How the UFL Built a Live Football Lab for ESPN, Fox, and Tech Startups with Scott Harniman

How the UFL Built a Live Football Lab for ESPN, Fox, and Tech Startups with Scott Harniman

Most sports technology companies spend years trying to get access to a live game environment. The UFL can put them in front of 600 players, coaches, officials, and broadcast operators in a matter of weeks. As SVP of Innovation and Media, Scott Harniman oversees the technology, broadcast, and football systems that make the UFL's innovation model possible. Scott explains how the UFL's FAST program works, why ESPN and Fox are active participants in the league's tech incubation process, and how a centralized football operation allows the league to test emerging technologies at a scale that would be difficult to replicate elsewhere. In this episode, you’ll hear: * How the UFL's FAST program gets emerging tech companies into live football environments * Why ESPN and Fox play an active role in the league's innovation process * What Scott is watching in AI-powered officiating after Adam Silver's announcement * Why a ball-tracking partnership with Sportable became their most compelling fan-facing data experience * What happened when the UFL moved 3 franchises into smaller soccer stadiums  Resources and Links: Connect with Scott Harniman on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-harniman-a5b6311/]. Learn more about Next League on our website [https://nextleague.com/] and LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/next-league/]. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future. Dave’s book is available now! Get your copy of The Business of Sports Technology: How To Make Smart Decisions That Drive Your Organization Forward [https://www.amazon.com/Business-Sports-Technology-Decisions-Organization/dp/B0G4XMKTDS].

SBJ Tech Week: Sports Leaders on Big Ideas, AI Prompts, and What's Next

What patterns start to emerge when you put 10 sports tech leaders in front of a microphone at SBJ Tech Week and ask them what's next? While AI was a common thread, the discussions expanded into operational scale, fan engagement, accessibility, cybersecurity, infrastructure, and the leadership challenges that come with adopting new technology. This episode features the following guests: * Michael Zeto, Boingo Wireless [https://www.boingo.com/] * Diana Lovati, AEG Worldwide [https://aegworldwide.com/] * Antyush Bollini, OneCourt [https://www.onecourt.io/] * Jess Smith, Golden State Valkyries [https://valkyries.wnba.com/] * Andrew Macaulay, TMRW Sports [https://tmrwsportsgroup.com/] * Darolyn Pierce, Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment [https://bkse.com/] * Scott Harniman, United Football League [https://www.theufl.com/] * Peter DelGiacco, National Hockey League [https://www.nhl.com/] * John Spade, Athletes Unlimited [https://auprosports.com/] Resources and Links: Learn more about Next League on our website [https://nextleague.com/] and LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/next-league/]. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future. Dave’s book is available now! Get your copy of The Business of Sports Technology: How To Make Smart Decisions That Drive Your Organization Forward [https://www.amazon.com/Business-Sports-Technology-Decisions-Organization/dp/B0G4XMKTDS]. Learn more about Next League on our website [https://nextleague.com/] and LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/next-league/]. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future. Dave’s book is available now! Get your copy of The Business of Sports Technology: How To Make Smart Decisions That Drive Your Organization Forward [https://www.amazon.com/Business-Sports-Technology-Decisions-Organization/dp/B0G4XMKTDS].

How Flywheel Economics Are Reshaping Sports Businesses with Steve Mitzenmacher

Steve Mitzenmacher spent 25 years inside Apple, Oracle, Google, and Salesforce. Now he's helping sports organizations stop thinking like event businesses and start operating like platforms. Steve and Dave get into the Disney flywheel, and why it’s the most useful mental model for sports executives right now, the “buy vs. build” trap, why "greenfield development" is basically a myth, and what it means to own the critical control points between fans, sponsors, and partners. Steve also explains why leadership styles are changing inside technology companies, why Scott Galloway's "don't follow your passion" advice is underrated, and how he thinks about the increasingly chaotic fight over AI governance. In this episode, you’ll hear: * What Steve learned from Disney, Salesforce, and the platform era about building recurring engagement * Why the next generation of sports businesses will be built around flywheel economics * Why today’s ownership groups are reshaping how teams think about monetization and infrastructure * The career advice Steve wishes he'd heard earlier, and why he's glad he ignored his own instincts for 25 years * Why Steve compares the future of AI to a choice between Star Trek and Terminator Resources and Links: Connect with Steve Mitzenmacher on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/smitzenmacher/] and learn more about Zumaya Advisors. Learn more about Next League on our website [https://nextleague.com/] and LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/next-league/]. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future. Dave’s book is available now! Get your copy of The Business of Sports Technology: How To Make Smart Decisions That Drive Your Organization Forward [https://www.amazon.com/Business-Sports-Technology-Decisions-Organization/dp/B0G4XMKTDS].

Why the NFL and PGA Tour Are Betting on TMRW Sports to Build New Fandom

The NFL didn't build the next professional flag football league. The PGA Tour didn't build TGL. They handed those assignments to a startup called TMRW Sports [https://tmrwsportsgroup.com/] - a signal of how leagues are rethinking fan engagement, media, and product development. Chief Marketing Officer Pete Jung is on the show to share what changes when leagues stop treating technology as a layer on top of the product and start building the experience around data, immersion, team identity, and modern media behavior from day one.  In this conversation, Pete draws on his 11 years at NASCAR to explain what building fandom requires when you're starting from zero, and why he sees WTGL as one of the most underrated storytelling opportunities in women's sports right now. In this episode, you’ll hear: * What Pete noticed when his 18-year-old son and his friends discovered TGL for the first time * How TMRW Sports is preparing to launch the NFL’s new professional flag football league * Why TGL sponsors are integrated directly into gameplay, broadcast technology, and the fan experience itself * What NASCAR taught Pete about changing perceptions around who a sport is “for” * Why Pete believes media rights fragmentation will reshape sports economics and distribution  Resources and Links: Connect with Pete Jung on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-jung/] and learn more about TMRW Sports on their website [https://tmrwsportsgroup.com/]. Learn more about Next League on our website [https://nextleague.com/] and LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/next-league/]. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future. Dave’s book is available now! Get your copy of The Business of Sports Technology: How To Make Smart Decisions That Drive Your Organization Forward [https://www.amazon.com/Business-Sports-Technology-Decisions-Organization/dp/B0G4XMKTDS].

500 Live Events a Month: What Jon Slusser Has Learned About AI, Mixed Reality, & Sports Tech

When The Famous Group was getting started, arenas were buying million-dollar video boards with nothing meaningful to put on them. That gap became a business — and 25 years later, that business now powers more than 500 live sports events a month across nearly every major team in the country. In this conversation, Jon shares how The Famous Group evolved from a creative production shop into mixed reality, virtual fan experiences, and Vixi, and how they built a scalable platform without taking on outside investment. He also offers a grounded take on where AI genuinely helps in live production workflows and where it still breaks down. In this episode, you’ll hear: * What Jon learned moving between startup culture and large media organizations like MTV and Viacom * How Vixi transformed “getting on the video board” into a scalable sponsorship and engagement product * What The Famous Group learned building virtual fan experiences for the NFL Draft and WWE * Why Jon believes AI is still a creative tool and not a replacement for production workflows * What mixed reality enables for personalized viewing experiences and dynamic sponsorship inventory Resources and Links: Connect with Jon Slusser on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonslusser/] and learn more about The Famous Group on their website [https://thefamousgroup.com/]. Learn more about Next League on our website [https://nextleague.com/] and LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/next-league/]. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future. Dave’s book is available now! Get your copy of The Business of Sports Technology: How To Make Smart Decisions That Drive Your Organization Forward [https://www.amazon.com/Business-Sports-Technology-Decisions-Organization/dp/B0G4XMKTDS].