Team SD Visits New York City for SportsPro Conference in 2026

Mar 24

March 12-13, 2026

To stay fresh, push our thinking and continue to keep an edge over the competitor, we like to get to a few different conferences each year. This also ensures we don't settle for anything less than premier level work for our clients. This allows us to take insights back home and apply them to our work.

The SportsPro New York Conference 2026 served as another pivotal gathering for the sports industry's most influential leaders, innovators, and experts from across the globe. For our team, staying at the forefront of the ever-changing world of sports with how data is changing the game and understanding league successes is crucial to delivering exceptional work. This annual remarkable event explored the monumental impacts and importance of data within sports, unveiling the unique ways, intriguing data developments and providing new insights to help shape our strategic approach to client solutions.

The conference highlighted success stories from across the industry, showcasing how organizations leverage their data to engage fans, stay up to date with changes, and drive revenue growth. With over 700 individuals in attendance from professional leagues top level data companies etc, the event provided unique insights into how data has a tremendous impact on sports business. We pulled some highlights for you to enjoy below.

The Vision Behind FOX One

Pete Distad – CEO, D2C for Fox Corporation detailed the strategic market analysis behind FOX One (Streaming platform) for FOX. During this session he discussed how this curated, streaming service targets the high value cord-cutting audience to capture incremental revenue, all while strategically complementing the traditional cable partnership model. With this streaming opportunity it ultimately will revolutionize everything from a FOX broadcast standpoint. It was discussed that with motorsports specifically, this enables a more centralized streaming hub for live races, on-demand content, and exclusive coverage of NASCAR, INDYCAR and more.

The impact of advanced data infrastructure extends beyond just performance metrics. Organizations are now using AI-powered systems to analyze fan behavior, optimize venue operations, and create personalized experiences at scale. This comprehensive data collection and analysis approach sets new standards for how sports organizations operate and engage with their stakeholders.

Fan Engagement & Data Forum

The sports industry is witnessing a revolutionary shift in fan engagement strategies. Sports betting has become a major platform within sports; the industry itself is now looking beyond the stadium lights of mainstream leagues to find what the next big growth engine might be. Joe Dunningham, ALT Sports Data, Chief Executive Officer, revealed just how untapped data from underrepresented sports is being transformed into powerful tools for fan engagement and new revenue streams for emerging leagues.

Beyond the Podium: Creating new ways for fans to play: In this forum, we heard from the Head of Betting & Data – Mark Wrigley on how the modern Formula 1 fan, data is the new fuel. From this session, it provided insight on how F1 and ALT Sports Data are leveraging that data to create a revolutionary betting & data product to deepen the fan engagement. It was mentioned that F1 has over 800 million fans who connect through their sports betting and, to keep data fresh as things are always evolving, F1 has the capability to capture 700 points of data per second per F1 car. This enables them to provide real time data for fans while also evolving live in-feed betting & data opportunities during races.
Sports betting as a fan engagement strategy: Chris Schlosser, - Senior Vice President, Emerging Ventures for Major League Soccer discussed how sports betting is no longer just a revenue and data stream – it is now a powerful tool for active viewership and engagement. The opportunities that this provides in ways of helping leagues move beyond simple sponsorships to weave in specific data that validates how sports betting can be woven into the fabric of the fan experience, turning the casual spectators into deeply invested fans for life.

Technology Integration and Business Impact

Bill Bailey (Chief Revenue Officer at Satisfi Labs), John Nicastro (Chief Technology Officer at MLS), and Alon Cohen (SVP of Research and Development at UFC) highlighted how Agentic AI is creating comprehensive solutions across "strategy, distribution, data management, content discovery, and consumer interaction." This technological integration yields substantial results, with organizations reporting 5-20% revenue increases through AI-driven solutions. Jenna Kurath, VP of Startup Development & Head of Comcast NBCU SportsTech, demonstrates this success through innovations like CAM AI Technology, offering coverage across 150 geographic areas with multilingual viewing capabilities.

Integrating AI technologies has also opened new revenue streams and business opportunities. Organizations are discovering innovative ways to monetize their data assets and create value through AI-powered services. The success of these initiatives is evident in the growing number of partnerships between sports organizations and technology companies, leading to the development of new products and services that enhance the sports experience.

The business landscape continues to evolve dramatically, as evidenced by strategic investments like CVC's involvement in La Liga, where "70% of invested capital was directed toward infrastructure development." This institutional investment drives professional sports management to new heights and enables ambitious development plans. The emergence of new revenue streams through technology licensing and partnerships, such as the PGA Tour's licensing of scoring and tracking services to the USGA and WPGA, illustrates how AI creates opportunities beyond traditional business models.

Navigating Fragmentation and the Future of Rights

During this top leader executive session, they took a deep dive into the rapidly fragmenting US landscape, examining how leagues, teams, ownership, and broadcasters are adapting their strategies to maximize revenue while serving the demands of a cord-cutting, multi-platform audience. Taking an in depth look into just how the average fan as well as sponsor is now viewing the new world of streaming as it applies to certain ways that marketing efforts can effectively capture an audience.

Key insights mentioned from NASCAR’s Executive Vice President, Chief Media & Revenue Officer, Brian Herbst – it remains a constant that branching out to individuals who stream their content to adapt with the ever changing market has proven to make a positive impact on NASCAR. In addition to this, NASCAR is one of the unique sports leagues that can keep fans entertained week over week with each race. This is done by targeting those audiences through sponsorship deals with media partners – i.e. Amazon as a broadcast partner and utilizing that relationship to target fans with buying ads that lead directly to Amazon etc. must prioritize comprehensive internal readiness through structured education programs and the development of specialized AI advocates who bridge the gap between technology and practical application. The evolution of sports professionals' roles toward quality assurance and strategic oversight ensures that AI implementations align perfectly with organizational objectives while maintaining rigorous standards of accuracy and relevance.

The future of sports media rights looks increasingly bright as organizations continue to evolve and adapt. The continuation of the world or streaming platforms keeps the world of sports entertained, with new platforms emerging, the opportunities for the future of media rights are proving to be endless.

Conclusion

The conference demonstrated that media rights, data and fan insights are not just changing how sports organizations operate—they’re fundamentally reshaping the entire sports ecosystem. As we progress, the successful approach at tapping into the streaming world and sports betting will continue to create new opportunities for data capture, engagement, and growth across the sports industry, setting the stage for an exhilarating data-driven future in sports.

The organizations, leagues, and teams, that successfully balance the data, sports betting and fan insights while insuring there is the authentic human connection will be best positioned for success in the changing world of technology that is impacting the world of sports.

Austin Schneider