Sports Content Strategy podcast — MrRichardClarke ｜ Sports Digital Consultant and Journalist

Roddy McDougall: Is there life left in British speedway?

Jan 27

Jan 27 Roddy McDougall: Is there life left in British speedway?

The decline of UK speedway in the past 40 years is worthy of close examination. In the 1970s and early 1980s, it was billed as Britain's second most popular spectator sport. Now, bar a dwindling yet devoted hardcore, it seems to have entirely lost its mainstream appeal. Some believe it is as close to death as any professional sport could ever come in the UK.

The sports business world often discusses the possibility of a sport 'dying' if it fails to change and modernise. But why did this happen to speedway in particular? What lessons are there for modern sports? Was a media deal pivotal? What structural problems did the sport have? And, most importantly, does speedway's European success give hope for the future?

Rich Luker: How to foresee the future of sports fans

Dec 23

Dec 23 Rich Luker: How to foresee the future of sports fans

Rich Luker is a pioneer in the research of sports fans. For a quarter of a century, he has been asking them questions and analysing their answers, first as ESPN Sports Poll now as Luker on Trends.

His views on the future of the industry may be strong but they are based on a vast amount of rich, longitudinal data.

Even before the pandemic, Luker was hammering US sports owners to concentrate on creating meaningful relationships rather than merely transactional ones.

In its wake, he will be beating that drum even louder.

Grant Wahl: Covering soccer in the USA

Nov 19

Nov 19 Grant Wahl: Covering soccer in the USA

Grant Wahl is perhaps the most respected journalist working in US soccer today.

During his two decades covering the sport Stateside, Wahl has seen the men's national team gain tangible popularity, the women lift the World Cup on numerous occasions and a stable domestic league garner global respect. All were unprecedented.

Having myself spent two seasons in Major League Soccer, the enthusiasm at the grassroots level is clear. Translating that into a truly world-class professional league is not so easy, especially as the major names of Europe are widely shown on television, touring regularly and starting to make in-roads into the American market.

Andrew Ryan: Running FIBA Media

Nov 6

Nov 6 Andrew Ryan: Running FIBA Media

The origins of FIBA go back almost 90 years and it has been organising a basketball World Cup since 1950 but only in the last decade has the federation truly obtained a prominent global profile.

Content has been at the heart of FIBA's recent growth, as exemplified by an astounding 3bn television reach and 1.5bn video views on social media at the World Cup in China. Andrew Ryan is MD of FIBA Media, he explained their approach to content, broadcast properties, OTT, personalisation and data, influencers and esports

Barrie Tomlinson: The Content Strategy of Roy of the Rovers

Oct 13

Oct 13 Barrie Tomlinson: The Content Strategy of Roy of the Rovers

Barrie Tomlinson played a major part in my childhood. As editor of Tiger & Scorcher and Roy of the Rovers, he was in charge of the two comics that dominated my reading before I went to secondary school.

At their height, these publications sold 300,000 copies per week in the UK and enjoyed guest writers including the England manager and Duke of Edinburgh. Of course, this was decades before digital media but, in this podcast, Tomlinson provides useful lessons in content strategy, character development, the importance of feedback, editorial control versus commercialisation, being prepared to 'kill your darlings' and much, much more

Chris Millard: The Barmy Army Story

Sep 29

Sep 29 Chris Millard: The Barmy Army Story

The Barmy Army started 2020 by celebrating their 25th birthday, ended the summer with official recognition from the England captain but will see out the year, like so many of us, ‘battening down the hatches’ for a difficult 2021.

Managing director Chris Millard told the Barmy Army story to Sports Content Strategy - its past, its Covid-hit present and how it is the trying to shape the future of international cricket supporting.

The story of this supporters’ group is well-known. Paul Burnham, Gareth Evans and David Peacock were part of a cluster of doughty fans watching Mike Atherton’s men slide to another inglorious Ashes defeat in Adelaide in the winter of 1994/95. They sang and drank with gusto, seemingly oblivious to the score, the opposition or the need for sun-block. The Australian press branded them “the Barmy Army”, a name that the trio were shrewd enough to copyright in the UK and Australia. They printed and sold 100 T-shirts with their new name. By the next Test, they would need 3,000. Since then, the Barmy Army have followed England though thin, thinner and occasionally ‘thick’, providing loud, passionate support from the stands. Outwardly they conform to the stereotype of the travelling English sports fan, however, their ethos has always been different. Aware of their behaviour and self-policing, they have raised £500,000 for charities in the countries they visit. Their funds helped to rebuild a Sri Lankan village destroyed by a tsunami. It was renamed in the group’s honour.

Managing director Chris Millard told the Barmy Army story to Sports Content Strategy - its past, its Covid-hit present and how it is trying to shape the future of international cricket supporting.

Chester King: The role of the British Esports Association

Sep 9

Sep 9 Chester King: The role of the British Esports Association

One of the issues that has dogged the emergence of esports is the very word sports in its name. The uninitiated want to bracket this new phenomenon as a virtual version of more traditional competition when entertainment is a better bracket. However, for now, it still tends to be shown on sports channels and reported in sports sections.

Then there is the question of best practice, development and governance. Although game publishers hold the power, there is a crucial role for national bodies. That is why Chester King set-up the British Esports Association in 2016.

In this podcast, we look at the myths surrounding the industry, the important social and psychological benefits of esports, why key institutions have recognised its usefulness and how UK business has not.

Thomas Lintz: The story of Transfermarkt

Jul 29

Jul 29 Thomas Lintz: The story of Transfermarkt

Transfermarkt is a phenomenon. Like IMDB in film and Boxrec in boxing, it is a community-sourced facts-and-stats site that has become the authority it is area.

It has 1.5 million football matches and 760,000 player profiles in its database. But the difference is the 80,000 coaches, 41,000 referees, 75,000 clubs and 12,000 agents.

Its valuations of players dominate the industry. Just visit LinkedIN and you’ll find representatives pitching their players based on their “TM price”.

In this podcast, managing director Thomas Lintz reveals the origin story of Transfermarkt. How it went from a passion project for self-confessed data nerds, through community growth and mainstream investment to become the data geek’s football site.

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

Jul 15

Jul 15 Tom Middleditch: Eleven Sports, OTT, Watch Together, Piracy, New Territories

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.

Kieran Maguire: How to buy a football club

Jun 25

Jun 25 Kieran Maguire: How to buy a football club

Soon or later every industry will be hit by the recession that is already starting to impact the world in the wake of Covid-19. But, of course, football is not every industry, it has always been entirely unique. The beautiful game attracts a constant stream of good, bad and ugly owners, who often exit broke and dejected a few years later.

The potential collapse of various industries that underpin football and the demise of current owners’ personal wealth may mean many clubs change hands in the next couple of years.

But how do you buy a club, what should you look for and who would take on this traditionally tough job?

Kieran Maguire is a lecturer in football finance at the University of Liverpool. He also co-hosts a podcast called The Price of Football, and has written a book of the same name.

He is perfectly-positioned to sort the tyre-kickers and crooks from altruists and fans-made-good who will look to leap into club ownership in the next few years.

Simon McMenemy: How to manage 'the biggest football country in the world'

Jun 11

Jun 11 Simon McMenemy: How to manage 'the biggest football country in the world'

Simon McMenemy has managed two national football teams and won a league title but you have probably never heard of him. When he moved from his role as assistant manager at Worthing FC to take over in the Philippines (no you did not read that incorrectly) he was the youngest national head coach in the world. Then when Simon was handed the reigns at the Indonesian side, he had the second most important job in a country of 270m people. Only the president has a higher status in the most populous nation where football in the No1 sport.

Andrew McNeill: How to run an esports franchise

Jun 5

Jun 5 Andrew McNeill: How to run an esports franchise

The NBA 2K League may be the best example of the way traditional sports is trying to enter the esports market.

Andrew McNeill has been at the forefront of this sector for years. After running the esports track at the SXSW conference, he moved to Monumental Sports to take charge of the 2K franchise for the Washington Wizards NBA team and the Capital’s nascent virtual hockey offering.

This podcast explores the growth of the 2K league, how real and virtual sports can complement one another, sponsorship, building a roster, the new franchise in Shanghai and much much more

Jesse Cole: How to REALLY put your fans first

May 24

May 24 Jesse Cole: How to REALLY put your fans first

Many sports organisations say they put the fans first, however no one is doing it quite like the Savannah Bananas.

Since Jesse Cole took over this 'very minor' minor league baseball outfit, crowds at their 'shows' have gone from a few hundred to 4,000 sell-outs for season upon season.

The formula is simple - taking out all of the friction fans face in attending an event and replacing it with pure, unadulterated fun.

Every ticket is all-you-can-eat, there is no advertising in the stadium and they have no corporate sponsorship. Almost nothing is spent on marketing, instead, a host of fan-friendly antics and activations garner them attention.

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

May 17

May 17 David Fowler: New sports business models for the 'other 90%'

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.

Adrian Bevington: Crisis communications, football and the coronavirus

Mar 31

Mar 31 Adrian Bevington: Crisis communications, football and the coronavirus

Like every industry, sport is trying to cope with the impact of the coronavirus and understand how it will reemerge once the current crisis has passed. In uncertain times, clear and effective communication is always crucial.

Adrian Bevington has managed this function at a number of high-profile football organisations, most notably the English FA. He has also held key strategic roles.

Bevington is well-placed to articulate the core tenets of effective communications at this time but also articulate the opportunity to reframe a better, more socially-responsible football industry once society returns to some semblance of normality.

Michael Calvin: How to write a sports book

Mar 24

Mar 24 Michael Calvin: How to write a sports book

Journalist Michael Calvin has written some of the most important and influential British sports books of the last decade.

He has taken a deep-dive into areas such as scouting, leadership, youth development, and the business of football, winning a host of awards along the way. Michael has also co-written deeply personal biographies with the likes of Gareth Thomas, Sir Alastair Cook and Joey Barton.

In this podcast, Michael takes us through his process, from choosing the topics and forming the questions to self-publishing and marketing the book. We also talk about the modern media landscape, the gravitas that books still retain and the many important issues his work has highlighted.