Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan sift through the stories of the sports industry week.

They ponder China's decision to cancel two Argentina friendlies, as the row over Lionel Messi escalates; putting boots on the ground in new markets, as the NFL selects Madrid as its next host venue; Emirates' new deal with the NBA; the trio of media companies going into business together with a new sports streaming service; and the ATP's viral promo video.

And, with half an eye on our 4se New York sport-meets-entertainment event experience (Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd May), there's no better duo to examine the deepening relationship between fashion and sport. For more details on 4se New York, visit: https://4-se.com.

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan break down the stories of the sports industry week, in the company of big-time boxing promoter Kalle Sauerland.

There's Lewis Hamilton's big move to Ferrari, the latest Saudi sports plays and a major deal in executive search, as Elevate acquires SRI.

Then Sauerland, Global Head of Boxing at Wasserman and one of the driving forces behind crossover boxing series Misfits, takes us inside the boxing industry: Saudi Arabia's growing influence, working with KSI on Misfits and why he sold his business, Team Sauerland, to Wasserman in 2021.

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan assess the stories of the sports industry week, with the help of Amanda Calder-McLaren, the new CMO of outdoor wear brand Montirex.

They discuss stadium and Formula One team branding, as Levi’s renew a big deal with the San Francisco 49ers and Visa teams up with Red Bull in F1.

Then Calder-McLaren explains her switch to Montirex after six years looking after The North Face’s brand and marketing activities. She outlines the challenges of building credible, meaningful partnerships with endurance/adventure events and fans; shares her perspective on the role purposes plays in modern marketing; and explains why she’s helped found Opening Up The Outdoors, a coalition of brands seeking to make outdoors spaces a more inclusive environment.

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan pick over the stories of the sports industry week, in the company of Ladies European Tour Commercial Director, Fiona Harold.

They react to Netflix’s big, bold move into live sports-entertainment with WWE and examine the latest news from Saudi Arabia, as World Snooker prepares to host its first event there and Formula E, Extreme E and E1 Series sign a sizeable partnership with the Public Investment Fund.

Sticking with Saudi, Harold shares her perspective on the latest state of play in golf, the LET’s busy 2024 international schedule, and how the tour is working with and seeking to attract brand partners.

Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan pick over the big issues of the sports industry week, with the help of Veritone's Head of Sports and Entertainment, Gary Warech.

They discuss AB InBev's big deal to sponsor the Olympics, the launch of Major League Soccer's Innovation Lab and the relentless wave of sports documentaries, before Warech explains when and how AI should be embraced by the sports industry; what sport's leaders need to know and the skillsets they should be looking for; and creative approaches for using AI to generate revenue.

On the agenda:

• 00:00 – 04:46: Introductory remarks
• 04:47 – 07:28: The key weekly sports business stories reviewed (in 180 seconds)
• 07:34 – 11:10: A welcome to Gary Warech, Veritone’s Head of Sports and Entertainment and a look at AI
• 14:21 – 19:10: Placing sports documentaries under the microscope
• 21:47 – 24:20: Major League Soccer’s pioneering Innovation Lab
• 27:02 – 34:32: Major sponsorship deals dissected including AB InBev x Olympics and BYD x Euro 2024
• 34:40 – 42:45: A deeper dive on AI in 2024 with Gary Warech
• 42:46 – 46:08: Advice to CEOs of sports organisations on using AI
• 50:47 – 57:34: Recommendations: what to read, watch and listen to

To sign up for Leaders' weekly newsletter, Worth Knowing, visit: https://leadersinsport.com/newsletters/

On this special episode of Leaders in Focus, two of IMG’s digital experts, discuss and dissect some of the key digital trends in sport.

As a busy new year begins, Leaders are joined by Bindi Ghai and Charlie Beall - VP of Digital Commercial and VP of Digital Strategy at global sports and culture company IMG.

In conversation with Leaders’ James Emmett, they reveal the platform sport is sleeping on; why 2024 is the year women’s sport fulfils its potential; how to achieve maximum impact for minimum spend in making stadiums smarter; and the difference between ‘if’ and ‘when’ in digital trend spotting. The basis for the conversation, which was recorded in early January 2024, is IMG’s annual digital trends report.

Leaders in Focus is produced in partnership with IMG.

The CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation tackles the critics who say the Games have lost their relevance.

As the CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Katie Sadleir finds herself at the centre of the most critical moment in the organisation’s history.

In this episode of Leaders in Focus, Sadleir offers a status report on the the Commonwealth Games, following the Australian state of Victoria’s shock decision last July to withdraw as host of the 2026 edition.

Sadleir also reveals the leadership attributes she prizes the most and explains the critical importance of effective stakeholder management, as well as recalling her experiences working in sport in New Zealand and at World Rugby.

Leaders Managing Director Laura McQueen joins James Emmett and David Cushnan this week in the studio.

Discussion and analysis of the latest happenings in the sports industry, hosted by Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan.

On the conversation agenda: Michelle Kang’s acquisition of the London City Lionesses, and the hype cycle in women’s football; the vote which may pave the way for private equity investment in Germany football; and our completely unofficial awards ceremony at the end of a busy year – including best venue, best dealmaker and best hype-person. 

New York Giants and Gotham FC royalty Carolyn Tisch Blodgett joins the show.

Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan bring you the latest shifts from across global sport’s tectonic plates.

New York Giants and NY/NJ Gotham FC owner Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, Founder and CEO of the Next 3 investment firm, joins the show for a conversation that includes Shohei Ohtani’s remarkable new deal with the Dodgers, John Rahm’s seismic – and, arguably, sensible - decision to play on the LIV golf tour, Spotify’s latest round of layoffs, and the state of play in the NWSL. 

Amazon's European sports chief reflects on five years of Premier League coverage and building out the company's rights portfolio.

*This conversation was recorded shortly before the Premier League announced its new domestic media rights deal.*

Amazon's rights portfolio includes Uefa Champions League deals in Italy and Germany, plus Ligue 1 and Roland Garros in France - thanks in large part to Alex Green, Managing Director of Sport, Europe for Prime Video.

On the latest edition of Leaders in Focus, Green speaks to Leaders' James Emmett and Cameron Macdonald to discuss his work at Amazon and explore his own leadership in the media sector - his tactics at the negotiating table, how he deals with setback and a customer-obsessed approach. Green also explains how Prime Video's sports team is able to draw on Amazon's vast engineering capacity and why we're simply not talking about latency in sports streaming as much any more.