StreamTime Sports

SportsPro chief executive Nick Meacham is joined by David Levy, best known for his 30-year career at US broadcasting giant Turner, where he spearheaded the company’s investment into premium sports content. Now chairman of Genius Sports, Levy discusses the process of taking the data and technology company public, as well as the firm’s major partnership with the National Football League (NFL). The pair also look back on Levy’s time at Turner, discuss the role of betting and streaming in sports, and pinpoint the trends that will shape the future of sports media. Before that, Nick and SportsPro senior content manager Chris Stone catch up on some of the biggest stories from the past week, including private equity firm CVC’s seemingly imminent investment in French soccer’s Ligue 1, while they also debate whether every sport should have its own version of NFL RedZone.

This week's StreamTime Podcast features a session from our recent Ignition event, when SportsPro chief executive Nick Meacham was joined by Monica Robbins, the director of sports partnerships at Microsoft. The US technology giant has been actively growing its presence in sport and provides its services to some of the world's top leagues and organisations, including the likes of the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), Spanish soccer's LaLiga, and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Now approaching ten years at Microsoft, Robbins outlines the role sport is playing for the company and how it works with its partners to showcase its technology - both at the elite level and all the way down to the grassroots.

SportsPro chief executive Nick Meacham sits down with Motasem El Bawab, head of digital at Volleyball World, the new commercial entity set up by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) off the back of its groundbreaking, nine-figure investment from private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. A seasoned marketing, product development and data expert, El Bawab delves into the digital moves Volleyball World has been making since the CVC deal, where the investment is being targeted, and the content strategy underpinning a venture that is poised to transform the sport of volleyball from the ground up. The pair also look at how the FIVB is working to connect, engage and monetise the global volleyball fanbase - whether that be through the federation’s own channels or through third parties.

Fittingly given SportsPro has decamped to New York for OTT Summit USA, the latest StreamTime Podcast sees Nick Meacham speak to with Matthew Duarte, vice president, strategy and Business at YES Network and Kevin Sullivan, regional sports network's (RSN) head of digital. The New York-based media company operates one of the leading RSNs, with pretty much all of the major local sports properties - excluding Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) teams - invested in or being broadcast on YES. The conversation takes in the role of an RSN, why YES launched a direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform, what impact it is having on fan consumption and what technology is being tapped to enhance the broadcast experience.

SportsPro chief executive Nick Meacham and senior content manager Chris Stone return for the latest StreamTime Podcast with some discussion up front about the billions in losses reported in the latest financial figures published by sports streaming specialist DAZN. Then Meacham is joined by WSC Sports chief executive Daniel Shichman for a conversation about the artificial intelligence-powered (AI) video platform and its impact on content creation. Schichman lifts the lid on WSC's latest US$100 million Series D fund raising round and what it allows the company to do next. As co-founder, Schichman offers an insight into WSC's journey up to this point and discusses the possibility of a future acquisition. The discussion also dives into why Israel is such a hot bed for technology, and sports technology in particular, as well as some of the challenges of the sector. And more good news! The SportsPro Podcast has been nominated for a Sports Podcast Award. If you like what you hear, please vote for us in the Best Sports Business Podcast category here. Please note that you will have to register first.

SportsPro chief executive Nick Meacham is joined by a returning (and somewhat broken hearted) Chris Stone for a StreamTime Podcast which dives into a topic that infuriates fans, broadcasters and rights holders in equal measure - the UK's Saturday afternoon live soccer blackout. As Stone tries to move past the defeat of his beloved Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl, the StreamTime regulars are joined by SportsPro digital editor Tom Bassam for a initial review of Meacham's interview with Socios chief executive Alexandra Dreyfus on the previous week's episode. The discussion then moves on to the UK's peculiar live soccer broadcast rules, with Bassam providing some context via his recent feature on the English Football League's (EFL) iFollow streaming platform. The pod then opens up the discussion to the wider possibilities for the industry should the UK ditch the blackout, including what a Premier League 'RedZone' might look like. Finally, the trio close the show with some analysis of the DAZN's recent deal with mobile live look-in streaming platform Buzzer. In part two, SportsPro media and technology editor Steve McCaskill speaks to Matthew Duhig, the co-founder and managing director of FX Digital about the streaming solutions firm's work in the space. And more good news! The SportsPro Podcast has been nominated for a Sports Podcast Award. If you like what you hear, please vote for us in the Best Sports Business Podcast category here. Please note that you will have to register first.

Continuing the StreamTime Podcast's exploration of the wider crossover between the sports industry and the digital space, SportsPro chief executive Nick Meacham is joined by Socios CEO Alexandre Dreyfus. The wide-ranging conversation covers how Socios has taken over the sports marketplace, securing over 120 partnerships with teams and leagues across the world. At the heart of this is their fan token offering, all built on their own Blockchain platform and cryptocurrency Chiliz, where tokens need to be bought and traded. We dig into the specifics on how they are working with sports properties, the impact their different types of deals have on fan token adoption, who's actually buying these fan tokens, what fans do and do not get from owning a fan token, as well as the benefit of blockchain technology to the whole ecosystem. Dreyfus also offers his thoughts on the perception of the brand in the traditional media and the sports industry, what role could NFTs and DAOs play, and how they've dealt with some of the challenges along the way.  And more good news! The SportsPro Podcast has been nominated for a Sports Podcast Award. If you like what you hear, please vote for us in the Best Sports Business Podcast category here. Please note that you will have to register first.

The latest episode of the StreamTime Podcast sees SportsPro’s managing director Nick Meacham joined by senior content manager Chris Stone to break down the three direct-to-consumer strategies that define the sports ecosystem. After a brief catchup on the latest news in the space, including the joint venture move by Discovery and BT Sport, the conversation gets into an in-depth analysis of streaming models. Starting from the big boys at the tier one properties, Meacham and Stone navigate their way down to the very smallest rights holders spelling out what should be in their respective digital offerings, what the goals should be, how to execute the strategy, as well as perhaps most importantly why it is important to match your DTC approach to your fan’s need. And more good news! The SportsPro Podcast has been nominated for a Sports Podcast Award. If you like what you hear, please vote for us in the Best Sports Business Podcast category here. Please note that you will have to register first.

The latest StreamTime Podcast takes a slight different angle on the sports broadcast industry by looking through the lens of those fighting the technologically and logistically challenging battle against piracy. SportsPro managing director Nick Meacham is joined by Riché T. McKnight, who serves as both the general counsel of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), as well as senior vice president, deputy general counsel and co-global head of litigation at the mixed martial arts promotion’s Endeavor parent company to talk all things IP protection. In this episode McKnight offers his take on the responsibility of the big technology companies to tackle the problem of content theft, as well as lifting the lid on how much piracy costs the UFC and everyone else in the sports ecosystem. Finally the former partner at Winston & Strawn LLP reveals how Endeavor is trying to lobby the US government to make the necessary legislation changes required to protect content in the digital age. And more good news! The SportsPro Podcast has been nominated for a Sports Podcast Award. If you like what you hear, please vote for us in the Best Sports Business Podcast category here. Please note that you will have to register first.

SportsPro managing director Nick Meacham is joined by Hannah Brown, Formula E's chief strategy and business development officer, to get her unique perspective on sports media from a career that spans both the buy and sell side of the business. The conversation starts with Brown’s time at UK pay-TV network Sky and working in rights acquisition in an era when the battle for tier one properties became highly competitive, while also touching on how to manage such a portfolio. Meacham then delves into Brown’s time at FuboTV and how she helped shape the streaming platform’s growth strategy. Brown’s next career move was helping to establish Atalanta Media and the podcast also covers the women's soccer platform’s journey to date, plus where it goes next. Ata Football is less than two years old but in that time has put together an impressive live women’s soccer content offering, secured investment from 777 Partners, as well as agreeing partnerships with NBC and DAZN. Finally the episode addresses Brown’s current role at Formula E, with discussion on the all-electric series’ approach media and digital, as well the evolving of its wider broadcast philosophy.