A Day in the Life of Tori Masters: Navigating the Digital Frontier at MLSE

Eric Dahm (unsplash)

The roar of the crowd, the swish of the net, the slap of the puck — these are the sounds that define Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE). But behind the thrilling victories and unforgettable moments lies a complex digital landscape, meticulously managed to protect and maximize the value of its assets.

Tori Masters (MLSE)

Enter Tori Masters, a linchpin in MLSE's Revenue Asset Management team. Her days are a dynamic blend of archival acumen, tech-savviness, and a deep understanding of the ever-evolving digital world.

For the readers of the Digital Assets Rights and Risk Management blog, Tori’s day offers a compelling glimpse into the high-stakes environment of a leading sports and entertainment organization.

9:00 am: Daily Asset Review 

Tori’s day kicks off not with a puck drop, but with a review of new assets being ingested into MLSE’s DAM system. As the owners of 7 professional sports teams, an e-sports team, restaurants, venues which host a myriad of events, and an apparel store, MLSE receives new content in a fast and furious manner. It is imperative that Tori stay up to date in tracking that all expected assets are being ingested properly into the DAM, as well as assigning part-time staff to manually tag keywords and metadata to ensure these assets are findable.  

10:30 am: Demo of new API connector

Next on the docket is a demo from MLSE’s DAM vendor showcasing their new API connector. “Technology is developing at a rapid-fire pace, and it is crucial to weigh the benefits and risks of these new technologies as well as assessing which investments will have a worthwhile ROI,” explains Tori. This new API connector opens up a long list of possibilities that need to be prioritised across various teams. 

11:30 am: Coffee huddle with key stakeholders

Taking advantage of a rare moment when multiple key stakeholders are in office and available, Tori grabs a quick informal coffee with them to discuss the exciting possibilities that this new API connector offers. Due to the fast-paced nature of the world of sports and entertainment, as well as the reality that there is never an off-season for MLSE, it is imperative to seize these opportunities when they present themselves. On working cooperatively with other departments, Tori states, “The DAM should be the central hub of your MARTECH stack, allowing your assets to come into and out of the DAM smoothly. This applies to us as people also - as DAM managers, we need to situate ourselves centrally amongst the various departments relying on the DAM in order to serve them best.”  

1:00 pm: Review photo requests

Many departments at MLSE have requirements for photos and other digital assets on an occasional basis, so rather than a self-serve model in these instances, Tori and the asset management team rely on photo requests. This process involves the requestor submitting a form through Airtable, and the team selecting assets to be shared. The rights management landscape at MLSE is pretty complex, with each sports team and their respective leagues having slightly different requirements, as well as rights regarding the photographers, players, jerseys, and fans. Tori checks over the collected assets for any rights issues and shares them out with requestors, as well as ensuring the team is supported while pulling these assets. 

1:30 pm: Regroup on asset usage issues

Despite the asset management team’s best efforts, incorrect assets sometimes make their way out into the world. In this case, an image with an old jersey missing a new partner logo was shared by an external vendor. A quick regroup amongst the key teams involved ensures that correct assets and usage information is being shared out to external agencies etc. 

2:00 pm: Update vocabulary 

It is crucial to have solid and up-to-date metadata, and the controlled vocabularies at MLSE must be updated regularly with annual and in-season roster changes. Seasonal updates require a bulk edit process that moves the previous season’s rosters into the archive vocabulary and add the new season roster into the current player vocabulary. 

3:00 pm: Meet with internal Gen AI team

The afternoon brings about a collaborative discussion with the internal generative AI team. They have been working on a gameplan to incorporate various AI models to allow for automatic tagging of both players and descriptive action tags. Tori and the Gen AI team discuss the different models available, their accuracy statistics, and potential risks as well as the steps internally that will need to be taken to get this project approved and rolled out. 

4:00 pm: Pre-production meeting for upcoming marketing day

Tori wraps up her work day joining a call with the wide array of departments involved in the upcoming marketing day for a preproduction call. Logistics are discussed between members of the studio, creative accounts, production, digital, front office, venue staff, and external freelancers / photographers. Tori participates in the conversation surrounding asset management and how she will get the approximately 7-8000 images (both RAWs and JPEGs) into the DAM and disseminated to internal and external partners in a timely manner. 

Tori Masters' day is a testament to the critical role that diligent rights and risk management plays in the modern sports and entertainment industry. It’s a constant balancing act between innovation, fan engagement, and the unwavering protection of invaluable digital assets.