Highlight Reel: F1 ACADEMY Netflix Docuseries to Follow its Own Formula 🎬 🏁
Plus, The Athletic agrees NBA and WNBA highlights deal and Strava announces acquisition of fast-growth running coach app, Runna
Good morning!
Yesterday’s reunion at Moonshot for our 2024 Speakers Only cohort was (unlike my batting) an absolute home run! ⚾️
It was the first time we’ve reunited the brilliant people who made our debut event at Saracens in November so special. And it definitely won’t be the last.
We’ve got another get-together lined up for August, this time cricket themed, where I’ll also be aiming to announce the full lineup for our second edition of Speakers Only (pencilled in for early November again).
Next week, I’ll be on the ground at SportsPro Live before hosting a free-to-attend social event on the Wednesday night. RSVP here if you’re coming. If you want to go to SportsPro but haven’t yet bought a ticket, you can get 40% off by using this link.
Now, on to this week’s stories:
F1 Academy Netflix Show to Launch Next Month 🏎️
The Athletic Agrees NBA and WNBA Highlights Deal 🏀
Strava Announces Acquisition of Fast-Paced Runna 🏃
Let’s get into it:
DRIVE CHANGE
F1 ACADEMY Netflix Docuseries to Follow its Own Formula 🎬 🏁
F1 ACADEMY has announced that its upcoming docuseries F1: The Academy, produced by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, will debut globally on Netflix on May 28, 2025.
The seven-part series offers behind-the-scenes access to the all-female 2024 F1 ACADEMY season, capturing on- and off-track drama as drivers compete across seven race weekends.
Executive producers include F1 ACADEMY Managing Director Susie Wolff and Hello Sunshine’s Reese Witherspoon, Sara Rea, and Sarah Lazenby.
The show promises a fresh take on motorsport storytelling, blending adrenaline and personal narratives, with a production team known for telling women-led stories with mainstream appeal.
Why It Matters:
This isn’t Drive to Survive 2.0. By partnering with Hello Sunshine, F1 is tapping into a powerhouse of female-focused storytelling to expand the sport’s reach, furthering appeal among younger and more diverse audiences.
It would’ve been easy to rinse and repeat the exact formula (no pun intended) that worked so well for the men. Instead, F1: The Academy is carving out its own identity, driving its own narratives, and building a fanbase that is just as distinct as the series itself.
This is something it has already also done well through its brand partnerships with the likes of global beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury and the likes of TeamViewer, who have been big supporters of women in STEM, even prior to their deal with the series.
OPINION: RUNNING WITH IT
🗣️ Rosie Crampin: Strava’s Acquisition of Runna an Exciting Move for Sports Tech 🏃🏼♀️
“The news that Runna has been acquired by Strava is an exciting move for the future of fitness, sport, and tech.
Why? Because it’s the perfect example of how accessible, personalised performance tools are becoming more connected, more data-driven, and more supportive of athletes at every level.
As someone working in partnerships within the sports tech space, and someone who loves running, I sometimes use Strava as a business case in conversation.
“If you don’t log the run, did it happen?” Same goes for: "If you don’t record that great goal on Veo… did it even happen?"
Whether you’re a Sunday league coach or chasing a marathon PB, we all want to track progress, tell stories, and get better.I used Strava to train for two marathons and, for me, it became much more than just a tracking app. It was my accountability, motivation, and data-driven coach. Seeing my progress in real time was often the push I needed to get out the door in the morning, especially on those tough days.
Yes, it’s a little daunting how much we now rely on data to shape our sporting lives... but like it or not, this is the way forward.
So personally, I think this Runna x Strava move is a huge win for the sports tech space and a powerful reminder of how the right tools can help unlock potential at every level.”
HIGHLIGHTS
Media
Channel 5 has secured UK broadcast rights to 23 matches from the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup under a sublicensing deal with DAZN. The agreement will include two quarter-finals, one semi-final, and the final 🏆
Footballco chief executive Juan Delgado believes the 2026 Fifa World Cup in North America, coupled with a “bet” on the US market coming to fruition, will help the company ‘to hit $100m mark‘ in revenues next year ⚽️
Marketing
Club América has released a special edition kit in collaboration with Pac-Man, featuring blocky font for names and numbers that mimics the pixelated graphics of 1980s arcade games 🕹️
KP Snacks has expanded its partnership with the ECB in a deal that sees it become the sleeve sponsor of the men's and women's national teams, building on visibility across The Hundred 🏏
Finance
New Zealand Cricket, the national governing body, has made an unprecedented international investment into a 2027 expansion franchise in the US T20 league, Major League Cricket (MLC) 🏏
Cryptocurrency firm Tether announced on Thursday it had further raised its stake in Italian Serie A soccer club Juventus, bolstering its ‘total participation to over 10.12 % of the issued share capital’ 🦓
Scottish Premiership side Rangers confirm 'productive conversations' with Andrew Cavenagh and the 49ers Enterprises ahead of the proposed takeover at Ibrox 🏴
Innovation
The NFL and Adobe have launched an AI-powered fan experience partnership which will enable the league and all 32 of its clubs to scale personalised fan touch points across NFL channels 🎨🖌️
PlayStation has kicked off ‘The Concert,’ a global tour that debuted in Dublin this past weekend, bringing iconic game soundtracks to life through a live orchestral experience 🎶
Chelsea FC has announced a multi-year partnership with Ticketmaster, naming the industry-leading ticketing platform as the club’s Official Ticketing Partner 🎟️
THE NEW YORK CLIPPERS
The Athletic Agrees NBA and WNBA Deal to Become a New House for Highlights 🏀
In a first-of-its-kind partnership, The Athletic has teamed up with the NBA and WNBA to embed official league highlights directly into its journalism, creating a seamless experience between video content and in-depth reporting.
Launching in time for the NBA Playoffs and WNBA season, the collaboration includes new formats like The Athletic Spotlight, Video Essays, and The Bounce Weekly-ish, all designed to bring the action to life and give fans greater context behind the game’s biggest moments.
The Athletic will also promote live NBA and WNBA game viewership through embedded links, helping funnel readers toward real-time action.
With a roster of 25 NBA writers and a growing WNBA team (up 650% in readership YoY), this signals a deeper editorial and commercial investment into basketball.
Why It Matters:
This is more than adding highlights. While most leagues drop clips on YouTube and leave the rest to chance, this partnership creates a clearer link between content and outcome.
For the leagues, it’s a smart play to try to convert highly engaged digital attention into live viewership. This is especially important following their major TV rights renewal that spread matches across more broadcasters.
For The Athletic, it’s a bet on blending premium video with premium journalism, creating a richer experience for subscribers and a stronger foothold in basketball coverage.
GROUP CHAT
That’s a wrap for this week - huge thanks to everyone who’s part of our growing community.
A special shoutout to Aditya Tolia for his contributions this week, notably helping to secure the venue and assist in the organising of this week’s Speakers Only reunion event in partnership with MLB. This earns him the title of Contributor of the Week 👑🙏
Welcome to all of our new members, too:
Jonathan Dyson (Off The Pitch)
Amar Singh (MKTG)
Marek Kowalewski (PRG)
David Rushmere (CBRE)
Daniel Müller
Rita Rhardisse (Georgetown University)
Adolfo Milla Guasch (Playtomic)
Kevin Entwistle (Morgan Stanley)
Will Futcher (Pitch International)
Eddie Fitzgibbon (NYZ Consulting)
Not part of the group yet? What are you waiting for? Apply to join us by filling out a simple form on the website. Feel free to share this link with (your favourite) colleagues.
P.S. You can see a full list of all the current members, here.
ON THE PODCAST
[ARCHIVE] #28 Ben Ladkin: Fuelling European Interest in Major League Baseball ⚾️
In the build up to our Speakers Only reunion event at Moonshot this week, in partnership with MLB, we revisited our conversation from last summer with their European Managing Director, Ben Ladkin.
Although now representing a major American sports league, Ben's journey in sport began at Arsenal, where he spent 11 years, eventually leading the media group and building their digital and social media presence during the dot com era.
Now at MLB, he operates across three key pillars: content, events, and participation. While the content pillar aligns closely with his past experience, he has embraced the new challenges of organising major events like the London Series (which took place earlier this month) as well as fostering baseball participation in Europe.
This has required tapping into popular U.S. sports already capturing mind-share in Europe, finding alignment with popular global sports such as cricket, and tapping into culture and the wider export of Americana.
SPORTS BUSINESS CONFERENCES
What’s Coming up This Month? 🤔 And How to Get a Discount 🎟️
This month has plenty of major conferences, from Sportel in Miami, World Football Summit in Rabat, CAA World Congress of Sport in Nashville, and SportsPro Live in London.
We’ve created a calendar featuring over 125+ industry events across the year that you can access for free here 📆
Even better, we’ve agreed discounts with many of these leading conference organisers if you book via the Sports Pundit website. For example, we’re offering 40% off SportsPro! Use the link below to view and book.
JOBS BOARD
We're not a recruitment agent, but we have created a custom search on LinkedIn to help to you to find some the most exciting job opportunities within the sports industry a little bit more easily…`