SportsPro Podcast

Who is the most marketable athlete on the planet today? What makes one athlete more marketable than another? How should the term ‘marketability’ be defined? What do brands look for when aligning with an athlete? SportsPro has been asking itself such questions every year since it first released its annual ranking of the world’s 50 Most Marketable Athletes in 2010. The process of answering them has...

Geoff Allardice, chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), sits down with George Breare ahead of the men’s Twenty20 World Cup. In addition to a preview of the tournament, the conversation explores cricket’s balance between respecting tradition and pursuing innovation for growth. On the agenda is the importance of T20 for cricket to gain a foothold in key growth territories and wh...

SportsPro content manager George Breare returns from a short break to helm the latest episode of the Weekly Wrap podcast. In part one, Breare is joined by SportsPro senior staff writer Ed Dixon to get the lowdown on his recent interview with Sally Horrox, World Rugby’s director of the women’s game, ahead of the imminent Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. Then, recording from Visa’s European headquart...

With the story of DAZN's acquisition of Eleven breaking on 27th September , Tom Bassam and Sam Carp give their immediate reactions to the consolidation of two former challenger media brands, as well as what the deal means for the industry more broadly. With Robert Sarver having announced he will be selling the  Phoenix Suns, there is also a bit of discussion (11:06) of how we got to this point, wh...

George Breare dials in from SportsPro APAC in Singapore for a quick catchup on the key industry news stories of the past week, namely the report that Saudi Arabia is to fund a three-nation bid to jointly host the 2030 World Cup alongside Egypt and Greece. News editor Tom Bassam explains some of the details of the report and weighs up its chances of success in the murky world of soccer geopolitics,...

Kirsten Corio, chief commercial officer at the US Tennis Association (USTA), takes some time out of her busy US Open schedule to join the podcast to discuss the Grand Slam's data-led strategy. Before Corio dials in from New York (19:48), SportsPro's George Breare and Tom Bassam hit some of the headlines from the previous week in the sports industry. First up the latest developments from the PGA To...

SportsPro editorial director Michael Long is on the pod this week to comb through a week of industry news headlined by the launch of the Africa Super League (ASL). Alongside regulars George Breare and Tom Bassam, the panel discuss Fifa's role in the new competition's rollout, the ASL's vague finances and CAF governance. Conversation then turns to the National Football League (NFL) and how its incr...

Making his debut as SportsPro Podcast host, content manager George Breare is joined by news editor Tom Bassam and Nathan Homer, chief commercial officer at the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), to talk about what the 2012 Olympic Games have left behind. Homer, who joined the LLDC in 2020, outlines the successes and shortcomings of the Olympic Park in the wake of London 2012, and shares...

To mark Women’s Sports Week across SportsPro’s platforms, Eoin Connolly speaks to Annie Panter, MD of Ventures at Two Circles, about how women’s sport can maintain its commercial momentum.  She explores the most effective strategies for women's sports bodies and their partners, and explains why rights holders need to focus on events and products that work to keep driving a virtuous cycle. She also...

SportsPro news editor Tom Bassam and features editor Sam Carp join Eoin Connolly for another sports industry update, including a look ahead to the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.  They ask what impact the track and field showpiece will have and whether the sport can evolve to find a new place in the modern media ecosystem. They also consider Nike’s influence on a hometown event, a...

Jenny Mitton, the women’s sport lead at M&C Saatchi Sports and Entertainment, joins Eoin Connolly and SportsPro news editor Tom Bassam to preview Uefa Women’s Euro 2022.  They look at the expectations being set for the tournament over the next three weeks, the impact it can make in host nation England, and the commercial development of women’s soccer. Mitton also explains what is being learned...

Eoin Connolly and SportsPro news editor Tom Bassam are joined by Alex Duff, author of Le Fric: Family, Power and Money – The Business of the Tour de France.  They discuss how the model of cycling’s biggest event has been shaped by the decades-long ownership of the Amaury family, consider its role as an elite global challenge and national showpiece, and ask how the outsized prominence of the Tour c...

In another session from SportsPro Live at London’s Kia Oval, Eoin Connolly speaks to Matthew Primack, senior vice president of international development at ecommerce and merchandising giant Fanatics.  Matthew explains how Fanatics has built partnerships with the likes of the NFL, the NBA and Formula One, where it aims to innovate and how its operations are being affected by supply chain and sustai...

Eoin Connolly is joined by SportsPro digital editor Tom Bassam and media and tech editor Steve McCaskill to run through another week of industry developments.  As LIV Golf tees off for its first event in St Albans, they ask what the contentious Saudi-backed series aims to bring to the sport and who it can bring along other than its opening field.  Then, as Forbes reports LeBron James to be the fir...

Eoin Connolly and SportsPro digital editor Tom Bassam are joined by Paris-based independent comms consultant Dan Tunna to reflect on a dramatic sporting weekend. Dan shares an on-the-ground account of a chaotic Uefa Champions League final at the Stade de France, which was delayed by 36 minutes as fans faced dangerously packed queues, disorganisation and heavy-handed policing outside. The trio also...

In what really is the final instalment of the Playbook Podcast, Matt Rogan is joined by Will Gaffney, the 17-year-old founder of the Bat for a Chance cricket charity. Will discusses how and why he decided to start the charity and reflects on his experiences of pitching the idea to senior chief executives while balancing the running of the organisation with the daily rigours of school life. The pai...

Sportico’s Eben Novy-Williams returns to give Eoin Connolly an American perspective on the latest sports business developments.  They discuss what Todd Boehly’s US track record – especially his ownership of MLB’s LA Dodgers – suggests about his future as owner of Premier League club Chelsea. Elsewhere in soccer, they look at Uefa’s Champions League reforms and EA Sports’ split from Fifa after thre...

Eoin Connolly reviews another week of industry news with SportsPro digital editor Tom Bassam and senior staff writer Ed Dixon.  Tom unpacks more developments in the Chelsea ownership saga, with Todd Boehly’s consortium in place as the preferred bidder despite late interest from Ineos owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Then Ed reflects on a historic night in New York, where Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano be...

Matt Rogan is joined by the chief executives at Six Nations Rugby, GB Snowsport and Surrey County Cricket Club for a live recording of the Playbook Podcast at SportsPro Live.

Eoin Connolly and SportsPro digital editor Tom Bassam are joined by a series of guests at SportsPro Live 2022, an in-person return for the flagship conference.  Event host Kait Borsay and SportsPro CEO Nick Meacham explore inclusivity and representation in the industry and the growth of women’s sports. SportsPro senior contributor Matt Rogan and GB Snowsport CEO Vicky Gosling lay out the challenge...

In this special excerpt from the StreamTime Podcast, SportsPro CEO Nick Meacham talks to Jonathan Licht, managing director of UK pay-TV powerhouse Sky Sports. Jonathan reflects on the development of the Sky Sports offering through an era of rapid change in delivery and the rights market, explaining what the company has learned about sports broadcasting and audiences across three decades.   He also...

In this episode of the Playbook Podcast, host Matt Rogan sits down with a business leader whose organisation has successfully ridden the storm of the pandemic. Heatley Tector is the former owner of Move Media and was in the middle of establishing HBV Studios, a Dublin-based audiovisual production company, as the health crisis started to unfold. An experienced TV and radio presenter, Tector has a l...

Eoin Connolly and SportsPro digital editor Tom Bassam are joined by Sportico’s Emily Caron to reflect on a busy spell of US sport.  Emily reviews the return of college basketball’s March Madness, and explains the implications of an expanding sports betting market and opportunities created by new NCAA name, image and likeness (NIL) rights rules for student-athletes.  There’s also time to discuss a...

In this special edition of the Playbook Podcast, regular host Matt Rogan chats to SportsPro editorial director Michael Long about the release of the CEO Playbook 2022, a free and interactive how-to guide for business leaders in sport. Rogan reflects on why he teamed up with SportsPro to launch the Playbook in March 2020, a time when the sports industry was reeling from the impact of the Covid pand...

Eoin Connolly is joined by SportsPro digital editor Tom Bassam and media and tech editor Steve McCaskill to review another week of industry news. Steve reviews his trip to the season-ending SailGP event in San Francisco, explaining the series’ sustainability incentives and team ownership experiment with a blockchain-enabled decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO).   Then the trio discuss a US$...