Highlight Reel: EA Innovates in Mobile with New Sports App 📲
Plus, Poch's appointment to the USMNT and football's TV rights are under threat...
Welcome to Sports Pundit’s Highlight Reel – your go-to roundup of the latest sports business news, insights, and trends shaping the industry.
Each week, we bring you the key stories and developments that have captured the attention of sports executives and leaders across our global network.
In today’s email;
EA Sports Launch New Mobile App 📲
Bringing Poch to the USA ⚽️
Football's TV Rights are under threat... ⛔️
Happy Friday!
Andy 😊 🙏
P.S. Congrats to Chad, our latest ‘Contributor of the Week.’
Other honourable mentions go to Tristin, Cedric, and Ndeye.
IT’S IN THE GAME
EA Innovates in Mobile with New Sports App 📲
At their recent Investor Day, EA Sports unveiled a new app that could boost their growing sports simulation gaming business by expanding into mobile, which has seen flat revenue over the past two years.
Chief Experience Officer David Tinson introduced three core pillars for the app:
Discovery (news, stats, highlights)
Play (live challenges, mini-games)
Community (social features).
Monetisation plans include sponsorships this fiscal year, scaled advertising next year, and potential future commerce opportunities.
The app aims to further enhance player connections, engagement, and lifetime value across EA's sports ecosystem, as highlighted by Tim Ebner on LinkedIn.
What they said:
“In the concluding Q&A, CEO Andrew Wilson described how EA’s ability ‘to seed that application with nearly 300 million players is a profound opportunity that we almost certainly believe will drive higher engagement in our games, and following on from that, higher monetisation. But an even bigger opportunity, we believe, given the changing nature of the consumption of sports and our ability to deliver a truly interactive form of sports fandom, we can attract hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions more sports fans around the world.
There could be a powerful loop here. EA should be able to drive significant installs and engagement by offering digital incentives in their massively popular games.
IF the app is good enough, those initial users will bring in their friends and the app could in turn become an acquisition funnel for EA’s core games.
Emphasis on IF, can this app compete with sports and fantasy apps from ESPN and other powerhouse media companies? We’ll get a first look soon. The Sports App soft launches in Spain this fall.
SOCIAL CLUB
The Sports Pundit Social Club is a monthly series of industry Happy Hours happening in New York and London.
These free gatherings are designed to connect individuals who might not meet at conventional industry events. Our community includes senior and junior executives from rightsholders, founders of venture-backed startups, private equity investors, and even (a few) professional footballers, all bringing unique value to the table - and very rarely mixing in other settings.
Thank you to everyone who came to the New York event on Wednesday. It’s not too late to RSVP to join us for Thursday in London👇
London 🎡 (Thursday 26th September @ Eight Club London, Bank)
HIGHLIGHTS
The National League Cup, a competition between 16 fifth-tier sides and 16 Premier League 2 teams, will start next month ⚽️
Lionel Messi has launched 525 Rosario, his own production company, that will produce TV, film and live sports events, as well as branded content for athletes 🎬
Former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry is closing in on buying a control stake in the NWSL side North Carolina Courage at a reported valuation of $108m ⚽️
Following an exciting summer of Olympic action, NEOM Beach Games is returning for its third edition this November, featuring supertri NEOM 🏊
The LEGO Group and Formula 1 have announced a multi-year partnership to connect younger fans and families, focusing on innovation, engineering and inclusion 🧱
Former Premier League side Luton Town has submitted a detailed application for a new 25,000-capacity stadium at its Power Court site in Luton town centre 🏟️
KEEPING SCORE
The Philanthropic Funding Behind Pochettino's Appointment ⚽️
In a significant step toward the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation appointed Mauricio Pochettino as the new head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team. Pochettino’s hiring signals U.S. Soccer's ambition to compete at the highest global level.
What’s even more notable, as Bruin Capital CEO George Pyne pointed out, is the innovative financial backing behind this decision. Key figures like Ken Griffin (Citadel) and Scott Goodwin (Diameter) have contributed philanthropically, alongside corporate partners, to support Pochettino’s contract. This marks a unique intersection of financial services, philanthropy, and sports, pushing the boundaries of traditional sponsorship by directly funding talent acquisition and operational support.
What he said:
“This approach raises fascinating questions for the industry:
Could this model signal the start of a trend? As private investment blends with philanthropy, will we see other sports teams and organizations adopt this innovative funding strategy to compete at the highest levels?
What are the tax implications? U.S. Soccer operates as a nonprofit, which opens the door to the possibility that these contributions may be tax-deductible. Could this further incentivise financial leaders and corporations to support sports in this way?
The bigger picture: Will this create a ripple effect, with investors and senior executives finding new avenues to influence and shape the future of sports, all while aligning with social and philanthropic values?
For those of us in the private investment and executive leadership space, particularly within the sports industry, this serves as a case study in how business leaders can redefine the concept of partnership in sports. There’s an emerging opportunity to blend financial acumen with philanthropic intent to fuel the future of sports development.”
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FURTHER READING
Football's TV Rights are under threat... By Dane Hinchy 📺
The accessibility of grassroots football is built for Gen Z Engagement By Chaj Arunasalam, GGm8 📈
A Drop in Mortgage Rates Could Substantially Impact Sports Streaming Consumption By John Wall Street 🏠
AC Milan owner says private equity investment has ‘massively inflated’ sports valuations By Josh Noble, Financial Times ⚽️
The Business of Global Sports with Peter Hutton By Just Think About It Podcast 🌎
Grand Slam Track Raises $30mm to Solve Sport’s ‘Supply Problem’ By John Wall Street 🏃
JOB BOARD
Partnership Marketing Executive - Chelsea FC (London, UK)
Senior Creative - MSQ Sport + Entertainment (London, UK)
Senior Partnerships Planning Manager, Creative - Tottenham Hotspur (London, UK)
Marketing Manager, Games & VR - Major League Baseball (New York, US)
Director, Apple Partnership - Major League Soccer (New York, US)
To see these jobs, and more jobs like these, visit the Sports Pundit Job Board, hosted by Peak 72.
Do you have a job you’d like to promote to the amazing readers of this newsletter? Email me 📩
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