Brooks Koepka Quits LIV Golf, US Sports Global Expansion

Summary

Bloomberg Business of Sports

Episode: Brooks Koepka Quits LIV Golf, US Sports Global Expansion

Date: January 2, 2026

Host(s): Michael Barr, Vanessa Perdomo (joins later)
Guests: Randall Williams (Bloomberg US Sports Business Reporter, guest co-host), Ann Liguori (golf journalist), Adam Minter (Bloomberg Opinion columnist), Jordy Liser (CEO, Jump Platforms)

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Episode Overview

This episode delivers a deep dive into two major storylines in the sports business world:

1. Brooks Koepka’s departure from LIV Golf and its implications
2. The aggressive push for global expansion by US sports leagues

Interviews with industry insiders and entrepreneurs round out the episode’s analysis, discussing the ongoing changes in sports finance, technology, and international growth strategies.

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Segment 1: Brooks Koepka Leaves LIV Golf – What It Means (01:45–13:17)

Key Points & Insights

• Brooks Koepka’s Exit:

  • First major star to officially leave LIV Golf.
  • Cited a desire to spend more time with family, but Ann Liguori suggests disenchantment with LIV and improved health played larger roles (03:28).
  • Previously, Koepka may not have joined LIV had he been fully healthy in 2022.

• Koepka’s LIV Tenure:

  • LIV’s first five-time individual winner.
  • Success tapered in 2025, with poor major performances and visible unhappiness.

• Impact on LIV Golf:

  • Described as a “huge blow” (05:23).
  • LIV struggling for sustainable revenue, despite $5 billion invested.
  • Potential for other stars like Bryson DeChambeau to leave, especially as big names are harder to recruit.

• The LIV-PGA Tour Relationship:

  • Prospects of a merger considered "dead"; PGA Tour fortified its own position with larger purses (07:03).
  • LIV players are still largely banned from the PGA Tour, creating tension about reintegration.

• Koepka’s Future:

  • PGA Tour has not clarified whether LIV defectors can return.
  • Major tournaments remain accessible to Koepka due to existing qualifications.
  • Possibility to play in the DP World Tour in Europe, but uncertainty remains.

• Industry Dynamics:

  • LIV now led by Scott O’Neill (ex-Sixers, Devils, MSG Sports), but relations with PGA are cordial at best.
  • At the PGA, focus is on commercial expansion and led by Tiger Woods’ competition committee, leaving LIV outside their strategic considerations.

Memorable Quotes

• “I can't even believe that [Koepka] went to LIV...he admitted that he might not have joined LIV at all had he been fully healthy and playing great golf at the time.” — Ann Liguori (03:28)
• “LIV's been struggling from the beginning. I mean, look, they've spent $5 billion in Saudi funding...they're not making money...Losing one of their biggest stars, Brooks Koepka, is a huge blow...” — Ann Liguori (05:23)
• “The PGA Tour...are extremely well paid. I don't think they feel like they have to merge with LIV. I don't think the PGA Tour feels there's anything to gain.” — Ann Liguori (07:03)
• “So as much as I'm sure they'd love to have Brooks competing...they're going to really have to come up with a decision that they're going to have to live with, not only for Brooks, but for anybody else who leaves.” — Ann Liguori (09:06)

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Segment 2: US Sports Leagues’ Global Expansion (15:12–27:18)

Key Points & Insights

• Recent Moves:

  • NFL: Minnesota Vikings played games in Dublin and London on consecutive weeks.
  • U.S. leagues (NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, NWSL) are investing heavily in international engagement and media strategies.

• Strategic Rationale:

  • “American fans aren’t enough for US Sports anymore. There’s a lot of global money out there.” — Michael Barr (15:50)

• NBA vs. NFL Overseas:

  • NBA positioned as the most international, with European talent feeding the draft and the league being very popular in Asia and China.
  • Adam Minter predicts the NBA will outpace the NFL in international expansion, at least in the medium term (17:09).

• Other Sports:

  • The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) eliminated its draft to align with international player movement norms (18:14).
  • Olympic basketball in 2028 seen as a “climax” moment, with international teams like France now being favorites due to talent like Victor Wembanyama (19:23).

• Major League Soccer (MLS):

  • MLS is aligning its schedule with the global football calendar, aiming to compete for younger international talent, not just aging legends like Messi (20:54–22:10).

• NHL & MLB:

  • NHL views overseas games as long-term investments, hoping to build audience and loyalty even if not immediately profitable (22:26).
  • MLB is focusing on Asia (Japan, Korea) and Latin America, aiming for growth via showcasing international stars and capitalizing on global interest during events like the Olympics (24:10).

• College Sports:

  • Discussion highlighting how bowl games are still lucrative vs. college basketball, despite confusion and controversy over playoff selection (25:20).

Memorable Quotes

• “If you had to bet, I think you'd have to bet on the NBA simply because it's an international game. Some of the best players in the league are coming out of Europe anyway.” — Adam Minter (17:09)
• “What it says about the game is it's become a global game...the global game is saying, we've arrived. We deserve an equal role on the stage.” — Adam Minter, on the Olympics and the state of basketball (19:23)
• “They're...taking the long view and really they have no choice. If they want to grow, they're going to have to be growing outside of the U.S. as well as within North America.” — Adam Minter on NHL strategy (22:26)

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Segment 3: Reinventing the Fan Experience – Jump Platforms (29:07–40:28)

Key Points & Insights

• Jump Platforms Overview:

  • Unified platform for ticketing, merchandising, and engagement—everything handled by teams, not third-party vendors.
  • Aims to bring the technological sophistication seen in consumer tech (like airline and e-commerce apps) to the sports industry.

• Market Problem:

  • Sports teams have a “Frankenstein tech stack” with disjointed tools for ticketing, merch, etc.; Jump aims to unify the fan experience (32:17).
  • Originally spurred by Mark Laurie and Alex Rodriguez (owners of the Timberwolves), who sought a true next-generation platform for team ownership.

• AI and Future Tech:

  • AI enables massive workflow improvements—instantaneous campaign setup, automation across departments.
  • Unified data stack makes personalization, engagement, and automation possible, unlike legacy systems (36:23).

• The Engagement Model:

  • Even the most loyal fans can spend/engage more if presented with the right content and experiences (merch, ticket packages, events).
  • Personalized, data-driven engagement—tailoring offers and experiences by fan’s history and preferences.

Memorable Quotes

• “The legacy way of running a sports team is a collection of a bunch of point solutions. ...like the Frankenstein tech stack that runs a sports team.” — Jordy Liser (32:17)
• “The promise of AI on the B2B side ...someone could write up that idea...hit enter into the system, and all the workflows can happen...You can get 90% there in about 20 minutes as opposed to four weeks.” — Jordy Liser on how AI changes business (36:23)
• “The idea for me as a fan, there’s always more that I would want to do and get into if I was shown the right content and the right offers at the right time.” — Jordy Liser (39:17)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:45 — Start of episode; show introduction
• 02:38 — Brooks Koepka leaves LIV Golf; Ann Liguori joins
• 05:23 — Discussing LIV’s struggles and blow of Koepka’s exit
• 07:03 — State of LIV-PGA merger; impact on player movement
• 09:06 — What’s next for Koepka and the future of LIV
• 15:12 — US sports international push; Randall Williams on NFL in Dublin/London
• 16:03 — Adam Minter joins; “American fans aren’t enough”
• 17:09 — NBA’s international prospects and Olympic projections
• 18:14 — NWSL's draft change and global talent recruitment
• 20:54 — MLS aligning with European football calendar
• 22:26 — NHL’s global games as long-term play
• 24:10 — MLB’s international focus and growth in Asia/Latin America
• 25:20 — College bowl structure and viewership
• 29:07 — Vanessa Perdomo and Jordy Liser introduce Jump Platforms
• 32:17 — The tech “Frankenstein” in sports; why unified solutions matter
• 36:23 — AI-powered workflow and personalization
• 39:17 — Deepening fan engagement through data

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Notable Moments & Tone

• Candid analysis: Experts are frank about industry struggles, such as LIV Golf’s business challenges and rivalry with the PGA.
• Forward-looking optimism: Much discussion focuses on innovation (AI, unified platforms, international growth).
• Playful banter: The show's tone is friendly and conversational; jokes about Snoop Dogg’s business acumen and Detroit sports add levity.

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Summary

This episode expertly blends sports business news and strategic foresight with accessible commentary. From Koepka’s high-profile exit from LIV Golf and its ripple effects, to the globalization race led by the NBA and other US leagues, to the next-gen reinvention of the fan experience, the episode provides listeners with not just updates but the context and big-picture implications behind the headlines.

Recommended for anyone looking to understand the business forces transforming global sports in 2026.

Transcript

[Amy Morris / Karen Moscow / Carol Massar]

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Come on, it's pro pickleball. Real. Are people really going to tune into this?

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Bag of money, you're going to be really, really good.

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Bloomberg Business of Sports From Bloomberg Radio.

[Michael Barr]

This is the Bloomberg business of sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of Sports. I'm Michael LeBlanc. Damien Sassauer is out this week and Vanessa Perdomo will join us later in the show, jumping in as a special guest host. And I mean special. He's a friend of the show. Bloomberg US Sports Business reporter Randall Williams. Randall, what's up, buddy?

[Randall Williams]

Nothing much. Thank you for having me and happy holidays.

[Michael Barr]

Yes, I hope you had a great one man. Coming up, we'll talk with a company that wants to simplify the fan experience by putting everything you need from buying a ticket to ordering a hot dog on one platform.

[Randall Williams]

Plus why American sports leagues are prioritizing global expansion.

[Michael Barr]

All that is on the way on the Bloomberg business of sports. But we start with a big headline in the golf World.

[Randall Williams]

Brooks Koepka is the first player to officially leave the Saudi back to live golf. And it doesn't look like he'll be the last.

[Michael Barr]

Joining us to discuss the latest twists and turns in the world of golf is Ann liguri. She's covered 26 masters and done dozens of other major golf championships. And she's the author of the book Life on the Lessons and Wisdom from Legends of Golf. And welcome back to the Bloomberg Business of Sports.

[Amy Morris / Karen Moscow / Carol Massar]

Hey guys, it's always great to talk to you.

[Michael Barr]

Yay. Well, let's start with Brook Skepta. What? Really? Now, he says that he is leaving LIV because he wants to spend more time with his family and take him on his word on that. Your thoughts about this?

[Amy Morris / Karen Moscow / Carol Massar]

Well, knowing Brooks Koepka, he has been disenchanted with LIV for a long, long time. I can't even believe that he went to live. But you know, I can remember back at the Masters in 2023, you know, he admitted that he might not have joined LIV at all had he been fully healthy and playing great golf at the time. But around middle 2022, you know, he had an injury, one injury after another. And he really didn't know what his future was going to be on the PJ Tour or in golf overall. And so when LIV came to him and offered him all that money, and you know, it's upwards of 100 mil from what I've been gathering. They never report what the exact totals are. But you know, he just, it was an offer he could not refuse at the time because he wasn't healthy at the time. And since then he obviously got 100% healthier. He played decently, really well on live the first couple years. He was actually the league's first five time individual winner. He won in 2022, he won in 2023, won in 2024. But this past year, 2025, he did not win at all. And he just wasn't happy. You could see on his face when I saw him at the majors, he was not happy at all. And he did terrible at the majors. So the writing was basically on the wall. So when he left, when they came to terms, I was not surprised. I really was not.

[Randall Williams]

And how big of a hit is this for Liv? LIV has obviously signed plenty of people. They're expanding globally. But with him leaving, how big of a hit is it?

[Amy Morris / Karen Moscow / Carol Massar]

It's a huge hit. I mean, liv's been struggling from the beginning. I mean, look, they've spent $5 billion in Saudi funding since the start and what are they getting out of it? You know, they're not making money. You know, it's not really sustainable how many people really watch it on TV and follow it. So losing one of their biggest stars, Brooks Koepka, is a huge blow to live in. Which brings up what about who will be the next star to leave? Will Bryson DeChambeau be the next? I mean, his contract is up at the end of the 2026 season and he has said things like things have to change, things have to get better, things have to improve. Either he will bolt, he might be the next one to bolt, or, you know, he has tremendous leverage to make gods and gobs of money for LIV to keep him. So, yeah, it was a huge blow to LIV to lose Brooks Kapka because, you know, they really haven't signed any big name stars recently at all. And so they're getting younger players, players who aren't. Whose names aren't that recognizable, who really want to go to make the big bucks, but they haven't really signed any big name of late. And so losing Brooks is a huge blow to them. And the ramifications are that they might lose Bryson, DeChambeau and others are real.

[Michael Barr]

Well, where does this now bring any kind of merger between LIV golf and the pga? Or is that just dead?

[Amy Morris / Karen Moscow / Carol Massar]

You know, it's been dead for a while, Michael, I have to say the PJ Tour, because of liv, which Phil Mickelson predicted years ago when he kind of initiated this whole LIV controversy, the PGA Tour raised the pot, so to speak, for the PGA Tour players. And so you have all these signature events now on the PGA Tour calendar that are paying $20 million in prize money and the Players Championship up to 25 million. So the players are on the PJ Tour, are extremely well paid. I don't think they feel like they have to merge with live. I don't think they, the PGA Tour feels there's anything to gain to merge with LIV and to work with liv. So again, that's another sour point for live because I don't think the LIV players who wanted a merger to play on both tours, I don't think they're going to get that. And of course, a lot of the players, only players who qualify from live can play in the major championships. And that enters a whole conversation about official ranking, world ranking numbers, et cetera, et cetera, which they still are not giving to live players. So. So yeah, there's, there's really no, no need, in my opinion, for the PGA Tour to make any kind of Deal with LIV Golf.

[Randall Williams]

So, two part question from me. Number one, what does Brooks Koepka do next? Does he jump back over to the PGA Tour? And B, or number two, where does Liv go from here? When you lose some, a big name like Brooks, I wonder, does this signal the end of live golf or how do they move forward? So one, where does Brooks go? And two, where does Liv go?

[Amy Morris / Karen Moscow / Carol Massar]

Randall, good questions. I mean, the first question, where does Brooks go? Well, the PGA Tour has not made any decision about what they will do to accept any player who leaves live. You know, the. Any player who went to live from the PGA Tour was automatically banned from the PGA Tour Tour. Now, does the PJ Tour all of a sudden turn around and say, welcome back, Brooks? No, they really don't. So as much as I'm sure they'd love to have Brooks competing on the PGA Tour and, and he's such a star, and he's such an incredible golfer. He's won five major titles, they're going to really have to come up with a decision that they're going to have to live with, not only for Brooks, but for anybody else who leaves live. And, you know, you got to know that the PGA Tour players don't want to accept these guys. Why? You know, they're thinking, well, wait a second. These guys left the PJ Tour, went to live to make all this money, and now they won back? No way. So it'll be interesting to see what the PGA Tour does. Where does that leave Brooks? Brooks can still play in the major championships. He, you know, he still qualifies based on his winning, you know, the PGA Championships and the US Opens. He can still play in. In the majors. He may play the DP World Tour in Europe. From what I had read, the PJ Tour there, there is. You cannot play the PJ Tour for at least a year once you get off liv. So I'm, you know, I've read kind of conflicting reports about that. So. But the PGA Tour bottom line, has to come to some kind of agreement about what they're going to do with LIV players who want to get rejoin the PGA Tour, and so far, they have yet to do that.

[Randall Williams]

What is the relationship like between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf? From what I've been told, it seems pretty cordial. But with the PGA Tour doing increasingly better and now with Brooks leaving, I have to imagine that, you know, maybe there might be some tension or some nervousness from LIV golf surrounding this big ordeal when the PGA Tour is winning and then they just lose one of their biggest names. How is their relationship right now?

[Amy Morris / Karen Moscow / Carol Massar]

Well, you know, the LIV Golf now is run by a guy named Scott o'. Neill.

[Randall Williams]

Good guy.

[Amy Morris / Karen Moscow / Carol Massar]

He is liv's new CEO.

[Michael Barr]

And.

[Amy Morris / Karen Moscow / Carol Massar]

Yeah, and his background, you remember Scott, he was formerly CEO of Hero Splitzer Sports and Entertainment, owners of the 76ers and the Devils, and then was president at Madison Square Garden Sports. If you were to listen to Scott, you would think that everything's really cordial and that, you know, negotiations and talks are moving forward. But Brian Rolatt, the CEO of the PJ Tour, you know, former NFL executive, really hasn't said much about liv. And again, I go back to my earlier comments. Exactly. He's been very quiet. He has his, his own agenda. And I don't think the agenda is to work with LIV at all. They really don't need Liv. Going back to my earlier comments. And right now, I think the tour's main focus is, is with the competition committee, the future competition committee that's actually led by, they appointed Tiger woods as the, the head of that committee. So they're trying to figure out how do they make the tour even more popular and even more successful commercially. And they're working on, on that. And they really, in my opinion, aren't even thinking about live. They don't really need LIV at all. So, you know. Yes. Is it cordial? Yes. But you would seem to think that there's really no progress being made at all to have any kind of merger in the future.

[Randall Williams]

Our thanks to Ann Liguori for joining us. She's a longtime sports journalist and is also the founder and president of the Ann Liguori Foundation.

[Michael Barr]

Up next, we turn to how US Sports leagues are making a big push for international fans. For guest host Randall Williams, I'm Michael Barr. You are listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports, Bloomberg Radio around the world.

[Adam Minter / Barry Ritholtz]

I'm Barry Ritholtz inviting you to join me for the Masters in Business podcast.

[Jordy Liser / Tim Stanweck]

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[Amy Morris / Karen Moscow / Carol Massar]

This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.

[Michael Barr]

This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Michael Barr.

[Randall Williams]

And I'm Randall Williams.

[Michael Barr]

Randall is jumping in this week for Damien Sassoer. Vanessa Perdomo joins us a little later on in the show.

[Randall Williams]

This past year, the NFL had the Minnesota Vikings play in Dublin and in London in back to back weeks. It was the first time ever the NFL had one team play overseas in consecutive weeks and it probably won't be the last.

[Michael Barr]

It's part of a larger push for more international engagement. Each of the major US Sports leagues making global expansion a big, big priority.

[Randall Williams]

Bloomberg Opinion columnist Adam Minter wrote his last piece on this shift called American Fans Aren't Enough for US Sports Anymore. And he joins us now to discuss.

[Michael Barr]

Adam, welcome to the Bloomberg Business of Sports.

[Adam Minter / Barry Ritholtz]

Thanks for having me back.

[Michael Barr]

Yay team, man. You have a great article here. And you're right, American fans aren't enough for US Sports anymore because there's a lot of global money out there, Adam.

[Adam Minter / Barry Ritholtz]

There absolutely is. And the leagues have known this for a long time. But as I write in this piece, a number of factors have converged over the last year to really encourage them to go out and finally grab at it. And that's what we've seen and fans are experiencing it. I mean, if you're a fan of the NFL, you're getting accustomed to getting up at 9am for that international game in the middle of the season. But it's not just the NFL. Of course the NBA is looking and will likely in the next couple of years expand with a European league. You know, you see, you know, the Masters tournament in golf, they're actually making an effort to bring in more foreign champions into their game. So it's all across the board and it's a really exciting time for anybody who wants to see these, these leagues expand their market share.

[Randall Williams]

If you had to bet on one of these leagues, let's say the NFL and the NBA specifically to win internationally with their business, obviously the NF wants a 16 international game scheduled. The NBA wants this European league. Which one do you think will be more successful and why?

[Adam Minter / Barry Ritholtz]

Well, I think it's going to be if you had to bet, I think you'd have to bet on the NBA simply because it's an international game. And you know, some of the best players in the league right now are coming out of Europe anyway. I mean, at this point, Europe is becoming almost a farm team of its own for not just the NBA, let's face it, but also the NCAA recently at the top level of the game. So I think you have this convergence of, you know, interest and talent that makes it very easy for the NBA to expand its business and its links to Europe. But it's not just Europe, of course. There's a huge, huge market for basketball in Asia Pacific and specifically China, where arguably the NBA is the most popular league in the country. So it already has a big lead in this race, if it is a race between it and the NFL. And I think at least in the short to medium term, I think you'll see the NBA pull ahead.

[Michael Barr]

In soccer, the national women's soccer league. They have made an announcement, hopefully that will also help them go globally. What is that?

[Adam Minter / Barry Ritholtz]

Well, there's a few things they've done. One is they've just announced a bunch of streaming and broadcasting agreements overseas which should expand the market. But the big thing that they did is they got rid of the draft and they basically opened up the league so that, you know, the teams have to appeal to players. And this is how the rest of the world does soccer. You know, there's. The draft isn't done anywhere else. So it sort of converges the NWSL and with how the rest of the world does it, it makes it more part of the global market for women's soccer talent. And I think that's going to be a huge advantage. It already is as it, as it seeks to expand its reach.

[Randall Williams]

The biggest thing that I've heard when talking about international expansion, specifically with the NBA, is that this is all going to reach a climax at the 2028 LA Olympics because of the fact that people believe that Team USA will no longer be the favorite with, you know, LeBron, Steph and KD probably not playing KD I think could, but Steph probably not. What do you think that says about the state of basketball?

[Adam Minter / Barry Ritholtz]

Well, I think you're absolutely right. I mean, I think the betting money right now is on France to give the US another really good run for its money. You know, Wemby alone is a one man wrecking crew. And I don't know that the US has an answer for him, but I think what it says about the game is it's become a global game. And in a sense the NBA is. You know, the NBA has always been very progressive in terms of seeking to appeal to global audiences, but it's sort of a turning Point in the way that 1992 and the dream Team was a turning point where suddenly the NBA was lifting the curtain on a global game. Now the global game is saying, we've arrived. We deserve an equal role on the stage. And you're going to have players like Wemby, who I think has a very good chance of being one of the faces of that Olympics, signal that this is no longer something that the US and the NBA and the NCAA for that matter, have a monopoly on. And you could look at that as a negative for American basketball. But for the NBA, which has always had its global aspirations, it's a huge opportunity.

[Randall Williams]

So now let's talk a little bit about European football, AKA soccer. And I wonder, you know, they're going through this Messi surge right now, but one day Messi won't be playing. And I wonder how many times can the MLS and its clubs offer a quote, Messi sized contract in order to continue this supercharged wave that they have, or is there something else that they can do to win?

[Adam Minter / Barry Ritholtz]

Well, that's the big question. And of course, they continue to sign these sort of later career players and it's worked for them to an extent to build local fan bases. But ultimately they have to do what they just did, which is announced that they're going to align their calendar with the rest of global football. And that's going, you know, previously, you know, they were playing in the heart of summer in part because you have these teams and in, you know, northern states. You know, I'm from Minnesota. The Loons. Nobody really wants to see the Loons playing in February in the midst of a blizzard, you know, and so, but that's what's going to, that's potentially what's going to happen now that the MLS has put its calendar starting, I believe is it next year, on aligning it with the rest of the global calendar. And that should make it easier or it could make for MLS to get access to other global talent and compete for global talent, not just this retiring late career talent, but younger talent. On the other hand, it also makes the talent that's in MLS more vulnerable to other leagues. But ultimately MLS is going to have to be able to play on the same field, if you will, on the same pitch that these other global leagues are. And one of the ways they're going to do that is by aligning their calendars.

[Michael Barr]

You wrote that the NBA still loses money on its international games, but the NHL says that, hey, you know what, we would probably make more money playing overseas games at Home. Talk more about that.

[Adam Minter / Barry Ritholtz]

Yeah, I mean, again, it's expensive for any league to take its players, its staff, you know, the NFL, I mean, to move an NFL team to Europe or Brazil or Australia, which they're doing next year. I mean, that's a lot of equipment. So it's a very, very expensive endeavor. The NHL is facing the same thing. They're playing more and more European games. They know that if they stayed home from a pure dollar standpoint, they'd be making more money by playing those games at home. But the loss, if they are loss leaders, and we don't know. I asked and I couldn't get a good answer on whether the NHL loses money on its European games. But, you know, assuming that they're. They are not making as much money over there, they're looking at a bigger picture. And the bigger picture with the NHL in Europe is you have more and more European players, especially Swedish players in the league. And the NHL says, you know, if we've got the best Swedish players in the world playing in North America, why, why wouldn't we bring that back to Sweden, for example, and play some games there, play some regular season games of consequence over there and build our audience there? That's what they're doing. I don't want to call it a loss leader necessarily, but it's certainly not their biggest revenue generator. But they're taking the long view and really they have no choice. If they want to grow, they're going to have to be growing outside of the US as well as within North America.

[Randall Williams]

We have yet to mention the mlb, which just came off a stellar World Series. I wonder how much they're thinking about international expansion. Obviously we have Shohei Ohtani and others who are leading the way in terms Canada, Japan, all of those things. What is the MLB strategy moving forward?

[Adam Minter / Barry Ritholtz]

Right. Well, MLB is like, frankly, like the NBA and the NFL. It's looking at 20, 28 where it will be featured, baseball will be featured again in the Olympics as a way to boost global interest. But right now, things are going so great for MLB in North Asia, Japan and Korea, and to a lesser extent extent in Taiwan that I think they just want to continue to build that out, continue showcasing the Asian stars who are obviously bringing in enormous viewership. I mean, let's recall, some of these recent World Series games have had bigger viewerships in Japan, where they're shown in the morning, a country with a smaller population than they do in the U.S. not every game, but some of them. So, I mean, there's still a Huge opportunity for them to grow audience. There's. To grow sponsorship revenue there, to grow merchandise revenue there. And of course, they also have their tremendous business in Latin America. But like all, you know, these three major leagues, looking at LA 28, that's going to be their opportunity to really showcase that they have a global game and perhaps expand their marketplace elsewhere.

[Michael Barr]

You also wrote about Notre Dame, and your title is Notre Dame Shows that the Bulls Need Fixing. Yes. Because how, first of all, I don't understand how Notre Dame got left off the list. So Notre Dame said, you know, as the Fighting Irish, fine, we're not playing in any bowls this year.

[Adam Minter / Barry Ritholtz]

No.

[Randall Williams]

Go cry about it.

[Adam Minter / Barry Ritholtz]

Yeah, I'm with you. I'm with you.

[Michael Barr]

I mean, well, now what. What happens here? Now? What is. What reshapes the whole College bowl playoff series?

[Adam Minter / Barry Ritholtz]

Well, I mean, it's funny. I was just before I was going on with you guys, I saw none other than Snoop, who sponsors his own bowl, the Arizona Bowl. I believe it's the. The Gin and Juice by Snoop and Dre. Arizona Bowl. He was just calling for the expansion of the CFP to 24 teams.

[Randall Williams]

He wants the Snoop bowl to be one of those 16 games. Let me tell you something about Snoop. He is never, ever afraid of a check.

[Michael Barr]

He's got his mind on his money and his money on his mind.

[Randall Williams]

Absolutely.

[Adam Minter / Barry Ritholtz]

You saw he caught a kickoff at the game.

[Randall Williams]

I didn't. But it doesn't surprise me because of that youth football league that he once had.

[Adam Minter / Barry Ritholtz]

Right, right, exactly. But I think it's interesting that, you see Snoop is not afraid of a dollar. And I think that's ultimately what this comes down to is, is the bowl games are still worth money, you know, and they're worth money because they are. They're shown at a time when there's a lot of college basketball and bowl games do better viewership than college basketball. I was just looking at some numbers from January 4th of this year. There was the Bahamas Bowl, Buffalo versus Liberty. That had 1.14 million viewers that night. You had Michigan versus USC. Basketball did half that, 540,000 viewers. So people want to watch football.

[Randall Williams]

Our thanks to Adam Minter for joining us. He's a Bloomberg opinion columnist covering the business of sports.

[Michael Barr]

Up next, we turn to a new platform that wants to simplify the experience of going to a game for Randall Williams. I'm Michael Barr. You are listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio around the world.

[Amy Morris / Karen Moscow / Carol Massar]

I'm Carol Massar.

[Michael Barr]

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[Jordy Liser / Tim Stanweck]

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[Amy Morris / Karen Moscow / Carol Massar]

This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.

[Michael Barr]

Thanks for joining us on the Bloomberg Business of sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Michael Barr.

[Vanessa Perdomo]

And I'm Vanessa Perdomo.

[Michael Barr]

Joining us now is Jordy Lieser. He's co founder and CEO of Jump Platforms, which is the only unified fan experience and ticketing platform built for sports teams. Jordy, welcome to the Bloomberg Business of sports.

[Jordy Liser / Tim Stanweck]

Thank you. Great to be here.

[Michael Barr]

You are the co founder and CEO of Jump Platforms. What is that?

[Jordy Liser / Tim Stanweck]

Well, Jump is an end to end fan experience platform and basically all that means is where the technology behind the new sports fan experience that is owned and controlled by the team. And so all of a sudden as a fan, you can do business directly with your team instead of being kicked out to other sites, ticketing websites, other websites where other apps where, you know, the team is not in control. And so we build the technology to help the teams deliver a world class fan experience, including ticketing.

[Vanessa Perdomo]

Right. And that's, that's obviously a big thing that, you know, a lot of fans have, you know, struggle with and things like that. Tell us more about the hole that you saw in the market that you felt that Jump could really solve those sorts of problems. I imagine a lot of them had to do with ticketing, going outside places and now being able to do that all in one place. But what was the hole that you saw when you started this?

[Jordy Liser / Tim Stanweck]

Yeah, the biggest problem has always been that the business model sort of is a tail that wags the dog story. Where historically the fan was and the sports team was always kind of second fiddle to what was going on in the arena or just the business model of live sports entertainment. And as a result, as a fan, you, you never really had a direct connect with the team. And therefore the investment in, in technology, the Silicon Valley level quality technology and consumer experiences that we get every single day with all the products that we use and especially now today in the AI revolution, it's just magic what's happening in technology and what's available at our fingertips. Yet none of that broke through into sports. And so both on the business side and on the fan experience side, there was this effective stasis, there was kind of this, this stuck in time kind of feeling where innovation was happening everywhere else and the modern experiences and dynamic and real time and you know, all these different things that create a truly personalized and amazingly beautiful experience for each and every person that just wasn't happening in sports. And so that was kind of the big unlock is when Mark and Alex, my co founders, this is Mark Laurie and Alex Rodriguez, the, the new owners of the Minnesota Timberwolves, decided they were going to move forward in buying a team. They were thinking as we all started talking about that effort, hey, if we're going to do this, they're going to buy a team. We want to completely reimagine and bring to bear the most modern and sophisticated fan experience ever created.

[Michael Barr]

I want to go back to something you were talking about earlier because sports now is kind of fragmented, but jump is trying to bring all that back together. Tell us more about that.

[Jordy Liser / Tim Stanweck]

Yeah, the legacy way of running a sports team is a collection of a bunch of point solutions. I refer to it sometimes as like the Frankenstein tech stack that runs a sports team, which is that you have these disjointed systems. You might have a ticketing system which we all know all the ticketing systems and you have to become a customer of a ticketing system. You have to log in, you have to learn there's system and then you know, you can buy and sell and you know, get access to your season tickets. That's all on a company's website or an app that's not the team. And then you have, you know, maybe the merchandise and the, in the e commerce and the retail experience that also happens through like a different company. And then you might have, you know, various other startups that are in the mix and tools and technologies that the team uses that they all that. It was never built to be a unified, seamlessly flowing system of data and APIs and just the technical piping underneath that we've come to know and love for other experiences. If you think about your experiences on the Delta app or Airbnb or anything where you go directly to the business to do business with that company, underneath the hood, there's this truly seamless set of tools and technologies that then create this, this, this really world class experience on the front end. And sports never had that. And it's just always been pieced together.

[Vanessa Perdomo]

You know, Jordy, you had mentioned right when we got on that you're kind of new to the business of sports space. But one of your co founders, Alex Rodriguez, who's a friend of Bloomberg, he has a podcast with one of our own, Jason Kelly.

[Jordy Liser / Tim Stanweck]

Right.

[Vanessa Perdomo]

Yeah, he, you know, was it when you found Mark and Alex where you kind of were thinking maybe the technology you were developing was specifically for the sports space, or did you meet with them and it kind of all happened together? How did that relationship come to be and how did it become Jump?

[Jordy Liser / Tim Stanweck]

Sure.

[Michael Barr]

Yeah.

[Jordy Liser / Tim Stanweck]

The story of, you know, how we all came together. I've known Mark Laurie almost my entire career, ever since the year or two after I got out of school. We went to the same college at a small school in Pennsylvania called Bucknell University. And he was about 10 years ahead of me. And so he just became a mentor of mine and kind of a big brother of mine in business. And I was just, just watching and learning and trying to soak up as much as I could throughout his entire career. So I've known him my whole professional life. And then his career exploded in success with the companies that he built. And that led him to be in some pretty rare air meetings and talking about buying a sports team. And that's how he met Alex when they were exploring the opportunity to buy the Mets. And so fast forward, you know, the couple years that, that passed and then they end up becoming fast friends and Mark and Alex end up of, you know, seeking out and, and becoming the, the new owners of the Minnesota Timberwolves. That's when Mark brought, you know, me into the mix. And so the, the three of us then started talking about, hey, you know, again, what, what is if, if they're actually going to buy a sports team. And Mark's history and background is all about entrepreneurship and customer Experience and pushing the boundaries of, you know, the, the greatest consumer experiences you can have and in retail and E commerce. And Alex's new business life was all about innovation and startups and exploring what's next. And I come from enterprise software. It just sort of. And of course Alex's network and all things sports and entertainment. It was just kind of this perfect mix and match of we all bring different things to this puzzle and then, hey, if it ends up happening and they do end up buying a team and we do end up building this platform, we'll just build it for ourselves in Minnesota and see how it goes. And if we, if we do what we think we can do, we think other, other teams might be interested in the same idea.

[Michael Barr]

Two words have just encompassed the entire world. Detroit Lions. No. AI, artificial intelligence. And you guys have jumped in that and you have ambitions that are focused on several areas. Tell us about that.

[Jordy Liser / Tim Stanweck]

Yeah, absolutely. You know, this is another example of what happens if you. In the legacy stack and the legacy technology systems of teams, it was never going to be possible for a team to leverage AI if your data doesn't talk to each other, basically, if there's not integrations and APIs and real time data flows. Because the thing that fuels AI, as we all know, is data. And so if you don't have a connected data set, you cannot leverage AI. And so the beauty of what we've built with JUMP and the, the entire premise of what we're doing here is that because you have this unified system that connects your ticketing and your mobile experience and your web experience and all these other experiences under one system, that you have a vertical, you know, sort of a verticalized data set that then unlocks the opportunity for AI to benefit both the business side of a team as well as the fan experience. And so on the business side, the obvious areas are around workflows and agentic, that's the fancy words for basically automation of tasks across the organization. So instead of having an idea of, hey, we want to do a theme night like Star wars night, where we set a campaign and we sell tickets around the theme and packages and prices. And that creates probably 20 different meetings of 30 different people across four weeks to put something like that together. The, the promise of AI on the B2B side, on the Enterprise side, is that somebody could write up that idea, define the parameters, configurations, what they want, how many tickets, what price points, what packages. Literally just write a paragraph, hit enter into the system, and then all the workflows can happen across marketing, across ticket Operations across inventory management across, across communications, across email market. Like everything can happen with the push of a button. Like you can get 90% there in about 20 minutes as opposed to four weeks. So AI enables all that under the hood. And then on the consumer side, on the fan experience side, you know, it's, it, you don't, don't have to get too fancy. It's really just the, the exact right experience and the exact right thing in front of every single fan at the right moment. I mean that's really the unlock. And so we all feel like if you're a Detroit Lions fan or I'm a Denver Broncos fan, each and every one of us, the exact experience that you want to get.

[Vanessa Perdomo]

Yeah, absolutely. That's, you know, that's really interesting when you're looking at it from, from the business side and on AI for the company itself, for the other side of, you know, when we're talking about the business side for the team itself, what are the upsides there is. Is the goal to garner more season tickets or. Obviously, because if they're getting people who are downloading this app, they're already fans of the team.

[Adam Minter / Barry Ritholtz]

Right?

[Vanessa Perdomo]

Because it's a fan, it's a team specific app. So how is this garnering more revenue from a fan that, from a person that's already a fan of the team?

[Jordy Liser / Tim Stanweck]

Oh, sure. Well, you know, let's. I'll just use myself as an example. So I, I'm from Denver and so I'm a huge Nuggets fan and so growing up as a Nugget season ticket holder, loving everything about the Nuggets. Well, I can tell you that the era that I grew up in as a Nuggets fan, this was taken by Mutombo lafonzo Ellis, Mahmoud Abdul Rauf. Like there was this unbelievable era that I love and have nostalgia for. And so showing me content merchandise experiences come before the game, obviously. And I live in Los Angeles, so what are ways that I can sort of spend more, engage more in content, in merch, in experiences, in gaming, potentially. The prediction markets are obviously blowing up here. There's all sorts of different ways where, you know, this, this big fancy word called engagement can be broken down into, you know, basically ways to get attention and commerce moving. Even if you're already a, you know, locked in season ticket member. The, the idea for me as a fan, there's always more that I would want to do and get into if I was shown the right content and the right offers at the right time.

[Michael Barr]

Our thanks to Jordy Liser. For joining us. He's co founder and CEO of Jump Platforms. And most of all, thank you for joining us. For my colleagues Vanessa Perdomo and Randall Williams, I'm Michael Barr. Tune in again next week for the latest home the stories moving big old money in the world of sports. And subscribe now to our podcast on your favorite podcast platform. You're listening listening to the Bloomberg business of sports from Bloomberg Radio around the world.

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[Michael Barr]

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[Jordy Liser / Tim Stanweck]

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