It’s October and it’s going to be a fast dash to the end of the year. So, I want to highlight some of the things you can expect from us as we close out 2018.
ON SITE AND IN PERSON: We hope to see you at one of our events over the next three months. The calendar from SBJ and our partners at Leaders is jammed with conferences featuring provocative speakers and excellent networking. Here’s what you can look for:
Our partners hold Leaders Week in London next week and will focus on the sports experience of the future with presentations from the likes of Facebook and Amazon.
A week later, the NeuLion Sports Media & Technology conference at the Marriott Marquis in New York City will focus on the next generation of media and storytelling, and feature ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro, UFC President Dana White and NBC/Telemundo’s Jim Bell. In addition, we’ll hear from XFL CEO Oliver Luck and the Alliance of American Football’s Charlie Ebersol and Hines Ward.
At the end of October, we’re back in New York for the Octagon Sports Marketing Symposium, where we will look at how to win fans and engage consumers through the next iteration of brand sponsorship. We have Olympic athlete and activist Aly Raisman, who will talk about her partnership with the Aerie women’s line as well as her views on athletes as advocates. Even though I still haven’t seen it live, I’m excited to hear “Hamilton” CMO Laura Matalon talk about what sports marketers can learn from how the musical engaged a global audience. And here’s a novel addition to the program: Former Buddhist monk and Headspace co-founder Andy Puddicombe will lead a guided meditation and then discuss the company’s multiyear partnership with the NBA, which focuses on mental training. So, there are a number of unique aspects to this program, which features more than 40 sports marketing executives.
For those looking for the best way to activate in esports, our second annual Lagardère Sports esports Rising conference in mid-November in Hollywood expands to a day and a half and looks at the opportunities for growth. You’ll hear from those who are shaping the esports economy and see some fun, new networking and idea-sharing concepts.
We are back with Dealmakers in Sports, the second year of this one-day conference, which is Nov. 28 at the JW Marriott Essex House in New York. This program once again will bring together senior executives in sports and finance to discuss the opportunities and challenges of investing in sports.
We end our 2018 conference calendar with the always popular Learfield Intercollegiate Athletics Forum the first week of December, which will feature interviews with five conference commissioners, as well as other key stakeholders across the landscape. If you are involved in college sports, you can’t miss this event.
Finally, on Tuesday, Nov. 27, the day before Dealmakers in Sports, the annual March of Dimes Sports Luncheon will take place at the New York Hilton Midtown. If we miss you at one of our conferences, we certainly hope to see you at this great event that draws the top executives in sports business every year. This is SBJ’s 13th year backing the event and we are pleased to support the efforts of Chairman Sean McManus and other leaders in sports in this important initiative.
More information on all of our events can be found on our website. If you plan to attend, let me know. It would be great to catch up.
IN THE EDIT PAGES: In the next few weeks, we will be announcing our Champions class of 2019 as well as our 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, who will be honored at the Sports Business Awards. We will be taking submissions for the highly coveted Sports Business Awards starting in early November, and nominations for our 2019 Forty Under 40 awards are open until Nov. 4 (we are prepared for a rush of submissions at the last minute!). In December, we will be naming our 50 Most Influential Executives in Sports Business for the 15th consecutive year, a list always debated and scrutinized. Our final issue of 2018 will be the week of Dec. 24, where we will look back at the year in sports business, and our first issue of 2019 will be Jan. 7, which will look at the year ahead.
We welcome your questions, thoughts and comments on our conferences and editorial features. We truly appreciate your feedback.
CORRECTION: In Forum for the Sept. 24-30 issue, the number of RSNs owned by AT&T was incorrect. The company currently owns four RSNs — AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, Southwest, Northwest and Rocky Mountain. I regret the error.
Abraham Madkour can be reached at amadkour@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
