PLL Holds Quarantined Championship Tournament

what you announce. Great to talk to you, by the way, Yeah, it's great to talk to both of you, and thanks for having me again. We uh, we're excited. It's an interesting thing because we're all sitting here on May six, and it's challenging and they're still very difficult times that and a long road ahead of us. But as we look at our businesses collectively, whether you're in the media business, auto retail in our case, sports, you try to figure out a way to get your skilled workforce back in

a very medically safe way. And when it comes to sports, in the sports industry, there is such a macro impact for networks. For media companies, for advertising and for brands, and just like a number of sectors that benefit from the game getting back on and in our case, being able to provide an opportunity for our players to play. UM we went down started going down this path as soon as eight weeks ago when the World Health Org had identified and officially declared this a global pandemic with

COVID nineteen. And the more we uncovered with our colleagues across commissioners and other sports leagues and ownership groups, and then getting access to CDC, w h O as well as the White House Sports Committee Task Force, it became a foregone conclusion that fans wouldn't be at games for the foreseeable future. And then it came about how can if we do play, play in a safe environment where players aren't at risk. And for us, we started going

down the path of building a fully quarantined scenario. And we're able to do that partly because of the nascent stage that we're in and that we only have seven teams we started last year was six. We expanded in our first off season and UH and the reason that matters is if you look at a fully quarantine model, there are only a handful of locations out there that can take on every player in the league across all the teams, key personnel, medical as well as ops, production

and so on. And in our case, like really stringent medical protocol. Everyone arrives to a location, they check in and go through the right testing, it's approved, and then we're playing and no one's leaving until it's done, and no one's coming in until it's done. And uh, and

that's what we vetted out. We ended up partnering with NBC and and finding the time that you know, provide itself as as attractive to us, and that was the Olympic window that was previously scheduled that postponed end of August and or end the July and early August, and just made that announcement today. We think that it will be a model for other teams sports, so long as

they can figure out their total quantity of participants. Yeah, and how does that impact things, right in terms of how many players you can bring in, how many you know safely? Yes, So it definitely changes the model a bit because traditionally you would have a full regular season and your playoffs in championship and you have time in between games. So this is gonna look more like a World Cup or a March Madness, where it's a lot

of games in a condensed period. So we've we've expanded our player rosters, so we were originally addressing eight teen players, not twenty two. So you've got to take into account more play and potential injury and fatigue and so on. Um and then and then you look at the format itself. So we're gonna play twenty games in sixteen days. It's a three week total quarantine. So we can talk a little bit about the medical protocol, but essentially there's a mini camp that leads into it, and then we are

and then we start playing. And the first week, like the World Cup, is group played for seeding, and then the second week is a single elimination tournament for a champion.

And so what does this do? And we're gonna talk a little bit about this on the other side because we've got to get to some news and things like that, Paul Rabel, But briefly, in in thirty seconds, sponsors are going to be happy with this, right yeah, yeah, So right now, if you look at our industry in sports, your conceding tickets, concessions, parking, merchandise, on site, local sponsorships.

So if you're making a run at this, you've got to look at the viewership plays, your distribution, and then sponsors. And if you figure out viewership, you can recoup your commitment from your sponsors and potentially get more. And so that's how we're looking at this is the viewership, distribution and sponsorship move. Something I have to ask about your

plans here to do um this two week tournament. When you said that you're going to be playing like some I think you said twenty games in sixteen days, and you talked about very stringent medical protocols, are you saying that the teams that are going to be playing are all going to be in lockdown as well? Yes, so that that's yeah, that's the key difference between what we're seeing the NBA and Major League Baseball even explorers getting everyone to a geography and then maintaining some level of

hygiene between where the players stay in the facilities. What we're saying is we think it actually needs to be more defined and safe than that. So everyone will will be on the same campus in different dormitories, and then we'll have practice facilities and abilities for teams to function independent of each other as they prepare for games, and

independent locker rooms and film study rooms. But then there's a game field and so everyone it's going to be like a mini Olympic village, and that includes our production team and NBC's talent. They're going to be there during the full quarantine as well. So how do you how

do you scale this up? And I do think about the Olympics right there trying to figure that out, you know, and whether or not they can really go ahead, and I guess it does depend largely on a vaccine, But I do wonder how do you think about and the conversations that you said, you know, you're all you know, accessing the CDC and w h O Sports Task Force. What are the conversations about how you scale this up? Yeah, So the biggest piece to even be able to get

there is knowing that there are no positive tests. So before everyone from players to our participants, the broadcast members arrived,

we have three phases. There's gonna be an at home phase of testing where the results will be in, and there's going to be a quarantine phase during that at home moment, and then when people commute to the site will all arrive during the same time period and go through the same COVID testing again to identify by any discrepancy, and then there will be another short quarantine period and there will be a final test during in between the

group play and the single elimination. So that's been recommended by our community that we put together that includes external infectious disease specialists and internal medicine doctors UM. And then as far as the value in communicating with the White House and the CDC and the w h OH is that they've given us evidence that indicates that we will not be purchasing tests away from other UH states or UH you'll call it patrons in need based on symptoms.

So we're making this announcement here on May six. What a lot of leagues are trying to figure out is if they can come up with a model that works, how do you get access to testing and that testing being preventative because right now we're still in a very

shortage of testing. So what we have been told and advised on from the groups that I had mentioned is by the middle of this month, you're going to see more states like California give point of care access testing UM and then by the first of June that should be deployed close to nationwide. So we're our tournament at

the end of July, and that's a critical piece. Otherwise we wouldn't have pushed play on this just because we don't despite all of the benefits you can get from finding a safe environment and playing games and distributing those games, we do not want to interfere with the public testing protocol, right, So Paul, I have to ask you, you know, and the last time you were with us was right around the time that the Olympics were postponed a year. Uh.

Now here we are May six. As you say, you've got a plan going forward, other pro leagues were still sort of waiting on hearing. What's your prediction for you have figured out a solution, as you and you talk to a lot of other commissioners and as you say, owners of teams and owners of leagues, what's your prediction for the rest of here? Yeah, so that's a great question. There there are a number of variables, I'll say that. So we're all in conversation and we've all been comparing notes.

So I think everyone agrees that for leagues that want to play this summer. The quarantine model is ideal. The challenge for larger leagues like the NBA and Major League Baseball. They're thirty plus teams. So the risk that both of them are going to have to take is kind of the legacy impact on the annual champions and end of

your awards because there's like real tradition there. They from my perspective, would need to make a jump to advance from regular season to playoffs that potentially do a shortened version of playoffs because those playoffs format are still eighteen teams. So they're they're in a tricky place because they have too many players per team. Uh, the NFL is in an interesting place. I heard you guys talk about it in between the segment, and they've explored famless models that

they're exploring a delayed start um. But but the the at the net of it, there are two big factors that we're going to find out is this comes down to fans and consumer confidence. Because Miami Dolphins has said they laid out a schedule, but you know what, we look at his history of stars and consumer confidence back to back to retail and if you look at COVID, well, what are the parallels. Well, first, there's going to be a Drugger treatment that's introduced and easy, get FDA approved

and provided at scale. We don't know when that's going to come, but that will come before vaccination. We know a vaccination in the best case, isn't gonna be here until. I don't believe that leagues unless you're the NFL that prevents that presents a really strong uh you know, I I think like a strong um indication for a lot of fans who just sometimes will go because they're that

passionate about it. I don't see a world where a consumer is going to spend on a ticket and an opt into potential exposure to a virus when there is in a vaccine, and especially when there isn't a Drugger treatment for it right now. So until we get to that place, I see a world where sports are going to have to figure out how to play without fans and then focus on how you can create an environment where it's safe for your players so they can feel comfortable.

And that's the last thing I'll say is Major League Baseball has got together as a union and they've come back and said, hey, even if MLB comes with a quarantine model. We feel uncomfortable leaving our families for three months. So there's like an assortment of variables. Right, So I have to ask you, uh, and only about a minute left here, how are you dealing with this as an athlete? You know, I sort of jokingly set you're a peloton guy. I mean, you're gonna play in this tournament. How has

that been? Well, I've been ribing my peloton. I'm sick of my peloton. But the good SoRs the good news for peloton is I don't carry enough clout for that to impact the stocks today. But I have I have. I have been facetiming with my strength conditioning coach, and I'll set up a yoga Matt and I have a kettlebell and we'll go through a lot of mobility work.

And I think it's hard for the was for me, interestingly enough, Jason and Carroll, because this time last year, I was building the poo and you know, working out in my hotel room. So if anything, it's a neutralizer for me versus my competitors in this quarantine tournament. That's right. Yeah, you're here, man, You're used to You're used to balancing all of this. So you may actually come out stronger from all this because you haven't. You haven't been on

the road. I love it, all right, Paul. Competitors know exactly exactly well of Courtne you just told a national audience. But you know this your secret safe with us, all right, Paul Able. Good to catch up with you, Good luck with all of this. I can't wait to talk to you when this is underway.