Highlight Reel: Netflix To Soon Open Doors to Physical Fandom 🏠
Plus, ATP leverages Trace to bolster fan database and The R&A Roblox game "Just Swing" drives participation through Topgolf activation...
This week’s Sports Pundit Innovation Podcast features Leanne in conversation with Tareq Nazlawy, exploring how to engage the 99% of fans outside the stadium.
Interestingly, that has emerged as the theme of the week among the stories that have stood out to me, which are about going from digital to physical (and back again) 🔁
Even for this newsletter that’s true. We saw a group connected through this online community get together to connect in-person over a Liberty game. It’s unbelievably cool seeing how this little newsletter can help bring good people together all around the world 🗽
Next up: I’m hosting a private meetup for sports and media founders and investors (DM if you'd like to be considered), followed by an open invite to Sports Pundit Summer Drinks on July 3rd - perfect timing before many head off on summer holidays 🍻☀️
I’ll also be hosting a co-working session beforehand for any of you wanting a change of scene from the WFH grind ☕️
Now, on to this week’s stories:
Netflix Launches “Netflix House” Locations 🏠
ATP Leverages Trace to Bolster Fan Database 🎾
The R&A Roblox Game Drives Participation ⛳️
Let’s get into it:
NETFLIX & THRILL?
Netflix To Soon Open Doors to Physical Fandom in Philadelphia and Dallas 🏠
Netflix has unveiled that its inaugural Netflix House locations - permanent, immersive venues - will open in Philadelphia and Dallas in 2025, with Las Vegas to follow in 2027.
These 100,000 sq ft fan destinations bring Netflix IP to life through interactive attractions inspired by Squid Game, Wednesday, Stranger Things, ONE PIECE, and more.
Each venue includes escape rooms, carnival games, high-tech mini-golf, themed food and drink via “Netflix Bites,” merch shops, and a TUDUM Theater for screenings and live events.
Guests can explore rotating experiences, from Stranger Things haunted house trails to ONE PIECE adventures and Squid Game survival challenges.
The venues will serve as testbeds for new ideas, blending entertainment, retail, and hospitality into a physical storytelling loop that fans can revisit over time.
Why It Matters:
At a time when everything is moving toward digital, Netflix’s shift into the physical world is a reminder of the enduring value of place.
With AI tools like Veo 3 lowering the barrier to generating high-quality video content, owning physical experiences is one of the few remaining ways IP holders can build emotional depth and drive meaningful revenue beyond the screen.
While not trying to replicate Disneyland, the ambition is similar: turn your IP into something people can wear, taste, explore, and share. It creates a reimagined content loop, where user-generated content (UGC) fuels reach and attachment, and the venue becomes a platform in itself.
For sports rights holders, the question becomes: What does your version of Netflix House look like, beyond the stadium?
It’s a question some clubs are already starting to answer. PSG, Atlético Madrid, and Flamengo have launched pop-up fan houses during the 2025 Club World Cup in the US that blend retail, music, local culture, and community into an off-pitch brand experience. Could permanent venues be something we see in the near future?
WITHOUT A TRACE
🗣️ Tareq Nazlawy: How ATP Tour Increased Fan Database by 25% in Eight Days 🎾
On this week's episode of the Sports Pundit Innovation Podcast, Leanne was joined by Tareq Nazlawy, co-founder and CEO of Trace, a new product focused on recognising the 99% of fans who aren't at the game.
Among a fascinating and wide-ranging discussion, Nazlawy shared some standout results from Trace’s pilot with the ATP Tour.
“We teamed up to try out Trace at the ATP Finals in Turin,” he explained. “We used core momentum data to capture the swings of a match—who had the momentum between, say, Alcaraz and Sinner—and then marketed that through ATP’s channels.”
The results exceeded all expectations.
“In eight days, 75,000 people became users. One-third of them collected every single match, and the average number of matches collected was 10 out of 15.”
This means that the ATP increased their fan database by around 25% in just eight days.
“That smashed our expectations,” admitted Nazlawy. “We didn’t even promise fans anything. Once you start linking rewards to that, it’s more gas on the fire.”
Off the back of that success, the ATP is now rolling Trace out across all Masters 1000 events in men’s tennis, from July this year through 2026 and led by long-time innovation champion Mark Epps.
“Instead of being a one-off event, it’s going to become exactly what we hoped for: something that captures the ritual of the season and connects that narrative—and the fans participating in that narrative—into one program,” he continued.
“All of those credentials will land on a Tennis ID. The ATP is aligning this with the launch of its own single sign-on—that’s how compelling the results have been.”
HIGHLIGHTS
Innovation
The US Open is hosting a star-studded Mixed Doubles Championship this August, featuring high-profile pairings like Djokovic & Danilovic, Raducanu & Alcaraz, and Osaka & Kyrgios 🎾
Women’s Super League clubs have voted to grow the league to 14 teams and introduce a promotion/relegation play-off, aiming to boost competitiveness and long-term development ⚽️
ATP and LALIGA have joined forces to create a first-of-its-kind MBA for elite athletes, launching in 2026 to help players transition into leadership roles beyond their sporting careers 🎓
Marketing
Fanatics Fest NYC 2025 kicks off this weekend, headlined by the new Fanatics Games, a competition where athletes and celebrities take on fans in skill challenges for over $2M in prizes 🏆
Cambridge United have secured Seattle-based footwear brand Brooks as their new front-of-shirt sponsor, uniting performance sport and local culture 🏃
Paris Saint-Germain and The Weeknd have extended their partnership with a new Los Angeles-based lifestyle campaign and full product line under the XO brand ⚽️
Media
User-generated content is projected to surpass traditional media in global ad revenue, highlighting the growing influence of creators in the marketing mix 🤳
The 2025 IPL Final drew an estimated 400–580 million unique viewers, with JioCinema’s live stream reaching a record 50–60 million concurrent viewers 🏏
England star Ella Toone has founded Amicizia Studios to help women’s footballers partner with brands through storytelling, culture, and content ⚽️
Finance
The Buss family is set to sell majority control of the LA Lakers to Mark Walter at a $10B valuation, the biggest sale of a sports franchise in history 🏀
SailGP’s French team has landed new backing from Ares Management, reinforcing the sailing league’s momentum as an emerging commercial property ⛵
Red Bull has agreed on a deal to buy Premiership Rugby side Newcastle Falcons and keep the club afloat by taking on its debts of £39m 🏉
Bluestone Equity’s Bobby Sharma has urged caution around NWSL valuations, saying current pricing reflects “aspiration more than execution” amid unproven commercial models ⚽️
🎥 SPONSORED HIGHLIGHT | Brought to you by WSC Sports
Sports Networks Are at a Crossroads 📉📺
The cable bundle was never perfect, but it held the system together. It delivered scale, guaranteed visibility, and masked the true cost of live sports. That scaffolding is now being dismantled.
U.S. cable subscriptions have dropped from 100.5M in 2014 to 69.8M in 2024, with further losses projected.
Globally, Western Europe is seeing similar declines. Germany, the UK, Italy, and France are all forecast to lose millions of pay-TV subscribers.
Fans are switching to SVOD (Amazon, Netflix, Apple) and FAST platforms (Tubi, Pluto TV) offering more accessible and often free sports content.
Sports networks still rely heavily on carriage fees, but those revenues are undercut by rights inflation and shrinking audiences.
Policymakers are stepping in: the proposed “Stop Sports Blackouts Act” would require refunds for fans affected by carriage disputes.
Why It Matters:
The old model made sense when attention was concentrated and options were limited. That world has changed. Audiences now expect flexibility. They only want to pay for what they watch. And they want to watch it when and where suits them.
For broadcasters and rights holders, this creates a strategic challenge much like the music industry faced moving from the album 'bundle' to singles. As a result, they must ask difficult questions. How do we stay relevant when the bundle disappears? What does it mean to serve fans directly? Can we build trust and value in a world where viewers are no longer captive?
This shift will hurt some. It will force others to make uncomfortable decisions. But it also creates space for innovation. The organisations that succeed will be the ones that treat this moment not as a threat to manage, but as a chance to rethink the fundamentals, embracing technology within the process.
P.S. This is a sponsored link. Clicking it helps me show the lovely people at WSC Sports how great the Sports Pundit readership is.
WORTH A SHOT
The R&A Gets Roblox Fans to ‘Just Swing’ for Real Thanks to Topgolf Activation ⛳️
In a recent activation with Topgolf Jakarta, Just Swing players in Indonesia could complete an in-game quest to earn real-world golf experiences, leading to tangible shift from screen time to swing time.
Developed by gaming studio The Gang and launched last year by The R&A, Just Swing was created to introduce a new generation to golf through Roblox.
Players can take on daily challenges across fantastical 9-hole courses, from underwater kingdoms to Wild West deserts and pinball-style fairways, as well as explore a customisable Club Hub.
While playful on the surface, the experience was designed to build towards real-world participation with this activation a first true test of that thesis.
The initial results in Jakarta are extremely promising: 170 kids aged 8–14 redeemed codes and spent 197 hours playing golf. They brought 605 friends and family with them, and, perhaps most importantly, 84% returned for a second visit!
Why It Matters:
Plenty of brands talk about bridging digital and physical. This one actually did. The Just Swing x Topgolf pilot shows how gamified, immersive play can act as a gateway to participation, converting curiosity into action.
It’s a win for The R&A’s mission to grow the game and for Topgolf as a venue drawing in new audiences with high retention. For anyone working in youth engagement or participation strategy, this is a case study worth following.
GROUP CHAT
That’s a wrap for this week - huge thanks to everyone who’s part of our growing community.
A special shoutout to Chris Samson for his contributions this week, notably for bringing my attention to the Cambridge United partnership with Brooks, a really unique partnership that led to some interesting discussions in the Chat. This earns him our title of Contributor of the Week 👑🙏
Welcome to all of our new members, too:
Sophie Bennett (Pick&Roll)
Axel Lima (FIFA)
Rohan Goyal (London Business School)
Yvan Ntsama (Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking)
Kyle Mitcheison (Great British Racing)
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.
P.P.S. Here’s a lovely photo shared to the group of some SPers meeting up over a Liberty game in NYC. So cool to see!
ON THE PODCAST
Innovation #02
Tareq Nazlawy: Recognising the 99% of Sports Fans Who Aren't at the Game 🏀
This is the second episode in a series of 5 focused on Innovation and hosted by Leanne Bats, a former All Blacks and FC Barcelona executive now leading innovation for a regional sports trust in New Zealand.
On this week's episode of the Sports Pundit Innovation Podcast, Leanne is joined by Tareq Nazlawy, co-founder and CEO of Trace, a new product focused on recognising the 99% of fans who aren't at the game.
Tareq brings a rare blend of strategic, digital, and creative expertise to the world of sport from his early days at BCG to leading global digital innovation at Adidas, including its groundbreaking entry into Web3.
Now at Trace, he is building a new way for fans to collect and own the moments that matter most, digitally. Whether you're in the stands or halfway across the world, Trace captures the emotional electricity of live sport, transforming into verified digital memorabilia for fans to collect, share, and build identity around.
In this conversation, they unpack Tareq's journey, the future of fandom, how the technology can deepen these fan connections, and why sports organisations need to start seeing their global audience as active participants, not just spectators.
SPORTS BUSINESS CONFERENCES
What’s Coming up This Month? 🤔 And How to Get a Discount 🎟️
This month has plenty of major conferences, from Fanatics Fest, to ISPO, and SportAccord
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.
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…`