USC Sports Business Institute hosts MLB Commissioner

The USC Sports Business Institute hosted Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred on Wednesday for a discussion about the key accomplishments of and challenges for the MLB to date, while also providing insight into the direction of America’s pastime in the years to come.

The event, which took place at L.A. Live was part of the institute’s ongoing Commissioners’ Series and was moderated by David Carter, executive director of the Sports Business Institute and an associate professor in the Marshall School of Business.

Manfred has served in his capacity for a little over a year after stepping into the  role of the MLB’s 10th Commissioner on January 15, 2015. He was elected by a unanimous vote of the 30 Major League clubs in August 2014. Prior to succeeding long-time Commissioner Bud Selig, Manfred worked as the league’s Chief Operating Officer, where he oversaw labor relations, baseball operations and development, and finance, among other principal areas.

“I think having been with the league for 20 years, he knows his way around the domestic issues and the opportunities internationally,” Carter said.

Manfred began by elaborating on his transition to becoming the league’s top executive and how heads of various other major domestic leagues aided him in that process.

“No one was more helpful to me in the transition process than [NBA Commissioner] Adam Silver,” Manfred said.

He said that the commissioners talk about areas of mutual interest on a frequent basis, notably National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman, due to the business relationship that the two leagues have. Last August, MLB Advanced Media purchased the rights to all of the NHL’s digital platforms in a groundbreaking partnership that was worth approximately $600 million over a six-year period.

A former lawyer, the 57-year old New York native spoke at length about how the league is trying to appeal to a younger demographic. With over 75 million tickets being sold every year, he praised the efforts of the 30 major league clubs to attract a younger audience by tailoring the overall ballpark experience to their tastes.

“We do have a younger fan base, but I think the issue is how we deliver our product in a way that is acceptable to them in consuming the product,” Manfred said.

Manfred believes that the “trip” with younger people is technology and the MLB, along with its Advanced Media arm, is hoping to ensure that baseball is available on platforms that the younger audiences will generally go to as a primary source of information. He added that the league would be rolling out a new partnership with Snapchat this upcoming season.

The commissioner also touched on an issue close to home, in which many Los Angeles Dodgers fans are still blacked out from watching Dodgers games, due to the inability for Time Warner Cable to come to a mutual agreement with many of the other local distributors. Manfred said that the league has talked to the parties involved to try to encourage them to  achieve a resolution, but also that he doesn’t have much leverage in those negotiations.

“The club doesn’t really have a seat at that table and we’re at least one removed from the club,” Manfred said.

A major focus this year for the league, according to Manfred, is labor relations. He briefly touched on the their upcoming negotiations with the MLB Players Association for a new collective bargaining agreement when the current one expires on Dec. 1. Manfred guided the renewals of the agreement in 2002, 2006 and 2011. The 2002 labor pact was the first in over 30 years that was settled without incurring a work stoppage.

“We’ve had 20 years of labor peace and I have confidence that we will be able to come to an agreement,” Manfred said.

Other topics Manfred tackled later in the talk included the expanding role of daily  fantasy baseball, which he said isn’t going anywhere. In addition, he touched on the subject of diversity and how the MLB is attempting to branch out to other international markets like China, Mexico and Cuba.

“It’s important that our product be diverse,” Manfred said. “Compared to any other major professional sport in North America , we are by far the most diverse sport.”

Overall, the conversation was well received by the 300 or so professionals, alumni and students at the event.

“Our goal is to make sure we have a really solid, topical discussion, maybe not going really deep on any one topic, but dotting the landscape on things the audience would be interested in hearing about,” Carter said.

USC students were also impressed with Manfred’s ability to delve into so many different themes, such as diversity, youth participation and international development.  

“It was clear that Commissioner Manfred has had a tremendous impact on the game of baseball already and I’m excited to see how the league grows in the future with him at the helm,” junior business administration major Schuyler Corbin said.

Commissioner Manfred’s visit marks the SBI’s ninth Commissioners’ Series event, which is dedicated to hosting the leaders of America’s premier sports leagues and organizations.

“It speaks volume to the strength of the Marshall School and USC when a commissioner will come out on his own dime, on his own time and spend some time with us,” Carter said.