The Digital Sport Insider

In the final instalment of my short series looking at those who have set up sports business, I got to chat on Skype with the co-founder of community live streaming platform mycujoo, Joao Presa. In it we discuss the origins of the idea, the benefits of setting up with a great co-founder - in Joao's case his twin brother Pedro - the struggles in getting those elusive first clients on board and the need to keep believing in what you're doing to succeed.  You can find out more about the company at mycujoo.tv and Joao is on @joaopresa. Also do check out Sean Callanan's podcast with mycujoo Director of Marketing, David Fowler.  Finally - a big thank you to everyone who has listened to the podcast over the last 2 years. We have now passed 100k downloads, which is an amazing achievement! Dan

In the second of our brief series looking at sports business founders, this time Dan spoke to the founder of leading agency PRISM, Steve Madincea.  Steve's journey has been one as interesting as you're likely to hear with so many lessons learnt along the way. From his time with fiery owner of F1 team Benetton to his experience of working with Sir Martin Sorrell after being the first sports brand to join the WPP family in 1999. He's now back on the entrepreneurial path again with his company Fantastec, working across technologies including OTT VOD, 5G, VR/AR, wearable tech, AI and blockchain.  You can find Steve on @smm13 and on LinkedIn.

This is one in a very short new mini-series that, instead of looking at individual careers or topics, it's about how someone has gone about starting and building a successful sports business.  Duncan Burbidge is co-founder of streaming company StreamAMG. Over 17 years he's steadily built the business up and in 2017 it was purchased by PA Group. But how did he manage to do it with no investment or even an overdraft? What lessons did he learn? And what are some of the moments when it didn't all quite go to plan? It's a great insight into taking something from an idea to building it into a successful business, and taps into my own passion for entrepreneurship.

Daniel is Germany's leading sports marketing podcaster as well as consultant to clubs, leagues and brands. Helping them produce industry leading podcasts, devise strategies around voice marketing and digital transformation. I was keen to find out his thoughts and insights on sports accelerators (he's a mentor on the LeAD Accelerator), esports, voice marketing, OTT/broadcast and of course podcasting. Make sure you check out Daniel's podcast at https://sportsmaniac.de/podcast-2 and hopefully we'll see him in the UK soon.

VICE are based in New York City and have a long pedigree in telling stories, whether it be written or in video as the emphasis has been for the last few years.  But unlike others who are struggling to deal social media algorithm changes, VICE have played more of a long game and trusted how they want to tell the story. No matter the length of it.  It’s interesting that they don’t see an emphasis on having a single destination to drive people towards, it’s about engaging with people on the different platforms in the best way they can.  We also discuss IGTV, Facebook Watch, their partnership with the NBA, best practice in social video production and much much more. If you enjoy then do leave a comment or rating and help others find the series. You can also find us on DigitalSport.co and DigitalSportUK on Twitter.

Away from our usual chats on sports marketing, this week I spoke with the CEO of Dublin and San Fransisco based 'athlete optimisation system' Kitman Labs. This episode with recorded just ahead of the England v Croatia World Cup semi-final, so we go into this game and the tournament generally. And I show that I can get my football predictions right as well! Stephen had his epiphany whilst working for Leinster Rugby and co-founded the company back in 2012 and has grown it into one of the most successful sports tech startups around.  Next week I'm chatting to VICE's Director of Video (Sports) so make sure you don't miss out by subscribing now.

The day after DAZN officially launched in the United States, I spoke to their SVP for Revenue, Joe Markowski. He's been with DAZN since the start and worked out in Japan, one of their key markets, for a couple of years. Earlier this year DAZN shocked the industry with a $1bn deal with Matchroom Sport to launch Matchroom Boxing US over an 8 year period. And they announced Anthony Joshua's next fight on Sept 28th will be on the platform.  It's not just boxing but also MMA they have identified as early sports for the US. So we talked about why these are the ones they have started with. Plus the state of the broadcast and sports rights markets in general in this all encompassing discussion.

Wimbledon is rightly heralded as one of the leading sports events in the world, not just because of what happens on the court but also by their ability to remain true to their values and history whilst having innovation and technology at their core.  And at the centre of this drive has been Alex Willis. I first spoke to Alex in around 2013 and she presented about the tournament at my first Digital Sport London event that year.  Since then we've spoken regularly about what is coming up that particular year. But this year I had the opportunity to visit during play and speak to her whilst it was all going on. My first ever visit to Wimbledon! Alex also has the honour of being the first returning guest on the podcast. She was first on in November 2016, an early guest, and you can more about her personal journey in it - http://bit.ly/2JfmBmZ Enjoy!

In this week's show I got the opportunity to visit Wembley on the day of England v Colombia to talk to Russell James, Digital Engagement Director, and Damien Cullen, Senior Video Manager, at The FA. The initial talk is obviously about the World Cup, though we recorded before the game so were living in hope more than expectation. Russell talks about his work in transforming a traditional organisation such as The FA into a digitally fit one for fans and players alike. A role that touches not only on the senior men's side but throughout all levels of the game. Towards the end (35:40), Damien steps in to chat about The Lions Den daily YouTube show, their approach to video and IGTV. #ItsComingHome

Circling back onto one of my favourite early episodes of the podcast. Not only did we get chance to talk esports when it was just taking off within 'traditional' sports but also because we got to record it in a professional recording studio... on Pete Townshend's (from The Who) boat. My guests were;  -Vas Roberts - VP Sales, FACEIT  - Jonny Madill - Sports & eSports Lawyer, Sheridans  - Malph Minns - MD, Strive Sponsorship In this episode we covered a wide range of topics that ranged from the investment in players/teams from traditional sport to the governance of eSports leagues. Please give us a follow or a comment, review on any of our platforms.  Find us at @DigitalSportUK and http://www.digitalsport.co

Kurt Edwards is Commercial Director at London's newest sports radio station Love Sport Radio. They have launched an unashamedly London biased radio station and have worked closely with fans to make them central to the new offering. With former talkSPORT founder Kelvin Mackenzie amongst the investors, they've taken a different approach by involving new talent from the podcasting world as well as embracing technology as they make shows available on Amazon Echo and Google Home.  I went down to their studio in Southwark to find out more. [https://www.lovesportradio.com](https://www.lovesportradio.com/)

The Football Blogging Awards, run by our colleagues at Snack Media, is the Oscars of the football blogging world. Rewarding not just the professional setups at the likes of Copa90 but amateurs doing it for the love of the sport and their team. During the evening we got to catch up with some of the winners, and hear what goes into the judging from Paul Rayner. 2:00 Paul Rayner - SPORTbible 6:40 Max Hayes - Matchday With Max 11:02 Paul Dyke - Celtic Star Pod 17:24 Matt 'Smiv ' Smith - Palmers FC 23:03 Robbie Lyle - ArsenalFanTV 28:46 Dean Stobbard - 442oons If you enjoy the podcast then do leave a rating or review if you can. You can also follow all the latest industry news on [DigitalSport.co](http://digitalsport.co) and @DigitalSportUK

Romily is a fascinating person who has an in-depth view on the challenges football is facing. Not just the ones we're used to talking about, but those BIG things that are happening behind the scenes and could be make-or-break for the sport we love. With the need for digital transformation well understood and underway within many industries. Football, and sport generally, has taken more of an ostrich approach to it. With short-termism hard to escape when time is so scarce and resources/money stretched (and unknown in the medium term), how can football in this country and beyond survive if it doesn't change? So there's lots we get through on this, with 5G playing an important role that few are talking about.  And finally esports crops up due to Romily's experience at EA - great to get his view on how different clubs and leagues have been approaching this new opportunity/challenge. You can find Romily on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/RomilyBroad) and [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/romilybroad/). Unt

In this week's show I try my best to surmise what took place at the Sports Technology Awards Tech Talks. A short series a presentations by leaders from Diageo, Gatorade, Hinsta Performance and HOK.  After the talks finished I managed to catch up with HOK's Managing Principal at their Kansas City office, Chris DeVolder. As the sustainable design leader for HOK's Sports + Recreation + Entertainment practice and co-chair of both the Green Sports Alliance Corporate Membership Network Steering Committee and the USGBC National LEED User Group for sports venue development, Chris has helped advance the way our profession approaches the programming, design, construction and operations of sports venues. We spoke (in a cafe where they were packing up the seats to close up - great timing!) about the advancement in stadium design and technology, what the future could hold and the amazing work at Atlanta's new stadium.  If you enjoy this show, you can make it easier for others to find it by leaving rating or review.

This week saw the 3rd #DSManchester event take place, this time at the HQ for Social Chain in the heart of the city. We covered many topics, starting off with the furore around the FA Cup tweet by the FA. Was it a light hearted piece on content that engaged with young fans, or was it the wrong side of the line?  There are also segments on the Paul Pogba transfer, Opta's use of Twitter, why we are chasing these elusive 'next gen' fans and much more. You read more on what happened at the event [here](https://digitalsport.co/ds-manchester-how-man-united-changed-the-game-the-line-between-fun-and-banter). Thanks to the support of Opta in sponsoring the event, and to Social Chain for providing the venue.

Not everything you see that leads on technology and innovation takes place at the elite end of sport. Sometimes you have to dig a little deeper to find out what is going on and who you can learn from in the industry. This week's guests are Matt Mead, Head of Education, and Carl Southwell, Enterprise & Employability Manager, at Chelsea Football Club.  Last week they ran the clubs Hack event at Stamford Bridge, with 10 companies joining them for a week. And they also have a very active STEM programme, a recent link up with San Francisco 49ers and a monthly entrepreneurs club for the local community.  It's fascinating to learn more and coming out of it there is definitely we more we can all do to help, including here at Digital Sport, to help the next generation of technologists, social media managers, etc. Read more about their hack event at [https://digitalsport.co/chelseas-sports-tech-hack-will-keep-the-club-at-the-cutting-edge](https://digitalsport.co/chelseas-sports-tech-hack-will-keep-the-club-

This week Dan has been at SportsPro LIve at the ExCel Arena in East London, an event that Digital Sport was a Media Partner for. During the day we spoke to Ben Payne, McLaren F1's Head of Esports, to talk about their own programme and F1's announcement that they'll be running a full esports programme this year with Gfinity. Joe Edwards, Head of Digital at FIBA, was also good enough to give us some time to chat. He was on a panel talking 'new formats, new audiences' where their story has been around the massively successful 3x3 format.  Finally we spent 10 minutes with Alex Beckman. He is founder and CEO of GameOn and you may have used one of his main products, the SkySports Jeff Stelling Bot.  Next week we'll be back with a more traditional 1-on-1 interview, so keep an eye out for that. Keep up-to-date with the latest industry new on www.digitalsport.co  DS is part of Snack Media and we produce articles, podcasts, events and offer a full recruitment service.

At our most recent event in London, we brought together some of the best in the industry to speak about esports. This isn't a new topic and we've probably hours of content just from the podcast episodes about the subject and how it fits into traditional sports. In this show we listen to a few of the answers that were given by the likes of Gfinity's Tom Halls, Malph Minns from Strive Sponsorship, Joe Hills from Infinite Esports and Adam Whyte from GOAT Agency. Plus Malph and Adam spoke with our own Chris McMullan at the end of the conference to dive deeper into some of the points raised. You can read a recap of the event on https://digitalsport.co/digital-sport-london-the-key-things-we-learned-about-esports and catch some of the videos we'll be posting on LinkedIn and Twitter as well.  Our next event is on 24th April at Social Chain's office in Manchester (not on esports though). Details on DigitalSport.co soon.  Please like, share, recommend, rate, review or just give me a

With four podcasts out already this month, Dan takes a look back at the best bits from his chats with Joe Hills (Infinite Esports), James Ruth (MLS), Stephen Cleary (adidas) and Benjamin Penkert (SportsTechX). You can hear how EA and MLS are developing eMLS into a pathway for people to get involved with the league, and hopefully develop into fans of the on-pitch game from James.  Joe Hills offers his perspective as someone deeply involved already in the esports industry. How does he see sports involvement developing and what could be done better from both sides? Benjamin Penkert has developed the first clear picture of the sports tech scene in Europe and helped benchmark where the industry stands now. His European Sports Tech Report is definitely worth a read. But we start off with Stephen Cleary, who provides some insights into the adidas football Tango Squad campaign and how they're turning their micro-influencers into a team of influencers in their own right, and helping them find their paths within th

At the recent Future Fit event from Campaign Magazine, Dan got the chance to sit down with adidas and We Are Social.  Gareth and Stephen have been working together for a number of years and helped the brand become one of the best when it comes to mixing sport, music and culture. With Tango Squad they've developed a network on local influencers, rather than spend money on the big social influencers we see other brands cosey up to.  We also talked Paul Pogba's now-famous social media transfer announcement in 2016, and fail to find out what they're plans are for the World Cup (we tried!). We'll be hosting an event at We Are Social in London in April. Keep an eye out for details very soon on DigitalSport.co