SportsPro Podcast

In another session from SportsPro Live at London’s Kia Oval, Eoin Connolly speaks to Matthew Primack, senior vice president of international development at ecommerce and merchandising giant Fanatics.  Matthew explains how Fanatics has built partnerships with the likes of the NFL, the NBA and Formula One, where it aims to innovate and how its operations are being affected by supply chain and sustainability concerns.  They also discuss the implications of the company’s rapid growth in recent years, with widespread inward investment, the acquisition of collectibles brand Topps, and new projects in web3 and sports betting creating a digital fan platform. 

Eoin Connolly is joined by SportsPro news editor Tom Bassam and features editor Sam Carp to unpack one of 2022’s biggest deals so far.  They discuss a bumper set of media rights sales for cricket’s Indian Premier League, with Disney’s Star retaining traditional TV coverage as Reliance and Paramount’s Viacom18 venture swoops in for digital rights. With over $6 billion on the board, they examine a changed picture for cricket and Indian sport.  They also reflect on the first weekend of LIV Golf and ask whether the ATP’s latest reforms will help head off a rebel threat in tennis. 

Eoin Connolly is joined by SportsPro digital editor Tom Bassam and media and tech editor Steve McCaskill to run through another week of industry developments.  As LIV Golf tees off for its first event in St Albans, they ask what the contentious Saudi-backed series aims to bring to the sport and who it can bring along other than its opening field.  Then, as Forbes reports LeBron James to be the first active NBA player worth US$1 billion, they ask what athlete power will look like in the generation ahead, and Steve explains sport’s place in Apple’s latest software rollout. 

In a session from SportsPro Live in London, Eoin Connolly talks to senior leaders from this year's Rugby League World Cup: chief executive John Dutton, social impact director Tracy Power and tournament director Dean Hardman. They lay out a distinctive vision for the event, which will unite the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments in England in October and November. They discuss its aims to support key community initiatives, the challenges of managing such a complex commercial and logistical delivery in Covid conditions that triggered a one-year delay, and the chance for the sport to excite new and existing fans alike.

Eoin Connolly and SportsPro digital editor Tom Bassam are joined by Paris-based independent comms consultant Dan Tunna to reflect on a dramatic sporting weekend. Dan shares an on-the-ground account of a chaotic Uefa Champions League final at the Stade de France, which was delayed by 36 minutes as fans faced dangerously packed queues, disorganisation and heavy-handed policing outside. The trio also discuss the need to reconsider how major soccer events are run as another major final comes under intense scrutiny. There is also a quick look at a bumper Indian Premier League rights tender and the latest movements in US motorsport.   

Eoin Connolly and SportsPro digital editor Tom Bassam are joined by James English, managing partner for sport at Fuse, for a commercial preview of the Uefa Champions League final.  They discuss the work going on in Paris to deliver for the competition’s sponsors, and ask whether different formats for the concluding week could add value for partners, hosts and fans.  Then they explore how the Uefa Europa League and Europa Conference League have added depth to the continental season, and consider how the Uefa Women’s Champions League final could deliver progress for the sport.   

Eoin Connolly is joined by Andrew Parsons, the president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).  They discuss a year of relentless challenges for the IPC, with back-to-back Covid-era Games in Tokyo and Beijing within just a few months, and a ban for Russian and Belarusian para-athletes after the invasion of Ukraine.  They also talk about how the IPC sees its future leadership role shaping up within the wider movement, with the creation of the Para Sport platform and a new commercial strategy being developed, while Andrew shares his biggest ambitions for the second four-year term he secured in December.

Eoin Connolly and SportsPro digital editor Tom Bassam are joined by Angela Ruggiero, Olympic ice hockey champion turned Sports Innovation Lab co-founder and World Rugby exco member.  They reflect on the DFL’s Sports Innovation event in Düsseldorf, which offered a creative on-field showcase of new technologies. They also consider the possibilities of Discovery’s BT Sport joint venture and the NBA’s latest virtual reality play with Meta, and ask where Fifa’s gaming strategy goes after its EA Sports split.  There’s then time to look ahead to a decade of Rugby World Cups that will take in debut tournaments in the USA.

In what really is the final instalment of the Playbook Podcast, Matt Rogan is joined by Will Gaffney, the 17-year-old founder of the Bat for a Chance cricket charity. Will discusses how and why he decided to start the charity and reflects on his experiences of pitching the idea to senior chief executives while balancing the running of the organisation with the daily rigours of school life. The pair also consider how the next generation is bringing fresh perspectives to the sports industry, why younger people are more likely take risks and what the leaders of tomorrow look like.  

Sportico’s Eben Novy-Williams returns to give Eoin Connolly an American perspective on the latest sports business developments.  They discuss what Todd Boehly’s US track record – especially his ownership of MLB’s LA Dodgers – suggests about his future as owner of Premier League club Chelsea. Elsewhere in soccer, they look at Uefa’s Champions League reforms and EA Sports’ split from Fifa after three hugely successful decades.  Across the Atlantic, there’s a review of Formula One’s glitzy Miami Grand Prix debut, the WNBA’s prospects are sized up as its season starts, and there’s an update on the sale of the NFL’s Denver Broncos.