Welcome to Inside the Deal, the podcast which gets under the hood of the most interesting deals taking place in the global sports industry.

In 2018, the Infront agency and streamer DAZN paid €500m for the rights to European handball from 2020 to 2030. It was a deal set to transform the financial health of handball for a decade.  

But in 2023, DAZN unexpectedly stepped out. Then, in December 2025, in an even more dramatic turn of events, the federation agreed with Infront that the agency would scale back its role massively from July 2026, handing back many rights to the EHF’s in-house marketing team. 

Jonathan Rest, Global News Reporter of SportBusiness, tells the story of what happens when one man’s vision to transform the commercial fortunes of a sport bumps up against unforeseeable market realities.  

You can subscribe to Inside the Deal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. 

Enter SBPODCAST30 at checkout for monthly and annual SportBusiness.com subscriptions for a 30-per-cent discount here. 

Host: Frank Dunne   

Contributors: Jonathan Rest  

Editor: Lumi Lehmuskallio  

Links: 

1 EHF to take fresh approach to marketing rights | SportBusiness Media 

2 EHF seeking large uplift this autumn for unified offering | SportBusiness Media 

3 EHF set for tender launch under new rights strategy | SportBusiness Media 

4 Infront, Perform tie up rights to European handball | SportBusiness Media 

5 EHF secures 300% increase as Infront and Perform join forces | SportBusiness Media 

6 EHF kicks off Infront, DAZN pact with digital overhaul | SportBusiness 

7 Machineseeker extends Champions League Men title sponsorship, EHF lands MOL as new partner | SportBusiness  

8 Infront negotiates revised EHF deal upon DAZN exit | SportBusiness 

9 DAZN deals with Dyn after ending EHF sales role | SportBusiness Media 

10 Infront’s EHF club remit ends, keeps Euros role | SportBusiness 

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Welcome to The SportBusiness Podcast, getting you informed on the biggest stories in the global sports industry. 

This week, Martin Ross and show host Catherne Davies chew the fat over the news highlights of an eventful and often tumultuous year. Olympic esports, Uefa rights sales, a new broadcast player in Saudi Arabia, Two Circles, a football league’s D2C quandary and media deals of Paramount importance all feature.

Matthew Glendinning comes aboard to flag key trends to have shaken up the sponsorship market in 2025, plus his top three sponsorship stories of the year, headlined by the WTA’s record-breaking deal with Mercedes Benz.

Plus, TGL is back and the death of the international federation acronym.

We’ll be back on January 9 for the 2026 series of the pod. Wishing you all the best for the holiday season and the new year! You can subscribe to The SportBusiness Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube. 

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube 

Enter SBPODCAST30 at the checkout for monthly and annual SportBusiness.com subscriptions for a 30-per-cent discount here. 

Host: Catherine Davies 

Contributors: Martin Ross, Matthew Glendinning

Editor: Lumi Lehmuskallio

Sources: 

1. 2025 Media Review: Q1 

2. 2025 Media Review: Q2

3. 2025 Media Review: Q3

4. 2025 Media Review: Q4

5. 2026: Media Preview

6. Top 10 sponsorship deals in 2025

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Welcome to The SportBusiness Podcast, getting you informed on the biggest stories in the global sports industry.

This week, Jonathan Rest joins the podcast to shed light on the awarding of the media rights in Latin America to the Conmebol club competitions:  who the winners – and losers – are, the growing profile of YouTube in Brazil and what surprised him most about the auction. 

Next, Matthew Glendinning brings us a comprehensive overview of sponsorship in the NBA with a focus on the jersey patch market which is entering its ‘third generation’.

Faaez Samadi sends in a cameo comment on the WTA’s ground-breaking new partnership with Mercedes-Benz, the largest-ever corporate partnership in women’s tennis – and arguably the biggest sponsorship in women’s sports history.  

And last but not least, we provide a round-up of what’s coming up in the weeks ahead, including Africa Cup of Nations football, LaLiga’s media rights deals and what’s still to come, and a bright future for... camel racing.

You can subscribe to The SportBusiness Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube

Enter SBPODCAST30 at the checkout for monthly and annual SportBusiness.com subscriptions for a 30-per-cent discount here.

Host: Catherine Davies

Contributors: Jonathan Rest, Matthew Glendinning, Faaez Samadi

Editor: Lumi Lehmuskallio

Sources:

1. ESPN, WBD dominate Conmebol rights picture

2. FC Diez Media retains Conmebol club business

3. NBA revenue growth spurred by Nike and 2K renewals

4. NBA jersey patch revenue close to $300m mark

5. Mercedes-Benz deal ends WTA top sponsor hunt

6. DAZN increase drives LaLiga to healthy uplift

 The Long Game, SportBusiness’ big-picture look at what comes next for sport. Get your copy here!

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Welcome to The SportBusiness Podcast, getting you informed on the biggest stories in the global sports industry.

This week, Gavin Hamilton makes his podcast debut with sharp insights into Real Madrid’s proposal to sell off an ownership stake to external investors and what such a sale could earn.

Duncan Griffiths Nakanishi presents the 2025 edition of The Long Game, SportBusiness’ big picture look at what comes next for sport, and what it could – and should – be doing to remain at the forefront of culture in the 21st century.

Martin Ross offers a first-hand account of Host City 2025 in Glasgow and weighs in, alongside Ben Cronin, on the latest stadium naming rights deals after Barclays’ landmark Hampden Park agreement.

Plus, MLS Cup attendance details with a twist, Ally Pally beer sales at PDC World Darts and the Fifa World Cup draw.

You can subscribe to The SportBusiness Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube.

Enter SBPODCAST30 at checkout for monthly and annual SportBusiness.com subscriptions for a 30-per-cent discount here.

Host: Catherine Davies

Contributors: Gavin Hamilton, Duncan Griffiths Nakanishi, Martin Ross, Ben Cronin

Editor: Lumi Lehmuskallio

Sources: 

1. Pérez proposes Real Madrid minority stake sale

2. Host City 2025 announces final speaker line-up

3. Barclays invests in Hampden naming rights

4. London Olympic Park naming rights on market

5. World Darts Championship in Paddy Power extension 

The Long Game, SportBusiness’ big-picture look at what comes next for sport. Explore here!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The SportBusiness Podcast, getting you informed on the biggest stories in the global sports industry.

This week, Martin Ross and Jonathan Rest reflect on the rush of Uefa club competitions media rights deals in Europe’s ‘big five’ markets and look at who’s in, who’s not and what’s next. Ben Cronin also weighs in with insights into UC3’s new sponsorship approach for the competitions, including the creation of an ‘elevated’ sponsor tier.

Martin reports from on the ground at Commonwealth Sport’s general assembly, where the Indian city of Ahmedabad is ratified host of the 2030 Games and is eyeing global sports hub status.

And we provide a round-up of unusual championships from around the world, including ESPN’s Red Lobster Band of the Year, sheep dog trials on TVNZ, karate media rights - and will England rise from the Ashes?

You can subscribe to The SportBusiness Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube.

Enter SBPODCAST30 at checkout for monthly and annual SportBusiness.com subscriptions for a 30-per-cent discount here.

Host: Catherine Davies 

Contributors: Martin Ross, Jonathan Rest, Ben Cronin

Editor: Lumi Lehmuskallio

Sources: 

1. Paramount swoops for UCL rights in UK, Germany

2. Sky reunited with Uefa club rights, renews in Italy

3. Little change in UCL’s FTA line-up but TF1 returns

4. Telefónica to retain Uefa club rights in €1.46bn deal

5. AB InBev deal emblematic of UC3’s new sponsorship approach

6. Ahmedabad offers Commonwealth Games ‘strong fundamentals’

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Inside the Deal, the podcast which gets under the hood of the most interesting deals taking place in the global sports industry.

This month, we reveal the massive fee that the global streamer was prepared to pay to secure the rights in the US to the 2027 and 2031 editions of Fifa’s Women’s World Cup.

Frank Dunne talks to Maria Kholodova about Netflix’s bumper deal, what the deal reveals about Netflix’s real sports strategy and what it says about the current state of the US sports media-rights market.

You can subscribe to The SportBusiness Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube.

Enter SBPODCAST30 at checkout for monthly and annual SportBusiness.com subscriptions for a 30-per-cent discount here.

Host: Frank Dunne

Contributors: Ben Cronin

Editor: Lumi Lehmuskallio

Sources:

1 Netflix outmuscles rivals for Women’s World Cup | SportBusiness Media

2 USA, UK set to host Fifa Women’s World Cups | SportBusiness

3 Netflix doubles down on WWC in North America | SportBusiness Media

4 US broadcasters poised as Fifa launches WWC tender | SportBusiness Media

5 Fifa to exceed $3bn media-rights target for 2018 World Cup sales | SportBusiness Media

6 Fox succeeds ESPN as Women’s Euro broadcaster in US | SportBusiness Media

7 Netflix joins NFL streaming party with Christmas Day offering | SportBusiness Media

8 Netflix swoops for WWE’s Raw in global $5bn play | SportBusiness Media

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The SportBusiness Podcast, getting you informed on the biggest stories in the global sports industry. 

This week, Jonathan Rest kicks off the podcast with key insights into how Apple TV will broadcast MLS in what remains of its deal, plus rejigged fees and match calendar, the next tender and winter weather.

Faaez Samadi brings fresh insight into sponsorship in tennis with an overview of the SportBusiness Sponsorship tennis data snapshot and the latest new deals.

We also take a look a look at the Müller v Son show headlining this weekend’s MLS Conference semi-finals, with a quick quiz on previous head-to-heads and results, industry news on Paramount Skydance’s WBD bid and the “burger curse” in Formula 1 sponsorship... 

You can subscribe to The SportBusiness Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube.

Enter SBPODCAST30 at checkout for monthly and annual SportBusiness.com subscriptions for a 30-per-cent discount here.

Host: Catherine Davies 

Contributors: Jonathan Rest, Faaez Samadi

Editor: Lumi Lehmuskallio

Sources: 

1. MLS closes Season Pass, shifts season schedule

2. MLS, Apple lift additional paywall for play-offs

3. Saudi funding boosts tennis tours, Davis Cup seeks title sponsor

4. Broad appeal, premium feel key to tennis sponsorship growth

5. Paramount swoops for UCL rights in UK, Germany 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The SportBusiness Podcast, getting you informed on the biggest stories in the global sports industry. 

This week, Matthew Glendinning and Martin Ross join to discuss the importance of the DP World Tour’s title sponsorship renewal, alongside its new deal with AWS, plus Dubai’s links to the Tour.

Joseph Perry brings back fresh insight into the NFL’s Global Markets Program from Berlin where he attended the NFL International Series match.

Finally, Catherine Davies and Joseph analyse the outlook for LaLiga as it looks to extract maximum value from the domestic market for its pay-TV media rights – in competition with UC3 and its own ongoing Spanish auction.

We also reflect on the marketing gold of that “icicle” kick in a snowy Canadian Premier League final, a barking mad football fan banning order in Scotland, the upcoming Ashes and dancesport rights fees!

You can subscribe to The SportBusiness Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube.

Enter SBPODCAST30 at checkout for monthly and annual SportBusiness.com subscriptions for a 30-per-cent discount here.

Host: Catherine Davies

Contributors: Matthew Glendinning, Martin Ross, Joseph Perry

Editor: Lumi Lehmuskallio

Sources: 

1. DP World secures early European Tour extension

2. AWS adds DP World Tour to PGA Tour tie-up

3. Franchises, league call for patience as NFL hits Berlin

4. EXCLUSIVE: LaLiga goes early with domestic tender

5. El Clásico remains key as LaLiga brings forward domestic tender

6. Cricket Australia strikes stopgap Ashes deal as demand in UK stalls

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The SportBusiness Podcast, getting you informed on the biggest stories in the global sports industry.

This week, Ben Cronin and Jonathan Rest analyse Heineken’s sponsorship wins and losses as the Dutch brewer renews with Formula 1 and faces the end of its decades-long Uefa Champions League partnership.

Martin Ross joins Jon to parse the third-quarter financial results of TKO, parent company of UFC, WWE, IMG and hospitality giant On Location.

We also look at record Game 7 audiences from MLB’s World Series, Atlético Madrid’s Canadian franchise securing its place in a snowy CPL final and modern pentathlon piracy!

You can subscribe to The SportBusiness Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube.

Enter SBPODCAST30 at checkout for monthly and annual SportBusiness.com subscriptions for a 30-per-cent discount here.

Host: Catherine Davies

Contributors: Ben Cronin, Jonathan Rest, Martin Ross

Editor: Lumi Lehmuskallio

Sources:

1. Heineken boosted by F1 renewal ahead of expected UCL loss

2. AB InBev poised to land Uefa beer category deal

3. RFP beefs up partnerships unit as first sponsor nears

4. Seasonality prompts TKO’s third-quarter revenue drop

5. Blue Jays’ heartache pulls in huge Sportsnet ratings 

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Welcome to The SportBusiness Podcast, getting you informed on the biggest stories in the global sports industry.

This week, Frank Dunne joins the podcast to discuss key points from SportBusiness’ latest in-depth industry report, Platform Wars: The Third Era of Private Equity Investment in Sport, which tackles the question: Is sport delivering the returns that investors expect?

Matthew Williams lends his insight into the NFL’s latest forays in the fashion industry, through sponsorship and licensing deals with popular brands Lululemon and Abercrombie & Fitch. And Maria Kholodova offers sharp analysis of the NBA’s landmark media rights deals which have had a knock-on effect on international rights sales.

Plus, a look ahead to Fubo’s upcoming financial results as Disney completes its acquisition, and a nod to record World Series ratings in Canada, where the Blue Jays are looking to win their first crown since 1993. 

You can subscribe to The SportBusiness Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube.

Enter SBPODCAST30 at checkout for monthly and annual SportBusiness.com subscriptions for a 30-per-cent discount here.

Host: Catherine Davies

Contributors: Frank Dunne, Matthew Williams, Maria Kholodova

Editor: Lumi Lehmuskallio

Sources: 

1. Platform Wars: The Third Era of Private Equity Investment in Sport

Special offer: We are offering the precursor to this report, Selling the Future? Private Equity’s Role in Sport (2023), at no additional cost for purchases completed before 31st December 2025!

2. Lululemon furthers sports ambitions with NFL

3. Abercrombie deal boosts NFL’s ‘fashion vertical’

4. Sky Italia bolsters NBA offering for new season

5. DAZN Spain adds to basketball rights with NBA

6. Fubo, Disney close Hulu+ Live TV merger 

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