1) What the NRL is happening in rugby league?
The reports emerged as NRL Chair Peter V’landys (best executive apostrophe in the industry? Drop us a line if you work alongside a better apostrophe) and CEO Andrew Abdo spent the week in London, meeting with, amongst others, the top brass at the Rugby Football Union and its offshoot RL Commercial, the bodies that sanction and operate the Super League in the UK – Abdo broke into that busy schedule to sit down with us for a wide-ranging conversation on the podcast. Australia’s biggest sports league by viewership is expanding into the Pacific – a new franchise in Papua New Guinea is in the works – and has staged season-opening games in Las Vegas for the past two years, but it also has its eye on a deeper involvement in Super League. And V’landys and Abdo are also working on a bold internationalisation concept – a proposal to stage a round of NRL games in nine different cities around the world, from London to Dubai, Hong Kong to Vegas, potentially creating a near-18-hour period of continuous live action for viewers back in Australia. It’s the kind of plan that, if it does come off, might make NRL the envy of a few other sports leagues trying to convince key stakeholders that broadening their international horizon is good for business.
2) How is Dream11 recovering from its nightmare?
The Indian government’s apparently blanket August ban on ‘real-money games’ might be the most underreported but significant story in the global sports industry, not least that at a stroke it blew to bits the business model of Dream11, a genuine success story and perhaps the most influential fantasy sports operator in the world. In its home market, where cricket of course dominates, it has shifted from a pay-to-play, to free games funded solely by advertising. Founder Harsh Jain is head down resurrecting and reimagining precisely what that next era of Dream11 will look like: anyone who’s heard his story will have taken note of plans announced last week for the company to expand into 11 new markets, including the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Malaysia and the UAE.
3) Shall we mark Emily Prazer’s homework?
F1’s Chief Commercial Officer was set a challenge this year by series CEO Stefano Domenicali. “He wants us to shift our focus and our behaviour onto licensed products,” she explained when she joined us on the Worth Knowing podcast back in January, adding that the aim was “being in being in every shopping mall all over the world, where you see people buying Lego, Hot Wheels, T-shirts, beds at some point”. Fast forward nearly a whole season and the Mattel partnership is up and running, a new agreement with Disney’s Mickey and Friends is poised to kick-in from next season, a renewal has been struck with Memento Exclusives for licensed show cars, and the beds box has been ticked via a partnership with Pottery Barn. F1’s other area of commercial focus in 2025, outlined by Prazer’s Director of Commercial Partnerships Jonny Haworth was betting. “This year will be a big year for us in the betting space”, he told us at the start of the year. “And I think the regional model lends itself beautifully to betting. And so we'll probably lean into that area.” In February, F1 signed a partnership with San Diego-based ALT Sports Data and its ambitions in the category continue to solidify with the recent appointment of former IMG Arena VP and Head of Rights Mark Wrigley as Head of Betting.
4) Can you handle another player-creator mash-up football league?
We’re about to find out, as, following in the footsteps of Kings League, Queens League and Baller League, Sensational League comes to life. This one is a women’s 7v7 competition, the brainchild of Saga Sports Group executives Bettina Kuperman and Majken Gilmartin – and, as has become the model, will blend competitive action with lifestyle and digital storytelling. The league will begin in the Nordics next April, with plans to expand in the UK and US. Intriguingly the league is being backed financially by René Rechtman, founder of Moonbug Entertainment, the company behind kids brands Blippi and CoComelon.
5) Are you a thief?
It’s very possible someone reading this is (probably don’t drop us a line on this one), but, seriously, kudos to World Athletics for going public on something others would probably have elected to keep a confidential internal matter: the dark underbelly that is the corporate theft of $1.75 million by two now-former employees and a consultant. (Full disclosure: I did nab a pen from Pam in finance on Tuesday).
