Features

World Table Tennis finally realised its vision for its Grand Smash events in Singapore this month, which it hopes will provide a new global platform for the sport. Kevin McCullagh reports from the inaugural edition on how WTT plans to revitalise table tennis through dramatic event production and a unique fan experience.

In this week’s episode podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Chris Giles, co-founder and chief executive of California-based FanRally. Fisher and Russo also discuss the recent earnings report from Ultimate Fighting Championship parent Endeavor Group Holdings Inc., ESPN’s high-profile acquisition of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman for its Monday Night Football booth, ongoing sports-related issues from the Russian invasion of Ukraine including the forthcoming sale of the Premier League’s Chelsea, and a ballpark development setback for Major League Baseball’s Oakland A’s.

AC Milan's chief revenue officer, Casper Stylsvig, tells SportBusiness why his commercial strategy for the club involved taking sponsorship sales and content production in-house, and looks forward to the opportunities presented by a new state-of-the-art stadium.

ESPN demonstrates importance of Real Madrid v FC Barcelona clash to network with 20 hours of lead-up content and 30 staff on-site at the Bernabeu, while there will be four watch parties across the United States.

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Lou DePaoli, managing director at global sports consulting and management firm General Sports Worldwide. Fisher and Russo also discuss the new collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, MLB’s streaming rights agreement with Apple, continued developments with the Premier League’s Chelsea and Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, the National Football League’s season-long suspension of Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley for gambling offenses, and ownership moves for the Premier Hockey Federation’s Toronto Six and Boston Pride.

Jorge Urrutia del Pozo, vice president of football for NFT firm Dapper Labs, says the company is interested in producing digital collectibles for “many sports”, provided they enjoy a large and engaged fanbase, and outlines how the company plans to spend the $607.5m raised in nine separate funding rounds.

SportBusiness speaks to Matthew Wheeler, chief executive of A&W Capital, a company that advises on entertainment and sports sector investments in India. The company recently advised on CVC Capital Partners’ $750m acquisition of the new Indian Premier League franchise in Ahmedabad.

Ahead of the US Soccer presidential election on March 5, incumbent Cindy Parlow Cone speaks to SportBusiness about Carlos Cordeiro's unexpected challenge and the commercial ramifications of the USWNT equal pay settlement.

Growth in value of football rights in US still only ‘near the beginning’ International Champions Cup will ‘no longer play Santa Claus’ with ‘disproportionate’ rights fees Events a

In this week’s episode, podcast co-hosts Eric Fisher and Chris Russo interview Jessica Berman, National Lacrosse League interim commissioner. Fisher and Russo also discuss ongoing labor negotiations with the MLB Players Association, heightened turbulence in the United States sports betting market impacting entities such as DraftKings and Churchill Downs Inc.’s TwinSpires, a new funding round for digital sports media company Wave Sports + Entertainment, the sports industry’s response to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, and the state of spring leagues for American football.

The National Basketball Association and technology partner Canon during the recent All-Star Game in Cleveland, Ohio, tested a new volumetric video capture technology allowing for a wide array of replays, opening up many new opportunities for fan engagement, coaching, and analytics. US Editor Eric Fisher reports.

Rory McIlroy recently declared the Saudi-backed breakaway golf tour as "dead in the water". However, Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler still think there are signs of life in the project. Bob Williams reports.

Ahead of Charlotte FC's inaugural MLS game, Shawn McIntosh tells SportBusiness how the club's collaborative relationship with its fans has enabled the organization to get off to a potentially record-setting start in the league.