Sports Content Strategy with MrRichardClarke: Exploring sports content, journalism, digital and social media

TOPICS

What was the state of the OTT pre-Covid-19?

The rights gained by Eleven Sports. Starting in Belgium, Poland, Thailand and Singapore then growing

Becoming the Belgian League’s domestic broadcaster - and why its a game-changer

How does the OTT product differing in different markets? - the importance of localisation

The stability of the stream - the fundamentals

The recipe for taking on Serie C and D in Italy - serving an underserved market with a passionate fanbase that may accept a lower broadcast standard

Why it is not about the big rights all the time.

The opportunities thrown up by lockdown - the acceleration of esports, looking at other rights, behind closed doors games

The Watch Together function - why it was launched two years ago, why it has evolved, and the boost from lockdown

The tricky issue of synchronisation, the VIP function

The acceleration of digital communities because of lockdown

The piracy problem - “It’s part of the reason we left the Singapore market”

The need for broadcasters to unify on piracy.

Data - the problems on traditional llnear TV data and big advantage of OTT in this area

Amazon’s entry into the Premier League market

The way Eleven can use its data

No getting ‘bogged down’ by data

Combatting churn “is tough everywhere” - but is it different in OTT?

How and where Eleven looks outside of football

AI - how it affects production flow and the potential of OTT?

The Netflix UX/UI - I that the blue riband experience? Can this be replicated in sport

The do’s and don’t of set up an OTT channel

The terror of the last-minute crush into live events

Where is OTT going in the next 5-10 years?

TOPICS

Is this a good time to buy a football club?

Will there be a raft of sales? In what timescale?

The type of due diligence needed to buy a club

Is there more value in Europe? The creation of club groups

What about the best value in Britain? What about Scotland and Ireland?

The potential of clubs - is it just down on the historical fanbase?

The role of private equity. Kieran calls them “vultures”

Is becoming a community asset a potential business strategy for big clubs?

The value of meaning and why clubs do not invest in it enough

Why the ‘benevolent dictator’ model is the best

What are the latest accounting trends in football?

How Kieran would change football finance reporting and accountability

The value of the fit and proper person fit (now the Owner and Directors’ Test)

Getting away from the boom and bust culture and the role fans play in that process

Valuing a transfer deal

Why do intelligent business leaders make stupid decisions when they buy a club

TOPICS

How he went from being assistant manager of Worthing to head coach of the Philippines

Having Ronaldinho on his CV

The decisions you have to make if you want to be a coach but have not had a high-profile playing career

How Simon has educated himself after taking a fast-track into the practical side of coaching

Coaching a team when you do not speak their language

The difference between coaching in SE Asia and Europe

The smaller size of footballers in SE Asia and the effect on coaching and playing style

How he won the Indonesian League with Bhayangkara

Putting the league title victory with a small club into context

The infrastructure behind Indonesian teams - how teams are funded and supported

How Simon was approached to be the national team manager for Indonesia

The crazy adulation that surrounds the Indonesian national team and its manager

Why Simon knew the World Cup draw would he cost him his job

The problem of short-termism and fan pressure

Specific communications issues in the Philippines and Indonesia

The crowd trouble that flared up late in the crucial game against Malaysia

The insecurity of football in Indonesia and its effect on family life

Is success in SE Asia transferable? Will it help get jobs in other countries.

Why is Indonesia not able to transfer its talent to Europe - early football education, passports etc

The Beckham of Indonesia who is currently playing in the reserves at Lech Posnan in Poland

Two longer-term improvements the Indonesian FA could implement now

The battle between a strong league and strong national team

The strong teams in SE Asia right now

What would a World Cup in SE Asia do for the sport in that area - “It would be sold-out the minute it was announced”

The corruption in Indonesian football

Stories about the passion of Indonesian fans

TOPICS

Andrew’s background - the SXSW conference (sports and gaming)

His role as GM and Sporting Director

The financials of the 2k League and the player contracts

The great validity of 2K in esports as every on-court player is controlled by a human.

Sponsorship - is it easier to be attached to a traditional sport because of the existing franchise infrastructure and the familiarity of the sport?

The relationship between the traditional sports franchises and the esports ones

Sharing resources with a traditional sports team - psychologists, analytics teams

The environment created for esports players to excel - nutrition and physical training

The rule preventing cross-over and collaboration

The importance of storytelling around esports players

The journalistic challenge of getting engaging narratives from young people

The ESPN deal taking the 2K League on linear TV for the first time

Leveraging traditional Wizards fans into their club’s 2K franchise

Michael Jordan’s ownership of the new 2K franchise in Charlotte

The new Shanghai franchise and the opportunities it creates

The importance of having a geographical home and tournaments

The venue question. Will esports regularly fill up stadiums?

Barriers of entry for a generation that ‘won’t pay for content” - or will they?

The hockey franchise - the response to launching their own tournament

Do they make money?

The importance of the Gretzky v Ovechkin charity esports game

How the draft works

The allocation of positions in the esports draft

The mechanics of trading a player in esports

TOPICS

Introducing the Savannah Bananas, the lowest level of baseball in there US

Wearing a yellow tuxedo every day

"We are not in the baseball business, we are 1000% in the entertainment business"

Why he has no marketing budget

The all-you-can-eat deal to stop you getting "nickel and dimed"

Eliminating friction-points for the fan

Why they have no advertising and, as of February 2020, no partnerships

The decision to name the team the Savannah Bananas

Taking over from a historic baseball outfit where Babe Ruth played

Why having fun is your best business strategy and has improved home performance

The type of coach that copes with the showbiz

How does Jesse hires his staff

The concept of the director of first impressions

Can an introvert work for the Savannah Bananas?

The legend of Bill Veeck

What opposition owners and players make of the Bananas?

Why the Bananas perform better than the average team in comparison to other teams in the League

Creating the right working culture among staff

Why the staff are paid to read

The policy of hiring young and where older staff fit in

Who does Jesse consider as competitors to his shows?

Is the Savannah Banana's model transferable?

How stories are deliberately cultivated to reflect culture

Why you can only judge you marketing by shareablity?

Would learning marketing have actually hampered Jesse's ability as a marketer

What experiments have failed and at what point were they abandoned?

The concept of being 'the only'

Lessons from Walt Disney

Where he wants to take the Savannah Bananas in the future

TOPICS

What sort of sporting environment will we see after the lockdown

David's top 3 - more creativity, virtual communities, the acceptance of lower quality content

His worries for sports at non-league level

The background to MyCujoo

The opportunity in the new realities of sport in the post-Covid-19 world

How can MyCujoo assist a non-League club, leagues and federations

Monetising tools with MyCujoo

The crucial aspect of building community

Why not use YouTube or Facebook instead

The opportunity to test new sports business models

The opportunity for players

Working the federations and leagues for a centralised production approach

How the Netherlands is coping with Covid-19

Rebuilding sport in a better way, not the same way

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Adrian Warner

Like everything else, the sports media industry may be irrevocably changed in the wake of the Coronavirus crisis. The loss of matches, Tests, bouts and races has not only affected players, clubs and leagues but made an immediate impact in related industries such as media, broadcasting, hospitality and gambling. Adrian Warner went through a significant change in his career a few years ago when he was made redundant from his role as a sports reporter for the BBC. He wrote a book about how to handle the emotional and practical side of having to change when your job ends. From coping with anger, dealing with former colleagues to getting your CV ready to re-enter the job market and understanding what really makes you happy, Adrian has many lessons for those who may be affected by the economic issues that follow COVID-19

Writing his book on coping with redundancy

Lessons for the current coronavirus crisis

Getting out in front of the problem

Dealing with the emotions of a job change

Learning to accept that anger will never go away completely

Ignoring the social media skills of older people

The cull of older journalists in the search of a youthful audience

The attention span issue - does that affect the way sports media is taught today?

The importance of 'reading long' and looking for analysis

Why the podcast movement is an indication of the importance of depth

Radio is the medium you consume while doing something else

Concerns about the sports industry and the sports media industry going forward - "It is very hard for sport to continue in the same way"

The positive possibilities for sports after Coronavirus

The positive developments that have occurred from Adrian's life change

The law of diminishing returns in sports media, even in going to World Cups and Olympics

Turning your hobby into your job

His advice for students at the end of their course

"Use this as a moment to change direction in a positive way"

Adrian Warner Twitter | LinkedIN | Website

TOPICS

The communication principles to use in the coronavirus crisis

The differences of approach around European football

Rights and wrongs of a holding statement

The possible repositioning of football after we return - “We could be a better society at the end of this, one where we are kinder”

Reframing the narrative around the game

Collaborative working between clubs

Looking back at changes during Adrian’s time as Director of Communications for the England team

The first Twitter World Cup

The influence of Gareth Southgate in England’s recent PR revival

The change in newspapers’ influence and tone in recent decades

How England players like Lampard, Gerrard etc learnt to handle the media

The rigours of the role - being on call 24/7, arguments, powerful personalities

How to use social media to correct negative stories

The move to become MD of Team England

The rarity of moving into a leadership role with a background in communications

In the post-coronavirus football world will the leadership of football clubs lean more to communications and community?

Moving to the FA of Wales for this their successful Euro

The pressure of certain countries/club and how that can stifle joy

Extrapolating a positive culture when you have a great leader

Values - creating them and communicating them. “Values are not just words, Values are what you live”

Having stretch targets and creating transparency with supporters

The pressure of success and how that affects values

Adrian’s key tips for sporting organisations when we emerge from the coronavirus

Why did he choose to move into authorship?

How has he chosen the subjects for solo projects?

How did the fly-on-the-wall book about Millwall develop?

Becoming part of the team and understanding their problems and insecurities - “It had to be warts-n-all”

Having faith in yourself and self-publishing

The modern battle between the written word and video - “Access is just another product to be commercialised”

Why TV is ‘fast food’ but writing a book is a ‘four-course meal’

How the book about scouting began

Why the title is key? - “You can sell a book on a title”

The importance of questions - having them at the start of the process and do they evolve

What his book on managers taught him

Emphasising the humanity of the individual

The writing process - when to interview, when to write

Selling the book yourself - “don’t underestimate the power of mateship”

Journalists are now brands in their own right

Quality journalism v modern churnalism

The exploitation of young players in No Hunger in Paradise

Has the growth of sports business made the game inhumane?

The Americanisation and corporatisation of football

How the Accrington Stanley management team know 400 supporters by their first name

“Because my dad does” is the essence of football

The purity of non-League football

The tipping point for arrogant clubs who disregard the customer

The art v science debate raging at football clubs

Co-writing books with famous athletes - the honest and pain

Why he had to sleep in Gareth Thomas’ bed when writing his book

The key question about his sexuality and the place he had picked for his suicide

The origins of the PAOK OTT platform and the issues with the broadcasting deal

Learnings from the first two years when the service was going only to overseas fans

"The final decision was taken just a week before the first game"

Solving problems - marketing, paywalls and the payment mechanism

The biggest issues - connectivity in remote areas

The problems of a late rush for the banking system

The use of smart TV apps and rolling it out across bars and coffee shops

How they made their pricing decisions

Is it profitable?

The opposition and criticism they faced in the football industry

Why other clubs have approached them about their service

The production quality

The reaction among the fans, including the senior ones who may not be so digitally -able?

How have PAOK staffed up?

Why the circumstances were right for this to happen in Greece and at PAOK

Other digital innovations to develop the PAOK brand

The buy-in from the owner and the board

Bucking the trend and moving into high-quality 'coffee-table' magazines

The 765-page magazine that PAOK sold for 40 Euros

The international strategy

Defining the tone of voice for the club

Handling the biggest game of the season - Olympiakos at home

Reflecting the fans in their communications

How PAOK has continually grown its fanbase despite going 34 years between title wins

Plans for the future