Unofficial Partner Podcast

What T20 Cricket Teaches Every Sport About The Race For The Global Fan.
Mike Jakeman joins Richard for Inside Edge, the business of cricket series. 
Guests: 
Finn Bradshaw, Head of Digital, ICC
Edward Fitzgibbon, Managing Director, NYZ Consulting.
Twenty20 cricket is one of the great product innovations in modern sport. Compact, volatile, accessible to anyone with three hours and a phone signal, it has done something fifty-over cricket never managed: it compressed the development timeline for nations outside the traditional power base. 
But here is the lesson other sports should be studying carefully: a brilliant product and a functional structure are not the same thing. Cricket has the former. It is still negotiating its way toward the latter.
The current ICC T20 World Cup is a further proof of concept, if any were needed. The shorter form has lowered the barrier between the established test nations and the rest. But the structure of the game, its calendar, and the allocation of central resources remains wedded to the previous world. So what are the lessons of this event for other sports as the race for the global fan intensifies? 
Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry.
To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartner

We publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday.
These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport.
Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here.
Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app.
If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.

Barney Francis offers an insider's view of the sports media economy, drawing on his huge experience as MD of Sky Sports in the UK and EVP, Studios at IMG, the company's production business. The conversation spans new sports formats, piracy, streaming disruption, rights economics, the creation of The Hundred, the Premier League's move to in-house production, and the structural challenges facing rugby in the UK.  
New Formats: Additive vs Disruptive
Resilience of Incumbent Rights Holders
Piracy: From Nudge and Wink to Cultural Norm
The Netflix Value Equation
Rights Fragmentation vs. Consolidation
The "Home of" Strategy
Sky's Consumer-First Philosophy
Rugby's Structural Failures
The Creation of The Hundred
Premier League Production In-House
Remote Production and Efficiency
Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry.
To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartner

We publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday.
These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport.
Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here.
Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app.
If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.

Richard is joined by regular Bundle co-hosts Yannick Ramcke and Murray Barnett. 
Yannick is General Manager of OTT at the streaming service OneFootball and Murray is founder of 26West Sport and formerly of F1, World Rugby and ESPN.
Subscribe to The Bundle Bulletin, via Unofficial Partner's Substack Newsletter. 
Today's topics:
Advertising Renaissance: ITV’s Six Nations in-game advertising (worth 20% of total inventory value) signals broader inflation, with technology approaching real-time contextual capabilities.
Consolidation Through Equity Stakes: NFL-ESPN deal represents new partnership model where rights holders take equity positions in distributors, aligning incentives and reducing adversarial negotiation dynamics. Zero-risk structure for NFL (buyback options, increased stake rights) while positioning ESPN favorably for 2030 rights renewal.
Platform Monetization: FIFA/TikTok partnership marks inflection where social platforms transition from “free lunch” to paying eight-figure sums for content eligibility. Doesn’t guarantee content appears (still requires broadcaster agreements) but shifts value capture from platforms back toward rights holders.
Direct-to-Consumer Reality Check: Ligue 1+ executing “everything right” strategically (pricing, distribution partnerships, World Cup acquisition) yet still faces fundamental math problem - needs 3-4x current subscriber base to compete with licensing revenues from traditional model. World Cup deal “buys time but doesn’t solve core revenue problem.”
Regulatory/Political Context
The value of the cultural moment. Super Bowl to Winter Olympics foreshadow the LA 2028 Olympics political dynamic, with concern about navigating hostile Trump administration's view of Olympics as a woke party, versus FIFA’s successful Trump relationship management during 2026 World Cup preparations.
Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry.
To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartner

We publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday.
These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport.
Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here.
Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app.
If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.

Pete Fitzboydon, former CEO of Sussex County Cricket Club, reveals the stark financial realities facing non-Test hosting counties. With only 7 out of 50-60 annual playing days generating profit, counties survive primarily on ECB funding - approximately £3m of a £5-10m turnover. The conversation explores The Hundred's transformative impact, selling the longer game, and the future shape of English domestic cricket in a franchised world.
This episode of the Unofficial Partner podcast is brought to you by Sid Lee Sport.
Sid Lee Sport is the fame-making creative and sponsorship agency for brands in sport. Through exceptional creativity, deep sponsorship expertise, and flawless on-site delivery, they help brands, sponsors, and rightsholders unlock their full potential in sport - most recently picking up a Leaders Sports Award for their work with Lidl at UEFA EURO 2024.
Everything they do is driven by a culture of effectiveness - because in sport, performance matters. Not just on the pitch, but in the work too.
So whether you want to build buzz, connect with audiences, or do something that actually cuts through, Sid Lee Sport knows how.
Visit sidleesport.com 
Sid Lee Sport - where brands become champions.

Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry.
To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartner

We publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday.
These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport.
Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here.
Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app.
If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.

Sally Munday is CEO of UK Sport, one of the most influential positions in the sports industry. On Friday the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games begins in Milan-Cortina. 
How many medal will Team GB win? How much will each medal cost? And why does that matter?
UK Sport distributors around £100 million annually in public funds from the National Lottery and the Exchequer, supporting high-performance Olympic and Paralympic sports and athletes. For the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic cycle, they have announced a record £330 million investment, with around £11 million distributed directly to athletes annually through Athlete Personal Awards (APAs). 
Key details regarding UK Sport funding:
Total Investment: Around £100 million per year, focused on "top end" elite sport rather than community, with over 860 medals won since 1997.
LA 2028 Funding: A record £330 million is designated for the Los Angeles 2028 cycle, supporting over 50 sports, including new additions like Flag Football and Lacrosse.
Event Hosting: Over £40 million of National Lottery funding was invested in a £150 million programme to host major international sporting events from 2013-2023.
Recent Funding Shifts: While funding remains high, some sports have faced cuts, such as UK Athletics facing a potential 10% reduction in funding.
Key Beneficiaries (Recent Cycles): Sports like Rowing (£24.85m) and Sailing (£23.9m) have received significant World Class Programme funding for the 2028 cycle. 
The money is used to support elite athletes with training, coaching, and living expenses, primarily aimed at achieving success on the world stage. 
This episode of the Unofficial Partner podcast is brought to you by Sid Lee Sport.
Sid Lee Sport is the fame-making creative and sponsorship agency for brands in sport.
Through exceptional creativity, deep sponsorship expertise, and flawless on-site delivery, they help brands, sponsors, and rightsholders unlock their full potential in sport - most recently picking up a Leaders Sports Award for their work with Lidl at UEFA EURO 2024.
Everything they do is driven by a culture of effectiveness - because in sport, performance matters. Not just on the pitch, but in the work too.
So whether you want to build buzz, connect with audiences, or do something that actually cuts through, Sid Lee Sport knows how.
Visit sidleesport.com 
Sid Lee Sport
Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry.
To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartner

We publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday.
These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport.
Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here.
Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app.
If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.