Ep 45: Behind the scenes at Leaders Week with Paul Levesque

Reflections on a monster week | the WWE's Paul Levesque (aka Triple H) | Gfinity's Garry Cook | La Liga on US games and the broadcast blackout | FIBA's Frank Leenders | Wimbledon's Mick Desmond | The Bundesliga's Robert Klein

David Cushnan and James Emmett reflect on another edition of Leaders Week, tackling the talking points from a busy series of sports business events in London, before introducing a stellar line-up of backstage conversations. On the agenda:

- WWE EVP of Talent, Live Events & Creative Paul Levesque (starts at 9.06) on the launch of NXT UK; his favourite Triple H storyline; the art and mechanics of storytelling; and why Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson could be headed for politics;

- Gfinity Executive Chairman Garry Cook (starts at 27.35) on the launch of the ePremier League and the thinking behind the Gfinity studio set-up;

- La Liga Chief Communications Officer Joris Evers (starts at 39.03) on the next steps for the league's attempt to play competitive fixtures in the US this year; and its support for its UK broadcast partner Eleven as it contravenes 3pm blackout rules;

- Deltatre Chief Product Officer Carlo De Marchis (starts at 42.34) on the five things broadcasters and would-be broadcasters need to think about when going direct-to-consumer;

- FIBA Media & Marketing Director General Frank Leenders (starts at 47.35) on finding the balance between building viewership and engagement through a rights holder OTT service and being competitive with broadcast partners;

- Bundesliga International CEO Robert Klein (starts at 55.49) on the league's plans for the USA, China, and India;

- Wimbledon Commercial & Media Director Mick Desmond (starts at 59.09) on the essence of the Wimbledon brand and what Amazon's entrance into tennis could mean for the property;

- Kore Planning & Insights (KPI) President Russell Scibetti (starts at 1.04.30) on what data-driven giants like Amazon can bring to the sports ecosystem.