Inside Track

Now is the time for rights-holders and cities to make the case for hosting sports events again, argues Lars Haue-Pedersen, head of BCW Sports

The plot by 12 clubs to break away from the Champions League has undermined their claims to represent certain values and engagement with their fanbases. Ben Cronin, global head of Publicis Sport & Entertainment says sponsorship could suffer as a result

James Mercer, commercial director at Formula E race team Envision Virgin Racing, looks at how the pandemic has forced the sports industry to rethink collaborations with sponsors and how the team has overcome the loss of face-to-face time with clients.

Daniel Haddad, head of commercial strategy at the Octagon agency, sees little merit in sponsorship proposals around Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology, the application of which has only detracted from the fan experience

Former NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL senior executive Andy Dolich discusses MLB's latest stand against voter oppression and how the crossover between sports and societal values are now part of our daily lives

President and founder of Gilt Edge Soccer Marketing, a Chicago-based strategy and engagement marketing firm focused exclusively within the sport of soccer, John Guppy looks ahead to the 2021 MLS season, focusing on the arrival of Austin FC to the league, the MLS broadcast landscape, and the increasing link between the league and Mexican football.

Women’s tennis, cricket, rugby and football will provide powerful sponsorship platforms for brands in the Asia-Pacific region in coming years, argues Martini Ip, account director, CSM Sport & Entertainment, Hong Kong

Steve Payne, senior vice president of global strategic partners and business development for media technology and services company MediaKind, explores the increased prominence of streaming in recent media rights agreements

Guy Horne, managing director and founder of specialist consultancy H&A Media, looks at viewing patterns for winter sports in China and asks how the IOC can win over new generations of fans in the country

Ratification of the proposed Swiss format for the Champions League has been delayed by Europe's most powerful clubs, but there's another group with a keen interest in the outcome – the sponsors

Adam Raincock, co-founder at the newly-formed sports and entertainment marketing agency The Space Between, argues that now is the perfect time to launch a new sports marketing business

Private equity’s seemingly unquenchable thirst for commercial inventory to top-tier properties poses fresh challenges for agencies already left reeling by market dynamics and Covid-19

Toby Duthie, founding partner of accounting and consulting firm Forensic Risk Alliance and Matthew Coomber, associate with the firm, say there is a clear opportunity to change governance in English football and secure the long-term financial health of the game

SportBusiness Europe editor Ben Cronin argues CVC's 2019 strategic partnership with Bruin Sports Capital points at how the private equity firm might seek to extract value from its new investments in volleyball and the Six Nations rugby tournament

SportBusiness' US Editor looks at the National Football League's recent domestic rights renewals, and how despite a sharply enlarged focus on streaming platforms, the agreements show the league and its linear broadcast partners still need one another

SportBusiness Asia editor Kevin McCullagh says risks abound for international sports properties in China in 2021, but the UFC’s trend-bucking media-rights deal with Migu has underlined some best practice.