Unofficial Partner Podcast

UP550 Inside Edge: IPL Auctions and the Financialization of Everything

Richard Gillis, Mike Jakeman and invited guests dissect the business of cricket. The IPL auction has become one of the most watched events in world cricket — part financial instrument, part entertainment spectacle. This episode gets under the bonnet: how it actually works, what it means for players, why it's reshaping cricket's global talent economy, and whether any of it translates to the UK market. The conversation moves fast from mechanics to philosophy: competitive balance vs. team identity, player as commodity vs. player as inspiration, and the central tension of the hundred — is it building something sustainable, or is it a VC play dressed up as a sport? Guests  Charlie Hartley — Former county cricketer (Kent), entrepreneur. Author of a cricket coaching resource and a children's book on the life lessons of sport. Founder of a sports tech platform focused on athlete-fan data and engagement. Brings a player's perspective on the franchise model and its implications for the English game. Gaurav Sundararaman — Cricket analyst and commentator with deep knowledge of the IPL. Has worked across the IPL ecosystem and brings an Indian market perspective on how the auction works from the inside — how franchises think, how scouting operates, and how the competition has evolved over nearly two decades. Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter [https://linktr.ee/unofficialpartner]and TikTok at @UnofficialPartner We publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/unofficial-partner-podcast/id1459630823].  These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport.  Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here [https://www.unofficialpartner.com/podcast].  Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app.  If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.

UP549 Priced Out: FIFA’s Big Ticket Gamble

The news agenda around this summer's FIFA World Cup in North America has been dominated by the price of tickets.  Why are they so expensive?  What's it got to do with changes made by FIFA specifically for this tournament?  Guests: Professor Rob Wilson, Dean of University Campus of Football Business (UCFB) and Shaun Stewart, vice president of StubHub, known as Viagogo in Europe. Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter [https://linktr.ee/unofficialpartner]and TikTok at @UnofficialPartner We publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/unofficial-partner-podcast/id1459630823].  These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport.  Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here [https://www.unofficialpartner.com/podcast].  Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app.  If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.

UP548 The Bundle: Gary Neville's Noise Strategy; What World Rugby sees in IMG; Amazon pitches for the Super Bowl

The Bundle is the original and much copied series on the sports media and streaming marketplace with co-hosts Yannick Ramcke, General Manager of OTT at the streaming service OneFootball and Murray Barnett, founder of 26West Sport and formerly of F1, World Rugby and ESPN. Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter [https://linktr.ee/unofficialpartner]and TikTok at @UnofficialPartner We publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/unofficial-partner-podcast/id1459630823].  These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport.  Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here [https://www.unofficialpartner.com/podcast].  Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app.  If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.

UP547 Picks and Shovels: The Ecosystem Investment Thesis

Picks and Shovels: The Sports Investment Thesis That Doesn't Need Media Rights to Work Altman Solon's seventh annual Global Sports Survey lands with a central argument: sport is maturing into a full-stack asset class. But the more interesting story isn't at the top, it's in the layer underneath. Richard Gillis talks to David Dellea, Christophe Sommer and Matt Del Percio about where capital is actually moving, what the $400 billion ecosystem really means when you strip out the double counting, and whether anyone has the nerve to call time on the bubble question. Altman Solon's Global Sports Survey: The Next Frontier of Sports Investment is available now.  Altman Solon’s 7th Global Sports Survey provides a comprehensive view of the evolving sports landscape, featuring insights from 250 sports executives globally, including rights owners, investment professionals, and media companies, as well as 6,000 sports fans across the U.S., U.K., Germany, Spain, Italy, and France. Download the report for free by clicking this link: https://altsl.co/4n1i7VB [https://altsl.co/4n1i7VB] Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter [https://linktr.ee/unofficialpartner]and TikTok at @UnofficialPartner We publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/unofficial-partner-podcast/id1459630823].  These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport.  Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here [https://www.unofficialpartner.com/podcast].  Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app.  If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.

UP546 NBA Europe: It’s not about basketball

The NBA Europe franchise sale process has moved from speculation to live transaction. Franchise fees of $500m to $1bn. No broadcast deal. Governance terms that European investors have already pushed back on. And a city map — London, Paris, Madrid, Rome — that looks more like a premium real estate index than a list of places where people actually watch basketball. Lenz Balan is right in the middle of it. He's the CEO of the London Lions, the club he helped save from administration after the collapse of 777 Partners, his former employer. He's seeking to build a new arena. He's positioning the Lions for NBA Europe and EuroLeague. And he's one of the few people who can speak to both the investment case and the on-the-ground reality of trying to grow basketball in a city that keeps saying it's ready. This conversation covers the money — what kind of capital actually makes sense for a multi-decade project with unresolved economics. The fan map problem — whether London is genuinely a basketball market or a hospitality venue dressed up as one. And the questions that still don't have answers: media rights, player movement, the EuroLeague endgame. Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter [https://linktr.ee/unofficialpartner]and TikTok at @UnofficialPartner We publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/unofficial-partner-podcast/id1459630823].  These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport.  Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here [https://www.unofficialpartner.com/podcast].  Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app.  If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.