Are You Not Entertained?

Roger Mitchell and Mark Oliver welcome Mike Darcey, former strategic brain behind Sky and ex‑CEO of News UK, for a deep dive into the messy frontier where sport rights, streaming and regulation collide. Using Rupert Murdoch’s quiet war on the NFL as a starting point, they unpack 60 years of antitrust logic, why “no single buyer” rules gave fans more packages but not always better value, and whether in an era of apps, clips and ubiquitous coverage it’s time to let one player own the whole shop again or accept that regulating modern media might simply be impossible to do well.

This week’s Goal Own Goal is a special World Cup edition that starts with Trump somehow picking a public fight with Giorgia Meloni and ends with England suddenly playing like a 1990s Premier League side under Tuchel instead of suffering through another Southgate straitjacket.  Grant and Roger chew over England–Croatia, the weird thrill of not knowing which England will turn up, the fine art of not antagonising Italian women, and why “results merchants” on the touchline eventually get found out when the football stops being any fun.  Brough to you by Lockeroom

In this episode of The Confessional, Roger Mitchell sits down with Ray Ranson for a frank conversation about the move from football to business, and the harder lessons that came with it.  Ray reflects on the ruthless side of life in deals, the pressure of keeping a game face, the painful lesson of backing a pioneering sports tech deal that had the vision but not the pricing power to match.  It’s a conversation about ambition, regret, and the cost of getting things wrong before you finally learn how to get them right. Brought to you by Lockeroom.

This week’s Goal Own Goal swings from Roland Garros heat exhaustion and prize-money grumbling to the usual grand tour of football’s modern absurdities: Celtic’s managerial politics, Arsenal’s latest lesson in defending like their lives depend on it, PSG’s triumph, women’s football still waiting for the promised mass audience, and FIFA’s relentless mission to turn the World Cup into a luxury product for people who don’t actually enjoy football. Grant and Roger do what they do best here — tear into the financial hype, skewer the ego-driven suits, and remind everyone that the game still works best when it stays messy, tribal, and gloriously uninterested in being a “platform." Brought to you by Lockeroom

Season 3 of The Captain’s Table focuses on the movers and shakers of the sports industry. This week, The Captain is joined by the real Sheriff of British Sport, Jon Dutton — not of Yellowstone fame, but the current CEO of British Cycling and soon-to-be CEO of Team GB, the British Olympic Association. We learn about Jon’s passion for Rugby League, Rugby Union, and Cycling, as well as his unique leadership style that has taken him to the top tier of British sport. The show is brought to you by Fortnum & Mason and The Sponsorship Doctor.

Roger Mitchell and Mark Oliver are joined by Peter Hutton – a man who has worked for three modern moguls, Murdoch, Zaslav and Zuckerberg – to unpack what sport really means to big media in 2026. From Eurosport and the Olympics to Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount and the Saudi Pro League, they dig into whether spiralling rights fees have become a “survivor tax”, why bundling and streaming are reshaping the old playbook, and if the real endgame now is not buying the rights, but buying the sport itself and the power that comes with it. Brought to you by 54.

Arsenal’s title charge, Celtic’s ugly finish, and the Southampton spying mess anchor a week where football’s rawest instincts beat the PR fluff. The World Cup cash grab looms, sport’s dressing-room power games are laid bare, and the whole thing ends back where it belongs: with football, chaos, and no one getting out alive. Brought to you by Lockeroom.

Roger Mitchell sits down with Australian entrepreneur Ant Arena for a candid conversation about ambition, setbacks and what happens when a big idea hits the real world. From building Aura, an AI-driven sports streaming platform, to battling government delays, cash flow pressure and deals that slipped away to bigger players like Microsoft and Sony, Ant reflects on the lessons that came with the journey and the people who stayed with him through it all.

Grant and Roger dive into a vintage Old Firm weekend and a three‑way Scottish title race, with Hearts crashing the party while a clueless Labour leader suggests Celtic and Rangers should politely cheer for each other.  From there they go big picture: Rangers’ lost menace, clubs rebranded into asset‑class logos, and Roger’s new essay asking whether football should change for Gen Z or die with its soul intact. Along the way there’s a heart‑stopping Kentucky Derby win for the first female trainer and a heartfelt tribute to the incomparable Alex Zanardi. It’s Goal/Own Goal, brought to you by Lockeroom.

Roger Mitchell and Mark Oliver launch Citizen AYNE, a new AYNE series inspired by Citizen Kane, by rewinding to the white‑heat of the dot‑com boom and Roger’s time running the Scottish Premier League. Using their first deal together as a live case study, they unpack how tech money, over-excited broadcasters and new investors created a “boom on a boom” in media rights, why today’s AI and chip-stock frenzy feels eerily similar, and how modern moguls like Bezos and Ellison now sit where Malone and Murdoch once did in deciding the future value of sport. Brought to you by 54.