Leaders Sport Business Podcast

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan are in reflective mood, as they review the stories of the sports industry year - as clicked on by you, the sports industry, in our weekly Worth Knowing newsletter.They recall Netflix’s big commitment to sport (and entertainment); organisational chop and change at Manchester United; a stream of investment chatter; the proposed merger between the ATP and WTA tour; LVMH’s takeover of the Paris Olympics; George Pyne’s investment case for women’s sport; the rise of the Chief of Staff; the Saudi money steering the big decisions; campaigns that struck a nerve; rebrands that struck a chord; why you should fire your CMO; what makes a good CEO, and a whole lot more.To subscribe to Worth Knowing, visit: leadersinsport.com/newsletters

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan buckle up and settle back to review the stories of the sports industry week.They’re joined by Isabelle Stewart, F1’s Head of Original Content to discuss her two years in the role so far; the logistics, planning and purpose behind Brad Pitt’s F1 movie as filming wraps; what F1’s content slate looks like now and could look like soon, from scripted drama to new short-form formats; and targeting and appealing to fresh new audiences.There’s also time to salute McLaren and their CEO Zak Brown, after the team won its first F1 Constructors’ Championship since 1998. Plus the studio is full of excitement and anticipation in the wake of news that the Grand Sumo Tournament is heading to London next October.

Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan and Senior Content Manager Henry Breckenridge run head-on into the stories of the sports industry week.They’re joined by Matt Porter, Chief Executive of the Professional Darts Corporation, ahead of this month’s World Championships at Alexandra Palace in London. He offers his SWOT analysis on the sport at the end of 2024 and explains the fan-first, party-first approach the PDC has refined over the past few years; expansion around the world to venues like Madison Square Garden; the phenomenon that is teen sensation Luke Littler; what it’s like filming for Netflix; and what to wear for a night at the darts.Elsewhere, David and Henry reflect on the impact Ilona Maher - the world’s most followed rugby player - signing for Bristol Bears could have on Premiership Women’s Rugby, and the wider unsettled outlook for rugby union.

Welcome to the third and final episode of Model making, a series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast that analyses the flux across the global sports industry and asks whether we need a new commercial vision for sport.Hosted by Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett and Viagogo’s International Lead Matt Drew, the three-part series puts sport’s traditional revenue streams under the microscope.If media rights increases cannot be taken for granted and sponsorship revenue is under threat, where are the new business lines for rights holders to focus on? This episode is focused on the solutions to some of sport's most existential challenges. To help them make sense of the shifting sands around them, the pair are joined by four illustrious guests:John Skipper, formerly of ESPN and DAZN and the architect of some of the biggest rights deals in US TV history; Brett Gosper, Head of Europe & APAC at NFL and the executive in charge of pushing American football's international boundaries, having previously done so at World Rugby;Simon Denyer, serial founder and former leader of DAZN, current leader of PEAK, and board member on a number of global properties including the WTA;Zarah Al-Kudcy, the newly installed CRO at the Women’s Professional League Ltd, and a commercial leader at Chelsea, Formula 1 and the ICC among many before that.

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan dig in to the stories the sports industry week.They tackle the big news that the Premier League is launching its own media production business from the start of the 2026/27 season, ending a 20 year partnership with IMG which has operated under the Premier League Productions brand, delivering coverage and content to its international broadcast partners.There’s discussion on the rationale behind the move, the realities of building an in-house media production unit, and what it means for the future of media production agencies like IMG.And there’s also a look at F1’s decision to grant General Motors/Cadillac an entry, as an 11th team, from 2026, with a project backed by LA Dodgers Chairman Mark Walter.

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan dissect some of the stories of sports industry week.They reflect on whether Friday’s Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson fight was a win for Netflix; the slightly mesmerising nature of the Vendee Globe app; and the social media trend towards Bluesky.Then, in a conversation recorded at last week’s Leaders Sport Performance Summit in London, David chats to Peter Mattson, Red Bull’s Global Performance Director. He offers a glimpse inside the energy drinks giant’s Athlete Performance Center, the brand’s evolving culture and the dynamics of building a high performance athlete within a global marketing machine.

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan are out and about at this week’s Leaders Sport Performance Summit, looking out over The Oval cricket ground in central London.They’re joined by astrophysicist Professor Carole Mundell, the Director of Science at the European Space Agency, fresh off a scintillating presentation on stage, for an outside-of-sport, out-of-this-world conversation on leadership and culture: making complex decisions, managing a multitude of stakeholders (a staff of 500 and perhaps as many as 46,000 people across ESA’s 22 member states), and clarity in communication. Plus what happens to black holes when they get indigestion and whether Pluto should feel hard done by for being downgraded to dwarf planet status.There’s also time for a rifle through the sports industry stories of the week, including Whoopi Goldberg’s new sports network, Barcelona and Nike staying together and the Premier League’s continuing efforts to crack down on piracy.

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan give their verdict on the sports industry week, then introduce two power conversations from on stage at Leaders Week London.First, Jess Smith, President of soon-to-launch WNBA team Golden State Valkyries sits down with Netball Super League Managing Director, Claire Nelson. Then former Arsenal CEO Vinai Venkatesham is in conversation with Esteve Calzada, the former City Football Group executive who is now CEO of PIF-owned Saudi Pro League leaders Al Hilal.

Brett Gosper, Head of NFL Europe & Asia-Pacific, takes a quick break from a very busy month of American football to join James Emmett on this week's episode.He shares his top-line reflections from the 2024 London games, along with some impressive and record-breaking stats for the league; plus, what's immediately up next as the NFL touches down in Munich for its second foray to Germany, this weekend.  Elsewhere on the show, Leaders' Strategic Account Manager Javan Odegah shares his reflections on the games, having been in attendance at Wembley when a record-breaking 86,651 crowd witnessed Jacksonville Jaguars beat the New England Patriots.

Welcome to episode two of model making, a new series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast that analyses the flux across the global sports industry and asks whether we need a new commercial vision for sport.Are the business models that have sustained professional sport for so long at breaking point? And what are the solutions that sport's most innovative thinkers are endorsing?Big questions answered on-stage at Leaders Week London 2024 by Chicago Cubs and Marquee 360's Senior Vice President, Cale Vennum, and Viagogo's International Lead, Matt Drew. James Emmett, Leaders Editorial Director was in the moderator's chair to find out how ticketing can help unlock additional revenue streams and engagement.

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan return to the studio, for some more reflections on Leaders Week London and to review the most notable stories of the sports industry week.As IMG, On Location and Professional Bull Riders move from Endeavor to TKO ownership, they consider the corporate storytelling implications and ponder whether it's the precursor to further change.They also discuss the WNBA’s upcoming collective bargaining negotiations, after the players’ decision to opt out of the current agreement early, as well as luxury brand Chanel’s decision to sponsor the annual university Boat Race along London’s River Thames.

In this episode, James Emmett and David Cushnan are joined by special guests, Richard Conway, Founder & Managing Partner at Spectacle Partners, and serial sports industry board member, Nic Coward, to review the action from a barnstorming return to Leaders Week London.The team touch on a number of topics from Day 2 of The Summit at Allianz Stadium as well as the on-stage sessions, which featured Nikki Doucet, Chief Executive Officer, Women's Professional Leagues Ltd; Kealan Casey, Director of Brand Marketing, North America at BBC Studios; Declan Sharkey, Global Director and Senior Principal at Populous; and Mark Ashton, Chief Executive Officer at Ipswich Town FC.

James Emmett and David Cushnan reflect on a terrific opening day at The Summit from Allianz Stadium, which saw over 2,000 movers and shakers from across the global sports industry gather at the home of England Rugby.The duo discuss a range of themes and talking points from on-stage sessions, which featured a stellar lineup of speakers across three stages. Alongside the dialogue, this episode contains short snippets of sessions and from around the venue, featuring Gerard Piqué, Kosmos; Sally Horrox, World Rugby, Mark Shapiro, Endeavor; Don Garber, Major League Soccer; Gareth Balch, Two Circles and England Cricketer Tammy Beaumont.

Welcome to model making, a new series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast that analyses the flux across the global sports industry and asks, do we need a new commercial vision for sport? Are the business models that have sustained professional sport for so long at breaking point? And what are the solutions that sport's most innovative thinkers are endorsing? Hosted by Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett and Viagogo's International Lead Matt Drew, the three-part series puts sport's traditional revenue streams under the microscope. Where and why are media rights flatlining? Are sponsorship dollars under threat below the elite level? And are matchdays being maximised? To help them make sense of the shifting sands around them, the pair are joined by three illustrious guests: - John Skipper, formerly of ESPN and DAZN and the architect of some of the biggest rights deals in US TV history; - Simon Denyer, serial founder and former leader of DAZN, current leader of PEAK, and board member on a number of global properties including the WTA; - Zarah Al-Kudcy, the newly installed CRO at the Women's Professional League Ltd, and a commercial leader at Chelsea, Formula 1 and the ICC among many before that.

James Emmett and David Cushnan are joined by Leaders Managing Director, Laura McQueen, and Event Director, Hannah Redfern, to preview the annual sportsbiz extravaganza that is Leaders Week London. It's a week filled with forums, think tanks, Awards and social get-togethers – taking place all day, all night, all week, right across the city. The week culminates with The Summit at Allianz Stadium: a place where you’ll find sport’s biggest names and the most progressive ideas shaping the industry, all in the company of 2000 attendees from all corners of the globe.And ahead of all of that, the team share their top tips for maximizing on your time out of office, who to look out for on the speaker programme, and where to go if (surprisingly) you're yet to secure your event pass.

Mary Bekhait is one of the global entertainment industry's leading talent executives.As Chief Executive of YMU Group, she leads an international business representing mega stars across music, sport, entertainment, literary, social, art and business management, including: Davina McCall, Simon Cowell, Tom Daley, Clare Balding, Ant & Dec, Fred again, and many more. She joined James Emmett and David Cushnan in the Leaders studio (ahead of an important business call with Simon Cowell) to run through the inner workings of YMU Group; her top tips for building and nurturing relationships (forged from a 20-year career in talent management); how brand sports marketers can best work with and maximise athlete talent; who she enjoys managing the most and what great output looks like on LinkedIn.

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan slip back into the studio to consider the stories of the sports industry week.As Whisper secures a big contract for host broadcast services at Roland Garros, they reflect on the changes, creativity and innovation in the sports production market - and, as Lionel Messi launches his own studio, when athletes and influencers might join the contest for big live production work.Then David plays in a couple of conversations from last week’s Two Circles EMEA Client Summit in London. The agency’s Co-Founder and CEO Gareth Balch sets the scene, then Arsenal’s Chief Commercial Officer Juliet Slot, Two Circles’ Managing Director of Ventures Annie Panter and Zarah Al-Kudcy, who has just started as Chief Revenue Officer at WPLL, the new entity operating the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship on England, sit down to discuss how to scale women’s football. They explain how fan insights are impacting the stadium experience, getting ticketing strategies and pricing right (and wrong), how to carefully read the new wave of data being collected and how it’s informing approaches to marketing the women’s game.

Welcome to Convergence – a mini-series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast about the launch of new verticals within an existing sports business. It’s a show about strategy, growth, and fitting new products to meet audience demand.In this series we’ll be looking at sports media, betting, gamification, collectibles, merchandising and more – and it’s being co-hosted by me, James Emmett from Leaders, and Sam Sadi, the CEO of LiveScore, the football scores app-come-betting company that has supercharged its own growth off the back of a converged offering.Diane Gotua, a strategic business leader with nearly two decades of global leadership experience in strategy, operations and corporate development within sports and finance, is our guest for episode three. Diane currently serves as the Senior Vice President and Global Head of Strategy at Fanatics, having previously worked at the NBA for 9 years in a variety of leadership and strategy roles.

Welcome to Convergence - a mini-series from the Leaders Sport Business Podcast about the launch of new verticals within an existing sports business. It's a show about strategy, growth, and fitting new products to meet audience demand. In this series we'll be looking at sports media, betting, gamification, collectibles, merchandising and more - and it's being co-hosted by me, James Emmett from Leaders, and Sam Sadi, the CEO of LiveScore, the football scores app-come-betting company that has supercharged its own growth off the back of a converged offering. DAZN’s CEO of Growth Markets, Pete Oliver – the executive who leads the group’s activities and teams in markets such as the UK, US and Canada – is our guest for episode two.

Dan Rossomondo has spent over 20 years in the sports industry delivering international business strategies to accelerate growth across sponsorship, media, licensing and retail. He cut his teeth at the NBA where he helped to supercharge the organisation as a sports, entertainment and lifestyle property for over a decade. He's now bringing that experience and track record to MotoGP, where he was appointed as CCO in 2023, and is responsible for leading the media rights, global commercial partnerships and digital business teams.One year into the role, he joined Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett to reflect on the journey so far, the incredibly exciting time for the sport, and how he's planning to fuel the continued internal growth of MotoGP's profile, audience and revenue. This episode is part of the Leaders in Focus series, produced in partnership with IMG.