In partnership with
📰 In The Arena Weekly
The go-to newsletter for sports, media & entertainment professionals. Each week, we curate the top events, insights & people to know to help you stay connected to new opportunities.
⚡ Headlines
LA Lakers governor, Jeanie Buss contests her siblings’ vote to sell the family’s 17.8% share of the Lakers
Vertical media on track to generate $150 billion in 2026 with Meta, ByteDance and YouTube projected to generate 94% of vertical revenue outside of China this year
Higgsfield's valuation soars fourfold to $5.4 billion in six months on AI content demand
Holiday Creator Calendars Are Filling Up. Q4 Panic Is Optional.
Creators lock in their holiday content calendars 90 days out, before most ecommerce brands finalize their commission strategy and way before Black Friday and October deal events.
Get ahead of the seasonal rush with The 90-Day Holiday Sprint, a practical guide for brands that want creators driving holiday demand while competitors are still recruiting:
Structure commissions by lifetime value, not just first-order margin
Lead with the right products so creators promote with confidence
Recruit and onboard creators with a day-by-day plan for the first 30 days
Read performance early and pull program levers by Day 60
Brief creators with a holiday checklist before calendars fill up
Your 90-day countdown starts now.
💼 New Jobs This Week
Arena | Editorial Intern | $300 Stipend | Remote
Arena | Social Media & Content Production Intern | $300 Stipend | Remote
More Roles
Warner Music Group | Director, E-Commerce Label & Artist Services | $90k - $120k/yr | Los Angeles, CA
Disney (Disney Entertainment & ESPN) | Lead Executive Operations Analyst | $135.4k - $181.6k/yr | New York, NY
Microsoft | Director, Executive Communications & Customer/Partner Engagement | $130.9k - $251.9k/yr | Redmond, WA
🌟There Is No Rule Book
Hollis Brown went from Miss Wisconsin USA to leading partnerships at two-time NWSL champions Gotham FC, and her take on building in women's sports without a rulebook is a must-read. Full story below.
🗓️ Events to Know
⭐ Editor's Pick
Sports & Entertainment Procurement Summit | Hosted by Mayor of LA, Karen Bass’ Office of Small Business
September 28 | Los Angeles, CA | Register here
Mayor Karen Bass is connecting LA's small business community with the contacts and resources needed to break into sports and entertainment contracting.
More Events
The Design + Marketing Summit | Hosted by CreativePro
September 14 - 15 | Virtual | Register here
Summit bringing creative and marketing pros together to master the tools shaping how brands show up everywhere.
Business of Entertainment Summit | Hosted by Financial Times Live
September 24 | West Hollywood, CA | Register here
Summit convenes entertainment's top executives to explore how AI and global competition are reshaping creative industries.
Help us keep the community in the loop! If you're attending one of these events or know one we should feature, reply to this email with more details for a chance to be included in a future edition.
🎉 Welcoming Arena’s Summer Cohort
New Member Kickoff
This week is one of our favorite parts of building Arena! Our Summer Cohort of 115 new members just started receiving their first curated intros, each one matched with peers across sports, media & entertainment who align with their goals!
If you’re a new Arena member, login to review your first round of intros today at arenatalent.com
Not a member yet? Stay tuned on when our next application window opens up.
Thanks for reading In The Arena of sports, media & entertainment!
If this newsletter helped you discover even one opportunity this week, share it with someone in your network.
-Arena founders | Parul Khosla, Adriene Bueno & Olivia Schwartz