Ross Biddiscombe
Ross Biddiscombe is a sports and TV journalist with over 35 years experience and his work has appeared in many newspaper and magazine publications, broadcasting stations and online outlets spread all across the world. His journalism has appeared in titles ranging from The Daily Telegraph and Sport Business to Golf Monthly and Broadcast while his TV work spans National Geographic channel in the UK and SuperSport in South Africa. Over the years, he has also been a newspaper columnist, radio broadcaster, on-stage presenter, TV producer, speech writer, PR consultant and writing teacher. Ross has written 12 books on sports including the highly-acclaimed Ryder Cup Revealed and The Official Encyclopedia of Manchester United.
Industry TrendsSuper Bowl LIII: Who watched the game?
The final whistle of Super Bowl LIII sounded on Sunday ending its lowest scoring head-to-head in history and the build up to its perennially anticipated half-time show saw numerous high profile drop outs in support of Colin Kaepernick. Ross Biddiscombe explores how the event’s viewership fared.
- Industry Trends
Up to the Task: Selling comedy to the world
Gameshow Taskmaster has been a standout hit for UKTV and is now entertaining audiences around the world. Creator Alex Horne and execs from UKTV and production company Avalon explain how the show was exported to 17 countries.
- Industry Trends
DAZN: The Netflix of sports?
Just two years old, DAZN has spent hundreds of millions acquiring sports rights in a bid to win subscribers to its subscription streaming service. But will its big spending ways pay off? Ross Biddiscombe profiles the OTT platform that’s disrupting the sports broadcasting industry.
- Industry Trends
How Serie A went OTT with IMG
IMG’s entry into the OTT marketplace with its new Serie A service has ramped up the battle for sports audiences on digital platforms after a couple of years of cautious rights buying by the likes of Amazon and Facebook.
- Industry Trends
The challenges of niche sports production
Sports federations are increasingly partnering with sports producers to broadcast their niche events, IBC365 talks to leading sports producers about the do’s and don’t of covering smaller tournaments.
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The beautiful game of apps
Sports apps are on the rise, able to deliver subscription income and other rewards to rights holders and sponsors, but we’re likely to see even greater development of the genre to benefit both the sports brands and their fans.
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The TV set triumphs at the World Cup
The FIFA World Cup broke many television and online viewing records around the world, even if US audiences were down this year. But the big winner, in the age of the mobile, was arguably the traditional TV set.
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The serious business of comedy
The business of being funny is no laughing matter. Compared to genres like factual, reality and drama, comedy can be too expensive, too regionally specific and just too much of a risk.
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Has VR scored at the World Cup?
Reviews for VR coverage of the World Cup have so far been mixed. Yet many in the VR industry say it is too soon to judge the technology, and that the best is yet to come.
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Catching the pirates offside
With the Fifa World Cup underway and constant announcements about vast amounts of money being spent on live rights fees, piracy is still too often making a mockery of the industry, writes Ross Biddiscombe.
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Analysis: What Discovery’s $2bn golf deal means for the broadcaster
Discovery’s $2 billion purchase for all non-US television and digital rights of golf’s PGA Tour tournaments could create the largest single sport OTT offering, but why has the broadcaster decided to invest so much in the sport?
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Analysis: Has Amazon scored with its Premier League package?
Amazon’s estimated £100 million purchase of an English Premier League football package puts beyond doubt any question that the future of live sports viewing is now in the hands of the tech giants.
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NBA shoots for eSports glory
The new age battle for eSports audiences and revenues between the world’s top professional leagues took a giant step forward this month with the launch of the NBA’s own eSports league.
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Sports advertising: A whole new ballgame
Sports advertising, like many other ad sectors, has to tackle the high level of boredom that audiences show for brands, but a new breed of innovative campaigns are targeting fans in fresh ways.
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New vision required for women in sport
Women’s sport may be one of the best opportunities for broadcasting and sponsorship, but is it riddled with too many problems of awareness and underfunding?
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Making sports more TV friendly
From Tie Break Tens tennis to Power8 Sprints rowing, bite-sized sports are shooting for digital audiences with short attention spans.
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The Tiger effect: Woods' impact on TV viewing figures
Ross Biddiscombe explores the fierce impact Tiger Woods has on clawing in live television audiences.
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MMA and the fight for online audiences
The ongoing fight for TV audiences in one of the world’s fastest growing sports, mixed martial arts, has found a new and unusual battleground.
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Analysis: Sky and BT secure Premier League rights
The first-stage announcement about the 2018 English Premier League auction for TV rights this week underlined the end of an era: the days of hyperinflation for EPL rights are over, at least for now.
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Who watched the Super Bowl?
American football games - the Super Bowl in particular - have always drawn large TV audiences, but with a drop in the number of people tuning into the NFL, what can be done to boost viewing figures and maintain interest in the sport?
