Events

The ESPN Daily podcast is coming live to this year’s Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. In recent years, there has been growing criticism in some sports that the regular season doesn't matter enough anymore, fueled by declining player participation and a growing "championship or bust" mentality from varying stakeholder groups that can devalue successful regular season showings. At the same time, some emerging sports have ditched traditional regular season models altogether. Is it possible for established leagues and new entrants to generate fan interest in potential secondary championships? Are leagues able to drive fan engagement during the regular season independent of impact on playoff determination? How do leagues approach product R&D and how do those processes compare to more traditionally innovative companies and industries? This panel, hosted by Pablo Torre in his signature ESPN Daily format, explores the steps being taken to make competition more meaningful throughout the calendar and across the sports landscape.