Entertainment, Sports & Media

Latham & Watkins lawyers are grounded in decades of experience across all sectors of entertainment, sports, and media.

A Global, Full-Spectrum Practice

Latham’s practice combines decades of experience representing major industry players, unique market insights about the industries’ legal and financial drivers, and a seamless global platform to deliver sophisticated commercial advice on cutting-edge and high-stakes transactions and disputes around the world.

Media & Entertainment

Latham advises domestic and international content studios, diversified media companies, music labels, publishers and investors, production and distribution houses, digital and new media companies, iconic celebrities, licensors/rights holders and individual talent, as well investors and financiers leveraging the practice’s global reach and full-spectrum experience to help clients navigate:

• Acquisitions and mergers, investments, formations, dispositions, and joint ventures related to talent, international entertainment, and media companies
• Content licensing, development, production, acquisition, and distribution deals
• Complex digital media and technology agreements
• Investing and buying music assets and catalogs, and matters relating to music licensing
• Disputes, claims, and government investigations related to parties ranging from individual talent to multinational companies
• Television, radio, and new media transactions
• Trademark and intellectual property licensing agreements
• EU State aid and regulatory compliance including European Commission investigations

Sports

Latham advises key sports industry stakeholders including team owners and investors, players associations and governing bodies, as well as financial institutions, corporate sponsors, stadium developers, TV broadcasters, and digital distribution and over-the-top (OTT) platforms on their most important negotiations, transactions, and disputes — from team purchases and broadcast licensing to stadium matters and sponsorships. Specifically, Latham guides clients on:

• Complex M&A, strategic investments, and joint venture transactions
• Negotiating broadcast and media rights agreements
• Corporate sponsorships, naming rights, and other commercial matters
• Global financing across jurisdictions, including bank and capital markets
• Arena and stadium development
• Complex digital media and technology agreements
• Major league sports matters involving international football (soccer), the Olympic Family, National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Soccer (MLS), as well as other global leagues
• Video game and esports matters, including acquisitions, financings, and sponsorships
• Sports betting regulations, online gaming transactions, and traditional sports and gaming properties
• Structuring sports-based television channels, new media platforms, and cross-border international operations
• Sophisticated litigation strategies to address all dimensions of mitigating risk, addressing antitrust and other regulatory challenges, and successfully resolving high-stakes commercial disputes