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Key Reads
Carlyle Is Investing Across the Entire Sports Economy – 365247 Sports *
Featured image credit: Donald Riesbeck Jr, “Yankees stadium crowd”, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
How a $485bn investor is reshaping global sport.
Global, Investment, Media Rights, Private Equity, Strategy
Two Circles Joins Ladies European Tour Growth Strategy – Sport Industry Group *
Data-led roadmap for growing women's golf audiences.
EU, Golf, Data, Media, Rights Commercialisation
Threepipe Reply: ‘What Sport Learned in 2026 and What Comes Next' – Sport Industry Group
Macro lessons on sport competing with all entertainment.
Global, Sports Business, Marketing, Digital, Strategy
The $6 Billion Business of the Chicago Bulls – 365247 Sports *
Deep dive into Bulls' global revenue machine.
US, NBA, Commercial Strategy, Sponsorship, Venues
Professional Sports
FC Barcelona's 2031 revenue goal & how the ‘new' Camp Nou is involved – Insider Sport
Barça's stadium revamp as the centrepiece of growth.
Football, FC Barcelona, Stadium, Revenue, Sponsorship
Our League: Tottenham Hotspur – that stadium, those signings… and the silence – The Athletic
How Spurs monetise one of world sport's top venues.
UK, Football, Stadiums, Revenue, Strategy
NFL and TMRW Sports Create New Annual Pro Flag Showcase – NFL
NFL builds a new event IP around flag football.
US, NFL, Events, Media, Innovation
Digital & Social
LTA appoints Two Circles as social partner through 2028 – SportsPro
British tennis leans on data-led social and monetisation.
Agencies, Marketing, Technology, Sponsorship
What $71m of TikTok media testing can teach us about creative effectiveness – Podnews
Data-backed guidance on making short-form sport content work.
Global, TikTok, Marketing, Creative, Data
Media & Entertainment
States Let Hollywood's Historic Merger Proceed – Morning Brew *
Paramount–WBD merger reshapes the sports rights battleground.
US, MediaRights, Streaming, SportsBusiness, Strategy
Amazon's TNF Opener Averages 18.6 Million Viewers, Up 5% From Last Year – Front Office Sports
Streaming's NFL audience keeps climbing on Thursday nights.
Media, NFL, Streaming, Viewership, Technology
Seven reports record audience for Brownlow Medal – Mumbrella *
Record Brownlow numbers highlight AFL's broadcast strength.
AU, Sports Broadcasting, Media, Audience Engagement, Viewership Trends
Geek Out
What Your MVP Needs to Look Like in the Age of AI – Medium
Designing lean, AI-native products for fans and sponsors.
Global, Startups, Product, AI, Innovation
Training a 4B model to produce 81% faster query plans than Postgres – Rohan Bansal
Using small models to speed up fan-data infrastructure.
Global, AI, Data Infrastructure, Fan Data, Sports Marketing
AI
5 Spicy AI Marketing Takes – Substack *
How AI will reshape teams, ads and live experiences.
Global, AI, Sports Marketing, Sponsorship, Fan Engagement
Yiannis Exarchos: “There Will Be No Life Worth Living” If We Get AI Wrong – Sports Video Group
Olympic Broadcasting boss on AI's opportunity and risks.
EU, Olympics, AI, Strategy, Media
Google ‘AI Contribution Pilot' tests paying websites when they're used in AI results (2 minute read) – Marketing Dive
Could AI summaries finally pay club content teams?
Global, AI, Media Rights, Content Strategy, Revenue
Make You Think
Wrexham buy famous The Turf pub from Welcome to Wrexham documentary – The Athletic *
Owning a TV-famous pub as brand and IP strategy.
UK, Football, Fan Experience, Sponsorship, Brand
Exposure to unhealthy food and drink branding ‘unavoidable' during World Cup, new study finds – The Athletic
World Cup research reignites debate on ‘junk food' sponsors.
Global, Sponsorship, Brand, Regulation, Events
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