SportsPro Podcast

Eoin Connolly talks to Peter Hutton, director of sport at social media giant Meta, about the company’s relationship with sport and the future of live experiences in the metaverse. They discuss how Meta approaches its partnerships in sport and the role played across each of its platforms, from Facebook and Instagram to the messaging service WhatsApp, and the prospects for greater adoption of Oculus...

The Athletic football news reporter Matt Slater returns to join Eoin Connolly and SportsPro digital editor Tom Bassam and cover a busy week in the soccer business. As the Raine Group receives plenty of bids for Chelsea, discussion centres on an accelerated sales process at Stamford Bridge and what lies ahead for the English soccer giants, as well as asking what influence the prospective new owners...

For this episode of the Playbook Podcast, SportsPro senior contributor Matt Rogan is joined by Allistair McCaw, a leading consultant and advisor on maximising human performance, team culture and leadership. The author of multiple best-selling books and a five-time duathlon world championship competitor, McCaw has spent more than 25 years working with Olympic gold medalists, Grand Slam champions an...

SportsPro digital editor Tom Bassam and media and technology editor Steve McCaskill join Eoin Connolly to review another week of stories and trends from around the sports industry. Steve recaps key talking points at the SportsPro OTT Summit USA, from the big streaming picture at Turner Sports and ESPN to a widespread interest in betting and the burgeoning commercial appeal of women’s sports media....

On the eve of a new Formula One season, Eoin Connolly talks to Oracle chief marketing officer Ariel Kelman and Christian Horner, team principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing. They discuss how Oracle’s analytics and cloud solutions helped power Max Verstappen to an unforgettable first world driver’s title in 2021, how the partnership is expanding this year, and why machine learning and artificial intel...

Eoin Connolly and SportsPro digital editor Tom Bassam return to reflect on another busy week of industry developments.  Sports bodies cover more difficult ground in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the Premier League reviewing its media rights options and gymnastics up in arms over an ugly podium protest from Ivan Kuliak.  Then the conversation turns to baseball, as MLB drifts deeper...

Many sports organisations are on the journey from being administrators or event businesses to media enterprises, which creates a host of knock-on impacts for acquiring and nurturing talent.  For the latest Playbook Podcast, Matt Rogan is joined by HR expert and strategic advisor Charlotte Hignett for a broad discussion on creating optimal workplace cultures. Hignett, who was people director EY Lan...

Discussing race used to be something that sports organisations avoided at all costs but thankfully in recent years things have moved on a little, even if the conversation is far from finished. For the latest Playbook Podcast, Matt Rogan welcomes Sonny Peart, co-founder of Black Trail Runners, on to the show to look at the relationship between sport and race. Peart explains how his charity took a d...

The latest SportsPro Podcast sees Eoin Connolly joined by digital editor Tom Bassam and deputy editor Sam Carp to roundup of some of the big stories in the sports industry over the last week. After a catch up on some of the headlines coming out of the Super Bowl, including some gaudy numbers to complete a bounce-back year for the National Football League (NFL), discussion moves to reports regardin...

Alan Gilpin, chief executive of World Rugby, tells Eoin Connolly about the changing responsibilities of the global governing body. They run through the latest on discussions with commercial investors and the role venture capital and private equity firms might play in the growth of the game. They also talk about vital consultations on player safety and welfare, as well as the prospects for women’s...

The latest episode of the Playbook Podcast sees host Matt Rogan delve into an area that established businesses confront almost daily – managing change. To take on the task, Rogan chats to Alexandra Willis, communications and marketing director for the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC). The Wimbledon tennis Grand Slam has always embraced change and Willis lifts the lid on the process for managin...

Eoin Connolly is joined by SportsPro senior staff writer Ed Dixon and Steve Martin, global CEO at M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment, to preview a contentious Winter Olympics in Beijing. They discuss how Covid complications and allegations of human rights abuses against Uighur people in Xinjiang have dominated an uneasy build-up to the Games, and consider how the International Olympic Committ...

In a session from SportsPro’s inaugural Ignition event, Eoin Connolly talks to George Pyne, founder and chief executive of sports and entertainment investment fund Bruin Capital. George explains where Bruin identifies opportunities, its partnerships with scale-up companies like Deltatre, Two Circles, Oddschecker and TGI Sport, and how that compares with its activities in the startup space. He also...

SportsPro media and technology editor Steve McCaskill talks to Eoin Connolly about the latest developments in the sports tech startup and investment space. They reflect on SportsPro’s 2022 list of the 20 sports tech ideas to invest in now, teasing out key trends from personalisation to digital betting and networks in grassroots sport and college endorsements. They also consider the perspectives sh...

The latest episode of the Playbook Podcast sees host Matt Rogan seeking how to shape and influence the cultural side of an organisation. Matt is joined by Tony Simpson, partner at Oliver Wyman, to decipher high-performance cultures and to find out if any business really wants one. The pair also discuss how to create drive and energy in your business in a candid and wide-ranging conversation. Tony...

Eoin Connolly gets a look inside soccer’s transfer market with Financial Times sports business correspondent Sam Agini; Kieran Maguire, author of The Price of Football and co-host of the podcast of the same name; and Daniel Geey, partner in the sports group at Sheridans law firm and author of Done Deal. They explain what must happen and who needs to be involved for a player transfer to take place,...

Amid a build-up dominated by the Novak Djokovic vaccine saga, Press Association tennis correspondent Eleanor Crooks joins Eoin Connolly to preview the Australian Open. They discuss how the men’s world number one’s Covid stance will affect his standing in the game, how the episode has been received by other players and fans, and the implications for the tennis authorities and other sports bodies in...

The latest episode of the Playbook Podcast sees host Matt Rogan seek to challenge the assumption that financial management in business is a formulaic skill. In a bid to prove that financial management is not just simply having the numbers in the right place on a spreadsheet, Rogan talks to two partners at EY in Anna Faelton and  Eva Garcia de la Fuente about their work at the global services firm,...

SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly turns quizmaster for a festive reflection on some of 2021’s defining trends. Two teams – SportsPro digital editor Tom Bassam and senior staff writer Ed Dixon; SportsPro media and tech editor Steve McCaskill and Charlie Beall, VP of digital strategy and ventures at Seven League, the digital sports consultancy within IMG’s Media & Events division – battle...

SportsPro senior contributor Matt Rogan talks to Louise Johnson, chief executive at sports marketing agency Fuse, about business planning going into 2022. They discuss how Louise juggles daily and long-term planning in an organisation with 100 staff in the UK and another 250 around the world. Louise also explains how she balances the needs of clients – including PepsiCo, McDonald’s, Nissan, and Ca...

As tennis star Peng Shuai’s generates headlines worldwide, SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly is joined by China Sports Insider’s Mark Dreyer and Professor Simon Chadwick, global professor of sport at Emlyon Business School. They discuss local reaction to Peng Shuai’s sexual assault allegations against former vice premier Zhang Goali and consider the WTA’s response. With a US-led diplomatic b...

SportsPro senior contributor Matt Rogan talks to Emma Barraclough, product owner at Blue Fuel. Emma leads elite sports nutrition company Blue Fuel, launched in 2020 within Chelsea Digital Ventures - a ‘digital-first, consumer product business spun out from Chelsea Football Club.’ Rather than narrowing the conversation to a single area, this conversation covers the expanse of responsibilities under...

With a racism scandal rocking English cricket, SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly talks to Chris Grant, an independent Sport England board member and expert in change management, to ask how organisations can respond properly to reports of discrimination and protect people from abuse. Chris outlines the structural reforms sports bodies and businesses should embrace and explains why an honest d...

SportsPro senior contributor Matt Rogan talks to Adam Fraser, chief executive of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Adam talks about how to put purpose and social impact at the centre of a sports business, explaining how Laureus works through projects around the world and also laying guiding principles for any organisation.  He also reflects on his transition to a CEO role, exercising global l...

To coincide with the launch of the Laureus Sport for Good Index, SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly is joined by Laureus managing director Ned Wills and Baroness Grey-Thompson, the decorated Paralympian who is now a crossbench member of the UK’s House of Lords and a leading voice in using sport for positive social change. They discuss the purpose of the Index project and its benchmarking pote...