Unofficial Partner Podcast

Tom Beahon created the Castore sportswear brand with his brother Phil in 2016. Today, their shareholding in the firm is valued at around £500million following a recent capital round, led by US merchant bank and investor The Raine Group, which values the company at £950mn. This investment will contribute to Castore’s attack on the sportswear industry dominated by Adidas, Nike, Puma and Michael Rubin’s online retailer Fanatics. This week, Castore added to its portfolio of around fifty team partnerships across football, cricket, rugby and formula one, when it signed new deals for next season with Everton and Club Brugge. 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.

Steve Martin and Jamie Wynne-Morgan created and developed the award-winning M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment agency over a 20-year period. Six months ago they resigned, and there's been speculation ever since as to what they'll do next.Today they answer that question. It's called MSQ Sport + Entertainment.   We went to meet the pair at their new London office to find out more.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.

What does sport look like from the money side of the equation? What’s the investment rationale behind buying a football team, cricket franchise, the new sports tech thing or a sports agency? What are assumptions about how the market will develop? Who’s going to win, who will lose out?These are just a few of the questions we’re looking to explore in this series, with my co-host Matt Rogan, co-founder of Two Circles, C-suite consultant and someone who’s sat on either side of the sport and money divide.  00:29 The Concept of 'Other People's Money' in Sports01:11 Investor Decision Making and Sports Business02:32 Seeking New Perspectives 03:36 Due Diligence and Investment Strategies05:48 Challenges and Opportunities in Sports Investments08:27 The Real Role of Private Equity 13:40 Beyond Broadcasting and Media Rights 18:03 Minority Partnerships, Jim Ratcliffe and Women's Sports21:07 Ethical and Philosophical Questions - the Saudi question35:53 Global Investment Trends 40:34 Beyond the sports biz bubbleUnofficial 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 a new series focused on the business of golf.Our first guest is the BBC's voice of golf Iain Carter, who leads the corporations coverage of the sport across audio and online at a time of unprecedented upheaval.The traditional men's game has been attacked by LIV Golf, backed by Saudi's PIF money, which is attempting to disrupt the monopolies enjoyed by the PGA and European Tours.Carter has had a ringside seat from which to study the power games, greed and political machinations of the past three years, which he reveals in a new book Golf Wars: LIV and Golf's Bitter Battle for Power and Identity.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.

Let us take you inside the Great Hundred Franchise Sell-OffThe Hundred is the England and Wales Cricket Board’s controversial short form format. This week, the ECB has secured an agreement on a funding model between the host and non-host counties - those counties who have a Hundred franshics and those who don’t. This could have seismic ramifications for the domestic game in England and Wales, kickstarting a process that will see a large injection of private capital into teams presently owned and run by the ECB.So, how much is a Hundred franchise worth? Who will buy them and what happens next?These are just some of the questions we put to Andrew Umbers, co-founder of Oakwell Sports Capital, one of the leading advisers in the sports investment marketplace. 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.

Jack Buckner is the former two Olympic Games athlete and 5000 metre European Champion who is now CEO of UK Athletics, the governing body for track and field in Britain. Buckner has held the same position at British Triathlon and more recently British Swimming. This followed a career in sports marketing at Adidas, in the UK, Germany and the US.The impetus for our conversation was a recent announcement that UKA was entering a three way partnership with London Marathon Events and the Great North Run, to create a new group, called Athletic Ventures. This new organisation is set against the backdrop of the governing body reporting a record annual loss of £3.7m in 2023. Most of that deficit was due to the staging of major events. UKA was awarded up to £150,000 by UK Sport to help stage the Diamond League meeting last year, after it approached the funding agency for help. Despite it being a sellout, UKA is reported to have lost between £100,000 and £500,000 from the flagship event.In this interview, Buckner talks candidly about the future of track and field, World Athletics recent decision to pay athletes at this summer’s Olympic Games and his aspiration to create the Glastonbury of Track and Field. 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.

Our regular deep dive in to the latest happenings in sports media, with regular co-hosts Murray Barnett and Yannick Ramcke. The episode covers a variety of topics starting with the NFL's strategic move to stream Christmas Day games on Netflix and the broader implications for live sports streaming. They delve into Sky Sports Plus' new streaming options for the EFL and how it impacts individual sports leagues and traditional linear broadcasting. The conversation further touches on Serie A's ongoing negotiations for U.S. media rights and broader trends in international sports rights valuation. Quick takes include a discussion on declining golf ratings in the U.S., the Miami F1 race ratings, and Caitlin Clark's anticipated impact on WNBA's streaming debut on Disney Plus. A blend of market insights, business strategies, and the shifting landscape of sports media rights makes this episode a must-listen for sports business enthusiasts.06:21 Deep Dive into NFL and Netflix's Christmas Day Strategy23:24 Sky Sports Plus: Revolutionizing Sports Streaming?31:34 Convergence of Linear and Digital Media32:40 Exploring the EFL and Sports Inventory Dynamics35:48 The Marketing and Promotion Challenge in Streaming37:22 Navigating the Complex World of Sports Rights and Piracy40:12 The Future of Serie A in the U.S. Media Market47:24 The Role of Agencies and Private Equity in Sports Media54:38 Brief Insights on Golf Ratings, Formula 1, and Caitlin Clark, the WNBA's New StarUnofficial 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.

NBC has built an audience for the Premier League in North America, creating a broadcast home for English club football for more than a decade. The television giant's latest six year deal is worth $450million-per-season to the league, more than five times the size of their original US rights deal, in 2013. Does that money buy them the right to host Premier League games in the USA? Adam Crafton of The Athletic/New York Times has just moved over to the US to cover the run-in to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and he recently wrote a deep dive in to NBC’s relationship with the Premier League, which is the starting point for our conversation today.  NBC continues to push for Premier League games in the US. Now we ask, what happens next?Crafton is one of the best journalists covering sport today. He recently won the top prize of Sportswriter of the Year at the 2023 SJA British Sports Journalism Awards.Joining Adam is Mike Darcey, formerly CEO of News UK who spent 15 years at Sky, initially as Director of Strategy, then as Chief Operating Officer from 2006. He’s currently Chair of broadcast services company Arqiva, aswell as Chair of British Gymnastics and Director of Sky New Zealand.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.

Sportradar is one of the big beasts of the sports business, providing software, data and content through subscription and revenue share arrangements to sports leagues, betting operators and media firms. It serves more than 1,600 customers across 120 countries, including DraftKings, Twitter and ESPN, and is an official partner of the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and the NASCAR. In 2001, it went public with an IPO on the NASDAQ , which valued the company at $8billion. Our guest is Mike Falconer,  VP of Strategy, who was one of the stars of the Unofficial Partner Convergence event at Olympic Park in London last year. 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.

Live from Madrid, The Billion-Euro Club Football Brainstorm.Big ideas discussed by great panelists from across the European club game, courtesy of ECA Club Connect, the inaugural business summit convened by the European Club Association. Over 350 directors and operational leaders from more than 200 clubs met at the Meliá Castilla Hotel over 24-25 April.This podcast features 12 experts, 4 topics, 1 hour.What decisions will we make today to build a robust and sustainable football club of the future? Group 1 - CommercialEbru Koksal - Galatasaray FC, Mercury13Daniel Levy - Maccabi Tel Aviv FCDiego Sanchez Trillo - Atletico Madrid FCGroup 2 - DataJohannes Dobretsberger - Austria Wien FCPal Orosz - Ferencváros TCCatriona McCallum - Heart of Midlothian FC     Group 3 - ContentHelena Heckschen - RB Leipzig FCSebastian Helbig - BSC Young Boys Anna Nordström Carlsson - Malmo FFGroup 4 - Mop UpCharlie Marshall - ECAFran Jones - Brentford FCRouven Kasper - VfB StuttgartFind out more about ECA Connect here.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.