As M.M.A.'s popularity explodes, so do the various options used to measure a fighter's success. Author Reed Kuhn comes onto the podcast to talk about his book, Fightnomics, which looks at breaking down statistical factors in where a fighter's focus is on and questions various fighting tactics over the years. What really matters in a fight? What surprising factors don’t? Kuhn discusses why the M.M.A. is ready for a Moneyball era of its own and how analytics can change the entire playing field. Common theories about MMA get put to the test with a little bit of science, and a whole lot of numbers. And so much more. Kuhn talks about how the fight game will never look quite the same after the book's examination how fights go down, and what really matters in a cage fight. Twitter: @Fightnomics
The complex world of supply, demand and dynamic pricing is broken down in stark detail with Analytix President Anil Malhotra. The conversation extends into both the primary and secondary ticketing market, as well as the philosophical reasons why to and why not to dynamically price tickets. Malhotra works with major symphony orchestras and sports organizations in the U.S., Canada, Australia & Europe on pricing analytics, and his knowledge in the area extends beyond the seats into the hard numbers of how customer buying habits factor into price, supply and demand. www.analytixlive.com
The game for ticket reselling and price points in general has changed, and Jesse Lawrence’s company, TiqIQ, provides fans with the best opportunity to seek out the lowest price for the best seats. Lawrence talks about the issues surrounding the resale market, as well as social media in terms of providing information on ticket deals. Questions arise from this conversation: Could a floor be instituted with Internet resale markets? Is it a race to the bottom? Twitter: @TiqIQ
Making the sale is never easy, but it can be harder if teams don’t know who to go after. That’s where Full House Media comes in, explains Director of Sales Brandon Steffek, who goes through the various ways of data mining that have helped the company become a leader in the industry. Steffek talks about going after businesses, showcasing various B2B scenarios that are sometimes overlooked by teams but may be their most valuable premium and group sales. Twitter: @BStefFullHouse
Prospect leads are the name of the game in corporate and ticket sales, something that Bill Nielsen has helped provide to various college and professional team sales departments. Nielsen talks about the surveying that is also performed by Scarborough Sports Marketing, helping determine impact of branding as well as price points for sports franchises in the area of fan development.
A lot of sports analytics interest has been devoted to the team functionary of improving scouting, but that’s not where Steve Fall’s Sports Resource lies. Fall has been helping agents increase the value of their clients when faced with contract negotiations and arbitration hearings. Fall walks us through the process of showing what statistics matter, where the field is headed and how newer professional athletes and their agents are benefiting from this service. Twitter: @StatsMan
Vince Gennaro has been president of The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) since 2009 & has witnessed some of the sweeping changes as Moneyball's influence changed the way those inside the front office's of Major League Baseball teams thought about analytics in general. SABR is set to have its second annual analytics conference in Phoenix, March 7-9, 2013 and Gennaro talks about the role that SABR is having on understanding analytics in sport. Gennaro also speaks about the Baseball Hall of Fame, PEDs, and the historical influence of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier. Twitter: @SABR