Also If I remember correctly at least a few KHL teams and other Russian sports teams are owned by large corporations (eg CSKA Moscow).
I'm most familiar with how Euroleague Women's works, but there most teams are owned and sponsored by companies running the gamut from investment banks to mining and energy, plus the occasional hobbyist billionaire. The cost of owning a sports team is a drop in the bucket for them, so turning a profit is a nonissue. The entire team is like a big ad campaign/outreach program; the money's expected to be a sunk cost.
But I don't know if that's how it works for the majority of KHL teams, especially outside of Russia. The number of clubs that fold for financial reasons points to only a few. It's certainly not a popular model in North America or western Europe.
Re: Hockey Media - KHL expansion
I'm most familiar with how Euroleague Women's works, but there most teams are owned and sponsored by companies running the gamut from investment banks to mining and energy, plus the occasional hobbyist billionaire. The cost of owning a sports team is a drop in the bucket for them, so turning a profit is a nonissue. The entire team is like a big ad campaign/outreach program; the money's expected to be a sunk cost.
But I don't know if that's how it works for the majority of KHL teams, especially outside of Russia. The number of clubs that fold for financial reasons points to only a few. It's certainly not a popular model in North America or western Europe.