Michael Johnson's plan to put athletics on the fast track to big business

An invitation to the T100 Triathlon World Tour stop-off in Ibiza was a bit too good to turn down, so SportsPro packed its bag and hopped on a plane. From on the ground in Ibiza Town, Tom Bassam brings you interviews with PTO CEO Sam Renouf and others to find out how this venture-backed new-ish sports property is doing things a little bit differently in a bid to take triathlon mainstream.

While the pay gap between the stars of the WSL and the Premier League remains large, the realities of life as a professional footballer are consistent - a short career at the top of your earning potential and a high risk of injury. To learn more about how the game is changing for the new generation of women’s pros, Tom Bassam is joined by a couple of specialists in the field, Arthur Fane from Miller Insurance’s specialist sports team and Sophie Barrington, who leads on sport and entertainment in Barclays’ wealth management division.

SportsPro’s latest annual 50 Most Marketable Athletes list is out now and, as ever, throws up some fascinating names. Tom Bassam is joined by Sam Carp and Ed Dixon to discuss the rankings, powered by Northstar Solutions Group, while also analysing the trends that emerge from this years’s list. You can download an expanded list of the top 150 athletes, featuring a full statistical breakdown, here.

With the new NBA season upon us, Tom Bassam is joined by Josh Sim to talk about the differing trends in the US sports media market compared to Europe. There's also some discussion on the US major leagues' overseas endeavours, (25:54) with the NFL UK's general manager Henry Hodgson also dialling in to provide an update on the London games and more.

Depending on where you get your news (literally), Manchester City’s legal challenge to the Premier League over associated party transactions was highly successful or not particularly seismic. Tom Bassam is joined by Steve McCaskill and Josh Sim to get the bottom of it. We also learn what AI thinks about Steve’s sailing knowledge and discuss some of the technological innovations that are powering the upcoming America’s Cup.

So we know the Club World Cup final will be at MetLife Stadium but otherwise little else about Fifa’s new tournament. To pick holes in the plan, Tom Bassam is joined by Ed Dixon and Sam Carp, who also discuss the state of British basketball, as well as the new NHL season. Then, in part two, BodyArmor’s Tom Gargiulo takes us inside the sports drink brand’s marketing strategy.

AI: dangerous threat or the technology that will set us free? The truth, of course, is somewhere in between. To discover more Tom Bassam and Steve McCaskill went along to the inaugural SportsPro AI event at London Stadium where they found out how sports is embracing AI, as well as how the rapidly-evolving technology is shaping the future.

The FA has handed over control of the Women's Super League to the newly-created Women's Professional Leagues. Now CEO Nikki Doucet is at the helm, Steve McCaskill and Josh Sim join Tom Bassam to discuss the status of the women's game in England. Also on the agenda are the ever-shifting picture in the RSN market and the proposed ATP-WTA merger. 

Next week sees the first round of the Champions League’s new group stage, but will it work and for who? To answer that question Sam Carp and Ed Dixon join Tom Bassam. Also discussed are the influence of AI in sports media and a reflection on the impact of Alex Morgan’s career.

The NFL is back, the SportsPro staff fantasy draft has taken place and to celebrate StreamTime Sports co-host Chris Stone swaps pods to join Tom Bassam and Josh Sim for a discussion on the biggest developments during the off-season. In part two (32:01) we try to figure out how and if a proper European division of the NFL would work, plus Steve McCaskill pops in to talk about AI Week.