The Business of Sport

In association with the International Sports Convention

The Business of Sport - Hilary Wells 03/07/2024

The Business of Sport - Eric Stark 12/19/2023

The Business of Sport - Eric Stark Eric Stark is a co-founder and President of Slate, a US-based company that simplifies social content creation for brands, making the process much faster. Winners of the 2022 ISC Sports Tech Company of the Year, they've been in business now for almost five years. Eric makes no secret of the fact that his business journey began as an NFL fan first and foremost. He rose through the NFL to become Director of International Marketing and Content Stratgey and also, Manager of International Content Strategy. His CV includes time with the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. But having worked for multiple teams, along with a business partner, he spotted a gap in the market and Slate was born. Eric gained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Film & Media studies from UC Santa Barbara in 2012. Eric Stark on getting into the Digital Sports Media Industry: "My first role out of college was with the NFL in a digital media capacity. I will say I joined the company and was interested in the role because of the NFL side not because of the digital media side and it was a good pairing because I quickly fell in love with the digital media side and specifically, how digital media and sports come together and that started my career. I have been in the digital media and sports world ever since, but really, I was just an NFL fan who had a best friend in college with a sister who worked at the NFL and I wouldn't stop bugging her, every other week, to say in touch and then an internship opened up and I got an interview and the rest went from there!" Eric Stark on Slate's USP: When we started, it was about speed for sure. We started as a mobile editing tool only, and it really was about speed of turnaround, especially when you are in person at an event. But there is a need for all social teams across industries to just be more nimble. Yes, speed is part of that, but really it's just about being able to have an idea and to easily execute it and create content. There's a higher volume of social content that every brand needs to create and there are more platforms than ever that these brands need to create content for. That's only increasing and the need for short-form video content is only increasing and it's not easy to create this content. Teams have to use several different editing tools currently, like Premier and we are trying to make it easier for those teams to create that content without it having to pass through so many hands." Eric Stark on where Slate goes in the future: "We are starting to grow more with college athletics in the US. A lot of universities are using Slate for their athletic programmes and a lot of them that aren't, I think will start using it eventually. Outside the US, we do have some Premier League Clubs and some other international football clubs and rugby and other sports that are popular in Europe and elsewhere, but there is still a lot of room for us to grow. I am getting more interested in Premier League and international soccer and did a lot of work there when I worked at the NFL with different teams in the Premier League and I think that sport continues to have a really bright future in the US and we are seeing it grow more and more. With the Premier League on NBC and the World Cup coming soon and I live in Portland, Oregon right now, a city which really cares about it's MLS team, so that sport continues to interest me and it's something I will follow." /episode/index/show/internationalsportsconvention/id/29146108

The Business of Sport - Niall Couper 12/12/2023

The Business of Sport - Gabby Vidal Castillo 12/08/2023

The Business of Sport - Gabby Vidal Castillo Gabby is the Senior Strategic Partner Manager for International Sports Convention Season Ticket holder, Greenfly, a digital platform seeking to maximise fan engagement opportunities for sports, clubs and leagues globally. Greenfly enables organisations to capture, distribute and organise content. They have become established as part of the short-form content infrastructure. Gabby previously spent four years working for Meta in a Partnerships role and had a brief spell as New Media Partnerships Director for Copa 90. Gabby also includes Google among her previous employers and she has a First Class honours degree in International Business Management from Newcastle University. Gabby on the evolution of short-form content: "When you look at the way short-form content has evolved over the last few years, it's been pretty astronomical. You've had the introduction of social media platforms like Tik-Tok for instance, but equally, existing social media platforms, whether it's Instagram or You Tube have evolved their platforms to keep up with this shift in consumer trends. Gabby on globalisation of content: "Because it is short, short-form content can translate into different interests and cultures. You can make that much more accessible to fans who don't have to sit there for several minutes. You can consume a good variety of short-form content in a short space of time and I think as long as the quality is there, you can translate and make short-form content appealing to all kinds of people. I think that although that kind of content appeals to sports fans, it also appeals to casual fans. So you don't have to be hardcore fans of tennis or F1, to watch that content. I do believe if the content is engaging and entertaining, you will get an audience. We try and show our clients that yes, you are a sports entity, but you have to be in entertainment too." Gabby on User-Generated content: "USG is a really powerful tool to enable fans to be brought closer to the action. It makes content a lot more relatable to see yourself represented in that and touching on the diversity point of view, whether you are a league, a team, or a federation, you are able to represent the diversity of your fanbase and give them the microphone to tell their own stories and how they perceive the club and how they enjoy following the journey from their own perspective." /episode/index/show/internationalsportsconvention/id/28987778

The Business of Sport - James Dobbs 12/01/2023

The Business of Sport - Anzhela Fokina 11/20/2023

The Business of Sport - Anzhela Fokina Anzhela Fokina is the Chief Executive officer of the Kateryna Biloruska Foundation, a charitable organisation established in 2019 to promote Health and Wellbeing in Ukranian communities through Education and Sports Participation for everyone. Anzhela has over 15 years experience in the Charitable and Social sector, having graduated from the Donetsk Institute of Economics and Humanities, with a Masters Degree in International Economics and Relations. She previously worked for the agricultural giant Syngenta, running their Corporate Social Responsibility operation across almost 100 countries worldwide. Anzhela co-ordinates the programme of activities for the KB Foundation, in spirts, education and mental health provision. Her responsibilities also include developing and expanding partnerships with the non-profit sector and public organisations across Europe and in the Ukraine. Anzhela on working with key partners: “Our owners and board members want to make a huge positive impact on society. If companies want to make a big impact on a community, they will do it. We don’t have a big team, but we try to involve sports ambassadors using teachers. Also, we involve government because we can do things for 20, or 2,000 people. But the government cover the whole territory of the Ukraine and so we can multi-applicate our efforts and what we are doing, on a government level. When government and businesses co-operate with us, we can make good results in a short period of time.” Anzhela on the challenges of working in the Ukraine currently: “It I really difficult, but now there are a lot of international projects working in Ukraine, but also our local operations too, because more and more people need support. Everyday it becomes more important because of the war and this conflict that we do things to help people with their health and mental health. That is more important than ever.” Anzhela on the future ambitions of the Kateryna Biloruska Foundation: “We have now reached a very difficult task where we need to increase external funding through some donors and grants. We are facing a very difficult period of reconstructing Ukraine and that’s why we need to increase assistance and at the end of the conflict, for at least 10 or 15 years, we will work with the consequences, which will primarily effect physical and mental health. It is a very big amount of people who would need this support.” /episode/index/show/internationalsportsconvention/id/28722868

The Business of Sport - Meghna Krishna and Ritu Bain 11/14/2023

The Business of Sport - Meghna Krishna and Ritu Bain Magnifi is an "AI-Powered" Enterprise Product by VideoVerse that enables content owners & rights-holders to detect key moments automatically, which can be used in creating highlights and short-form videos in real time. With offices in the US, UK, Europe, Israel, and India, Magnifi works with enterprises across numerous industries, including OTT Platforms, Sports Broadcasters, Leagues, Sports Federations, E-gaming platforms, and Colleges. A driving force behind the company's success to date has been the working relationship of two Indian women who met at a job interview with another business. Meghna Krishna is Magnifi's Chief Revenue Officer. She has donned multiple business hats throughout a corporate journey spanning two decades with diverse roles in growth, business strategy, marketing, and sales. Immensely passionate about business growth and team building, Meghna has built various businesses across 3 continents in industries including retail, e-commerce, travel, and SaaS. A typical workday revolves around building strategic alliances, creating highly productive teams from scratch, and managing investor and stakeholder relations to supercharge business growth. The woman she employed elsewhere back in 2019, is Ritu Bain, now Magnifi's Senior Vice President of revenue. By excelling within the unified domain of revenue generation, Ritu has steered a course of success in sports technology, media entertainment, and travel industries. Her career spans across global markets, where she has helped teams leverage AI technology for impactful outcomes. Ritu says by integrating sales, marketing, operations, and customer success into a cohesive business function, she has consistently delivered revenue growth. Her approach centers on pragmatic, data-driven decisions and streamlined operations, consistently achieving significant results. By aligning innovation with market demands, She has championed transformative initiatives that empower teams to create meaningful connections, and drive unparalleled customer experiences. Meghna on the business opportunity: "I was in the travel industry when this opportunity came around in 2019 and I was in Fashion before that. So I was always interested in being in an industry that would be futuristic and provide solutions that were not already available. People asked me why I was joining a start-up business, but if I didn't join a start-up, that would mean that I didn't believe in my own capabilities". Ritu on sport: "Sport was not something that woke me up one morning and thought, I must figure out more of what is happening in the sports technology world. But definitely, the interest was there in understanding newer technologies like AI and what new sectors we could explore". Meghna on the scale of their sports media project: "For me, the biggest thing was to realise just what the scope of this thing is, I mean, how big it is and what a massive impact it can have on everyday life. During the pandemic, a lot of sport was not being played. But the viewing figures for the sports that were played went through the roof, which means that it is something that touches almost everybody". /episode/index/show/internationalsportsconvention/id/28636283

The Business of Sport - Rajesh D'Souza 11/07/2023

The Business of Sport - Rajesh D'Souza Rajesh D'Souza is the Global Head of Digital Media Company, The Data Sports Group, based in Berlin, Germany. With expertise in operations, strategic planning, and corporate and consumer management in the digital media and sports sectors, Rajesh previously spent over a decade with The Perform Group. A self-confessed fan of finding new ways to do things, Rajesh is a big supporter of start-ups and scaling up opportunities. As we found out, he is also a long-standing supporter of Liverpool Football Club. Rajesh on the business of DMC: "Our focus is primarily on different industries. We work with sports, fantasy, sports books and even leagues and organisations and we have specific target services that we can provide. For example, with leagues and organisations, we actually work with them to automate much of their social media output and their content processes, which allows them to have smaller marketing or content teams, so they can rely on platforms to generate the content". Rajesh on raising the profile of minority sports: "What has really happened over a period of time is that a lot of these sports, which were not really accessible on broadcast, now have a lot of visibility on different media formats. We have audience on social and audience on other digital platforms. So, it is becoming the case that a lot of these sports and properties are attracting a lot more audience, a lot more viewers, and a lot more attention. So, the outlet for them is to reach as much of the audience as they can through the content that they can convey to them and many of these sports are now growing their user base". Rajesh the sports fanatic: "It's always been football. I have been a Liverpool supporter since a young age. For me, football has just been the life and soul. I have always looked forward to it. My son is only 20 months old and he is also very excited about it...well, I think he gets the drift anyway! I would look up to Steven Gerrard, for me he's an iconic footballer player for the club, and his energy was a great influence on me". /episode/index/show/internationalsportsconvention/id/28542158

The Business of Sport - Jamie Dapaah 10/30/2023

The Business of Sport - Jamie Dapaah Jamie Dapaah is Fulham Football Club's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Co-ordinator. He joined the club in May 2020 in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement, transitioning from a coaching background. Jamie requested to speak with someone at the Club about how he could help support the campaign against discrimination, racism and prejudice. He has since been instrumental in leading club initiatives and championing the on-going culture of equality and inclusion across all Fulham's business operations. A diversity and inclusion practitioner who seeks to create and implement strategies and policies that promote equal opportunities and create a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone involved in football, including players, fans, coaches, staff, and volunteers. A strong leader who advocates for diversity and inclusion initiatives and gains buy-in from employees, leadership, and other stakeholders. Jamie Dapaah on his introduction to EDI: "For me, working within the Foundation on our local community programmes at the time, when George Floyd had passed, it was a time when businesses around the world really looked internally as to how they could progress and almost lead on the Equality, Diversity and inclusion front. So for me, as an employee within the Fulham Foundation, it was really important for me to be involved and engaging in a workforce that was representative of my values. So it was almost, how can I help, how can I use the agenda we already have as a football club, to inspire and galvanise the next generation of leaders as well as the local community leaders, who we engage with on a day-to-day basis." Jamie Dapaah on Gender Equality within EDI: "It's an absolutely crucial area, not only for female representation in the workforce, but also using an educational element to inspire and galvanise women and girls who aspire to be within the footballing world. We have a female working group and we meet with our female supporter group to see how we can amplify the messaging of inclusion and inspire the next generation. But looking at policy as well and how we can ensure our policies within the workforce is reflective of those we have within it and listening to our staff members as to how we can progress." Jamie Dapaah on the current state of racism in football: "I think education is key. I think displaying positive behaviours is key. In terms of where we are at, the conversation has been brought to the table now around EDI, but now we have to start acting and ensuring that we have a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination on a matchday or in real-time as well. Online abuse has been huge, and the messages we put out as a football club, need to be representative of our values." /episode/index/show/internationalsportsconvention/id/28464431

Her Business of Sport - Karen Webb Moss 10/27/2023

The Business of Sport - Peter Shackleton 10/20/2023

The Business of Sport - Peter Shackleton Capture is a Digital Asset Management platform, dealing with visual media, predominantly photography and video assets. Everybody knows that you can store so much of your life on your phones these days, but they do that on an industrial scale. It's a slightly different world. The audience is more complex, they are dealing with rights, especially in sport and they deal with things like permissions, because you may not want everyone to have access to the same material. It's about organising and managing your content, so it is useable. Peter on industry expansion: "Capture has been around for 25 years and we pre-date the industry term of Digital Asset Management (DAM). But over the years, you have really seen the sports industry start to realise the value of "non-live" content, the stuff that sits outside of their production eco-systems and that has become a real focus for us. Whilst sport is very mature in some areas, in terms of archive content, it is right at the start of the maturity model. There is lots of incredible content, that rights holders and clubs have, that is just scattered around. It is often our first question to clients...where is your content? Do you know where it is...and if you did know, what would you want to do with it? That's the bit you can drive value from, if you can find it" Peter on Customer need: "We know the live event is the primary focus. But once that match has happened, where does that content go? The answer tends to be that nobody is sure. It is sitting with a production company or it's on Dropbox, Flickr, or the Social Media Manager's laptop. But it's not managed and if you don't know what you have or where it is, you can't generate value from it. The requirement for archive content is generally driven by context. Something has happened for somebody to be interested in that content, like the Welcome to Wrexham documentary for example." Peter on protecting history: "It is sad to say that we have come across instances where a whole period of history has been lost because it was sitting on somebody's laptop. That heritage and history is a key connector for their fanbase or any follower of the sport." /episode/index/show/internationalsportsconvention/id/28373927

The Business of Sport - Joseph Caporoso 10/13/2023

The Business of Sport - Joseph Caporoso Team Whistle is built to engage and activate today’s fans worldwide through positive and relatable content, wherever and however they want it. They are a pioneer in the data-driven creation and distribution of positive and relatable content in sports and entertainment for young audiences globally. Team Whistle's proven portfolio of unscripted, scripted, and interactive shows are available across its expansive social and AVOD media distribution network. The company's video content IP and audience combined with its powerful analytical, production, and commercial capabilities serve to help brands, distributors, talent, sports leagues, and media companies activate and engage consumers across the content ecosystem. Joe has over 14 years of digital experience, with nearly a decade at Team Whistle cementing their role as a trusted sports and entertainment media publisher that produces uplifting relatable content for a Gen Z and Millennial audience. Caporoso most recently served as the EVP of Media at Team Whistle where he led the creation of positive, relatable sports and entertainment content across YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, and the company’s linear network, Whistle TV. Joe Caporoso on change: "One of the interesting things in being at Whistle this long, which I know is relatively uncommon in media, is the role really changes and evolves every couple of years. We've acquired three companies, we have been acquired twice, a lot of that within the past five years, so it's kept me on my toes and you learn a lot very fast and furiously." Joe Caporoso on capacity building: "We have to have the ability to go through every social platform and find up-and-coming creators who are telling interesting stories and there's an audience for those stories. I think whether or not you are a full-time athlete, even if you are a smaller creator in a very niche area, there are brands and platforms very interested in sponsoring that story-telling." Joe Caporoso on collaboration with global social networks: "Both sides need each other. Platforms like Meta and TikTok want as much quality, original content as possible. We can provide that ourselves, and we can provide relationships to creators who can provide that and organise how that content is distributed around major tent-pole events. So, there is a definite need and interest in ensuring that we continue to post original and branded content, of a certain quality at a very high volume, with the most cutting-edge and popular creators and all the different platforms are jockeying for how can they get companies like us to put as many resources as possible on their platform." /episode/index/show/internationalsportsconvention/id/28306829

The Business of Sport - Eva Pasquier and Jules McGeever 10/04/2023

The Business of Sport - Eva Pasquier and Jules McGeever Eva Pasquier, Jules McGeever, and Stuart Larman co-founded EqualCareer with a mission to drive transformative change within organizations, addressing the critical issues of inequality, underrepresentation, and gender imbalance. Through tailor-made, hands-on workshops designed for women across various sectors, EqualCareer empowers women at every stage of their career journey. These workshops provide practical learning and development experiences, equipping participants with the tools not just to succeed but to excel in their workplaces. Simultaneously, EqualCareer assists organizations in fostering sustainable growth by promoting representation, diversity, and equity. Despite comprising 47% of the global labour force, only a mere 2.06% of women reach leadership positions. Many organizations now discuss the importance of achieving a minimum 30% gender balance and representation, yet few possess a concrete strategy to attain this goal. EqualCareer steps in to provide those much-needed solutions. Eva, Jules, and Stuart bring extensive backgrounds in the world of corporate and sport industries to EqualCareer, having previously delivered programs for women round the globe on behalf of UEFA where Eva worked as Head of International Relations. This provided them with a global perspective on the challenges faced by women and organizations in combatting gender inequality both on and off the field. Their experiences have equipped them with the insights and strategies required to ensure enduring organizational success through meaningful change. Jules on the current state of women's football. "The recent World Cup was a pinnacle and showpiece. You just have to look at the stats for investment in the women's ga,e, it is undoubtedly growing, on and off the pitch. I think where Eva and I are really looking at that behind the scenes, things aren't quite as equal as they should be." Eva on equality: "There is only football and it's played by females and it's played by males. It is really important not to have a woman in a top position, just for the sake of having a woman there. It is really very important that we have qualified women there. Jules on the Spanish team: "The injustice of what happened is that at least it has opened up a conversation that needed to be had. While women's football is going in the right direction, things are not perfect behind the scenes and that is what we are trying to correct." Eva on barriers to success: There are two main barriers that are stopping women from being where they should be, or where they would like to be. First of all is the internal bias that prevents women from going out to show what they can do. The second barrier is organisations themsleves, their HR systems, promotion systems, hiring systems. This is what we are addressing with our Equal Careers programme. Jules on bias: "Where there are problems, there are biases that stop women getting on. For us, what we have noticed all around the world, is that it is normally a culture problem within an organisation. Football is 27% female, but only 7% of females are in top roles." /episode/index/show/internationalsportsconvention/id/28220996

Her Business of Sport - Maddie Coutts 09/28/2023

The Business of Sport - Anneliese Mesilati 09/20/2023

Her Business of Sport - Sarah Lewis OBE OLY 09/14/2023

The Business of Sport - Carlo de Marchis 09/07/2023

Her Business of Sport - Ginelle Polini 08/31/2023

The Business of Sport - Angelique Richardson 08/21/2023

Her Business of Sport - Danetta Powell 08/18/2023

The Business of Sport - Martin Cassidy 08/11/2023

The Business of Sport - Martin Cassidy The Business of Sports podcast allows for in-depth interviews where guests share their expertise and career journey to date. The episodes are full of great content, topics, and case studies. The Business of Sport gives an opportunity for the next generation of sport business professionals to learn about the variety of careers and opportunities with personal journeys. For those already in the industry, it gives a fresh take on some key subject matters and personal stories of challenge and success. This Episode features Martin Cassidy - CEO - Ref support UK Martin Cassidy is the CEO of the charity Ref Support UK, which offers a platform to referees independently of The FA. Martin is also the co-host of a popular podcast, Ref Pod. A former national list match official, Martin retired early due to injury. He took up refereeing after a knee injury stopped him from playing football. He worked for the FA at Wembley in The FA Referees Department for 7 years, coaching referees at all levels. This episode covers: Martin on the new Participant's Charter: "I think The FA have made some of the most, progressive, positive moves over the last 18 months that prior to that, they hadn't made for decades really. They have never been so supportive of referees, so we are really delighted and we welcome it, absolutely we do. Having Howard Webb come in is another wonderful move by The FA. He has already removed Mike Dean as VAR lead and what's really positive is that the PGMOL have got together with the League Managers Association and the Professional Footballers Association to deliver this. It's never been done before and my charity, Ref Support, have been calling for the bodies representing players and managers to stand up with The FA and the PGMOL in criticising how their members act towards referees. It's got to make the environment on matchdays better for everybody. Sometimes, they use the word "passion", to justify referee abuse. I was born and bred around Anfield and the likes of Shankly, Paisley and Dalglish were all passionate, but they didn't treat referees like Klopp has done." Martin on the use of Bodycams by referees: "It shocked me how many referees don't report the abuse they get. Some might not do it because they have reported it in the past, but in their opinion, nothing has happened. There's also the problem at the grassroots level is that most football is played within 20 miles of where referees live, so they maybe don't want to go public for fear of bumping into the people involved. We lobbied for Bodycams six years ago. We wrote to The FA, but the head of refereeing at the FA said they had no appetite for Bodycams. But it was just him, and when he left, the FA said we are going to go ahead with the Bodycam pilot, and I was told last week, it's going to be expanded. It is proving to be a huge success, but we knew it would. The only barrier is the cost. But we have been working on developing an app for your phone and a strap to allow referees to wear it in matches at lower levels and feel more protected." Martin on diversity in refereeing: "I was lucky enough to officiate games with Uriah Rennie, but we haven't had a top flight official in the middle, since 1991 from the BAME community. On the representation side of it, I think they are doing some wonderful work and there's real signs now, that everybody should have the same chance. With the female side of things, we had made great progress in the 1990's. Wendy Toms was running the line in the Premier League. A game in the Conference, as it was called then, had three match officials, all female. So what happened? Why has it taken util now to get female referees in the EFL? The FA had let down the Women's game for decades. But now it's a game changer and its down to those changes The FA have made in their structures. The "blazers" have gone and the people running it now are doing it transparently and look what is happening. I think we are in a better place than ever." /episode/index/show/internationalsportsconvention/id/27719574

Her Business of Sport - Rhea Freeman 08/03/2023

The Business of Sport - Sally Freedman 07/28/2023

The Business of Sport - Sally Freedman The Business of Sports podcast allows for in-depth interviews where guests share their expertise and career journey to date. The episodes are full of great content, topics, and case studies. The Business of Sport gives an opportunity for the next generation of sport business professionals to learn about the variety of careers and opportunities with personal journeys. For those already in the industry, it gives a fresh take on some key subject matters and personal stories of challenge and success. This episode features Sally Freedman - Author - Fairplay Publishing This episode covers: Sally’s debut book "Get Your Tits Out for the Lads" The Football Writers Festival The importance of governing bodies taking accountability And much more! Sally on her book: Sadly throughout my time working in football in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, there were many stories related to sexism, misogyny and gender inequality. I joked on a podcast one day that I probably had enough stories to write a book. I didn't know, but at that time, the publisher of the book was listening and got in touch with me and said; "Sally, if you are going to write a book, please let me publish it." The idea was to launch it before the FIFA Womens World Cup 2023, so I had a year to try and put some thoughts and diary entries down and I made the deadline and even now, when I say I have a published book, I still don't quite believe it. Sally on media coverage: We are playing catch-up. With the rise of Women's sport, not only football, we are finally seeing change. But in my opinion, it's too little, too late. Why did it take England winning a trophy for people to stand up and start reporting on women's Football? That's what I struggle with. When the culture is rotten from the top, it's very, very hard to change. In the UK, female commentators and reporters are part of the furniture now, but that isn't replicated across the world. Sally on change: Governing bodies can do more in terms of accountability and punishment for when sexism is called out. But I make it clear in my book, I don't blame men. We are living in a gendered, stereotyped world where we all have bias and that is hard for anyone to change. /episode/index/show/internationalsportsconvention/id/27590001

Her Business of Sport - Alicia Povey 07/20/2023

The Business of Sport - Peter Hutton 07/14/2023

The Business of Sport - Peter Hutton The Business of Sports podcast allows for in-depth interviews where guests share their expertise and career journey to date. The episodes are full of great content, topics, and case studies. The Business of Sport gives an opportunity for the next generation of sport business professionals to learn about the variety of careers and opportunities with personal journeys. For those already in the industry, it gives a fresh take on some key subject matters and personal stories of challenge and success. This episode features Peter Hutton - Sports board member and advisor This episode covers: Saudi Arabia “Its been a really great experience being part of the development of the Women’s League in Saudi. I know the headline stories are about the star names going there, but its the fact that they are building something and its been really cool to see the stadiums full of families, watching women play without headscarves, in a league that’s only a year old. It shows just how football can be part of wider change. When I was first asked to get involved, they said they want to be one of the top 5 leagues in the world. When you’ve heard that from China and the MLS, you are naturally a bit sceptical. But the fact that they ate building academies and the women’s game gives me faith that we are doing something quite useful.” The changes in sports broadcasting “The media landscape for the last 30 years has been shaped by Pay TV, but the growth of Social Media and streaming is beginning to take that space and I think that change is difficult for the sports industry to cope with, because they are used to the big guaranteed cheques of Pay TV and it was relatively easy money! But social media is not like that. It demands a level of effort and control that a federation or a team or a league is not necessarily used to having. Its a different philosophy to have to make your own content, rather than watching people make content that features you.” There was almost an expectation that of course, companies like Facebook/Meta would show sport. But the business model that underpins sport, is one that Social Media don’t really need. I think you can make the argument that sport needs Social Media more than Social Media needs sport. The use of VR for audience growth “ We want content that makes a viewer feel active and part of what’s happening and that’s what you learn from gaming. If you watch young gamers, they are doing several things at once and playing with friends. So the opportunity of VR, is that you take all the things you see and do watching a game, and put them into one experience. There’s something there about a better way of watching sport. And much more! /episode/index/show/internationalsportsconvention/id/27463425

Her Business of Sport - Michelle Dorgan 07/06/2023

Her Business of Sport - Lauryn Turner 03/01/2023

Her Business of Sport - Cathy Long 12/12/2022

Her Business of Sport - Renee Washington 12/02/2022

Her Business of Sport - Bonita Mersiades 11/25/2022

The Business of Sport

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