Our big
idea_

We believe that the winners of tomorrow will be those who get the sporting product right today. At TFG, this philosophy is at the heart of how we work with our partners to unlock commercial value and achieve enduring success.

Our big
idea_

We believe that the winners of tomorrow will be those who get the sporting product right today. At TFG, this philosophy is at the heart of how we work with our partners to unlock commercial value and achieve enduring success.

Historically, the commercialisation of sport has been driven largely by optimising the commercial process in order to extract as much value as possible from the existing sporting ‘product’.  We believe that this approach leaves value on the table. 

Commercial success in sport is ultimately driven by the passion of fans – the number that follow and the extent to which they care.  To earn their passion, sport must both recognise and emphasise that it is differentiated from other forms of entertainment – fans appreciate athlete skill based on their own experiences, sport is exciting because it is unscripted, and it creates authentic narratives that appeal to our natural instincts about people, success, failure and endeavour.  

In the attention economy, where young fans have more demands on their time than ever before, sport must do all it can to remain relevant, requiring it to:

Inspire fans through the quality of athletes and teams

Excite fans through high levels of uncertainty and jeopardy in the competition

Engage fans in a way that makes them care

Sport that authentically ignites the passion of fans in this way will naturally grow the commercial value of any related rights, thus growing revenue to be reinvested into the sport, creating a virtuous cycle (the “TFG Flywheel”) that delivers sustainable growth for the long term.

21st Group Flywheel
More Exciting CompetitionJeopardy differentiates sport from other forms of entertainment. Playing for something that matters is exciting, and attracts fans to watch and follow.
Higher quality athletes & teamsFans have a keen appreciation for quality often through their own experience - high quality sport excites fans and consistently attracts the biggest audiences.
More, passionate fansPassion grows when fans feel connected to the action. Whether through authentic support for an athlete or team, betting, fantasy or an interest in related content, fans need a reason to care.
Increase in rights valuesCommercial and media partners are willing to pay more for rights where they provide access to a bigger, more engaged audience.
Increase in revenuesThe effective packaging and selling of rights delivers greater revenues to be distributed back to the athletes and teams, driving quality.
 Our philosophy is that the pillars of quality performance, exciting competition, and the passion of fans are key to unlocking commercial value.

The TFG Flywheel

For a deeper dive on our big idea, check out this thought leadership piece: Eye on the ball – how sporting success unlocks commercial value.

Core Specialisms

To execute on our big idea, we focus on the following broad areas.