Moneyball - The Business of Sport

Lauren Jackson has achieved just about everything there is to achieve in basketball. Now one of Australia's greatest ever athletes is helping build the future of the WNBL.

As Chief Strategy and Basketball Partnerships Officer, the five-time Olympian and three-time WNBA MVP is part of a new era for Australian women's basketball, with private investment, major commercial partners, expanding broadcast coverage and ambitions to grow the competition well beyond its traditional audience.

But what does it actually take to turn a great sporting competition into a successful business?

In this episode of Moneyball, Lauren joins Scott Keenan to discuss why the WNBL needed new investment, what has changed under private ownership and why she believes women's sporting leagues need to do things differently.

They explore the growth of the WNBA and the impact of stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, the commercial opportunity created by international players including Han Xu, the arrival of the Tasmania Jewels, and the importance of building athlete brands and reaching fans who don't already follow basketball.

Lauren also talks about her own transition from athlete to executive, what she's learning from the WNBL's new ownership, and the financial challenges still facing professional women's basketball players in Australia.

And she has a big ambition: to make the WNBL Australia's premium women's sporting competition.

Moneyball is the business of sport — conversations about everything off the field that makes the sports we love so special. Hosted by Scott Keenan, the show explores sports business, media, investment, sponsorship, entertainment and fan culture in Australia and around the world.

Watch Moneyball on YouTube and follow the show on Instagram @moneyball_show or email anytime [email protected].

Just over a week before Anthony de Ceglie stepped down as CEO of the Perth Bears, he joined Scott Keenan on Moneyball for an in-depth conversation about building the NRL’s newest club from scratch.

What was originally a discussion about launching a professional sports franchise in AFL-mad Perth now offers a fascinating snapshot of de Ceglie’s priorities and mindset immediately before his departure.

Anthony talks about building the Bears on a “very short runway”, competing with the PNG Chiefs for attention and talent, dealing with criticism and why his personal mantra was to “ignore the noise”.

And when Scott asks what he would do differently if he had his time again, Anthony’s answer is striking in hindsight: governance.

They also discuss the commercial strategy behind the Perth Bears — memberships, sponsorship, mining and resources, New Balance, merchandise, fan data, North Sydney heritage and the challenge of creating a club Western Australians feel belongs to them.

Recorded before Anthony de Ceglie stepped down as Perth Bears CEO.

Moneyball – The Business of Sport goes behind the deals, decisions, culture and commercial forces shaping the sports we love. Hosted by Scott Keenan.

Instagram / YouTube: @askmoneyball_show Email: [email protected]

00:00 Why this interview matters now

01:44 Building the Perth Bears from scratch

04:33 Competing for attention in Western Australia

10:26 Perth, North Sydney and building belonging

15:04 Perth Bears v PNG Chiefs

17:40 Handling criticism and “the noise”

20:11 Sponsorship, mining and resources

22:07 New Balance and the Bears as a lifestyle brand

26:02 New jerseys and merchandise strategy

28:37 Measuring success before kick-off

30:05 What Anthony would do differently

33:29 The final challenges before Round 1

34:42 What happens next for the Perth Bears

Fox Sports is disappearing, Kayo is becoming the main sports brand, and DAZN is trying to build a much bigger business around the sports fans who watch it.

Scott Keenan is joined by sports industry advisor Murray Barnett from 26West Sports to unpack why the economics of sports broadcasting are changing — and why subscriptions and advertising alone may no longer be enough to justify the enormous cost of premium sports rights.

They discuss DAZN’s strategy for Foxtel and Kayo, fan data, the Sports Audience Graph, Club Kayo and the creator economy, the changing relationship between broadcasters and rights holders, and why Australia could become a test market for DAZN’s global sports strategy.

If you watch cricket, rugby league, NRL, AFL, , NRLW, AFLW, NBA, NBL, NFL, Supercars or Formula 1 this episode will be of interest to you.

Murray runs 26West Sports and also appears on Unbundled, part of the Unofficial Partner podcast feed.

Moneyball – The Business of Sport is hosted by Scott Keenan and looks at the deals, decisions and commercial forces shaping the sport we watch.

The Newcastle Knights are back in the NRL Grand Final for the first time in 25 years — but this isn’t a Grand Final preview.

It’s a conversation about belonging and why the relationship between Newcastle and its rugby league team feels different.

Moneyball host Scott Keenan is joined by 1997 premiership winner Steve Crowe, Triple M Newcastle Breakfast co-host Tanya Wilks, and The Knighted creator Lincoln Ison.

Crowey takes us inside Newcastle’s famous 1997 Grand Final week, including the emotional team meeting the night before the win over Manly and the extraordinary scenes as thousands of supporters sent the team to Sydney.

Tanya explains what she is hearing from Newcastle as the city turns red and blue again, while Lincoln talks about experiencing this run as a modern fan and content creator, including the livestream moment that left him in tears.

They also discuss Kalyn Ponga, Justin Holbrook, the fans who kept turning up through the wooden-spoon years, merchandise and membership, and a bigger sports-business question:

Can a professional sporting club manufacture genuine belonging — or does Newcastle have something that simply can’t be copied?

Guests

Steve Crowe — Newcastle Knights 1997 premiership player, former club administrator and Newcastle business leader.

Tanya Wilks — co-host of Triple M Newcastle Breakfast and a fixture of Newcastle radio for more than 25 years. Radio Today

Lincoln Ison — rugby league content creator and host of The Knighted, covering the Newcastle Knights through previews, reviews and fan-led content. Apple Podcasts

Moneyball – The Business of Sport pulls back the curtain on the deals, decisions, people and commercial forces shaping sport. Hosted by Scott Keenan, sports-business commentator and communications strategist.

YouTube: @moneyball_show

Instagram: @moneyball_show

Contact: [email protected]

Has the NRL got its Grand Final entertainment strategy completely wrong?

The NRL is heading into its biggest game of the year without a headline entertainment act after talks with Tones and I fell apart. Peter V’landys has questioned whether spending around $1 million on 11 minutes of entertainment represents value — but is that looking at the whole thing the wrong way?

Moneyball host Scott Keenan is joined by comedian and sports broadcaster Andrew “Barney” Barnett to unpack the business of Grand Final entertainment: why it matters to broadcasters, how it can attract casual audiences, the sponsorship opportunity the NRL could be missing, and what the AFL does differently with its biggest event.

They also revisit some memorable Grand Final entertainment — from Tina Turner and The Kid LAROI to Billy Idol and Meat Loaf — and ask whether a sport that wants to be Australia’s biggest should be trying to make its biggest event even bigger.

Andrew is the co-host of Not Another Rugby League Podcast with Steve Philp and is appearing at the Sydney Fringe Festival with Barney’s Sports vs Entertainment Comedy Showdown, at The Factory Theatre in Marrickville on October 1, 2 and 3. Tickets are available at fringecomedy.com.au.)

Moneyball – The Business of Sport goes behind the deals, decisions and commercial forces shaping sport in Australia and around the world. Watch on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

NFL Melbourne worked. More than 100,000 people packed the MCG for the NFL's first regular-season game in Australia — but the bigger question is what happens next.

Can the NFL turn one enormous event into a genuine Australian market? And if it does, could its sheer commercial scale eventually become a threat to the AFL, NRL and other Australian sports?

Scott Keenan is joined by AJ Maestas, founder of sports strategy and analytics firm Navigate and host of the Navigating Sports Business podcast, to unpack the business behind the NFL's push into Australia.

They discuss why the NFL chose Melbourne and the MCG, where Australia fits into the league's international expansion strategy, the enormous potential value of global media rights, how casual fans become long-term customers, flag football, and the very different approaches taken by the Rams and 49ers in Melbourne.

They also turn the question around: if one NFL team can operate at a scale comparable with an entire Australian sporting league, what happens if the NFL starts competing more aggressively for Australian fans, sponsors, media dollars and sporting spend?

AJ Maestas is the founder of Navigate, a data-driven sports and entertainment consulting firm working with leading brands, leagues, teams, universities and entertainment organisations. He is also the host of Navigating Sports Business, featuring conversations with leading decision-makers from across the sports industry.

Moneyball – The Business of Sport pulls back the curtain on the deals, decisions and strategies shaping sport.

Hosted by Scott Keenan, an Australian sports business commentator, Moneyball covers media rights, expansion, investment, ownership, sponsorship, broadcasting, marketing and fan growth.

Contact: [email protected]

Instagram: @askmoneyball_show

If you want to know what's really going on in sport, you've gotta follow the money.

Could NBL27 be the season Australian basketball gets significantly bigger?

With the new NBL season tipping off on September 19, Saturday night basketball is coming live and free to Nine and 9Now — giving the league a major opportunity to reach new and casual fans.

Geoff Dyer, Director of Programming for 9Network & 9Now, joins Scott Keenan on Moneyball – The Business of Sport to explain why Nine invested in the NBL, why it chose a Saturday night doubleheader and where basketball fits into Nine’s wider sports broadcasting strategy.

Geoff says Nine could already feel momentum building around the NBL through television ratings, mainstream media coverage and social media. Now the broadcaster wants to use the wider Nine business to help take Australian basketball to an even bigger audience.

Scott and Geoff discuss why basketball works so well on television, Nine’s ambition to offer live sport 365 days a year, the audiences and advertisers the NBL can attract, and why the battle for attention is now much bigger than the traditional Nine-versus-Seven television rivalry.

They also get into what the NBL broadcast on Nine will actually look like, potential Nine talent in the coverage, NBL Overtime, Wide World of Sports and the importance of short-form and social content in bringing casual fans into basketball.

Geoff also explains Nine’s strategy for Super Netball, reveals that every Super Netball game will be available free on 9Now, discusses why Premier League football has moved behind the Stan Sport paywall, and talks about the opportunity for younger voices and content creators in sports broadcasting.

Finally, Geoff explains why success for Nine’s NBL partnership isn’t simply about television ratings. Nine wants to see the game grow through bigger audiences, attendances, club memberships and social engagement.

In Geoff’s words: “Everything is a partnership.”

Moneyball – The Business of Sport goes behind the deals, decisions and dynamics shaping sport.

Contact Moneyball: [email protected]

The NFL has finally arrived in Australia — but could Australia actually be getting the better deal?

Scott Keenan looks at how the NFL’s enormous content ecosystem is showcasing Melbourne and Australia to an American audience, why the San Francisco 49ers have spent the week behaving like a local club, and whether the Los Angeles Rams’ late-arrival strategy makes sense commercially as well as competitively.

The episode also compares NFL Melbourne with the NRL’s Las Vegas experiment and looks at the other side of the deal: why the NFL is investing in Australia, how international expansion fits into its long-term growth strategy, and why turning casual fans into lifelong customers matters far more than the ticket revenue from one game at the MCG.

Questions this episode explores:

• What does Australia get from the NFL coming to Melbourne?
• How does NFL Melbourne compare with NRL Las Vegas?
• Are the 49ers winning the marketing battle in Australia?
• Why is the NFL targeting Australia for growth?
• How does international expansion create long-term value for the league?
• Can flag football help turn Australians into NFL fans?
• Will we see more NFL games in Australia?

Moneyball – The Business of Sport is hosted by Scott Keenan and looks at the deals, decisions and strategies behind sport. Get in touch by email [email protected]

Sports teams are becoming one of the hottest assets in global investment.

The LA Lakers have been valued at an extraordinary US$12.5 billion. Private equity giant EQT has agreed to become the majority shareholder in Melbourne Storm. And all 17 existing NRL clubs have reportedly proposed helping to build and own the competition’s 20th team before potentially selling it.

So why does everyone suddenly want to own a sports team?

Murray Barnett returns to Moneyball to explain why investors increasingly see sports franchises as an asset class of their own — and why the NRL could be particularly attractive.

Scott and Murray unpack the economics behind Melbourne Storm’s reported valuation, the importance of long-term media rights, and why membership of a closed competition like the NRL, NBA or NFL can be more valuable than the club itself.

They also examine whether soaring sports valuations are creating a bubble, why the scarcity of franchises could keep pushing prices higher, and what happens when the commercial interests of investors collide with what supporters want their clubs to be.

And with the NRL’s existing clubs considering whether to help create Team 20 themselves, could expansion now be about creating valuable new sporting assets as much as growing the game?

About the guest

Murray Barnett is the founder of 26West Sport, advising sports organisations, investors, broadcasters and brands across media rights, sponsorship and commercial strategy.

He has held senior roles at ESPN, Formula One, World Rugby and DAZN and has worked across some of the biggest commercial properties in global sport.

About Moneyball

Moneyball – The Business of Sport explores the intersection of sport, money, media and culture.

Hosted by Scott Keenan, the show goes behind the headlines to explain the commercial decisions shaping modern sport.

📩 Questions, guest suggestions or commercial enquiries: [email protected] 📸 Instagram: @moneyball_show ▶️ YouTube: @moneyball_show

Manchester City spent years building a club capable of attracting Pep Guardiola. Now that he's gone, we're about to find out whether they built something capable of succeeding without him.

After 10 years, six Premier League titles and a Champions League triumph, Guardiola leaves Manchester City as much more than its most successful manager.

Sky Sports reporter Ben Ransom had a front-row seat for the Guardiola era. He has covered City for more than a decade, interviewed Pep one-on-one countless times and followed the club through its transformation into one of the dominant forces in world football.

Ben joins Scott Keenan to go inside the Manchester City project: from Sheikh Mansour's 2008 takeover and the years spent building towards Guardiola's arrival, to Pep's impact on City's status, recruitment, revenues and global reputation.

They explore whether Pep made Manchester City bigger or City's money and ambition made Pep bigger; why Guardiola became the public face of the club; what his presence meant when attracting elite players; and how City built its business off the pitch alongside its extraordinary success on it.

They also discuss the unresolved Premier League financial case and its impact on Guardiola's legacy, before looking ahead to Enzo Maresca and the biggest test yet of the Manchester City project:

Can the machine keep winning without Pep?

Moneyball – The Business of Sport goes behind the deals, decisions and dynamics shaping sport.