Moneyball - The Business of Sport

Inside Story: How did the NRL land the biggest broadcast deal in its history? The headlines told us what happened. This episode is about understanding why it happened. Australian Financial Review media and marketing reporter Sam Buckingham-Jones spent months covering every twist and turn of the NRL's $5 billion media rights negotiations. In this episode of Moneyball – The Business of Sport , Scott...

Is the NRLW schedule broken? More than 50,000 women and girls are now playing rugby league across Australia, TV audiences are growing and Women's State of Origin has become one of the biggest events on the sporting calendar. So why does the NRLW still face challenges getting more people through the gates and watching the game? On this episode of Moneyball , Scott Keenan is joined by SEN sports bro...

Emergency Episode: Reports suggest the NRL has agreed in principle to a new media rights deal worth around $5 billion over seven years from 2028 , potentially making it the biggest media rights agreement in Australian sporting history. If confirmed, Nine would retain State of Origin, the Grand Final and three games per week, while DAZN-owned Foxtel and Kayo would continue as the home of every matc...

The NRL media rights battle is entering its final stages, and for the first time in decades, State of Origin could potentially leave the Nine Network. With Peter V'landys chasing a $4 billion broadcast deal, the biggest sports media rights negotiation in Australian history has become far more than a simple contest between Nine and Foxtel. Seven Network has emerged as a genuine contender, Amazon Pr...

State of Origin is Australia's biggest television event. And there is huge pressure for the broadcast team, especially the play-by-play commentator. More than four million Australians tune in. Hundreds of people work behind the scenes. And for Channel Nine's lead NRL commentator Mathew Thompson, every game brings the pressure of calling moments that become part of rugby league history. In this epi...

After nearly three decades away from football's biggest stage, Scotland is heading back to the FIFA World Cup. Former Scottish footballer and Australian football coach and commentator Charles Samushonga joins Moneyball to discuss Scotland's resurgence under Steve Clarke, the players driving this generation's success, and why supporters are more optimistic than they have been in decades. We explore...

Australia prides itself on being a sporting nation. But in a market of just 26 million people, a small number of dominant men’s competitions continue to consume most of the attention, airtime and commercial investment. In this episode of Moneyball: The Business of Sport , host Scott Keenan sits down with Dr Bridie O’Donnell — broadcaster, former elite cyclist and advocate for women’s sport and gen...

The NRL’s broadcast rights negotiations are heating up — and Amazon Prime is now reportedly preparing a bid for rugby league rights in Australia. In this episode of Moneyball, Scott Keenan is joined by Australian Financial Review media reporter Sam Buckingham-Jones to break down the biggest developments in the NRL media rights race, including Andrew Abdo leaving the NRL for Tennis Australia, Peter...

For the first time in 40 years, Scottish football has had something different: hope. In this episode of Moneyball: The Business of Sport, Scott Keenan breaks down the incredible Scottish Premiership title race between Hearts of Midlothian, Celtic and Rangers — and why Hearts’ shock challenge may have changed Scottish football forever. From Ted Lasso’s iconic “Believe” message to the commercial rea...

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is being billed as the biggest tournament in football history — but it may also become the most expensive World Cup ever for fans. In this episode of Moneyball , Scott Keenan examines the business behind the modern FIFA World Cup and the growing concern that football’s biggest event is becoming financially out of reach for ordinary supporters. With the Socceroos preparing f...

Who is really running Manchester United right now? After years of instability since the retirement of Alex Ferguson, United are back in the Champions League and preparing to make one of the biggest decisions in the club’s modern history: appointing a permanent manager. Will it be Michael Carrick after his impressive interim spell? Or will INEOS and Jim Ratcliffe go in another direction? And with t...

Who really owns running culture? After a breakthrough performance at the London Marathon—where two athletes broke the two-hour barrier in the same race—Adidas has momentum. At the same time, Nike is navigating questions about its brand positioning following backlash at the Boston Marathon. In this episode of Moneyball , we unpack the running wars between Nike and Adidas —and explore how the sport...

What is Nine Entertainment really building with its latest sports rights deals? In this episode of Moneyball – The Business of Sport , Scott Keenan is joined by Tim Burrowes from Mumbrella to unpack Nine’s acquisition of the National Basketball League free-to-air rights and its major new deal with Netball Australia. This isn’t just about adding more sport to the schedule. It’s about building a por...

Can the National Rugby League actually afford Nathan Cleary in the future? With reports suggesting Cleary could become the first $2 million player in NRL history, this episode of Moneyball breaks down the economics behind the biggest contract question the game has ever faced. Because this isn’t just about one player. It’s about whether the NRL’s salary cap, broadcast deals, and revenue model can k...

What happens when you win an Olympic silver medal… and it still feels like failure? At the 2026 Winter Olympics, Scotty James claimed his third Olympic medal — yet instead of celebration, the moment carried something far more complex. In real time, he made a decision that defines elite sport: he would return again in 2030 for a sixth Olympic campaign, chasing the only medal he hasn’t won — gold. I...

Tottenham Hotspur fans are questioning the direction of the club. After years of investment, including a billion-pound stadium and consistent Premier League revenue, Spurs are struggling to deliver results on the pitch — and supporters are starting to feel the disconnect, not to mention the fears or relegation to the EFL Championship. In this episode, Moneyball host Scott Keenan speaks with Andrew...

Tottenham Hotspur are facing a scenario that once felt unthinkable: relegation from the Premier League. But beyond the results on the pitch, what would it actually cost them? In this episode of Moneyball , we break down the financial impact of relegation — from a potential £200–£250 million revenue loss, to the pressures of servicing a £1 billion stadium, declining broadcast income, reduced sponso...

The NRL’s Las Vegas season opener is one of the boldest marketing plays in rugby league history. But what does the event actually look like on the ground? In this episode of Moneyball – The business of sport , host Scott Keenan speaks with Australian rugby league content creator Lincoln Ison from The Knighted , who travelled to Las Vegas to experience the NRL’s international season launch. Lincoln...

Formula 1 is back for a new season — and one of the biggest stories shaping the future of the sport is Cadillac’s planned entry into the grid. Backed by General Motors and a reported $1 billion investment , Cadillac is preparing to enter Formula 1 with a strategy that looks very different from traditional teams. Before the car has even raced, Cadillac has already launched the team with a Super Bow...

The NRL season launch heads back to Las Vegas this weekend with the Newcastle Knights, North Queensland Cowboys, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and St George Illawarra Dragons taking centre stage at Allegiant Stadium. The event has become one of the biggest annual sporting spectacles in Vegas — and comes off the back of record-breaking financial results from the National Rugby League. But where to...

We're using sports statistics, data, and analytics to break down Cooper Flagg’s record-setting NBA season and what the numbers say about his long-term potential. We explore Rookie of the Year implications, compare Flagg to past teenage stars, look at Australian NBA star Josh Giddey through a data lens, unpack the NBA trade window, and examine the changing All-Star Game format. Moneyball is the pod...

In this episode of Moneyball , host Scott Keenan is joined by Crissy Whalin to break down why Bad Bunny headlining the Super Bowl Apple Music Halftime Show is more than a cultural moment — it’s a smart business decision by the NFL . Rather than focusing on politics or online outrage, this conversation looks at audience growth, cultural relevance, global reach and how the NFL thinks about the halft...