tài chính chính

Trong cả năm tài chính 2026, MSG Sports ghi nhận doanh thu 1,15 tỷ USD và AOI đạt 58,7 triệu USD. Vào cuối quý, tiền mặt đạt khoảng 164,5 triệu USD và tổng nợ là 258,5 triệu USD, bao gồm 242,0 triệu USD thuộc khoản tín dụng quay vòng có đảm bảo cấp cao của Knicks và 16,5 triệu USD do NHL ứng trước.

Hiệu quả kinh doanh và hoạt động

Hành trình vô địch NBA của Knicks là động lực tăng trưởng chính trong quý 4. Giá vé playoff có mức chênh lệch tăng dần theo từng vòng, và đội bóng đã nhiều lần phá kỷ lục NBA về doanh thu bán vé mỗi trận. Chi tiêu cho đồ ăn, thức uống và hàng hóa lưu niệm trên mỗi khán giả cũng tăng tốc trong loạt trận chung kết.

Nhu cầu hàng hóa lưu niệm tiếp tục duy trì mạnh mẽ sau chức vô địch. Knicks ghi nhận doanh số hàng hóa lưu niệm trong một ngày cao nhất lịch sử trong 24 giờ đầu tiên sau khi đăng quang. Trong suốt năm tài chính 2026, chi tiêu cho hàng hóa lưu niệm và đồ ăn thức uống tại nhà thi đấu trên mỗi khán giả đều tăng so với cùng kỳ năm ngoái.

Knicks và Rangers đã thu hút thêm hơn 2,2 triệu người theo dõi mới ròng trên mạng xã hội trong năm, nâng tổng số người theo dõi kết hợp của hai đội lên gần 22 triệu vào cuối tháng 6.

Ban lãnh đạo dự kiến tỷ lệ gia hạn vé mùa kết hợp sẽ tiếp tục duy trì trên 90%. MSG Sports đã tăng giá vé mùa của Knicks nhưng giữ nguyên giá vé của Rangers sau khi đội khúc côn cầu này không lọt vào vòng playoff.

Doanh thu tài trợ đã tăng hơn gấp đôi so với cùng kỳ năm ngoái trong giai đoạn hậu mùa giải. Công ty đã ký kết các thỏa thuận hợp tác nhiều năm mới với PwC và Polymarket, đồng thời gia hạn các thỏa thuận nhiều năm với Lexus, Anheuser-Busch và Infosys. Ban lãnh đạo cho biết chức vô địch sẽ hỗ trợ thúc đẩy thêm doanh số tài trợ trong năm tài chính 2027.

Việc cải tạo bổ sung các phòng VIP đang được tiến hành tại The Garden và dự kiến sẽ tạo ra doanh thu gia tăng trong năm tài chính 2027. Knicks sẽ bắt đầu mùa giải tới bằng lễ kéo cờ mừng chức vô địch, trong khi các sự kiện kỷ niệm 100 năm của Rangers sẽ khép lại bằng trận đấu vào tháng 11 với Montreal Canadiens.

Triển vọng của ban lãnh đạo

Ban lãnh đạo dự kiến doanh thu năm tài chính 2027 sẽ tăng trưởng ở tất cả các danh mục kinh doanh, nhờ đà tăng trưởng của bán vé, tài trợ, phòng VIP, đồ ăn thức uống và hàng hóa lưu niệm. Công ty không cung cấp dự báo cụ thể về doanh thu hoặc AOI.

Kết quả năm tài chính 2027 cũng dự kiến sẽ phản ánh chi phí thù lao cho đội bóng, thuế xa xỉ của NBA và chi phí chia sẻ doanh thu cao hơn. Mức trần lương của NBA đã tăng thêm 10,4 triệu USD cho mùa giải 2026-27, trong khi mức trần lương của NHL tăng thêm 8,5 triệu USD.

Thỏa thuận thương lượng tập thể mới của NHL dự kiến sẽ làm tăng chi phí chia sẻ doanh thu của Rangers. Thỏa thuận này cũng sẽ giúp Rangers có thêm một trận đấu trên sân nhà ở mùa giải chính và bớt đi một trận trên sân nhà ở giai đoạn tiền mùa giải trong năm tài chính 2027.

Thỏa thuận bản quyền truyền thông Canada thời hạn 12 năm mới của NHL với Rogers Communications sẽ bắt đầu vào mùa giải tới. Ban lãnh đạo kỳ vọng phần phí bản quyền truyền thông đó của MSG Sports sẽ tăng lên.

Rủi ro và các yếu tố cần theo dõi

Kế hoạch tách Rangers vẫn phụ thuộc vào các điều kiện, bao gồm sự phê duyệt của Hội đồng quản trị. MSG Sports dự kiến sẽ nộp công khai bản đăng ký Mẫu 10 cập nhật và hiện đặt mục tiêu hoàn tất vào cuối tháng 10.

Các thay đổi về luật thuế sẽ có hiệu lực từ năm tài chính kết thúc vào ngày 30 tháng 6 năm 2028. Không tính đến kế hoạch tách công ty, ban lãnh đạo hiện ước tính chi phí thuế thu nhập bổ sung khoảng 16 triệu USD trong năm tài chính 2028. Nếu thương vụ tách công ty hoàn tất, tổng chi phí thuế của cả hai công ty sẽ cao hơn, với tác động cuối cùng phụ thuộc phần lớn vào quỹ lương của các đội tại thời điểm đó.

Mức tăng chi phí trong năm tài chính 2027 có thể bù trừ một phần mức tăng doanh thu dự kiến. Ban lãnh đạo chỉ ra cụ thể thù lao cho đội bóng, thuế xa xỉ và chia sẻ doanh thu là những lĩnh vực có chi phí cao hơn.

Các thỏa thuận bản quyền truyền thông địa phương với MSG Networks kéo dài đến hết mùa giải 2028-29. Doanh thu bản quyền truyền thông quý 4 gần như đi ngang do hiệu quả kinh tế từ phát sóng truyền hình địa phương thấp hơn và số lượng trận đấu phát sóng độc quyền trên MSG Networks ít hơn được bù trừ bởi phí bản quyền truyền thông quốc gia cao hơn từ NBA.

Điểm nhấn phần Hỏi & Đáp với các chuyên gia phân tích

Việc tách Rangers và bán cổ phần thiểu số: Ban lãnh đạo cho biết việc tách Rangers và Knicks sẽ giúp các nhà đầu tư đánh giá từng mảng kinh doanh rõ ràng hơn, đồng thời mang lại sự linh hoạt chiến lược và tài chính cao hơn. Công ty không loại trừ khả năng bán cổ phần thiểu số trong tương lai nhưng hiện chưa có thông tin cập nhật.

Hiệu quả kinh tế từ chức vô địch: Knicks đã mang về 182,0 triệu USD doanh thu liên quan đến playoff trong quý 4, so với 115,2 triệu USD của quý cùng kỳ năm trước. Cả hai giai đoạn đều bao gồm 9 trận playoff trên sân nhà, làm nổi bật lợi ích của việc tiến vào và giành chức vô địch NBA Finals.

Triển vọng tài trợ: Ban lãnh đạo cho biết chức vô địch đã củng cố mối quan hệ với các đối tác và gia tăng giá trị đề xuất cho các thỏa thuận trong tương lai. Công ty kỳ vọng nhận được cả lợi ích duy trì từ các hợp đồng năm tài chính 2026 lẫn những cơ hội tài trợ bổ sung trong năm tài chính 2027.

Phân phối truyền thông địa phương: MSG Sports cho biết MSG Networks vẫn là một đối tác quan trọng để tiếp cận người hâm mộ địa phương và bày tỏ sự ủng hộ đối với các sáng kiến phân phối của đơn vị này, bao gồm quan hệ đối tác với DAZN. Ban lãnh đạo không đưa ra suy đoán về các mô hình phân phối cấp giải đấu có thể có trong tương lai.

Mở rộng giải đấu: Nếu việc mở rộng giải đấu NBA hoặc NHL diễn ra, ban lãnh đạo cho biết phí mở rộng sẽ được chia cho các đội hiện có. Các khoản phân bổ sau đó từ giải đấu, bao gồm doanh thu bản quyền truyền thông quốc gia, sẽ được chia cho số lượng đội bóng đã mở rộng.

Toàn văn cuộc họp công bố kết quả kinh doanh

Toàn văn cuộc gọi công bố kết quả kinh doanh

Phần trình bày của ban lãnh đạo

Operator

Good morning. Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. Fiscal 2026 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions]

I would now like to turn the call over to Ari Danes, Investor Relations. Ari, please go ahead.

Ari Danes

Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to MSG Sports Fiscal 2026 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Earnings Conference Call. Our Chief Operating Officer, Jamaal Lesane, will begin this morning's call with a discussion on the company's strategy and operations as well as an update on the company's proposed spin-off of its Rangers business. This will be followed by a review of our financial results with Paul DiCicco, our EVP, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. After our prepared remarks, we will open up the call for questions. If you do not have a copy of today's earnings release, it is available in the Investors section of our corporate website.

Please take note of the following. Today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Please refer to the company's filings with the SEC for a discussion of risks and uncertainties. The company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements that may be discussed during this call. On Pages 4 and 5 of today's earnings release, we provide consolidated statements of operations and a reconciliation of operating income to adjusted operating income, or AOI, a non-GAAP financial measure.

And with that, I'll now turn the call over to Jamaal.

Jamaal Lesane

Thank you, Ari, and good morning, everyone. I am pleased to be here with you all today following a fiscal year that culminated with the Knicks winning an NBA championship. Before I dive further into the Knicks season, I would like to take a moment to discuss an important plan that we announced since we last spoke in February, potential spin-off of our Rangers business from our Knicks business. This transaction would create 2 distinct publicly traded companies, enabling shareholders to more clearly evaluate each company's assets and growth prospects. It would also provide both with enhanced strategic and financial flexibility.

In May, we confidentially filed a Form 10 registration statement with the SEC regarding the proposed spin-off. We anticipate publicly filing an updated Form 10 registration statement this week and currently expect to complete the spin-off by the end of October, subject to various conditions, including Board approval. We will continue to keep you updated on our progress.

Now let's discuss our operations in more detail. For fiscal '26, MSG Sports generated full year revenues of approximately $1.2 billion and adjusted operating income of nearly $59 million. These results reflect robust consumer and corporate demand throughout the regular season and, of course, the impact of the Knicks Championship run. The Knicks' playoff run took over New York City from electric crowds in-arena for home games to watch parties at various locations throughout the city to unique activations from our marketing partners, all culminating with the championship parade attended by millions of fans. With this unprecedented momentum, we achieved a number of operational milestones during the postseason.

To share a few highlights, on the ticketing front, the Knicks set new league-wide records with the highest per game gate revenues in NBA history on multiple occasions during the playoffs. With respect to merchandise, within the first 24 hours of clinching the NBA title, the Knicks generated its highest ever single day of merchandise sales with this robust demand continuing in the weeks that have followed. And we added over 2.2 million net new social media followers this past year, bringing the Knicks and Rangers combined following to nearly 22 million by the end of June. And this interest wasn't just limited to New York. Nationwide, the championship series became the most-watched NBA finals in 28 years. While fan enthusiasm reached new highs during the playoffs, the demand for both the Knicks and Rangers was evident throughout the regular seasons, which we expect to carry forward in fiscal '27.

In terms of ticketing, we saw higher per game revenue year-over-year during the 2025-'26 regular seasons. Looking ahead to the upcoming season, we are off to a strong start with season ticket renewals, and we expect our combined season ticket renewal rate to once again reach levels above 90%. I would note that consistent with our past practice, we made the decision to not raise season ticket prices for the Rangers as the team did not qualify for the playoffs, but we did raise season ticket prices for the Knicks. This past fiscal year, we also celebrated the Rangers Centennial season, which will culminate with the Rangers' 100th anniversary Capstone Game at The Garden in November against the Montreal Canadians. That game will also mark the 100th anniversary of the date of the Rangers first-ever game also against the Montreal franchise.

In addition, we continued unique merchandise collaborations with brands such as Kith and New York or Nowhere for both the Knicks and Rangers. These initiatives helped drive robust year-over-year growth in merchandise per cap spending at the arena for fiscal '26 as compared to the prior year. We also saw fan enthusiasm throughout the fiscal year translate into higher food and beverage per cap spending year-over-year at the arena. In terms of marketing partnerships, fiscal '26 was highlighted by a number of significant new sales and renewals. We signed new multiyear partnerships with PwC and Polymarket and reached multiyear renewals with Lexus, Anheuser-Busch and Infosys. And in our premium hospitality business, we also saw strong new sales and renewal activity for suites at The Garden, which included a number of Lexus level suites that were renovated at the start of the fiscal year.

Building on this successful initiative, several more suites are in the process of being renovated, which we expect to drive incremental revenue for our business in fiscal '27. As we look ahead to the upcoming seasons, the Rangers have had a productive summer, including acquiring forward Pavel Dorofeyev and defensemen Marcus Petterson and Sean Durzi. We look forward to the Rangers 2026-'27 regular season campaign getting underway this fall. And the Knicks will begin with the special banner raising celebration in October to tip off the season as defending champions.

So in summary, we are proud to have seen the Knicks deliver this year's championship for our fans, partners, employees and shareholders. And as we pursue a spin-off of our Rangers business, we remain confident in our ability to drive long-term shareholder value. I'd now like to introduce Paul DiCicco, our new EVP, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Paul is a seasoned executive with 30 years of experience in a range of global finance roles. His proven track record of strategic financial leadership is an asset to our company, and we are pleased to have him on board.

With that, I'll now turn the call over to Paul.

Paul DiCicco

Thank you, Jamaal, and good morning, everyone. I'm pleased to join you here today in my new role at MSG Sports during such an exciting time for the company.

For fiscal '26, we generated total revenues of $1.15 billion and adjusted operating income of $58.7 million. Results for the fiscal fourth quarter reflect the same number of regular season and playoff home games as compared to the prior year period. That includes the completion of the '25/'26 regular season, followed by the Knicks playoff run to the finals, which compared to reaching the Eastern conference finals in fiscal '25. For the fiscal '26 fourth quarter, total revenues were $278.7 million as compared to $204 million in the prior year period. Event-related revenues of $200.7 million, which mainly consists of ticket, food, beverage and merchandise revenues, inclusive of playoffs, increased 43% year-over-year. Suites, sponsorship and signage revenues, also inclusive of the playoffs, were $39.1 million, an increase of 23% year-over-year. National and local media rights fees of $27.7 million were essentially unchanged year-over-year. This primarily reflected our amended local telecast rights agreement with MSG Networks as well as a decrease in the number of games exclusively available to MSG Networks during the current year as compared to the prior year.

These decreases were offset by higher national media rights fees due to the NBA's new national media rights deals. Adjusted operating income was $39.6 million as compared to adjusted operating loss of $16.8 million in the prior year quarter, which reflected the increases in revenues, partially offset by higher SG&A and direct operating expenses. The increase in costs primarily reflects higher playoff-related expenses. I would note that SG&A also reflects, to a lesser extent, $2.9 million in expenses related to the proposed spin-off transaction. This overall increase in cost was partially offset by a decrease in net provisions for certain team personnel transactions recognized in the prior year quarter.

As we look ahead, we believe our business is poised to deliver revenue growth across all [ intermediate ] categories in fiscal '27. In addition, we expect our results to also reflect our continued investment in our teams as well as higher revenue sharing expense. I'd also add the NHL's new collective bargaining agreement takes effect in the 2026, '27 season. As a result, we will have one more regular season home game and one fewer preseason home game for the Rangers in fiscal '27.

Turning to our balance sheet. At the end of the quarter, our cash balance was approximately $164.5 million, and our debt balance was $258.5 million. This was comprised of $242 million under the Knicks senior secured revolving credit facility and $16.5 million advanced from the NHL. So in summary, we remain pleased with the demand we are seeing for our teams as we also pursue the potential separation of our businesses, which we are confident will position us well to drive long-term value for our shareholders.

I will now turn the call back over to Ari.

Ari Danes

Operator, can we now open up the call for questions?

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from the line of David Karnovsky with JPMorgan.

Phần hỏi đáp

David Karnovsky

I would be the first to say congrats on the Knicks championship. So regarding the New York Rangers spin-off, can you speak a bit more to the rationale here? And should investors read this as a willingness to sell minority stakes in the teams? And then relatedly, with the pending tax law change, why enter the spin if it now creates a tax challenge across 2 public companies?

Jamaal Lesane

David, thank you for those congratulations. With respect to your first question, we believe that our proposed spin-off, as I mentioned earlier, would enable shareholders to more clearly evaluate each company's assets and growth prospects. As it relates to a minority stake sale or the potential for minority stake in either team, our position hasn't changed from what we've articulated on previous calls. We continue to be confident in the value of our teams. We're as confident as ever in that respect. And there continue to be reported transactions in the marketplace that demonstrate that value and scarcity of these assets. And so as I said before, we would never rule out the possibility of a minority stake sale, but we don't have anything further to report at this time in that regard. The takeaway here, David, is that this transaction will provide both companies with enhanced strategic and financial flexibility.

Paul DiCicco

I'll take the second part of your question. As we discussed earlier just now, we believe the proposed spin will create long-term value for our shareholders. And we're certainly mindful of the implications that the tax laws would have at each company after the separation. But that being said, as Jamaal just said, the proposed spin-off does create -- provides both companies with strategic and financial flexibility, such as enhancing each company's ability to access funding for liquidity, particularly as we take into account the implications for our business from these tax law changes.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Cameron Mansson-Perrone with Morgan Stanley.

Cameron Mansson-Perrone

Two, if I could. First, on local media rights, there's a range of evolving approaches across leagues and teams right now between traditional RSN distribution, full DTC as we're seeing with the Braves, leagues trying to centrally manage and package rights. Jamaal, what's your latest thinking about those various options and what makes sense from your perspective for the MSGS teams over time? And are there any league-specific factors we should consider that might make the approach different for the Knicks relative to the Rangers? Or are you thinking about both teams and local rights in a similar -- or from a similar lens? And then I have a follow-up.

Jamaal Lesane

Sure. Thanks for that, Cameron, and great to meet you. As you mentioned, there's a lot going on. But with respect to the Knicks and the Rangers local distribution, we have a great partner in MSG Networks. And our agreements with them run through the '28, '29 seasons. And one of the things that makes them a great partner is that they help us stay connected with our local fans, which is of paramount importance to us.

We're also supportive of what they've been doing on the distribution front, including their new partnership with DAZN, which is a premier streaming platform. And with that, we're not going to speculate on league plans. We believe in the value of local media coverage. We believe in the value of content that's tailored for local markets. And as such, we remain confident in our position as a rights holder for these 2 marquee sports franchises.

Cameron Mansson-Perrone

Great. I appreciate that. Follow-up was just on the question about the future potential tax obligations. Any help quantifying that incremental tax impact for each team when those changes take effect, I guess, assuming current payrolls remain unchanged at each team?

Paul DiCicco

Sure, Cameron. I'll take that one. It's nice to meet you as well. We continue to assess the impact of these tax law changes on our business. But just a quick reminder, these become effective for our fiscal year-end June 30, 2028. So with that in mind, excluding the impact of the proposed spin-off, we currently estimate these changes result in approximately $16 million in additional income tax expense for that fiscal year, that's fiscal year '28. If the proposed spin-off is completed, the combined income tax expense across the 2 companies will certainly be higher. I do think it's important to note, though, as you kind of alluded to, the final impact will largely depend on the team at that point in time.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of David Joyce with Seaport Research Partners.

David Joyce

Well, that was an exciting quarter. Can you help us understand some more of the financial impacts on the revenues, expenses and AOI from that championship run? And subsequent to the win, there was talk about not encroaching the next apron. So could you please also give us some operating expense outlook for the next fiscal year, including on the player comp?

Paul DiCicco

Sure, David. I'll take those questions and work through those for you. The championship run resulted in a significant incremental business for our company as evidenced in our results today.

To give a little bit more context, I'll touch on a few areas, and I'll start with tickets. Playoff tickets are priced at a premium to the regular season games with increases each round. As Jamaal noted earlier, the Knicks set new NBA records for the per game gate revenues. Our per cap spending on F&B and merchandise during the playoffs is typically higher than regular season averages, but we noted it was a notable acceleration during the championship series. Now what was interesting is we hosted 9 playoff games in this past quarter at The Garden, which is the same number of games as the prior year when the Knicks advanced to the Eastern conference files. And just to compare those results, related playoff revenues for the year's fourth quarter were $182 million as compared to $115.2 million in the prior year period. That's roughly $20.2 million in average per game revenues, including the benefits of robust nongame day merchandise sales.

On the flip side, right, there are additional costs in connection with being in the playoffs. We saw approximately $11 million, $1.2 million on average per game related to direct operating expense as well as marketing and administrative costs. One quick point I want to make. I won't get into all the specifics, but I note that last quarter, there were increased expenses for playoffs associated with making the finals and winning the championship. Just to close out on the thread of where we think about that goes, we expect the increased enthusiasm from our fans and partners to create tailwinds across every aspect of our business for fiscal '27, like tickets, sponsorship, suites, as well as food and beverage and merchandise sales.

The focus on the second part of your question really around operating expenses, I'm not going to provide specific guidance. But I will -- we do expect our results for '27 to reflect higher team compensation and luxury tax. As you know, the NBA salary cap increased $10.4 million for the '26, '27 season, while the NHL cap increased $8.5 million. And in addition to that, the NBA luxury tax threshold for '26, '27 season increased $12.5 million to approximately $200 million to $244 million. It's important reminder that this is measured based on the roster at the end of the season. The other area I mentioned earlier, we also anticipate increased revenue share expense in fiscal '27, really twofold really. One is this reflects our current expectations for ongoing revenue growth, excluding the impact of playoffs. In addition will be due to the impact of the new NHL CBA that goes into effect for the upcoming season. That new CBA slightly changed the calculation for rev share and is expected to result in higher revenue sharing expense for the Rangers.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Joe Stauff with Susquehanna.

Joseph Stauff

I just wanted to maybe follow up on David's previous question, a little bit more detail. Can I ask on the sponsorship outlook this coming season, what it looks like, especially considering the Knicks win and what that does for you in terms of both pricing and any added inventory and how we think about that number in particular for fiscal '27?

Jamaal Lesane

Thanks, Joe. Actually, I'm glad you touched on that. And just looking at back just a little bit, we saw overwhelming demand from our partners during the championship run. And that included not just the obvious presence in our arenas for those exhilarating home games, but it also included the opportunity for them to activate at our viewing parties around the city. And then even on the road, where we hosted a number of partners in Cleveland for the Eastern Conference Finals and in San Antonio for the NBA Finals, all culminating with giving many of our partners a presence during the championship parade celebration.

And so all of that had 2 effects. One, that valuable time spent enhances our relationship with our partners, and it improves the value proposition moving forward. And then two, we saw sponsorship revenues more than double year-over-year during the post season. And so looking ahead, not only do we expect to see the run rate benefit from our fiscal year -- fiscal '26 deals in the year ahead, but the Knicks win should actually enable us to sell more sponsorships. So in short, Joe, while we're not providing specific guidance, as we look to fiscal '27, we're seeing great momentum and believe that we are well positioned to drive another year of growth.

Ari Danes

Thanks for the question, Joe. Operator, we'll take one final caller.

Operator

Your last question comes from the line of Tyler DiMatteo with BTIG.

Tyler DiMatteo

I have 2 here. I wanted to start on the NHL side of things. I guess how should we think about the new Rogers deal kicking in this season and the potential financial impact on that? And then along with that, I guess, do you have any early thoughts on the potential new U.S. NHL deal and the renewal of it following the existing deal that concludes next year?

Jamaal Lesane

Thanks, Tyler. I'll take that one. Tyler, to answer the first part of your question, the NHL begins a new 12-year media rights agreement with Rogers Communications this upcoming season. And they, the NHL, will see a step-up in average annual value for its Canadian media rights with annual escalators thereafter. And so we'll see an increase in our share of those media rights -- those media rights fees. And kind of to piggyback into the second part of your question, in terms of the NHL U.S. deals, the current agreements run through the '27, '28 season. And we continue to believe in the value of live professional sports content. We expect the NHL will maximize that opportunity.

Tyler DiMatteo

Okay. Great. And then secondarily, I guess, do you have any early thoughts or how do you think about the potential financial impact of domestic expansion for the NBA or NHL? And I guess what that could mean for your business and the contribution?

Jamaal Lesane

Yes. I won't comment on the NBA, NHL strategy and whether that occurs or not. But I will -- if an expansion does occur, as it has in the past, if expansion were to occur, any potential expansion fees in the NBA would be divided equally among the 30 existing NBA teams and vice versa, any potential expansion fees in the NHL would be divided among the existing 32 NHL teams. From a league distribution perspective, including revenue from the national media rights agreements, those would be divided pro rata amongst the increased number of teams following any potential expansion.

Operator

There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back to Ari for closing remarks.

Ari Danes

Thank you all for joining us. We look forward to speaking with you on our next earnings call. Have a good day.

Operator

This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.