Ed Warner: Docuseries triumph may drive wedge between media and sport April 14, 2022 “Please please please please just go away!” The letter writer signed off with his PS in green ink, only months into my stint as chair of UK Athletics in the days before tweets were a thing. I wish I’d kept it, the only time I’ve seen green ink scrawled in cliched anger. Sports leaders are [...]
Outernet signs deal for ‘world’s largest’ LED screen deployment November 18, 2019 Outernet, a new immersive advertising and live entertainment space under construction in central London, has secured a deal to install the world’s largest deployment of LED screens. Outernet today said it has signed an agreement, understood to be worth millions of pounds, with Chinese display manufacturer AOTO to provide 8K, 360-degree floor-to-ceiling screens. Read more: [...]
England coach says ‘we will get on with the job’ amid absentees January 27, 2022 England head coach Eddie Jones insists his team will “get on with the job” despite an injury crisis ahead of next week’s Six Nations. Jones’s side, who begin their campaign on 5 February against Scotland at Murrayfield, have been dogged by a series of setbacks, including captain Owen Farrell being ruled out with ankle surgery [...]
Ed Warner: Wimbledon shows that the Lawn Tennis Association gets too much money June 23, 2022 If you want to know what’s wrong with tennis in Britain, look no further than Wimbledon. Blame the Championships for being such a phenomenal success that they bequeath the Lawn Tennis Association more money each year than it appears to be able to handle effectively, while simultaneously raising the public’s hunger for the LTA to [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Formula 1 takes the pain; Budweiser buys NBA rights; watch every PGA Tour shot; World Rugby’s bad timing; squash, the great survivor March 4, 2021 “Our goal was to try and take the pain in 2020,” Greg Maffei, president of Formula 1 owners Liberty Media, told investors this week. Maffei can consider that mission accomplished after Liberty laid bare the devastating effect of the pandemic on F1’s finances last year. F1 slipped from a $17m profit in 2019 to a [...]
Why Bruno Fernandes, Gabriel Jesus and Jadon Sancho might be forced to sit out the next international break March 5, 2021 Football’s international break is on the horizon, but for some players these 2022 World Cup qualifying matches might as well not be happening at all. The UK’s requirement that those travelling to certain countries quarantine for 10 days on their return has made some Premier League clubs reluctant to release players. But the situation could [...]
Lawrence Dallaglio: Auction part of drive to give kids better prospects December 7, 2020 Watching the Autumn Nations Cup over the past few weeks has brought some much-needed entertainment to our lives but it has also provided a funding lifeline for the sport in a time where it was nervously looking into a challenging future. Whilst the sport will have to navigate some tricky decisions in relation to the [...]
England’s game against USA is a chance for fringe players to impress September 25, 2019 The fact Eddie Jones can make 10 changes to his starting XV to face the USA and still put out a team full of quality players speaks volumes for England’s squad depth. It is a side filled with international experience despite the changes and Dan Cole will come in to earn his 91st cap, tying [...]
Ed Warner: Crouch review recommendations could drive Premier League away December 2, 2021 I really wanted to embrace the “fan-led” Tracey Crouch review of football governance in England. But with each turn of its 162 pages my heart sank further at the unmistakable sight of the heavy hand of Whitehall. The Crouch review’s recommendations revolve around the creation of an independent regulator for the sport. This displays a [...]
Six Nations 2020 squads: Rees-Zammit a hugely exciting prospect for Wales, Sexton uncertainty a problem for Ireland January 16, 2020 Squads for the Six Nations started to be announced this week and the call-up of Louis Rees-Zammit for Wales has been the standout selection so far. The Gloucester winger is riding a wave at the moment. He is in outstanding form for his club, having scored nine tries in 12 appearances this season, and looks [...]