Ruck and maul stars: Rugby clubs bank on behind-the-scenes content to attract fans November 8, 2022 Matt Hardy on the rise of rugby clubs producing their own content as they look to attract new fans to the sport outside of the international arena. Gone are the days of sending season tickets out via carrier pigeon and releasing fixture lists through smoke signals, and here are the days of holograms, on-demand video [...]
Iconic football photographs set to go under the hammer ahead of the World Cup November 7, 2022 Images of Pele, Diego Maradona and David Beckham are set to go under the hammer this week in an auction of iconic football photographs ahead of the World Cup. The collection is drawn from the vast archives of French sports publication L’Equipe and numbers 170 images from the last 70 years of international and club [...]
Compelling Rugby World Cup shows the women’s game is entering golden era November 7, 2022 This Rugby World Cup has set new standards for women’s rugby. Two exceptional and competitive semi-finals, which set up this weekend’s final between England and New Zealand, reflected a tournament that has proven the women’s game is a tremendous spectacle of fantastic players. Matches are compelling and fluid. Scrums and lineouts are completed quickly, there [...]
TMRW Sports: Andy Murray and Lewis Hamilton follow US athlete blueprint November 6, 2022 While no one can doubt the achievements of a combined eight NBA titles, 10 Grammys, 21 Olympic medals, 40 Emmys, 42 Grand Slams and 113 Formula One wins, it is away from the stages, studios and stadiums that TMRW Sports could be about to change the game following an investor announcement last week. Founded by [...]
Ed Warner: English football of all levels penetrating hyper-commercial US sport November 3, 2022 Does anyone in England call the Premier League the EPL? I ask because I had a random encounter at Heathrow last week with one of a group of five Crystal Palace fans headed to Selhurst Park for their “first EPL game”. The Ted Lasso effect maybe? I only hope they made it to the Clifton [...]
Ed Warner: My advice to aspiring youngsters is to do your homework October 27, 2022 I never imagined I’d end up spending half my working week immersed in the world of sport. I stumbled into it via a serendipitous alignment of the stars in my mid 30s and have been privileged to parlay my enthusiasm for sport and my business knowledge into emotionally rewarding experiences for the past fifteen years. [...]
Ed Warner: Don’t criticise British Cycling for accepting sponsorship from Shell October 20, 2022 Disclaimer No1: I don’t think I’ve written anything in support of British Cycling down the years. Quite the opposite in fact. But I can’t bring myself to add my name to the lengthening petition that splutters in indignation about the governing body’s sponsorship deal with Shell. So, here’s a first for me. British Cycling’s eight-year [...]
Claressa Shields v Savannah Marshall and the rise and rise of women’s boxing October 13, 2022 The last time Savannah Marshall and Claressa Shields met in a boxing ring, they were both amateurs with no realistic prospect of making a good living from the sport. A decade on, the bitter rivals are due to renew hostilities at the top of the professional ranks on a historic occasion that promises to earn [...]
Ed Warner: Boxing’s parallel existence, Benn-Eubank, and a Trussian shambles October 13, 2022 The Sweet Science. The Noble Art. Boxing has a lore of its own and is a law unto itself. It occupies a parallel existence in which its rules, first published under the sponsorship of the ninth Marquess of Queensbury in 1867, and a love of litigation – real and threatened – are deemed sufficient to [...]
Tsunami of takeovers in sports swells deal values by record 433 per cent with private equity leading the pack October 11, 2022 The value of M&A and major stake-building in the sports industry has increased 433 per cent in the last year, rising from £1.8bn last year to £9.6bn this year, according to fresh data shared with City A.M. this morning. As more private equity, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors pursue deals in the sports [...]