1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:10,160 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio News. This is the business 2 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:10,760 Speaker 1: of sports. 3 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 2: The business of sports can be intimidating or hard for 4 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 2: a starting to break into. 5 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:17,599 Speaker 3: We really appreciate when our owners are actually better, you 6 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:19,239 Speaker 3: know with us through the journey. 7 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:22,440 Speaker 4: Teams ours especially have been very intentional to diversify at 8 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 4: all levels. 9 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 5: Of the company. 10 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:25,599 Speaker 6: I think we're in the bolden years for the NFL 11 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:26,640 Speaker 6: and college football. 12 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 7: Our demographic reach has continued to expande. 13 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:33,440 Speaker 8: This is going to be really unlocking the streaming platform 14 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:34,839 Speaker 8: for sports fans. 15 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:35,919 Speaker 2: Sports evaluations arising. 16 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:37,000 Speaker 7: We'll see when they peak. 17 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:39,680 Speaker 9: You don't have to be the best in your sports 18 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:42,560 Speaker 9: to make a whole ton of money. 19 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. 20 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:50,640 Speaker 2: This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports. We explore the 21 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:53,479 Speaker 2: big money issues in the world of sports. Michael Barr 22 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 2: along with my colleagues Damien sas Sauer and Vanessa Berdomo. 23 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 2: Coming up, we'll hear from Monumental Sports and entertain CEO 24 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:03,760 Speaker 2: Ted Leonsis. We'll get his thoughts on the growth of 25 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:07,120 Speaker 2: women's sports and progress on renovating Capitol One Arena in 26 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:07,960 Speaker 2: the heart of DC. 27 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:11,560 Speaker 3: We're bringing almost three million people a year into our building. 28 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 3: We have one of the busiest buildings in the country, 29 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 3: and we have to make sure that people have kind 30 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 3: of wow fact right that they feel really really good 31 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:21,680 Speaker 3: about that experience. 32 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 2: We'll also learn about Noah Basketball. It's a data company 33 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 2: that uses advanced technology to get real time feedback to players. 34 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 2: All that and more is on the way. But first, 35 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 2: the new WNBA season is just getting underway, and it's 36 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 2: starting coming out of one of the most successful years 37 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 2: of all time. Here to talk about what's next for 38 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 2: the WNBA and the recent rise and popularity of women's 39 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 2: sports is fair Lavel. She is the managing director of 40 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 2: the Collective. It's part of sports marketing agency Wasserman and 41 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 2: focused on women's sports. Fayure, Welcome to the Bloomberg Business 42 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:02,600 Speaker 2: of sports. 43 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 5: Thanks for having me pleasure to be here. 44 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 2: Well, let's start because we are just now into a 45 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:14,120 Speaker 2: very young w NBA season. Who Ray last year was 46 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 2: one whale of a year for the league. How can 47 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 2: they build up on this success? 48 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:22,520 Speaker 8: I think they already are building up on this success. 49 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:25,239 Speaker 8: They have a new franchise, the Golden State of Alkyrise. 50 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:28,360 Speaker 8: They have Toronto Tempo coming up. You know, shortly behind 51 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 8: them next year, and there's a lot of great news 52 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 8: coming out of the league. I think they could not 53 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:36,120 Speaker 8: have ended on a higher note with the championship that 54 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:37,799 Speaker 8: they had, the parade in New York. 55 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 9: Twenty eight years in the makings, the. 56 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 3: New York Liberty Double, Wendy champions l E. D. 57 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 8: Elefant always a fan favorite, and just so much innovation 58 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:53,840 Speaker 8: coming out of the league there. 59 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:57,359 Speaker 10: You know, the Collective worked on a study with Deloyd 60 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 10: on in bridging the gap and investment in women's sports, 61 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 10: and it pointed out that eighty percent of decision makers 62 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 10: have increased their investment in women's sports over the past 63 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:09,080 Speaker 10: five years. And you know, the Collective started in twenty nineteen. 64 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 10: I'm curious how you've seen, you know, those conversations change 65 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 10: over time with brands and sponsorships, like how much easier 66 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:18,720 Speaker 10: was it to sell things for the Golden State Valkyries 67 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 10: than say, Angel City was five years ago. 68 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 8: Well, to be fair, we weren't the ones selling for 69 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:26,240 Speaker 8: Golden State Valkyries, but I will say that we've seen 70 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 8: a huge influx of brands coming into women's sports full stop. 71 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:33,880 Speaker 8: And the WNBA has certainly proven and the Golden state 72 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:37,600 Speaker 8: vokraries have certainly proven to be an incredible investment for 73 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:41,000 Speaker 8: any brands coming in. What we've seen though, is what's 74 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:45,240 Speaker 8: been interesting is not only that you've had these non 75 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 8: endemic brands coming into it to sports. So for the 76 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 8: first time every year seeing you know, cosmetics and beauty 77 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 8: care products coming in, which seems like a natural, but 78 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 8: for many years in the past, if they've never entered 79 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 8: into the sports space. So this is an exciting time 80 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 8: to be in women's sports. It's also a time when 81 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 8: women's sports is really galvanizing new methods of marketing, new 82 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 8: method methods of you know, finding and loving up their 83 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:15,120 Speaker 8: fan bases, if you will, on their early stages. And 84 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 8: so it's been an exciting moment to witness all of 85 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 8: these brands and all of this new investment coming in. 86 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 8: There's obviously still lots of rooms. So for all those 87 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:25,960 Speaker 8: brands out there listening, we welcome all of your investment 88 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 8: into the league. 89 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:30,919 Speaker 7: All this new investment, all these new brands. 90 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 4: Yet, the average WNBA salary for the twenty twenty four 91 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:36,159 Speaker 4: season was just one hundred and forty seven and forty 92 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:38,840 Speaker 4: five dollars. Your average player makes less than a woman's 93 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:41,159 Speaker 4: pickaball player at two hundred and sixty thousand per year. 94 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 4: I mean, there, what is up with the disconnect and 95 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:45,599 Speaker 4: what is going to change it? 96 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:47,680 Speaker 8: Well, I mean, it's still a business, and I think 97 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 8: the NWNBA has you know, they're in the middle of 98 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:54,400 Speaker 8: a collective bargaining year and they have an incredible commissioner 99 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:56,839 Speaker 8: who are working hard along with the team at the 100 00:04:56,960 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 8: w NBA to be able to you know, achieve more 101 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 8: for all of the players and the teams and leagues themselves. 102 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,840 Speaker 8: This has been a long, steady climb for this league 103 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:10,799 Speaker 8: and for you know, the players coming up. I think 104 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:13,599 Speaker 8: it's still a business. And I'm not sure. I'm not 105 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:16,120 Speaker 8: an expert in the pickleball league or what their salaries are, 106 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 8: but I trust in the leadership that we have within 107 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:24,719 Speaker 8: the Systney Sports space to really deliver more and more 108 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:26,920 Speaker 8: as this league continues to grow well failure. 109 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 4: You're right, it is a business. And so then I 110 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:30,359 Speaker 4: have to ask you this question, why is the Connecticut 111 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:32,400 Speaker 4: Sun selling at this point? Because the business of the 112 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 4: business of women's basketball seems to be just you know, 113 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:37,520 Speaker 4: at the precipice of blowing out, you know what I mean, 114 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 4: And you know, with the new you know, media deal 115 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:42,280 Speaker 4: that's going to get struck in the next year or so. 116 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 4: I mean, you would hope that, you know, there'd be 117 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 4: a lot more revenue to go around. So I'm just curious, 118 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:48,920 Speaker 4: I mean, without speaking about the connecticuts and specifically because 119 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:51,360 Speaker 4: you're not close to that situation, you know, you know, 120 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 4: what is it going to take here? Is it going 121 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 4: to be striking new deals with the Amazon primes and 122 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 4: the apples of the world. Is it going to be 123 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:00,040 Speaker 4: something bigger than that? I mean, you know, what do 124 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:01,600 Speaker 4: you think is going to move the needle here for 125 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 4: women's sports and the Women's National Basketball Association in. 126 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:08,480 Speaker 8: Specific, Well, I would say that the women's the women's 127 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:11,680 Speaker 8: sports as a whole has been you know, has really 128 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:16,480 Speaker 8: found its footing over the last five six years in 129 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:21,120 Speaker 8: terms of viewership, attendance, you know, merchandise sales, sponsorship. 130 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:22,800 Speaker 5: On the rise. All of that has been positive markers. 131 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 8: Media rights have gone up significantly across WNBA and WSL, 132 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:28,960 Speaker 8: which in this country are as we would call them, 133 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 8: the more mature leagues, even though they're far far behind 134 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:35,200 Speaker 8: their male counterparts, which I do think needs to be 135 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:37,920 Speaker 8: continued to continue to be pointed out because it's not 136 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 8: necessarily a fair comparison to say, well, you're not necessarily 137 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:44,040 Speaker 8: where men should be. There's no comparison that should be 138 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:47,599 Speaker 8: made there. They're you know, the WNBA has or the 139 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:49,479 Speaker 8: NBA has fifty years on the WNBA. 140 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,280 Speaker 5: So we need to look at the. 141 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:55,720 Speaker 8: The leagues in and of themselves and what needs to 142 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:58,520 Speaker 8: be able to help them grow as bits and parts. 143 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:00,120 Speaker 8: It's not one fell swoop is going to come in 144 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:02,600 Speaker 8: and one TV deal is going to fix all the things, 145 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:04,800 Speaker 8: or one sponsorship deal is going to fix all the things. 146 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:06,720 Speaker 5: There are many different ways that. 147 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:10,000 Speaker 8: Women's sports are different than men's sports, and those ways 148 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,000 Speaker 8: need to be articulated and also need to be invested into. 149 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 8: It's everything from innovating around women's health, which you know 150 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:19,120 Speaker 8: there are owners that are really leaning into that, like 151 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:22,080 Speaker 8: Michelle King. It's everything from investing in the fan experience 152 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:26,120 Speaker 8: and driving forward on getting people into the building from 153 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:28,920 Speaker 8: like Claire Side and the Liberty to the Balkyries, and 154 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:29,960 Speaker 8: there are many other teams. 155 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 5: Obviously the Aces, et cetera, that are doing that. 156 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 8: And then there are you know, ways to look at 157 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:40,440 Speaker 8: how to engage in you know, viewership to social media 158 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 8: to pushing forward and advocating for the women as players 159 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 8: and as individuals, and women as players and individuals need 160 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 8: as much support as you know as their men counterparts, 161 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 8: but a little bit differently because they actually can also 162 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:56,960 Speaker 8: give birth to humans, and so they need to make 163 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:00,160 Speaker 8: sure that they're you know, supported to that end a 164 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 8: different way. And so that all of that leads to 165 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 8: a little bit of a different lens on it, but 166 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 8: also one that it's a great opportunity for brands and 167 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:13,280 Speaker 8: companies to come in and be in a support mechanism 168 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:15,760 Speaker 8: to this, you know industry in these leagues. 169 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 2: I used to be from the old school from if 170 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 2: you were in the owner of a team and someone says, well, 171 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:25,520 Speaker 2: when do you make money as an owner? And I 172 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:28,320 Speaker 2: used to say, well when you sell it. But now 173 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:32,760 Speaker 2: with private equity, that's kind of changed the whole landscape. 174 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 2: How does it affect women's sports today with private equity. 175 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:40,760 Speaker 8: Well, I mean, that's such a great sign. It's fantastic 176 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:43,360 Speaker 8: that private equity is coming to the sport. I think 177 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:47,320 Speaker 8: it's a great nod to the fact that this that 178 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 8: women's sports are being seen as really viable businesses that 179 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:53,800 Speaker 8: will deliver great returns on investment. So I think that's 180 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 8: a positive, you know, but it is a business, and 181 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 8: so there are different says I believe in investing in 182 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:05,760 Speaker 8: a women's sports team than investing in a men's team today. 183 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:08,640 Speaker 8: We did a report last year with RBC that really 184 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:11,040 Speaker 8: dove into this, particularly in the NWSL and the w 185 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:13,760 Speaker 8: n b A, and looked at specifically the types of 186 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:16,200 Speaker 8: things that these teams really need, which are you know, 187 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:18,839 Speaker 8: when you're investing in a women's teams, you might need 188 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:22,080 Speaker 8: to over rotate as an owner to be looking at 189 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:23,959 Speaker 8: this more as a startup in some ways. So how 190 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:26,680 Speaker 8: can you lend more of your contacts, how can you 191 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:30,680 Speaker 8: lend more of your connections and technology, How can you 192 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 8: look at delivering on different you know, facilities or different 193 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:40,120 Speaker 8: programs that that may already be accepted within the men's space, 194 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:43,880 Speaker 8: but because women's sports is not as far as advanced 195 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 8: in some ways, that these owners oftentimes in these ownership 196 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:51,839 Speaker 8: groups oftentimes can come in and be real partners in growth, 197 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:53,319 Speaker 8: which is an exciting opportunity. 198 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:56,440 Speaker 10: On that same pathway, when we're talking about you know, 199 00:09:56,520 --> 00:10:00,880 Speaker 10: ownership and private equity and ROI things like that. In 200 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 10: the study, you know, there's an argument that brands should 201 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:07,600 Speaker 10: use different metrics for evaluating women's sports sponsorship ROI what 202 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:09,880 Speaker 10: are those different metrics and why do you think that 203 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 10: these properties need to be treated differently than men's properties. 204 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:16,600 Speaker 8: I think for now, what we're looking at is and 205 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:19,200 Speaker 8: the way that we think about this is and not 206 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:22,080 Speaker 8: going into the details of all of the ways that 207 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:24,960 Speaker 8: we at Wasserman will value and look at, you know, 208 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:27,320 Speaker 8: property valuations and the different elements that go into it, 209 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:29,640 Speaker 8: but you know, it's largely based on impressions and engagement. 210 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:32,880 Speaker 8: And what we really feel like is that in the 211 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:36,240 Speaker 8: women's game, there are other metrics that can be considered 212 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:40,199 Speaker 8: which will help up value those teams to be able 213 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:42,319 Speaker 8: to give them more of a leg up and provide 214 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:48,960 Speaker 8: more backup, to charge more for those sponsorship assets, and 215 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:52,800 Speaker 8: so that might be looking at things like in the 216 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:54,960 Speaker 8: case of the team report that we did with r REC, 217 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:57,160 Speaker 8: we looked at forty different variables that went into what 218 00:10:57,200 --> 00:10:59,439 Speaker 8: made up revenue, and that was everything from you know, 219 00:10:59,679 --> 00:11:02,679 Speaker 8: how you look at things across operations, how you look 220 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 8: at across the market itself, how do you look at 221 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:08,000 Speaker 8: things across performance, team performance, and once you're able to 222 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:10,360 Speaker 8: go into those forty different variables, you're able to really 223 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:13,360 Speaker 8: analyze us in and of themselves, which then become levers 224 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:15,320 Speaker 8: that you can plus up. Obviously, we want to make 225 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 8: sure that those are defensible, that's defensible math, but that 226 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:21,079 Speaker 8: you're able to start to plus those things up in 227 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:23,599 Speaker 8: so that these teams can start to build on themselves 228 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:28,000 Speaker 8: without having to just rely on viewership numbers or attendance numbers, 229 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:31,880 Speaker 8: which may not be where where they need to be 230 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:34,800 Speaker 8: in order to charge more. So we start to look 231 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:37,439 Speaker 8: at how do you actually what are the other assets 232 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:38,720 Speaker 8: that you can start to value and how do you 233 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:38,960 Speaker 8: do this? 234 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:43,680 Speaker 4: Hey, you've worked with, among others, Pepsi, Microsoft, Theagio American Express. 235 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:45,599 Speaker 4: You've seen it all and you know putting yourself in 236 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:48,439 Speaker 4: their shoes, right, I mean you've been in their shoes before. Right. 237 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 4: What data points do you believe they haven't seen yet 238 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 4: that makes the case for women's sports? I mean, I 239 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:57,400 Speaker 4: mean it's playing off of what you know, Vanessa asked 240 00:11:57,440 --> 00:11:59,840 Speaker 4: your earlier. You know, is there anything that they have 241 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:02,520 Speaker 4: seen that they're asking you for that can help them 242 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:06,440 Speaker 4: make more informed decisions about where to invest? Along the vertical? 243 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:11,200 Speaker 8: I think where what we see to be unique to 244 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:15,440 Speaker 8: women's sports today is the loyalty of. 245 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:19,400 Speaker 5: Women's sports fans. So we are just at breaking news. 246 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:21,640 Speaker 8: We're just about to come out with another report and 247 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:25,000 Speaker 8: one of the key findings of those reports is around 248 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:27,840 Speaker 8: looking at women's sports fandom. And one of these key 249 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:30,600 Speaker 8: stats is the fifty percent of women's sports fans first 250 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 8: identify as women's sports fans before a team, before a league, 251 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:38,200 Speaker 8: before a player, before an app before any of it. 252 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:40,880 Speaker 8: I would say truly that the women's sports fan base 253 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:44,880 Speaker 8: is one to not being messed with or undervalue in 254 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:46,839 Speaker 8: any way. In fact, I think there's more value. 255 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,680 Speaker 2: Put on that our thanks to thay Or Lavio for 256 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:52,960 Speaker 2: joining us. She's the managing director of the collective with 257 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:56,000 Speaker 2: the firm Washerton Up. Next, we turn to a company 258 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,880 Speaker 2: that's harnessing data to help basketball players improve their shooting. 259 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:04,160 Speaker 2: For my colleagues, Damian Sasauur and Vanessa Pernomo, I'm Michael Barr. 260 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:07,040 Speaker 2: You're listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg 261 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:08,360 Speaker 2: Radio around the world. 262 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:16,160 Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. 263 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 2: This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports where we explore 264 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:21,920 Speaker 2: the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm 265 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:25,920 Speaker 2: Michael Barr, along with my colleagues Damian Sasaur and Vanessa Bernomo. 266 00:13:26,559 --> 00:13:31,240 Speaker 2: Noah Basketball is a data service provider that uses machine 267 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 2: learning to give real time data and feedback to basketball players. 268 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:40,000 Speaker 2: Here to talk to us about the tech and how 269 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:43,400 Speaker 2: it could help basketball players improve their shooting. Is Noah 270 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 2: Basketball CEO John Carter John, Welcome to the Bloomberg Business 271 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:48,680 Speaker 2: of Sports. 272 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:50,320 Speaker 6: Thank you excited to be here. 273 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:54,079 Speaker 2: Well, you've got a product out there and it's ahead 274 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:58,599 Speaker 2: of its time when you first introduced it about Noah Basketball, 275 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:00,280 Speaker 2: tell us all about it, please. 276 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:04,880 Speaker 6: Well that's an understatement. We you know, we started over 277 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:08,600 Speaker 6: twenty years ago and it was it was an interesting run. 278 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:11,440 Speaker 6: I tell people all the time. I'm not sure people 279 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:13,880 Speaker 6: cared that much about what we were doing until around 280 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 6: twenty and seventeen. But we we went around. We did 281 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:23,080 Speaker 6: barnstorm gyms basically to sell enough systems to keep the 282 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:24,880 Speaker 6: lights on, if you want to think about it that way. 283 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:29,120 Speaker 6: And the tech got better and there was a generational 284 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 6: change in players and coaches. If you go back to 285 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:34,400 Speaker 6: two thousand and five to when we sold our first 286 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:38,960 Speaker 6: commercially first commercial product, you know, there was no cloud. 287 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:41,520 Speaker 6: There wasn't you know, very limited as far as cell 288 00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:45,360 Speaker 6: phones and smartphones and those type things. And the old 289 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:49,280 Speaker 6: school coaches weren't big fans of tech, especially when it 290 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:53,280 Speaker 6: comes to shooting. Shooting is they generally don't like to 291 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:57,440 Speaker 6: have their players messed with, so to speak, or things 292 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:00,760 Speaker 6: like that. But fast forward twenty years and we have 293 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:04,440 Speaker 6: twenty eight MBA customers and most all of your major 294 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:08,080 Speaker 6: brands in college basketball use our tech now, and thousands 295 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:12,360 Speaker 6: of high schools and today's generation of players they grew 296 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:14,520 Speaker 6: up with tech in their pocket and we've made it 297 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:16,800 Speaker 6: really easy for them, and we have the data to 298 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:20,240 Speaker 6: back up what we're doing and why it works and 299 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:21,080 Speaker 6: how it works. 300 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 10: So explain to us a little bit about how it works, 301 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:27,000 Speaker 10: what it does for player shots, and why they finally 302 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:30,520 Speaker 10: were bought into the idea of no basketball. 303 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:30,920 Speaker 2: Yeah. 304 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:36,280 Speaker 6: So, our system basically tracks the basketball and we collect 305 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:40,840 Speaker 6: and give feedback on three particular high definition metrics that 306 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:44,320 Speaker 6: you can't see with the neked eye. The first thing 307 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:46,720 Speaker 6: is trajectory or the arc of the shot as most 308 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:49,560 Speaker 6: people in basketball refer to it, and we measure that 309 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:52,800 Speaker 6: as the eNTRI angle coming into the rim. We have 310 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:56,440 Speaker 6: found through collecting seven hundred million basketball shots that the 311 00:15:56,440 --> 00:15:59,720 Speaker 6: perfect interr angle is forty five degrees. That's where things 312 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:02,720 Speaker 6: all the physics lines up in your favor. And so 313 00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:06,400 Speaker 6: if you think about trajectory, that's one of the biggest 314 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:10,000 Speaker 6: issues we see, especially at the youth and high school level, 315 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,000 Speaker 6: as players are all over the place on trajectory. And 316 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:15,200 Speaker 6: so what our system does when the ball gets to 317 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:18,240 Speaker 6: the rim, it will verbally tell you, It'll say thirty nine, 318 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:23,600 Speaker 6: thirty eight, fifty two whatever. And so the beauty of 319 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:26,880 Speaker 6: that is that players aren't really changing anything with their 320 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:30,720 Speaker 6: shot other than the release point of the basketball shot. 321 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:34,640 Speaker 6: So just think about their arm angle. They're perfecting the 322 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:39,000 Speaker 6: release high the release angle and perfecting the which allows 323 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:42,920 Speaker 6: them to protect perfect the entry angle, which gets them 324 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:45,760 Speaker 6: to line up the physics in their favor. And you 325 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:48,880 Speaker 6: absolutely will see more shots drop if you're shooting in 326 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:52,560 Speaker 6: the mid forties. And we have proven this every way possible, 327 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:56,520 Speaker 6: and it just absolutely makes a difference. And so the 328 00:16:56,600 --> 00:17:01,360 Speaker 6: biggest thing I found, whether it's with NBA college, you know, Hasku, wherever, 329 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:05,040 Speaker 6: once they have some success with it, then everybody buys 330 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:08,399 Speaker 6: in and h and it starts spreading throughout the team. 331 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:13,119 Speaker 2: Damien, I guess Shaquille O'Neil could have used this. Yes, 332 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:16,439 Speaker 2: when he was on the free throw line, it was 333 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:18,160 Speaker 2: like a straight arrow going. 334 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:21,000 Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm surprised you didn't say to the Robinson Michael Barlett, 335 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:24,119 Speaker 4: here's the reality, John Carter, you need to take me 336 00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 4: back to twenty eleven. You need to take me back 337 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:28,960 Speaker 4: to Lebron James. You need to take me back to 338 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:32,000 Speaker 4: Dwayne Wade. That statue would not be in front of 339 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:35,960 Speaker 4: the of Miami's arena were it not for you and 340 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:39,240 Speaker 4: your you know, Noah basketball program fixing him on the 341 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:39,920 Speaker 4: free throw lines. 342 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:40,480 Speaker 7: Talk to us a. 343 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:43,600 Speaker 4: Little bit about how you started, how you got NBA, 344 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:47,120 Speaker 4: these NBA players to even find you, figure out that 345 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:50,080 Speaker 4: you're you had this product that worked, and then obviously 346 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:52,199 Speaker 4: take you forward to today's success. 347 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:54,760 Speaker 6: Yeah. Well, obviously you read some of the d Wade 348 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:56,920 Speaker 6: stories way back when from the heat or you found 349 00:17:56,920 --> 00:17:58,080 Speaker 6: that somewhere. 350 00:17:58,119 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 7: But I got that up, John, I did my home. 351 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:07,560 Speaker 6: That's impressive, David. But you know, the the biggest thing was, 352 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:09,960 Speaker 6: you know, we didn't you know, I'm no former NBA 353 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:13,600 Speaker 6: player or anything crazy like that. We just did it 354 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:16,520 Speaker 6: through hard work, you know, and just building relationships. We 355 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:19,360 Speaker 6: build a relationship with this high school coach, which introduces 356 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:21,520 Speaker 6: us to this college coach, and then this college coach 357 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:26,280 Speaker 6: introduces us to this NBA assistant coach, and just worked 358 00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:29,359 Speaker 6: that for a number of years to get in those doors. 359 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:32,400 Speaker 6: Those doors don't swing open easily as you can imagine. 360 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:32,640 Speaker 7: Yeah. 361 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:35,399 Speaker 4: No, and the product, if I'm not mistaken, it's somewhere 362 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:36,879 Speaker 4: in the order of let's say, I don't know, at 363 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:39,440 Speaker 4: the low end, four thousand to what six thousand dollars. 364 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:41,360 Speaker 4: So yeah, I mean it's a it's a product, right, 365 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:43,199 Speaker 4: I mean you got to be out there guerrilla marketing 366 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:46,200 Speaker 4: and getting in people's faces, getting in coaches faces, players faces. 367 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 7: I mean, do you have a staff? How do you 368 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:48,080 Speaker 7: do that? 369 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:48,920 Speaker 2: Yeah? 370 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,800 Speaker 6: So so today, you know, back then, in the early days, 371 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:53,680 Speaker 6: we did not have a staff. It was primarily me. 372 00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:58,280 Speaker 6: You know, today, you know, we we have a reasonable 373 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:02,000 Speaker 6: sized staff, and you know, we have six full time 374 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:05,359 Speaker 6: salespeople I think it is, and and you know, we 375 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:08,520 Speaker 6: make our rounds. We you know, we we do a 376 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:10,800 Speaker 6: lot of marketing that we have not done in the 377 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:13,760 Speaker 6: past when we were just focused on college and NBA teams. 378 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:17,080 Speaker 6: We didn't do any marketing. It was all personal relationships, 379 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:20,840 Speaker 6: you know, feet on the street and reaching out to people, 380 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:23,639 Speaker 6: making our way into doors, doing demos and you know, 381 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:27,680 Speaker 6: begging coaches to bring players in so that we could 382 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:31,520 Speaker 6: demonstrate the product to the players. And you know, and 383 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:33,200 Speaker 6: it took some time, and you know, it was several 384 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:35,200 Speaker 6: It was a little bit of a perfect storm. So 385 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:38,800 Speaker 6: number one, the tech got better. You know, the product, 386 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:40,639 Speaker 6: the things that we do today compared to what we 387 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:44,720 Speaker 6: did in twenty eleven totally different. And that's because center 388 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:47,159 Speaker 6: tech has gotten better. A lot of that's been driven 389 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:51,440 Speaker 6: by driverless cars and robotics and animation and or automation 390 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:54,640 Speaker 6: and things like that. So that was a big piece 391 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:57,119 Speaker 6: of it. Also, along the way, as you guys will know, 392 00:19:57,200 --> 00:19:59,920 Speaker 6: the game has become about shooting threes. The game has 393 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:03,360 Speaker 6: come about shooting and so that that really helped us 394 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:05,600 Speaker 6: in a big way. And then, as I mentioned earlier, 395 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:09,479 Speaker 6: having the next generation of players that really grew up 396 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:12,959 Speaker 6: with tech and believe in tech. All those things together 397 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:15,919 Speaker 6: and we look up and suddenly we've got you know, 398 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:18,840 Speaker 6: almost the entire NBA and WNBA for that matter, using 399 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:19,320 Speaker 6: our tech. 400 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:21,680 Speaker 4: I mean, where does it end John, I mean this technology, 401 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:23,320 Speaker 4: can it be used in volleyball? Can it be used 402 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:25,040 Speaker 4: in golf? I mean, my golf game needs some work. 403 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:27,280 Speaker 4: Michael Barr knows this. I mean taught us a little 404 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:29,320 Speaker 4: bit about what comes next for you for the company. 405 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:32,800 Speaker 6: Well, so we're still a basketball only company today. We 406 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:36,040 Speaker 6: have done some things in volleyball, and there's certainly some 407 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:40,960 Speaker 6: other applications, but our focus right now is on you know, 408 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:43,040 Speaker 6: we've been focused on the NBA and college market the 409 00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:44,920 Speaker 6: last few years, and we've been waiting for tech to 410 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:47,480 Speaker 6: get a little bit better and a little bit cheaper 411 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:50,639 Speaker 6: so that we could really go after the high school 412 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:54,480 Speaker 6: and middle school market in a significant way. And so 413 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:58,120 Speaker 6: and we introduced that product this time last year, last summer, 414 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:00,720 Speaker 6: and that product is flying off the chef. This is 415 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:02,600 Speaker 6: a product that you can start with as little as 416 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:05,359 Speaker 6: fifteen hundred dollars. You can install it in thirty to 417 00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:08,080 Speaker 6: forty five minutes, and your high school team is up 418 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:11,560 Speaker 6: and running. So it's that's been a huge breakthrough for us. 419 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:15,359 Speaker 6: And again it was about waiting for the sensor technology 420 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:16,760 Speaker 6: to get to a point that we could do the 421 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:20,720 Speaker 6: things we've wanted to do. Easier and cheaper, and so 422 00:21:20,840 --> 00:21:22,800 Speaker 6: we have those. So we're really focused on the high 423 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:24,919 Speaker 6: school market right now in a significant way. We are 424 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:27,320 Speaker 6: also since this product is so easy to install and 425 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:30,040 Speaker 6: has so a little bit of a very small support piece, 426 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:34,480 Speaker 6: we're now starting to explore international sales. 427 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:34,960 Speaker 5: With your technology. 428 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:37,560 Speaker 10: You're basically proving right the things that we've heard a 429 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:41,399 Speaker 10: bunch of times that sports and basketball is really just 430 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:43,879 Speaker 10: math and geometries. I right, Like, could you hear a 431 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:46,520 Speaker 10: player shooting a ball and be like, oh, I was 432 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:47,360 Speaker 10: three degrees off? 433 00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:49,960 Speaker 6: There there's so much math going on in an athlete's 434 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:52,280 Speaker 6: head and they don't even know it. You know, for example, 435 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:55,120 Speaker 6: do I accelerate, how do I stop? They do all 436 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:59,240 Speaker 6: of those things. There's math going on at all times. 437 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:01,960 Speaker 6: About take that risk to try to get that steal? 438 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:06,440 Speaker 6: You know, there's You're exactly right. Math is all around us, 439 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:08,320 Speaker 6: and you know, I'm an engineer, so I love it. 440 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:11,440 Speaker 6: But you can scare people away if you go in 441 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:14,320 Speaker 6: and lead with this is all about math, and people 442 00:22:14,359 --> 00:22:19,080 Speaker 6: will say, well, there's the door, because it can be 443 00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:21,480 Speaker 6: a little bit intimidating to people. And so we've actually 444 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:25,720 Speaker 6: spent a lot of time simplifying our message, simplifying our product. 445 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,680 Speaker 6: You know, we use something called splash in a significant way, 446 00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:33,639 Speaker 6: and so we tell people when they're in the splash zone, 447 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:36,960 Speaker 6: something that even NBA players love. We have this when 448 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:39,480 Speaker 6: you get your arc your depth shot depth in the 449 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:41,520 Speaker 6: basket is a big deal. And then we also measure 450 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:44,200 Speaker 6: left right consistency and where a player shoots the ball 451 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:46,720 Speaker 6: straight and not and when they get all those things 452 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:48,840 Speaker 6: in a particular zone, we give them a cha ching. 453 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:53,240 Speaker 6: And that seems like such a silly thing, but NBA 454 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:56,040 Speaker 6: players love the chachin. College players love the chachin, and 455 00:22:56,119 --> 00:22:58,320 Speaker 6: so it just lets them know that they had everything 456 00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:01,520 Speaker 6: in the right spot and game of fast shooting a 457 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:04,119 Speaker 6: bit for them. And uh and we've also another thing 458 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:06,239 Speaker 6: that was a was a big deal is that you know, 459 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:08,320 Speaker 6: we've now eded in our latest product where you can 460 00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:10,480 Speaker 6: have your music playing and your earbuds and getting the 461 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:14,160 Speaker 6: NOA feedback all at the same time, and that makes 462 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:15,359 Speaker 6: it makes a difference as well. 463 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:15,520 Speaker 2: Well. 464 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:17,760 Speaker 4: John, you know, I find it so interesting that you 465 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:21,520 Speaker 4: mentioned that start stop, that suddenness, because that really measuring 466 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:24,439 Speaker 4: that has become like the new thing I think in sports. 467 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:26,520 Speaker 4: If you're reading the same stuff I'm reading, right. I mean, 468 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:28,159 Speaker 4: it used to be you can you run the fastest forty? 469 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:30,120 Speaker 4: Can you bench press two hundred times? I don't know? 470 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:33,560 Speaker 4: But now it's it's measuring a lot of these you know, 471 00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:36,160 Speaker 4: these these these characteristics that you could never measure before, 472 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:38,760 Speaker 4: right until the technology was there. So I'm just curious 473 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:41,680 Speaker 4: to hear your thoughts like what comes next in sports 474 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:44,800 Speaker 4: measurement and athlete measurement? Like what are you hearing out there? 475 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:47,840 Speaker 6: Sure well I can tell you. Let me tell you 476 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:50,520 Speaker 6: what we're doing now, which is is exactly going down 477 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:54,400 Speaker 6: the path you're you're mentioning here. So so we're we're 478 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:56,720 Speaker 6: a shooting company. We focus on shooting. We don't focus 479 00:23:56,760 --> 00:23:59,359 Speaker 6: on defense and all the other things. We focus on 480 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:02,159 Speaker 6: making more shots and winning more games. It's kind of 481 00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:05,680 Speaker 6: our slogan. But something just like you've seen you've all 482 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:08,960 Speaker 6: seen this with golf or baseball, where they're doing motion 483 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:13,040 Speaker 6: capture analysis to understand all the body joint angles and 484 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:18,120 Speaker 6: understanding that fully. That's an easy thing to do. In baseball, 485 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:20,280 Speaker 6: as an example, you get a bunch of cameras pointed 486 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:22,320 Speaker 6: at the mound. You get a bunch of cameras pointed 487 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:25,440 Speaker 6: at home plate, and you analyze this data, you find 488 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:27,320 Speaker 6: all these things out and you find things that are 489 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:31,000 Speaker 6: good or bad. In basketball, other than the free throw, 490 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:35,320 Speaker 6: there's no two shots that are the same. And so 491 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:39,160 Speaker 6: we have now built a fully automated motion capture system 492 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:42,200 Speaker 6: so that we can look at all the joint angles, 493 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:46,119 Speaker 6: all the inverse kinematics, all the velocities, everything throughout the 494 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:51,240 Speaker 6: shop motion, and we can collect that data in practice gyms. 495 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 6: We already have this installed at two NBA facilities, and 496 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:56,760 Speaker 6: we'll install probably another eight or ten this year, and 497 00:24:56,800 --> 00:24:58,919 Speaker 6: so we will start understanding and everybody wants to know 498 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:01,119 Speaker 6: what's the perfect shot. We know the physics of the 499 00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:04,520 Speaker 6: perfect shot now with great certainty. But even though I 500 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:06,800 Speaker 6: feel like I'm a pretty good shooting guy, none of 501 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:10,919 Speaker 6: us really know. The things from a body mechanics standpoint 502 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:13,199 Speaker 6: that will kill your shot are the things that if 503 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:15,040 Speaker 6: you do this, this, and this, you've got a much 504 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:18,960 Speaker 6: greater chance of success. You talk about golf, you know 505 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:21,160 Speaker 6: there's some of that type tech that's already out there 506 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:24,560 Speaker 6: where you can, you know, turn your phone or whatever 507 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:27,640 Speaker 6: and it will and you can use AI to determine 508 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:30,199 Speaker 6: what you need to change. From a golf swing standpoint, 509 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:33,280 Speaker 6: and we're going down a similar path from a basketball standpoint, 510 00:25:33,359 --> 00:25:35,359 Speaker 6: and because of our tracking engine and all that, we 511 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:38,280 Speaker 6: can automate it where other companies can our. 512 00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:41,800 Speaker 2: Thanks to Noah Basketball CEO John Carner for joining us today. 513 00:25:42,119 --> 00:25:45,640 Speaker 2: Up next, we hear from Monumental Sports CEO Ted Leonsis 514 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:50,040 Speaker 2: from my colleagues Damien's Assaur and Vanessa Berdomo. I'm Michael Barr. 515 00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:53,160 Speaker 2: You're listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg 516 00:25:53,359 --> 00:25:59,960 Speaker 2: Radio around the world. 517 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:06,960 Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. 518 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:10,240 Speaker 2: Thanks for joining us on the Bloomberg Business of Sports, 519 00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:12,240 Speaker 2: where we explore the big money issues in the world 520 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:17,120 Speaker 2: of sports. I'm Michael Barr. Recently, Bloomberg original chief correspondent 521 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:20,600 Speaker 2: Jason Kelly and our own Vanessa Perdomo had an opportunity 522 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:24,399 Speaker 2: to catch up with Monumental Sports and Entertainment CEO and 523 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:29,679 Speaker 2: Washington Capitol and Wizard's owner Ted Leonses. They covered a 524 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:33,920 Speaker 2: variety of topics, including progress on renovating Capital One Arena 525 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:37,399 Speaker 2: in DC. Let's take a listen to that conversation, starting 526 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:40,120 Speaker 2: with his thoughts on the growth of women's sports as 527 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:42,160 Speaker 2: the WNBA season gets underway. 528 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:44,360 Speaker 9: All right, Ted Leons, is great to have you here 529 00:26:44,359 --> 00:26:47,320 Speaker 9: with us at Bloomberg Headquarters in New York. So much 530 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:49,679 Speaker 9: going on across the sports world, but we're talking to 531 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,399 Speaker 9: you on the eve of the WNBA season starting the 532 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:56,520 Speaker 9: Washington Mystics getting back after it. So much has happened 533 00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:59,120 Speaker 9: in the world of women's sports and women's basketball. How 534 00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:02,200 Speaker 9: do you approach this season and what's the vibe going in. 535 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:07,640 Speaker 3: I think we started a real movement last year. It's 536 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:11,480 Speaker 3: in coming on everyone, every part of the ecosystem WNBA 537 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:15,760 Speaker 3: to keep that momentum going. I should never ever take 538 00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:18,479 Speaker 3: for granted that you'll have this kind of growth in 539 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:21,320 Speaker 3: this moment, and I think everyone is very focused on 540 00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:25,800 Speaker 3: being in alignment and keeping it the momentum happening. 541 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:29,399 Speaker 10: Ted, you've been an owner in the WNBA for twenty years. 542 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:30,920 Speaker 10: You know, when you bought the team back in two 543 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:33,240 Speaker 10: thousand and five and it was separate from the Wizards deal, 544 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:36,119 Speaker 10: you obviously saw something. Then did you see what the 545 00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:38,680 Speaker 10: potential was for as we see it right now, or 546 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:39,920 Speaker 10: what was the potential you saw? 547 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:40,240 Speaker 6: Yeah? 548 00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:44,560 Speaker 3: I was always disappointed and surprised that women's sports wasn't 549 00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:50,280 Speaker 3: the growth engine growing up on the internet, seeing the 550 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:55,080 Speaker 3: demography of who was getting online where the purchasing was made. 551 00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:59,080 Speaker 3: It's more women than men. I have a son and 552 00:27:59,119 --> 00:28:04,920 Speaker 3: a daughter participate equally in both of their academics and sports, 553 00:28:05,040 --> 00:28:09,280 Speaker 3: and it just seemed that it made sense that women's 554 00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:12,399 Speaker 3: sports would be growth and it also seemed to be 555 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:20,000 Speaker 3: the right thing to do as well, for equality and 556 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:22,920 Speaker 3: for just driving more value. 557 00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:23,800 Speaker 5: You know. 558 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:25,960 Speaker 3: But then you look back and you go, thank God 559 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:26,760 Speaker 3: for Title nine. 560 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:27,480 Speaker 6: Thank god. 561 00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:31,840 Speaker 3: You know, it wasn't until the seventies. We went to Georgetown. 562 00:28:32,119 --> 00:28:37,760 Speaker 3: Georgetown didn't have women graduates until the seventies, So, you know, 563 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:40,240 Speaker 3: we have to step on the gas and take advantage 564 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 3: of this moment in time. I also think Title nine 565 00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:48,440 Speaker 3: and the athleticism of the women, that was something that 566 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:53,600 Speaker 3: I always felt was underplayed. The game was played fundamentally, 567 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:58,200 Speaker 3: very soundly, but below the rim. Now these women, they're 568 00:28:58,240 --> 00:29:02,479 Speaker 3: great athletes, and so we're finally starting to see the 569 00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:06,800 Speaker 3: media reporting on the game like it's professional sports, not 570 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:10,400 Speaker 3: like it's a charitable effort doing the right thing in 571 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:10,920 Speaker 3: the right way. 572 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,680 Speaker 9: Right, And you mentioned value. You paid around five and 573 00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:16,760 Speaker 9: a half million dollars, you know, ten million, okay, so 574 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:19,200 Speaker 9: ten million to ten million. 575 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:19,880 Speaker 6: Dollars twenty years ago. 576 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:23,040 Speaker 9: Okay, twenty years ago, and now we're talking about you 577 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:24,880 Speaker 9: know that some of the news this week is that 578 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:28,720 Speaker 9: the Connecticut Sun are going up for sale, either minority 579 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:32,040 Speaker 9: stake or maybe a majority. The numbers being kicked around 580 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:34,360 Speaker 9: there two hundred to two hundred and fifty million dollars. 581 00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:38,520 Speaker 9: Does that feel right to you from a valuation perspective? 582 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:40,480 Speaker 9: How do you see valuations going from here? 583 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:44,480 Speaker 3: Well, I look at we have monumental basketball, so yeah, 584 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:47,120 Speaker 3: the Wizards, we have a G League team, the Go Go. 585 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:52,120 Speaker 3: We have an NBA two K team, But monumental basketball 586 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:57,320 Speaker 3: with the Mystics are located, they're sharing facilities, they're sharing 587 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:03,080 Speaker 3: some of the real estate. And basketball teams in big 588 00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:06,880 Speaker 3: markets are ten to twelve times revenue, so I look 589 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:11,120 Speaker 3: at it. So that's the impetus to grow revenues. That'll 590 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:12,920 Speaker 3: also be good for the league, that'll be good for 591 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:17,640 Speaker 3: the players. So if we can be a growth company, 592 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:21,960 Speaker 3: thirty to forty percent kind of growth per year really 593 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:25,920 Speaker 3: really important. We've gotten better media deals. Ticket prices are 594 00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:28,560 Speaker 3: going up once you sell out, and then you have 595 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:31,920 Speaker 3: a playoff team, your renewals increase. So it's kind of 596 00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:36,240 Speaker 3: follow the same kind of pattern that the NBA the 597 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:40,960 Speaker 3: NHL has done is great indoor sports. And my bet 598 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:43,840 Speaker 3: is that you know, these teams can get to twenty 599 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:47,680 Speaker 3: twenty five million dollars in revenue on average, and so 600 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:49,920 Speaker 3: if you have it ten times multiple on it, that's 601 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:51,520 Speaker 3: how you get to quarter billion dollars. 602 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:54,080 Speaker 10: You know, you talked a lot there about growth and 603 00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:56,760 Speaker 10: then facilities and things like that, and now a few 604 00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:59,120 Speaker 10: Mystic games a year being played in bigger arenas. Last 605 00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:01,120 Speaker 10: year saw a few games played at Capitol One, and 606 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:02,760 Speaker 10: because of the renovations, will be played at. 607 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:03,680 Speaker 5: Different arenas this year. 608 00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:06,680 Speaker 10: But because of the growth of everything, you're saying home 609 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:10,120 Speaker 10: record home games are sold out right, But the care 610 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:13,520 Speaker 10: First arena is only four thousand person capacity and that 611 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:15,840 Speaker 10: deals until twenty thirty seven. So how do you grow 612 00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:18,760 Speaker 10: revenue and grow business when you're stuck in that arena? 613 00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:22,040 Speaker 3: Well, short term, there's nothing I can do about it. 614 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:28,880 Speaker 3: And we right sized those buildings for what the reality 615 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:32,360 Speaker 3: of the attendance was. We were playing in the twenty 616 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:35,720 Speaker 3: thousand seat building and selling fifteen hundred to two thousand 617 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:38,720 Speaker 3: seats and when you're in a big city and you're 618 00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:41,600 Speaker 3: a union shop. I mean, that's what happened with MSG 619 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:44,600 Speaker 3: why they had a move. It's very expensive to run 620 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:48,080 Speaker 3: the building and open it up, and then you lose 621 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:51,600 Speaker 3: revenues when you don't have the dates and you can 622 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:55,280 Speaker 3: have a Bruce Springsteen concert, let's say so. Our goal 623 00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:58,320 Speaker 3: was always let's try to have a five thousand seedsh 624 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:02,600 Speaker 3: arena for Monday night games against maybe an opponent that 625 00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:07,280 Speaker 3: doesn't have the kind of rivalry experience, and then use 626 00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:11,080 Speaker 3: the big building for playoff games, camp days, big games. 627 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:15,120 Speaker 3: And that's still the plan eventually, though I can see 628 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:17,680 Speaker 3: as we'll figure out a way to put some other 629 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:21,160 Speaker 3: programming in care first and when we can sell out 630 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:23,640 Speaker 3: all of the games and the big building, they would 631 00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:26,520 Speaker 3: deserve to be in there. And you know, that's one 632 00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:29,080 Speaker 3: of the benefits I think of our strategy of owning 633 00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:32,760 Speaker 3: the venues, owning the networks. We were the really the 634 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:36,719 Speaker 3: first w NBA team to have a practice facility and 635 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:40,960 Speaker 3: an arena. We use the Wizard chefs, we use nutritionalists, 636 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:44,680 Speaker 3: we have the same platform. We want to build a platform, 637 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:49,040 Speaker 3: and the women really appreciated being treated the same way 638 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:56,400 Speaker 3: as an NBA player was. Separate facilities really really matter 639 00:32:56,480 --> 00:32:59,480 Speaker 3: to them, and I think, you know, they'll excel in 640 00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:04,480 Speaker 3: care first. But it's our aspiration to have twenty thousand 641 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:09,479 Speaker 3: right sellouts for the women and for the men on 642 00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:10,560 Speaker 3: an ongoing basis. 643 00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:12,880 Speaker 9: All right, let's talk about the arena, because this is, 644 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:16,959 Speaker 9: you know, one of the big projects going on across 645 00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:19,960 Speaker 9: the country. Although you know now down in Washington you're 646 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:23,440 Speaker 9: a little overshadowed a little by by your friend josh 647 00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:25,680 Speaker 9: Aras coming in and you know, building this new stadium. 648 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:29,040 Speaker 9: But the arena, it was a you know, monumental pun 649 00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:32,600 Speaker 9: intended deal, you know, with Mayor Muriel Bowser. You stay 650 00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:35,240 Speaker 9: at Capital one eight hundred million dollars, I believe between 651 00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:37,360 Speaker 9: the two of you sort of going into this, what's 652 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:40,040 Speaker 9: the status there, what's the timeline? Has anything changed in 653 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:41,040 Speaker 9: that regard? 654 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:45,000 Speaker 3: No, we're kind of ahead of schedule. We broke around. 655 00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:48,160 Speaker 3: There's a ton of work that's going on right now. 656 00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:50,720 Speaker 3: The Caps are in the playoffs. As soon as the 657 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:54,080 Speaker 3: playoffs would end for us, hopefully in a month or so, 658 00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:59,920 Speaker 3: we basically will have a thousand people on site doing 659 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:03,520 Speaker 3: incredible amount of work that if you came by. The 660 00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:07,200 Speaker 3: Wizard's locker room doesn't exist right now. It's been destroyed 661 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:12,000 Speaker 3: and it'll be redone for the next season. The amount 662 00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:14,640 Speaker 3: of suites that are being built, the new kitchens, the 663 00:34:14,719 --> 00:34:18,760 Speaker 3: new bathrooms, I mean it's going and that was our intent. 664 00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:22,880 Speaker 3: It's going to take three off seasons. Basically, you know, 665 00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:26,120 Speaker 3: we have to rebuild the plane while it's flying, and 666 00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:30,560 Speaker 3: we're working with Clark Construction, Gensler. They're really doing a 667 00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:33,440 Speaker 3: fantastic job and we're a little bit head of schedule. 668 00:34:34,320 --> 00:34:36,520 Speaker 10: Why is it so important in this day and age 669 00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:39,560 Speaker 10: to upgrade, you know, the arena. Obviously we're seeing a 670 00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:41,480 Speaker 10: lot of people doing that. Obviously, private equity coming in 671 00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:44,640 Speaker 10: for NFL teams to create new stadiums. But if you're 672 00:34:44,680 --> 00:34:47,720 Speaker 10: a great you have your stadium, it's operating three hundred 673 00:34:47,719 --> 00:34:50,759 Speaker 10: plus events a year. Why does it need to be 674 00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:53,280 Speaker 10: upgraded and so fancy? 675 00:34:54,120 --> 00:35:01,920 Speaker 3: It's that fancy, it's it's the functionality to start. We 676 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:06,960 Speaker 3: need better kitchens, We need better training facilities for the athletes, 677 00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:12,000 Speaker 3: and I kind of stack ranked them. We need our players, 678 00:35:12,040 --> 00:35:15,880 Speaker 3: our coaches, our staff to have the latest, the greatest, 679 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:19,680 Speaker 3: the best, and when you're constrained by the amount of 680 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:22,480 Speaker 3: real estate. We're going from nine hundred thousand feet to 681 00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:25,799 Speaker 3: a million six hundred thousand feet. We're adding a ton 682 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:29,520 Speaker 3: of space. And it was unique for us because we 683 00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:33,279 Speaker 3: were landlocked, if you will. We couldn't go up at 684 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:37,120 Speaker 3: all because of the height limitations in DC, and I 685 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:40,440 Speaker 3: couldn't go down because the Metro was there. And I 686 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:43,160 Speaker 3: hate to say, we got lucky that the mall next 687 00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:46,120 Speaker 3: door went out of business and someone bought it and 688 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:48,439 Speaker 3: we were able to do a big lease deal with them. 689 00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:51,759 Speaker 3: And that's given us the elbow room to innovate, to 690 00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:55,400 Speaker 3: add value for the players and the coaches. And then 691 00:35:55,440 --> 00:35:57,799 Speaker 3: as we move up the second year and the third 692 00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:02,360 Speaker 3: year for the fans, that's better site lines, that's more 693 00:36:02,880 --> 00:36:08,719 Speaker 3: dining capability, that's a reimagination, if you will, on how 694 00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:11,440 Speaker 3: people get into the building, get out of the building, 695 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:15,800 Speaker 3: more look of the interactivity. On why does the building 696 00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:19,640 Speaker 3: have to be dark eighteen hours a day. That's always 697 00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:23,640 Speaker 3: blown my mind on these facilities. We put a cage 698 00:36:24,160 --> 00:36:27,480 Speaker 3: to lock people out of the building when these are 699 00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:33,040 Speaker 3: such iconic and important buildings for businesses, for fans, for tourists, 700 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:36,960 Speaker 3: and so we want the opportunity in a way to 701 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:41,480 Speaker 3: reimagine a front door, if you will, for downtown and 702 00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:44,560 Speaker 3: to make this a portal. We're bringing almost three million 703 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:46,920 Speaker 3: people a year into our building. We have one of 704 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:50,920 Speaker 3: the busiest buildings in the country, and we have to 705 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:54,000 Speaker 3: make sure that people have kind of wow factory that 706 00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:56,360 Speaker 3: they feel really, really good about that experience. 707 00:36:56,600 --> 00:36:59,440 Speaker 9: So, as we wrap up one piece of your portfolio 708 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:02,359 Speaker 9: that I know you would love to add, and you've 709 00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:04,080 Speaker 9: talked about it in a number of times, is a 710 00:37:04,080 --> 00:37:06,640 Speaker 9: baseball team? Is that still in your mind? And how 711 00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:07,680 Speaker 9: likely do you think that is? 712 00:37:08,080 --> 00:37:12,960 Speaker 3: You know, ESPN yesterday announced it's new streaming services and 713 00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:18,840 Speaker 3: it's surprisingly called ESPN and it's twenty nine dollars a 714 00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:23,600 Speaker 3: month and they have forty six thousand hours of live 715 00:37:23,719 --> 00:37:27,719 Speaker 3: programming a year. And the reason for that is you 716 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:29,439 Speaker 3: want to get scale. You want to get as many 717 00:37:29,480 --> 00:37:33,919 Speaker 3: subscribers as you can. It's expensive to get a subscriber. 718 00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:37,480 Speaker 3: You don't want them churning off what all of us 719 00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:42,839 Speaker 3: who are struggling with the local media landscape. That's why 720 00:37:42,880 --> 00:37:46,160 Speaker 3: we bought RSN. I wanted to control the destiny, just 721 00:37:46,200 --> 00:37:48,000 Speaker 3: like we want to own the building. You want to 722 00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:51,840 Speaker 3: control the scheduling destiny. If you only have winter sports, 723 00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:55,520 Speaker 3: you only have one team, and you get someone to subscribe, well, 724 00:37:55,520 --> 00:37:57,960 Speaker 3: when the season ends, they're going to cancel, right and 725 00:37:58,000 --> 00:37:59,920 Speaker 3: now you have the great expense of having to get 726 00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:00,479 Speaker 3: them again. 727 00:38:00,600 --> 00:38:02,480 Speaker 9: You're a longtime, long term investor and we like that 728 00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:02,960 Speaker 9: about you. 729 00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:03,600 Speaker 2: Thanks for joining me. 730 00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:03,920 Speaker 3: Thank you. 731 00:38:04,120 --> 00:38:07,840 Speaker 2: That's monumental. Sports and Entertainment CEO Ted leonsis speaking with 732 00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:11,120 Speaker 2: Bloomberg original chief correspondent and host of The Deal with 733 00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:14,800 Speaker 2: Alex Rodriguez, Jason Kelly, along with our own Vanessa Verdomo. 734 00:38:15,239 --> 00:38:17,719 Speaker 2: And that does it for this edition of the Bloomberg 735 00:38:17,760 --> 00:38:20,320 Speaker 2: Business of Sports. Thanks for joining us. Tune in again 736 00:38:20,360 --> 00:38:22,759 Speaker 2: next week for the latest one the stories moving big 737 00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:25,560 Speaker 2: old money in the world of sports. You are listening 738 00:38:25,640 --> 00:38:30,280 Speaker 2: to Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberger Radio around the world.