David Ballard Lockton is an American serial
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...
. Several of his consumer-focused companies have pioneered or significantly expanded billion dollar markets, including:
* the
Ontario Motor Speedway in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, the largest sporting facility ever constructed at one time;
* ''
California Business'', the first weekly regional business tabloid;
*
Data Broadcasting
Datacasting (data broadcasting) is the broadcasting of data over a wide area via radio waves. It most often refers to supplemental information sent by television stations along with digital terrestrial television (DTT), but may also be applied ...
, which invented the $100 billion wireless data industry with “push” or
multicast
In computer networking, multicast is group communication where data transmission is addressed to a group of destination computers simultaneously. Multicast can be one-to-many or many-to-many distribution. Multicast should not be confused with ...
, real time
wireless
Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...
data services; and
*
Interactive Network, the first company to use a synchronized second-screen to enable television viewers to interact in real time with live sports and game shows, television commercials in real time utilizing wireless technology.
*
WinView, Inc., The only platform for two-screen games of skill in the U.S. with 76 foundational patents protecting multiple business segments including live and mobile sports betting in the US.
Biography
Lockton was born in
Indianapolis,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
on March 28, 1937 to Richard Curtis and Violet Ballard Lockton. His father was also a serial entrepreneur. Lockton attended
Broad Ripple High School,
The Lawrenceville School
The Lawrenceville School is a coeducational preparatory school for boarding and day students located in the Lawrenceville section of Lawrence Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Lawrenceville is a member of the Eight Scho ...
, and
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
. Lockton, a two time Interscholastic All American swimmer, learned the
butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...
from one of the stroke's developers and demonstrated it in exhibitions two years before it became legal. Leveraging his head start, as a
relay swimmer on dominant and undefeated swimming teams; he swam the butterfly on teams which held state, National Junior, Freshman, and American records.
After graduating from
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
in 1959, he attained his J.D. from the
University of Virginia Law School
The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...
in 1962. Two years out of law school, working for Ice Miller, a large law firm in Indianapolis, Indiana, he represented an indigent defendant in a federal criminal
narcotic case (United States v Ewell)
The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law and won a series of
motions
In physics, motion is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position with respect to time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed and frame of reference to an observer and me ...
which were ultimately
appealed to the
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
. Not realizing Lockton did not meet the length of practice requirements, Justice
Hugo Black appointed Lockton to represent the defendant
In Forma Pauperis
''In forma pauperis'' (; IFP or i.f.p.) is a Latin legal term meaning "in the character or manner of a pauper". It refers to the ability of an indigent person to proceed in court without payment of the usual fees associated with a lawsuit or appea ...
, making him the youngest lawyer ever so appointed to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Sports Headliners, Inc.
In 1965, Lockton started his own law firm and six months later formed Sports Headliners, Inc. in partnership with
Chuck Barnes, former
Director of Public Relations for Firestone. Sports Headliners became the second
sports management firm in the country after Mark McCormack, (www.imgworld.com), with the big three golfers,
Arnold Palmer
Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...
,
Gary Player
Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tou ...
and
Jack Nicklaus as clients. Sports Headliners initially represented race drivers including the winners of twenty
Indy races and six
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
world championships. Clients included
A. J. Foyt
Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. (born January 16, 1935) is an American retired auto racing driver who has raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes United States Automobile Club Champ cars, sprint cars, and midget cars. H ...
,
Parnelli Jones
Rufus Parnell Jones (born August 12, 1933) is an American former professional racing driver and racing team owner. He is notable for his accomplishments while competing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Baja 1000 desert race. In 1962, he became the ...
,
Mario Andretti
Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...
, Al and Bobby Unser,
Johnny Rutherford
John Sherman "Johnny" Rutherford III (born March 12, 1938), also known as "Lone Star JR", is an American former automobile racing driver. During an Indy Car career that spanned more than three decades, he scored 27 wins and 23 pole positions in ...
,
Jimmy Clark and
Graham Hill. Sports Headliners expanded its focus in 1968 to represent football champions,
O. J. Simpson,
Calvin Hill
Calvin G. Hill (born January 2, 1947) is a retired American football player. He played running back in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. Hill played for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Cleveland Browns. He also p ...
,
Johnny Unitas and motorcycle daredevil,
Evel Knievel
Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel (; October 17, 1938 – November 30, 2007) was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Over the course of his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps. Knievel was inducted into the Motor ...
.
Ontario Motor Speedway
Lockton leveraged his position as the drivers representative on the Board of
United States Auto Club
The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapol ...
(USAC), then the largest automobile sanctioning body in the United States, to develop in the
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
area the first modern multi track super speedway. In 1967 on behalf of a small group of
private equity investors which included Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette; Lockton optioned 14 parcels of land constituting in
Ontario, California
Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...
. In 1968, he raised $25 million in tax-free
municipal bonds
A municipal bond, commonly known as a muni, is a bond issued by state or local governments, or entities they create such as authorities and special districts. In the United States, interest income received by holders of municipal bonds is often, ...
and $5 million in
equity. As President and CEO he oversaw the construction of the
Ontario Motor Speedway (OMS), the
marketing campaign
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...
and launched the first year of racing. OMS opened on
Labor Day 1970 with the Inaugural California 500 Mile Race, an Indianapolis 500-type open wheel oval track race.
Ontario was the first and only automobile racing facility designed to accommodate major races sanctioned by all of the four dominant and independent racing sanctioning bodies: USAC, for an
Indy 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianap ...
open wheel oval car race (The California 500);
NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing), for a stock car oval race, (The Miller 500);
National Hot Rod Association
The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorspo ...
(NHRA), for a drag race, (The Super Nationals); and a
FIA
FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used.
Fia or FIA may also refer to: People
* Fia Backs ...
(Federation Internationale de l'Automobile)
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
race, (The Questor Grand Prix). Each of these races drew attendance second only to their counterparts, the Indianapolis 500, the
Daytona 500, the NHRA Indy Nationals and the Watkins Glen Formula One race. It is estimated that the facility with 155,000 permanent seats and an air-conditioned private stadium club would have a replacement cost today of over $500 million. It remains the largest stadium built and one time. The 155,000 permanent seats were sold out almost 90 days before the Inaugural California 500. The race drew 178,000 in paid attendance, second only to the Indianapolis 500 and until 2004, was the largest crowd ever to attend a single day sporting event.
In addition to the award-winning marketing and PR campaign, Lockton introduced many innovations to the sport of automobile racing, including a private stadium club with annual subscription members,
corporate suites, crash absorbent retaining walls and safety fences, the first Pro-Am celebrity race, and a computerized, wireless real-time timing and scoring system. In 1971, Lockton sold his interest in OMS and was honored by the
Society of Automotive Engineers
SAE International, formerly named the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a United States-based, globally active professional association and standards developing organization for engineering professionals in various industries. SAE Internatio ...
for his contributions to safety in Automobile Racing. He was also voted by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association as one of three individuals who had most contributed to the advancement of the sport.
International Race of Champions
Upon leaving the Ontario Motor Speedway, Lockton created and developed the format for
International Race of Champions
International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an equivalent of an American motorsports All-Star Game. Despite its name, the IROC was primar ...
(IROC), airing on ABC from 1973 to 2006, and the longest running made for television series that aired on
ABC from 1973 to 2006. IROC was an auto racing competition. Series Champion drivers from the Indianapolis, NASCAR, F1, and road racing series were invited to race identically-prepared cars set up by a single team of mechanics in an effort to make the race purely a test of driver ability.
''California Business''
In 1972 Lockton purchased ''California Business'', a controlled circulation tabloid format business publication based in Los Angeles and converted it to a paid weekly. Using direct mail to acquire paid subscribers, he increased advertising revenues and brought the publication to break-even in two years. ''California Business'' was the first regional business weekly in the country. Regional business publications subsequently became a multibillion-dollar publishing segment. The publication pioneered the concept of “Annual Reports,” “Corporate Update” and “Corporate Listing” sections, in which companies paid to distribute their annual reports, ran “advertorials” and brief corporate descriptions. These features have subsequently been used by many business publications including Fortune, Barron's, and Forbes. California Business won a Gerald Loeb Award in 1972.
Data Broadcasting (formerly Dataspeed, now IDC)
In 1981 Lockton moved from Los Angeles to
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...
to apply his experience at ''California Business'' with subscription based financial information and at the Ontario Motor Speedway with the wireless technology behind the real-time timing and scoring system, to stock market trading information. He purchased a controlling interest in Data Broadcasting (originally Dataspeed, a company that had developed a pc version of the Ontario wireless real time scoring system) where he invented the hand held wireless QuoTrek, the first product to utilize “push” technology and wireless data, to deliver real time stock and commodity trading information to paying subscribers in a mobile environment. He successfully petitioned United States
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
(FCC) to deregulate and permit the use of the analog sub-carrier (FCC Docket 82-536) for the real time broadcast of digital data. He successfully negotiated with the Boards of Governors of the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...
, the
NASDAQ, and Amex exchanges as well as the
Chicago Board of Trade and
Commodities Exchange Center to create a low cost “non professional” fee structure for their real time trading information, thereby pioneering a consumer market for real time stock and futures trading. The first nationwide real time wireless data network he created supported the QuoTrek and Signal services which won numerous awards. With the QuoTrek's companion invention, Signal, a wireless modem linked to a PC and Lotus 1-2-3 software to manage multiple investment accounts, the services generated over $1.3 billion in revenues over their product lives. George Guilder credited the QuoTrek in ''Life After Television'' (Norton 1992, pp 66–67) as the invention which created the communications paradigm known as “push” or “always on” data. Guilder predicted a revolution in the way time sensitive data would be delivered which is now pervasive on the Web and Cellular 3G networks. In 1984 Lockton designed and developed the prototype of a multi-purpose hand held device, the Informa, with a backlit LCD screen and alpha/numeric keyboard, designed to use the nationwide real time wireless data network of FM radio stations Lockton had assembled. In addition to user specified stocks and commodities quotes, news, weather and sports information in real time, the user could send wireless email and messages via a built in phone modem instantly received by the addressee wherever they were. The Informa concept preceded the Web by nine years, real-time wireless messaging by several years and the data capabilities of the 2G cellular networks by 10 years. In 1985 Data Broadcasting was sold to Lotus Development Corporation which never introduced the Informa.
Interactive Network, Inc.
In 1987 Lockton founded Interactive Network (IN) based upon a patent received for the use of wireless push technology to control TV viewers in real-time games of skill based upon unfolding televised sports, game shows and entertainment programming. Interactive Network pioneered "two-screen television." Financed by NBC, Cablevision Systems, TCI, The Grenada Group (Great Britain), Le GroupeVideotron (Canada), United Artists, A.C. Nielsen, Gannett, Sprint and Motorola, Interactive Network developed a device similar to the Informa, the “Interactive Control Unit,” which won the International Design Award
idesignawards.com for best consumer product in 1990. IN went public on the NASDAQ exchange in 1991. The Company operated a subscription based, two-screen “play-along’ or "In-Play" entertainment service, developing over 50 games of skill to play along with live TV sports, news, and entertainment programming for prizes. IN conducted four increasingly successful test markets from 1990 to 1995 in Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago and Indianapolis. The Company pioneered many of the interactive television game formats now utilized worldwide in connection with live television programming. At the time, these were variously called, “Enhanced TV,” or “Play Along TV.” IN established a Charter Interactive Advertising Consortium with P&G, Chrysler, Pepsi, American Airlines, and the Ad Council (the leader in public service announcements) to develop and test the first real time interactive and lead generating two-screen TV commercials. In addition to pioneering its entertainment service, the Company pioneered many technological firsts, including the first field-upgradable, RAM-based mobile device, the first to use the VBI (vertical blanking interval of an FM radio signal) of the NPR TV Network, to transmit digital data to wireless devices; and one of the first companies to have a consumer web site in 1996.
In August 1994 on the eve of the national roll-out of the Interactive Network service, with a NASDAQ market capitalization of $250 million, IN suspended operations and the board of directors subsequently file litigation against lead investor, TCI for conspiring to wrongfully acquire title to IN's patents and intellectual property through a financing scheme. The litigation was settled in IN's favor in April 1998. The lawsuit against TCI was the subject of a front-page feature article in the February 26, 1996 ''Wall Street Journal''.
AirPlay, Inc.
Upon the expiration in 2004 of the Lockton/Interactive Network patents, Lockton founded AirPlay, Inc., to apply the wireless "two-screen" technology developed at Data Broadcasting and Interactive Network to the cellular platform.
From 2004 to 2009, AirPlay developed for the cellular platform many of the games pioneered at Interactive Network, playable with televised baseball, basketball and football games as well as game shows such as Jeopardy, Deal or No Deal and Big Brother. Lockton served on the board of directors and consulted part-time to the company concentrating on intellectual property and special projects, including negotiations with Sony (owner of Jeopardy). AirPlay was the first and only company to utilize the cellular networks to allow TV viewers to play along with television programming and win prizes in real-time games of skill on their cell phones. AirPlay established broadcast distribution agreements with all the major carriers. The Company launched Jeopardy with Sony Pictures Entertainment on 220 syndicated TV stations using patent pending technology to precisely synchronize the fast-paced game with the unfolding telecast for each separate syndicated station. In August 2009, after AirPlay failed to raise the marketing capital required to launch the service on a nationwide basis in the recession, all of the AirPlay intellectual property, including pending patents and software was acquired by WinView, Inc.
WinView, Inc.
WinView, Inc. is a Silicon Valley and New York based company that provides the nation's leading live In-Play sports prediction mobile platform. The platform is focused on paid entry, mobile two-screen synchronized televised sports games of skill in the U.S. The Company is leveraging its extensive experience in pioneering real-time interactive television games played on the mobile second screen, its foundational patents and unique business model. The WinView Games app is an end-to-end two-screen TV synchronization platform for both television programming and commercials. The paid entry, skill-based WinView Games app uniquely enhances TV viewing enjoyment and rewards sports fans with prizes as they answer in-game questions while competing with friends in real-time during live televised sports. These free games of skill are legal in all 50 states, and paid entry games are legal in 36 states. The Company launched its Alpha test in 2015, Beta test in 2016 and Paid Entry games in 2017. As of January 2020, the Company has raised $30 million to develop and market the only platform offering real time two-screen games of skill in the U.S. The Company's business segments are fully protected by 76 foundational patents granted to Lockton and assigned to WinView. For more information, please visit www.winviewgames.com.
Arizona Colorado Land & Cattle Company (Amex:AZL)
Co-Founder, Director
1965 – 1975
AZL was the largest integrated cattle/feeding/land company in the US. Subsequently, acquired by a Canadian conglomerate. Purchased with four partners a bankrupt cattle company and grew to $120 million in sales and $8.5 million in after-tax profits in five years. It was sold to
Tosco Corporation.
Laister Sail Planes, Inc.
Chairman of the Board
1972 – 1975
Laister was a sailplane manufacturer using advanced techniques in epoxy-bonded metal wing construction invented by Jack Laister, whose gliders were widely used in World War II. Laister built the first and only US manufactured glider to ever win the North American Standard Class Soaring Championship.
Rytex Corporation
Director
1967 – 1975
Lockton was a founding investor, director in the purchase of Rytex by Richard Morris, which became the largest thermal-engraved personal stationery company in the United States at the time.
Patents
At Interactive Network, AirPlay and WinView, Lockton has been granted 76 patents. The 65 patents issued since 2011 are considered "Foundational" to both the technical requirements to synchronize the mobile second-screen with the TV picture to monetize the entertainment content and the commercials. The patents also cover the methods of monetizing games of skill and chance, based on televised sports, including a family of patents which cover separate contests with friends and games of skill for cash, including some major elements of Daily Fantasy Leagues.
References
External links
www.interactivedata.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lockton, David
1937 births
Living people
Lawrenceville School alumni
Businesspeople from Indianapolis
University of Virginia School of Law alumni
Yale University alumni