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Brilliant People PodcastAuthor: Acertitude
Welcome to the Brilliant People Podcast by Acertitude, a leadership podcast featuring conversations with some of the worlds best and brightest doers and thinkers. Guests range from CEOs and PE executives to psychologists and leadership experts. Get ready to be inspired by stories and get the latest insights on how to lead through change, perform at your best, build top teams, and more. Language: en-us Genres: Business, Management Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Gareth Balch: How Fan Data, Audience Growth, and Sports IP Monetization Are Reshaping the Global Sports Industry | E30
Episode 30
Sunday, 14 December, 2025
What does it take to build one of the most influential data and marketing engines in global sport in a market defined by exploding fan demand, new consumption behaviors, and an unprecedented wave of private capital?In this episode, host Linnea Jungnelius sits down with Gareth Balch, Co-Founder and CEO of Two Circles, the sports data and intelligence company working with more than 900 rights holders worldwide — including the NFL, NBA, Premier League, ICC, and World Rugby — and processing nearly two thirds of all global sports fan transactions. Over the last 14 years, Gareth has helped usher sport into its third age of monetization: a world where audience attention, audience affection, and sophisticated data engineering shape the winners.From why sport is the “world’s largest religion,” to how fragmented fan behavior is redefining the attention economy, to what it really takes to build a tribe that compounds, Gareth breaks down the forces powering today’s global sports boom. For rights holders, private equity investors, and anyone focused on commercial growth in sport, this conversation reveals the playbook behind audience-led value creation, the economics driving white-hot investment, and why knowing your fans best is now the ultimate competitive advantage.What You’ll Learn:Why the future belongs to rights holders that grow audience attention + affection fastest.How the biggest leagues and the "innovating middle" are scaling by building tribes, not just selling rights.Why we're entering the third age of sports monetization and who's positioned to win in it.How to engineer real revenue from trillions of fan data points.Where leakage is happening, and how rights holders can recapture value from tech platforms, piracy, and real estate.Why institutional capital is pouring into the sector and where the smartest money is deploying next.Timecodes00:12 Guest Intro: Gareth Balch03:18 The 6B–4B–1.5B Fan Economy04:46 The Third Age of Sports Monetization05:16 The Attention–Affection Model for Valuing Sports IP06:04 Revenue Concentration: Top 20 Leagues Controlling 44%08:06 Sports IP Forecast: Path to $260B by 203309:28 Breakout Performers: SailGP, CFP, The Hundred10:04 Tribe Building: How Smaller Sports Create Outsized Value11:18 Shooting Stars: IPL, UFC, NWSL Growth Flywheel13:00 Women’s Sports: Unlocking the Commercialization Gap16:32 Know Your Fans Best: The Ultimate Competitive Advantage22:12 Leakage: Piracy & Value Lost to Platforms24:00 Private Capital in Sports: Why the Category Is “White Hot”27:52 Where Capital Flows Next: IP vs. Tech vs. Adjacencies30:14 Predictive Analytics: Causation Over Correlation33:32 Building a High-Performance Culture36:36 Evolving the Ideal Hire: Attitude vs. Aptitude42:06 Managing the Doom Loop: “Don’t Suffer Twice”49:22 Lightning Round: Personal ReflectionsResources:Gareth Balch: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garethbalch/Linnea Jungnelius:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linneajungnelius X: https://x.com/itslinneaExplore the Podcast:Spotify: https://rebrand.ly/gareth-balch-spotify-podcastApple Podcasts: https://rebrand.ly/gareth-balch-apple-podcastBlog: https://rebrand.ly/gareth-balch-blogFound Value?👍Tap Like. And Subscribe: https://acertitu.de/rate-brilliant-people-podcastStay Updated on Acertitude:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/AcertitudeX: https://www.x.com/acertitudeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/acertitude TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/brilliantpeoplepodWebsite: https://www.acertitude.com
