A guy with a scarf

Bruin Capital George Pyne founded global sports investment firm Bruin Capital in 2015. Bruin Capital has invested in companies operating across 16 countries. As Pyne stated, "Our portfolio companies operate in 16 countries, we do business in 50, and we work with almost every major federation and club in the world." Sports as a Valuable Asset Class Pyne sees tremendous value in sports as an investment asset class. As he explained, "Sports as an asset class has been very durable. Over 30 years of team valuations of clubs have increased at a double digit pace. So sports is a very valuable and durable and reliable asset class and has been for over 30 years." He believes this growth comes from the sheer passion of sports fans globally. In Pyne's words, "It brings millions of people together around a passion point. It's global, it's passionate, and has hundreds of millions of followers." The Fan Experience Becomes More Direct Looking ahead, Pyne expects the relationship between fans and their favorite teams or athletes to become much more personalized. He stated, "I think with the fragmentation of media, the one to one relationship between the fan and their club and their player is going to become more critical." Pyne sees social media driving this shift, as it has allowed individual superstars like Messi and Ronaldo to foster direct connections with fans. Investing in the Sports Ecosystem Unlike private equity firms that acquire sports teams, Bruin Capital instead invests in the wider ecosystem around sports. Pyne focuses on data and technology companies that Bruin can help expand globally. He stated, "We really know Australia, the Americas and Europe and cross sell the services of our companies. On top of that we tend to like technology. So data and tech we're very comfortable with and of course we're in data and tech because there's a lot of growth there." The Cutting Edge of Technology Pyne stressed that we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to sports media innovation. As he remarked, "You know, the one thing about technology is, you know, Carlo, it reinvents itself constantly. And so that reinvention means there are going to be all kinds of opportunities for other people." He pointed to artificial intelligence as an example of a rapidly advancing field that could soon transform the sports world. Quick Fire on U.S. Sports Business Trends Some rapid fire perspectives from Pyne on American sports: On a women's college volleyball game drawing 92,000 fans, Pyne commented "I think too people like to be together at kind of cool and exciting events and I think that's what was part of the equation." Regarding Las Vegas' unique Sphere venue, Pyne doesn't think it's a one-off, stating "I don't think it's a unicorn. And I think again, those unique experiences through technology that allow people to experience things that they couldn't do before, I think there's going to be more of that, not less of it." On Apple's landmark MLS deal, Pyne sees it as a major inflection point in the shift towards direct-to-consumer sports content. As he explained, "Apple is going to obviously with the global reach and global capabilities, apple, Amazon, YouTube, those types of platforms, you're going to see more and more sports content on those platforms." Pyne expects tech giants to increasingly follow Apple's lead in acquiring live sports rights as media becomes more fragmented. ESPN faces dual challenges from eroding pay TV subscriptions and the shift from "B2B2C" to direct "B2C" streaming. As Pyne outlined, "It's gone from 100 million subscribers to 74 million subscribers on the way to 50 million subscribers. That's a big reduction. And at the same time you're losing the pricing power." He noted ESPN will likely need to partner with a streaming specialist moving forward. However, Pyne reiterated "still, ESPN is a great brand, it's always going to have its place."

The future is TBD. Richard paints a complex picture with no simple answers on where sports media is headed. If broadcast declines, how will leagues replace those revenues? Betting, subscriptions, something else? The future business models remain a huge open question. Fans are frustrated. Sports leagues take heed. Richard paints a concerning picture of fans turning to piracy out of irritation with the fractured, complex and expensive options for watching sports today. The Premier League and others can't afford to ignore this Napster moment. Give us what we want - easy, affordable access - or lose us forever. Bet big on betting. Sports execs need to move gambling out of the shadows. Betting dollars may quietly end up propping the whole business model as broadcast declines. Time to have an honest conversation and smart strategy around it. Just look at potential giants like Dream11 waiting in the wings in India. Hello? Is this thing on? Cricket, tennis, golf - the old guard are facing a relevance crisis. Coasting on historical prestige won't cut it with younger diverse audiences who have infinite choice on how to spend their time. Marketing can no longer be an afterthought - it may make or break the future of these sports. Frenemies with benefits. Forget going it alone. Maria Rua Aguete stated it clear - the winners will be those with the most friends and partnerships. Egos aside, sports needs to get comfortable with frenemies and build a web of mutually beneficial relationships. It's an ecosystem, not a zero-sum game. Richard seems in any case to believe that the English Premier League is for now what we can call a winner on the sport side.

In the interview at the World Football Summit, Jenna Trabulus, newly appointed VP of Client Strategy and Delivery at Next League, shares insights on evolving fan engagement and the emerging dynamics in the sports industry. Jenna is excited about her role at Next League, where she will work on refining digital experiences for major sports entities like the NFL, XFL, NASCAR, and the US Olympic Committee. She sees tremendous potential in global football, particularly women's football, and is intrigued by the innovative approaches teams are employing to understand and engage with their fans better, both locally and globally.

Esports, or competitive video gaming, has exploded in popularity over the last decade. Major games like League of Legends, Overwatch, and Call of Duty have millions of fans worldwide who watch professional gamers compete in tournaments for huge cash prizes. To learn more about the business side of esports and where the industry is headed, I spoke with Alyson Walker, Chief Commercial Officer at OverActive Media. Her company owns major esports franchises and is hosting the Overwatch League Grand Finals this year in Toronto. Walker has an extensive sports media background, having worked with the Olympics and major Canadian broadcasters. When discussing OverActive Media's origins, she explained, "A bunch of folks that come from the venture capital world and sports media and entertainment came together about five years ago and saw an opportunity in the esports space."

I spoke with Yvonne Harrison, CEO of Women in Football, about the alarming findings from their latest survey on the state of gender equality in the football industry. In this hard-hitting interview, Yvonne reveals the stark statistics around discrimination, harassment, bias, and more that show women still face major barriers. Over 80% of women experience discrimination at work in football. We discuss why so few women feel able to report issues, the critical need for allyship from male colleagues, unconscious vs. conscious bias, and the opportunities that come with the growth of women's football. Yvonne emphasizes that achieving equality requires effort from ALL stakeholders - it's everyone's responsibility. Though discrimination endures, there are reasons to be optimistic for the future if the industry takes action. This transparent discussion highlights the realities women face working in football and concrete ways we can create more inclusive cultures. It's a must-watch for anyone who cares about equality in the beautiful game.

An interview with Damien Organ - Head of product at Cleeng As broadcasters, we know that maximizing ROI on OTT platforms is a perpetual goal, often made elusive by seasonality in sports content. Maximizing ARPU and lifetime revenue have been formidable challenges. Traditional monetization strategies – season passes, annual subscriptions, or shorter event passes - while helpful, still have inherent limitations. The Cleeng team has taken note of these challenges, and after closely working with sports broadcasting leaders, we are excited to unveil the result - our new Seasonal Subscriptions feature! 🌟 This brand new feature is tailored to the dynamics of the sports season, specifically designed to overcome the shortcomings of current strategies and empower your sports platform to maximize ARPU and LTV. Are you grappling with retaining customers between seasons? Struggling with customer acquisition outside the early season? Finding it difficult to convert customers to longer plans? We have heard you, and we've innovated a solution. Our Seasonal Subscriptions feature allows you to align with the exact cycle of your seasonal content and dynamically price your offers throughout the season. It auto-renews at the start of each new season, reducing churn and high acquisition costs that arrive with each new season. This feature also simplifies product management for your sports OTT platforms while significantly enhancing your revenue potential. We're here to navigate the challenging tides of seasonality in sports content. With Cleeng's Seasonal Subscriptions feature, say goodbye to expensive re-acquisition campaigns, and hello to optimized revenue and simplified management. Don't let seasonality hold you back. Try Cleeng's Seasonal Subscriptions today and unlock the full potential of your platform. 💪 To learn more about how this feature can supercharge your growth, check out our latest blog post, or watch the interview with the Head of Product at Cleeng. #Cleeng #OTT #SportsBroadcasting #NewFeature #SeasonalSubscriptions #RevenueOptimization

🥁 A quick take on things that recently caught my attention, plus my latest and upcoming drops. 🏁 1️⃣ FIFAWWC just started in NZ/AU, ⚽ 🙋‍♀️ I will be watching the games and observing digital and fan engagement experiences. - FIFA Roblox: https://lnkd.in/d_bK43Ci - BBC visual guide: https://lnkd.in/dNsHCGhB - The Guardian all players: https://lnkd.in/dgUTsUTX 2️⃣ Messi 🐐 arrived in Miami for Major League Soccer ⚽ , what a potentially transformational moment for soccer in the US. Also, the rise of the super-athlete is now a disruption force in our industry. https://lnkd.in/dAsj7M_Q 3️⃣ Another super-athlete being a game changer, Ronaldo 🐐 contrasting the MLS story with a push for the Saudi Pro League (SPL) https://lnkd.in/d3E3ACPZ Also, the SPL statement has a lot of interesting parts: 4️⃣ FIFPRO launches a global football players database ⚽ , other sports have that, let's see how it develops. https://lnkd.in/dKmu3HSn 5️⃣ The New York Times 📰 kills the sport department. Sad! I have always been such a fan of what they did around big sport events! https://lnkd.in/dzGtRWTM Things I published recently: 🎦 Streaming and tennis with Andrea Gaudenzi 🎾 ATP Chairman https://lnkd.in/d5z_tuYQ 🎦 Fighting online abuse 💡 with Kasey Machin from Areto Labs https://lnkd.in/dJrCWQZq 🎦 Tokenomics with Mohamed Ezeldin and Joe Farren 🎎 https://lnkd.in/duW_wMvE 🎦 Rumble in the jungle 🥊 rematch with Richard Ayers from Rematch - The Sporting Time Machine https://lnkd.in/dgYN4HfC Upcoming: 💡💡💡 Dropping a major release next week with Cleeng, stay tuned! 🎤 More interviews! A guy with a scarf 📩 LinkedIn newsletter: subscribe https://lnkd.in/ddmvMF-Q 📺 YouTube channel: watch https://lnkd.in/d5PAHkcv 🎧 Podcast: listen https://lnkd.in/dWksyNks#SportsAnalytics #InnovationInSports #VRInSports #SportsBiz #FootballWorldCu #SportsInvestment #AthleteImpact

📣 Had an enriching conversation with Mohamed Ezeldin, Head of Tokenomics at Animoca Brands, mapping out the journey towards mass adoption of blockchain technology in sports. 🏀We were at SEG3 and Joe Farren helped me with the interview.In our discussion, we explored the depth of Web3, underlining that it's not just about the hype of cryptocurrency cycles but a significant shift in digital ownership. Ezeldin shared his insights about the balance between user education and user experience, especially when it comes to intricate aspects like NFTs and Tokenomics. 🎓🧩We dived into the core of modern tech space - decentralization. Farren and Ezeldin emphasized a phased approach, marrying KYC requirements with decentralization, and a roadmap that echoes the voice of the community. 🗺️Ezeldin highlighted the potential of each DAO to devise unique governance structures, thus paving the way for hundreds of experiments. He underscored the success of DAOs like ApeCoin, showcasing the power of active community engagement. 🏛️We acknowledged the challenges. The negative reputation cast by a few bad actors in crypto can deter many, and the path to decentralization isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, nor will it happen overnight. But we are actively participating in this technological evolution, shaping the future of tech one step at a time. 🚀As we continue to innovate, we also touched upon the crucial role of younger, digitally native generations. Their inherent understanding of ownership value and community power could make them the key drivers of mass adoption. But we agreed - age isn't the only determinant of engagement with these technologies. 🌐👥You don't want to miss this insightful discussion! Join us on this journey to understand and shape the future of digital engagement.Joe Condon Sree Varma Sandy Case Sandra Helou Francesco Farruggia Blair Richardson#Blockchain #Sports #Web3 #Tokenomics #NFTs #DigitalOwnership #Decentralization #DAO #Interview

🎾🔥 Authentic, insightful, unfiltered chat with Andrea Gaudenzi, the Chairman of ATP. We dove deep into the world of tennis, digital transformation, and the future of fan engagement. Key takeaways from our chat include: OneVision, T7, TennisData, BreakPoint, DTC and Media rights, NITTO ATPFinals in Torino 1️⃣ The importance of cross-sector experience: Andrea’s journey through diverse sectors like gaming, startups, and large companies has uniquely equipped him to bring fresh perspectives to ATP leadership. 2️⃣ The role of digital transformation and innovation in tennis: Andrea emphasizes the significance of embracing technology to improve fans' viewing experiences. 3️⃣ Navigating the balance between tradition and innovation: Gaudenzi highlights the delicate equilibrium between preserving the core rules of tennis and introducing innovation. 4️⃣ The impact of AI and Mixed Reality on the fan experience: With advancements like Apple's Vision Pro and Oculus' upcoming releases, technology holds the potential to revolutionize remote viewing experiences. 5️⃣ The future of sports broadcasting: Gaudenzi discusses the shift from traditional linear outlets to direct-to-consumer digital platforms and the increasing interest of Big Tech giants in live sports. Exciting times ahead for tennis and the sports industry! 🚀 Episode 45: Subscribe to "A guy with a scarf" here: https://lnkd.in/ddmvMF-Q

💡 💡 💡 Quicktake at the end of the weekend!What I saw, wrote, started and cool stuff coming up next week.1. SEG3 summary https://lnkd.in/dDHj9ySf2. Sandy Case AI event https://lnkd.in/dW5a4RPb3. SportsPro Media Awards https://lnkd.in/dqcKBNJK4. Joe Farren interview https://lnkd.in/dRBJhFhg5. Regulating AI with Emanuela Girardi https://lnkd.in/dGjH53Vt6. Coming this Monday Kasey Machin and Areto Labs7. Coming on Tuesday Big Interview with the most innovative chairman in global sportsStay tuned