Skip to content
MarketScale
‹ Back to IndustriesSports & Entertainment

MarketScale Sports & Entertainment 1/4: The Common Bond of Sports

This week’s episode of the MarketScale Sports & Entertainment podcast opens with some evidence that the NFL hasn’t slipped as much in terms of popularity as many have tried to claim. We have the numbers to illustrate why the NFL is still king when it comes to viewership in the United States. This episode…

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Sports & Entertainment teams put it to work with Events & Onsite Capture.

Share
MarketScale Sports & Entertainment 1/4: The Common Bond of Sports

Get featured

Want to get featured in MarketScale Sports & Entertainment?

Create a free MarketScale workspace and get your company's expertise featured across our Sports & Entertainment coverage. No credit card, no demo required.

Request an invite

This week’s episode of the MarketScale Sports & Entertainment podcast opens with some evidence that the NFL hasn’t slipped as much in terms of popularity as many have tried to claim. We have the numbers to illustrate why the NFL is still king when it comes to viewership in the United States.

This episode also features a conversation with Andy Barr, the Founder and CEO of Innovate Performance. He spoke to our correspondent Sam Kingma about his process for helping athletes reach their full potential through physical therapy. We also had a conversation with Symon Perriman of FanWide about their mission to bring sports fans together over their common love of particular teams.

FROM CAREER-ENDING INJURY TO CAREER-SHAPING

Andy Barr, founder and CEO of Innovate Performance, used to be a professional soccer player with superstar aspirations. That is, until an injury ended his career. He didn’t leave the sports world though; instead, he took his experience and turned it into a philanthropic cause for the culture he loves so much.

Currently, he works as a physical therapist and high intensive trainer, helping other athletes stay in shape and achieve their dreams. On today’s Sports & Entertainment Podcast, Andy joins us to discuss the P.T. field, the problems with sports science, as well as upcoming tech that will change physical therapy for the better.

For more content from Andy, you can follow him on Twitter, Instagram, or head to Innovate Performance’s website.

FAN CLUBS FOR EVERY FAN

Anyone who’s ever moved to a new city knows that finding where you belong in a new place can be challenging. Symon Perriman and the people at FanWide are doing their part to bring people together over their common love of sports.

“We’ve developed the world’s largest fan club network,” says Perriman. “Our whole goal is connecting remote fans with a local fan club for every team in every city.” As someone who has lived different parts of the world throughout his life, Symon understands the challenge of finding a group of people who cheer for the same teams. FanWide makes it easy to find those fans and create a community.

FanWide also partners with bars & restaurants to host these events, creating an ecosystem of cooperation between fans, venues, teams, and fan clubs. Fans can also begin earning rewards through their partnership with FanChain in 2019.

For the latest news, videos, and podcasts in the Sports & Entertainment Industry, be sure to subscribe to our industry publication.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @SportsEntMKSL

Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale

LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Sports & Entertainment starts with a company putting its venue operators, production crews, and partnership teams on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Rights holders and partners back the operators they know, and coverage is how they get to know yours.

Get your team featuredSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.

Follow Sports & Entertainment Insights

Get new expert content in your inbox.

Sports & Entertainment: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Sports & Entertainment buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. See how AI describes your company today, and where competitors show up instead.

Free workspace

You just read one Sports & Entertainment expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your venue operators, production crews, and partnership teams into the articles, video, and social content Sports & Entertainment buyers are searching for. Create a free workspace and see it with your own people. No credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What you get, free

Your own MarketScale Studio workspace
One video edit a month, on us
AI writing, editing, and publishing tools
In-platform coaching to learn the system

More Sports & Entertainment Insights

SBJ's Tech Awards: Winners Span Data, Performance, Fan Access

SBJ's Tech Awards: Winners Span Data, Performance, Fan Access

Sports Business Journal's fourth annual SBA: Tech awards, held in May 2026, named winners including Elevate's EPIC data platform, Plantiga, OneCourt and Retailcloud. The ceremony also recognized TGL's multi-vendor tech stack and individual executives.

  • 01OneCourt's haptic tablet converts live game-tracking data into vibrations for blind and low-vision fans and won Sports Technology of the Year.
  • 02Elevate's EPIC platform covers consumer insights, ticketing and property analytics across data from 450 million individuals and 1.7 billion devices.
  • 03Plantiga's AI-paired insole sensors for athlete rehabilitation and load management are approved for in-competition use by NBA, NFL and FIFA.

Sep 12, 2026

Pre-World Cup Forecast Projected $135M in Lost Naming-Rights Value

Pre-World Cup Forecast Projected $135M in Lost Naming-Rights Value

In June 2026, before the FIFA World Cup concluded in July, a Navigate analysis commissioned by Sports Business Journal projected that U.S. stadium naming-rights sponsors would forgo up to $53.5 million in domestic media value and $134.8 million globally because of FIFA's clean-stadium branding policy. The figures were pre-tournament estimates, not measured post-event results, and no post-tournament data has been reported.

  • 01Navigate's projections, published by Sports Business Journal on June 12, 2026, estimated pre-tournament what naming-rights sponsors would forgo in media exposure during the World Cup.
  • 02FIFA's clean-stadium policy required host venues to be free of existing commercial branding during the tournament, which concluded in July 2026.
  • 03MetLife Stadium, which hosted eight matches including the final, had a projected loss of $15.7 million to $19.7 million in combined U.S. and international media value against an $18.5 million average annual naming-rights payment.

Sep 12, 2026

Pollstar names winners of 2026 Excellence in Concessions Awards

Pollstar names winners of 2026 Excellence in Concessions Awards

Pollstar published its 2026 Excellence in Concessions Awards on Sept. 2, naming winners across categories including new menu items, technology, sustainability and special-event food programs at venues such as Yankee Stadium, Honda Center and Kaseya Center. Winners were chosen by Pollstar's editorial staff with industry input.

  • 01Pollstar recognizes leading venue food, beverage, and hospitality programs in the U.S.
  • 02The awards highlight hospitality projects across the live entertainment business, from stadium concessions to venue bars and lounges.

Sep 11, 2026

Explore More Sports & Entertainment Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Sports & Entertainment.

Browse Sports & Entertainment Hub

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Sports & Entertainment and beyond.

Book a 15-minute demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512