The Future of Fandom
The Future of Fandom
LiveLike
In today’s digital world, engaging fans isn’t optional—it’s everything.Future of Fandom is the podcast for sports leagues, broadcasters, and digital platforms who know that the old playbook for audience engagement no longer works. Hosted by the team at LiveLike—the leading enterprise engagement and loyalty platform—this series explores how the most forward-thinking organisations are using gamification, loyalty programs, and community-driven experiences to deepen fan relationships and drive real business results.Every other week, we speak with senior decision-makers from global sports teams, media companies, and consumer brands about what it takes to turn casual spectators into loyal superfans. We dive into how enterprise organisations are rethinking digital infrastructure, leveraging first-party data, and adopting modular, API-first engagement tools to future-proof their fan strategies.Whether you're a Head of Product, Digital, Revenue or Strategy, Future of Fandom gives you the insight and inspiration you need to move beyond passive content and into interactive, monetisable, and measurable fan experiences.This isn’t about chasing trends—it’s about building the infrastructure of tomorrow’s fandom, today.Subscribe now and stay ahead of the game.
How to Build a Sports League, a Brand and a Fan Base All at Once
Most women's sports leagues copy the men's playbook. The Netball Super League is writing its own, and it's working. What happens when you have 3 million people playing a sport, but almost none of them are paying fans? How do you convert participation into fandom when your audience has never been taught to be sports fans in the first place? Claire Nelson is the first-ever Managing Director of the Netball Super League. She's spent nearly two decades building commercial cases for women's sport, ...
May 15
46 min
How NASCAR is Winning Over the Next Generation of Fans - Media Rights, Original Content & What's Next
NASCAR is rewriting the playbook on how a legacy sport stays relevant in a fragmented media landscape. Struggling to balance a loyal core fan base with the need to attract younger, digitally native audiences? Wondering how to future-proof your media strategy when consumption habits shift faster than your rights cycle? Brian Herbst is EVP and Chief Media & Revenue Officer at NASCAR, where he oversees the sport's billion-dollar-plus media rights business, a $60 million in-house production f...
Apr 8
44 min
Beyond the Like Button: Meta's Rob Pilgrim on the Next Era of Fan Engagement
In this special episode, recorded at Meta's London office, LiveLike founder and CEO Miheer Walavalkar sits down with Rob Pilgrim, Head of Sports Partnerships for EMEA at Meta, to explore how the world's largest social media company is helping sports organisations move fans from passive consumption to active, meaningful engagement. From the evolving role of Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Threads in a sports context, to the frontier potential of Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, Rob shares candi...
Mar 26
58 min
The Missing Layer in Sports Streaming: Ari Evans from Maestro on Personalization, AI, and Fan Funnel
Maestro has spent nearly a decade pulling the media industry toward a more interactive, personalized future - often years before the market was ready. In this episode of Future of Fandom, we sit down with Ari Evans, Founder & CEO of Maestro, to unpack his journey from product management to entrepreneurship, and how early lessons from gaming now shape the next generation of sports and media experiences. Ari shares how freemium economics at Zynga reshaped his thinking around funnels, person...
Mar 10
43 min
Reach Matters: Brian Lawlor on Rebuilding Local Fandom and the Rise of Women’s Sports
Sports fandom doesn’t grow behind paywalls. In this episode of Future of Fandom, we’re joined by Brian Lawlor, President of Scripps Sports, to unpack how mass distribution is reshaping local sports, why over-the-air reach still matters, and what the explosive growth of women’s sports tells us about the future of media. Brian shares how Scripps is helping teams reconnect with fans after regional sports network disruption, why combining broadcast and streaming beats choosing between them, and h...
Feb 25
37 min
From Data Provider to Experience Enabler: Sportradar's Evolution
Sportradar has evolved far beyond being just a data provider, they've become a full-stack experience enabler spanning streaming, betting engagement, and sports analytics. Patrick Mostboeck, SVP of Fan Engagement, takes us inside how the company prioritises innovation across soccer, tennis, basketball, and US sports markets. We explore how COVID forced the industry to rethink everything with a fresh mind, why cultural differences between European and Asian markets demand different engagement s...
Feb 5
35 min
Behind the rise of E1 Series with Laurence Boyd
In this episode of The Future of Fandom, Samuel Westberg welcomes Laurence Boyd, Chief Content and Product Officer at E1 Series. Laurence shares how E1, the world's first electric powerboat championship, blends entertainment, cutting-edge tech, and storytelling to redefine what it means to engage fans. From AR/VR innovations to powerful social media strategies, this is a behind-the-scenes look at the future of sports media. What you'll learn in this episode >> How E1 leverages social me...
Dec 19, 2025
26 min
Inside YES Network's fan engagement playbook
What does it take to turn passive viewers into loyal fans? In this episode of The Future of Fandom, YES Network's Vice President of Strategy & Business Development, Matthew Duarte, joins host Miheer Walavalkar to unpack how smart product strategy, nimble third-party partnerships, and data-driven decision-making are reshaping the fan experience. Discover how YES Network's innovations in gamification, streaming, and community engagement are setting new standards in sports media. What you'll...
Dec 3, 2025
39 min
Mastering fan engagement with Stefanie Rapp
In this episode of The Future of Fandom, Miheer Walavalkar chats with Stefanie Rapp, SVP and Commercial Growth Officer at TNT Sports, about balancing authentic fan engagement with monetisation. From Bleacher Report to Roland Garros, Stefanie shares how digital transformation, interactive experiences, and community-first thinking are reshaping sports media and fandom. What You'll Learn in This Episode >> How TNT Sports integrates monetisation with authentic fan engagement across platform...
Nov 19, 2025
37 min
How Yahoo Reimagined Fan Engagement
How can a legacy brand like Yahoo drive next-gen fan engagement while staying true to its roots? In this episode of The Future of Fandom, Miheer Walavalkar, CEO and Co-Founder of LiveLike, sits down with Ryan Spoon, President of Yahoo Media Group, to explore how Yahoo is rethinking fantasy sports, leveraging community feedback, and partnering with creators to deliver personalised, gamified experiences. Discover the balance between innovation and loyalty, and why Yahoo is betting big on commun...
Nov 6, 2025
46 min
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