Month: April 2017

This week’s sports industry reading list

Posted on by David Cushnan

It’s been another substantial week of sports industry news and events, with more to come in the next seven days (and, incidentally, if you do happen to find yourself with a reading list-sized gap on your table for Thursday’s Sport Industry Awards – and a plus one, naturally – then I might just be able to help solve that pickle for you…). In this breathless, every-second’s-a-deadline industry, it can sometimes be tricky to keep up with the big issues, the movements of the major players and the essential talking points. That’s where this reading list comes in. It’s a gentle stroll through the best and most interesting recent writing on the global business of sport – hand-selected pieces from across the world wide web, available on one handy page. I think you’ve got the gist – so let’s dive in. To business.

It’s tucked behind Autosport’s paywall, but do find a way to read this revealing interview with Bernie Ecclestone, who returned to the Formula One paddock last weekend in Bahrain, by Dieter Rencken.

The views of another sports industry veteran, here, as David Stern, commissioner of the NBA until 2014, sits down for a chat with Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press.

MMQB’s Peter King delves into exactly how the NFL 2017 season schedule was created, lifting the lid on a fascinating and secretive process.

Plenty of interesting perspective here from the legendary Michael Johnson, talking to Sportcal’s Callum Murray about athletics’ past, present and future.

A must-read but frankly dispiriting piece in the Observer by Jamil Chade, charting the stench of corruption which has come to surround Brazil’s hosting of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.

Since Durban was stripped of the hosting rights to the 2022 Commonwealth Games a few weeks ago, several cities have expressed interest in stepping in. Duncan Mackay’s latest piece – an excellent one – for Inside the Games ponders this intriguing development and wonders if the International Olympic Committee ought to be taking a leaf out of the Commonwealth Games Federation’s (bid) book.

Oliver Holt’s latest Mail on Sunday column examines the perception of a growing North-South divide in English football and the recent suggestions that clubs based in the North may look to open training bases in the South, in a bid to attract playing talent.

And finally, Dom Curran, chief executive of Synergy’s US operation, is given space on SportsPro’s website to consider the prospects for Formula One in the United States following Liberty’s acquisition.

That’s this week’s essential reading. Don’t forget to share widely with clients and colleagues across the industry – and, as always, feedback and thoughts are welcome at davidcushnan@gmail.com or on Twitter: @DavidCushnan. Until next time.

This week’s sports industry reading list

Posted on by David Cushnan

As the famous old song goes, ‘there’s no business like spo(rts) business’ – so with that in mind welcome along to my sports industry reading list, a weekly guide to the best and most interesting writing on the global business of sport. As usual, there’s a mix of interviews, features and analysis below, all on the subject of how sport is being organised and funded – from the biggest issues to the often-fascinating minor detail. Whether you’re a regular reader or a welcome newcomer, a share or a like is always appreciated. Feel free to get in touch via Twitter – @DavidCushnan – or via email. To business:

This week’s sports industry must-reads

  • Barry Hearn and his son Eddie are always good value, as the Guardian’s Donald McRae discovered when he sat down with both of them on the eve of the World Snooker Championship and this month’s Joshua-Klitschko heavyweight world title fight.
  • Not quite from last week, but for anyone interested in eSports, the video games industry or even Liverpool Football Club this is a superb in-depth interview with Peter Moore, as he leaves Electronic Arts for the chief executive job at Anfield, by Glixel’s John Davison.

As always, thanks for reading. Until next time.

This week’s sports industry reading list

Posted on by David Cushnan

Hello friends, and welcome to another installment of my sports industry reading list – a guide to the best and most interesting writing on the global business of sport from the past week, featuring pieces plucked from other parts of the internet and dumped (curated) here. As usual, there’s a mix of features, interviews, analysis and financial reporting, sourced from newspaper websites, specialist sports sites, blogs and the like. It’s fun for all the family (if your family happens to be made up of members of the international sports sector). Anyway, let’s get going. To business:

This week’s sports industry must-reads:

  • Prior to the weekend’s events in Augusta, ESPN senior writer Jason Sobel sought the views of one Snoop Dogg on how golf might go about tapping into celebrity culture to attract new fans.
  • Simon Kuper’s argument, for ESPN.co.uk, that Real Madrid and FC Barcelona’s domination of European football will wane as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi fade from the limelight is, as you would expect, well worth your time.
  • A interesting reflection in the New York Times here, by public editor Liz Spayd, reflecting on the decisions made about what to cover – and how to cover it – in the newspaper’s sports pages.
  • And finally, if you’re still able to click the link while you’re wearing that stupid giant foam hand, this piece by Richard Gillis, for SportsPro, on passion for sport should be an industry set text.

Those are this week’s essential reads. Do feel free, as always, to drop me a line via email – davidcushnan@gmail.com or via Twitter.

This week’s sports industry reading list

Posted on by David Cushnan

Here comes another sports industry reading list, brought to you by [INSERT YOUR COMPANY’S NAME HERE – analytics available on request]. This is where I summarise the best of the week’s writing on the global business of sport, from sponsorship to media rights, politics to marketing and lots in between – anything, indeed, that I think might be even halfway relevant for someone working in the industry or just keen to dig into how sport is organised and funded. It’s been a busy week – it was great to bump in to one or two reading list superfans at SportsPro Live in London on Wednesday and Thursday – and there’s a bumper selection below, so let’s crack on. To business:

This week’s sports industry must-reads:

  • In a week in which the England & Wales Cricket Board added some more meat to the bones of its plan to launch a city-based Twenty20 tournament, this fascinating in-depth piece by David Hopps for ESPN CricInfo examines an uncertain future for one of England’s great cricketing counties, Yorkshire.
  • The NFL has confirmed that the Oakland Raiders are to move to Las Vegas. There’s been a slew of interesting pieces since Monday’s vote by the league’s owners, not least this, from ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, which suggests that this may be the relocation that ends the NFL’s multi-billion dollar era of new stadiums.
  • SportBusiness International editor Ben Cronin sat down with IAAF president Lord Sebastian Coe at the recent Leaders conference in New York. Plenty to discuss, as you’d expect; this is a piece well worth your time.

That’s this week’s reading list: standby for more next week, and in the meantime do feel free to drop me a line – davidcushnan@gmail.com – or share widely on Twitter. Until next time.