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- [00:01]
Vanessa Perdomo
Brought to you by Capital One. As a founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports, Capital One is here to bring you closer to the athletes and teams you care about. And with checking accounts that have no fees or minimums, Capital One is here to handle your banking needs too. Just ask the Capital One bank guy. It's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. Capital One what's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.combank for details. Capital One NA Member FDIC.
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Capital One / iShares / Wise Advertiser
With Bali from Ishares, you get access to both monthly income and growth potential in one simple etf. It's the best of both worlds. Discover Bali Ishares Large Cap Premium Income Active ETF iShares the market is yours visit www.ishares.com to view perspectives for investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses and other information that you should read and consider carefully before investing. Risks include principal loss and the use of derivatives, which could increase risks and volatility. Monthly income is not guaranteed. Prepared by BlackRock Investments, LLC, this podcast is brought brought to you by Wise the Smarter way to manage your money internationally if you're getting a headache from juggling different currencies and different bank accounts in different countries, there's a better way to receive money in the currency you need without the slow transfer times or hidden fees. Meet Wise, the savvy way to handle your money internationally. Hold balances in up to 40 currencies with the mid market exchange rate on every conversion. Whether you're receiving payments from tenants abroad, earning as a digital nomad, or converting dividends from your international investments, the Wise Multi Currency account is for you.
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Be Smart.
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- [01:40]
Vanessa Perdomo
Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio News Bloomberg
- [01:49]
Sophie Goldschmidt
Audio Studios Podcasts Radio News this is
- [01:55]
Vanessa Perdomo
the business of sports the business of
- [01:56]
Capital One / iShares / Wise Advertiser
sports can be intimidating or hard for
- [01:59]
Aaron McGuire
a starter to break into.
- [02:00]
Vanessa Perdomo
We really appreciate when our owners are
- [02:02]
Capital One / iShares / Wise Advertiser
actually there, you know, with us through the journey.
- [02:04]
Vanessa Perdomo
Teams, ours especially have been very intentional
- [02:06]
Aaron McGuire
to diversify at all levels of the company.
- [02:09]
Sophie Goldschmidt
I think we're in the golden years
- [02:10]
Aaron McGuire
for the NFL and college football. Our demographic reach has continued to expand.
- [02:15]
Vanessa Perdomo
This is going to be really unlocking the streaming platform for sports fans.
- [02:20]
Michael Barr
Sports valuations are rising. We'll see when they peak.
- [02:22]
Capital One / iShares / Wise Advertiser
You don't have to be the best
- [02:24]
Aaron McGuire
in your sport to make a whole ton of money.
- [02:28]
Vanessa Perdomo
Bloomberg Business of Sports From Bloomberg Radio
- [02:33]
Michael Barr
this is the Bloomberg Business of Sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports.
- [02:38]
Vanessa Perdomo
I'm Michael Barr and I'M Vanessa Perdomo.
- [02:40]
Michael Barr
Damien's Assauer is off this week. Coming up today, we are wrapping up the 2026 Milan Cortina winter Olympics.
- [02:48]
Vanessa Perdomo
And, Michael, there have been some amazing stories out of Italy so far, like US Bobsledder Ilana Myers Taylor, who won her first gold medal at 41 years old after competing in five Olympics. And US Alpine ski legend Mikayla Shifrin won her first gold medal in the Salaam since her debut in 2014. That gives her three gold medals, and she now holds the record for most gold medals in U.S. alpine ski history.
- [03:12]
Michael Barr
Well, guess what? We just so happened to speak with the CEO of USA Bobsled and Skeleton, Aaron McGuire, right before he headed out to Milan. We'll listen into that conversation on the way, but we will start with skiing. Vanessa, you got a chance to sit down with the president and CEO of U.S. ski and Snowboard, Sophie Goldschmidt.
- [03:36]
Vanessa Perdomo
That's right, Michael. They've had a great year. And Sophie's telling us how they're going to keep the momentum going.
- [03:41]
Michael Barr
Huddle around the set, gang. Let's listen to a portion of the conversation now. It's Vanessa with Sophie Goldschmidt, president and CEO of U.S. ski and Snowboard.
- [03:51]
Vanessa Perdomo
So, Sophie, if you know, as the Games are wrapping up, can you tell us, you know, how would you categorize this time in Milan, Cortina and these Games as a whole?
- [04:02]
Sophie Goldschmidt
I would say it's been an amazing experience. Very exciting, a few twists and turns, but, yeah, overall, very proud of how our team and athletes have been performing. And look, we've got a few days left, so hoping for a strong finish as well.
- [04:20]
Vanessa Perdomo
You know, when you're looking at how, you know, how the different countries and how everyone hosts these Games differently, how have these been in particular and how would you say when we're looking ahead to, you know, a few, few cycles from now in 2034, what does, you know, Salt Lake City have to hold up to?
- [04:39]
Sophie Goldschmidt
Yeah, I mean, I think, look, the Italian spirit and just their passion for sport has definitely come through. We knew going into these Games, logistically it was going to be more of a challenge than we've encountered in a long time, just because of the number of different locations. But that was coming off a Beijing Olympics, which, you know, had its own sort of situation and things to deal with, given that it was, you know, during COVID and not necessarily a location that a lot of our teams have competed in before. And that was my first Winter Olympics, and I just started sort of a few weeks before. So I was very much in a sort of steep learning curve there. So I think coming into this Games, you know, we definitely had more of, I might say, sort of a normal preparation because there weren't the same restrictions that there were leading up to 2022. But the fact that, you know, oversee 10 different sports across Olympics and Paralympics and, you know, close to 100 athletes competing in this Games, you know, brought different complexities. You know, I. I've done a lot of miles on the road just trying to see as many of our athletes and teams compete and being so spread out as. As definitely, you know, brought some challenges. But look, I have to give them credit. I think the venues themselves, you know, most importantly, the athletic kind of ve. The surfaces that the athletes have been competing on, whether it's the different features around slopestyle, big air, the half pipes, the alpine venue, cross country, etc. I think they've done a really good job with those. I think the rest of the infrastructure has been sort of a work in progress. I would say it's got sort of better and better as the Games has continued. But overall, I think for the most part, it's been a really positive experience, both, you know, most importantly for the athletes, but also all the other stakeholders that are involved in putting the Games on.
- [06:48]
Vanessa Perdomo
Absolutely. And obviously before, you know, we move on to exciting things and talking about everything that's happened, I want to address, you know, what happened with legendary skier Lindsey Vaughn and her crash. And obviously we've seen that she's back in the U.S. she's recovering, which is great to hear, but. But what else can you tell us about, you know, Lindsey's recovery?
- [07:11]
Sophie Goldschmidt
Yeah, look, it was an incredibly tough start to the Games with the horrific injury that she went through. Sort of. It was day two, I guess, well, depending when the game starts. But the Sunday, the first Sunday of the Games, and we'd had Breezy Johnson put down just an incredible run in the downhill. Lindsay was going just a few races after her, and I think I was at the bottom, so got a different perspective. But you could tell right away that it was a very serious injury. And I think it impacted everyone, obviously, in different ways. The athletes, the spectators there, those seeing on TV that probably even experience more of it just because of, you know, what the broadcast can. Can show. But, you know, I think the way
- [08:02]
Capital One Venture X Card Advertiser
she
- [08:04]
Sophie Goldschmidt
sort of presented herself, how she's communicated since then, just sort of epitomizes the champion and role model that is, you know, as we now all know, it's It's a very serious injury. Good news is she's back in the States. She had sort of the. The first major surgery back there yesterday. She had to have a few surgeries just to be able to get back to the US but her. Her spirit and strength of character and just, you know, sort of having no regrets and giving it her all to be ready for that race and how she's dealing with sort of what happened is really, I find very inspiring. I was fortunate to have the chance to see her a couple of times before she left Italy, and it was, yeah, quite incredible to see how she's been managing it. So, look, she's got a long road to recovery, but she's been injured seriously several times before, so I think she knows what it's going to take. But yet you can't help but feel just very sad for her that this happened, because what she's done to get back to this position, to be leading the downhill and to be the best speed athlete in alpine at the moment at 41 years of age, is quite an accomplishment. Um, but I think she's managed as well as she could have done.
- [09:37]
Vanessa Perdomo
Absolutely. We're speaking with Sophie Goldschmidt, U.S. ski and Snowboard President and CEO. Sophie, one of the other things that you had said earlier that I really wanted to touch on was the amount of sports you guys have competing in, in the Games. I feel like you're in charge of essentially half the events that, that, you know, take place at the Winter Games. Tell me about that. You know, and are there challenges to the amount of events that you guys have, the amount of disciplines and all of those things? And how. How has your Games been trying to get to all those different kinds of things?
- [10:14]
Sophie Goldschmidt
Yeah, look, it's part of what I love about our job. It's. It's very exciting. I mean, just when you know something maybe isn't going as planned, there's something else going in another area that kind of keeps you on. On your toes. I mean, it. It certainly, yeah, means that I'm constantly learning, which I love, having worked in sports for a long time. Hopefully also my experience continues to kick in and, and we can add value in, in different areas, but I, I love the variety. I mean, look, there's, I think, so many similarities across our sports, which I think really benefit each other. People tend to just focus on the differences and clear standpoint. You know, turning in, you know, Islam race is very different to doing, you know, an incredible trip and jump in a half pipe. But when you think about the mental preparation, the physical preparation, the nutrition, the team, the culture, all of that. There are significant similarities that I think can really benefit all of our sports. And then you need, you know, the specialism and sort of specifics in certain areas as well. But I love the fact that we have, you know, multiple different sports and within those sports, multiple disciplines. And you know, it's a big reason I took on this role. And I think, you know, we're thinking more and more like one team. We're trying to lean into those similarities. We've made our USANA center of Excellence much more of a hub for all of our athletes to come and train during the off season and prep period. Because I think, you know, they can all inspire each other and so many ways, even if their seasons and events are quite different. You know, if you've been training with someone in the summer, lifting the same weights, going through the same training routine, and maybe you're struggling, but you see them pop through and have a great result, you never know what's going to be that spark that can inspire someone. So I think, you know, hopefully it can continue to give us an advantage. You know, I think culturally I feel like we're in a really good place. We're certainly not complacent. We've got a long way to go both culturally and on the performance side. While we've got some amazing, very established, proven champions, I feel like in some other areas we're only just getting, getting going. And that certainly is very motivating for me.
- [12:41]
Vanessa Perdomo
Sophie, how much of your job is about, you know, these elite athletes and you know, the Olympic style national team and then how much of it is looking at growing the participation across the national level and that sort of youth level and all of that?
- [13:00]
Sophie Goldschmidt
Yeah, I would say it's sort of multifaceted. I mean, we've got various different areas and levels within our organization. Sort of, most simplistically, sort of explained, we have the on snow and off snow. So on snow is everything to do with our athletes. And that's from overseeing the programming and management of the best athletes in the world. We oversee now about 250 athletes across our 10 different sports. So sort of from a full time training and competing petition perspective, we're managing all of that with the coaching competitive side of things, the preparation period. And then the off snow is more about sort of generating the, the revenue and awareness. So from a commercial standpoint, the partnership side of it, the growing our broadcast, growing the media presence, we generate a lot of revenue also through Philanthropy, which is a really important revenue stream for us. You know, given unlike basically all of our counterparts around the world who receive significant funding from the government in the US we get no funding. So we're, you know, more reliant on all these other revenue sources. And ultimately I see it as a very holistic circle. You know, we're supporting the top of the pyramid and also sort of the base. The better our athletes do at the top in Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, in World cups, world champions, etc. I think that provides inspiration and kind of lights the fire for more people to want to engage in our sports as a participation level. And the stronger the participation base is, the more talent we get in our pipeline, which means we're more likely to produce champions. So it really is a very holistic circle.
- [14:45]
Vanessa Perdomo
That was Sophie Goldsmith. She's the CEO and president of U.S. ski and Snowboard.
- [14:50]
Michael Barr
Up next, we speak with the CEO of USA Bobsled and Skeleton. That is straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of Sports For Vanessa Perdomo, I'm Michael Barr. You are listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio around the world.
- [15:08]
Vanessa Perdomo
This sports spotlight is brought to you
- [15:09]
Capital One Venture X Card Advertiser
by Capital One Venture X Card, founding
- [15:11]
Vanessa Perdomo
partner of iHeart Women's Sports. Did you know that 1998 was the
- [15:15]
Capital One Venture X Card Advertiser
first year that the Olympics featured a women's ice hockey competition? Team usa, led by Captain Cammy Granado, won a perfect six zero zero and took home the very first women's hockey gold, defeating Canada 3 to 1 in Nagano, Japan. With Venture X. Enjoy easy to use premium benefits like a $300 annual Capital One travel credit. Plus you can earn unlimited double miles on every purchase. Terms apply. See capitalone.com for details.
- [15:38]
Capital One / iShares / Wise Advertiser
Here's a paradox. We buy insurance for peace of mind. Yet the very policies we trust can deliver the biggest financial shocks. Across America, millions of claims are denied every year, not because people did anything wrong, but because policies quietly excluded the things that happened. The psychology of trust tells us we assume the contract is fair. But in insurance, the information gap is massive. The insurer knows every detail of what's covered. The policyholder rarely does. That's where my policy advocate comes in. For just 27 cents a day, their platform reads your policies and shows you in plain language where you're vulnerable. They're not selling insurance. They don't do that. It's about transparency, giving ordinary people the same understanding insurance companies have had for decades. Because when you know what's really in your policy, you can plan, protect and avoid surprises before you trust your policy to protect you. Let my policy advocate tell you what it really says. Visit mypolicyadvocate.com today. Peace of mind starts with knowing the truth. Mypolicyadvocate.com youm need to make a huge
- [16:41]
Vanessa Perdomo
presentation in an hour. Luckily, Adobe Acrobat Studio uses AI to take all your documents and generate a presentation with a single click, building slides faster than ever before. So if you need a last minute pitch deck, do that with Acrobat. Need to level up your presentation design? Do that with acrobat. You have 30 plus documents that need to be simplified into a proposal. Do that with Acrobat. Learn more@adobe.com do that with Acrobat. This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from
- [17:13]
Michael Barr
Bloomberg Radio, this is the Bloomberg Business of Sports Sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Michael Barr.
- [17:20]
Vanessa Perdomo
And I'm Vanessa Perdomo.
- [17:22]
Michael Barr
Damien Sassour is off this week. We're focused on the Olympics today as the Games wrap up in Milan.
- [17:29]
Vanessa Perdomo
Michael, you, Damian and I spoke with the CEO of USA Bob Sledd and Skeleton, Aaron McGuire right before he headed out to the games. So none of the medals had been won yet, but Aaron explained to us how they find these incredible athletes because shockingly enough, but really not, they don't start out doing this at a very young age.
- [17:47]
Michael Barr
Let's dive right into the conversation with CEO of USA Bobsled and Skeleton Aaron McGuire. You are in a sport where it takes money to get athletes to participate in this. Tell us about that and how you generate money so that the USA team can just go and kick butt.
- [18:13]
Aaron McGuire
You know you're right, it is not. The sports of Bobsa and skeleton are not inexpensive. You think about the cost of sports and a lot of people think of Formula One as one of the most expensive sports sets out there talking about multi, multi million dollar budgets per team and you start thinking about sports like equestrian where you have million dollar horses, you know. And not far too far behind are the sports of bobsled and skeleton and the equipment alone is pricey. A four man bobsled costs $125,000 or more. We're shipping equipment from the United States to Europe every year. The sports are primarily European based. We do host events in the United States in Lake Placid, New York, in Park City, Utah where the two Olympic Games were hosted in and in 2034 we've got the Games returning to Utah. So we're certainly excited about that.
- [19:10]
Vanessa Perdomo
Aaron, when you're looking at donors and sponsors and things how hard is it for bobsled and skelton to get into that conversation? It's really unique, it's really nimble. It's not a sport that a lot of people watch outside of the game. Can you talk a little bit about what you have to do in order to get those sponsors?
- [19:31]
Aaron McGuire
Well, well, the great things about the sports of bobsled skeleton is, is people don't realize it, but they can, they can relate to it. And we've all, you know, most people have been kids. You know, we've all been kids at one point, but most people have grown up and been around snow at some point in their lives. And so they've been sledding. And everybody can relate to that experience of being a kid and going down the hill and snow flying in their face and going a little too fast and getting that adrenaline going. And that's essentially what bobsled skeleton are. But you're going 90 miles an hour down a mile long track at close, you know, at top speeds with 4 and 5 GS. And so connecting with that memory of being a kid and the sport, that's really the first step. The second step is making that connection to the USA team and knowing that there's a lot of pride in that. An honor for our athletes to wear a uniform that says usa and that's red, white and blue. You know, we're, we're a divided country in many ways, but the one thing that everybody can get behind that's the USA team. And so that, that does get people excited and interested. And then, and finally really recognizing the impact that our sponsors and donors make on the team, not just financially, but within, you know, expertise. You know, we work with a number of tech, tech partners, technology partners that are helping us design and build bobsleds that are, that are competitive against the Germans and the Swiss and the Canadians.
- [21:02]
Podcast Host / Interviewer
Well, Aaron, you actually took me right there and you know, when you started this conversation, you kind of compared, you know, bobsledding to F1, right? And F1, we all know that, you know, there are cars involved. You know, in this case you have a steel chassis, carbon fiber, you know, kind of skeleton or you know, some steel frame, fiberglass, you know, bobsled. I mean, I don't know, does, you know, the technology that goes into the actual sled itself factor in? I mean, do people have better sleds than other sleds? I mean, does it really matter?
- [21:31]
Aaron McGuire
Absolutely. And so I'll say in, in Bobston's skeleton, there's three main factors that it takes to win a race, first of all, you have to have a great start. And so we're recruiting athletes from other sports. Most athletes have never touched a bobsled or skeleton sled until their early 20s. Most athletes have run track and field, they've played football, they've run, you know, they've played soccer or softball or baseball. They're athletes and they get into the sport and we teach them how the sports work. So the push is really incredible. We're looking for big, fast, explosive athletes that aren't afraid to go down a track at top speeds. Number two, it takes a great pilot. You know, just like Formula one, you've got to build a steer, get, get down the track. And the last piece is, is equipment. And so the international federation sets rules and regulations of how big the sled can be, how small the sled can be, certain aerodynamic aspects, certain aspects with the steering. But there is leeway for countries to go in and design and build their own sleds. And so that's something that we have, have had a great history of doing for a number of years. Getting back to the 90s with a NASCAR driver named Jeff Bodine who got in the sport and then moving in into working with BMW. And now we're working with partners like Debo Tech, Advance, Honda, who are all really lending their expertise to help us be successful and build fast, fast sleds for the athletes.
- [23:04]
Michael Barr
We're Talking with Aaron McGuire, CEO of USA Bob Sled and skeleton. For the audience, very quickly, let me if you're not familiar with the sport of skeleton, bobsledding and the luge, the explain the bobsled. Of course. You are two to four men inside a compartment as you're going down a track. The luge, you're on your back with just blades on you but your feet first. The skeleton is now you talk about brave is that you are head first on your stomach and you are flying at 90 miles an hour. You were right about being brave at doing this, but it brings up a point and it's been in the news now lots of sports. It's about Katie Uhlander, the Olympic skeleton spot. She apparently is not going to be on the USA team because Canada had withdrawn from the team competition I think in Lake Placid earlier. And that meant it brought down the scoring and it's a whole kind of mess. Can you bring us up to date on that?
- [24:17]
Aaron McGuire
Sure. So Katie Landers is a multi Olympian. She's been a sport of skeleton for, geez, 20 years or more. And so she was racing in a lower circuit. So we have two circuits. We have the World cup circuit, which is competitions both in North America, Europe, and occasionally Asia. And those are. All of our, essentially most competitive teams are racing there. Katie was competing on a lower circuit, which was in North America, in Lake Placid. And you earn points throughout the season based on where you race. And so while there are lower, lower points available within the North American cup circuit, it gave her an opportunity to earn points, win the race. Unfortunately, Canada withdrew some athletes, which ended up reducing the number of points that she received, along with a few other countries. And so as a result of that, she finished up as our third US Women's skeleton athlete. US Earned two quota spots, so she unfortunately did not finish in the top two. And we did have two other athletes who, who did finish in the top two who will be representing the United States. Certainly there's, there's a big push for her to be entered into this, into the, into the Games, and we're looking into it. The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee has, has put requests in, and for us, we're, you know, we want to. We don't want to displace another athlete for her because it's, it's a. It's a complex situation. And so our hope is that there's, there's an opportunity for an additional quota spot to be allocated to the US Team. So that way we can take our top three US Women's skeleton athletes to the Games.
- [26:06]
Capital One Venture X Card Advertiser
Wow.
- [26:07]
Vanessa Perdomo
Really interesting. Hopefully, you know, that, that goes. I mean, it's, it's coming up soon. Can we. Let's talk a little bit more about the athletes on Team usa. I mean, you, you brought it up a little bit about how they, they get into bobsledding. I mean, they come from different sports. Can you talk a little bit how you find these explosive athletes and really how they, you know, train for the sport? I mean, how often are they training outside of the Games? Do they have outside jobs, you know, like a lot of Olympians have to do?
- [26:38]
Aaron McGuire
Yeah, absolutely. So the athletes, the athletes that we have on the team, we've got a very diverse group of athletes because they don't necessarily come from one region of the United States. They come from all over the country, from New York to Florida to Texas to California and every state in between, because we're looking for athletes from other sports to come into the sport of bobsled and skeleton. What we will do is we will visit about eight cities during the summer and host tryouts combines. During those combines, we Test athletes, sprinting ability, standing, long jump, vertical jump. We interview them to really get an understanding of what kind of athlete they are. And from there we can see whether those athletes would have the aptitude, the athleticism to push a 400 pound sled at the start of a race. Once we've identified our top athletes from those recruiting camps, those combines, we invite them out to Lake Placid to the Olympic and Paralympic training centers where we spend a week with that kind of rookie camp or rookie class teaching them how the sports of bobsled skeleton work. Now what we'll typically do is, is there are bobsleds on wheels that are at each of the tracks that we can actually do a bobsled race or a bobsled run in the summertime because not only do we want athletic people, but we want people that like, like a little bit of adrenaline. And so we'll take them down the track and we have some athletes that say, that was an amazing rush, I loved it. How do I get back to the top of the track and do it again? And we've got some athletes that despite being amazingly athletic, they take one run. They say how can I get to the airport to go home as quickly as possible? And so we're looking for two boxes to be checked. One is that they're excited, passionate, athletic, and two is that they love that adrenaline rush. And so our athletes do, do, do train back in their hometown. So during the summer it's a decentralized program. They're training at home. They're primarily working on, on speed and strength training to get bigger, faster, stronger in the off season. And then around July, what we'll do is we'll start hosting team training camps in Lake Plaza, New York, occasionally Park City, Utah to really start focusing on sports specific technique of pushing sleds, of getting into a sled. As you can imagine, four guys that are all 220 pounds, 230 pounds going in a full sprint and jumping into a small bobsled in less than a second. It takes practice and it takes training to get it right.
- [29:25]
Vanessa Perdomo
That was Aaron McGuire. He is the CEO of USA Bobsled and Skeleton.
- [29:29]
Michael Barr
Up next, we continue to focus on the Winter Games and talk hockey.
- [29:33]
Vanessa Perdomo
We'll check in with former Canadian star Jayna Hefford and talk about her work on the new North American Women's Ice Hockey League.
- [29:39]
Michael Barr
Ooh. That's straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of Sports. I'm Michael Barr with Vanessa Perdomo. You're listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio around the world
- [29:52]
Vanessa Perdomo
this sports spotlight is brought to you
- [29:54]
Capital One Venture X Card Advertiser
by Capital One Venture X Card, founding
- [29:55]
Vanessa Perdomo
partner of iHeart Women's Sports did you
- [29:58]
Capital One Venture X Card Advertiser
know that 1998 was the first year that the Olympics featured a women's ice hockey competition? Team USA, led by captain Cammie Granado, won a perfect 600 and took home the very first women's hockey gold, defeating Canada 3 to 1 in Nagano, Japan with Venture X. Enjoy easy to use premium benefits like a $300 annual Capital One travel credit. Plus you can earn unlimited double miles on every purchase. Terms apply. See capitalone.com for details.
- [30:22]
Capital One / iShares / Wise Advertiser
Here's a paradox. We buy insurance for peace of mind. Yet the very policies we trust can deliver the best biggest financial shocks across America. Millions of claims are denied every year, not because people did anything wrong, but because policies quietly excluded the things that happened. The psychology of trust tells us we assume the contract is fair. But in insurance, the information gap is massive. The insurer knows every detail of what's covered. The policyholder rarely does. That's where my policy advocate comes in. For just 27 cents a day, their platform reads your policies and shows you in plain language where you're vulnerable. They're not selling insurance. They don't do that. It's about transparency, giving ordinary people the same understanding insurance companies have had for decades. Because when you know what's really in your policy, you can plan, protect and avoid surprises. Before you trust your policy to protect you, let my policy advocate tell you what it really says. Visit mypolicyadvocate.com today. Peace of mind starts with knowing the truth. Mypolicyadvocate.com youm need to make a huge
- [31:25]
Vanessa Perdomo
presentation in an hour. Luckily, Adobe Acrobat Studio uses AI to take all your documents and generate a presentation with a single click, building slides faster than ever before. So if you need a last minute pitch deck, do that with Acrobat. Need to level up your presentation design? Do that with acrobat. You have 30 plus documents that need to be simplified into a proposal. Do that with Acrobat. Learn more@adobe.com do that with Acrobat this is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
- [32:00]
Michael Barr
Thanks for joining us on the Bloomberg Business of Sports. We explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Michael Barr.
- [32:07]
Vanessa Perdomo
And I'm Vanessa Perdomo. Damien Sassauer is out this week.
- [32:10]
Michael Barr
We're focusing on the Winter Olympics on the show today and as the Games wrap up in Milan, we want to take a look at what's ahead for Some of the sports, including women's professional ice hockey. By the way, the women's hockey team, they won the gold in thrilling fashion, defeating Canada 2 to 1 in overtime. Which leads us to our next conversation in this Olympic special.
- [32:34]
Vanessa Perdomo
We spoke with Amy Scheer. She's the executive vice president of business operations for the Professional Women's Hockey League. And Jayna Hefford, executive vice president for the pwhl, who also happens to be a four time Olympic gold medalist. We talked with them right before the games kicked off about how the league can capitalize on the momentum of the Winter Olympics when the athletes come back to North America to compete.
- [32:56]
Michael Barr
Let's listen to that conversation now. You guys are involved in the Professional Women's Hockey League in its third season. I'm going to start with you, Amy. Tell us about how the league is going so far.
- [33:07]
Amy Scheer
Oh, we're doing great this season. Things are looking good. Our attendance is up, our merchandise sales are up. We've got a record number of sponsors. Fans are bringing signs that are better than ever and more creative. So we're, we're feeling good about season
- [33:21]
Vanessa Perdomo
three so far, you know, and Amy, this is the first, you know, this the third season, but the first time you guys are around for the Olympic cycle. Tell us about how you guys are, you know, what the strategy is there building off the momentum, going into the Games and coming out of the Games.
- [33:36]
Amy Scheer
Well, this is a huge opportunity for us because it's the first time for the PWHL that we've had an Olympic cycle. And so we're making sure that all of our verticals across the board are taking advantage of this. So we've got a big campaign that we're launching called the Ultimate Away Game. And we're showcasing all of our athletes now on the global stage. And we've got a hub on our website that's just all about the Olympics and the ultimate away game. We are airing spots on linear and social streams for both the US And Canada. So we'll be producing a ton of content coming out of Milan, both live and taped. We'll have watch parties back at home with our teams. And so we've got tons of merch march in and around the games for our players and for our fans. And so we're pretty excited to put all of our efforts into the Olympics. And then coming out the back end, hope there's a nice sort of draft and a tailwind to help really continue to propel the pwhl.
- [34:39]
Podcast Host / Interviewer
Jane, I wonder if you could expand on that A little bit. You know, like, there are 10, I believe, 10 women's ice hockey teams in the Olympics this year. And, I mean, from what I'm hearing, a lot of those teams have the PWHL players on them. I'm sure Canada and the U.S. but. But what other teams out there
- [34:56]
Michael Barr
have
- [34:56]
Podcast Host / Interviewer
players on their teams?
- [34:58]
Capital One Venture X Card Advertiser
Well, we have great representation at the Olympic games. There'll be 61 PWHL players, which represents about 30% of our league. Again, predominantly Canada in the U.S. but we also have eight players on Czechia, which is a significant number. And then across Sweden, Finland, Germany, Italy, there's another handful to get to that 61 number. And in addition to that, we have a number of staff members that will be head coaches in the Olympic Games, representing their countries as well, and other support staff. So definitely something we're incredibly proud of.
- [35:30]
Michael Barr
We're talking with Amy Scheer, executive vice president of business operations for the pwhl, and Jayna Hefford, executive vice president of hockey operations for the pwhl. And I want to talk about the central ownership by the Mark Walter Group and the advisory group, which includes Billie Jean King. Jayna, can you tell us more about that?
- [35:54]
Capital One Venture X Card Advertiser
Yeah, we obviously feel very fortunate to have a leadership group and an ownership group in Mark and Kimber Walter, Stan Kasten, Billie Jean King, Alana Kloss, who have been, you know, leaders in all levels of sport, and certainly Billie Jean and Alana on the women's sports side, and Stan and Mark have had an incredible amount of success everywhere they've been. So, you know, to launch a league like we've done in a short period of time and have the success we've had is certainly, I think, a recognition of that support and that leadership at the top, and just feel fortunate that, you know, Amy and I and the rest of the team get to work alongside them and. And strategize how we grow this league, because the early success has been incredible and looking forward to lots of great things ahead.
- [36:40]
Vanessa Perdomo
Amy, it's interesting, obviously, like, as Janet was saying, the early success. And it is. It really is, right? I mean, three years into the league and you're already. It feels like shattering your own attendance record, like, every other, you know, month or something. Like, constantly playing in, you know, in front of, like, crowds, you know, sold out 15,000 to 17,000. And then coming out of the Games, you'll be playing at MSG and TD Garden. How has, you know, how has the league been able to capture this audience so quickly? Because women's ice hockey I mean, it's not new, right? It's been around for a long time. You know, Jayna played in a lot of leagues for, for a while in her career. How come this particular, you know, group is able to succeed so quickly?
- [37:25]
Amy Scheer
Yeah, I think Jane touched on it a little bit with ownership. Right. I think we are the first. When I don't think, I know we are the first women's hockey league to have the right resources and I think the fans appreciate that. And so, you know, number one, they appreciate, I think the, the position that the players are in now where they're playing in top notch facilities, they have medical, health insurance, real pay. And so the players are supported and they put on the most amazing show every night. So every game you come, the level of play is out of this world. And then on the business side, we've been able to support the players with best in class staff. And so if you look at the leadership team across the pwhl, we've got amazing, talented and skilled individuals that are able to promote and market and really build this league. And you know, it's time, it's generational change and I think when you look at people now 30, 35 years old, they don't know a world without women's sports. And so this really, I think for them, pretty typical. And it's, it's accepted and yeah, it's time. So I think it's a lot of things. I think it's resource, I think it's staffing and it's, it's fans. They appreciate what we're doing.
- [38:41]
Podcast Host / Interviewer
Well, Amy, I love it that Vanessa points out that the PWL is coming to msg, that it's coming to New York because you yourself spend quite a bit of time in the Tri State area. First with the Nets, then the Liberty. I believe you were with NHL NYC FC for a while and then the Connecticut Sun. You know, talk to us about the importance of playing at msg.
- [38:59]
Amy Scheer
Well, it's called the world's most famous arena for a reason and it is the most magical place if you are an athlete to play. And it was really important for us as a league in this market to play at the world's most famous arena. I think it really shows that were real, were legitimate. It took me two years to get the game there right. It's so hard to get a dated msg. But for us this is about brand building, audience building, continuing the legitimacy of what the PWHL is and what we stand for, which is best in class. And so we're excited and we feel pretty confident that this game is going to sell out. And we're three quarters of the way there already.
- [39:40]
Michael Barr
Well, old man Barr is a very selfish person from the fact that I want you guys more on tv. More tv, please. So, Jayna, what can the league do that's like it Set up more deals for streaming and television. Can you take us more through that?
- [40:00]
Capital One Venture X Card Advertiser
Yeah, I think Amy could probably comment further on that. But I think in general, we've talked about the Olympics already, what a great opportunity that is to draw new eyeballs to women's hockey. We're still a relatively young sport and an emerging sport, and the Olympic Games has a high level of visibility around the world, so we want to take advantage of that. And there's still many people that haven't seen the highest level of women's hockey yet. And when they do, I think, you know, they want to figure out where the next game is. So, you know, that's one big part of it, I think, continuing to storytell around our athletes. We have these incredible women that are successful in so many different aspects of their life that are incredible athletes and ambassadors and role models. And so we want to continue to tell their stories because we know fans fall in love with them as so, you know, I think it continues to come back to visibility, and that's incredibly important for us.
- [40:51]
Podcast Host / Interviewer
Jayna, Amy, do you guys work really closely with the NHL? And the reason I ask is if you look at the WNBA as a peer, you know, they have a lot of and again, I don't know the ownership structure there. I mean, I know it's centrally owned by the Mark Walter Group, but like, you know, a lot of WNBA teams are owned by NBA franchises. That can be a good and a bad thing. And I'm just curious if you've explored something similar, you know, with the PWHL and doing any sort of affiliation with the men's National Hockey League?
- [41:17]
Amy Scheer
Well, I think on the business side, Jay Nik talks to the hockey side. On the business side, we have a wonderful relationship with the NHL. We talk to them on a fairly frequent basis. Whether it's how do we maximize the Olympics together if they're having an all star weekend, how do we take part in that? As we look to spin up different parts of our business, we'll call them and ask them their thoughts on things. And so we've got a wonderful working relationship with them on the business side, where we continue to work together on a ton of different programs and a ton of different things. So that's where it'll stay there. I don't. There will, you know, there's, there's no discussions of the NHL buying or investing in the pwhl. Again, that's, that's Mark Walter and Kimber Walter. But from a business perspective, really positive working relationship. We couldn't ask for a better partner in working with us on a day to day basis.
- [42:10]
Capital One Venture X Card Advertiser
You know, I would echo that on the hockey side as well. Just, you know, great partners in so many different ways. And we share a lot of facilities and there's infrastructure there that, you know, has been great for our success in terms of, you know, getting our players into professional buildings and have the support and the resources they require. So, you know, tackle Amy. I think the NHL have been great partners and continue to work alongside us.
- [42:37]
Vanessa Perdomo
Well, alongside that, you know, as we were talking about earlier, when you're talking about, you know, sharing infrastructure and things like that and resources that Amy had mentioned earlier. Janet, can you talk a little bit about just how your career, how that was for you? I mean, you had such a successful career. You know, I'm not gonna, you know, sit here and list this. You know, your accolades are really strong, but we'll make sure, you know, everybody knows, you know, Hockey hall of Fame and all that. But for you, what was that like for you at the time when you were playing and getting ready for the, for the Olympic Games and all that were. Was it anything like it is today or you really had to kind of stay ready on your own?
- [43:14]
Capital One Venture X Card Advertiser
Yeah, it was nothing like it is today. And you know, we were responsible, you know, in those three years in between Olympic Games to find somewhere to play. And it at that time was not a professional league. It was very much the best players in the world, but in many cases, you know, players still paying to play and having, you know, late night practices and, and jobs during the week and then play on weekends and the passion to represent your country was the same and the competition, the intensity of that was the same. But now to see the landscape and how it's changed and the way our players are supported year round, day in, day out, and I think you don't have to look very far to see that the best players in the world that are potentially on the backside of their careers are still getting better now because of the support that they have. So players like Hillary Knight and Mary Philippe Poulain have been legends in the game for a long time, but we're seeing them have some of their best seasons because they're supported in such a different way.
- [44:13]
Vanessa Perdomo
That was Amy Scheer, Executive Vice President for Business Operations for the pwhl, and four time Olympic gold medalist Jayna Hefford, Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations for the pwhl.
- [44:24]
Michael Barr
And that's it for today. Thanks for joining us. Tune in again next week for the latest on the stories Moving Big old money in the world of Sports.
- [44:33]
Vanessa Perdomo
And don't forget to catch our podcast on all your podcast platforms. And go to bloomberg.com to subscribe to the Bloomberg Business of Sports newsletter to stay up to date on all our juicy insights.
- [44:42]
Michael Barr
Juicy. You're listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports, Bloomberg Radio around the world.
- [45:02]
Vanessa Perdomo
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