David Cushnan

David Cushnan has been Head of Content at Leaders since 2017, responsible for overseeing the programme and speakers for all Leaders physical events, as well as hosting and moderating Leaders sessions, stages and live broadcasts. He was previously Editorial Director at Nielsen Entertainment, working across its sports, music, gaming and books divisions, and before that Editor-in-Chief of SportsPro.

Scooters and Serie B – what’s Helbiz up to?

Daily / Thursday, June 17, 2021

He scoots, he scores There’s an intriguing new player in the Italian sports broadcast game. Helbiz, a manufacturer of electric scooters and with a mission to provide micromobility solutions to unite communities, has acquired a package of domestic Italian rights to Serie B, the country’s second football league....

Verizon on personalised viewing experiences

Daily / Thursday, June 17, 2021

Watch: personalised video Amongst a host of really good contributions at our recent LeadersWeek.direct/ virtual event, Verizon Media’s Head of Video Product Management Darren Lepke’s stood out. He joined us to explore the personalisation of sports viewing options when we asked him; what appetite he’s seeing in the...

Accedo’s Luke Gaydon on activating in the digital space

Daily / Thursday, June 17, 2021

In the Mixed Zone with… Luke Gaydon, Business Development, Sports at Accedo. What area of broadcast technology is particularly exciting you? Accedo has been a pioneer in the video streaming space for nearly two decades. As such we’ve had a front-row seat...

Global advertising revenue by media owner

Daily / Thursday, June 17, 2021

THE NUMBERS The GroupM agency’s mid-year analysis says that it expects global advertising to grow by 19% in 2021, excluding US political advertising. According to the forecast, the 25 largest media companies accounted for 67% of all industry advertising revenue in 2020, compared to just 42% in...

Netflix’s move into ecommerce

Daily / Thursday, June 17, 2021

Netflix and shill It doesn’t stop the headlines every time a major rights package comes to market, but the shrewdest observers of Netflix do not anticipate the on-demand streaming giant making a move into live sports programming, at least in the near future. That may change as a...

Sky Sports unveils boxing plans

Daily / Thursday, June 17, 2021

Sky Sports unveils new boxing plans Sky Sports has responded to Matchroom Boxing’s decision to move its roster to DAZN by signing four-year agreements with US promoter Top Rank and UK-based BOXXER. With Top Rank, Sky will broadcast at least 18 international fight nights per year in the...

Media Job Transitions - 6.17.2021

Daily / Thursday, June 17, 2021

Willis to advise Whisper Production company Whisper has added Wimbledon’s Alexandra Willis to its advisory board. Willis, who is Communications and Marketing Director at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, will sit alongside the likes of former New Zealand rugby captain Sean Fitzpatrick. Whisper, meanwhile, has been appointed...

French football rights saga rumbles on

Daily / Thursday, June 17, 2021

French rights saga rumbles on There’s been another controversial twist in the saga of French football’s domestic rights sale, with Canal+ withdrawing from a deal after Amazon was confirmed as having acquired the bulk of the rights for the next three seasons – its biggest domestic football rights...

ViacomCBS secures more Australian football

Daily / Thursday, June 17, 2021

ViacomCBS adds further Australian football rights Following last month’s deal for A-League and W-League rights, ViacomCBS has made another substantial investment in Australian football rights by agreeing a deal with Football Australia until the end of 2024. The rights package includes all Australian national men’s and women’s team...

Kevin Garnett’s new gamification and content platform

Daily / Thursday, June 17, 2021

Garnett and Messler launch gamification and content company Former NBA star Kevin Garnett and Players Tribune co-founder Jaymee Messler have teamed up to create a ‘gamificaton and content company’, Gaming Society. According to Forbes, which first reported the news, the company will ‘amplify fan engagement using games, betting,...