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FRI 24 FEB 2023 | GLOBAL GROWTH
Evolving content models, the power of data, internationalisation and talent are key to seizing growth opportunities in the football industry
Evolving content models, the power of data, internationalisation and talent are key to seizing growth opportunities in the football industry
  • Four directors from CVC spoke at the Boost LaLiga conference in Tarragona and explained what the clubs must do to make the project a success.
  • As well as underlining the importance of working with the best professionals, they also highlighted product improvement, digitalisation and internationalisation as key factors.

At the Boost LaLiga conference in Tarragona, representatives from CVC, the global investment fund behind the project, took to the stage to explain their thoughts on how the initiative is going and what clubs need to do to make Boost LaLiga as successful as some of the other investments CVC have made over the years, such as those in rugby, Formula 1 and Dorna Sports.

Through all those partnerships, CVC have developed unparalleled expertise and CVC Managing Partner Javier de Jaime shared some of the main takeaways from those previous alliances, stating: "The key is to align interests between the different actors. That is the key. Once those interests are aligned, then it's about setting ambitious goals and priorities, and attracting the talent that is able to execute that plan."

The need to hire the best industry professionals was the key theme of the CVC talk at the Boost LaLiga conference. Managing Director Alvaro Sendagorta also made this point during his intervention: "All of CVC's successful investments have one thing in common: that there were extraordinary management teams behind them. This is important, even more so in the entertainment industry. It is one of the fastest changing industries. If we want to capture the growth opportunities in this industry, we need to bring in talent at the same speed.”

CVC’s keys to success: Product improvement, digitalisation, internationalisation and talent

Stefano Gastaut, a CVC expert in Sport Media and Entertainment, also highlighted the need to use the opportunity presented to clubs by Boost LaLiga to hire talent. Gastaut even named it as the most important pillar for success.

He explained: “There are three things that really matter. One is the product, which means working and innovating the product to make it better. The second one is with digital, creating a digital ecosystem between the teams and the league to help create value for the future. Then there's internationalisation. These are really the three pillars that are there in all our investments.”

The director continued: “But, then there is a fourth one, which is that none of those three is possible if you don't have good people. Talent is really the most important thing. It's possibly the thing I spend most of my time on.”

The good news for the clubs of LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank is that it is also possible to benefit from the best talents of the industry of sport via the synergies and connections that CVC have.

Gastaut added: “There are opportunities to join forces with others, sometimes just to share ideas on products, sometimes there are possibilities to buy or maybe sell things together. If you show up in other markets around the world with other sports and if you collaborate with other sports then you are stronger towards certain markets. There are also some areas where the learning can be exported.”

This is another of the reasons why working with CVC is going to be so beneficial to LaLiga and its clubs, as this is a true partnership and the investment fund can also help promote knowledge sharing, which LaLiga has long been a proponent of in the industry.

CVC’s analysis of the football industry: Evolving content models and the power of data

During the panel, CVC also highlighted two main opportunities in the football industry. One concerned the various OTT platforms and the changes they are experiencing. Juan Arbide, a Senior Managing Director at CVC, explained: "This ecosystem continues to move forward. Where we see a challenge, we also see an opportunity. Why? Because the model is being rebuilt. These new business models are being reconfigured. There is a trend towards rationalising costs and focusing on quality content. Quantity is now not as important as quality. And this is what should give us a chance. With this move towards quality, great quality sports assets are part of the strategy. This is our big opportunity".

Another important message was that clubs should continue to work on gathering data from their fans and customers to keep rich databases. On this, Gastaut said: “The value of your clubs, of LaLiga, of every sporting asset is now depending more on this. Everything you can put in a database to know your customers is going to create value. This is really where the race is on, to really make sure that you know your fans and have their profiles in the database.”

Finally, Arbide concluded by underlining how CVC want to work with the clubs and help them navigate the unprecedented growth opportunity that Boost LaLiga represents. He said: "Our goal, whether we are working with LaLiga or the clubs, is the same. We have to become more global companies, more digitalised, more technological, and ultimately being able to expand and monetise our fan base. With the clubs we have an indirect relationship, which is embodied in events like these, but at the end of the day everything you are doing with the whole Boost LaLiga project is something that we have been involved in building and which we follow very closely."

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