Sportspro Podcast

SportsPro’s George Breare and Tom Bassam go in-depth on all issues and big questions coming out of the early days of the Qatar 2022 World Cup and spend a little bit of time talking about Bob Iger's return to Disney. Talking points: ◦ (2:25) - The key issues in focus in Qatar ◦ (7:46) - The Budweiser ban fallout ◦ (13:16) - Are we seeing sportswashing in action? ◦ (20:20) - What now for Fifa and Gianni Infantino? ◦ (25:49) - Will major event host now face greater scrutiny? ◦ (33:00) - The outlook for the 2026 World Cup ◦ (34:40) - Brands differing approaches to Qatar 2022 ◦ (44:27) - Bob Iger back in as Disney chief executive

SportsPro’s George Breare and Steve McCaskill are joined on the latest episode of the SportsPro Podcast by Christina Wootton, vice president of global partnerships, Roblox. Before Wootton joins the conversation, the hosts wrap up some of the big sports industry news stories of the last week. Talking points: The collapse of FTX and the impact of the cryptocurrency struggles (0:45) Viaplay making moves for the English Football League (EFL) story (9:28) Has the Rugby League World Cup been a success? (13:58) Christina Wootton interview:  How does Roblox work? (17:40) As a metaverse, what does Roblox offer the sports industry? (22:28) The process for partners to get involved (28:44) Bringing live broadcasts into the platform (36:31) What is Fifa World? (37:44) What works in the Roblox metaverse? (43:00)

SportsPro’s George Breare is joined by Ahmad Nassar, executive director of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), in the latest episode of the SportsPro Podcast.

In this special episode of the SportsPro Podcast, host George Breare is joined by Adam Fraser, chief executive of the Laureus Sport For Good Foundation, and Jessica Clancy, senior vice president of corporate social responsibility at NBCUniversal, to discuss the second edition of the Laureus Sport For Good Index. Launched in 2021 to recognise brands making a positive social and environmental impact through sport, the Index once again shines a light on 29 companies whose work is setting the standard, bringing about meaningful progress, and ultimately changing lives. On the agenda in this episode: • What is the Laureus Sport for Good Index and why was it created? • The difficulty in measuring and quantifying 'positive impact' for brands • Why purpose-driven business is a financial as much as moral imperative • Why the Index can prompt internal change and progress To view the full Laureus Sport For Good Index and find out why each brand is included, click here.

George Breare and Tom Bassam visit Six Nations HQ to talk to the annual European international rugby union tournament's chief executive, Ben Morel. Talking points: The evolution of the Autumn Nations Series (1:02) Making the best use of CVC's investment (8:39) The impact of the TikTok partnership (16:36) How technology changes the commercial conversation (20:28) The Six Nations' broadcast strategy (24:46) Will the Autumn Nations Series go to new territories? (30:08) The health of the club game (37:28)

George Breare and Tom Bassam are joined by SportsPro technology editor Steve McCaskill, who dials in from the wrong side of the tracks in Monaco, to provide an update from on the ground at Sportel. Then, in part two,  GB Snowsports chief executive Vicky Gosling and Tennis Channel editor in chief Andi Chu talk us through SportsPro’s NEW ERA gender equality programme, while also sharing some of their own experiences of the challenges facing women in the sports industry. Part one talking points: Big picture takeaways (0:30) The National Hockey League's (NHL) new over-the-top (OTT) deal with Sportradar (3:21) Sportel suprises? (5:27) Unpacking Eurovision's 2023 Women's World Cup rights deal (7:30) Part two talking points: What is SportsPro's NEW ERA programme (13:06) Chu and Gosling's initial thoughts on the programme and why they got involved (14:00) Is there an education gap in the root causes of gender inequality? (20:14) The benefits of promoting diversity in sports organisations (25:20) Chu and Gosling's

SportsPro's George Breare and Tom Bassam are back together for a quick hit on the latest sports industry news. On the slate for this week's show are the new National Basketball Association (NBA) season and the English Football League's (EFL) plans to end the UK's Saturday 3pm soccer blackout with its next domestic rights deal. Talking points: Three big themes for the new NBA season (01:25) The NBA's new app (03:20) Can the NBA get US$75 billion for its next US rights deal? (06:56) Does the expanded NBA playoff format add value (10:40) What is the EFL is planning for its next domestic rights deal (12:40) How could you make iFollow revenue distribution fairer? (16:45) The other new ideas in the EFL RFP (20:36) Is this an opportunity to reset the EFL's finances (22:06)

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 sparked some interesting debates and a constant reevaluation of what it means to be marketable at any given time. In this special episode of the SportsPro Podcast, released to coincide with the 13th edition of SportsPro’s 50 Most Marketable Athletes list, our team breaks down some of the key trends and talking points to emerge from the 2022 ranking with the help of Amar Singh, senior vice president of content and communications at MKTG. We also hear from Chris Collins, the president at NorthStar Solutions Group, whose updated data-driven methodology determined the 2022 rankings, making this year’s list the most c

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 why the US has the potential to be the sport’s third largest media market. Allardice also explores the future of the women’s game and the role Test cricket has to play.  Finally, the discussion moves towards the ICC’s transition to a direct-to-consumer strategy (DTC), with the launch of initiatives such as the ICC.tv over-the-top (OTT) platform, the new ecommerce store with Fanatics and other digital projects.

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 headquarters following an exclusive event co-hosted by SportsPro and Two Circles, Breare sits down with the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) Anna Shaw, Twitter’s Roisin O’Shea and Alex Teasdale of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to discuss the future of sponsorship in women's sport. In a wide-ranging discussion, the panel reflects on some of the conversations had during the event, the advantages and disadvantages of unbundling the rights to women’s sports properties, the impact of purpose-driven marketing, and where future opportunities lie for brands.

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, what happens next and - perhaps most importantly - who might buy the embattled National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise. On a more positive note, the Women's Super League (WSL) continues to go from strength to strength following a weekend of record attendances. (20:00) Bassam and Carp zoom out on the top flight of English women's soccer to ask how the league grows attendances beyond staging a handful of fixtures per season at the big stadiums. Talk then turns to the National Football League (NFL) and its US$50 million Super Bowl half-time show deal with Apple (29:22) and there is also a bit of time left over

In the absence of George Breare, SportsPro news editor Tom Bassam is joined by senior writer Ed Dixon for a catchup on the latest sports industry news. First up on the agenda is run through of the highlights from the recent SportsPro APAC event in Singapore, with some analysis of sessions featuring Disney Star's Sanjog Gupta, the Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Katie Sadleir, as well as Sarah Chambers and Amy Prosser from Optus. There's also a look at some of the streaming issues faced by the National Football League (NFL) and the decision from the owner of Patagonia to pledge the outdoor brand's profits to tackling the climate crisis.  We round off the show with the regular 'under the radar' stories and some listener questions.

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, while there is also time for a quick discussion on Cazoo's impending exit from the sponsorship picture in continental Europe. Then Breare speaks to Eric Stark, co-founder and president of social content startup Slate (14:38), about the company's rise. Slate was named in SportsPro's 2020 class of 'ideas to invest in now' and won the SportsInnovation Award at this year's Ignition event in January. Stark lifts the lid on the company's origins, its funding journey and the plans for the future.

Tony Godsick, chairman of the Laver Cup tennis tournament, as well as long-time agent of Roger Federer, and event chief executive Steve Zacks join host George Breare on this special edition of the SportsPro Podcast. Ahead of the tournament’s arrival in London on 23rd September, the trio discuss the creative vision and continued commercial development of the Laver Cup five years after its inception in 2017. The conversation spans Federer’s influence on the tournament’s aesthetic and brand positioning, its founding commitment to format innovation, what to expect in London, and how the Laver Cup is serving a younger generation of tennis fans at a time when the sport’s following is only growing older.

George Breare and Tom Bassam are joined by San Francisco 49ers chief marketing officer, Alex Chang, ahead of the new National Football League (NFL) season (18:28). The conversation dives into the new International Home Marketing Areas (IHMA) programme and how the 49ers are seeking to make use of their new active territories. Chang also lifts the lid on how the the NFL team is working with Leeds, the Premier League outfit that the 49ers have a significant investment in. Before that, the hosts talk about the second season of English cricket’s short-format competition, The Hundred, and what DAZN’s Primera División rights deal means for Spanish women’s soccer.

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 Tour's attempt to throw money at the LIV Golf problem, then some insight into what Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's TMRW Golf venture could mean for the game, before a bit of discussion of what is happening in the world of online chess. Corio then joins the pod to lift the lid on how the USTA is approaching its first US Open at full capacity since 2019, its data-led approach to business intelligence and how artificial intelligence (AI) is being used across its operations.  The show closes out with some under-the-radar stories and a couple of listener questions.

Motorsport writer Cian Brittle brings his motorsport expertise to a special SportPro Podcast looking back at the recent BlackBook Motorsport Forum in London. Post event reflections are interspersed with some of the sounds from onstage and on the floor at BBMF, as the pod analyses some of the key themes to emerge from the Leonardo Hotel. Talking points include Nascar’s efforts in the entertainment space, the enduring impact of Drive to Survive, the future of decentralised gaming, sustainability and what the Hamilton Commission’s report has taught us about diversity in motorsport. There is also a bit of time to talk about sprint racing in MotoGP and a potential Saudi Olympics. 

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 increasingly close ties with Amazon may lead to a game being played on Black Friday. Also covered off are the plight of two brands - Cazoo and Peloton - who have major reach in the sports industry but are now having to plot a retreat. The show then closes out with a few 'under the radar' stories and listener questions.

SportsPro senior writer Ed Dixon, who recently penned a wonderful introduction for the second season of The Hundred, joins the pod to discuss the return of the ECB's short format domestic cricket competition. Podcast host George Breare, no stranger himself to the world of cricket, and news editor Tom Bassam also offer their thoughts on the competition, as well as its wider implications for the game. The pod then turns its attention to a selection of some of the biggest news topics in the sports industry, including Sky's disappointing Q2, the wild state of affairs at Barcelona and the latest in the LIV Golf's attempts to shake up the sport. The show concludes with the regular 'under the radar' section, including some discussion on Jake Paul's gambling startup.

The latest SportsPro Podcast sees regulars George Breare and Tom Bassam joined by features editor Sam Carp for a soccer-centric episode. Basking in the glory of the Lionesses winning Women's Euro 2022, discussion covers what happens next for the players, the Women's Super League (WSL) and the game at club level across Europe. Then, with the Premier League returning this weekend, the conversation moves to the big storylines heading into the new season, the growing gap with the lower divisions, as well as what Chelsea and Newcastle can expect in their first full campaigns under new ownership. To finish up, the trio look at some of the sports industry's under the radar stories and take some listener questions. If you have a question you want answered on the pod, get in touch via podcast@sportspromedia.com.