SportsPro Podcast

SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly and editorial director Michael Long reconvene for the first podcast of the year to look at some of the trends bubbling under the biggest stories of 2020. On the agenda: whether recent developments in Australia will inspire a different approach to climate responsibility, how mega-events like Euro 2020 and the Tokyo Olympics will reorder and redefine host cities, what role venture capital will play in organised sport, and how Major League Baseball's tense negotiations with Minor League Baseball have become emblematic of a more stratified industry. There's also time to discuss how women's sports bodies will seek to maintain momentum, and how sport might react to changing dynamics in fan culture.

SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly is joined on the line by digital editor Tom Bassam and senior writer Sam Carp to discuss just some of what made 2019 such an extraordinary year in the business of sport.  They look back on a dramatic July day of channel-hopping as the Cricket World Cup final and Wimbledon gripped London; intriguing moves by DAZN, Discovery and Amazon; the Olympics cosying up with Airbnb; sport's relationship with big government; radical thinking around competitions and formats; and plenty more besides.  Elsewhere on a bumper festive edition of the podcast, Engine Sport managing director Lisa Parfitt (38.49) drops by to talk through another year of significant progress in women's sport, lays out the opportunities for partners, and considers how the industry itself can do better at retaining female talent.

SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly and editorial director Michael Long present another pair of conversations from the SportsPro OTT Summit that reflect on the latest developments in digital broadcasting and shifts in viewer behaviour.   First up, Gareth Capon (5.05), chief executive of cloud video production company Grabyo, discusses the findings of the Grabyo Global Video Trends Report and what they mean for the future of OTT services, pay-TV, and free-to-air outlets across traditional and digital platforms. He also talks about generational viewing habits, the value of live sport, the power of mobile production and the evolution of Grabyo itself.   Then Carlo De Marchis (27.08), group chief evangelist at sports and entertainment tech provider Deltatre, shares his thoughts on what a move from rights sales to direct to consumer will mean for the philosophy of the sports business, the importance of flexibility in attracting and retaining viewers, and how to embrace innovation in products, services and outlook.

SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly talks to Dan Porter, the forthright and quotable founder and chief executive of Overtime, about how the youth-focused digital sports network grew an audience of millions and why that audience won't be signing up for subscription channels any time soon. Speaking in Madrid during the SportsPro OTT Summit, Porter makes the case for a more participative approach to media, explains why he thinks a wider range of options are weakening young fans' ties to traditional sport, and lays out his plans to turn the Overtime project and community into something very big.

SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly and editorial director Michael Long are joined on the line by Matt Slater, football news and investigations reporter at The Athletic.  In a week that could offer a glimpse of club soccer's future, they discuss tech giant Amazon's Premier League broadcast debut and the implications of its biggest technical challenge in live sport so far. And after the shock resignation of incoming chief executive David Pemsel, they ask who England's top flight might look to next for leadership. There's also time to reflect on the latest developments in the long-running Russian doping saga, with WADA's executive committee set to meet in Lausanne next week to consider a four-year ban from elite sport for the country after another series of transgressions. 

As the SportsPro OTT Summit comes to an end in Madrid, editor at large Eoin Connolly and editorial director Michael Long are joined by Seven League consulting partner Charlie Beall and Maria Rua Aguete, executive director at IHS Markit.  The panel pick out their highlights and lessons from two days of absorbing discussion on digital broadcasting and sport, from the WWE’s success in creating a content universe to the threat of piracy, why Netflix and Spotify are different, the meaning of the attention swarm, TikTok, 5G, whether Gen Z will pay for OTT and everything to come in 2020. 

SportsPro digital editor Tom Bassam talks to Blake Lawrence, the co-founder and chief executive of Opendorse, to find out about the platform's plans in athlete marketing and run through some best practice in social media. The average athlete shares six pieces of social content a month, while the average team posts 30 times a day with one in three of those featuring a sponsor, so are brands allocating their resources properly? How do athletes avoid security risks and classic [insert sponsor here] errors? And what might changing rules in US college sports mean for US student-athletes?

Rugby World Cup 2019 is over, with Siya Kolisi's South Africa seeing off England to win the title for a third time.  Charlie McEwen, the former Lions COO now working with some of the sport's big brands as CEO of rugby at CSM Sport and Entertainment, steps off a plane from Tokyo to share his thoughts on the tournament and the future direction of the game with SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly (2.57). Venture capital, the role of sevens, and the innovative Rugby League World Cup format are all up for discussion. Then, after Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes confirmed another Formula One world title in the US, Black Book of Motorsport director Peter Jones returns (35.02) to discuss a new package of rules aimed at making the blue-riband racing championship more competitive from 2021, and also casts an early eye over the sale of IndyCar.

After a hectic few sports industry weeks, SportsPro editorial director Michael Long rejoins editor at large Eoin Connolly on a rapid-fire pod to catch up on a few stories that might have been buried beneath the headlines, but should be of real interest and consequence to those in the business. There's just about time to rattle through Manchester City and Nestle's vegan opportunism, the NFL's adventures in audio, the WTA in Shenzhen and the ATP's new Italian leader, Sourav Ganguly's arrival as BCCI president, OTT women's soccer service Wnited and the launch of Apple TV+. 

To mark the launch of 'Content is Queen: Digital Lessons from Women's Sport' - a new whitepaper from SportsPro and Imagen - editor at large Eoin Connolly is joined by an expert panel to discuss how new media and best practice are helping to grow audiences across a range of female disciplines. Alexandra Willis, the head of communications, content and digital at the AELTC, International Netball Federation chief executive Clare Briegal and Imagen's Kerry Freeman discuss the importance of a comprehensive approach to content distribution, what goes into a careful and data-led strategy, and what excites them about the future in women's sport.