Are You Not Entertained?

Roger Mitchell and Mark Oliver are joined by Davide Tesoro-Tess, the strategist who helped shape Sky Italy, to unpack the biggest media question of the moment: what happens when consolidation, separation and vertical integration all start happening at once? From Comcast and Sky to RTL, MFE and the future of free-to-air versus pay TV, they dig into why Europe’s broadcasters are rearranging themselves, whether the real prize is cost savings or advertising power, and which deals are bold strategy versus survival in a market that is changing fast. Brought to you by 54.

Brian Moore, one of the most recognised and colourful characters in English rugby over the last forty years, joins The Captain this week. A man with a wide and varied career, he was not only a formidable rugby player who represented England and the British Lions, but has also been a solicitor, broadcaster, author, and manicurist. An ardent fan of ballet and opera, he is a man you simply cannot put in a box. Brought to you by Fortnum & Mason and The Sponsorship Doctor.

This week’s Goal/Own Goal swings from the Open Championship’s pure sporting theatre to Bryson DeChambeau’s full-bore nonsense, with Grant and Roger tearing into the difference between actually winning and simply making everything about yourself. From there it’s a sharp, slightly brutal World Cup post-mortem on Messi, legacy, dignity, and the tiny human vanishing act that can sit behind genius, all wrapped in the show’s usual mix of sport, ego, and righteous irritation. It's Goal/Own Goal.

In this episode of The Confessional, Roger Mitchell sits down with Charlie Methven for a sharp, candid conversation about leadership, football, and the hard lessons that come with both.  Charlie reflects on the personal cost of a life lived on the move, the tension between honest words and public perception at Sunderland, and why he believes the game is shaped as much by identity and feeling as by facts and numbers.  He also opens up about the responsibility that comes with transformation, the trade-offs behind ambition, and the value of saying difficult truths even when they’re uncomfortable. Brought to you by Lockeroom.

This week’s Goal Own Goal is a World Cup special that kicks off with Roger’s overcooked summit-wine haze and Donald Trump somehow ending up in a fight with Giorgia Meloni, before the real debate lands: whether England’s win over Mexico was the birth of belief or just one of those classic moments that tempt English football into another grand, doomed act of self-confidence. Grant and Roger chew through the red card, altitude, the Norway banana skin, France looming in the distance, and why World Cup football is always really about whether your top boys can deliver when the pressure turns the whole thing feral. Brought to you by Lockeroom