Podcasts may have got off to a slow start but thanks to people's growing desire to learn and upskill during the pandemic, podcast popularity is now sky rocketing. Sport branding and business is one area that continues to grow and gain followers so we've done our research and have put together our top 10 podcasts for sport branding and business.
FYI, these are not in any order but admittedly, Unofficial Partner is my most listened to!
Host(s): Richard Gilles
Good for: Brand and business topics for UK sport brands specifically. Great interviews, challenging debates, current affairs and accompanying newsletter. Pretty much every episode is helpful and purposeful.
Favourite episode: Re:Thinking Sport - Mark Bullingham. Mark has inspired me in many ways throughout my career ( when I was a junior manager, he asked for my opinion - it changed my confidence forever). The work he did for the America's Cup, his growth of Fuse and incredible transformation of The FA is fascinating.
Host(s): Sue Anstiss MBE
Good for: All things women's sport. Some great interviews and challenging topics around the business of growing women's sport, how we need to adapt the way we brand and market and where we are seeing great success.
Favourite episode: Maria Bobenrieth - How active girls can transform communities. I truly believe in the power sport has to change the world, especially in our communities. It's vital brands are building community into their business and brand strategies and Maria gives us great insight into how this can be achieved.
Host(s): Various
Good for: Building your sport business knowledge as well as following the latest news, controversies and changes in the sports industry. Specifically good for Formula 1 content.
Favourite episode: After Cop26 - How can sport rethink its climate responsibility? Confronting unpicking of the climate crisis in the sport industry and some thought-provoking solutions that both sport brands and athlete brands can take to tackle the crisis.
4. The Athletic (various podcasts, paid for)
Host(s): Various
Good for: American sport brands, in depth analysis and knowledge building of sports like NFL. Also handy structure if you just want to focus on one area or sport due to their large bank of podcasts. Less business focussed of the lot.
Favourite episode: Setting the women's football world to rights with Eni Aluko. I'm a bit obsessed with Eni and with Angel City FC so this was a brilliant chat hearing Eni's thoughts on what we need to do to continue growing the game.
*image is of Women's Football Podcast where my favourite episode is hosted.
Host(s): Sarah Mulkerrins, Dan Roan and Nesta McGregor
Good for: British sports, current affairs and business. Every episode is beneficial especially if you work in the UK.
Favourite episode: Winning Formula? Hamilton, Verstappen & Netflix drive F1 resurgence. F1 has always fascinated me, especially from a commercial sponsorship space (and the last season was just WOW!). F1 really became the first sport to truly benefit from the rise of sports docu-series with Drive to Survive. A thought-provoking podcast around how audiences have diversified and grown thanks to Netflix.
Host(s): Jody Avirgan, Ramona Shelburne
Good for: Inspiring stories of success growth and transformation.
Favourite episode: The King of Crenshaw series. Incredibly emotional, raw and inspiring. The reason we all love sport. More pleasure than business but made me apprecaite the power of sport even more.
Host(s): Sean Callanan
Good for: Sports marketing and business chat in high quantities. Often comes with post show notes which are also really handy!
Favourite episode: Scott O'Neil - Leadership lessons in sports business - Be where your feet are. An insightful conversation with Scott as he launched his latest book "Be Where Your Feet Are: Seven Principles to Keep You Present, Grounded, and Thriving". Brilliantly inspiring for anyone looking to develop or improve their leadership skills in the sports industry.
Host(s): Owen Poindexter
Good for: Rapid updates (5 minutes only!) and to-the-point opinions for those who are time poor but insight keen.
Favourite episode: Too hard to choose as they're all so snappy! There are a few very niche episodes which weren't personally relevant but that's not to say they wouldn't be for you.
Host(s): Andrew Brandt
Good for: American sport business understanding, specifically around finance and current events. Note, the title says it's an NFL specific podcast but Andrew has recently diversified to be about the broader sports industry.
Favourite episode: Dave Zirin's new book: The Kaepernick effect: Taking a knee, changing the world. How the industry responds to sport's most critical issue - inclusivity - is being watched with a magnify glass. Dave and Andrew take us back to that Kaepernick moment and how it changed the world.
Host(s): Michael Barr, Scarlet Fu, Mike Lynch
Good for: Getting into the deep end on sport economics. Creating a pipeline of potential clients with the budgets. you want! As expected, it's very American focussed but still very interesting.
Favourite episode: Omicron's effect on the sports world. An in the moment analysis of how the sport industry is responding to Omicron and how it will effect play in the future.
Do you listen to any of these? What are your favourite episodes? And are there any podcasts I've left off the list? I am always looking for more to add to my playlist so please share.
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