Unofficial Partner Podcast

The third episode in our Project 2030 Series, made in collaboration with Two Circles that models the next decade in the sports marketplace. The idea is to test some of the assumptions about where sport goes from here. What type of sports property will be rewarded by the marketplace, and which ones will be punished?They’ve modelled the size of the market - everything, media rights, sponsorship, merch, tickets.That number is £220billion in 2032, a rise of 50% in a decade.So, our podcast series is asking how that growth will be distributed across sport, and what are the implications for people in different parts of the industry. This episode questions how sports related content will evolve, and the role it will play in driving commercial returns, both for rights holders and broadcasters. Previous episodes can be found by searching Unofficial Partner on your favourite podcast app.This group discusses the Future of Content Creation in Sports Media.GuestsBen Gallop, Head of Radio and Digital at BBC SportNatalie Gibson, Senior Video Content Manager, The FAMoe Hamdhaidari, Head of Commercial, Content at Two CirclesTimeline00:13 Discussion on how Drive to Survive emerged as an idea.01:51 Ben's Role and Experience in Digital and Commissioning for BBC Sports02:32 Challenges in the Shift to Digital Media03:45 Moe's Role and Experience in Commercial Content04:50 Challenges in Building Meaningful Relationships with Fans06:00 Discussion on Direct to Consumer and Cultural Shifts07:10 Comparison Between Working for F1 and the FA08:47 Understanding the Lionesses' Fanbase09:52 BBC's Approach to Covering the Lionesses14:01 Discussion on Content Strategy16:41 The FA's Approach to Content Strategy18:15 BBC's Relationship with Platforms27:03 Discussion on Official and Unofficial Content29:32 The Fifth Stand: Chelsea's Digital Stand29:45 The Power of Forums and User-Generated Content30:51 Leveraging Supporters Clubs for Global Reach31:31 The Evolution of Media Companies and Editorial Control34:43 Engaging Younger Fans and the Role of Platforms36:18 The Rise and Impact of Podcasts in Sports50:22 The Role of AI in Sports Media55:00 The Intersection of Sports and EntertainmentUnofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.

This live panel discussion brings together a group of experts to debate the issues arising from The Pirates vs The Premier League, our successful podcast series that investigated the world of illegal streaming in sport.Joining Richard on stage at Sportel in Monaco are Simon Bryden, head of sport and video network, SynamediaCarlo DeMarcis, strategic advisor, CleengThibaut Fresse, sales and marketing director, TMGGuillermo Rodriguez, chief operating officer of Sportian, a joint venture between Globant and La Liga.Together they examine the growing trend of piracy among consumers of legal OTT services and its implications on the sports industry. 00:00 Introduction to the Panel Discussion01:26 Understanding the Piracy Problem02:01 The Technical and Psychological Aspects of Piracy02:51 The Music Industry Analogy and its Relevance03:15 The Scale and Impact of Piracy03:54 The Role of Social Media in Piracy04:15 The Business of Piracy and its Consequences05:27 The Need for a Comprehensive Anti-Piracy Strategy06:39 The Challenge of Piracy in a Fragmented Market08:50 The Impact of Piracy on Governments and Society09:35 The Role of Technology in Combating Piracy14:43 The Future of Sports in the Face of Piracy19:40 The Relationship Between Piracy and Legal Media Consumption22:18 The Complexity of Going Direct-to-Consumer35:22 The Role of Password Sharing in Piracy39:04 Closing Remarks and Future EventsThis episode is sponsored by Turnstile, the leader in the fair market pricing of sponsorships. Are you frustrated by decades of inflated and unrealistic media equivalency valuations? Are you struggling to understand the value of your Intellectual Property, the real value of exposure and the detailed value of benefits in your sponsorship deals? There is a solution. Turnstile was built with a single-minded focus to help the industry solve the million- dollar question: how much is this sponsorship actually worth? Their approach leverages $billions of dollars’ worth of real-world sponsorship contracts to provide a fair market pricing approach that reflects the true value of sponsorship assets.This approach is trusted by the world’s biggest rights holders, investors and brands because its credible, defensible and accurate. So now you can know the fair market price and transact with confidence. If you would like to understand more visit turnstilegroup.com to contact the team.Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.

At the recent IOC session in Mumbai a number of IOC members called for IOC President Thomas Bach to go another term in the job.This would give Bach a further four years. The optics aren’t great. It’s all a bit North Korea.Jens Sejer Andersen of Play the Game wrote this: Eight-to-12-year term limits for Presidents to prevent accumulation of power are the single most important principle of governance reforms across Olympic sports. If Thomas Bach’s term is extended, hundreds of sports Presidents at the national and international level will be inspired to follow suit."So,  ripple effects. But did the calls for four more years arise organically or is it an idea planted by Thomas Bach’s people?Bach’s response was to wave away the calls for another term. Yet the idea is now out there, in the air. A conversation has begun. The Second Bounce - The Coe conundrumSuccessors to Bach are positioning themselves for election, scheduled for 2025.These include Juan Samaranch Junior, son of former President, which is another tricky optic for the IOC’s comms dept to handle. And then there’s Seb Coe.The problem for Coe has been conflict of interest.His ownership stake in sports marketing agency CSM is often whispered as a barrier to his elevation to the top job. A few weeks ago, that problem went away, when CSM was bought by Casey Wasserman’s company. So Seb Coe no longer chairs a major sports agency. Fast forward to that IOC session, and the idea of Thomas Bach going again is mooted by fawning IOC members who owe their place in the room to, erm, Bach. If Bach goes four more years to 2029, Coe will be aged out. The Bach-Coe relationship is described as ‘frosty’. The President would prefer his legacy candidate to be Kirsty Coventry.It’s all a bit Succession.So we asked two hugely experienced Olympic insiders for some guidance as to what's really going on.Michael Payne was the IOC's first marketing and broadcast rights director, from 1983 to 2004 and was awarded the Pierre de Coubertin Medal by the IOC for services to the movement. Jon Tibbs OBE is Chairman and founder of JTA, a leading international relations and communications agency specializing in the area of international sport and particularly clients linked to the Olympic Movement.  Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.

This is the second episode of our series made in collaboration with Two Circles, where we model the market for sport over the next decade.Today we analyse the role of the athlete, and to help us we're delighted to welcome Jazz Sawyers, British track and field athlete, two time Olympian, five time national champion who recently won gold in the Long Jump at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, where she broke the British record by breaking the 7 metre barrier for the first time.Off the track, Sawyers has developed a sports presenting career, competed in The Voice on BBC and also found time to study for a law degree. Joining Jazz are Leo Thompson and Christian Harrell-Baker from Two Circles. Together we ask what will the market for sport reward over the next decade, and what will it punish, who will win and who will lose? Jazz Sawyers is managed independently by Jon Kilmartin, Director of Media Strategy and Insights at Two Circles, and we thank him for his help in setting up the podcast. Hear the first episode of the series here, recorded live at the Two Circles Client Summit in London.  Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.

Experts discuss the evolution of TV rights and OTT platforms in the sports media industry. They explore the changes in the industry, including the shift towards technology and increased diversity. The fragmentation of sports broadcasting and the challenges of retaining subscribers are also discussed. The high costs of building a website/app and prioritization are emphasized. The motives of major rights holders and the convergence of the betting industry and broadcasting are explored. The American market dominance of DraftKings and Fanjal, as well as the growth of Dream 11 in India, are examined.

At the end of Leaders Week London we gathered some smart people together in the podcast booth, to get their views on the highlights of the event, both on and off stage. Our guests include:Claire Kelly, General Manager of Gemba EuropePreeti Shetty, Director of Brentford FC and CEO of Upshot   Amar Singh, Senior Vice President, MKTG Jon Rest, Global News Reporter, SportBusinessAlex Inglot, Commissioner, ESL Pro LeagueGiancarlo Bernini, Vice President, Deltatre This podcast is sponsored by Turnstile, the leader in the fair market pricing of sponsorships. Are you frustrated by decades of inflated and unrealistic media equivalency valuations? Are you struggling to understand the value of your Intellectual Property, the real value of exposure and the detailed value of benefits in your sponsorship deals?There is a solution. Turnstile was built with a single-minded focus to help the industry solve the million- dollar question: how much is this sponsorship actually worth?Their approach leverages $billions of dollars’ worth of real-world sponsorship contracts to provide a fair market pricing approach that reflects the true value of sponsorship assets. This approach is trusted by the world’s biggest rights holders, investors and brands because its credible, defensible and accurate.So now you can know the fair market price and transact with confidence.If you would like to understand more visit turnstilegroup.com to contact the team.Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.

In this episode, Ben Wells and Andrew Umbers discuss the impact of strategic decisions on commercial income and capital value in professional sports. They explore the challenges faced by organizations in the middle market, the potential of aggregation in the sports industry, the promise and challenges of OTT media delivery, investing in sports and centralized platforms, data management and sponsor insights, and the implications of the American sports ownership model.

Unofficial Partner has become a media partner of SPORTEL Monaco, the world’s leading Sports Content Media Rights and Technology Convention, which runs from 23rd  to 25th of October.So in a couple of week time we're heading to Monaco for four days of deal making, networking and generally taking in the atmosphere of one of the big weeks in the sports industry calendar.This is a conversation about what we should expect when we get there, from three of the event's organisers, Joanna Merchie, Giovanni Aquilanti and Lee Zohlman, who give us an insider's guide to the official and the unofficial goings on this year.The conference Summit has three days of expert panels, masterclasses and keynote speeches from some of the most influential people and companies in the world of sport.If you're in Monaco, come and say hello, and we're running a panel on the Wednesday morning, entitled Sport's Napster Moment, building on our recent podcast series, The Pirates vs The Premier League.Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.

A live recording discussing the future of the sports business in 2030, including topics like monetizing younger fans, creating a new sport, and the impact of the World Cup on the Six Nations perspective. They also explore industry trends and ideas for investment, the importance of frictionless digital experiences, and the power of athletes in sports. The chapter concludes with discussions on baseball content on TikTok and the changing landscape of media channels.

The Unofficial Partner Brainstorm is a podcast recorded in front of a live audience, in partnership with Livescore Group.   The event took place at the top of the iconic ArcelorMittal Orbit Tower on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. The subject was the relationship between sport, media and the gambling industry in the US and the UK.What role will gambling firms play in the new converged sports economy? What is the role of fantasy games in the sports ecosystem, and how important is player data in the way today's sports fan engages with media outlets of all types?This is an important and timely conversation that offers a fascinating insight in to the opportunities and limitations of sports media to generate a return for its commercial partners, both now and over the next decade.Speakers:Sam Sadi – CEO at LiveScore GroupMike Falconer - Vice President, Strategy for SportradarJames Liddy – Managing Director and Head of Gaming, Lodging & Leisure EMEA at Deutsche Bank Elizabeth Dunn – Partner (Sports & Gambling) at Bird & Bird LLPCharlie Boss - CCO at Southampton Football ClubNic Coward, Partner at Portas and chair of Sportable, former Premier League General Secretary and British Horseracing Authority CEOJuan Delgado – CEO at FootballcoSamuel Westberg – CRO & Co-Founder of Livelike Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.