SportsPro Podcast

Former New Zealand captain Bex Smith spent much of her football career playing in Europe and came away convinced that the structures underpinning the women's game were holding it back.   Now, as the founder and chief executive of the Crux Football multi-club group, the former Fifa executive is implementing an ownership model built on carving women's teams out of the men's structure to...

Prem Rugby CEO Simon Massie-Taylor talks SportsPro through plans to make league more financially sustainable, grow the audience and take advantage of sport’s rise as an asset class.

Brad Ross worked on four Fifa World Cups during more than a decade with Coca-Cola, but he likens the expanded 2026 edition to having 104 Super Bowls in five to six weeks. Now, as managing director of global marketing partnerships at Bank of America, he is overseeing the financial services giant’s first-ever sponsorship of soccer’s flagship international tournament.   In this episode of the SportsP...

Beth Barrett-Wild has fond memories of the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup final, which England won on home soil. Nine years later, as the tournament director of the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, she is leading the ECB’s efforts to ensure the event accelerates the long-term growth of women’s cricket in England and Wales. In this episode of the SportsPro Podcast, Barrett-Wild sits down with Report...

Kim Stone has spent most of her career in the NBA with the Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors, but when she got a call from Michele Kang offering the chance to become chief executive of the NWSL’s Washington Spirit, the opportunity was too good to pass up.   In this episode of the SportsPro Podcast, Stone sits down with Head of Editorial Sam Carp to discuss the strategy underpinning the Spirit’s...

In this special episode recorded at SportsInnovation 2026, SportsPro's George Breare returns to the hosting seat for a conversation with Steffen Merkel , chief executive of German soccer's DFL.   Shortly after signing a contract extension until 2029, Merkel discusses what's driving the Bundesliga's record €6.33bn revenues and outlines the league's media rights strategy both at home and abroad.   ...

With more than 2 billion daily users and 40 billion hours of sports content watched annually , YouTube has become a major destination for sports highlights, creator watchalongs and, increasingly, live sport. In this episode, we revisit an interview from the SportsPro Media Summit in Madrid, where SportsPro head of editorial Sam Carp sits down with Jonny Keogh, YouTube's head of UK sports , to...

Recorded live during our recent Global SportsTech Report 2026 launch event held at Meta’s London HQ, this special episode hosted by SportsPro's Steve McCaskill brings together experts from Sportradar, the DP World Tour and Meta to explore how sports technology is moving from hype to measurable impact.   Where is AI genuinely creating value? How are rights holders using data to drive fan engage...

10 years ago, FIFA was on its knees following a corruption scandal that rocked the sport. Enter Gianni Infantino, who was elected president of soccer's governing body with a remit of restoring faith in the organisation.   To mark the anniversary of Infantino's appointment, the SportsPro editorial team unpack the highs and lows of his presidency - from record revenues and tournament expansi...

In one of his first interviews since joining Six Nations Rugby, chief executive Tom Harrison joins Sam Carp and Steve McCaskill on this week's episode for an in-depth conversation at a pivotal moment for rugby union. With this season's Six Nations underway, Harrison assesses the health of the competition, discusses whether the tournament going behind a paywall was ever a genuine possibilit...

With one week to go until the Winter Olympics, the SportsPro Podcast dives into what Milan-Cortina 2026 means for the future of the Games and discusses whether the event will benefit from the glow of a successful Paris 2024. Hear from Ed Dixon, Sam Carp, Steve McCaskill and Josh Sim as they break down the business of the Winter Olympics and explore some of the biggest storylines approaching the Ga...

The SportsPro team reveal their ten most influential figures for the year ahead spanning global sport, media, politics and athlete power before locking in a set of bold predictions on media rights, private equity, women’s sport and golf’s fractured future.   Hear from Ed Dixon, Sam Carp, Steve McCaskill and Josh Sim as they focus on the people, power and decisions that will shape the industry over...

The SportsPro Podcast signs off for the year with its traditional dose of festive chaos, as Ed Dixon hosts the 2025 SportsPro Christmas Quiz with Josh Sim, Steve McCaskill and Sam Carp. From staggeringly slow quick-fire questions and an ill-conceived bidding round to confusing quotes and a nail-biting finale, the team test how much they actually remember from the past 12 months across the global s...

The SportsPro Podcast returns with Ed Dixon, Steve McCaskill and Sam Carp as they break down darts’ rapid ascent with PDC Chief Executive Matt Porter. From the World Darts Championship selling out in an hour to the first £1 million winner’s prize, the team explores how the sport has entered a new golden era. They also dig into the PDC’s expanded Sky Sports deal, the global demand reshaping the cal...

The SportsPro Podcast returns with Josh Sim, Steve McCaskill, Ed Dixon and Sam Carp, alongside a drop-in from BlackBook Motorsport’s Cian Brittle. Fresh from Monaco, Josh shares his insights from the Sportel business conference, including LaLiga president Javier Tebas’ comments on pan-European rights and SURJ Sports Investment chief executive Danny Townsend’s perspective on the firm’s strategy. Th...

SportsPro’s Steve McCaskill sits down with Miles Jacobson, the studio director at Sports Interactive, the UK-based video game developer known for Football Manager to discuss the most significant evolution in the series history. Jacobson explains the studio’s move to the Unity engine, why the team delayed the game’s release, and how they overhauled the user interface and match engine for the 2026 e...

The SportsPro Podcast returns with a special guest in the studio, as Ed Dixon, Sam Carp, and Josh Sim are joined by SportsPro’s Director of Key Projects, Mike Long, to unpack the 2025 edition of SportsPro’s 50 Most Marketable Athletes. And there’s plenty to get into. From surprise inclusions to big risers and the stories behind the rankings.   They’re also joined by the experts from Northstar Solu...

The SportsPro Podcast returns with Ed Dixon, Sam Carp, Steve McCaskill and Josh Sim turning their attention to the US. From the NFL’s rising franchise valuations to the NBA’s record-breaking domestic media deal, the team explores why more money than ever is flowing into the major leagues. They also get stuck into other big talking points stateside, including the sales of the LA Lakers and Boston C...

SportsPro's Head of Editorial Sam Carp explores the evolving business of stadium naming rights with Al Guido, president of the San Francisco 49ers and chairman and CEO of Elevate. The pair unpack why venue sponsorships have historically been a harder sell in Europe than in North America and consider whether attitudes are softening amid landmark deals for the likes of Everton.    Guido offers i...

The SportsPro Podcast goes on the road to London Stadium for SportsPro AI 2025, where Sam Carp, Ed Dixon, Steve McCaskill and Josh Sim take the pulse of a rapidly shifting tech landscape. From the battle for AI leadership to the challenges of stitching together multi-technology partnerships with major leagues, the team reflect on the biggest talking points from the day.    Recorded on-site, the ep...

The SportsPro Podcast is back, and this time Ed Dixon, Steve McCaskill and Sam Carp dive into the boom – and possible bust – of sports documentaries. From the pandemic-era surge that delivered global hits like The Last Dance and Drive to Survive, to the wave of imitators that followed, the team debate whether the magic of sports docs is starting to fade.   So, is it the end? Not quite but the gold...

The SportsPro Podcast returns with a motorsport special as resident expert Cian Brittle breaks down the key narratives shaping the 2025 Formula 1 season. From the sport’s rapidly evolving commercial landscape and a surge in global sponsorships to McLaren’s impressive resurgence and the budding Norris-Piastri rivalry, there’s no shortage of storylines to explore. The team also explore the shifting...

The SportsPro Podcast returns, and this time the team takes a deep dive into SportsPro’s inaugural Investment Summit, held in Central London last month. Ed Dixon, Steve McCaskill, Sam Carp and Josh Sim reflect on a landmark event that brought together more than 200 industry leaders, investors and key stakeholders to explore where new capital is flowing into sport. Alongside their highlights from t...

The SportsPro Podcast is back - and it's back with a fresh new look.    As a landmark summer of women’s sport continues, Ed Dixon, Steve McCaskill, Sam Carp and Josh Sim get behind the mic to reflect on Women’s Euro 2025 and preview the upcoming Women’s Rugby World Cup.   Steve kicks off proceedings by reminiscing about his trip to Basel for the Women's Euro final before the panel discuss the pote...

Launched in June, Impact X is a bold new initiative from SportsPro and SportQuake which spotlights the most impactful, creative and effective partnerships in sport. Featuring unique collaborations and original ideas that are redefining the landscape of sports marketing, Impact X showcases 50 of the best partnerships and activations from the past five years – spanning innovative uses of technology...