Show Notes
In this episode of The Confessional, Roger Mitchell sits down with Giles Morgan to explore a lifetime at the sharp end of sports sponsorship — from wielding HSBC’s global checkbook to reinventing himself as the Sponsorship Doctor. Giles reflects on how his Hong Kong glory years brought lasting regret of choosing career over time with his children, and the humbling reset that followed. He also lays out a lifetime’s thoughts on sponsorship: why perimeter boards and AVE were always the wrong north star, how true value lies in “tribe-to-tribe” relationships between brands and fans, and why the Lions–Howden partnership should be seen as a playbook for data-led, emotionally honest activation rather than just logos on shirts. Brought to you by Lockeroom.
More from Are You Not Entertained?
This week’s Goal Own Goal returns from the international break with Roger and Grant discussing German spies, upside-down Hull City footballers, the enduring magnificence of Ian Botham, and whether sporting greatness requires a little arrogance, swagger, and complete indifference to being liked. The mood turns darker as they tear into Manchester City’s legal saga, the Premier League’s credibility crisis, the prospect of a Super League, and the uncomfortable possibility that football’s most powerful clubs may finally have pushed the game past the point of forgiveness.
Roger Mitchell and Mark Oliver are joined by Nick Bourne of the ATP to explore the battle for attention, aggregation and the future of sports content. From his pioneering work at Copa90 and the rise of football’s creator-led media, to the lessons of Netflix’s Break Point, Nick explains why the next generation of sports storytelling depends on access, personality and player buy-in. They also ask whether tennis can escape its overcrowded calendar, create better incentives for its stars and turn casual viewers into lifelong fans — before examining who will control the next media bottleneck: the platform, the rights, or the audience’s first response to “what’s good tonight?”
Roger Mitchell and Mark Oliver are joined by Ben Morel, former Six Nations and NBA executive, to examine whether sport is reaching the limits of commercialization. From French football’s media-rights crisis and the fight against piracy to rugby’s crowded calendar, private-equity investment and the proposed NBA Europe league, they explore whether the future lies in bigger rights deals — or in better products, smarter bundles and giving fans a reason to watch.
This wide release of last week’s special live edition of Goal Own Goal goes from the FIFA Forward enterprise plan and the sheer chaos around Infantino’s latest power play to a properly sharp discussion about what football has become, who it is really for, and what happens when the game starts treating itself like a financial product. With Charlie Methven and John Colquhoun joining Grant and Roger, the conversation cuts through the buzzwords to look at the deal itself, the commercial logic, the dodgy politics around it, and the bigger question of whether the sport still has any sense of dignity left in the room.
Roger Mitchell and Mark Oliver are joined by Davide Tesoro-Tess, the strategist who helped shape Sky Italy, to unpack the biggest media question of the moment: what happens when consolidation, separation and vertical integration all start happening at once? From Comcast and Sky to RTL, MFE and the future of free-to-air versus pay TV, they dig into why Europe’s broadcasters are rearranging themselves, whether the real prize is cost savings or advertising power, and which deals are bold strategy versus survival in a market that is changing fast. Brought to you by 54.