Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast

Watch or listen to episode 326 of the Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast, in which Neil chatted with Ben Valenta, EVP of Strategy and Analytics at Fox Sports and co-author of Fans Have More Friends.

Ben discusses how he came to see fandom as a “belonging engine,” and why the real definition of a fan is “passion plus action” (which his team measures through what they call a value score). He breaks down why it’s far easier to grow the fans you already have than to convert non-fans (the 0-to-1 problem), why fandom is horizontal rather than vertical so your next fan is already a fan of something else, and how youth fandom actually takes root through repetition and family bonding rituals. He also gets into the most underrated metrics in sports media, the wellness research at the heart of the book (the bigger the fan, the happier and more connected), the difference between strong-tie and weak-tie fandom online, and the Greg Armstrong story that reframes what a season ticket is really for.

75 minute duration. Listen on Apple, Spotify and YouTube

Watch or listen to episode 325 of the Digital and Social Media Sports podcast, in which Neil chatted with Neil Tennant, Founder of 540 Agency, a creator talent management agency.

Tennant discusses building the NHL’s creator marketing program from the ground up, the two pillars of a creator strategy (experiential activations and commissioned content), using “concentric circles” to build a creator wish list, how the league’s fan UGC program seeded it all, measuring “return on creator spend” and bringing data to a vibes-driven space, the first-of-its-kind 3-on-3 creator tournament he dreamed up around the 4 Nations Face-Off, why long-term relationships and creator equity are the next frontier, how he discovers and signs creators today, what he’s building at 540, and more.

80 minute duration. Listen on Apple, Spotify and YouTube

Watch or listen to episode 324 of the Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast, in which Neil chatted with Andy Zeilman, President of WMT Digital, and Chris Freet, EVP and Chief Strategy Officer of WMT Digital.

Andy and Chris discuss how WMT has built a technology-and-data-first company inside college sports, and why the real bottleneck for athletic departments isn’t a lack of data but the ability to act on it. They break down the move from fan ID to fan intelligence, the push to reclaim fans (along with their data and dollars) from social media and back into an owned-and-operated ecosystem, and how AI is powering a fan data flywheel that surfaces new segments and behaviors. They also get into fluid fandom and what it means for college loyalty, where pro sports can actually learn from the innovators in college, and their own distinct paths into the industry.

87 minute duration. Listen on Apple, Spotify and YouTube

Watch or listen to episode 323 of the Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast, in which Neil breaks down some of the key themes, insights, and notes from the 2026 Gondola Sports Summit 2026.




WATCH OR LISTEN BELOW!
48 minute duration. Also, find the podcast on Apple, Spotify and YouTube

In a special edition of the Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast, Neil chatted with Sponcon Sports' Alex Kopilow about the recent NFL schedule release, discussing how teams in 2026. The ins and outs of schedule release, which ones stood out and why, the business considerations around schedule release content, and more.