A wide-ranging opening panel at the ’18 CAA World Congress of Sports touched on just about every hot topic in the sports industry, from the challenges of reaching younger fans to the future of television and college sports reform. Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott, asked about major challenges facing college sports, particularly basketball, said, “A year ago, you wouldn’t have found anyone in college basketball that thought an NCAA recruiting violation could also be breaking federal law and could land them in prison. Many people are scared straight right now.”
THIRSTY FOR THURSDAYS: The NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” package has received plenty of criticism over the years due to a less-than-spectacular schedule, but Cowboys Exec VP & Chief Brand Officer Charlotte Jones Anderson and ESPN Exec VP/Programming & Scheduling Burke Magnus both remain bullish on the property. Jones Anderson’s response to whether “TNF” was a buy, sell or hold: “Buy. Buy. Buy.” Magnus added, “I like it. I would like to buy it.” Magnus also said ESPN’s relationship with the NFL is “paramount.” Magnus: “From a business perspective, nothing is more important than the NFL to us.”
IF YOU BUILD IT...: CBS Sports NFL analyst and Big3 Chair Amy Trask, who hails from L.A. and worked for years with the Raiders in the market, said of the local acceptance of the Rams and Chargers, “If this was a class and I had to give a grade, I would say ‘incomplete.’ … Los Angeles has not had a new, modern, state-of-the-art football stadium since 1923. Until we have (that), you can’t judge whether or not it’s going to be a success. What do we know about Los Angeles? People want to go to the cool spot. They want to go where it’s cool to be seen. If the stadium is as (Rams Owner) Stan Kroenke has explained to people it will be, it has the opportunity to be that.”
For more from the panel, see yesterday’s Closing Bell.
