Business of Sport

It’s all eyes on Norway ahead of a massive World Cup Quarter final against England, but how has a country of 5.5m people built a team capable of beating football’s biggest nations (look away Scotland). And guess what, it’s not just in football. Add to that a look at what it costs to host the biggest F1 races on the back of Silverstone’s record weekend and a check on the billion dollar franchise bids for NBA Europe, and we have ourselves a breakdown!

Disclaimer:
The content of this podcast is intended as commentary and opinion on matters of public interest in the sports industry. While we make every effort to ensure accuracy, figures, statistics, and financial data referenced may be based on publicly available estimates and could be subject to error or change. Nothing in this podcast should be taken as a statement of fact. If you believe any information is inaccurate, please contact us at charlie@20vc.com and we will endeavour to correct the record promptly.

We're delighted to also partner with the Global Institute Of Sport:
⁠⁠⁠⁠https://gis.sport/BoS⁠⁠⁠⁠

Subscribe to our Substack for bonus content:
⁠⁠https://substack.com/@businessofsport⁠⁠

If you’re interested in partnering with the show, please reach out to us at:
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bos@20vc.com⁠⁠

In the summer weeks when tennis is front and centre, USTA CEO Craig Tiley joins us as tennis faces both a bucket load of major opportunities to take advantage of and challenges to overcome. Player pay, demanding audiences, (lack of) centralised governance, some of the biggest stars in global sport - you are balancing multiple plates to try and deliver for the players, the fans, and the businesses.
Craig has turned the Australian Open into one of sports great events; a now 3 week festival of entertainment. Those of you that tune in regularly will know how important that is to the modern sporting business model and appeal. He is now about to take over as CEO of the US Tennis Association, a move that will see him responsible for the US’s largest sporting event and a participation base of over 30 million players; a huge job. There is no one better placed to take us through the highs and lows of the tennis world. One of the first names on the list of guests we wanted to join us when we started the show, I am delighted to welcome Craig to the Business of Sport.

A huge thank you to our amazing partners on the show: 

Airwallex
The intelligent financial platform for global businesses
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.airwallex.com/uk/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Gemini
We empower the most confident sports organisations on Earth
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://geminisports.ai/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

If you’re interested in partnering with the show, please reach out to us at
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bos@20vc.com

England are still alive at the World Cup, but only just, and as the tournament properly gets going, Thomas Tuchel’s big selection calls are starting to look a little more uncomfortable. We’ll get into that, before heading to Wimbledon where Serena Williams’ return gave the tournament the talking point it probably needed, and the players’ prize money protest raises the obvious question: if you’re going to strike, are you actually prepared to hurt the event? We dive into one of sport’s great untouched properties in the Tour de France and the strange economics of cycling. Then we finish with AC Milan, RedBird, Ibrahimović, a huge debt refinancing, and whether one of Europe’s great clubs is actually a bigger mess than it looks and we have ourselves a breakdown.And if you’re wondering why we haven’t mentioned the England cricket disaster, don’t worry, that one is getting the full treatment over on Substack.

Disclaimer:
The content of this podcast is intended as commentary and opinion on matters of public interest in the sports industry. While we make every effort to ensure accuracy, figures, statistics, and financial data referenced may be based on publicly available estimates and could be subject to error or change. Nothing in this podcast should be taken as a statement of fact. If you believe any information is inaccurate, please contact us at ⁠⁠⁠charlie@20vc.com⁠⁠⁠ and we will endeavour to correct the record promptly.

We're delighted to also partner with the Global Institute Of Sport
⁠⁠⁠⁠https://gis.sport/BoS⁠⁠⁠⁠

Subscribe to our Substack for bonus content:
⁠⁠https://substack.com/@businessofsport⁠⁠

If you’re interested in partnering with the show, please reach out to us at
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bos@20vc.com⁠⁠

County cricket. This is long overdue. If we wanted to do this properly, the was really only one place to start, so I’m delighted to welcome Colin Graves to the show. Colin has held positions at the top of international and domestic cricket as Chair of the ECB and Yorkshire, a role he was re-elected to in 2024 as the club faces some of the biggest decisions in its storied history.
The stark reality is that county cricket needs to make more money, attract more fans, produce more content, open itself to new investment. The problem is that there are issues at both a macro and micro level that stop much of that from happening. Private vs member ownership, calendar positioning, fiscal management; how do counties create a business that does more than just survive. This is a compelling take from a man who knows what he’s talking about, and recognises this is highly emotive to many of you who will be listening. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. We’re delighted to welcome Colin to the Business of Sport

A huge thank you to our amazing partners on the show: 

Airwallex
The intelligent financial platform for global businesses
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.airwallex.com/uk/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Gemini
We empower the most confident sports organisations on Earth
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://geminisports.ai/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

If you’re interested in partnering with the show, please reach out to us at
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bos@20vc.com

With two weeks of edge of your seat football, it’s fair to say that the World Cup is delivering on the pitch. But what about all the noise around tickets and pricing and non-football exploits that dominated the news pre-tournament? Time to check in on that, alongside Serena Williams incredible return to Wimbledon in the singles draw at 44, Ben Stokes being back in the fold for the final test with still no apparent accountability or clarity from all sides, and a big old deep dive in the crazy debt laden world of Manchester United as they add another $125m onto an already eye-watering repayment figure.

Disclaimer:
The content of this podcast is intended as commentary and opinion on matters of public interest in the sports industry. While we make every effort to ensure accuracy, figures, statistics, and financial data referenced may be based on publicly available estimates and could be subject to error or change. Nothing in this podcast should be taken as a statement of fact. If you believe any information is inaccurate, please contact us at ⁠⁠⁠charlie@20vc.com⁠⁠⁠ and we will endeavour to correct the record promptly.

We're delighted to also partner with the Global Institute Of Sport
⁠⁠⁠⁠https://gis.sport/BoS⁠⁠⁠⁠

Subscribe to our Substack for bonus content:
⁠⁠https://substack.com/@businessofsport⁠⁠

If you’re interested in partnering with the show, please reach out to us at
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bos@20vc.com⁠⁠