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The official podcast channel of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference
Episodes
Friday Aug 05, 2022
Friday Aug 05, 2022
The world of ticketing has been front and center to the challenges and changes of live sports over the last two years. As fan preferences change and technology improves, the landscape for ticketing for all parties involved -- teams, leagues, and actual ticketing agencies -- is also rapidly evolving. With contactless and paperless ticketing becoming the norm, teams and leagues are now thinking more critically about their ticketing strategy, which has kicked open the door for deeper integration between ticketing and the fan experience before, during, and after games. This panel brings together executives across teams and leagues and ticketing strategists to discuss the lasting effects of COVID, how new technology will continue to foster innovation, and what ticketing will look like at the end of the decade.
Thursday Aug 04, 2022
Thursday Aug 04, 2022
“The game is on!” is a refrain that has rung out around the world for over a hundred years. The way in which we experience these contests has evolved dramatically - live viewing, radio, television, streaming - and new innovations promise to continue revolutionizing the viewing experience going forward. Cutting edge analytics and real time data feeds, including live sports betting content, add texture to the action while groundbreaking augmented and virtual reality displays promise to enmesh us in the experience in ways never before possible. Even more, it is not just the viewing that has evolved but also the nature of the contests themselves as sports content is continuously reinvented. Combine all this with increased engagement driven by the advance of legalized sports betting and there is a convergence of data, technology, and interest that promises to reinvigorate the fan experience and capture the imagination of new generations. Join us as key leaders in tech, media, content, and data discuss how their worlds are colliding and what it means for the future of sports business.
Thursday Aug 04, 2022
Thursday Aug 04, 2022
Thursday Jul 21, 2022
Thursday Jul 21, 2022
The data doesn’t lie – 90% of start-ups fail, including 65% that raise VC funding, and only 5% of VCs return more than 3x to their LPs. Yet the allure of entrepreneurship and investing drive innovation across industries and sectors, including sports and analytics. This panel brings together successful entrepreneurs from Microsoft and investors and venture capitalists from ARod Corp and Drive by DraftKings to discuss building companies, burgeoning investment trends, and their best advice for emerging founders.
Thursday Jul 21, 2022
Thursday Jul 21, 2022
Returns in sports ownership have outpaced public market indices by ~4-6% per year over the last decade. And just recently, leagues have begun allowing institutions to acquire interests in sports teams. These rule changes paved the way for a banner year for sports private equity investments in 2021. Firms invested nearly $2 billion into acquiring stakes in professional teams; namely, Sixth Street Partners and Dell took a 30% stake in the San Antonio Spurs, and Arctos Sports Partners acquired 10% of the Minnesota Wild. This panel convenes titans from JP Morgan and Arctos, NBA ownership in NBA Champion Wes Edens, and the MLS President who opened the league to more diverse ownership structures. This will be a lively discussion on what makes sports teams an attractive investment opportunity, the private equity plan for ownership, how primary team ownership has evolved, and where investors will be looking for alpha in the future.
Thursday Jul 21, 2022
Thursday Jul 21, 2022
On the football field, Calvin Johnson took the world by storm; his nine-year career in Detroit ended with his donning a gold jacket in Canton. But since retirement, Calvin has also stood out in the business world, launching a cannabis company and partnering with Harvard to research its impact on CTE. Join Calvin as he sits down with Bomani Jones for a deep-dive into the world of cannabis and athletes' role in its proliferation; how Calvin's football career helped him succeed in the business world; and a reflection on his Hall of Fame career.
Thursday Jul 14, 2022
Thursday Jul 14, 2022
In New York’s first 12 hours of legal online sports betting, the state recorded an estimated 5.8 million transactions. That’s a lot of demand… and data. How are books using this data to set odds, ideate around new products, and reach new fans? Given betting is inherently risky, what does “safe betting” mean and how are companies using data to promote it? Where do analytics come into play as books partner with regulators to monitor the integrity of markets? And what can gamblers learn from the way books and players use data to manage risk? Go behind the scenes with FanDuel, Caesars, and member of the infamous MIT Blackjack Team, Jeff Ma, to understand The Numbers Behind the Books.
Thursday Jul 14, 2022
Thursday Jul 14, 2022
NFTs have redefined asset ownership - for the first time, people can rightfully claim their stake in digital assets. Brands have created NFT sneakers for people to collect and trade while on the metaverse platforms like Decentraland and Sandbox, people can buy, sell, and rent virtual plots of land. Games such as Axie Infinity even allow users to earn money from their owned in-game assets. The promise of NFTs already upended many established industries and has set its sights on truly transforming the sports world. This panel brings together leaders from Dapper Labs, Ticketmaster, The National Football League, and the Drone Racing League to discuss the future of NFTs and the impact they will have on the sports world.
Thursday Jul 14, 2022
Thursday Jul 14, 2022
Promising greater transparency, improved security, and decentralization, blockchain technology has the potential to fundamentally upend the status quo. Some analysts even predict it will be the next multi-trillion dollar opportunity. While the average sports fan may be familiar with the NBA Top Shot’s of the world, the sports industry continues to be at the cutting edge of innovative blockchain technology applications that extend far beyond NFTs. Headed into 2022, organizations are thinking critically about blockchain in their long-term strategy. How will pro sports leagues continue to embrace this new tech? What new products will consumers start seeing? This panel will bring together leaders shaping the blockchain strategy for some of the biggest players in sports, defining future use cases for the technology across ticketing, sponsorships, fan tokens, and much more.
Thursday Jul 14, 2022
Thursday Jul 14, 2022
There’s truly no denying it: sports gambling is big, and it’s here to stay. In just three years since the Supreme Court ruling to repeal the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, legal sports betting has quadrupled in the U.S. with nearly half of all U.S. states now live. In New York alone, the state took in over $1.5 billion in bets in its first 23 days. While the sports betting market booms, sportsbooks are intensely focused on taking a bigger piece of the pie. With this shift, gambling companies have been turning over every rock to capitalize on new customers and expand market share. This race has extended into the development of key partnerships, media property acquisition, forays into new technologies, and more. As this race heats up, this panel brings together industry leaders to discuss the current competition to capitalize on market growth and shape the future of the sports gambling space.