SportsPro Podcast

With just days to go until the National Football League's (NFL) championship game, SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly welcomes Sportico's sports business reporter Eben Novy-Williams for a Super Bowl special. As well as previewing the event, the pair reflect on the NFL's season and where the league is heading as it looks to move on from its Covid-affected campaign. Then (34.36), deputy editor Sam Carp is on the line with Fan Controlled Football's co-founder and chief executive, Sohrob Farudi, to find out more about the concept and why he thinks the league will succeed in the packed US marketplace.  Music: Surf Inspector by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4447-surf-inspector License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly talks to Miles Jacobson, studio director of Sports Interactive, the company behind the iconic Football Manager video game series. They talk about how the developer has responded to Covid-19 inside and outside the game (7.45), the continued evolution of Sports Interactive’s data modelling and its relationship with professional clubs (25.03), and nurturing a digital community (36.24) that has grown with the title from its scrappy origins to its multi-million selling place in the gaming pantheon. This podcast also contains discussions of the work Sports Interactive has done to promote access to mental health charities for its players during the pandemic, such as making in-game advertisements available for free. Among the organisations it has collaborated with are CALM – Campaign Against Living Miserably, Samaritans, Mind, and Mental Health UK. Links to their websites are included here for the benefit of anyone whose mental wellbeing has been affected by recent events. Music: Surf Inspector by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4447-surf-inspector License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Talk of Europe's top soccer clubs breaking away and forming their own super league has existed for decades, but is the sport closer than ever to a continental 'super league'?   In this episode, SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly and digital editor Tom Bassam delve into the commercial arguments around soccer's future and what it all means for the sport if the big clubs get their way.  Phil Carling, managing director of football at Octagon Worldwide, and Charlie Marshall, chief executive of the European Club Association (ECA), are also on hand to give their perspective. Music: Surf Inspector by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4447-surf-inspector License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Ahead of the launch of his new Playbook Podcast series, SportsPro senior contributor Matt Rogan talks to editor at large Eoin Connolly about how sports businesses can deliver on their plans in changing times.   In another wide-ranging conversation, they discuss building a sense of collective ownership to give team members a shared purpose and strategic buy-in, managing performance relentlessly but with an emphasis on core priorities (32.02), and how empathetic leadership can help those at the top stave off isolation and mental strain (55.01).   Music: Surf Inspector by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4447-surf-inspector License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

In this episode, SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly is joined by Jene Elzie, chief growth officer at Athletes First Partners, and Len Elmore, senior lecturer in the sports management programme at Columbia University. With Joe Biden sworn in as US president, the three delve into the tumultuous Trump tenure and how it changed the relationship between sport and politics, particularly in the context of athlete activism and brand engagement, and ways it will evolve now there is a new man in the Oval Office.  Music: Surf Inspector by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4447-surf-inspector License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly speaks to Alberto Longo, co-founder and deputy chief executive of all-electric motorsport series Formula E.   A few weeks ahead of a season-opening night race in Diryah they discuss the continued development of the championship, from its hosting strategy to its relationship with manufacturers and its digital media output and esports events.    They also consider Formula E’s role in a changing conversation around sustainability, including how it will sit alongside newcomer Extreme E, how it will retain its USP as other series pursue greener ambitions, and how it is maintaining its own drive to be cleaner and more efficient.  Music: Surf Inspector by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4447-surf-inspector License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly, digital editor Tom Bassam and deputy editor Sam Carp assess the ten figures set to play a major role across sport over the next year. The trio reflect on SportsPro's annual list, which ranges from a prime minister to a professional tennis player, identifying the merits and the broader context behind their inclusion. Music: Surf Inspector by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4447-surf-inspector License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly speaks to Anmol Malhotra, the head of sports partnerships at Snap.    Malhotra explains how social platform Snapchat combines fun, intuitive messaging with proprietary camera technology and AR to appeal to a younger audience and how it aims to help sports publishers, broadcasters, brands, teams and athletes to do the same. He also talks about how those collaborations are structured, from financial incentives to IP integration and content ideas.    Music: Surf Inspector by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4447-surf-inspector License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly talks to Andrew Georgiou, the president of Discovery-owned pan-continental broadcaster Eurosport. They discuss the launch of the Discovery+ direct-to-consumer service and its impact on the group's sports project (3.25), how Eurosport is adapting to the unique challenges of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (20.00), and the implications of digital transformation for rights models and programming concepts (38.01).  Music: Surf Inspector by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4447-surf-inspector License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly speaks to Manoj Badale, owner of Indian Premier League cricket team Rajasthan Royals.  They discuss the lessons of Manoj's new book – A New Innings, co-authored with cricket writer, analyst and broadcaster Simon Hughes – and track some of the trends that have marked his work in the sport and a few that will define its future.  On the agenda are the tensions between protection and progress, the export and domestic growth potential of Indian sport, the need to rebalance commercial models and reestablish priorities, weathering Covid and preparing for new opportunities. Music: Surf Inspector by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4447-surf-inspector License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/