The latest episode of "A Guy with a Scarf" featured an insightful conversation with Paola Marinone and Bengu Atamer from BuzzMyVideos, revealing significant shifts in YouTube's landscape and its growing importance in the connected TV space. Key Takeaways: Connected TV Dominance Streaming viewership has increased from 34.3% to 37.7% in just 12 months Cable TV decreased from 30.2% to 27.6% in the same period YouTube's share grew from 7.9% to 9.3%, surpassing Netflix's growth (7.3% to...

In this episode of "A Guy with a Scarf," Carlo de Marchis interviews Josh Walker from Sports Innovation Lab about the evolving landscape of sports fandom, data-driven decision making in sports, and the future of the industry. Key Takeaways: 1️⃣ The Fluid Fan Concept Sports Innovation Lab introduced the concept of the "fluid fan" to describe the changing nature of sports fandom. Walker defines a fluid fan as someone who is "open to change" and "empowered to choose" how they engage with sports...

📚⚽ Special News: "Let's Kick the Rules: Rebel Soccer" - A Book for Young Sports Lovers! ⚽📚I'm embarrassed to announce the release of my new children's book, "Let's Kick the Rules: Rebel Soccer"!A mix of my own experience as a dad of a 9 years old player and innovation a-la Kingsleague.Available on Amazon in English and Italian links in the comment section.As someone who's spent years in professional sports, I wanted to create a story that captures the true spirit of the game for young...

In this episode of "A Guy with a Scarf," I had the pleasure of speaking with Dave Lipp, who leads Business Development and Strategy for Direct-to-Consumer initiatives at Manchester United. Our conversation explored the club's evolving approach to fan engagement in the digital age, the challenges of global brand management, and the impact of emerging technologies on sports marketing. Dave's journey to Manchester United is a testament to the diverse expertise needed in modern sports management....

🧠 As you may know i have recently started a collaboration with Ably for the Realtime Fan Engagement initiative, as I really believe that what they have is very useful to many of in sport and media tech. 🎙️ To share more about what they do I thought of (again) asking for the help of my good AI friends Miles and Faye and recorded a podcast to deep dive, instead of boring you with feature lists. 👩‍💻 They break down Ably, a real-time technology platform (fully API-based) that's powering...

The third instalment of Product Byte Live, held in London, brought together industry leaders to discuss the future of product development in media, sports, and entertainment. I talked to the organizer Tom McDonnell, CEO of Monterosa , and Matthew O'Riordan , CEO of Ably , who shared their insights on real-time fan engagement and the challenges facing the industry in a panel I moderated in the afternoon also with Vishal Parikh from LiveLike.

🥇 Post-Paris mini-series! Episode 6 with Alex BalfourI have asked few of people in my network with direct experience of the games these 3 questions for A guy with a scarf:1. How was Paris 2024 compared to your expectations? What exceeded, what fell short.2. The most innovative thing you saw (in any of venue, broadcast, digital, social).3. What should be improved in LA?Here is what Alex had to say:🌟 Spectacular Success:Olympics has "got its mojo back"Reminiscent of London 2012's energyParis...

🏅Olympics 🇫🇷 Post-Paris 2024 Mini-Series: Episode 5 with Michael Payne I have asked few of people in my network with direct experience of the games these 3 questions for A guy with a scarf:1. How was Paris 2024 compared to your expectations? What exceeded, what fell short.2. The most innovative thing you saw (in any of venue, broadcast, digital, social).3. What should be improved in LA?Here is what Michael had to say:- Overall🏛️ Stunning historical backdrop turned Paris into a sports venue🗼...

🥇 Post-Paris mini-series! Episode 4 with Joe FarrenI have asked few of people in my network with direct experience of the games these 3 questions for A guy with a scarf:1. How was Paris 2024 compared to your expectations? What exceeded, what fell short.2. The most innovative thing you saw (in any of venue, broadcast, digital, social).3. What should be improved in LA?Here is what Joe had to say:🌟 Exceeded Expectations:- Organization level- Look and feel of the Games- Premium design without...

I have asked few of people in my network with direct experience of the games these 3 questions for A guy with a scarf: 1. How was Paris 2024 compared to your expectations? What exceeded, what fell short. 2. The most innovative thing you saw (in any of venue, broadcast, digital, social). 3. What should be improved in LA? Here is what Thierry had to say: 🎉 Exceeding Expectations: Despite initial doubts, Paris 2024 was a resounding success, dispelling concerns about high prices and...

I have asked few of people in my network with direct experience of the games these 3 questions for A guy with a scarf: 1. How was Paris 2024 compared to your expectations? What exceeded, what fell short. 2. The most innovative thing you saw (in any of venue, broadcast, digital, social). 3. What should be improved in LA? Here is what Pete had to say: 🗼 Pete spent 17 days in Paris, implementing Play Anywhere's technology with two broadcasters. 🚇 He praised Paris's infrastructure, particularly...

🥇 Post-Paris mini-series!I have asked few of people in my network with direct experience of the games these 3 questions for A guy with a scarf:1. How was Paris 2024 compared to your expectations? What exceeded, what fell short.2. The most innovative thing you saw (in any of venue, broadcast, digital, social).3. What should be improved in LA?First is Sébastien Audoux, this is what he had to say:🏅 Exceeded Expectations: The Games far surpassed even optimistic predictions.📺 Visual Spectacle: The...

The Power Shift in Sports Marketing One of the most striking observations Van Schaik made was the dramatic shift in influence from traditional sports entities to individual athletes. He illustrated this with a compelling comparison: "If you take the FIFA World Cup, the NHL, the NBA, the NFL, the MLB... the five biggest leagues, five biggest sports entities... they have a combined social media following of 460 million. But now we take a look at just Cristiano [Ronaldo], Messi, and Neymar...

Listen to the Spotify podcast The Evolution of Real-time Experiences Matt began by explaining the journey of real-time applications, from simple notification systems to complex, interactive platforms. He identified three key stages in this evolution: Live experiences: One-way broadcasting of data, similar to video streams. Shared live experiences: Users engage with each other while consuming live content. Collaborative experiences: Users interact with each other and manipulate the...

For episode 38 of A guy with a scarf , I sat down with Alex Balfour, a digital pioneer in the world of sports and entertainment. Balfour, who served as the Head of New Media for the London 2012 Olympic Games, shares his insights on the digital evolution of the Olympics and the changing landscape of sports engagement. The Digital Transformation of the Olympics Balfour's journey with the Olympics began in 2006, a time when the digital landscape was vastly different from today. He recalls, "When...

In this episode of "A Guy with a Scarf", I sit down with Terrence Burns, a veteran of the Olympic movement with over 30 years of experience in sports marketing. Burns shares his insights on the evolution of Olympic sponsorship and marketing, the importance of values in the Olympic brand, and what we can expect from the upcoming games in Paris and Los Angeles. Burns began his Olympic journey with Delta Airlines, managing their sponsorship for the Atlanta Games in 1996. He fell in love with...

As a veteran of the sports media industry with 35 years of experience at Deltatre, I recently delivered a thought-provoking keynote at the ABLY Real-Time Fan Engagement Summit held at the AWS office in New York City. In my presentation, I explored the current state of fan engagement, the challenges faced by organizations, and the potential scenarios for the future of real-time fan engagement in sports and media. The Evolving Ecosystem of Fan Engagement: I emphasized that the fan engagement...

In the inaugural episode of Untangling AI, Carlo De Marchis sits down with Nick Meacham, CEO of SportsPro, to discuss the impact and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in the sports industry. As the world of sports continues to evolve, AI has become an increasingly important topic, with organizations seeking to leverage its capabilities to enhance fan engagement, streamline operations, and drive innovation. Meacham, with his extensive experience in the sports media landscape, shares...

For this captivating episode of "A Guy with a Scarf", I had a long intense conversation with Yiannis Exarchos, CEO of Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) and Executive Director of the Olympic Channel. Exarchos shares his remarkable journey in the world of Olympic broadcasting, shedding light on the evolving landscape of sports media and the groundbreaking innovations that have transformed the way we experience the Olympic Games. Exarchos' involvement with the Olympics began in 1997 when he...

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Tom Kuhr, a seasoned veteran in the world of computer tech, software, and SaaS companies. With 30 years of experience, Tom shared his insights on the evolving landscape of sports technology and the key trends shaping the industry. Our discussion revolved around an article Tom wrote for Unofficial Partner, titled "10 Buying Trends Shaping the Sports Business." Throughout the interview, Tom and I delved into each of these trends, providing valuable...

Doug Shapiro, a media industry veteran with nearly 30 years of experience, recently shared his insights on the video streaming landscape in an interview with Carlos on the "A Guy with a Scarf" podcast. Shapiro's comprehensive analysis of the video value chain in the United States, titled "Video Follow the Money," shed light on the current state of the industry and its future trajectory. One of the key takeaways from the interview is that the traditional television business, including pay TV...