SportsPro Podcast

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 intelligence technologies are playing an ever bigger role in racing, development and fan engagement.   Ariel also explains how sports partnerships showcase Oracle’s positioning, and Christian talks about getting the team ready for another challenging campaign.

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 into a season-delaying lockout. There is a discussion about supporting women in the sports business, and time for two stories going under the radar: a new phase for Brand Beckham, and another stab at soccer’s Super League. 

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 Lane4 for 12 years, explains how businesses can best secure the right personnel and then ensure they develop in their roles. The conversation also covers retaining key staff, organisational design, the skills required for board-level HR leaders and managing generational tensions.

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 data-informed approach to responsibly demonstrate the problem and quickly break down any bias in the running community - while explaining how this method can be applied more broadly. The conversation also covers why it is important to avoid the ‘low cost and easy’ approach to creating awareness around implicit and explicit racial prejudice in the sports industry - and how to prioritise action and impact to create genuine change. Finally, Peart outlines how senior leaders can champion change by educating themselves and others, placing critical emphasis on the importance of business leaders taking personal accountability for making this happen. And more good news! The SportsPro Podcast has been nominated for a Sports Podcast Award. If you like what you hear, please vote for us in the Best Sports Business Podcast category here. Please note that you will have to register first.

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 regarding the success of the Premier League's overseas broadcast rights sales operation. The episode then dives into the narratives coming out of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, including the troubling doping revelations around Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva. Then Bassam and Carp pick out a couple of 'under-the-radar' stories from the last seven days they think are worthy of a bit more attention. And more good news! The SportsPro Podcast has been nominated for a Sports Podcast Award. If you like what you hear, please vote for us in the Best Sports Business Podcast category here. Please note that you will have to register first.

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 rugby ahead of this year’s World Cup. And Alan lays out the far-reaching Environmental Sustainability Plan 2030, which aims to dramatically cut World Rugby’s carbon emissions and build better choices into all of its activities. And more good news! The SportsPro Podcast has been nominated for a Sports Podcast Award. If you like what you hear, please vote for us in the Best Sports Business Podcast category here. Please note that you will have to register first.

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 managing this. The conversation covers internal communication, as well as putting in systems to maximise co-creation, plus how to actively and intentionally enable people to contribute. Rogan and Willis also explore how the different elements of an organisation can be structured to embrace change - both formally and informally – as well as ensuring you have the right people in place to cope during periods of transition. And more good news! The SportsPro Podcast has been nominated for a Sports Podcast Award. If you like what you hear, please vote for us in the Best Sports Business Podcast category here. Please note that you will have to register first.

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 Committee, its sponsors and broadcasters will move forward. Then, China Sports Insider founder Mark Dreyer returns to give a perspective from the ground in Beijing, and look at the future of winter sports and the rest of the industry there. And more good news! The SportsPro Podcast has been nominated for a Sports Podcast Award. If you like what you hear, please vote for us in the Best Sports Business Podcast category here. Please note that you will have to register first.

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 lays out some of the key growth trends in sports technology, shares his thoughts on the prospects of NFTs and metaverse technologies, and discusses how the industry has changed since he moved on from IMG to set up Bruin Capital in 2015. And more good news! The SportsPro Podcast has been nominated for a Sports Podcast Award. If you like what you hear, please vote for us in the Best Sports Business Podcast category here. Please note that you will have to register first.

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 shared on an investor round-table, asking where value is being sought and whether excitement about the metaverse and NFTs is premature. Steve then talks to the co-founder of one of the companies on the list, RespoVision’s Pawel Osterreicher. And more good news! The SportsPro Podcast has been nominated for a Sports Podcast Award. If you like what you hear, please vote for us in the Best Sports Business Podcast category here. Please note that you will have to register first.