-
AuthorPosts
-
📣 Delighted to announce that Fran Connolly has been appointed as our new Chief Executive Officer!
"As a sport, we’ve been on an incredible journey. However, I truly believe we’ve only just scratched the surface of the potential that netball has" 📈
👉 https://t.co/2KZyVbIDgM pic.twitter.com/IzsZzSVIkJ
— England Netball 🌹 (@EnglandNetball) October 30, 2019
I had a chat with new @EnglandNetball CEO @NetballFran. She's optimistic, focused and ready for the challenge in getting the Roses to world number one.https://t.co/KzVFd0mzZ4
— Denise Evans (@DeniseKEvans) October 30, 2019
Who is Fran Connolly? All i know is that she has been Development Director since 2010 but nothing else on her. what record has she in business. Way forward now is the commercial side with the new TV deal I guess going forward.
Long term EN employee – been there since 2000 or 2001 I think – working on volunteering to start with, if my memory serves? So at least she has netball experience, which is one up on Adams, but not sure of her business and commercial nous…but then Adams didn’t really have that either….so maybe this is ok?
Interesting that, she talks about developing the game and making it professional but to do that it will take money and also attendances for games need to be increased. First job I guess is the TV deal which should be more than the current one though, they will need a successful England team to boost that. think the Superleague is the best for games. What next?
Whatever broadcast deal is reached, there needs to be a regular, “destination” time for netball on tv, and the programming needs to be overhauled to be more professional – it’s not enough to cover one Superleague game each week, because the fans of the other eight teams will zone out or not watch. Needs to be more like Football Focus imo, or at least a show where there is clear recognition of the other teams taking part. And it would be great to think that there could be regional tv coverage for the local games which is something that the BBC could potentially deliver for its audiences.
If Superleague is the product that is used to drive awareness, then for heaven’s sake make sure that there are regular presenters who understand the sport and don’t refer to baskets or points (the Sky mob are guilty of this). Katherine Merry or Caroline Barker could front it, and please please please stop the pointless “walk round the court” which does no one any favours.
The next tier of competition needs looking at too – how many promising youngsters are dropped because they aren’t in a Superleague franchise? National Clubs is the best proving ground for potential players, and needs more support.
Underpinning all this is a need to generate significant commercial income, and that needs to be done professionally – we can’t keep having these piecemeal agreements with small brands. Netball has a huge potential audience, which isn’t reached by other strands of sport, and could be a real jewel for someone significant (like a supermarket) – but it needs to have measurable targets (not just about international achievement but audience figures and outreach opportunities) to attract people in. That needs thinking about carefully, and also a proper, costed plan which will deliver for all members.
Seemples!
Wow you are good, fancy the CEO job! Agree that things need to change and Sky sports at the moment are in the driving seat. Their coverage needs to change for a start. Needs more interviews with players and coaches. I agree with you a weekly Netball focus needs to be made to give highlights of all the games and analysis. How to make the game professional though will be hard because clubs need to generate incom via attendances and sponsorships. Will bigger venues help and also weekend games which will make more accessible for families than say an evening game.
Would love the top job but only if I could move head office closer to home (if the last CEO could do it, don’t see why the next one can’t!!! 😉 )
Sky is the one thing that’s holding us back imo at the moment – a true case of the tail wagging the dog. Netball needs to come at this from a position of strength: we have a sport they want and a way for them to increase their awareness among women, which none of their other sports give them. Conversations DID happen with Channel 4 a while back, if I recall, but the outgoing CEO didn’t pick up the ball, and they disappeared: that or the BBC to me is the perfect place for it, with online “catch up” opportunities on 4OD and BBC 3. I’d target a big sponsor like a supermarket which could take over the whole thing, from international down to grass roots (like New Era? does in NZ) so that everyone is engaged with the brand, not just little dribs and drabs of money here and there. That then makes it easier to filter cash down to clubs as well, and gives a really cohesive platform for a brand to work on.
The issue with weekend games is that members are generally playing on Saturdays and or Sundays, but if you made it a Friday night (as with college football in America) then that’s a destination that everyone can get involved in….Friday Night Lights and all that? And no other sport, as far as I can think, has anything then….You could do “girls nights out” packages, family enclosures, all sorts of things, but the first thing that’s needed is consistency.
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
