SportsPro Podcast

SportsPro digital editor Tom Bassam and industry consultant Giles Morgan join Eoin Connolly to review another week of compelling sports business news. They reflect on a potentially decisive blow for the backers of a Saudi-funded breakaway golf series (01:47), and the inflammatory comments of Phil Mickelson. Then they look at the latest money movements in rugby union (18:00) as Silver Lake completes its New Zealand deal and South Africa are linked with a move to the Six Nations Championship. There’s also time for reports of a bidding race for the Premier League NFT licence (34:40) and a few stories drifting under the radar (45:55). 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.

Discussing race used to be something that sports organisations avoided at all costs but thankfully in recent years things have moved on a little, even if the conversation is far from finished. For the latest Playbook Podcast, Matt Rogan welcomes Sonny Peart, co-founder of Black Trail Runners, on to the show to look at the relationship between sport and race. Peart explains how his charity took a data-informed approach to responsibly demonstrate the problem and quickly break down any bias in the running community - while explaining how this method can be applied more broadly. The conversation also covers why it is important to avoid the ‘low cost and easy’ approach to creating awareness around implicit and explicit racial prejudice in the sports industry - and how to prioritise action and impact to create genuine change. Finally, Peart outlines how senior leaders can champion change by educating themselves and others, placing critical emphasis on the importance of business leaders taking personal accountability for making this happen. 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 SportsPro Podcast sees Eoin Connolly joined by digital editor Tom Bassam and deputy editor Sam Carp to roundup of some of the big stories in the sports industry over the last week. After a catch up on some of the headlines coming out of the Super Bowl, including some gaudy numbers to complete a bounce-back year for the National Football League (NFL), discussion moves to reports regarding the success of the Premier League's overseas broadcast rights sales operation. The episode then dives into the narratives coming out of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, including the troubling doping revelations around Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva. Then Bassam and Carp pick out a couple of 'under-the-radar' stories from the last seven days they think are worthy of a bit more attention. 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.

Alan Gilpin, chief executive of World Rugby, tells Eoin Connolly about the changing responsibilities of the global governing body. They run through the latest on discussions with commercial investors and the role venture capital and private equity firms might play in the growth of the game. They also talk about vital consultations on player safety and welfare, as well as the prospects for women’s rugby ahead of this year’s World Cup. And Alan lays out the far-reaching Environmental Sustainability Plan 2030, which aims to dramatically cut World Rugby’s carbon emissions and build better choices into all of its activities. 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.

As SoFi Stadium gets ready for Super Bowl LVI, Eoin Connolly is joined by Sportico sports business reporter Eben Novy-Williams and CNBC’s Jabari Young to run through the big stories in a busy period for the NFL. They look at the themes surrounding the big game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals, then cover topics ranging from former Miami Dolphins’ head coach Brian Flores’ potentially incendiary class action lawsuit on racial discrimination, to the mooted sale of the Denver Broncos, the league’s regional strategy, the Washington Commanders rebrand and the retirement of Tom Brady.   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 Playbook Podcast sees host Matt Rogan delve into an area that established businesses confront almost daily – managing change. To take on the task, Rogan chats to Alexandra Willis, communications and marketing director for the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC). The Wimbledon tennis Grand Slam has always embraced change and Willis lifts the lid on the process for managing this. The conversation covers internal communication, as well as putting in systems to maximise co-creation, plus how to actively and intentionally enable people to contribute. Rogan and Willis also explore how the different elements of an organisation can be structured to embrace change - both formally and informally – as well as ensuring you have the right people in place to cope during periods of transition. 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.

Eoin Connolly is joined by SportsPro senior staff writer Ed Dixon and Steve Martin, global CEO at M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment, to preview a contentious Winter Olympics in Beijing. They discuss how Covid complications and allegations of human rights abuses against Uighur people in Xinjiang have dominated an uneasy build-up to the Games, and consider how the International Olympic Committee, its sponsors and broadcasters will move forward. Then, China Sports Insider founder Mark Dreyer returns to give a perspective from the ground in Beijing, and look at the future of winter sports and the rest of the industry there. 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.

In a session from SportsPro’s inaugural Ignition event, Eoin Connolly talks to George Pyne, founder and chief executive of sports and entertainment investment fund Bruin Capital. George explains where Bruin identifies opportunities, its partnerships with scale-up companies like Deltatre, Two Circles, Oddschecker and TGI Sport, and how that compares with its activities in the startup space. He also lays out some of the key growth trends in sports technology, shares his thoughts on the prospects of NFTs and metaverse technologies, and discusses how the industry has changed since he moved on from IMG to set up Bruin Capital in 2015. 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 media and technology editor Steve McCaskill talks to Eoin Connolly about the latest developments in the sports tech startup and investment space. They reflect on SportsPro’s 2022 list of the 20 sports tech ideas to invest in now, teasing out key trends from personalisation to digital betting and networks in grassroots sport and college endorsements. They also consider the perspectives shared on an investor round-table, asking where value is being sought and whether excitement about the metaverse and NFTs is premature. Steve then talks to the co-founder of one of the companies on the list, RespoVision’s Pawel Osterreicher. 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 Playbook Podcast sees host Matt Rogan seeking how to shape and influence the cultural side of an organisation. Matt is joined by Tony Simpson, partner at Oliver Wyman, to decipher high-performance cultures and to find out if any business really wants one. The pair also discuss how to create drive and energy in your business in a candid and wide-ranging conversation. Tony Simpson has held a variety of leadership roles in sport and media businesses in both Europe and the Middle East advising corporations and governments on business transformation, corporate structure and executive alignment strategy. 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.