Business of Sports

Catch 'Em Young & Go for Goal: On the sidelines of the largest Under 21 youth tournament nationwide - the  Reliance Foundation Development League, host Arijit Barman sits down with India's most famous footballer Sunil Chhetri.In a candid tell-all chat, this Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awardee reveal what it takes to start young and strike big in the fast-moving football ecosystem in India. The captain of Bangalore FC and the Indian National Team dives into creating not just players but passion for football across the nation.  Credits: Soccer Freak (G21)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catch 'Em Young & Go for Goal: The largest Under 21 youth tournament nationwide - the  Reliance Foundation Development League - with teams across 9 regions in India from ISL, I-League division 1st & 2nd division and even Independent Academies nominated is striving to build a robust pipeline of the future cohort of champions who can match the best in class. Simultaneously, for the last 2 years, the Next Generation Cup has been conceived in partnership with English Premier League to expose our domestic talent with peers who are poised to break out in England or South Africa or any other playing nation that are ranked far higher than us.  Host Arijit Barman gets you this two-part special with  Neil Saunders, Director of Football at Premier League  Sunil Chhetri, India’s captain  Siddharth Shanker, Head of Sports at Reliance Foundation  On why developing young talent goes hand in hand with long-term success. Also on the show was a young player from Everton, James Collins, Head Coach of the Wolverhampton Wanderers, Chencho Dorji, Head Coach of the young and upcoming Sudeva Delhi – the first Bhutanese coach leading any club in the history of the I-League and many more in this power-packed show.  Credits: aranFE You can follow our host Arijit Barman on his social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/arijitbarman76 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arijit-barman-7233a129/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Office teams that once produced the best playing talent and packed grounds that once saw nail-biting games lie bare and quiet. AIFF wants to start a home-and-away league for public sector enterprises. But sustaining it will be easier said than a kick-off.  Host Arijit Barman speaks to Shaji Prabhakaran, AIFF’s Secretary-General, Jitu Chetry, Manager of Oil India Ltd’s football team and a Former East Bengal Goalkeeper, Dhronacharya Award Winner and legendary Air India Coach Bimal Ghosh, Bibek Bhowmick, Former ONGC Coach and a host of current PSU team officials from Central Railways, Bank of Baroda, and Income Tax Department among others to understand if this can work in 2023 when football lovers are glued to international tournaments more than local counterparts. For long politicians or babus who had nothing to do with football ran the sport and ran into the ground. Reviving the game among PSUs is one great step in taking football to the grassroots, to broaden its base. The present generation of fans does not recollect an ITI being joint-winners of the first Federation Cup and Air India, regularly causing upsets playing in packed capacities. We have had too many flash-in-the-pan efforts. We can ill afford such misadventures in 2023 when even smaller Asian countries like Vietnam, Bahrain and Jordan are ahead of us in FIFA Rankings. Credits: Kisku Dada 1, I-League Official, Indian Football Edits 2.0, Wild FIlms India, Indian Football You can follow our host Arijit Barman on his social media:Twitter: https://twitter.com/arijitbarman76Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arijit-barman-7233a129/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The chief executive of Sports at Viacom 18 Media, Anil Jayaraj. fields bouncers, googlies and even an occasional doosra from host Arijit Barman as the battle for eyeballs gets played both on and off the field this season. It’s the first time the media rights are split between Viacom18 and Disney holding the digital and television rights to the Indian Premier League (IPL). Both sides are bowling beamers at each other, claiming superior viewership numbers and each asserting conflicting claims of superiority of their respective platforms. Recently, Viacom 18 even said over 2 crore concurrent viewers watched a game! But after bidding Rs 50 crore per match, adding up to a total Rs 20,500 crore for the next 5 seasons (2023-27) will there be any money left to be made, especially when streaming is free at least for now? To explain the high stakes game, Jayaraj pads up for the power play.Credits: CNN-News18, Jio Cinema, CNBC-TV18See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar a former telecom tycoon from the early 2000s turned politician who is well aware of the fractious relationship between the state and private enterprises, is now, as a minister, trying to play referee in another equally high stakes match involving a sector that is perceived to be a problem child to many and therefore has often been at logger heads with the taxman, regulators, politicians and the policymakers – online gaming. Last week he tried to bring in some semblance of sanity by notifying new online gaming rules through amendments to the IT Act… Industry calls it pathbreaking yet states like Tamil Nadu opted for an outright ban within a day of the Centre's notification. Yet in this ongoing chaos, the real illegal sites still run amok, despite an all out crackdown. Jay Sayta, Gaming & Technology Lawyer, Sarah Ramanauskas, Partner, Gaming Integrity, and Trivikraman Thampy,  Founder-CEO, Games24x7 join host Arijit Barman to download the changing game scape while retired Madras High Court judge K. Chandru argues why a ban is not a bane. Credit: Parimatch India, CNBC-TV1, Campaign India, Hyvestudio,  You can follow our host Arijit Barman on his social media:Twitter: https://twitter.com/arijitbarman76Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arijit-barman-7233a129/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On part 2 we explore the potential solutions to this dilemma as our panel gets creative in recommending different methods of bridging the gap between what fans want and what they are currently experiencing. We speak with a crack panel of experts - G Srinivasan, someone who has worked across all aspects of the sports universe, Sudhir Shukla, a marketing and brand management guru, Hrishikesh Shende, formerly of Adidas and Rakesh Patel, founder of the Bharat Army as we break down the different types of Indian fans and ask the question - why are leagues and teams struggling to optimise fan monetisation and what are the challenges in a diverse socio-economic country like IndiaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On part 1 of this special two part episode we introduce our guest co-host Shiv Burman from our knowledge partners Burman Sports as we speak to some of the sharpest minds of the sports industry - G Srinivasan, someone who has worked across all aspects of the sports universe, Sudhir Shukla, a marketing and brand management guru, Hrishikesh Shende, formerly of Adidas and Rakesh Patel, founder of Bharat Army as we break down the different types of Indian fans and ask the question - why are leagues and teams struggling to optimise fan monetisation and what are the challenges in a diverse socio-economic country like IndiaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India hosts its first ever first-ever Formula E-Prix, the electric equivalent of a Formula 1 race kicked off in Hyderabad on Feb 11th before it tours off to Cape Town and Brazil. In this episode host, Arijit Barman travels to Hyderabad, the 30th pitstop for Formula E as he goes BTS on how motor racing is putting sustainability on the fast track. Featuring single-seater, electrically powered Formula E cars with batteries charged by solar farms in the state of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and then fed to the grid, the event featured teams such as Maserati MSG Racing, Tag Heuer Porsche, Neom McLaren, Avalanche Andretti, DS Penske, ABT Cupra, NIO 333 and Envision Racing as well as Mahindra Formula E and Jaguar TCS from the Tata Group. Credits: ABB Formula E, NEOM and Mahindra Racing,     We spoke to: Leading teams:NEOM McLaren, Mahindra Formula E and Tag Heaur Porsche - Ian James - Team Principal of the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team and Managing Director of NEOM McLaren Electric Racing;- Florian Modlinger - Director Factory Motorsport Formula E at TAG Heuer Porsche - Frederic Bertrand, CEO & Team Principal - Mahindra Racing  Event organizers and promotors:- Dilbagh Gill, CEO - Ace Nxt Gen; - Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty - Founder, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Greenko Group; - Mahesh Kolli - Founder, President & Joint Managing Director - Greenko GroupYou can follow our host Arijit Barman on his social media: Twitter and LinkedinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fifteen years ago, at the inaugural season of IPL, eight franchises were bought for around $724 million. In 2023, five teams for season 1 of Women's Premier League ( WPL) were bought for a cumulative $572 million. It took 26 years for the US women's basketball team to fetch a $1 billion valuation. So if you thought cricket was a gentleman's game you must have been living under a rock. Top corporates Reliance, Adani, JSW, Diageo or brands like Puma and Mastercard have sensed an untapped potential in a cohort that represents the country's 49%. Hosts Arijit Barman & Karan Ravishankar ask Rajesh V. Menon, VP & Head, Royal Challengers Bangalore,  Shreya Sachdev, Head of Marketing at Puma &  Manasi Narasimhan, Vice President & Head, Marketing South Asia at Mastercard the path to monetisation and beyond.   Credits: ThePapar.com, Hotstar, SonyLiv, ICC, England & Wales Cricket Board, cricket.com.au, FancodeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode Karan Ravishankar travels to Odisha as he gets all the scoop from the stadiums as we break down everything it takes to host a World Cup. He speaks to supporters, players, organizers and sponsors including  Thierry Weil, CEO of the FIH, Mr. R Vineel Krishna, Commissioner cum Secretary, Sports & Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha and Chanakya Chaudhary, VP of Corporate Services for Tata Steel to highlight where we are as a nation when it comes to the state of hockey - the numbers, the response, the future outlook. Is the sport of hockey primed to make a comeback? Credits: International Hockey Federation, Curly Tales Catch the latest episode of The Business of Sports  on your favorite podcast streaming platform - ET Play, The Economic Times, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn and Amazon MusicSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode we speak to Abhinav Bindra, India’s first ever individual Olympic gold medallist as he breaks down the impact of Sport in our society with hosts Karan Ravishankar and Uday Jhala. Are we too obsessed with chasing medals or should we be looking at the larger impact sport can have on shaping our lives?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Asia's biggest marathon, the Tata Mumbai Marathon with 55,000 runners, 7 different categories captured the spirit of Mumbai. The running revolution comes with a price tag. In this episode ET's Arijit Barman talks to Vivek Singh, Joint Managing Director of Procam International, the man who has been jointly running the show with his brother Anil since the inception of the race in 2003-04. Today Procam is behind all the major marathons in India -- including New Delhi, Bangalore & Kolkata. Vivek shares what goes behind the scenes and what it costs to organise such mega events. Also in the episode, Mathew Cyriac, Executive Chairman Florintree & former co-head, Blackstone India, on why has backed Procam, the only external investor thus far to do so and Neil Chakravarti, director at Initium Productions and Strategic Advisor to Procam -- the man behind the broadcasting of Mumbai marathon who talks about the logistics and the scope of making a participation sport a game changer in India, through monetisation across linear TV and in the metaverse. Its a relay of of the cost of running on the Business of Sports.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The rush to run, from weightless to destressing to charity; everyone has their rationale to go the extra mile. Here are a few select voices amid a rising running revolution.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The biggest sporting stories of the year gone by and the stage for 2023, it’s game on in the new year. In this episode Explosion of e-sports in India, from competitive gaming to e-sports there is a new league of players and fans in town. Qatar Football World Cup deep dive – the tech take the game to new highs  Golf Wars: PGA vs LIV Golf drama continues, what does the drama between  American-based tour and Saudi Arabia backed LIV puts question marks on the future of golf.  Women sports take centre stage from IPL to weight lifting, shooting to races  Host Uday Jhala and Karan Ravishankar speak to Sports Buff Indrajit Hazra, Editor Views, Economic Times. & Joy Bhattacharjya, CEO of the Prime Volleyball League as well as the director general of the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sport. Credits: Eurosport Tennis, UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship, SEN Sports, ICC, FORMULA 1,  NBC Sports, House of Highlights, Australian open TV, US Open Tennis Channel, beIN SPORTS AsiaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode, we speak with Justin Geale, Tournament Director of Major League Cricket and the former Director of Operations for the IPL and Jeet Banerjee, MD at Gameplan Sports as well as the man who controlled the IPL auction paddle for a number of years for KKR. Our hosts Karan Ravishankar and Uday Jhala are invited in for a unique masterclass as we receive an education in what goes on behind the scenes at an IPL auction - how it works, what the strategies are, the mind games employed and the intense boiler room pressure situation of auction day.Credit: Cricket InfoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode we speak to Tom Byer, former AFC Technical Advisor and credited with transforming Japan’s football development structure and Akshay Tandon, President of FC Goa and one of the youngest administrators in world sport. Our host Arijit Barman hosts a lively debate on the globalisation of the beautiful game as our panel dissects the flashpoints and storylines from the World Cup so far. Credits: FIFA, Viacom18 Sports & Jio CinemaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is game on for Pro Kabbadi League 2022. This week's episode guest is Anupam Goswami - League Commissioner, Vivo Pro Kabaddi League discusses the gameplan of success that has made PKL wildly popular. From the brainchild of Charu Sharma to the broadcast brilliance of Star is PKL ready for a global explosion? aHost Karan Ravishankar in a candid chat with Anupam Goswami on what it to grow a fanbase for a new homegrown Indian sport. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we speak with Nikhil Bardia, head of Sponsorship Sales and Talent at RISE Worldwide. Our host Karan Ravishankar has a frank conversation about the changing commercial face of the sports industry, how brands interact with franchises and how these deals are cracked, with a view from the inside. We further go into Nikhil’s experience building the talent management vertical at RISE Worldwide. The roster includes power hitters Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah amongst other big sporting names.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As FIFA kicks off the World Cup in Qatar, host Uday Jhala talks to Neel Shah, former director of fan development for the MLS and author of the book Awakening the Blue Tigers: India’s Quest for Football’s Holy Grail. We tackle the perennial question of when Team India will be able to qualify for the Football World Cup. He breaks down the step by step process required to overhaul a system in order for us to achieve our goals. Do we have what it takes? Credit: FIFASee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week’s episode, Our host Uday Jhala and Karan Ravishankar speak to Nikita Luther and Dhaval Mudgal, superstars of the Indian poker scene as they give us a masterclass into what it takes to becoming a successful professional poker player. They continue to drop aces on how to navigate the murky and often controversial world of the poker business in India.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.