Hughes Hubbard’s Sports, Media and Entertainment Practice

Hughes Hubbard & Reed’s Sports, Media and Entertainment practice advises clients operating at the intersection of competition, content, technology, and global commerce. We represent professional and amateur sports organizations, leagues and governing bodies, media and entertainment companies, investors, athletes, sponsors, creators, and talent on their most significant legal, commercial, and regulatory matters.

“Hughes Hubbard is extremely client-focused, detailed and pragmatic. The firm has a very strong bench, from the senior partners down to the associate level.” —-Chambers USA

Building on the firm’s long-standing Media and Entertainment practice, our lawyers counsel clients across a wide range of industries, including sports, film, television, music, publishing, advertising, live events, digital media, streaming platforms, podcasting, video games, esports, and emerging technologies. We bring a practical, business-focused approach to litigation and transactional matters involving the creation, financing, distribution, and monetization of content, including name, image, and likeness, as well as the regulatory and governance frameworks that increasingly shape these industries.

Integrated Capabilities Across the Industry Lifecycle

Our Sports, Media and Entertainment team provides comprehensive legal support across transactions, compliance, litigation, and dispute resolution, including:

Transactional and Commercial Matters
We advise on mergers and acquisitions, financings, joint ventures, and strategic investments, as well as the negotiation and structuring of complex commercial agreements. Our experience includes media rights and licensing, content development and distribution agreements, sponsorships and endorsements, advertising and brand partnerships, production and talent arrangements, and cross-border commercial transactions.

Governance, Regulatory, and Compliance Counseling
We counsel sports organizations, leagues, colleges, and governing bodies on governance structures, eligibility and disciplinary frameworks, compliance programs, and internal investigations. Our lawyers regularly advise on regulatory risk, enforcement exposure, data privacy, and emerging issues involving artificial intelligence and digital platforms, with particular sensitivity to reputational and operational considerations.

Litigation, Investigations, and Dispute Resolution
When disputes arise, we represent clients in high-stakes litigation, arbitration, internal investigations, and enforcement proceedings. We are frequently engaged in matters involving governing bodies, regulatory authorities, commercial counterparties, and other stakeholders, where legal strategy must be aligned with business objectives and public scrutiny.

Practice Leadership

The practice is co-chaired by Jeffrey Gavenman in Washington, DC and Sabrina Silverberg in New York, reflecting the group’s combined strength in litigation, governance, and complex commercial matters.

Jeffrey brings decades of experience litigating and advising on complex commercial matters, including advising current and former athletes, executives, sports organizations, sports focused marketing agencies, and related stakeholders on litigations and arbitrations, complex media rights deals, and name, image, and likeness agreements.

Sabrina is a trusted advisor to media and entertainment companies, producers, distributors, and talent, with extensive experience guiding clients through complex transactions, content and distribution arrangements, and strategic business relationships across traditional and digital platforms.

Together, Jeffrey and Sabrina lead a multidisciplinary team that draws on Hughes Hubbard’s deep bench in litigation, white collar and investigations, corporate, intellectual property, antitrust, international arbitration, and regulatory matters.

Why Hughes Hubbard

Clients choose Hughes Hubbard for Sports, Media and Entertainment matters because of our ability to handle complex, high-stakes issues at the convergence of law, business, and public visibility.

We offer:

An integrated, full-service platform, combining transactional strength with trial-ready litigation and investigations capabilities
Depth across sports, media, and entertainment, from content creation and commercialization to governance, compliance, and enforcement
Leadership in Washington, DC and New York, providing insight into regulatory, governmental, and commercial decision-making
Global reach with practical judgment, supporting clients in cross-border matters and evolving regulatory environments
Senior-level attention and strategic focus, ensuring advice is tailored, efficient, and aligned with long-term objectives

Hughes Hubbard’s Sports, Media and Entertainment practice is designed to help clients navigate rapid industry change, heightened regulatory scrutiny, and increasingly complex commercial relationships, while protecting their brands, managing risk, and positioning themselves for sustained success.

For more information please contact the chairs of the practice:

Jeffrey S. Gavenman

Co-Chair

Sabrina Silverberg

Co-Chair

Selected examples of our work include representing clients such as:

Current and former athletes, executives, sports organizations, sports-focused marketing agencies, and related stakeholders in negotiating millions of dollars in NIL agreements and litigating breach of contract and fraud claims in the NIL space.
Bloomsbury Publishing in its carve-out acquisition of the academic imprints and associated titles of Rowman & Littlefield, a respected independent book publisher in the US academic market.
Claure Group, a global investment firm, in its acquisition of a 10 percent ownership stake in Major League Soccer team New York City FC (NYCFC).
Madison Square Garden, a live sport and entertainment company in its:
- sale of the WNBA team New York Liberty to an investment group led by Joe Tsai, the co-founder and executive vice chairman of e-commerce and technology company, Alibaba Group;
- acquisition of TAO Group, a restaurant and nightclub operator, and its subsequent sale to global investment company Mohari Hospitality;
- acquisition of a controlling interest in Boston Calling Events, the company that produces, organizes and manages the Boston Calling music festival;
- acquisition of a majority stake in Counter Logic Gaming, the owner and manager of several leading e-sports teams and a corresponding branding and marketing partnership;
- acquisition of a 50 percent stake in Tribeca Enterprises, the company that owns and operates the acclaimed Tribeca Film Festival and other businesses; and
- design, development and distribution of mobile applications for the Madison Square Garden arena and its resident professional sports teams (Knicks, Rangers) involving event ticketing, merchandise and other product sales conducted via mobile application.
MSG Sports in the combination of Counter Logic Gaming (CLG), in which MSG Sports previously owned a controlling interest, with NRG, a professional gaming and entertainment company, leading to MSG Sports becoming a noncontrolling equity interest in the larger, combined NRG/CLG company.
AMC Networks in its:
- acquisition of the remaining 50.1 percent stake in BBC America, its joint venture with BBC Studios; and
- acquisition of Sentai Holdings, a global supplier of anime content and official merchandise.
Sony Music Entertainment, a music conglomerate, in its:
- sale of The Orchard Film Group to 1091 Media, an investment group affiliated with Dimensional Associates, the private equity arm of JDS Capital Management; and
- acquisition of the music merchandising business of Araca Group, a theatrical production company.
Condé Nast, a mass media company, in its:
- sale of Golf Digest, a leading golf media brand, to Discovery Inc.;
- sale of Brides Magazine, a leading wedding and bridal brand, to Dotdash; and
- sale of W Magazine, a fashion magazine, to Future Media Group.
Condé Nast parent company Advance Publications Inc. and its portfolio company 1010data, a leading provider of enterprise analytics, in the sale of 1010data to SymphonyAI.
CBS, a commercial television and radio network, in its $30 billion merger with Viacom in an all-stock deal.
CF Acquisition Corp. VI, a SPAC sponsored by Cantor Fitzgerald, in its $2.1 billion merger with Rumble Inc. that took the Canadian neutral video platform public.
Roku Inc., a TV streaming distribution platform, in the acquisition of Nielsen’s advanced video advertising business, including a strategic partnership to integrate Nielsen ad and content measurement products into the Roku platform.
A News Corp.-owned affiliate in a variety of technology, licensing and marketing partnerships concerning in-store marketing campaigns and e-commerce solutions for mobile platforms, including coupon issuance, device identification (e.g., NFC, beacons, wallet integration, QR codes), mobile payment and fraud detection.
A predecessor to Paramount Global in e-commerce and m-commerce initiatives involving the integration of third-party platforms, consumer product procurement, and merchant processing services in support of its programming networks (e.g., MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central).
Millarworld, a comic book publisher, in its sale to Netflix, the first-ever acquisition for the global streaming giant.