Ep 42: Rob Manfred & the Leaders Sport Business Forecast

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred sat down with Leaders CEO Jimmy Worrall ahead in a quiet nook of the Green Room at the Leaders Sport Business Summit in New York earlier this year.

Manfred, who gave one of the keynote interviews at the summit, became the league's tenth Commissioner in January 2015, replacing Bud Selig in the role having served for some time as the league's COO.

A lawyer by background, Manfred joined the league in the challenging position of EVP of Labour Relations in 1987.

In the midst of a period of evolution for Major League Baseball, as the league adapts to meet shifting consumer habits across the US, and puts tangible plans in place to play games in London, Manfred reflects on the personal and professional qualities needed to succeed as a leader in of one of the major leagues.

On the conversational agenda:

- Growing the game of baseball using live product;

- Playing the politics of major league ownership dynamics;

- Why and how the cable TV model will survive;

- Biggest lesson, challenge, advice and mistake;

In the second part of the podcast, Leaders Head of Content David Cushnan and Editor-at-Large James Emmett sit down with Cake Managing Partner Richard Gillis to discuss some of the patterns and trends identified in the inaugural edition of the Leaders Sport Business Forecast.

On the agenda:

1) Rights holders are positioning themselves as tech accelerators and innovation hubs

2) The gamification of the fan experience and performance data as a fan engagement tool

3) The content universe is expanding and rights holders need to be adaptable

4) Everyone’s a content producer = everyone’s a sports marketing agency

5) New methods for understanding and interpreting engagement

6) Micropayments and the fragmentation of rights

7) Ease of purchase and sport as a sales driver

8) Content owners vs. audience aggregators

9) An era of new sports formats

10) Esports – consolidation and establishment

11) The mega events keep getting bigger

12) But the world gets smaller