Changing The Game, Constant Innovation In Sport

In 2020 I tried to buy a Formula 1 Team. There were two big lessons in that process. 1. Being early is hard... the difficulty in getting any potential investors to back a bit was amazing. We were consistently told it was a money pit, no chance of building valuation etc. That the new terms of the concorde agreement were known and Drive to Survive was bubbling away had zero impact. It's scant consolation that we have been proven right. 2. As we went through diligence and management presentations it was remarkable to find that every team effectively operated on the same commercial model. And when you looked at benchmarking you realised it was no different to the professional football clubs who also shared the same model... so if you are not Ferrari or Man Utd (or a true premium brand) then you are effectively competing on price and making yourself a commodity... which just makes no sense to me.

Joe Ravitch in 2022 said that European Sports teams could double in value in 5 years. Many on the continent sneered... Personally, I agree with him, but the question I have is how can we get there. If the model in Europe is now Mature and no longer in a growth stage what needs to happen. If ticketing is yield management, media rights are flat and sponsorship is 6% CAGR at best then maybe a different approach is needed?

The echo chamber I live in is sometimes very negative about the state of the industry. I have a different view. Sure there are plenty of challenges, yes I can get enormously frustrated but when you start digging you see the opportunity. In this quick episode i dig into what the web and rise of social really tells me about sports (good news) Where as a mature business in Europe we really are (bad news but shows you the way forward) What comes next (exciting times)

As I get older it gets easier to remember the golden ages of sports. Tactics, training, fitness can at times level the playing field and its rare to now find a ‘bad team’.  It’s also harder for great talent to stand out as the overall level of play is higher than before. So whilst every sport is changing and there are inevitable cycles to talent (see Tennis) I look at sports today and generally I have to say I don’t see the past as a golden era – just different. So do we really need to look at changing the underlying product or is there a different question to answer?

Ok - as i say at the beginning you have to go down the Rabbit Hole with me on this one... I think most of Sports have misunderstood Private Equity and External Capital for a long time. Having been literally the first into the game in Europe (i know im getting old, it was 2010!), I have picked up a few things. The misnomer is often to label PE as a 'vulture fund' or the Richard Gere 'Pretty Women' buy and dismantle of a bygone conglomerate era... But as a fan of the industry and of the club, going down this rabbit hole suddenly gave a rational explanation to what has as a fan felt like an irrational experience... what do you think?

When you fall into the trap of thinking you 'deserve' to be in a certain place then your downfall is almost guaranteed. If you can embrace the fact that Sports role in society is a privilege not not a right or a guarantee then you can start making the changes needed to remain front and center of the attention wars. Sport is part of the human condition - but that doesn't mean your sport has a right to be top, or relevent, today. On the pitch its accepted that standing still is going backwards, so that mindset is critical off the pitch too. Remember, as i highlight here, that society itself has been undergoing some fundamental changes in the past few decades. One - relvent to where i post this - is that discourse has been replaced by hyperbole. BUT when all is said and done, with the Fan front and center, and accepting your privileged role, you can adapt to meet the needs of the fan and thrive.

Or perhaps not... I know, I know, in this day and age we need hyperbole and extreme opinions to get cut through, but for once maybe its just not necessary. I would implore anyone in the Sports industry to watch the event, learn from it, and understand (ask better people than me) why Jake Paul is able to achieve these remarkable ratings BUT don't overdo it. Exhibition events have been happening for decades, yes there is more attention now but this is not new. Also pivoting your strategy to mimic a one off event is a mistake. One little nugget for you on this...the story in this event is as old as the bible itself . Good vs Evil (pick which side is which). Listen, learn, move on.

"Whatever you do, do NOT buy a Rugby Club" I repeated that refrain a lot in the past 12 months. Immediately before pitching a club that everyone should be looking to acquire. The difference is that I don't simply see a Rugby team but a cultural icon, a brand, and a vision that can be successful on and off the pitch. I'm excited to see therefore the news that there is a potential new vision for the Club Rugby game. Based, from what I read in the media, on a few franchises, quality players, and fewer matches - indeed I think Rugby needs the scarcity that the NFL provides. Change is coming, because its increasingly clear that the status quo is breaking. Rugby deserves to thrive.

Everyone loves to say that the Fan comes First... but do they mean it? Can that sit comfortably with the concept that Content is King - how do the two phrases sit together? Here I give a classic example where one of the world's great sporting institutions made very clear - by accident - just exactly where the fan really sits. There are emerging examples where the fan is first but you have to go hunting.

The bid we came up with was always a 'By the Fan, for the Fan' offer. As fans of the club for multiple generations of the family it was the only way we could proceed. As part of my role in the bid, I made an effort to meet as many fan groups as possible. Whilst we were fans ourselves it would be ludicrous to think other fan groups don't have different opinions. At the end of the day, having reflected on all those amazing meetings and conversations there were 3 key lessons I learned. 1. We all want hope 2. the beer is lousy (it is deeper than that) 3. the club doesn't care about us. When I share that with other sports execs the answer surprises me.

Taylor Swift has an enormous amount of power. The Ticketing industry is ripe for change...much of it built on tech from another generation. Whilst she hugely benefits from the current system, she is perhaps one of the few with the power and influence to disrupt an industry!

Episode 21 - Content isn’t the Effing kingWords matter. Punctuation matters - need proof, rereads the 2nd amendment and add a singular comma and suddenly no one can own a gun! Popular phrases are used to simplify things but sometimes we miss the point when we over simplify. Contents is NOT the King. Content as Catalyst is how anyone in sports and entertainments should be thinking. It’s critical to everything you do and how to drive a real and holistic business strategy. If you really believe the content is King then perhaps everything else should down tools…Plagiarising White Men Cant’t Jump - you may be listening but do you hear me?

Episode 20 - are we looking in the right directionI love learning from brighter minds…and this gem was imparted to me late last night. Recently I opined that ticketing perhaps needed Taylor Swift to disrupt the industry as few had the power to change things like her. But perhaps I have been thinking about the problem all wrong? Where does disruption come from? It’s rarely from within…so are we looking in the right hey direction?

Episode 19 - Winning, Not necessary?You hear it all the time - you have to win to be relevant. You have to win to succeed off the pitch. You can’t generate returns without winning on the pitch. But is it true? Obviously the logic makes sense, but wouldn’t that make a mockery of the underdog story?Oh and one last thing - what’s the only thing you can’t guarantee in sports?

Episode 18 - I don’t get it. Everything about England vs All Blacks was brilliant. On and off field product I thought exceptional. Fast and strong and well presented. Club rugby looks a mess. Why? Explain it to me like I’m a 5 year old. Lesson - I have to go to a game and watch it on tv again and form some thoughts.

Episode 17 - The cruise ship. Sports is changing. It’s perhaps slow and inefficient but it is changing. I’m excited and nervous when is see bright people in great organisations making changes and for em to be worried I’m now behind the times. Other times of course I feel like the world is moving to fast for sports and I get frustrated again…But I get the sense the cruise ship is turning. Is it headed for calmer or stormier waters…that’s the question!

Episode 16 - Tip your HatYou have to pay homage when people get things right and the numbers around The World Series are worth celebrating.

Episode 15 - Don’t bash sports I find it weird to hear so many people bash the industry they are in. I have long argued for the need to modernise our business model and it’s enormously frustrating to see the slow pace of change. But sports might just be the only thing holding the media model together…

Episode 14 - Don’t blame long formWe always clamour for short form and blame ‘demise’ of long form on attention span but that just doesn’t match the evidence.

Episode 13 - Only Just The BeginningWell done to the WNBA…but now the work really kicks off. A new media deal, new CBA coming and new expectations…