Madison Square Garden Sports (MSG Sports), a division of the overall New York sports and entertainment complex, saw improved financials during its first fiscal quarter of 2025.
MSG Sports, launched as an arm of Madison Square Garden in March 2020, generated increased revenues year-on-year during the three months up to September 30 this year - $53.3 million, up 24% from the same period last year.
Indeed, this income figure beat analyst predictions and estimates by 22%.
The property’s net loss, meanwhile, came down to $7.54 million, a decrease of 60% from the previous equivalent quarter.
MSG Sports is the vehicle that houses teams and franchises such as basketball’s New York Knicks and ice hockey’s New York Rangers, who both play their games in Madison Square Garden itself.
Both these teams began their 2024-25 NBA (Knicks) and NHL (Rangers) seasons in October, after the results period ended.
James Dolan, executive chair and chief executive at MSG Sports Corp (and owner of its various sports franchises), has now said: “The new fiscal year already includes several operational highlights across our key revenue categories, including in ticketing, sponsorships, and suites. We look forward to continuing this momentum through the Knicks' and Rangers' seasons and remain confident that we are well-positioned to generate long-term shareholder value.”
The revenue increase, MSG Sports said, was primarily due to “an increase in certain league distributions unrelated to national media rights fees.”
There was also a rise in the division’s direct operating expenses, up year-on-year to $8.2 million.
MSG Sports noted highlights during the three months in question as including the signing of a multi-year marketing deal with Abu Dhabi’s department of culture and tourism, and striking a new sponsorship agreement with Lenovo and the Motorola Mobility subsidiary.
Sponsorship extensions, meanwhile, were unveiled with both Verizon and Benjamin Moore.
The Knicks beat the Detroit Pistons 128-98 in their last game, while the Rangers most recently triumphed 5-2 against their local rivals, the New York Islanders (not owned by MSG Sports).
