There was a time when we were starting to wind down the International Fight League 12 years ago that the late Jay Larkin, who was heading the business at the time, suggested we do fights in a warehouse with all the lights and pageantry and maybe a few fans in a few rows. After all, he pointed out, the business was really made for a digital and broadcast audience, and the biggest issue with running a startup sports event was in venue costs. Selling tickets especially for a startup is hard. We could go the route of a popular show, “American Gladiator,” and have all the excitement and the storytelling at a fraction of the cost, and if we ever got to the point where we could scale up, then we could. 
Create the video demand and sell off of that; unless you had a good building deal, it as a red line on the balance sheet, and that red line has killed dozens of fledgling sports entities that frankly tried to shoot too high and let the allure of the big stage override the value of the story and the athletes who were competing.
Alas we never got to that point, as the league shuttered and sold the assets to the UFC, but that “made for broadcast” idea has always been out there, as you see properties, the latest being esports, talk about big crowds with no idea of what the balance sheet says. Bad building deals kill events more than almost anything else.
In recent months we have heard this question become bantered about; at CES a panel asked, “Did we need fans to be successful as a property.” At a February event the talk of AR and VR and putting fans into an experience from remote locations was all the rage; at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference this past week there as a lot of discussion about “The Fluid Fan” and how he or she consumes sports; and does the person of the future just want to enjoy multiple screens and surround sound and VR glasses and NOT go to the cost or the trouble of attending events.
Teams and leagues are going to great lengths to keep improving the fan experience, finding new revenue streams and engagement tools to have fans stay longer, spend more and enjoy the communal experience. There are thousands of workers, and businesses that rely on all things around the in-game experience for their livelihood. So, we arrive at today, seeing empty arenas across the world and soon at March Madness and potentially the NBA and the NHL and other events.
Out of the chaos, what will arise as lessons learned? Will the broadcasters see huge numbers rise because of spectacle, and are there ways that broadcast enhancements can be pushed to improve the experience even more? It’s too early for the in-home AR experience, but there will be opportunities for such futurists to talk about what a transformational experience would be like. The first weekend of March Madness is always a windfall for Las Vegas and other places where legalized betting takes place, will people be encouraged or discouraged by the fear of Coronavirus, and where betting can be done on a mobile app will we see the rise of a best experience that can encourage States slow to adopt to now move forward with mobile betting being more established.
Then we have the conference and the “upfront” businesses, and what that can mean for streaming and video conferencing advancements. While there is no way to downplay networking and experience at massive events…there is almost one conference a week planned around sports and media for the next three months…is there an opportunity for best in class streaming and mobile interaction tools to show their wares and deliver a first rate experience not just for now but for the future?
We shall see…literally. There is no doubt that the empty arena, empty concert hall, empty theater venue is devastating to the economy, especially to those little guys, the part time workers, who will not get a chance to recoup from cancelled events. We have heard of companies that will simply fold because of the losses taken on by big events not happening, and that is the collateral damage which always seems to get lost in a rush to cancel or make big statements into the unknown. On the other side we will be provided a petri dish into broadcast enhancements, mobile user experience and other technology that can be supplemented for the better and for the future.
Looking for the glass to be at least partially full and to see what best practices can come out of these tragic and unprecedented times won’t solve most of the issues at hand, but it will help us learn more, as we tune in vs show up. Showing up is always better, but without that opportunity lets see what we can learn from an augmented experience.
Survive and advance, that’s what March Madness is all about anyway and the good news is the games will go on. Are we heading towards the four walls of “American Gladiator” referenced by my late boss? Let’s hope not, but let’s also see what can be pulled in out of the unusual circumstances thrust upon us; we will be watching, since we can’t show up.
