Perspectives

Articles & writing

What we believe and test in public — on the economics of experience, the future of gathering, and the business of sport.

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Fan Experience

Why The Largest Video Game Investment Ever Made Should Be A Great Sign for In Real Life (IRL) Experiences

Video game developer Electronic Arts (EA) has agreed to the largest leveraged buyout in history, selling itself to a group of private investors for $55 billion. How can…

Oct 2025 Read
ROAR

ROAR Officially Launches With Multiplier As A Founding Strategic Partner

May 2025 — Revenue Over And Above Replacement (ROAR), a next-generation analytics and advisory firm, announced its official launch today with industry leader Multiplier as its founding strategic…

May 2025 Read
Partnerships

Airbnb’s Olympic Partnership Has Generated ‘One of the Highest ROIs’ in Sports Sponsorship History

The IOC’s Olympic Partner program (TOP) provides select corporations with exclusive global marketing rights to, and brand exposure during, the widely viewed Games. The Paris 2024 Olympics have…

Aug 2024 Read
Data

Conversational AI Can Change Sports Properties’ Fan Engagement Strategies

Teams, leagues, and sporting events use a multitude of social media platforms to try and increase fan engagement. How supporters interact –or engage– with their posts is among…

Jun 2024 Read
Women's Sports

Women’s Sports Leagues Should Embrace Secondary Markets as Valuations Soar

Women’s professional leagues, like the WNBA and NWSL, are yielding some of the more attractive startup investment opportunities across sports and media. While long-time fans and advocates of…

May 2024 Read
Strategy

The Sports Industry has a Weight Loss Problem—and Perhaps a Solution

The sports industry has a weight loss problem. There have historically been two primary ways to lose weight; either move more or eat less. Sports have figured into…

Nov 2023 Read
Finance

Private Credit Expected to Play a Larger Role in Sports Financing

Goldman Sachs is reportedly creating a ‘sports franchise’ unit inside of its investment banking division. The group will provide wealthy clients with streamlined access to investment opportunities within…

Oct 2023 Read
Partnerships

U.S. Open’s Grey Goose Honey Deuce Shows Potential for True Sports Partnerships

Sports sponsorships are often called partnerships. However, a partnership implies both parties are contributing to (think: money, labor, property, skill) and sharing in the upside (or downside) of…

Aug 2023 Read
Media

Long-Term Value Creation is the Key To NBA Media Rights Fees, Not Short-Term Ratings

Conventional wisdom would suggest the ongoing, star-studded, NBA postseason would propel the league to be able to command record revenues in its upcoming media rights negotiations. However, there…

May 2023 Read
Data

Part Two: What Revenue Above Replacement Actually Means

Last Friday, we explained what the 'Wins Above Replacement' (WAR) metric actually means. Today, we break down the concept of 'Revenue Above Replacement' (RAR). We start with revenue,…

Apr 2023 Read
Women's Sports

The Data-Driven Case Against the Data-Driven Case Against Women’s Sports Investment

While there have been a myriad of “arguments” against investment in women’s sports, one that has managed to gain a level of acceptance is a spurious data-driven case.…

Apr 2023 Read
Data

Part 1: What Wins Above Replacement Actually Means

Given that JohnWallStreet is introducing this column to a new audience, and that it is the start of the Major League Baseball (MLB) season, I will use the…

Apr 2023 Read