SSAC

MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference
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The official podcast channel of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference

  1. 09/19/2025

    Netflix and WWE Team Up: Paul "Triple H" Levesque and Bela Bajaria

    Moderator: Jessica Gelman Panelists: Paul "Triple H" Levesque, Bela Bajaria From Drive to Survive to Quarterback, Netflix has reshaped how fans engage with sports through immersive storytelling. Now, with WWE’s flagship Raw moving to Netflix, the streaming giant is making an even bolder play in live sports entertainment. But what makes for compelling sports storytelling? How do you build anticipation for big events, cultivate new audiences, and sustain engagement beyond the game? This panel brings together two of sport’s most influential content executives, Netflix’s Bela Bajaria and WWE’s Paul “Triple H” Levesque, to explore how sports media is evolving, what it takes to craft narratives that captivate global audiences, and the future of sports entertainment in the streaming era.

    47 min

  2. 09/19/2025

    The Role of the Storyteller in a Data and AI World

    Moderator: Ben Alamar Panelists: Jackie MacMullan, Jeff Bennett, Rebecca Dyer, Brant Berglund Storytelling plays a vital role in the fan experience. Across the sports landscape, storytellers are relied upon to convey the drama and excitement of sports, bring new fans in, and satisfy fans' hunger for knowledge. The tools available to storytellers have expanded significantly over the last few years with the expansion of new data sets and metrics that provide new insights and perspectives on sports. The recent advances in AI also provide the opportunity for new tools, but also a potential to replace certain types of storytelling through automation. This panel discusses how the role of the storyteller has changed, skills and perspectives needed to tell good stories, and how AI is and will change how fans engage with sports stories.

    46 min

  3. 09/19/2025

    The Fan Attention Game: How Sports and Data Build Fandom presented by Wasserman Foundation

    Moderator: Valerie Camillo Panelists: Shelley Pisarra, Tim Clark, Kathryn Kai-ling Frederick In 2025, sports are fighting harder than ever for fans’ attention – contending with an unprecedented news cycle, shorter attention spans, and changing modes of content consumption. This panel will discuss how teams and leagues are using data to adapt in this rapidly changing world, and how they can play – and win – the attention game.

    47 min

  4. 09/19/2025

    Checkmate and Innovate: The Future of Engagement in Chess

    Moderator: Danny Rensch Panelists: Alexandra Botez, Levy Rozman, Daryl Morey, Ella Papanek Chess is experiencing a global renaissance, fueled by emerging innovations in streaming, social media, and format variety, but where does the game go from here? Join Levy Rozman, Alexandra Botez, Ella Papanek, Daryl Morey, and Danny Rensch as they explore how chess is evolving to engage new audiences. This panel will dive into the growth of chess content creation and how the sport is expanding into new mediums and formats.

    48 min

  5. 09/19/2025

    When the Odds Don't Add Up: Navigating Anomalies and Uncertainties in Sports Betting

    Moderator: Chad Millman Panelists: Jeff Ma, Nate Silver, Sean Zerillo The rapidly evolving landscape of sports betting presents unique challenges for both bettors and bookmakers, especially as data anomalies and unexpected outcomes increasingly disrupt predictive models. This panel, featuring industry experts, will explore strategies for identifying and addressing situations when actual results deviate from model expectations. The panel will explore the implications of unusual betting patterns and dive into the sports betting challenges of the 2024 NFL Season, where favorites won 72.1% of the time, the highest winning percentage in almost 20 years.

    47 min

  6. 09/19/2025

    Career Playbooks: The Reality of Working in Sports presented by Ticketmaster

    Moderator: Liz Moulton Panelists: Greg Kim, Sonia Raman, Michael Girsch, Matt Gaudry Career Playbooks presentations are given by a wide range of professionals from leagues, teams, and other players in the sports industry. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear each speaker’s unique story of entering and succeeding in the sports industry and learn vital careers lessons as they chart their own career paths. The Playbooks presentations will also include Q&A opportunities for attendees to engage with speakers.

    45 min

  7. 09/05/2025

    Sports in 2045: Ahead of the Curve with Jonathan Kraft and Mark Shapiro

    Moderator: Contessa Brewer Panelists: Jonathan Kraft, Mark Shapiro What will the sports industry look like in 2045? In this forward-thinking conversation, Jonathan Kraft and Mark Shapiro will explore the forces shaping the next generation of sports—from mega-events like the World Cup and Olympics to the future of live entertainment and hospitality, and the growing role of private and public capital in shaping teams and leagues. Jonathan Kraft has led the redefinition of sports property ownership across multiple leagues, real estate development, analytics, and embracing technology to drive differentiation. Mark Shapiro’s innovation from ESPN to Endeavor to TKO has changed the connectivity of entertainment, leagues, and the fan experience. Learn what trends they saw leading to the strategic decisions which led to changes in how the sports world operates. Understand what they see ahead with athlete-performance, financing/valuation, up ‘n coming sports, and the role of analytics across all aspects of the sports world. More specifically, how will venue infrastructure change and what will the lines between live events, media, and technology be when defining the ultimate fan experience in the decades ahead? Join two of the most influential leaders in sports as they break down the evolution of the industry, sharing insights on where the biggest opportunities lie and what challenges the business of sports will face in the future.

    44 min

  8. 09/05/2025

    The New Age NFL Front Office

    Moderator: Bill Connelly Panelists: Lorrissa Horton, Scott Pioli, Kevin Demoff Increasingly, NFL organizations are becoming more data-centric, and as a result, so has the role of the Front Office. See through the eyes of NFL executives whose franchises are on the leading edge as they discuss the role of data analytics on free agency/draft strategy, prospective player evaluation, play calling on the field, organization of weekly preparations for game day, and managing athlete workload.

    49 min
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4.9
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About

The official podcast channel of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference

Information

  • Creator
    MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2025
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2019 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    SSAC