Unofficial Partner Podcast

Fresh from an excellent Leaders Summit at Twickenham, or should we say Allianz Stadium, is a conversation with Gareth Balch, founder and CEO of Two Circles agency about the agreement to buy KORE Software, a deal announced this week.Two Circles is buying the company from Serent Capital, the private equity firm that bought Kore in 2018. Earlier this year, Two Circles themselves sold a majority stake in their business to private equity firm Charterhouse Capital Partners, a transaction which valued the company at £250million. More recently, the company secured external investments from Otro Capital and David Blitzer’s Bolt Ventures.So, what have they bought, why and what does it mean, for Two Circles and for a sports industry seeking to predict the future shape of the agency sector.Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.

Other People's Money is our regular series on sports investment, with co-host Matt Rogan, co-founder of Two Circles.Today we get in to the minutiae of deal making, with Steve Hacking, managing partner at Latitude Partners, who has worked on more than 200 company acquisitions for clients across both buy and sell side of investment deals in sectors ranging from technology and telecoms to media, healthcare, retail and sport, including working on behalf of Sky Sports and British Cycling in the creation of the Team Sky Pro Cycling team.So, nobody better to interrogate the tricks of the due diligence trade, how to analyse future potential and what to look for when buying or selling a business.This episode of Unofficial Partner is sponsored by We Are Sweet, helping you tell compelling stories in-the-moment, as they happen, from the heart of the action. We Are Sweet captures live biometric data from athletes to uncover great stories, from the big occasions to subtle micro-moments you might not even know are taking place. These are crafted into captivating stories and transformed into stunning visuals ready for your broadcast, live event displays, and second-screen fan experiences, all in real-time. From head-to-head heart rates to anticipated overtakes, We Are Sweet provides AI-driven insights to fuel conversations, inform bookmakers and predict future outcomes, all in the name of deepening fan engagement. Enhance your audience’s understanding of the action like never before by using live data from We Are Sweet.Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.

The 3 is a failed experiment in podcast format innovation. The 3 is a creative collaboration between Unofficial Partner and Leaders in Sport. The 3 picks three stories from the sports business week and dissects them on a Friday morning. The 3 may return, and it might not.This week Richard Gillis, David Cushnan and James Emmett pick these three stories:Will the cool kids be wearing FIFA 1904? Wither the Wimbledon line judge.What is Brand Saudi now?Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.

This is a follow up to our popular series of last year, The Squeezed Middle, which was a collaboration with PTI Digital, the independent strategy and technology consultancy. This episode looks in to a new report, The Sports Leadership Benchmark, based on a survey of sports CEOs, carried out by PTI. You can download the report, for free, at ptidigitalgroup.comJoining Richard are Ben Wells, CEO of PTI Digital and Aquatics GB CEO and former EFL Marketing Director, Drew Barrand.This podcast is sponsored by Leaders in Sport - Get 15% off Summit passesLeaders in Sport connects the most influential people and the most powerful ideas in global sport to catalyse discussion, and drive the industry forward. Through a series of global summits in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, invitation-only memberships and long form content, Leaders in Sport provides professional executives, both on and off the field, with access to a community of peers to share best practice and trends that are shaping the future of sport. Their flagship event, Leaders Week London, returns from 14 to 17 October, with The Summit taking place at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham hosting the most senior executives from over 40 countries, including over 100 brands. We'll be there, and you should join us. Visit leadersinsport.com/UP for more information and use UP15 for a 15% discount on your Summit passes.Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.

The ECB is currently seeking investors for The Hundred franchises, the short form cricket competition and are selling a 49% stake that values them at up to £150m each. Today’s guest Lalit Modi disagrees. The founder of the Indian Premier League explains exclusively to Unofficial Partner why: “Based on the information memorandum a 100% stake in a team would be between £5m and £9m [for] outside London teams, and maximum, if one really wants a trophy asset, is London teams closer to £25m.”Earlier this year, Modi was involved in a $1bn (£747m) offer to buy the entire competition – with the intention of turning it into a T20 tournament – which was rebuffed. When an unrelated bid of £400m for a 75% stake was also rejected last year Richard Thompson, the ECB’s chairman, said it would take a bid of “a few billion” to convince them to sell.Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.

Three stories, three opinions, ten minutes (50minutes)What's in a name? FIFA's Club World Cup stadia naming snafuWhat is streetwear? The deeper meaning of Arsenal's style collabHow old is too old? Sportfive and Tendulkar launch International Masters LeagueThis podcast is sponsored by Leaders in Sport - Get 15% off Summit passesLeaders in Sport connects the most influential people and the most powerful ideas in global sport to catalyse discussion, and drive the industry forward. Through a series of global summits in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, invitation-only memberships and long form content, Leaders in Sport provides professional executives, both on and off the field, with access to a community of peers to share best practice and trends that are shaping the future of sport. Their flagship event, Leaders Week London, returns from 14 to 17 October, with The Summit taking place at Twickenham Stadium hosting the most senior executives from over 40 countries, including over 100 brands. We'll be there, and you should join us. Visit leadersinsport.com/UP for more information and use UP15 for a 15% discount on your Summit passes.Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.

Join industry experts Murray Barnett, founder of West26 Consulting and former ESPN executive; Andrew Ryan, Managing Director of FIBA Media; and David Dellea, Sports Practice Director at Altman Solon, as they explore the evolving sports media landscape. They discuss the rise of 3x3 basketball, the impact of grassroots innovations, and strategies for engaging modern sports audiences. The conversation also highlights the need for flexible media solutions in response to changing consumer behaviors and the significance of enhancing the spectator experience.

Today, we're launching a brand new show called Expected Goals, hosted by Matt Cutler and Maggie Murphy. Together Matt and Maggie will explore the business of women's football. Matt Cutler is the former editor of SportBusiness and was Director of Communications at Two Circles. As the head of Unofficial Partner Productions, Matt led on our hit series, The Pirates Versus The Premier League and the more recent Last Orders, on football's relationship with the pub. So he's the perfect person to be running the show alongside Maggie Murphy. Maggie was formally chief executive officer of Lewes Football Club and has been one of the most outspoken and most interesting contributors to the debate on the evolution of professional women's football over the last five years or more. She was a board member of the FA Women's Super League and Women's Championship Board, as an elected club representative onto that body. Before that she was director of public policy and sport integrity for the Sport Integrity Global Alliance and senior global advocacy manager at Transparency International. So we're in good hands. Expected Goals will sit outside of the usual Unofficial Partner channels. You'll find it on the Sport Social Network and in all the usual places, including Apple, Spotify and your favourite podcast app. Just search 'Expected Goals'.  If you'd like to contribute questions and queries to the show, get in touch.  You can email Matt at Matt@UnofficialPartner.co.uk. So listen to this setup episode and then tune in every Wednesday. Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.

Wedge Issues is Unofficial Partner's business of golf series, where we take some of the big trends from across sport and apply them to golf.This is a special live episode recorded in the boardroom of the DP World Tour's headquarters at The Wentworth Club on the Friday morning of the BMW PGA Championship, the Tour's flagship event. Around the table were people representing many of the golf industry's key stakeholders from across various parts of the game, including sponsors, media, agencies and governing bodies. As you'll hear, the conversation was a broad one, looking at the commercial value and product-market fit of golf, the changing nature of media consumption, the rise of the golf YouTube creator, the lessons of the LIV Golf disruption and what the game really looks and feels like to women.You'll hear from speakers including:Jasmine, The Jazzy GolferHans Christian Meyer, CEO of JLindebergChris Bovey of 160/90Max Hamilton, Executive Commercial Director, European Tour GroupOther contributors include:Mark Cornish, KORE SoftwareNeil Armit, The R&ABen Sharpe, Callaway GolfMerrick Haydon, rEvolution agencyA big thank you goes to Guy Kinnings, Richard Bunn, James Francis and the team at the DP World Tour and to our friends at KORE Software for their support in making the event happen.This episode is sponsored by Leaders in SportLeaders in Sport connects the most influential people and the most powerful ideas in global sport to catalyse discussion, and drive the industry forward. Through a series of global summits in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, invitation-only memberships and long form content, Leaders in Sport provides professional executives, both on and off the field, with access to a community of peers to share best practice and trends that are shaping the future of sport. Their flagship event, Leaders Week London, returns from 14 to 17 October, with The Summit taking place at Twickenham Stadium hosting the most senior executives from over 40 countries, including over 100 brands. We'll be there, and you should join us. Visit leadersinsport.com/UP for more information and use UP15 for a 15% discount on your Summit passes. Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.

The 3 stories are:1. The race for the IOC big job - aka Bach’s overtures (this doesn’t make any sense but makes me sound like I know about classical music, which I don’t, apart from that theme from the Hovis ad). Six months ago the word on the street was that Seb Coe wasn’t running, and now he is. So, was the word wrong, or did he change his mind? Probably the former. Also, is the Samaranch name an asset or liability in the crusty world of IOC voting membership, the age profile of which makes the Tory party conference look like Coachella. Also, did you know Samaranch really likes crisps, so that’s a mark in the yes column from my pov. Why Australia are paying 100million NOT to host The Commonwealth Games- echoes of the late, great Bob Hoskins, who used to tell a story about Brian DePalma paid him a couple of hundred grand not to play Al Capone in The Untouchables. Anyhow, it’s hard to get beyond the ‘What’s the point?’ trope when the CGs is in the headlines. The messaging this week has been around Glasgow getting the games for ‘free’, but - like lunch - I suspect that major quadrennial multisport events are rarely free. Which events will get the bullet, should the event have died with the Queen, will India ever engage properly and isn’t the British Empire a bit, how do we put it, passé?Lego’s F1 deal - Cue outpouring of engaging Gen Alpha chat, with a smattering of hastily Googled facts about the environmental impact of the company’s failure to ‘transition to recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), which needs about 2kg of petroleum to make 1kg of plastic. ABS is used in about 80% of Lego blocks. “It’s like trying to make a bike out of wood rather than steel,” said Tim Brooks, Lego’s head of sustainability.Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 400 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series, you can reach us via the website.