What Is The Podcast? The Future State - Modern business & future trends explored by Nick Walter & Danny Denhard.
The Future State Of Football - The Business Of The Super League Edition
This week’s future state podcast took a deep dive into the business of football, a timely podcast looking at how the super league crumbled and what the future state of football will be now the powerhouse clubs lost their breakaway moment.
* How we (football and business) got here
* Why the business of football has been missed in the super league discussions
* What the next steps likely are
* Why we haven’t seen the end of this chapter of disruption
* And most importantly why it’s got to the fans and the players who likely take the biggest hit.
Prefer To Subscribe On A Different Podcast App: Spotify // Amazon Music // Listen Notes //
Quote Of The Week:
“We created a monster” — Nick Walter Discussing the current state of football and what we are experiencing.
The Timeline ⬇️
* 02:44 - The business angle of the super league
* 03:21 - The emotional driven business and brand affinity
* 04:53 - “Football needs evolution” - this was a revolution
* 05.30 - Fan crowdfunding - it’s football corporations, not football clubs
* 07:20 - Nick’s ⚽️ Takes
* Everyone’s opinion vs business thoughts
* The uproar
* The change is coming
* Football revenues breakdown
* 08:18 - Power of social media and instant messengers - blame the group chat
* 11:07 - UEFA & FIFA decreasing influence and the $15b world cups
* 12:11 - Pick up of audience and fans - clubs that win, win fans
* 12:36 - The power of All or nothing on Amazon Prime Video. Nick suggesting he is a Cardinals fan (link to Arizona Cardinals show) and the reach of the Spurs show (link to Spurs all or nothing show) - friend Beth Gladstone mentioned it on her podcast and in her newsletter.
* 14:00 - Daniel Levy’s business acumen - taking Spurs from zero to international brand heroes
* 17:21 - The Gary Neville effect and influence
* 18:16 - Power of the sponsors and manufacturers
* 19:35 - Dropping the Nike boot deals (link)
* 21:17 - Dulex x Tottenham social banter & the brand apology (link). Premier League influence of last twenty years, big stars = interest = big wages & bigger audiences
* 25:14 - Barcelona potentially going bust and the business impact
* 25:30 - Nick draws smart parallels between Disney and football (characters = footballers, theme parks = stadiums etc)
* 32:35 - The fans having to take the hit - as usual. There are huge networks of fans, only a few owners
* 33:17 - Sports or entertainment - how sports is entertainment and Jose Mourinho paid the price for not entertaining the Spurs fans
* 34:00 - Pay per view made a lot of money while it lasted - how Sky etc benefitted
* 35:30 - House of highlights (link) and the marketing channel that are highlights
* 36:07 - Stadiums for more than just football (Spurs with NFL), concerts and conferences.
* The tribal nature of football was won and lost this week
* 38:18 - If the owners sell the clubs, there is a huge risk and no one to buy
* 40:09 - Local move to local clubs - “uprisings”
* 43:34 - Sponsors and brands want reach and audience with their deals. It’s marketing and audience building 101
* 43:57 - Football is a global game, global came together to save football for everyone
* 46:30 - 54:12 - The Future State Of Football
* Danny’s Hot Takes 🔥
* 1. Number of shirts and apparel will increase - 4 shirts per season will increase
* 2. More deals and players knowing their worth
* 3. Media companies not football clubs
* 4. Amazon business model doesn’t apply. celebrities might rush to support and invest (The NSWL example referenced link). David Beckham’s investment and political play with Inter Milan
* 5. Big brands might rethink sponsorships
* Nick’s Hot Takes 🔥
* 1. Fans are central to everything but there is a need to balance this with loyalty and business objectives, we will see these work closer together
* 2. Football will continue to be a cut-throat business, but has to be sustainable, we will likely see salary caps
* 3. Disruption - UEFA and FIFA now primed to be picked apart and disrupted
* 4. Lower content-based subscription models
* Lastly, I pose Nick a question: What is the one thing you would do now if you were one of the clubs?
🚨 Don’t forget to enjoy last week’s podcast 🚨
The Future State Of Brand Partnerships & Brand Endorsements
