Insider Sport is on the ground at SPORTEL Monaco, providing you live coverage for the second day. Expect insights from industry leaders engaging in conversations around broadcasting, investment, AI and much more.
17:00 – Goodbye for now
Closing out with Tebas’ comments feels fitting. There are few updates, insights, or quotes likely to be as headline-grabbing as his today.
SPORTEL Monaco 2025 has brought together some of the biggest names in the sports industry to discuss trends, news and new deals. It’s been a pleasure sharing these live updates on behalf of Insider Sport.
The event isn’t over yet, though. Interviews with John Martin, CEO of Professional Fighters League, and Matthew Quinn, VP of Media at Liverpool FC, will be published on the website in the coming days.
I’ve been Kieran O’Connor, thank you for following the live blog.
16:30 – The match in Miami
Tebas didn’t hide his frustration when discussing the battle to stage a league game in the US, a proposal which was “reluctantly” given the green light by UEFA. The December, 2025 fixture between FC Barcelona and Villarreal will take place in Miami, Florida.
Commenting on UEFA’s statement, he said: “It is very frustrating. This is a very old-fashioned vision of professional football.”
Tebas argued taking one LaLiga match abroad should be seen as a natural step for a global sport, not a threat to its traditions. “This is just one game, not twenty,” he pointed out. “We accepted Halloween from the US, why don’t they accept something from us?”
The LaLiga chief hinted there’s more to the story than meets the eye, teasing future revelations. “I am going to write about it when I retire and talk about a lot of secrets.”
16:00 – LaLiga President on piracy
“When I was a young man I was taught not to steal because it’s a sin. This is stealing,” said Javier Tebas, President of LaLiga, as he opened his remarks on piracy, setting the tone for a fiery segment.
Tebas didn’t mince his words. He warned piracy remains one of the biggest threats to football’s future, stressing that rights holders must become far more proactive in defending their content. “Rights holders need more awareness,” he urged. “Broadcasters have to work on the protection of the service.”
He revealed pirates are becoming increasingly sophisticated, pushing LaLiga to double down on its own technology and traceability systems. “Pirates are extremely advanced,” he said, noting that LaLiga is investing heavily in anti-piracy tech designed to trace and block illegal streams in real time.
“We’re are blocking,” he added. “It is like the NASA headquarters…but we need to be able to trace them.”
15:30 – What’s next?
Aurenche noted the team has “done the easy part,” before turning to his colleague Cyprien Castanedo, Head of Media Platform and Innovation, and jokingly said, “yes, this was the easy part.”
Delatre’s CEO Andrea Marini, who also moderated the session, explained that the company’s focus now is on developing the product further and making it more accessible to fans.
Reflecting on the journey so far, Aurenche described the shift as a revolution and a major decision for the clubs, adding that there were few real alternatives. When asked from the audience about how the clubs felt about the change, he admitted that “the economic side is not there yet,” but noted that subscribers are enthusiastic and that a new sense of connection between fans and clubs is emerging.
“We will be patient,” he said.
15:15 – LFP adresses critics of Ligue 1+
A huge talking point in European football last season was Ligue de Football Professionnel‘s decision to launch Ligue 1+, the league’s new direct-to-consumer streaming service.
What led the league to do this? Marlin Aurenche, Chief Media Officer at LFP Media, described it as an unsuccessful tender process. For readers who are unaware, the service is the result of the collapse of a four-year domestic broadcast rights agreement between the LFP and DAZN, just one year into the deal.
The move face criticism after the league then partnered with the likes of DAZN, Orange, and Amazon Prime Video. Aurenche explained this was to appeal to both the older generation and new generation.
14:15 – A conversation with Professional Fighters League
Heading into the next session at SPORTEL, Insider Sport is preparing for a one-on-one with John Martin, CEO of Professional Fighters League.
PFL is entering a huge year, valued at $1bn, with global events and regional leagues across Europe, MENA, Africa, and soon Australia. Martin will be sharing his vision for growth, how PFL approaches media rights in a fragmented market, the future of PPV and the balance between star fighters like Francis Ngannou and Dakota Ditcheva and the overall brand.
Make sure you’re signed up to the Insider Sport daily newsletter so you don’t miss the full interview when it drops in the coming weeks.
13:30 – A quiet moment on the floor
It’s a rare pause at SPORTEL Monaco this afternoon. No panels are running just yet, but it gives Insider Sport a chance to reflect on the event so far.
Even in these quieter moments, the floor is buzzing with conversations. With names like the Premier League, E1 Series, LaLiga, OKTAGON MMA and LIV Golf in attendance, it’s exciting to think about the deals being made and the potential collaborations on the horizon. It’s also a reminder some of the most interesting insights happen one-on-one, behind the scenes.
While Insider Sport has conducted its own interviews, which will appear on the site in the coming weeks, other meetings remain confidential. What we can discuss are the panels so far.
Over the past day and a half, more than 12 expert panels have explored some of the most interesting topics in sports today, from AI and fan engagement to market dominance and securing media rights.
A standout session was yesterday’s Where does the next one billion dollars come from session. Three CEOs — Djamel Agaoua of Kings League, John Martin of Professional Fighters League, and Danny Townsend of Surj Sports Investment — tackled the question. While they highlighted the growing pool of media rights buyers, the discussion around sovereign wealth funds was particularly insightful.
Perspectives on sovereign wealth have evolved in recent years. When Newcastle United was purchased by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, fans expressed concern over the acquisition and sportswashing. Soon after, Saudi Arabia also entered boxing, putting the sport a different trajectory entirely.
What began as a positive move, bringing together rival UK promotions and offering bigger paychecks, has had some unexpected consequences. Boxers now overestimate what they should earn, and professional shows in UK venues have become less frequent.
Agaoua explained his caution around working with sovereign wealth is not about politics, however, but about scale. The size of the investment and the team can sometimes mean less agility and commitment compared with other investors.
It is interesting to see how when sovereign wealth funds are brought up in today’s conversations it is less about sportswashing, when a few years back that would have been the biggest talking point.
12:30 – Lunch, but the coverage never stops
Lunch may be underway at SPORTEL, but Insider Sport is camped in the media lounge, going over notes and prepping for meetings. Plenty of panels and interviews still to cover and the day isn’t done yet.
11:40 – What are the characteristics of APAC consumers?
Marissa Banu-Lawrence, Head of Content Acquisitions and Commercial Sport at FOX Sports, focused on Australia. She explained audiences there are split across generations: older, high-income fans still prefer linear viewing; younger fans want live sport start to finish; and the next wave of younger viewers, who can’t afford subscriptions yet.
To reach that emerging audience, FOX Sports has been using YouTube as a bridge, meeting fans where they are now, with the goal of building loyalty for when they can pay later.
Chew added an interesting perspective from across APAC, noting a surge in young female fans of F1 driven by Netflix’s Drive to Survive and its athlete-focused storytelling. He said this shows the growing power of character-led and social media-first content strategies.
His comments mirror findings from recent CrowdIQ research reported by Insider Sport, which revealed female fans are becoming one of the most valuable audiences in men’s sport. The study found they prefer athlete storytelling over team-focused content and spend five times more per person than the average supporter, arriving earlier, staying longer and buying more merchandise tied to campaigns and causes.
11:20 – Spotlight on Asia
Imran Yusuf, Executive Editor of SportBusiness opened the session by pointing out that Asia presents the biggest opportunity in global sport, thanks to its massive population, but admitted many still describe it as a “tough market” to crack.
Kevin Sim, Head of APAC at Bundesliga International, explained Pay TV has been the key driver in Asia for more than two decades. However, the landscape is now more fragmented than ever, with digital disruption altering how fans consume sport.
“Pay TV is on the downtrend and digital is on the uptrend,” Sim said. “Until that transition is complete, there’s going to be more pain.”
Mark Chew, Co-founder and Managing Director of Reddentes Sports, added there’s no one-size-fits-all approach in Asia, stressing every market and every generation behaves differently. “The audience is younger now, and their attention spans are shorter,” he noted, highlighting the need for new strategies to keep them engaged.
10:55 – Immersive viewing takes centre stage
The XR Sports Alliance, which includes names like Red Bull and Google among its 22 members, shared insights from its first major experiment in collaboration with the E1 Series.
Laurence Boyd, Chief Content and Product Officer at E1, explained how fan expectations are shifting: “Younger audiences don’t want to just sit back… they want agency in their viewing. That means taking part in the race.”
The project saw XR Sports capture 180° and 360° immersive footage, giving fans a chance to experience the event as if they were there.
The key lessons? Perceived user value comes from emotion, proximity and context. Immersion is about field of view, as well as emotional and contextual presence.
Boyd also touched on the rise of active vs passive viewing, where fans can switch camera angles, select points of interest, or even change commentary audio. It’s a balance between guiding the viewer and giving them freedom and it could redefine what it means to “attend” a live event.
10:15 – Giving AI a voice and some emotion
Before Ashish Shah, Co-founder and CEO of SyncWords, took the mic, the audience watched a short video. It showed an athletics race originally commentated in English, but as the race unfolded, the commentary switched into several different languages.
This is SyncWords’ speciality of using generative AI to dub live sports content in real time. It’s a breakthrough which helps leagues and broadcasters localise their content, reach new markets and ultimately monetise global audiences.
However, early versions struggled to capture what really matters. “Sport is all about the emotion,” Shah admitted. “It’s taken three to four years of failing, a lot of failing, but now we have something that works.”
09:45 – “Data is where it all starts”
Peter Leeb, VP of Commercial at Veritone, wasted no time showing his expertise. He revealed Veritone processes over 150,000 hours of footage every day, giving the company an enormous pool of data to work with.
But, Leeb pointed out, one major barrier remains the “lack of standardisation and normalisation” of data. Until that changes, the industry can’t fully unlock AI’s potential.
“We are getting there,” said Leeb. “But it’s still far away and we have a lot to do as an industry.”
09:30 – Ladies and gentlemen, take your seats
After a quick call over the venue tannoy, attendees are beginning to take their seats for the first panel of the day: Generative AI Redefining the Sports Industry.
Moderated by Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director at SVG, the session brings together speakers from WSC Sports, Veritone, SyncWords and Ekstraklasa.
They’ll be exploring how AI is impacting media rights, sponsorship, content creation, translation, distribution and the overall fan experience.
09:00 – Rested and ready for Day 2
Good morning readers, it’s a slightly later start here in Monaco as everyone recovers from last night’s SPORTEL Awards celebrations. However, Insider Sport isn’t slowing down. We’re back on the ground and ready to pick up where we left off yesterday (you can catch up on Day 1’s live blog HERE).
I’m Kieran O’Connor, the sun’s out, the floor’s filling upa nd it’s looking to be another busy day. Expect panels on AI and media acquisition, plus a sneak peek into my interview later today with John Martin, CEO of the Professional Fighters League.
