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Features
British horse racing needs ‘collaborative approach’ to overcome decline in media and betting revenues
With a decline in media and betting revenues associated with the closure of multiple retail bookmakers on the cards, Ben Cronin looks at how senior stakeholders in British horse racing will react to this threat.
Paddy Power’s Save Our Shirt campaign offers positive message but struggles to balance risk and reward
Never knowingly understated, Irish bookmaker Paddy Power's latest marketing activation ended up garnering a £50,000 fine for one of its partner clubs. Adam Nelson takes a look at the story behind the betting company's 'unsponsorship' of five UK football teams, and whether the campaign can maintain relevance and visibility throughout the season.
Women’s Football: Attributing Value Matters – Sally Horrox, Y Sport
We’re still some way off financial sustainability but it is clear that this has been the year in which women’s football finally secured its rightful place in the spotlight.
Women’s Super League title sponsorship reinforces Barclays’ status as ‘financial partner of football’
Barclays global head of sponsorships and media, Tom Corbett, tells Adam Nelson why the bank has stepped up its association with football by signing a record-breaking title partnership with the Women's Super League.
Surrey’s post-World Cup T20 sales fuel continuing ambivalence for The Hundred
Surrey County Cricket Club has seen a surge in ticket sales thanks to England’s victory in the ICC Cricket World Cup and a new family zone at the Kia Oval. Chief executive Richard Gould talks to Ben Cronin about the club's commercial successes and offers his take on the ECB Hundred.
Tottenham hails stadium financing deal
English Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur has agreed a refinancing package for the £637m (€722m/$792.7m
Arsenal teams up with Global Kapital Group
English Premier League football club Arsenal has entered into a partnership with financial technology company Global Kapital Group
Williams F1 to lose PKN Orlen after Robert Kubica exit
Polish oil company PKN Orlen will terminate its contract with Formula One team Williams Racing at the end of the 2019-20 season
Culture Secretary calls for equal broadcast recognition for disabled, women’s sport
Nicky Morgan, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, has reopened the debate over the ‘crown jewels’ legislation governing sporting events reserved for broadcast on free-to-air television in …
ICC targets younger audiences with digital-first, data-led broadcasting approach
Adam Nelson reports on how the International Cricket Council revamped its broadcast coverage ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, focusing on storytelling to attract new audiences and break digital engagement records
LaLiga and Bundesliga aim to make inroads on Premier League’s Asian dominance
The Premier League has long been the top international football league in Asia. As the 2019-20 season begins, SportBusiness Asia spoke to the Asian offices of Spain’s LaLiga and Germany’s Bundesliga about their work to challenge the English league’s position.
The challenge facing the next Premier League chief executive: media-rights growth has stalled
The search to replace Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore, who announced his resignation over a year ago, has proved arduous. Frank Dunne looks at the issues surrounding media-rights growth and the challenges Scudamore's succesor should expect.
Twenty things we learned at the London Sports Decision Makers Summit
After launching in Miami this spring, the Sports Decision Makers Summit – from SportBusiness and Sportel – came to London's Rosewood hotel on July 9-10. This is what we learned from our expert speakers.
ECB hopes Cricket World Cup momentum fuels enthusiasm for The Hundred
The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup has demonstrated that there is a significant market for the ECB's new competition, The Hundred, according to its managing director, Sanjay Patel. He tells Adam Nelson how the ECB intends to capitalise on England's stunning World Cup victory and extend the sport's moment in the sun well beyond this summer.
How football clubs can cash in on the game’s changing investment landscape
Capital investors’ interest in football clubs is growing; their increasing profitability has attracted more new types of investor. But what does this mean for clubs and how can they best approach the opportunities and challenges? Jonathan Dyson investigates.
Brexit and Bribery Act cause Wimbledon to revamp its hospitality
The All England Club has expanded its hospitality offering and introduced a more flexible approach to attract smaller bookings and target high-net-worth individuals. Ben Cronin speaks to James Ralley, AELTC head of marketing and commercial, about the changes.
Athletes to benefit as International Swimming League threatens Fina’s hold over sport
A Ukranian billionaire is funding the latest effort to turn swimming into a regular competitive professional sport and not just one of the most popular events at the Summer Olympics.
MLB begins “long-term journey” in Europe with London games
Baseball starts push into the continent with its biggest and most historic rivalry: the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Story by Eric Fisher.
SportBusiness Postgraduate Course Rankings 2019 | An academic track record: The growth of postgraduate sport business courses in the UK
While the SportBusiness Postgraduate Course Rankings tend to be dominated by schools from North America and continental Europe, those in the UK are growing in both number and quality
SportBusiness Postgraduate Course Rankings 2019 | Sport business education is expanding to meeting the needs of a rapidly growing industry
James Skinner and Aaron Smith, of the Loughborough University Institute for Sport Business, run the rule over some of the current trends that are driving change and creating new opportunities across the sport business education sector.
Crystal Palace aims to become sponsors’ “club of choice in London”
South London football club Crystal Palace is a model for aspirational second-tier teams. The club's commercial director, Barry Webber, tells Adam Nelson how a nimble and flexible commercial strategy has helped the club to capitalise on its top-flight status.
Spurs and Somerset lead the way on growing retail through social, but clubs still leaving money on the table
Research from marketing agency Red Hot Penny suggests clubs across the UK need major rethink of how they convert social engagement into retail sales
9 revenue-generating features at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Wi-Fi network and Bluetooth beacons capture crowd movements
Catering JV to offer more food and beverage options and speedier service
Stephen Duval, 23 Capital | “We signed off a $125m deal in just four weeks”
Ahead of his appearance at the Sports Decision Makers Summit in Miami on May 7, 23 Capital Co-founder Stephen Duval discusses the way a creative approach to finance has opened the door to funding in the sector.
‘Team Yorkshire’ builds £100m-impact event on Tour de France legacy
After hosting the Tour de France's Grand Départ in 2014, Yorkshire is looking to host even more elite cycling events in addition to its very own Tour de Yorkshire, which was created as a legacy event in 2015. Ryan Herman talks to Welcome to Yorkshire's commercial director Peter Dodd about how the organisation plans to develop cycling events in the region.
Brands backing women’s sport is wonderful – but they are followers, not leaders
Richard Gillis on why we should avoid the trap of projecting a moral compass on to multinationals, or thinking that brands take a leading role in important societal issues.
Everton FC | Gathering fan data in the age of GDPR
Ben Cronin asks Everton's director of risk & governance Paul McNicholas; Kyle Cockett, senior insight manager; and the club's first data protection officer Ian Garratt about its strategies regarding how it uses fan data.
ICC uses hybrid ticketing model to boost attendances at 2019 Cricket World Cup
One in three spectators at this year's ICC Cricket World Cup will be new to cricket. SportBusiness examines how the global governing body has marketed tickets for its showpiece event.