SportsPro Podcast

This week SportsPro took over the Kia Ova to stage SportsPro Live 2023. George Breare, Tom Bassam, Steve McCaskill - as well as a few special guests - capture the sights and sounds of the two-day event in London.

On this special episode of the SportsPro Podcast, Tom Bassam is joined by Sabrina Ibáñez, secretary general of the FEI, who is one of the nine women in leadership roles out of 39 summer Olympic federations. Together they discuss wider representation challenges, leading a diverse organisation and addressing unconscious biases in evolving times. Talking Points: Female under representation at a senior level  (01:40) How do we put practical measures in place in regulatory level? (02:39) Things the FEI is doing differently in regard to DEI compared to other federations? (05:38) How do you try to influence other federations (09:26) FEI initiatives in parasport (14:46) The power of using athletes for storytelling (17:37) Looking ahead to Paris 2024 (19:13) LQBTQ+ issues in a gender neutral sport (20:50) Efforts to modernise the FEI (26:34)

George Breare and Tom Bassam return for a whiparound of the latest news in sports business, taking in the Premier Legaue's gambling ban, the talks of Saudi interest in T20 cricket, as well as the latest on Dan Snyder selling the Washington Commanders. In part two our hosts try to figure out how they would fix boxing and rugby union. 

The roles are reversed for this week's SportsPro Podcast as regular host George Breare is put in the interview chair by Tom Bassam for a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into putting together our flagship SportsPro Live event. Drilling into Breare's day job as senior content manager, the conversation explores the themes that shape this year's event at the Oval in London and how SportsPro thinks about drawing up its agendas (1:10). Then discussion turns to a couple of big industry news stories from the past week, the IPL's staggering audience figures for its opening weekend (32:00) and the growing revenues reported by Uefa for the Women's Champions League (39:03). The tenth edition of SportsPro Live, taking place on the 25th and 26th April at London's Kia Oval, will be our biggest event to date. Book your place today with a special SportsPro Podcast discount, head to:  live.sportspromedia.com/registration and use code POD20 for 20 per cent off (terms and conditions apply, not applicable to pre-existing purchases).

The Masters, arguably golf's most iconic major, will see the eyes of the sporting world turn to Augusta this week. It may be a tradition unlike any other, but does it still make sense as a business? Golf's other big events make more money and offer a more modern fan experience. George Breare and Tom Bassam explore the reasons why the Masters can afford to be stuck in its ways, while also asking what the tournamemt's future looks like. Talking points: What the clash with LIV Golf does for the Masters (1:52) The Masters as a proxy in the battle (5:14) How the business of the Masters works (7:08) Can this traditional approach endure? (15:40) We are up for an award! Here is how you can vote for us (18:20) Plus, the NBA's new CBA (20:00) Endeavor's deal for WWE (28:13) The EFL and Sky enter exclusive rights talks (34:04) The SportsPro Podcast is delighted to have been nominated (for the second year in a row) for a Sports Podcast Award in the sports business category. If you enjoy the show we would really appreciate it if you could give us a vote here or via www.sportspodcastgroup.com/podcast/sportspro-podcast-2/ (you will need to register before voting).

SportsPro senior staff writer Ed Dixon joins regular hosts George Breare and Tom Bassam for a special Live Event Week pod where they seek to identify the best live experience in sports. Considering both fan experience and commercial opportunity, the trio set out their criteria before trying to convince each other why their personally chosen event should come out on top: Talking points: The key metrics (1:16) We are up for an award! Here is how you can vote for us (15:56) The Super Bowl (17:00) The Masters (24:00) Formula One (30:53) Wimbledon (41:12) Influencer boxing (47:48) The Hundred (52:44) The SportsPro Podcast is delighted to have been nominated (for the second year in a row) for a Sports Podcast Award in the sports business category. If you enjoy the show we would really appreciate it if you could give us a vote here or via www.sportspodcastgroup.com/podcast/sportspro-podcast-2/ (you will need to register before voting).

This August in Glasgow - and across other parts of Scotland - the International Cycling Union (UCI) is holding its inaugural Cycling World Championships, where 13 individual titles will be decided in a true festival of the sport. On this week's podcast, SportsPro's Tom Bassam is joined by UCI digital transformation executive Adrien de Cheveigné and Jonny Murch, chief executive of Redtorch, to find out how they planning to ensure the event hits the mark on social media, while also discussing the role of the agency's #SportOnSocial report in shaping the strategy. Talking points: What is the role of the #SportOnSocial report? - (1:27) Are there any lessons to put into practice from the report? - (5:08) Will the report have any impact for the 2023 Cycling World Championships? - (12:08) How do you build a social strategy for so many different disciplines? - (16:13) The role of athletes in telling stories on social - (23:40) Integrating partners into the strategy - (30:02) How to nail sport for purpose messaging - (34:30) 

This week SportsPro touched down in New York for the latest OTT Summit USA event. Hosts George Breare and Tom Bassam take you inside Citi Field to get a taste of the discussion onstage, while providing their own commentary on an insight-heavy agenda.

To celebrate International Women's Day this week's episode has been handed over to the women of SportsPro, with operations manager Milly Miller-Adams taking over as host. Talking points: SportsPro's head of marketing, Katie Devaney, and marketing executive, Alice Evans, on why pursuing equity is important for women in the industry and their personal experiences (1:10) Editorial assistant Elena Kouyoufa discusses being part of a male-dominated team (7:01) Event manager Jatila Blake and project coordinator Katie Preston explain some of the challenges they've faced in the industry and the importance of allies (13:49) Yin Khoo, production director, on being a female leader and mentor to others (24:06)

BlackBook correspondent Cian Brittle is in the hotseat this week to delve into the main talking points ahead of the 2023 Formula One season, including: Trouble brewing between F1 and the FIA (2:10) Are automotive heavyweights Ford, GM, and Audi returning to the paddock? (09:41) A temperature check on F1's sustainability efforts (19:52) Do cryptocurrency sponsorships still have a future in motorsport? (32:00)