SSAC

Level Up: Analyzing the Influence of Brands on the Esports Ecosystem

Moderator: Brian Millman

Panelists: Joe Marsh, Andrew Lilien, Doug Watson

This panel seeks to dive into the dynamic relationship between brands and the esports industry, exploring the current landscape and future in 2024. In the world of esports, brands and esports organizations are presented with unique opportunities and challenges in establishing meaningful connections with the community. Our panel of experts from esports teams, agencies, game developers, and brand partners will discuss the current state of brand involvement in esports, examining what it takes to form impactful strategic partnerships. Panelists will offer insights into how esports organizations and brands can successfully collaborate in the esports ecosystem, from sponsorship activations to digital marketing innovations. #LevelUp

Take Two: Sustaining Success in the New Look MLB

Moderator: David Schoenfield

Panelists: Carlos Pena, Jonathan Erlichman, Michael Voltmer, Nick Troop

The 2023 season marked a seismic shift in Major League Baseball. The introduction of rule changes, namely the pitch timer and defensive shift limits, have fundamentally altered the way the game is played. As these changes enter their second season, how are stakeholders across the league thinking about the long-term implications of competing under the new rules? Hear from Jonathan Erlichman and Michael Voltmer, representing two of baseball’s most consistent franchises in the Rays and Dodgers respectively, and former All-Star and 14-year MLB Veteran Carlos Peña as they dive into the strategies being deployed by teams and players in pursuit of sustained success. The panelists will discuss how data & analytics, advanced technology, and other innovative resources are being used to optimize game strategy, opponent scouting, player development, and more. #TakeTwo

League Innovations: Balancing Tradition and Progress

Moderator: Alison Overholt

Panelists: Evan Wasch, Dawn Aponte, Lisa Lazarus

In efforts to create unique competition, the NBA recently debuted its in-season tournament, while the NFL consistently updates its rules to enhance game flow, safety, and competitiveness, while also expanding its global presence by hosting games in international markets, with the first NFL game in South America taking place in 2024. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) is actively pushing for innovation to improve safety standards while the MLS is rapidly expanding, and using MLS Next Pro to test their latest innovations. Leagues continue to innovate and adapt to meet the evolving needs, desires and concerns of fans while maintaining the integrity of their sport and the fundamentals that fans love. This panel brings together executives from the NBA, NFL, MLS, and HISA to discuss how leagues are making the decisions that are driving their sports forward to raise the overall quality for both the fans and the participants. Through insightful analysis, this panel will explore the impacts of these changes on league operations, fan engagement, player dynamics, and the overall future trajectory of each respective league. #LeagueInnovations

Winning With AI: The Future of AI in Sports

Moderator: Matt Rousson

Panelists: Kevin Lopes, Julie Souza, Tyrone Millard

AI has changed the way that the world interprets, handles, and reacts to data across all industries. This panel will focus on how AI and machine learning is and will change the sports industry. Current applications of AI are still relatively nascent in sports, but in a rapidly developing environment, the use cases for AI continue to broaden. This discussion will center around the different ways in which sports teams, leagues, broadcasters, and technology vendors could eventually integrate AI into areas such as player evaluation, fan engagement, league innovations, and more. Hear from panelists at the forefront and close to the action on how they believe AI is best positioned to develop in the sports industry. #WinningWithAI

The Game Changers: Entrepreneurship with Jason Robins and Rich Paul

Moderator: Jessica Gelman

Panelists: Jason Robins, Rich Paul

From creating a new industry to redefining an old one, industry giants, Jason Robins and Rich Paul will share their origin stories, vision of leadership, and entrepreneurial approach to success. Both founders are highly influential in the sports industry and have expanded their reach beyond their original start-up goals while taking very different approaches, IPO vs partnership. Jason Robins founded DraftKings out of his passion for fantasy sports and has expanded the company into sports betting, gaming, and other consumer product offerings. Rich Paul founded KLUTCH Sports Group to represent NBA basketball clients and has built the agency into a leader in athlete empowerment and community impact. KLUTCH now has expanded into a variety of major sports and leagues with a wide array of industry-dominant offerings. This duo will give an in-depth look into their own entrepreneurship journey and lessons learned from building their empires across negotiations, business growth, and connecting with people. #GameChangers

The Future of Sports & Sports Business

Moderator: Abe Madkour

Panelists: Jessica Gelman, Julie Uhrman, Amy Latimer

Sports is a center for innovation and change, directly reflecting in real-time the changing expectations of fans, athletes, and industry. With the world’s eye often looking to sports to lead change, both with the game and customer consumption, how do sports organizations position themselves for sustainable long-term success? This panel will explore the future of sports and innovation opportunities within on-field experiences, fan engagement, and how sports are consumed. Hear from industry leaders with unique perspectives from leagues, teams, venues, and technology who are driving changes across and within sports. The panel will delve into how organizations can use analytics, AI, and data to improve all aspects of the game. Panelists will also discuss how changes in the broader ecosystem around ownership, globalization, foreign investment, gambling, and rapid shifts in technology are altering fan preferences and reshaping the sports industry. #futureofsports

The New Age of Sports Media: Content and Monetization

Moderator: Marie Donoghue
Panelists: Amy Reinhard, Lori Conkling, Harish Sarma, Reagan Carey

This past year has seen the realization of sports streaming. Netflix hosted its first live sporting event, the Netflix Cup, and has been the home to popular sports series, such as Formula 1: Drive to Survive and Quarterback. YouTube is now the exclusive home of NFL Sunday Ticket. TikTok has re-invented how to consume sports by enabling off-the-field conversations in platforms such as SportsTok. Both playoff and regular season games are now broadcasted on a variety of streaming platforms. Amidst these changes, vMVPD providers are seeing large increases in their subscriber counts. Additionally, consumers are watching more sports content on social media platforms, like TikTok. Panelists representing some of the world’s most innovative digital entertainment companies will discuss approaches to their sports content development strategy, cutting edge ways to monetize the content, and how data drives these decisions. This panel will take a retrospective look at what approaches have been successful so far and how these learnings can be leveraged to anticipate future trends in sports streaming. #sportstreaming

David vs. Goliath: The Underdog Mindset

Moderator: Jackie MacMullan

Panelists: Sue Bird, Jeff Van Gundy, Nick Caserio

As fans, we watch sports for the unexpected and for the feats we did not see coming. Of course, many of the most memorable are David defeating Goliath. Upsets. Last second shots. Win streaks. What leads to the right moments where chemistry defeats legacy? Hear from Sue Bird, Jeff Van Gundy, Nick Caserio, and Daryl Morey on how players, GMs, and coaches come together when they have been both David and Goliath. What are the keys to developing this "underdog" mindset, and how can those of us who are not professional athletes apply those lessons to the challenges we face every day? #Underdog

Future of Football: Innovation on the Gridiron

Moderator: Michele Steele

Panelists: Paul Tudor Jones, Jonathan Kraft
American Football has long held the marquee sports spot within the United States thanks to continual advancements made by leagues and in the sport at large. The NFL is in a period of growth and innovation: the NFL's fan demographics have expanded, 5 international games will be played in 2024, player safety is paramount, flag football has been added to the 2028 Olympics, NFL games accounted for 93 of the top 100 most watched TV broadcasts in 2023, and more. However, fewer of America's youth are playing the game than any time in the past decade and there is concern about the traditional college football model. In this session we'll hear from Jonathan Kraft and Paul Tudor Jones II, two business titans who are at the forefront of this new football era, about what these recent dynamics mean for the game and how they expect the game to progress over the next few years. #FutureOfFootball

The Numbers Game: Football Analytics from Combines to Championships

Moderator: Ted Knutson

Panelists: Steve Palazzolo, Eugene Shen, Sean Clement, Heather Maclean

This panel will deep dive into the multi-faceted world of football analytics with seasoned industry experts from the Washington Commanders, Pro Football Focus, SumerSports, and StatsBomb. The panelists will discuss the current breadth of analytics use cases in football, ranging from the crucial role data plays in player evaluation and roster construction to the rapidly increasing utilization of data to inform game strategy and decision-making. The panelists will highlight the tangible impacts of data-driven methodologies in shaping the modern football landscape and explore potential analytics advancements that can further enhance the influence of data on success in the NFL. #TheNumbersGame