The NRL’s remarkable growth and diversification

Record revenues. Strengthening balance sheets. Expanding global ambitions - The NRL has entered a new phase of existence.

13 hrs ago • Matthew Hughes

9

February 2026

The most valuable sports partnerships are built outside the live window

Live sport creates the moment, but what happens around it is where partnerships really deliver. Why surrounding media, timing and cultural relevance…

Feb 25 • Matthew Hughes

14

New & noteworthy sports partnerships

A look at some of the new, noteworthy and unexpected brand, strategic, media and commercial partnerships in Australian sports

Feb 18 • Matthew Hughes

5

The 99% problem: How Australian sport ignores its biggest audience

Despite Australia’s enormous appetite for attending games the fact remains that for any game across the country’s major codes, 99% of fans watching…

Feb 11 • Matthew Hughes

10

Which sports team in Australia and New Zealand has the most loyal fans?

Winning builds attention. Losing tests devotion. Somewhere in the space between those two ideas sits the true measure of a sporting fanbase

Feb 4 • Matthew Hughes

13

January 2026

How brands are leveraging AO26 (part 2)

Brands from many categories are investing millions of dollars into campaigns that leverage official AO rights, athlete ambassador partnerships and…

Jan 28 • Matthew Hughes

6

How brands are leveraging AO26 (part 1)

The Australian Open’s scale and reach explain exactly why brands continue to invest heavily in sponsorship and activation around the tournament

Jan 21 • Matthew Hughes

5

2

SailGP’s high-speed growth story

The popularity of the league is accelerating, and it's attracting sponsorship from big brands, bids for hosting rights from major cities, and investment…

Jan 14 • Matthew Hughes

9

December 2025

Why China is key to the Australian Open’s international growth strategy

As tennis Grand Slams increasingly face the possibility of disruption and more intense competition, the AO is actively extending brand positioning as…

Dec 17, 2025 • Matthew Hughes

11

2

How international forces are shaping sport in Australia

Globalisation isn’t new to sport, but the pace, scale and ambition we’re seeing today is unprecedented.

Dec 10, 2025 • Matthew Hughes

11

The top brands powering community sport in Australia

From the 80,698 x brands that are known to invest in community sport sponsorship, six have emerged as the top performing brands

Dec 3, 2025 • Matthew Hughes

7

November 2025

How brands got active around the Ashes

In the lead up to the first ball, major brands launched nationwide campaigns to activate around the Ashes to help fuel the hype and capture mass…

Nov 26, 2025 • Matthew Hughes

6

1