Unofficial Partner Podcast
Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. Our guests are a who's who of the international sports industry talking about the big issues.
Episodes
451 episodes
UP451 Media Strategy Masterclass: The Art and Science of the Auction
Media rights auctions are the moment when the question of 'What’s sport worth?' is asked and answered; the point at which the talk becomes real; where fortunes are been spent, won and lost, psychology meets money. The auction gives us a glimpse...
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1:13:18
UP450: Who is Charlie Ebersol, and WTF is Infinite Athlete?
Today's guest is Infinite Athlete founder Charlie Ebersol. Infinite Athlete has been a sports business story since the brand suddenly appeared on Chelsea’s shirt at the start of last season.It's a story with a lot of bagg...
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1:07:00
UP449 The Bundle: What Next for Netflix, DAZN, Disney, News Corp, YouTube and Apple
Welcome to The Bundle, our regular series on the sports media and streaming marketplace with co-hosts Yannick Ramcke, General Manager of OTT at the streaming service OneFootball and Murray Barnett, founder of 26West Consulting and formerly of F...
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1:00:06
UP448 The 2025 Predictions Episode: 17 Experts, 35 Trends, 25 minutes
Dame Tracey Crouch on the Football RegulatorKieran Maguire on Richard Masters Fiona Harold on golf's big mergerJason Siegel on VRJenny Mitton on rugbySteve Martin on brandsJo Redfern on gaming formatsNic Coward ...
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25:31
UP447 The 3: The 2024 Christmas Barrioke Wrap Episode
The 3 is back for a special Christmas episode, looking back at the sports business in 2024.Richard is joined by David Cushnan and James Emmett from Leaders in Sport, each of whom is tasked with revealing their most interesting story, person...
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1:09:44
UP446 Wedge Issues: The Man Who Bought The Tour
Wedge Issues is Unofficial Partner's business of golf series.Ryan Howsam is the insurance entrepreneur behind the giant Staysure organisation, who liked golf so much he bought the European Seniors Tour, beginning as a sponsor and turning...
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1:08:53
UP445 'We invented the kit launch genre. It's like Christmas for football'
In a sports industry obsessed with data and measurement, brand is the great intangible asset, the bit of the balance sheet that remains largely opaque, which is why it’s so important. But mention brand in the vicinity of fans or the fo...
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1:03:08
UP444 Unofficial Partner x HBS Live at BAFTA
A special live episode of the podcast recorded at BAFTA in Piccadilly in London, in collaboration with HBS, or Host Broadcast Services, the leaders in sports broadcast production, which was celebrating 25 years in the industry and the opening o...
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1:03:42
UP443 What's Sport Selling? Ep1: Big Sugar, Big Pharma...Where's Big Sport?
This is the first episode in a series of four podcasts made in collaboration with Redtorch, the research and creative agency that’s been at the heart of Olympic sport for over 20 years, working for many of the key international federations. We’...
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1:03:20
UP442 Gamification, Fantasy And Sport's Relationship With The Scroll
The conversation dissects sport’s relationship with the phone, how that differs depending on the nature of our fandom, and the specific roles played by mobile games and fantasy league products in attracting, building and retaining fans.
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1:07:58
UP441 The Bundle: WSL and Sky; Premier League and IMG; Rugby and BBC
Welcome to The Bundle, our regular series on the sports media and streaming marketplace with co-hosts Yannick Ramcke, General Manager of OTT at the streaming service OneFootball and Murray Barnett, founder of 26West Consulting and formerly of F...
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1:08:50
UP440 Two Circles, Pareto and the global chase for sport's Long Tail
Two Circles is predicting the global sports fanbase will grow from 3.2billion to 4billion by 2033. But below that bullish headline, there’s some nuance. For example, two thirds of consumption comes from just 20% of the most dedicated fans. So t...
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53:33
UP439 The Buy Side - Unilever
The Buy Side is our regular series talking with brand side marketers about sport and sponsorship.Today's guest is Willem Dinger, global head of sport and entertainment partnerships at Unilever.The Buy Side is sponsored by KORE Softwa...
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41:06
UP438 Other People's Money - The Sports Tech Market
Other People's Money is our regular series on sports investment, with co-host Matt Rogan, co-founder of Two Circles.Today the subject is sports tech, with our guest Dugald Macdonald co-founder of Sportable.
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1:02:38
UP437 Pickle, Padel and the LTA: Natural Home or NGB Landgrab?
There’s a row going on over who should run the nascent and potentially commercially valuable sports of padel and pickleball. This issue has a universal application across many sports, as NGBs seek to wrap their arms around what they...
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45:12
UP436 The Bundle Live @ Sportel Monaco
A special live episode recorded on stage at Sportel Monaco, the global sports television and technology convention.Guests:Glen Killane, Executive Director of Sport, European Broadcast Union, the EBU.Claire Kelly, Managing ...
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41:22
UP435 Dame Tracey Crouch: The Budget, Blame and the Football Regulator
Dame Tracey Elizabeth Anne Crouch DBE (born 24 July 1975) is a British Conserva...
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1:01:51
UP434 Expected Goals Takeover
A special bonus episode of Expected Goals, Unofficial Partner's sister podcast on the women's football business, with co-hosts Maggie Murphy and Matt Cutler. Joining them is Polly Bancroft, CEO of Grimsby Town FC, who was formerly head...
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48:56
UP433 The Bundle - NFL and FIFA global ambitions; The Gary Lineker Question
Welcome to The Bundle, our regular series on the sports media and streaming marketplace with co-hosts Yannick Ramcke, General Manager of OTT at the streaming service OneFootball and Murray Barnett, founder of 26West Consulting and formerly of F...
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58:19
UP432 The Big Idea - And1 Mixtapes, Joga Bonito and CRTZ
The Big Idea is our regular series on creativity, with co-host award winning consulting Creative Director Simon Moore.We ask a guest to bring three of their favourite sports...
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45:21
UP431 Gareth Balch on why Two Circles has bought KORE
Fresh from an excellent Leaders Summit at Twickenham, or should we say Allianz Stadium, is a conversation with Gareth Balch, founder and CEO of Two Circles agency about the agreement to buy KORE Software, a deal announced this week.Two C...
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41:57
UP430 Other People's Money: How to Sell (or Buy) a Sports Business
Other People's Money is our regular series on sports investment, with co-host Matt Rogan, co-founder of Two Circles.Today we get in to the minutiae of deal making, with Steve Hacking, managing partner at
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52:21
UP429 The 3: The Melancholic Leaving Them Wanting More (Question Mark) Episode
The 3 is a failed experiment in podcast format innovation. The 3 is a creative collaboration between Unofficial Partner and Leaders in Sport. The 3 picks three stories from the sports business week and dissects them on a Frida...
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48:12
UP428 The Squeezed Middle - Frenemies: Where Next For The NGB Model?
This is a follow up to our popular series of last year, The Squeezed Middle, which was a collaboration with PTI Digital, the independent strategy and technology consultancy. This episode looks in to a new report, The Sports Leadership Benchmark...
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43:52
UP427 Lalit Modi Exclusive: “The Hundred is a non-starter”
The ECB is currently seeking investors for The Hundred franchises, the short form cricket competition and are selling a 49% stake that values them at up to £150m each. Today’s guest Lalit Modi disagrees. The founder of the Indian Premier League...
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38:39