Advertise on podcast: Changing the Game, Innovation in Sport

$170bn. That's a sexy headline figure. So what's beneath the surface? Kudos to Unofficial Partner and Two Circles on a fascinating report and podcast. It brought home a few key points to me and i end up quoting some of the great minds... Luis Vicente and Ben Wells as i explore what Gareth Balch so eloquently put across. What's the business model? Where's growth? Is Sport in Decline? At the end of it one mental graphic i have have in mind at the end is the Maturity Life Cycle and if sport now needs to change to hit the extension cycle... if you know, you know. #sportsbiz #sports #sportsip #IP #revenue #media

What do you do when the math doesn't math? I'm not a banker but in 15 years of looking at financial statements as the primary part of my job I like to think I have learned a little. City AM ran an article saying the IPO of Eagle Football for $2bn was now imminent. Great, it would be nice to see the clubs well capitalised and ready to thrive but the more I look at it the harder to make sense of it. I run through it topline here, considering, revenues, multiple, debt, relegation etc. Then - excluded in the video - comes timing. Regardless of the economics you need good timing and while SPACs are making a resurgence in the public markets we are not seeing many IPOs. So what am I missing? #sportsbiz #sports #football #finance #investment

When you ask a question sometimes you have to be ready for scary answers. What I got back from ChatGPT when i asked mine, was not unsurprising, but i think it should be scary for people regardless. But the answer only leads to more questions. What should the men's game do? Where should a new regulator focus? Is preserving the status quo the right thing to do? In a world where Football is like a religion how do we make sure football leagues and clubs are able to show both ambition and be sustainable for the future. The answers may not be what some people want to hear but may be what they need to listen to. #sportsbiz #finance #football #sustainable

Well that was a Rollercoaster of a ride... It transcended sports, entertainment and its pure visceral nature captivated the audience. Sports can do this like NOTHING else. Fact. Hollywood has nothing to compare, music the same. Both can provide extreme drama but would fail to capture the human essence of despair, failure, success and joy like that Masters victory. But sport cannot stand still. It never has. The importance of accepting growth and change is what led Rory to victory, what crated ancient sports and what has led us to the professional era. Stand Still...and the game is over.

Everywhere I look the obsession today is YouTube and Sports...followed quickly by Roblox. And every time I see it I get more and more concerned. It's like we want a magic bullet to solve our issues. The next big thing is the way forward...until it isn't. Remember, Facebook was the solution. Except it wasn't. All it did was prove how popular sport was. Pay TV solved everything with money...but the paywall hid sport from view. The new Stadium was the solution until it was deemed to lack atmosphere etc. It should never be about the magic bullet but about understanding the changing world, where we sit and how to use technology to build an ecosystem around sport that truly delivers for the fans - because that is how you end up with a virtuous cycle.

We are inundated with headlines, punchlines, fads, crazes and point solutions. Many are good, some are great and there are also the bad and the ugly out there. Whilst you need to look at each individual element, before you launch headlong into the next big thing that will solve your problems my recommendation is to take a step back. Sport lives within a living, breathing eco-system. It doesn't begin or end with the match or contest, that is solely one element in how it impacts our fans lives. As such as you look to add Roblox or Social content to your quiver think about the eco-system you are building, where it works, how it works and where you can both reduce friction for the fans and generate new funds into the sport to begin the virtuous cycle.

I've not been this excited about an F1 season for a while. Having led efforts to invest in the space since 2020 I have become reengaged with the sport after a decade of focusing elsewhere. As a fan and someone who watches the commercial paradigm equally closely I think this year is super exciting for everyone. 2025 is the end of the current tech cycle and teams will be closer to each other than ever before, new line-ups, stories and subtext, another year of boom in the US with 3 races and Drive to Survive and the excitement of Cadillac joining is all a sign of excitement. Belt up, set the alarm clock and off we go.

Who could have imagined it? An amazing name synonymous with Sports...the literal home of sports with a brand that is strong, instantly recognizable and trusted. The rise of betting in the USA with the federal deregulation and the market now worth over $6bn, with a gross revenue of over $40bn annually, growing at 12% CAGR. Surely the combination of these two things is a no-brainer. Yet many, including myself, didn't believe it would work. It's not that the concept isn't entirely logical and persuasive, it's just that we have seen it before and seen how hard it is to make work. Time isn't up for ESPN Bet on the Penn platform but its entirely unsurprising commentators are now openly stating it in the media. History doesn't repeat - but it's re-runs are very similar! Let's see if ESPN thinks that bringing it in house as part of their new product launch this year becomes a thing.

Loved the Evan Shapiro report this past week, but why is everyone so surprised that YouTube is so successful? That's the biggest confusion i have this year. I'm also interested in understanding what are the future implications of Streamers (who are primarily PayTV in a digital world), increasingly becoming advertising focused...given historically the importance of Sports in attracting audiences and advertising revenues... It's not a straight line the next 5 years in the media world - and anyone who claims to know the future is BS'ing you! But i doe believe Sports will still be central to the changes that come.

LIV has lost $5bn if you believe the reports, and have a long way to go if a merger doesn't happen back with the PGA. Can a new Basketball League - that doesn't apparently compete with the NBA - really take off, given it couldn't play long in the USA, couldn't take their stars on that basis...and could it provide a return to investors? There are some great examples of new upstart leagues that can do well, which have a clear market strategy and community that they can target and connect with. So new leagues from Baller to Crossfit and Hyrox to a potential emerging Rugby league to me have promise. $5bn for a new Basketball League? Doesn't sound like enough...

It's a cliche, I know. Yet, it's often repeated because its accurate. I love the Deloitte Money League. I read it every year and have fun with it...but if it gives a cause for concern its because we judge clubs by their revenue. The biggest concern I have with Women's Football? That they copy the economic model of the Men's game. Why? You don't need to look further than the profit line in football for that answer. And if Profit is Sanity... where are we today? As i point out in here there are some conundrums to solve, to collective bargaining to be done but if you can tap into what Formula 1 has done (not what you think) then perhaps the future is brighter than even I think. PS - If Cash is King, listen to the end...because the current solution to cash is there.

I love the hot-take. We live in a world of it, and the headlines are great. Yet to take serious action you need to look beyond the surface. We have become obsessed in sports with metrics that give us either a false sense of security or are portents of doom. Today I discuss TV Ratings, the NFL and the lack of Digital understanding. I am not a believer in Zero Sum, but in a changing world. TV numbers are important...and were once the only metric to judge on. BUT when we look at the modern world, using this old world metric in isolation - which is done a lot - we are missing the real picture, and that's a mistake.

Netflix is killing it. So much so that as it puts prices up to justify more content it is distributing $15bn back to shareholders. To me though, what they really get right is understanding the need for Glue. It's not just about big events or getting into sports, its about making sure that when they come there are reasons to stay. Amazon is the same. Go to make a purchase and they keep you there with other offers. Alibaba is similar. Sports Specific 'Plus' products... not so much. They all look the same. Few have come together to provide interesting live or original programming. And they are all missing the Glue... #sportsbiz #content #football #business #netflix #media

Sport is pretty unique. When running due diligence we all obsess about the numbers, we think about business, returns, profiles and legal contracts. But the raw product on the field matters, and if you don't under stand the culture of a club - in the Front Office, Boot Room, Training Ground - and yes the fan culture too - then you are in trouble. No-one buys a sports team with bad intentions, no-one aims for a 'bad culture' but it's harder to figure out than it might seem. But the results if you get it right...?

What is a good owner? I don't think its very difficult to show a bad owner, but are there any good owners? Certainly as fans look at it...rarely! Think Fenway Sport at Liverpool, turned around the club, won the title, the champions league, good manager appointments, good squad, redeveloped Anfield but a moment of madness and attacked. In this episode i look at two clubs where on paper the owners have done everything you think would be defined as both the right thing and what fans want... but yet they are disliked if not reviled and wanted out. What do you think makes for a good owner?