Nina Khoury

The debate continues - should women's sports carve out its own path, or leverage the legacy framework and partnerships of their male counterparts? There's no better example of this predicament then the fact that WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) has the majority of its rights wrapped in with the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s next major rights tenders, and is seeing incredible momentum in interest in the sport and league fresh off the drafting of the next big star Caitlin Clark. NBA's commissioner say it is categorically the right approach - others would disagree, and would suggest that the WNBA should be allowed more flexibility in their approach to monetising rights in a new era of sports media consumption. What's the best approach for a league like the WNBA? https://lnkd.in/d_JN2v35

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Given the rapid consolidation and increasing influence of the sports agency space, smaller agencies should strategically position themselves to enhance their valuation. 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞: 𝘼𝙩𝙝𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙊𝙬𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙊𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨: 𝙄𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘿𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙘 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙚𝙨: 𝘿𝙖𝙩𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙨: 𝘽𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩 𝙋𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙊𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙀𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮: By focusing on these areas, smaller agencies can not only increase their intrinsic value but also become attractive targets for larger firms looking to expand through acquisitions. Employing business valuation methods such as 𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒉 𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒘 (𝑫𝑪𝑭) 𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒔, 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝑨𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝑨𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒔 can provide a comprehensive view of the agency’s worth.

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Interesting read on gender gap issues in golf and the steps being taken to address them - highlighting the importance of closing the golf gap for equity in the workplace https://lnkd.in/ggnftfYh #GenderEquality #Equity #GolfGap #WorkplaceEquality

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I think the best leadership webinar yet! Such practical insights from those who have achieved so much, and openly share the challenges they overcame. Watch the recording for the full stories - it is exceptional all the way to the last words.

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One of my hobby horses, and I’ll admit to quite a few, is that sport needs public forums to discuss the stuff beyond the day to day headlines. Sustainability, governance, diversity, grass roots development, etc are big topics that deserve big talk. So I think the Sports Agents podcast has been a really welcome addition to the scene in the UK. This week’s episodes are really good examples - covering racism in sports journalism, and the costs and benefits of sports turning pro. The discussion on racism in sports journalism was sparked by Saka becoming the face of England’s defeat to Iceland in the build-up to Euro 2024. Included is a really interesting discussion on accountability (prompted by Gabby Logan). And, fwiw, my view is that accountability is one of the things journalism struggles with because it’s not subject to the same scrutiny as other pillars of public life. Certainly less than, say, political, religious, educational and - ahem - sporting institutions.

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B6 - 2-0 - 3-0 Carolina Pass to Middle - U20 M Good full ice passing and scoring drill. https://lnkd.in/gXDepwPF... https://lnkd.in/gXaBhEP7

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The NFL Schedule is being released this week. A few years ago, I worked with an Agile team to match the new NFL schedule to the ticketing system to provide clubs with secondary market insights as they looked to sell direct to customers. Why is this such a big moment to track secondary? 💴 Clubs that manage the secondary market tend to better generate primary revenue 🏈 Clubs can develop a direct promotion strategy to their fans, like allowing their most seasoned fans access first to their site for direct revenue 🆘 Clubs can spot unusual broker activity to identify any breaches of ticketing agreements One interesting takeaway - high ticket interest popped up during the NFL Draft. Some of it was related to Draft tickets, but the majority included searches for tickets. Should NFL clubs have the right to start selling tickets then? #tickets #sportsmarketing

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Some really interesting research here from PARITY | A Group 1001 Company. Not so much for telling us things we didn’t know or suspect but for putting the weight of careful research behind it. A lot to digest in this, and very useful if you’re looking for regional data. Those of you toiling at the coal face of women’s sport will not be surprised by most of the data here - but then I don’t think Parity want to preach to the choir. So hopefully some of you out there, especially brands and agencies will look at this data carefully and make some smart decisions! It certainly helps support the case for more and better commercial funding in women’s sport. More than Equal #sportbusiness #roi #womeninsport

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🎯 How Many of the Top 5 Players in the World Use 14 Clubs from the Same Brand? 🏌️‍♂️ Most would think all of them, or at least 3 out of 5. But what if I told you the answer is ZERO? 🤯 If the best golfers in the world aren’t 100% brand loyal, why should you be? We spend countless hours playing, practicing, thinking about golf, talking about golf, and wishing we were playing more golf. So why not take full advantage of the options out there? Why think you need one brand? I own a golf shop, and even I play clubs that I don't offer in my shop. If that isn’t showing personal performance over marketing, then I don’t know what is. Explore. Experiment. Elevate your game. 🏌️‍♀️🏌️‍♂️ #CustomFitting #golfshop #golfclubs #brandloyalty #mixedbag #top5 #pgatour #golfequipment #brandagnostic #agnostic #performancefirst #pompanobeach #lowerscores #golfclubrepair #honesty

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The CEO of a company I have worked with closely for many years quoted Peter Drucker recently. “Culture eats Strategy for Breakfast” He said it with pride looking at the way the company under his stewardship had come through some real challenges over the last few years with great aplomb. And proud he should be. Markets have been ruthless recently and the ability to rethink, unlearn and pivot has become almost as frequent a necessity as quarterly board meetings. The driving factor that has spurred this particular company to success through difficult times is the care, dedication and teamwork of its people, all based on a sense of loyalty and belonging to their workplace. In a word - CULTURE. Most companies these days seem to understand just how important culture is for a business. The issue I see is that many of them still get it the wrong way round. They see culture as an add-on. It isn’t. It can’t be. ❌ Culture needs to sit at the core of your being, sprouting from your deeply embedded values. If the boss asks at a senior management meeting “So, let’s discuss what our culture should look like”, they don’t have any culture. I exaggerate of course, and hope such a ridiculous question doesn’t actually get tabled at companies. You can’t just make up your culture based on latest trends. It’s part of who the leaders and founders of a business are, what is important to them personally at a human level and, if managed correctly, it trickles down, permeating every corner of the workplace and every fiber of each member of staff. That’s why you often see very likeminded people coming on board the same company. There’s an alignment there in culture and values. People feel “at home”. And that sense of feeling “at home” is a greater retention tool than any paycheck. (Well… not ANY paycheck… but you get my point). The CEO of the company I talk of here is a good friend and someone I admire greatly for his ability to speak his truth bravely and instill a deep sense of integrity and alignment in his team of over 200. It’s great to sometimes sit on the sidelines and witness something really that positive that simply works. And to learn from it too. With a strong culture at your company, you can pull through difficult times. You can overcome incorrect strategy when you realise in hindsight that’s what you had. It also allows you to have staff that may not be superstars individually, but pull together, one for each other. You always want a team where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A strong culture will do that. And yes. It eats strategy for breakfast, lunch and dinner. #corporateculture #corevalues #corporatestrategy #culturefirst #Leadershipskills

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What’s your strategy or the best strategy you can think of for increasing return on investment (ROI) in sports? 🤔 Last year Ryan Reynolds and Roy McElhenny lost roughly $12 million after investing in Wrexham AFC. Their strategy for reversing the scales was to continue pursuing advancement to a higher league, which came to fruition for the team in April (very well done!🎉). The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on the other hand is "starting to pursue" private investment in The Hundreds teams to be able to compete on a global scale. Richard Gould, CEO, was quoted as saying “We'll be able to make sure we retain and attract all the best players in the world and have a game that either broadcasters, supporters or new fans want to be involved with.” Is the solution to sports organisations’ financial woes and goals only found in on-the-field/pitch performance? My answer is of course no. I am not saying that on-the-field performance doesn’t matter because it does. However, maybe there is an overreliance on this as a strategy for attracting and retaining fans. Not only is this unreliable but it is unsustainable. A terrible example of this is all the high-profile injuries coming out of women’s sports as a result of grueling and brutal scheduling that sees players having back-to-back tournaments. A great off-the-field solution for increasing ROI in sports is using supporter data to increase ticket sales and attendance, the “rocket fuel for any professional sports league.” as Jessica Berman, commissioner of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), calls it. Not just tickets but merchandise as well and negotiating sponsorship agreements of higher value. This is something that we have been working on with over 500 sports organisations worldwide. Some of you might already know about the 4 Fundamentals powered by the Data Talks Sports Platform. We wrote a book about this last year and this year we released a course educating and empowering decision-makers in sports about using supporter data to sell more tickets and merchandise and negotiate sponsorship agreements of higher value. We focus on the 4 Fundamentals, which are: 1️⃣ Grow your supporter base, continuously 2️⃣ Collect supporter data with contact information and merge it with your other data 3️⃣ Find out which supporter segments you should target with your campaigns 4️⃣ Send out relevant offerings to those segments in a way that your supporters will really appreciate Again I ask, what’s your strategy or the best strategy you can think of for increasing return on investment (ROI) in sports? Let me know in the comments!

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Tennis is experiencing a resurgence in popularity with sponsorships jumping 41% in the past year 🎾 Meaning the explosive growth hasn’t gone unnoticed by brands. Active participation and viewership have increased for 4 consecutive years. It would be easy to point to 2 hit movies spotlighting the Sport. 📺 Challengers featuring Hollywood actress Zendaya. A movie that centers around the love triangle of a failed tennis player and her coach. And King Richard A biographical sports drama featuring Will Smith which portrays the upbringing of famous tennis sisters Venus and Serena Williams. However there’s more to it’s increasing popularity 👇 1️⃣ The Social Media Affect ➡The rise of #tenniscore on TikTok with videos generating tens of millions of views. Fashion sites such as Depop have seen a 15% month-on-month increase in searches for tennis shoes, with Jersey polo shirts and tennis skirts up by 7% and 13% this year respectively. The lucrative trend has now attracted attention from designer brands who want to get involved. 2️⃣ Participation Rates ➡ The United States Tennis Association (USTA) said that nearly 24 million people are currently playing tennis, marking four consecutive years of growth People aren't just watching tennis, they’re actually hitting the courts which presents a huge brand opportunity. 🎾 3️⃣ Viewership Figures ➡ The convergence of 3 key factors are increasing widespread attention of the sport. Rising TV ratings for the Tennis Channel and major tournaments, Sports docuseries like Break Point that had a two-season run on Netflix and the growth of tennis players' social media accounts. Tennis is one the rare sports that plays nearly year-round with weekly tournaments across the world, so it attracts a diverse, global and localised fan base. 🌍 4️⃣ Digital Natives ➡ Digitally native and content savvy younger players like Coco Gauff are becoming more prominent. Fans now have more access to tennis athletes and their lives, interests and journeys than ever before. It’s been an incredible time for tennis these past few years. 🚀 P.S. Follow me (Chris Swadling) for more sports updates! #sports #tennis #sponsorships

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💡Interesting article from Insider Sport highlighting the massive, untapped potential of the US market for The Premier League clubs 💡With US soccer fandom surging, the Premier League is in a prime position to capitalize on this momentum 💡Due to US soccer continuously growing domestically and its interest in European leagues also rising in interest, this represents a “huge” opportunity for European clubs to take advantage of a potential annual revenue stream 💡But what does this mean for brands? Here's why the US market represents a goldmine for potential sponsors: 🔎𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞: CLV GROUP estimates that there are up to 83 million US-based soccer fans, with 44% (36 million people) not knowing which team to support, particularly what European club to support 🔎𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: US fans are passionate and highly engaged, presenting a valuable audience for brands seeking deeper connections 🔎𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬: Sponsorships can be tailored to target specific demographics or regions within the vast US market 💡The article highlights two other key aspects: 🔎𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭-𝐭𝐨-𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐫 (𝐃2𝐂): Sell merchandise directly to fans, cutting out the middleman and fostering stronger brand loyalty. 🔎𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬: Collaborate with other US sports leagues or content creators to maximize reach and brand awareness With Premier League teams actively engaging in US tours this summer, fostering even closer connections with American fans, the potential for brand partnerships is poised to grow #sports #sportsbiz #sportsbusiness #football #premierleague #sportsponsorship #sponsorship #partnership #content #engagement #merchandise #revenue SportQuake

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🏟️ Is Multi-Club Ownership in Football Sustainable? 🤔 777 Partners' ambitious venture into multi-club football ownership, with Everton FC as their latest target, has sparked significant debate. While the strategy aims to leverage top-tier clubs to bolster the entire portfolio, the approach has faced numerous challenges, including financial scrutiny and legal battles. The allure of turning struggling clubs into profitable assets is undeniable. However, with the recent issues surrounding 777's acquisition of Everton and the financial instability revealed in their broader operations, it's essential to question the viability of such investments 📉 As clubs and investors alike navigate this complex landscape, one must consider: Is the multi-club ownership model sustainable in the long run? Can it deliver on its promises without compromising the stability of the individual clubs and the broader financial ecosystem? How do you see the future of multi-club ownership in football? Can it be a win-win, or is it a high-stakes gamble with too much risk? Share your insights below! 👇⚽️ #FootballBusiness #MultiClubOwnership 🔗 Read the full article on FT - https://lnkd.in/e_-gP29f

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Good article in The Guardian about the "fracturing evolution" of how people consume football (following Henry Winter leaving The Times). The article talks about the days when football fans consumed the sport through print and broadcast media. Then it adds: "More latterly that role was assumed by Twitter." Before going on to say: "What once constituted our shared football space has splintered into a million galaxies: forums and fan media, podcasts and YouTube channels, blogs and specialist websites, Reddit and TikTok, the curated feeds that allow us to view a game through whatever filter we choose: tribal, social, banter, fantasy team." It's a good summary. It reinforces a few things. First - we caught lightning in a bottle when we managed to put (what was then) Twitter at the heart of sports conversation globally. It was always smaller than rivals like Facebook but "only on Twitter" was more than just a slogan - it was a true statement when it came to sports (not just football). There was a lot of hard work behind that and it's gratifying that we still read that era being described as such even now. Second - despite (not because of) everything that has happened at X in the last few years (especially but also preceding its current ownership) it remains the place where football news is most likely to break. Football fans have stuck with it because no one single platform has adequately replaced it. Thirdly - as the Guardian article states, football conversation has splintered into a multiverse (not a metaverse!) of digital platforms. News is most likely to break on X still - but be discussed elsewhere. I continue to believe WhatsApp is the biggest threat to the breaking news element X still holds (not Threads). For sports rightsholders this is a challenge and an opportunity (as most things are). I do not know of any rightsholders that are ready to completely give up on X completely but most that we speak to are considering whether to downtick their use of it. The next challenge is where you shift that focus - and those resources - to in such a decentralised media landscape. If not X, then which of the "million galaxies" described by The Guardian? That is a challenge we (the IMG digital team) is solving for many of our clients now. As you'll see from previous years' annual Digital Trends reports, we saw this landscape coming so we're well placed to advise on how to navigate it. Happy to help you figure it out too - get in touch. https://lnkd.in/exT7EsTq

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Are you a Dualie? If you are, then you could be key to strengthening long-term participation in the game. In short, the National Golf Foundation define a dualie is a golfer who plays both on-course and off-course golf. Not content with a regular 18, they use a simulator, visit the range, or head down to a Top Golf or a Big Shots in between rounds. I’ve seen several reports recently about the consistent growth of off-course golf. And I’ve heard a fair bit of concern from the industry on whether it will weaken participation in the traditional game. I’ve always thought otherwise – so it’s great to see this report suggesting I was right 😊 When we see golfers taking lessons, or hitting the range we know that the number of rounds they play goes up – we’ve measured it. We know that when we can help engage golfers in activities around the club other than playing golf, the number of rounds they play goes up – we’ve measured it. So it has always followed in my head that when golfers hit balls for leisure, the number of rounds they play will go up. In addition, this report shows that they are more committed to traditional golf, their ability level is higher, they spend more money on equipment, and - the number of rounds they play goes up! I think there’s also a great argument that off course golf is a fantastic entry point for many people too. But that’s a post for another day 😊 #participation #dualie #golfbusiness https://lnkd.in/eepE24rS

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Following up on how sports investments work in the United States can provide valuable insights for doing business in Europe. Many investments in the U.S. sports industry are influenced by American and Middle Eastern investors, particularly in clubs and similar assets. For those interested in exploring the investment segment of the sports industry, I recommend checking out Vetted Sports, a newsletter that offers valuable insights. Subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/e7599cH7. #sportsinvestments #businessinsights #investmentopportunities #vettedsports

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