UP534 Barney Francis on Media Rights and Wrongs episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 17, 2026 · 55 MIN

UP534 Barney Francis on Media Rights and Wrongs

from Unofficial Partner Podcast · host Richard Gillis

Barney Francis offers an insider's view of the sports media economy, drawing on his huge experience as MD of Sky Sports in the UK and EVP, Studios at IMG, the company's production business. The conversation spans new sports formats, piracy, streaming disruption, rights economics, the creation of The Hundred, the Premier League's move to in-house production, and the structural challenges facing rugby in the UK.  New Formats: Additive vs DisruptiveResilience of Incumbent Rights HoldersPiracy: From Nudge and Wink to Cultural NormThe Netflix Value EquationRights Fragmentation vs. ConsolidationThe "Home of" StrategySky's Consumer-First PhilosophyRugby's Structural FailuresThe Creation of The HundredPremier League Production In-HouseRemote Production and EfficiencyUnofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.

Barney Francis offers an insider's view of the sports media economy, drawing on his huge experience as MD of Sky Sports in the UK and EVP, Studios at IMG, the company's production business. The conversation spans new sports formats, piracy, streaming disruption, rights economics, the creation of The Hundred, the Premier League's move to in-house production, and the structural challenges facing rugby in the UK. New Formats: Additive vs DisruptiveResilience of Incumbent Rights HoldersPir...

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UP534 Barney Francis on Media Rights and Wrongs

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This episode is 55 minutes long.

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This episode was published on February 17, 2026.

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Barney Francis offers an insider's view of the sports media economy, drawing on his huge experience as MD of Sky Sports in the UK and EVP, Studios at IMG, the company's production business. The conversation spans new sports formats, piracy,...

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