What Is The Podcast? The Future State - Modern business & future trends explored by Nick Walter & Danny Denhard.
The Future State Of Football - The Business Of The Super League Edition
This week’s future state podcast took a deep dive into the business of football, a timely podcast looking at how the super league crumbled and what the future state of football will be now the powerhouse clubs lost their breakaway moment.
How we (football and business) got here
Why the business of football has been missed in the super league discussions
What the next steps likely are
Why we haven’t seen the end of this chapter of disruption
And most importantly why it’s got to the fans and the players who likely take the biggest hit.
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Quote Of The Week:
“We created a monster” — Nick Walter
Discussing the current state of football and what we are experiencing.
The Timeline ⬇️
02:44 - The business angle of the super league
03:21 - The emotional driven business and brand affinity
04:53 - “Football needs evolution” - this was a revolution
05.30 - Fan crowdfunding - it’s football corporations, not football clubs
07:20 - Nick’s ⚽️ Takes
Everyone’s opinion vs business thoughts
The uproar
The change is coming
Football revenues breakdown
08:18 - Power of social media and instant messengers - blame the group chat
11:07 - UEFA & FIFA decreasing influence and the $15b world cups
12:11 - Pick up of audience and fans - clubs that win, win fans
12:36 - The power of All or nothing on Amazon Prime Video. Nick suggesting he is a Cardinals fan (link to Arizona Cardinals show) and the reach of the Spurs show (link to Spurs all or nothing show) - friend Beth Gladstone mentioned it on her podcast and in her newsletter.
14:00 - Daniel Levy’s business acumen - taking Spurs from zero to international brand heroes
17:21 - The Gary Neville effect and influence
18:16 - Power of the sponsors and manufacturers
19:35 - Dropping the Nike boot deals (link)
21:17 - Dulex x Tottenham social banter & the brand apology (link). Premier League influence of last twenty years, big stars = interest = big wages & bigger audiences
25:14 - Barcelona potentially going bust and the business impact
25:30 - Nick draws smart parallels between Disney and football (characters = footballers, theme parks = stadiums etc)
32:35 - The fans having to take the hit - as usual. There are huge networks of fans, only a few owners
33:17 - Sports or entertainment - how sports is entertainment and Jose Mourinho paid the price for not entertaining the Spurs fans
34:00 - Pay per view made a lot of money while it lasted - how Sky etc benefitted
35:30 - House of highlights (link) and the marketing channel that are highlights
36:07 - Stadiums for more than just football (Spurs with NFL), concerts and conferences.
The tribal nature of football was won and lost this week
38:18 - If the owners sell the clubs, there is a huge risk and no one to buy
40:09 - Local move to local clubs - “uprisings”
43:34 - Sponsors and brands want reach and audience with their deals. It’s marketing and audience building 101
43:57 - Football is a global game, global came together to save football for everyone
46:30 - 54:12 - The Future State Of Football
Danny’s Hot Takes 🔥
1. Number of shirts and apparel will increase - 4 shirts per season will increase
2. More deals and players knowing their worth
3. Media companies not football clubs
4. Amazon business model doesn’t apply. celebrities might rush to support and invest (The NSWL example referenced link). David Beckham’s investment and political play with Inter Milan
5. Big brands might rethink sponsorships
Nick’s Hot Takes 🔥
1. Fans are central to everything but there is a need to balance this with loyalty and business objectives, we will see these work closer together
2. Football will continue to be a cut-throat business, but has to be sustainable, we will likely see salary caps
3. Disruption - UEFA and FIFA now primed to be picked apart and disrupted
4. Lower content-based subscription models
Lastly, I pose Nick a question: What is the one thing you would do now if you were one of the clubs?
The Future State Of Football