It’s been a week since we were roaming the halls of The Hynes Convention Center, where we again came away with more from the MIT Sloan Sports Business Conference than what we gave. Some key takeaways from the rooms and the halls not just from the weekend, but for what to watch going forward. You can also find all the main stage videos here, a tremendous forward opportunity from the organizers.
The evolving platform of TGL: One of our most interesting takeaways was the learning presented by TGL founder Mike McCarley on how the league, which launched with big budgets, big star power and tremendous buzz, is very much evolutionary. There were no boastful claims that you hear from startup leagues scrambling for space about “overtaking the NFL” or even for that matter, the PGA TOUR. Rather it was about how one thinks differently to reimagine an experience with a very traditional sport, and what could come next and what was learned in the process thus far. McCarley talked about the digital natives and how TGL wasn’t looking week to week at ratings, they were looking at overall engagement…not surprisingly given his history at NBC and The Golf Channel where the idea of measuring the Total audience tied to events like The Olympics really took shape. While other newer properties like SailGP talked about ratings, McCarley was all about the social pivots that TGL made in real time, and how that will benefit the property going forward.
He also had one of the better quotes of the conference when talking about looking for investment startup and the rigors of dialing for dollars…
“A fast no is much better than a long drawn out maybe.”
Data, Storytelling and the Continued Evolution of Women’s Sports: The growth of sports played by women has always been a key element of Sloan, and this year was no different. We have all heard the advancement stories in the past year, and have read as recently as this week about the continued investment in sports played by women. Still there are vast learnings and needs that sometimes get glossed over. A few examples.
“Women are not small men. We have to invest in all aspects of performance, media and analytics before we see profitability. Shrink it & pink it is not the answer.” Michele Kang on why she has invested millions into data collection, research, grassroots support and product development in all aspects of women’s sports, and how that investment will pay off in a larger way than even her investment in clubs like the Washington Spirit of the NWSL
“40% of our audience is female. I believe if you treat women the same, train them the same, if you give women the same opportunities, they will crush it.” Paul “Triple H” Levesque talked about how the WWE is doubling down on their investment in women’s athlete storytelling on a much deeper level.
Then there is the narrowing but still very wide void of data for even the biggest of women’s sports. Connecticut Sun President Jen Rizzotti talked about the struggle to get deep stats to enhance player performance and team success still at the WNBA, while athletes like Sue Bird continued to touch on how much more engaged fans will become when there is a parallel path to data investment at the WNBA and the NWSL to marry what exists at the NBA and MLS. That lack of investment in data collection on and off the field has been one of the key reasons why growth and spending in women’s sports is rising but still trails most similar men’s sports, where deep data for decades on everything from fans habits to health and wellness have driven spends and overall high level performance. It is a slow, evolutionary growth that only in recent years leadership, ownership and third-party companies are starting to take advantage of.
The GM Challenge: The panel with General Managers and the issues over too much or too little data brought its fun banter back and forth, but one takeaway was not just about numbers, it was about the pressure brought 24/7 on those in the seat. Daryl Morey’s quote
“In our business you get a grade before you take the test & when you actually take the test no one asks how you did.”
Served as a great reminder of the jury of public opinion deciding on player personnel move winners and losers well before games are played, while the Mets’ David Stearns talked to keeping emotions in check while others are flailing about, even sometimes those in the owner’s seat.
“There is a difference when you take the emotion out of a decision & getting emotional about your competitive success in the marketplace. You can have both & be successful.”
One from the hallway as well: Every year I walk the outer hallway and listen to the pitches of those starting businesses and culling ideas in search of an “aha” moment, and I always seem to find at least one. This year’s one that jumped out was actually part of a business storyline that we covered on our podcast a few weeks ago, about the use of AI to help those with low vision. You can listen to that pod here, but the company doing more expansive work is Onecourt.io. The brainchild of several students at The University of Washington, the company takes live video and translates movement into a tactile experience that those with vision impairment can actually feel as the ball or the puck moves up and down the field of play. Marrying the touchable video to sound completes the experience as well. While the audience, the vision impaired, may thought to be a small subset, its inclusive technology opens the pathway for fandom that was missed by teams, who can bring technology partners in to also augment both cost and experience. The boards literally but the game in the hands of those who were left out, and takes immersive experience to a new level as their partnerships with teams like the Portland Trailblazers and others grow. Worth a look (pun intended).
There were many other learning and listening’s, and you would do well to scroll the video listed above. For us, as we said in a previous post, some of the best connections occurred in small rooms and hallways, but there is no discounting the value of those on stage as well.
Let’s see what comes next as well, and where these learnings grow over time.
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