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We investigate the significance of those who fill the coveted front row seats and the impact this has on fan experience and broadening reach.   

4SE Material is a podcast series in which we explore some of the many stories at the intersection of four key pillars: sport, entertainment, lifestyle and culture. 

In this episode, we investigate where celebrity culture and sports events collide, with particular focus on the NBA and the fixation on who is sitting courtside. What kind of celebrity might you see at a game? Why do they attend them? How does this enhance (or take away) from the experience? And how effective a pull is celebrity attendance for bringing in new fans? 

Throughout the episode, we seek to answer these questions with the help of three experts: To help us understand what moments are deemed worthy of capturing, we spoke Michael Lawrie, Senior Manager of Sports Operations at Getty Images; to guide us through the VIP experience we have Michelle Kajiwara, Senior Vice President of Premium Business and Events at Crypto.com Arena at AEG, and to offer an academic perspective on why it is we are so fascinated by celebrities, we spoke to Dr. Donna Rockwell, clinical psychologist and founder of Already Famous. 

This podcast is brought to you by 4SE, in association with our founding partners, Constellation Brands and Nielsen, and in collaboration with Leaders’ sister companies SportTechie and Sports Business Journal. 4SE is a collection of social and content experiences for leaders seeking to explore the growing intersection between those four pillars, and create opportunities to align and collaborate. Our pilot event experience took place with a select group of executives from sport and entertainment back in May. It’s set to become an annual fixture every year, with our big launch to take place in May 2023 in New York City. For more information, please visit http://www.4-se.com/ .

Music: Red Carpet by Bjorn Lynne https://bit.ly/3BXMvKN