Craig Sloan, CEO of Playfly Sports, on Leadership, Strategic Revenue Growth, and more
Next Play: The Business of Sports powered by Playfly Sports
Release Date: 02/03/2025
Playfly FanScore: Modernizing the Business of College Sports
Next Play: The Business of Sports powered by Playfly Sports
“Playfly FanScore: Modernizing the Business of College sports” presents a comprehensive overview of the challenges and necessary modernizations within college athletics. It argues that college athletic departments must adopt a corporate business and media company mindset to navigate financial pressures and evolving fan engagement. It highlights key areas for revenue maximization, including robust sales infrastructure, diversified revenue streams, and strategic innovation in sponsorships and ticketing. The report also emphasizes the importance of enhanced fan engagement through digital...
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Playfly FanScore: College Basketball Edition 2025
Next Play: The Business of Sports powered by Playfly Sports
“Playfly FanScore: College Basketball Edition 2025” focuses on college basketball in 2024-25, offering insights into fan engagement, viewership, and attendance trends. It examines the demographics and dedication of college basketball fans, highlighting their regional distribution and emotional connection to the sport. The report also discusses viewing patterns for both men's and women's college basketball, detailing how on-court success influences university applications and offering strategies for marketing to fans through sponsorships and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals.
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Playfly FanScore: NHL Edition 2024
Next Play: The Business of Sports powered by Playfly Sports
"Playfly FanScore: NHL Edition 2024," is a report from Playfly Insights, powered by Vision Insights, focusing on the National Hockey League (NHL) fandom. It highlights the NHL's growing popularity, revenue, and technological advancements such as digitally enhanced dasherboards and player tracking, which aim to enhance the fan experience. The report also identifies the unique characteristics of NHL fans, describing them as passionate, young, educated, affluent, and tech-savvy, with significant regional variations in their values.
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Playfly FanScore: NBA Edition 2024
Next Play: The Business of Sports powered by Playfly Sports
“Playfly FanScore: NBA Edition 2024” offers a comprehensive examination of the NBA's fan base and its value. It highlights the league's distinctive cultural influence, global appeal, and diverse, younger audience.
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Playfly FanScore: College Football Edition 2023
Next Play: The Business of Sports powered by Playfly Sports
"Playfly FanScore: College Football Edition 2023” examines the state of college football fandom in 2023, highlighting that fan sentiment is very positive and growing. It notes a 15% increase in viewership during the early 2023 season, attributing this to factors like marquee matchups, star players, the transfer portal, and conference realignment. The source also points out that college football attendance more than doubles NFL attendance and details how fan loyalty is deeply tied to geography. Furthermore, it explores brand sponsorship receptivity, indicating that Group of 5 conferences...
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Playfly FanScore: MLB Edition 2023
Next Play: The Business of Sports powered by Playfly Sports
“Playfly FanScore: MLB Edition 2023” focuses on the popularity and unique characteristics of Major League Baseball (MLB) fans in 2023. It aims to demonstrate that MLB is a highly popular sport with a devoted fanbase, often underestimated compared to other major sports leagues.
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One Year Out: How Cities & Brands Win the World Cup Moment
Next Play: The Business of Sports powered by Playfly Sports
With less than 12 months to go before the 2026 FIFA World Cup, we’re diving into what it will take for host cities and global brands to make the most of this generational opportunity. Playfly Sports CEO Craig Sloan sits down with John Kristick, Co-Head of Playfly Sports Consulting and a global soccer veteran that has had a hand in every World Cup since 1994. From city readiness and infrastructure to brand storytelling and fan engagement, this episode is packed with insights on how to activate locally and think globally. Topics include: - Why 2026 will be the most commercially powerful World...
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Playmakers by Playfly Sports feat. Jason Frandi and Jon Bishop
Next Play: The Business of Sports powered by Playfly Sports
The House v. NCAA settlement has forever altered the landscape of college athletics — and in this episode of Playmakers, we dive headfirst into what that means for properties, brands, and the future of NIL. Playfly CE Craig Sloan sits down with Jon Bishop and Jason Frandi to break down how schools can adapt, how brands can authentically engage, and how Playfly is uniquely positioned to lead in this new era. You’ll hear about: How the shift from donor-driven to brand-centric NIL changes the game What millions in new financial pressure means for athletic departments Brand success stories...
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Sports & Media Exec Rob Thompson on Leading Change in Sports: Football, the Walter Camp Foundation, and more
Next Play: The Business of Sports powered by Playfly Sports
In this episode of On the Fly, host Gene DeFilippo is joined by Rob Thompson, Sports & Media executive who is the current commercial director of the Walter Camp Foundation. Rob discusses his extensive career that began as a football player at the University of New Haven, transitioned into coaching and recruiting, and led to significant roles within NFL Properties, Disney, and the Arena Football League. Rob shares insights on how he founded the East Coast Recruiting agency, contributed to the growth of flag football, and the creation of grassroots sports programming including the popular...
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Playmakers by Playfly Sports feat. Nick Cartan and Paul Asencio
Next Play: The Business of Sports powered by Playfly Sports
In this episode of Playmakers, Playfly Sports CEO Craig Sloan sits down with two of the company’s top commercial minds — Nick Cartan and Paul Asencio — for a candid conversation on what it really means to connect with sports fans. They challenge the outdated notion that simply buying into sports guarantees engagement, and instead focus on what it takes to create authentic, high-impact brand experiences. Nick shares how Playfly’s commercial strategy is helping brands move from passive exposure to intentional activation, while Paul reflects on his first 90 days at the company and why he...
info_outlineIn this episode of On The Fly, host Gene DeFilippo is joined by Craig Sloan, CEO of Playfly Sports, for an engaging conversation about Craig's career journey and the growth of Playfly Sports. Craig discusses his experiences from his early days after graduating from the University of Iowa to his current role and Playfly's strategic approach to maximizing sports revenue through media rights, technology, and fan engagement. He also shares insight into Playfly's expansion into international markets, his views on the evolving landscape of college athletics, and the importance of maintaining a strong work culture.