All tagged digital

Ben Wells: Sport, digital and the re-emergence after Covid-19

Ben Wells: Sport, digital and the re-emergence after Covid-19

Rich Clarke
podcast

Sport in the UK is getting ready for the return of spectators.

The sticking plasters that have held their business models can start to be whipped off. The question is what will we find underneath?

Ben Wells has spent lockdown thinking deeply on these issues. The CCO of PTI Digital has wide experience from his time at Chelsea FC and Bath Rugby. He believes it WILL be different, behaviours WILL change and some aspects of sports will NEVER be the same again. However, there IS an opportunity to forge a different future. And, he believes, digital will be at its heart.

Tom Middleditch: Eleven Sports, OTT, Watch Together, Piracy, New Territories

Tom Middleditch: Eleven Sports, OTT, Watch Together, Piracy, New Territories

Rich Clarke
podcast

Since they launched in 2015, Eleven Sports have been at the vanguard of sports broadcasting via an over-the-top platform.

They led the way in the development of Watch Together technology and recently announced perhaps their most significant deal as the domestic broadcaster for the Belgian League.

Their business is not restricted to OTT but my conversation with Tom Middleditch, Global Head of Digital, centred on this relatively new technology.

For the last few years, talk has grown about OTT’s ability to redefine the sports rights landscape. It is likely that Covid-19 will only accelerate this process.

This is an area with huge potential given the ability of rights-holders to go direct to consumer via OTT and the deep-dive data it can provide. However, there are major technological hurdles such as piracy and latency.

David Fowler: New sports business models for the 'other 90%'

David Fowler: New sports business models for the 'other 90%'

Rich Clarke
podcast

How does sport rebuild itself in the wake of Covid-19? Much of the focus has been on the top 10 per cent, the big teams and leagues that dominate the agenda. However, surely it is those in the lower reaches who should have the most concern. David Fowler is the Director of Marketing at MyCujoo, a live football streaming platform focussing primarily on small and middle-tier federations, leagues and clubs all over the world to produce and distribute live and on-demand content.

As a former Head of Strategy and Intelligence at FIFA, David has strong views on the way those outside football's upper echelons might realign their operations and business models. This wide-ranging discussion is not about the big teams, they can look after themselves. It is about how smaller organisations might face up to the greatest ever threat to their existence.

Mario Leo: Football Digital Media predictions 2020

Mario Leo: Football Digital Media predictions 2020

Rich Clarke
podcast

It is now a tradition for Mario Leo and I to discuss digital sports trends at the start of each year. Mario runs RESULT Sports, a global digital sports media platform enabling mobile, social and web opportunities for rights-holders all over the world. Therefore his opinions are worth listening to.

This is the 50th edition of Sports Content Strategy and, quite fittingly, it is a long, deep conversation looking at all aspects of the business. We look at broadcasting, social media, sports business models, globalisation, streaming, data, the role of politics and much much more

Egor Kretsan: Zenit St Petersburg - bold, brash and speaking 15 languages

Egor Kretsan: Zenit St Petersburg - bold, brash and speaking 15 languages

Rich Clarke
podcast

Russian football is undergoing a makeover. It has just hosted a successful World Cup and its club sides are regulars in the latter stages of European competition. The Russian League revealed a radical rebranding last year and its leading club, Zenit St Petersburg, are thinking beyond the serious stereotype into which the country’s persona sometimes falls.

They are creating high polished content, translating it into 15 languages and are not afraid to take on the world’s big teams and major media outlets on social media.

New Media Director Egor Kretsan leads the club’s content strategy. He spoke to me about their approach.

Kei Koyama: The J.League breaks out

Kei Koyama: The J.League breaks out

Rich Clarke
podcast

The emerging football leagues around the world might consider the J.League as a model.

Since starting in 1993, it has formed the foundation upon which Japanese club teams have become a force in the AFC Champions League and their national side regulars in the latter stages of major international tournaments. They even co-hosted the World Cup in 2002.

Now, the J.League is looking to expand overseas using digital as a driver.

Kei Koyama, from their international development department, spoke to me about the past, present and future, including the J.League furoshiki (translated as 'wrapping cloth'). This is a digital asset hub which allows them to create better content quickly and efficiently.

We also discuss the competition’s very different demographics and the strategic importance of the 10-year broadcasting deal with DAZN.