Global, the Media & Entertainment group, has officially set its sights on transforming the sports entertainment landscape, unveiling Sport by Global—a bold new branded entertainment division dedicated exclusively to sport. The announcement, made on October 21, 2025, and further spotlighted at the company’s inaugural Audio & Entertainment Upfronts the following day, signals a major leap for the media giant, already renowned for its deep roots in music and entertainment.
Spearheading this new chapter is Rebecca Martin, who steps in as Branded Sport Director. Her mandate? To harness Global’s formidable scale, star-studded talent roster, and multi-platform media assets—spanning outdoor, audio, social, and video—to help sports rights holders grow their audiences, deepen fan engagement, and attract lucrative commercial partners. It’s a move that not only builds on Global’s celebrated heritage but also capitalizes on a sports sponsorship market that, as company leaders are quick to point out, is ripe for innovation and expansion.
“With Sport by Global, we’re taking everything we’ve mastered in music and entertainment—the creativity, cultural relevance, talent access, and media reach—and bringing it into the world of top-class sport,” said Mike Gordon, Global’s Chief Commercial Officer, in a statement. “This is a natural next step for Global, building on our proud partnerships with the likes of Team GB, Wimbledon, McLaren Racing and Sail GP. Sport represents an enormous sponsorship market and we’re uniquely positioned to help the industry unlock bigger audiences, deeper fandom, and stronger commercial partnerships.”
Gordon’s enthusiasm is echoed by Leah Davis, Chief Marketing Officer at SailGP, who credits Global with bringing “huge reach, national scale, and so much fun, character and energy in everything they do.” She added, “From radio, to out-of-home advertising and on-site activations, Global isn’t just a media partner, they’re an entertainment powerhouse. They know how to turn sport into spectacle, and that’s exactly what SailGP is all about. We’ve loved working with them this year.”
Sport by Global’s ambitions are underpinned by a series of high-profile collaborations that have already begun to reshape the fan experience at major sporting events. Earlier this year, Global was the Official Promotional Partner for McLaren Racing Live: London, where presenters from Capital and Heart hosted live DJ sets and the podcast The Sports Agents conducted a live interview with McLaren CEO Zak Brown on stage. At Wimbledon 2025, Global joined forces with Vodafone and Barclays to deliver standout audio, creative out-of-home content, and immersive experiences for fans onsite, on-air, and online. The company also played a pivotal role at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, serving as the Official Audio Partner for Team GB and broadcasting live from Team GB House in the heart of the city.
And the innovation didn’t stop there. At SailGP, Global integrated live music performances, podcast talent, and fan-centric experiences to energize what many call the most exciting racing on water. These collaborations, company leaders argue, exemplify how Sport by Global will amplify the energy and spectacle of sport, making each event not just a competition but a cultural moment.
The momentum behind Sport by Global was further fueled by CEO Simon Pitts’ remarks at the Audio & Entertainment Upfronts. Addressing a packed room of advertisers, Pitts unveiled Global Studios—a creative powerhouse for video-first podcast brands—and revealed a major push to bring creator-led video together with Global’s award-winning audio brands. The result? Advertisers can now access integrated, multi-platform campaigns across Global’s radio, digital, and outdoor networks, a move Pitts describes as a “natural next step for Global.”
“Expanding into video in a major way is a natural next step for Global. We all know the lines between audio and video are blurring rapidly, with audiences and brands increasingly expecting integrated experiences. And that’s what you’re going to get from Global,” Pitts told attendees. “With Global and the Fellas Studios joining forces, we’re building a launchpad for the next generation of media brands—combining creator talent and premium production with the best brands and the power of Global’s unrivalled data engine and marketing machine.”
Global’s reach is nothing short of staggering; the company boasts a weekly audience of over 52 million people across its platforms. This massive footprint, coupled with its knack for blending entertainment with cultural moments, positions Sport by Global to “amplify huge events for rights holders and help them connect with audiences in new ways,” according to Mike Gordon. “We’re combining entertainment and cultural moments like never before, and in doing so, creating new commercial opportunities for advertising partners.”
To support this ambitious expansion, Global also introduced Global:IQ, a cutting-edge data and effectiveness platform designed to help advertisers plan, measure, and prove the impact of their campaigns across the company’s various channels. The platform brings together first-party data, advanced analytics, and AI-driven creative optimization tools, providing real-time performance insights and measurable results. “We know we need to combine our brand strength with performance-led, data-driven solutions that improve measurement and prove effectiveness,” Simon Pitts explained. “That’s why we’re so excited to be introducing our new data and effectiveness platform today, Global:IQ—the home to a whole suite of tools to prove the impact of every pound advertisers spend with us.”
Mike Gordon reinforced the importance of this new offering, stating, “Proving outcomes matters more than ever. Global:IQ brings together data, technology and creativity to give advertisers real confidence in what works—and what could work even better.”
Global’s unique ability to blend live events, music, and large-scale audience reach hasn’t gone unnoticed by major sponsors. Tom Corbett, group head of sponsorship and client experience at Barclays, praised the long-standing partnership, noting, “We are the title sponsor of Capital’s Jingle Bell and Summertime Ball, but the uniqueness of our partnership really comes from the ability to combine the power of live events and live music with the scale of Global’s network. That’s something for us that’s unprecedented in the sponsorship space and makes the relationship so valuable.”
With Rebecca Martin at the helm of Sport by Global, the company is poised to build on its impressive track record, partnering with rights holders and brands to deliver unforgettable, fan-first entertainment and experiences. Whether it’s football, cricket, sailing, wrestling, netball, or beyond, the message from Global is clear: the intersection of sport and entertainment is the next frontier, and they intend to lead the charge.
As the lines between media, entertainment, and sport continue to blur, Global’s latest moves may well signal a new era—one where fans, brands, and athletes are brought closer together than ever before, and where the spectacle of sport is amplified on a truly global scale.
