Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Jason
Speaker 1: Kelly on Bloomberg Radio. We are all desperate for some sports.
Speaker 1: We just want to watch some sports. Carol, I know,
Speaker 1: darn it, darn it. All right, Well, we have someone
Speaker 1: who's got the answer, Paul Rabel. He's the co founder,
Speaker 1: of course, she's strategy officer of the Premier Lacrosse League.
Speaker 1: Johnnius on the phone from l A A big day
Speaker 1: for you, pr because you're getting back to playing, uh
Speaker 1: in not too long. In a different way, tell us
Speaker 1: what you announce. Great to talk to you, by the way, Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's great to talk to both of you, and thanks
Speaker 1: for having me again. We uh, we're excited. It's an
Speaker 1: interesting thing because we're all sitting here on May six,
Speaker 1: and it's challenging and they're still very difficult times that
Speaker 1: and a long road ahead of us. But as we
Speaker 1: look at our businesses collectively, whether you're in the media business,
Speaker 1: auto retail in our case, sports, you try to figure
Speaker 1: out a way to get your skilled workforce back in
Speaker 1: a very medically safe way. And when it comes to sports,
Speaker 1: in the sports industry, there is such a macro impact
Speaker 1: for networks. For media companies, for advertising and for brands,
Speaker 1: and just like a number of sectors that benefit from
Speaker 1: the game getting back on and in our case, being
Speaker 1: able to provide an opportunity for our players to play.
Speaker 1: UM we went down started going down this path as
Speaker 1: soon as eight weeks ago when the World Health Org
Speaker 1: had identified and officially declared this a global pandemic with
Speaker 1: COVID nineteen. And the more we uncovered with our colleagues
Speaker 1: across commissioners and other sports leagues and ownership groups, and
Speaker 1: then getting access to CDC, w h O as well
Speaker 1: as the White House Sports Committee Task Force, it became
Speaker 1: a foregone conclusion that fans wouldn't be at games for
Speaker 1: the foreseeable future. And then it came about how can
Speaker 1: if we do play, play in a safe environment where
Speaker 1: players aren't at risk. And for us, we started going
Speaker 1: down the path of building a fully quarantined scenario. And
Speaker 1: we're able to do that partly because of the nascent
Speaker 1: stage that we're in and that we only have seven
Speaker 1: teams we started last year was six. We expanded in
Speaker 1: our first off season and UH and the reason that
Speaker 1: matters is if you look at a fully quarantine model,
Speaker 1: there are only a handful of locations out there that
Speaker 1: can take on every player in the league across all
Speaker 1: the teams, key personnel, medical as well as ops, production
Speaker 1: and so on. And in our case, like really stringent
Speaker 1: medical protocol. Everyone arrives to a location, they check in
Speaker 1: and go through the right testing, it's approved, and then
Speaker 1: we're playing and no one's leaving until it's done, and
Speaker 1: no one's coming in until it's done. And uh, and
Speaker 1: that's what we vetted out. We ended up partnering with
Speaker 1: NBC and and finding the time that you know, provide
Speaker 1: itself as as attractive to us, and that was the
Speaker 1: Olympic window that was previously scheduled that postponed end of
Speaker 1: August and or end the July and early August, and
Speaker 1: just made that announcement today. We think that it will
Speaker 1: be a model for other teams sports, so long as
Speaker 1: they can figure out their total quantity of participants. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and how does that impact things, right in terms of
Speaker 1: how many players you can bring in, how many you
Speaker 1: know safely? Yes, So it definitely changes the model a
Speaker 1: bit because traditionally you would have a full regular season
Speaker 1: and your playoffs in championship and you have time in
Speaker 1: between games. So this is gonna look more like a
Speaker 1: World Cup or a March Madness, where it's a lot
Speaker 1: of games in a condensed period. So we've we've expanded
Speaker 1: our player rosters, so we were originally addressing eight teen players,
Speaker 1: not twenty two. So you've got to take into account
Speaker 1: more play and potential injury and fatigue and so on.
Speaker 1: Um and then and then you look at the format itself.
Speaker 1: So we're gonna play twenty games in sixteen days. It's
Speaker 1: a three week total quarantine. So we can talk a
Speaker 1: little bit about the medical protocol, but essentially there's a
Speaker 1: mini camp that leads into it, and then we are
Speaker 1: and then we start playing. And the first week, like
Speaker 1: the World Cup, is group played for seeding, and then
Speaker 1: the second week is a single elimination tournament for a champion.
Speaker 1: And so what does this do? And we're gonna talk
Speaker 1: a little bit about this on the other side because
Speaker 1: we've got to get to some news and things like that,
Speaker 1: Paul Rabel, But briefly, in in thirty seconds, sponsors are
Speaker 1: going to be happy with this, right yeah, yeah, So
Speaker 1: right now, if you look at our industry in sports,
Speaker 1: your conceding tickets, concessions, parking, merchandise, on site, local sponsorships.
Speaker 1: So if you're making a run at this, you've got
Speaker 1: to look at the viewership plays, your distribution, and then sponsors.
Speaker 1: And if you figure out viewership, you can recoup your
Speaker 1: commitment from your sponsors and potentially get more. And so
Speaker 1: that's how we're looking at this is the viewership, distribution
Speaker 1: and sponsorship move. Something I have to ask about your
Speaker 1: plans here to do um this two week tournament. When
Speaker 1: you said that you're going to be playing like some
Speaker 1: I think you said twenty games in sixteen days, and
Speaker 1: you talked about very stringent medical protocols, are you saying
Speaker 1: that the teams that are going to be playing are
Speaker 1: all going to be in lockdown as well? Yes, so
Speaker 1: that that's yeah, that's the key difference between what we're
Speaker 1: seeing the NBA and Major League Baseball even explorers getting
Speaker 1: everyone to a geography and then maintaining some level of
Speaker 1: hygiene between where the players stay in the facilities. What
Speaker 1: we're saying is we think it actually needs to be
Speaker 1: more defined and safe than that. So everyone will will
Speaker 1: be on the same campus in different dormitories, and then
Speaker 1: we'll have practice facilities and abilities for teams to function
Speaker 1: independent of each other as they prepare for games, and
Speaker 1: independent locker rooms and film study rooms. But then there's
Speaker 1: a game field and so everyone it's going to be
Speaker 1: like a mini Olympic village, and that includes our production
Speaker 1: team and NBC's talent. They're going to be there during
Speaker 1: the full quarantine as well. So how do you how
Speaker 1: do you scale this up? And I do think about
Speaker 1: the Olympics right there trying to figure that out, you know,
Speaker 1: and whether or not they can really go ahead, and
Speaker 1: I guess it does depend largely on a vaccine, But
Speaker 1: I do wonder how do you think about and the
Speaker 1: conversations that you said, you know, you're all you know,
Speaker 1: accessing the CDC and w h O Sports Task Force.
Speaker 1: What are the conversations about how you scale this up? Yeah,
Speaker 1: So the biggest piece to even be able to get
Speaker 1: there is knowing that there are no positive tests. So
Speaker 1: before everyone from players to our participants, the broadcast members arrived,
Speaker 1: we have three phases. There's gonna be an at home
Speaker 1: phase of testing where the results will be in, and
Speaker 1: there's going to be a quarantine phase during that at
Speaker 1: home moment, and then when people commute to the site
Speaker 1: will all arrive during the same time period and go
Speaker 1: through the same COVID testing again to identify by any discrepancy,
Speaker 1: and then there will be another short quarantine period and
Speaker 1: there will be a final test during in between the
Speaker 1: group play and the single elimination. So that's been recommended
Speaker 1: by our community that we put together that includes external
Speaker 1: infectious disease specialists and internal medicine doctors UM. And then
Speaker 1: as far as the value in communicating with the White
Speaker 1: House and the CDC and the w h OH is
Speaker 1: that they've given us evidence that indicates that we will
Speaker 1: not be purchasing tests away from other UH states or
Speaker 1: UH you'll call it patrons in need based on symptoms.
Speaker 1: So we're making this announcement here on May six. What
Speaker 1: a lot of leagues are trying to figure out is
Speaker 1: if they can come up with a model that works,
Speaker 1: how do you get access to testing and that testing
Speaker 1: being preventative because right now we're still in a very
Speaker 1: shortage of testing. So what we have been told and
Speaker 1: advised on from the groups that I had mentioned is
Speaker 1: by the middle of this month, you're going to see
Speaker 1: more states like California give point of care access testing
Speaker 1: UM and then by the first of June that should
Speaker 1: be deployed close to nationwide. So we're our tournament at
Speaker 1: the end of July, and that's a critical piece. Otherwise
Speaker 1: we wouldn't have pushed play on this just because we
Speaker 1: don't despite all of the benefits you can get from
Speaker 1: finding a safe environment and playing games and distributing those games,
Speaker 1: we do not want to interfere with the public testing protocol, right,
Speaker 1: So Paul, I have to ask you, you know, and
Speaker 1: the last time you were with us was right around
Speaker 1: the time that the Olympics were postponed a year. Uh.
Speaker 1: Now here we are May six. As you say, you've
Speaker 1: got a plan going forward, other pro leagues were still
Speaker 1: sort of waiting on hearing. What's your prediction for you
Speaker 1: have figured out a solution, as you and you talk
Speaker 1: to a lot of other commissioners and as you say,
Speaker 1: owners of teams and owners of leagues, what's your prediction
Speaker 1: for the rest of here? Yeah, so that's a great question.
Speaker 1: There there are a number of variables, I'll say that.
Speaker 1: So we're all in conversation and we've all been comparing notes.
Speaker 1: So I think everyone agrees that for leagues that want
Speaker 1: to play this summer. The quarantine model is ideal. The
Speaker 1: challenge for larger leagues like the NBA and Major League Baseball.
Speaker 1: They're thirty plus teams. So the risk that both of
Speaker 1: them are going to have to take is kind of
Speaker 1: the legacy impact on the annual champions and end of
Speaker 1: your awards because there's like real tradition there. They from
Speaker 1: my perspective, would need to make a jump to advance
Speaker 1: from regular season to playoffs that potentially do a shortened
Speaker 1: version of playoffs because those playoffs format are still eighteen teams.
Speaker 1: So they're they're in a tricky place because they have
Speaker 1: too many players per team. Uh, the NFL is in
Speaker 1: an interesting place. I heard you guys talk about it
Speaker 1: in between the segment, and they've explored famless models that
Speaker 1: they're exploring a delayed start um. But but the the
Speaker 1: at the net of it, there are two big factors
Speaker 1: that we're going to find out is this comes down
Speaker 1: to fans and consumer confidence. Because Miami Dolphins has said
Speaker 1: they laid out a schedule, but you know what, we
Speaker 1: look at his history of stars and consumer confidence back
Speaker 1: to back to retail and if you look at COVID, well,
Speaker 1: what are the parallels. Well, first, there's going to be
Speaker 1: a Drugger treatment that's introduced and easy, get FDA approved
Speaker 1: and provided at scale. We don't know when that's going
Speaker 1: to come, but that will come before vaccination. We know
Speaker 1: a vaccination in the best case, isn't gonna be here until.
Speaker 1: I don't believe that leagues unless you're the NFL that
Speaker 1: prevents that presents a really strong uh you know, I
Speaker 1: I think like a strong um indication for a lot
Speaker 1: of fans who just sometimes will go because they're that
Speaker 1: passionate about it. I don't see a world where a
Speaker 1: consumer is going to spend on a ticket and an
Speaker 1: opt into potential exposure to a virus when there is
Speaker 1: in a vaccine, and especially when there isn't a Drugger
Speaker 1: treatment for it right now. So until we get to
Speaker 1: that place, I see a world where sports are going
Speaker 1: to have to figure out how to play without fans
Speaker 1: and then focus on how you can create an environment
Speaker 1: where it's safe for your players so they can feel comfortable.
Speaker 1: And that's the last thing I'll say is Major League
Speaker 1: Baseball has got together as a union and they've come
Speaker 1: back and said, hey, even if MLB comes with a
Speaker 1: quarantine model. We feel uncomfortable leaving our families for three months.
Speaker 1: So there's like an assortment of variables. Right, So I
Speaker 1: have to ask you, uh, and only about a minute
Speaker 1: left here, how are you dealing with this as an athlete?
Speaker 1: You know, I sort of jokingly set you're a peloton guy.
Speaker 1: I mean, you're gonna play in this tournament. How has
Speaker 1: that been? Well, I've been ribing my peloton. I'm sick
Speaker 1: of my peloton. But the good SoRs the good news
Speaker 1: for peloton is I don't carry enough clout for that
Speaker 1: to impact the stocks today. But I have I have.
Speaker 1: I have been facetiming with my strength conditioning coach, and
Speaker 1: I'll set up a yoga Matt and I have a
Speaker 1: kettlebell and we'll go through a lot of mobility work.
Speaker 1: And I think it's hard for the was for me,
Speaker 1: interestingly enough, Jason and Carroll, because this time last year,
Speaker 1: I was building the poo and you know, working out
Speaker 1: in my hotel room. So if anything, it's a neutralizer
Speaker 1: for me versus my competitors in this quarantine tournament. That's right. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you're here, man, You're used to You're used to balancing
Speaker 1: all of this. So you may actually come out stronger
Speaker 1: from all this because you haven't. You haven't been on
Speaker 1: the road. I love it, all right, Paul. Competitors know
Speaker 1: exactly exactly well of Courtne you just told a national audience.
Speaker 1: But you know this your secret safe with us, all right,
Speaker 1: Paul Able. Good to catch up with you, Good luck
Speaker 1: with all of this. I can't wait to talk to
Speaker 1: you when this is underway.