Entertainment, Media & Sports · Week of Nov 2, 2026
Earnings and celebrity brand tie-ins: the week in entertainment and sports
Quarterly results from Under Armour and Reservoir Media sat alongside brand tie-ins from KFC, DICK'S and Holiday Inn Express and new consumer data.
Two companies reported fiscal second-quarter results for the period ended September 30, 2026, with opposite outcomes. Under Armour says revenue fell 7 percent to $1.2 billion and it lowered its expected fiscal 2027 gross margin improvement. Reservoir Media says revenue rose 10% to $49.9 million and it raised its full-year revenue and Adjusted EBITDA outlook.
Partnerships between brands and entertainment or sports figures were the other main thread. KFC says its "Avengers: Doomsday" menu is its largest global collaboration to date. DICK'S Sporting Goods signed Caitlin Clark as the first athlete brand partner for both DICK'S and Foot Locker, and Holiday Inn Express built a campaign around podcast creators Brooke Averick and Connor Wood. Elsewhere, Callaway Golf committed $15 million to a U.S. 3D printing facility, FiEE reported results from a Kyoto art auction, and OpenTable published survey data linking dining out to entertainment and live events.
Under Armour, Inc.
UNDER ARMOUR REPORTS SECOND QUARTER FISCAL 2027 RESULTS
Under Armour says second-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue fell 7 percent to $1.2 billion, with a net loss of $0.4 million, and it now expects fiscal 2027 gross margin to rise 170 to 220 basis points, down from 220 to 270 basis points. The company kept its adjusted operating income outlook at $140 million to $160 million and says its Fiscal 2025 Restructuring Plan, with $280 million in costs so far, should be substantially complete by December 31, 2026.
Reservoir Media, Inc.
RESERVOIR MEDIA ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER FISCAL 2027 RESULTS
Reservoir Media says quarterly revenue rose 10% to $49.9 million and net income grew to $4.6 million from $2.2 million a year earlier, and it raised its fiscal 2027 outlook to revenue of $188M - $192M and Adjusted EBITDA of $77M - $80M. During the period it acquired the recorded music catalog of José Feliciano and the publishing catalog of Billy Strayhorn.
IHG Hotels & Resorts
Holiday Inn Express by IHG Taps Brooke Averick and Connor Wood for "Unpacking" Campaign, Bringing Analog Connection Back to the Breakfast Table
Holiday Inn Express by IHG launched an "Unpacking" campaign featuring podcast creators Brooke Averick and Connor Wood, along with a limited-edition 30-prompt Morning Debrief card game at select US properties. The company cites a Talker Research survey of Gen Z and millennial adults in which 55% said the post-event recap is more exciting than the night itself.
FiEE, Inc.
FiEE Advances O2O ArtTech Ecosystem with Approximately US$2.9 Million in Gross Transaction Value at Kyoto Artwork Sales Event, Targeting Art Advisory and Global Collector Networks
FiEE says its Kyoto exhibition and auction, organized with the Museum of Kyoto, produced about US$2.9 million in aggregate artwork transaction value and about US$1.3 million in service revenue for the company. The company says the transaction value is not its revenue and cautions that future events may not achieve comparable results as it moves toward an online-to-offline ArtTech business.
Kentucky Fried Chicken
KFC Brings the Doom: New Marvel-Inspired Menu Lands Ahead of Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Doomsday"
KFC says a Doctor Doom-inspired limited-time menu tied to Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Doomsday" will run in 100 countries from 9 November through January 2027, making it the company's largest global collaboration to date. The menu will not be offered in the United States, India or China, and the film opens in cinemas on December 18, 2026.
Callaway Golf Company
Callaway Golf Announces U.S. Investment to Lead a New Era of Golf Club Performance
Callaway Golf Company announced a $15 million investment in a 3D printing facility in Fort Worth, Texas, expected to become operational in mid-2027 and to begin supporting a portion of U.S. product needs in 2028, initially focusing on custom titanium products. The company says the facility will let engineers develop club designs that conventional manufacturing cannot achieve.
OpenTable, Inc.
From Payday to Showtime, OpenTable Reveals Americans Are Finding New Reasons to Dine Out in 2027
OpenTable's 2027 Dining Trends Report says dining on its platform increased 11% year-over-year in 2026 and dining through OpenTable Experiences rose 51%. In its survey, 40% of Americans expect entertainment or live events to lead them to dine out more often in 2027, and 58% of Gen Z expect to increase dining spending.
DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc.
DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. Signs Caitlin Clark as First-Ever Brand Partner Across DICK'S and Foot Locker
DICK'S Sporting Goods signed basketball player Caitlin Clark to a multi-year, exclusive brand partnership covering both DICK'S and Foot Locker, the first time either banner has signed an athlete as a brand partner. The company plans campaigns, promotion of Clark's signature products and fan activations, and the release does not state financial terms or a start date.
This roundup is written with AI assistance from the press releases listed above, using only what they state. The releases are the companies' own announcements, not Sunny Wave Media reporting.