Here Comes Pod

On this week's episode of Here Comes Pod, Hollywood royalty Kim Masters talked about her amazing career as a reporter, broadcaster, author and host of the industry flagship radio show and podcast, The Business. We chatted about her early career working for Ben Bradlee at the Washington Post, her big stories at The Hollywood Reporter, writing the definitive Hollywood studio book Hit And Run and her new start at Puck News. Enjoy!You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

It's London Screenings week and the start of a new chapter as Mip comes to London, so who better to chat to this week than industry legend Dermot Horan, Director of Acquisitions and Co-productions at RTE. We talked about the importance of co-productions to the drama landscape, what makes a good buyer and salesperson, how best to navigate international events like the London Screenings and the three executives he would bring for company if he ended up Lost. Enjoy!You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

On this week's episode of Here Comes Pod I was joined by Jon Farrar, SVP Group Editorial and Content at SVOD service Britbox. Jon's career trajectory has taken him from the mail room at ITV franchise Carlton Television to UKTV, MTV Networks, Universal Networks, BBC Studios and Sky Showtime before returning to the BBC fold at Britbox. Jon talks about the importance of putting the viewer first in every role he has had, why British programming continues to enjoy global success, and the exciting line-up of programming at Britbox as it seeks to conquer the US and other key markets. Enjoy this week's episode from our Englishman in New York and beyond!You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

On this week's episode of Here Comes Pod I was joined by Peter Andrews, Head of Network Programming at SBS Australia. In a fiercely competitive market, SBS continues to brilliantly balance its public service and commercial remits as well as  innovating in its phenomenally successful SBS On Demand service. Peter shares his insights into how this has been achieved and the lessons in leadership his career has given him. Enjoy!   Here Comes Pod's media partner is C21, the go-to outlet for news an insights into the international TV industry. You can find them at c21media.netYou can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

Fernando Szew joined me on Here Comes Pod this week to share his experience of transforming MarVista Entertainment from a small family business to a global powerhouse for TV Movies, family entertainment and the Power Rangers franchise; the transition of MarVista into the world of Fox; and his new role overseeing Fox Entertainment Studios. As well as MarVista, we talked Messi, Maradona, mentors and Mipcom. Enjoy!Here Comes Pod's media partner is C21, the go-to outlet for news an insights into the international TV industry. You can find them at c21media.netYou can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

My guest this week on Here Comes Pod, Peter Schlessel, is best described as a movie mogul. His career has included the acquisition, production, distribution and finance of feature films, with roles as President of Production at Sony Pictures, founder of indie label Film District and CEO of Focus Features. We talked about his start at RCA/Columbia, working with talented filmmakers, how to succeed as a film executive and the deal that brought Spiderman to Sony Pictures. Enjoy! Here Comes Pod's media partner is C21, the go-to outlet for news an insights into the international TV industry. You can find them at c21media.netYou can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

Danna Stern joined Here Comes Pod this week to talk about her fascinating media career. We discussed her start as a journalist and radio producer, acquisitions and deal making with the Hollywood majors at Israeli satellite platform yes DBS, launching yes Studios which brought iconic series like Fauda and Your Honor to the international market, and her new company In Transit Productions from where she produced the haunting documentary Supernova: The Music Festival Massacre. Throw in the role of Netflix in unleashing the power of storytelling outside of the English language and it was a wide-ranging chat. Enjoy!Here Comes Pod's media partner is C21, the go-to outlet for news an insights into the international TV industry. You can find them at c21media.netYou can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

Football finance guru Kieran Maguire joined Here Comes Pod this week to share stories from a career as an accountant, lecturer and co-host of the wildly successful and simply brilliant podcast, The Price of Football. Kieran is the go-to guy for fans, journalists, investors and government ministers who want to know what is happening with the business of the beautiful game and Here Comes Pod was lucky enough to get some deep background on how the magic happens. Enjoy!Here Comes Pod's media partner is C21, the go-to outlet for news an insights into the international TV industry. You can find them at c21media.netYou can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

Insigniam founding partner Nathan Rosenberg is this week's guest on Here Comes Pod. Nathan has advised over 85,000 individuals and 12% of the world's biggest companies on organisational transformation, business breakthroughs and executive coaching. From a career as a military pilot to advising Hollywood studio senior management, Nathan has some fascinating insights into the human factor in business, the hit and miss nature of the film business and the day he realised Kevin Costner was doing his job. Enjoy!  Here Comes Pod's media partner is C21, the go-to outlet for news an insights into the international TV industry. You can find them at c21media.netYou can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

Antony Root came on to Here Comes Pod this week to talk about a storied career at the BBC, ITV, Working Title, Sony Pictures and HBO. In the week that Dr Who hit global screens we talked about script development on this iconic show, the role the BBC plays in curating British writers, breaking into the US TV market and the evolution of HBO as it brings Max to the global market. Enjoy!Here Comes Pod's media partner is C21, the go-to outlet for news an insights into the international TV industry. You can find them at c21media.netYou can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

In this episode of Here Comes Pod, Will Harrison shares insights from a stellar career that has included senior roles at media giants including Warner Brothers, Disney, HBO Europe and Britbox UK. All of these media companies have strong brands and there is no one better placed to discuss the importance of media brands and the power of franchises than Will, and so this was a big topic in this episode, We'll also find out if Berger, Bamford, Baxter, Blair is the name of the new law firm in the Suits reboot or a TV executive dream team. Enjoy!Here Comes Pod's media partner is C21, the go-to outlet for news an insights into the international TV industry. You can find them at c21media.netYou can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

Here Comes Pod has attempted to provide answers to some of the important questions in the media business, and this week's query is: who advertises TV to the advertisers? In the UK the answer is Thinkbox, and CEO Lindsey Clay joined me to explain how the the company, established by the UK's commercial broadcasters and recently joined by the streamers, advocates for TV as a key marketing communication channel for brands big and small. We covered a lot of ground, from Slough to Hong Kong, account management to the media department, and the big screen in the corner to the small ones in all our pockets. Enjoy! Here Comes Pod's media partner is C21, the go-to outlet for news an insights into the international TV industry. You can find them at c21media.netYou can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

When Netflix launched Formula One: Drive To Survive it heralded the golden age of sports access documentaries. This week's guest on Here Comes Pod, Box To Box Films co-founder James Gay-Rees,  is very much in pole position to talk about this golden age. Having started his film career at Miramax, James then segued into producing award-winning documentary features like Senna, Amy and Maradona. Pivoting to producing TV series, James co-founded Box To Box which has built on the success of Drive To Survive to  go behind the scenes of the world's leading sports with shows like Break Point (tennis), Full Swing golf) and Six Nations: Full Contact (Rugby). James talks about the joys and challenges of producing these shows and shares his thoughts on the direction of travel for the genre. Enjoy!  Here Comes Pod's media partner is C21, the go-to outlet for news an insights into the international TV industry. You can find them at c21media.netYou can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

This week's guest on Here Comes Pod, Marc Lorber, has a truly global perspective on the TV business. In a career that has included stints at some of the world's leading studios - Lionsgate, Sony Pictures, Disney and WBD - Marc has produced both scripted and non-scripted TV series on every continent on the planet. Whether it was spotting the potential of original series like Motherland in the UK, producing formats like The Nanny and Ugly Betty in Russia, or kickstarting original production for HBO in Central and Eastern Europe, Marc has insights that very few TV execs can match and he kindly shared these on this week's episode. Enjoy! You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

On this episode of Here Comes Pod I was joined by one of the titans of the global media industry, Hans-Holger Albrecht. We talked about his first TV job at CLT, forerunner of  German TV powerhouse RTL; his role as President and CEO of Modern Times Group overseeing the Nordic satellite broadcaster Viasat and launching Viaplay; his experience transforming telco Millicom into a lifestyle operation; moving into pure-play digital distribution as  CEO of music streaming service Deezer; and his current portfolio including being chairman of the board of streaming audiobook service Storytel. Enjoy! You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

This week's episode of Here Comes Pod tells the Legend of Lisa Opie, (un)charting her TV career that started at BSB and Sky and went through the levels at Flextech, Channel 5, Two Four and BBC Studios. Now MD of two of Ubisoft's UK studios Leamington and Reflections, Lisa shares her thoughts on her working life in TV and how her move across to the video games industry was a call of duty to her gaming son. Enjoy!  You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

Bobby Charlton was a legend on the pitch for Manchester United and England, a World Cup winner, European Cup Winner and England's leading goalscorer for decades. When his playing career ended he was a trusted advisor to the Manchester United board and a TV pundit. But one of his other lasting legacies was the Bobby Charlton Soccer Schools, which provided coaching and holiday breaks to generations of players, from David Beckham to kids who only ever played for fun. When my dad, Ken Goldman, interviewed Charlton in the 1980s the Soccer Schools were the main topic of discussion, and Bobby's love of the game and passion for helping the next generation of players shone through. Enjoy the pod and RIP Bobby CharltonYou can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

This week's guest on Here Comes Pod is a star of the big screen and the small screen. Billy Campbell's leading role in Cardinal reminded audiences of a talent seen in movies like The Rocketeer and Bram Stoker's Dracula as well as standout TV series like Dynasty, The 4400 and The Killing. His next role is in Canadian thriller Something Undone, once again portraying a character with a dark past. We talked about working with Coppola, lessons learned from Sir Anthony Hopkins and how he almost missed out on Cardinal. Enjoy! You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

TV and football are passions for many, although few people have careers in both industries. But this week's guest on Here Comes Pod, Bernd Reichart, has been a senior executive in both TV and football. Bernd talks about his TV experience within the RTL Group, initially at Spain's Atresmedia Television before he returned to Germany to head up Vox and then become Group CEO of RTL Germany. Bernd now runs A22, a sports management group that hopes to bring changes to the way midweek club football operates and is governed in Europe.  Bernd shares his thinking on the current state of European football and how A22 plans to re-shape the way the game is set up going forward. Enjoy!   You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

With a CV that includes overseeing massive hits like Dancing With The Stars, The Voice, The Apprentice and America's Got Talent, Paul Telegdy can rightly be called the King of entertainment programming. Paul joined me on Here Comes Pod to talk about life at the BBC, dealing with extraordinary people including a future President in his time as  Chairman of Entertainment at NBC, his new venture The Whole Spiel and how an Elvis show left him and me crying in the chapel. Enjoy! You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

The Premier League is back this weekend, and Tottenham Hotspur have been dominating the headlines in the run up to kick off. Whether it is the battle to keep their talismanic striker Harry Kane or the federal charges levelled at the "owner" Joe Lewis, the Spurs hierarchy, led by chairman Daniel Levy, have their hands full. So it's an interesting moment to look back at a previous era to see how leading a top flight football team has changed and to assess what has stayed the same. In November 1984 my dad, Ken Goldman, sat down with newly installed Spurs chairman Irving Scholar to discuss his approach to running the club, the relationship between chairman and manager, transparency and communication, and his passion for Tottenham Hotspur. It's a fascinating insight into Scholar, Tottenham and English football in the pre-Premier League era. Enjoy! You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

Kevin MacLellan joined me on Here Comes Pod this week to talk about a career that  spanned the titans of the television industry - MTV Networks, HBO, Sony Pictures, Comcast and NBC Universal, where he oversaw annual income of $5bn and 2,500 employees. That was a massive job and Kevin shares the inside track on how to steer a business of that size, the dynamics of Comcast's acquisition of Sky, the impact of digital disruption on global legacy media companies, and why boys will be boys. Enjoy!You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

There is no better person to explain the current turmoil gripping Hollywood than Puck News co-founder and former Hollywood Reporter editorial director Matt Belloni. Matt's newsletter What I'm Hearing is the definitive insider's guide to the latest buzz in Tinseltown and his podcast The Town is a must-listen for anyone interested in the entertainment business. We discussed the place of reporters in the Hollywood ecosystem, the latest updates on the strikes that have paralysed the entertainment business and whether The Nanny represents the past or the AI-generated future for Hollywood. Enjoy!  You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

This week's guest on Here Comes Pod is Sky entertainment supremo Zai Bennett. In a career that has spanned ITV, C5, the BBC and Sky, Zai has been involved in some of the most important moments in British broadcasting in the last quarter of a century. So we had a lot of ground to cover, from the birth of reality TV with TOWIE, navigating the creative and organisational juggernaut of the BBC, and marrying creativity, commerce and the customer at Sky with a slate of programming as diverse as Chernobyl, Gangs of London and A League Of Their Own that sit alongside the powerhouse shows of HBO. Enjoy!  You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

Claire Enders joined me on this week's episode of Here Comes Pod to talk about her eponymously named company Enders Analysis. As you can imagine the interview turned into a whirlwind tour de force of anecdotes from Claire's unique career spent analysing the media industry, campaigning to protect democracy and the plurality of information options available to the public, as well as sharing her deep love of British political thought and culture. Enjoy!You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

My guest this week is Sara Johnson, whose career in the TV business has encompassed script editing, drama producing and series commissioning. Whether it was honing material at Eastenders, heading up drama at Sky and Fox UK, or bringing the transformative BBC series The A Word to the screen at Keshet, Sara has always been associated with best in class material. She is now using that creative energy, taste and passion in her latest endeavor,  having launched Bridge06, a business that advises all parts of the TV and entertainment business in how to recognise and benefit from the value of deaf, disabled and neurodivergent talent. So please enjoy the podcast, but also reach out to Sara to see how Bridge06 can help everyone make the TV industry more inclusive and better at reflecting the world we live in. The Bridge06 website is here: https://bridge06.com/ and you can reach Sara at sara@bridge06.comYou can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

Look out for the upcoming episode of Here Comes Pod with Dan Chambers - we talked Big Brother, why Joey was not the best of friends, and the best place to create a TV series. Enjoy!You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

Dan Chambers joined me on Here Comes Pod this week to talk about his time commissioning factual series at C4, heading up all programming at C5 and making iconic shows at Blink Films, which he co-founded and where he is joint MD. We talked Big Brother, making good and bad decisions in the world of acquisitions, and producing extraordinary series for broadcasters and platforms around the world. Enjoy!You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

It was a privilege to be joined by Jeffrey Schlesinger for this week's episode of Here Comes Pod. In a 37 year career at Warner Brothers, 26 of which were spent as President of International TV Distribution, Jeffrey not only helped to define the image of Warner Brothers in the international market, but he also helped to establish the way that the international TV distribution industry operated. We talked about his start in the TV business, the highlights of his amazing career at Warner Brothers, the best deal he didn't do, and building a world class sales team. And in a first for Here Comes Pod, but not for Jeffrey, an elephant made an appearance in the proceedings. Enjoy!   You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

Greg Brenman falls into that rare category of generational talent. With a CV that includes Billy Elliot, The Honourable Woman, Peaky Blinders, Fat Friends, Ripper Street and the recent hit BBC drama The English, Greg has produced some of the most iconic and lauded TV series of the last 25 years. We talked about his start in the TV business, establishing the Tiger Aspect drama operation, going independent with his production company Drama Republic, and how great material is at the heart of his work. Enjoy!  You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

This week's guest on Here Comes Pod is Peter Taylor, one of the legends of the UK film business. We chatted about Peter's love of film as a young man, his start in the business on the set of Flash Gordon, and his long career at Sony Pictures, whether it was shepherding the studio's blockbuster releases like Spiderman, the talent-friendly culture created by studio heads Amy Pascal and Michael Lynton,  and navigating the 2014 hack. We also touched on his connection with Warner Brothers as both a young sales executive and briefly as MD. But it was his work on the James Bond franchise that was the pinnacle of Peter's work at Sony and which we discussed at length. So please enjoy this week's podcast, from Here Comes Pod With Love!  You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

Forget business school - this week's episode of Here Comes Pod is an education in how to run a massive organisation. Etienne de Villiers joined me to discuss a career spent at world famous media and sports operations like The Walt Disney Company, the ATP and the IPL, with some fascinating insights and stories from the front line.Born in apartheid-era South Africa, Etienne's early career included working for the legendary Sol Kerzner at Satbel and negotiating with FW de Klerk to desegregate cinemas in South Africa. He then moved to Disney to manage the international TV operation, which grew from $15m to $1bn in annual turnover during his tenure. Senior roles at the BBC and ITV followed but we focussed on his experience in professional sports, including the challenges he faced as chairman of the ATP and his work with old business partner Lalit Modi in bringing the IPL to South Africa.  If you want to know the key to success at Disney as it built its international business in the 1990s, how and why the IPL is a unique phenomenon that is so hard to replicate, and how Paul Simon discovered diamonds in a South African recording studio as well as on the soles of his shoes, listen on and enjoy!You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

For me Pelé will always be The King of the beautiful game of football. Soon after retiring Pelé chatted to my dad Ken Goldman about what he missed from his playing days, the state of Brazilian football, soccer in the US and the opponents he rated most highly. In this long lost interview Pelé's warmth and generosity of spirit exude from every word he speaks. RIP Pelé, always The King. You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

His first three films - Con Air, The General's Daughter and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - all grossed over $100m at the US box office, so when it comes to directing blockbuster movies this week's guest, Simon West, is perfectly placed to explain how it's done. We talked about these films, the challenges of getting Blackhawk Down to the screen, working with the gods of action movies in Expendables 2, and his latest work on Amazon mini series Boundless. There is even time for some Rickrolling - enjoy! You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

He played Geordie handyman Michael in I'm Alan Partridge and is the voice of everyone's favourite meerkat Alexander Orlov in the famous TV advertising campaign. Simon Greenall's career as a writer, performer and voice talent has taken in some of the most iconic moments in recent TV comedy history, so it was great to have him on the podcast this week's guest. Enjoy! You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

My guest this week is comedy writer and broadcaster Paul Hawksbee, co-host of the Hawksbee and Jacobs daily show on Talksport. But before becoming a broadcaster, Paul had a stellar career as a comedy writer, working with some of the greats of British comedy including the Two Ronnies, Frankie Howerd, Al Murray and Harry Hill. Add in the co-creation of iconic football magazine 90 Minutes, his attempts to get Jurgen Klinsmann to tumble in the penalty box on Fantasy World Cup, and his time working at Chelsea despite being a Spurs fan, and we had lots to chat about. Enjoy! You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

My guest this week has his name above the door of his movie studio STX Entertainment. Bob Simonds built his career in Hollywood working with stars like Adam Sandler and Steve Martin and his movies have made billions at the global box office. Bob then founded STX using the same principle of casting stars in signature roles and that strategy has led to more box office and critical success with movies like Bad Moms, The Upside, Hustlers and 21 Bridges. Bob talked about his start in the business, working with talent and re-shaping theatrical releasing. Enjoy!You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

Adam Kirby has been a force on the British advertising and marketing scene for a generation. Working as an Account Director at leading advertising agencies like AMV, Lowe Howard-Spink, Bates Dorland and Saatchi and Saatchi, Adam worked on some of the most iconic campaigns in British advertising history, before he made a move to the client side at Diageo and now operates as a marketing consultant. Not content with filling the advertising breaks with great creative, Adam is now on UK screens in hit C4 reality TV series Make Me Prime Minister, so we had a lot of ground to cover in the podcast. Enjoy!You can find Here Comes Pod on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon or most other podcast outlets. If you enjoyed this episode of Here Comes Pod please do leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts

My guest this week is Wonderhood Studios chairman and former C4 CEO David Abraham. David's career straddles the advertising and broadcast industries and he has been in the vanguard of changes in both businesses, from his early days at Chiat/Day and then St Luke's advertising agencies; his move to Discovery and then TLC in the US; his role as CEO at UKTV; his tenure running UK broadcaster C4; and now with Wonderhood Studios, which brings those disciplines together under one roof. Enjoy!  

Ali vs Frazier; Barca vs Real; the Red Sox vs the Yankees. When heavyweights in sport come up against each other, something magical happens. And on this week's episode of Here Comes Sports Pod is one of the sports rights industry's big hitters, David Kogan. Currently a board member of C4, David has had a stellar career as a journalist, TV and radio producer and author, but he specialises in negotiating TV sports rights and acted as the primary media advisor to the English Premier League for 17 years, often stepping into the ring with Sky and my recent guest Mike Darcey. So whilst the setting may have been more back garden than Madison Square Garden, David and I  were still able to cover some fascinating areas, including his early days in media, building a competitive market for the EPL's TV rights, the role of regulation in sport and the potential for the WSL. Think of this episode as the Chill in Muswell Hill - enjoy! 

This week's guest on Here Comes Pod is Lionsgate President of Worldwide TV and Digital Distribution Jim Packer. Jim and I chatted about his early days at Disney; learning new skills and gaining new experience  at MGM,  including navigating the transition of the company's sales into Sony Pictures and out again; rebuilding the sales team at MGM; and finding his entrepreneurial home at Lionsgate. What is clear is that Jim's thirst for knowledge and insight has been the driving force in his rise to head of a worldwide sales operation, but that sometimes the world is not enough.  Enjoy!  

The Premier League launched as The Premiership in 1992 and football in England was transformed. But as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the start of this global phenomenon, we shouldn't forget that football did exist PPL - Pre Premier League. In the decade prior to the formation of the league, the 1980s, football's fortunes ebbed and flowed, but it left an indelible mark on the players and supporters who fell in love with the game prior to its Premier League existence.It was a world of one club men like Steve Perryman and Trevor Brooking who were icons of the English game. But the fans still revered the greats of the past like Pele, Cruyff and Charlton who had forged their reputations in previous eras. New managers like Alex Ferguson were trying to make their mark, and established managers like Keith Burkinshaw were winning trophies but fearing for the more commercial future as new leaders in the boardroom - men like Irving Scholar at Tottenham and David Dein at Arsenal - were re-shaping the structure of the game in response to tragedy and opportunity, supported by advisors like Alex Fynn. Foreign players like Ossie Ardiles were starting to make their mark, and managers like John Lyall were assessing the merits of bringing more into the English game. Agents like Jerome Anderson were scouring Europe for new players whilst starting to support their clients' desire to secure a better financial present and future, and coaches like West Ham's Tony Carr were trying to develop the skills in players that seemed to be disappearing in a league that became more muscular and direct in style. Media coverage was limited, but a new breed of journalists like Henry Winter were joining the ranks of the football press to bring a new insightful style of match reporting, and radio stations like LBC - led by Steve Tongue - provided the best access to the Saturday experience in the home.LBC was also the place that my dad, Ken Goldman, began his football journalism career and his archive of interviews from this era provides an incredible insight into football in England in the 1980s. In this extended episode you'll hear from all of the people above, whether they were interviewed in the 80s or sharing their recent memories of this period. I fell in love with football in the 1980s, and it was a joyous and emotional journey of revelation and reflection for me to go back to the decade that provided the platform for the Premier League that is now celebrating another milestone. I hope you enjoy the journey too!Finally many thanks to everyone who contributed as an interviewee and who helped me to connect with so many insightful and helpful people.  

If you are interested in the evolution of Pay TV in the UK, the dynamics of high end sports rights negotiations, and the challenges of leading a large media organisation during a period of intense regulatory and legal scrutiny, then this week's episode of Here Comes Sports Pod will be perfect. Mike Darcey spent 15 years at Sky overseeing strategy for the group and then moving into the COO chair, before Rupert Murdoch asked him to navigate News International through some incredibly choppy waters. He now has a number of advisory and board roles, not least of which is Chair of British Gymnastics. Mike shares some fascinating stories from his time in these roles, and we covered so much ground that this is a bumper extended episode. Enjoy!

My guest on this episode of Here Comes Pod is Joanna Reesby, founder of the leading creative industry executive search firm Mission Bay. Whilst Joanna is probably more used to discussing other people's careers, in this episode she talks about her start as a lawyer in New Zealand, moving into a commercial role at Hasbro, the joy of working with the two Simons,  Fuller and Cowell, at 19 Entertainment and her move into executive search. We covered Mission Bay's recent integration into SRI and Joanna revealed the two people she would recruit to save the world! Enjoy. 

This week's guest on Here Comes Pod is one of the UK's most experienced TV executives, Dawn Airey. We covered a lot of ground - her start in the business at ITV, her move to C4, Greg Dyke's cunning plan to entice her over to C5 and the joy of launching the channel, life at Sky under Tony Ball and James Murdoch, and returning to C4 as a board member and interim chair. Enjoy!

Here Comes Sports Pod is back with another legend of English football from the 1980s. Keith Burkinshaw was a trailblazer when he signed Argentinian World Cup winners Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricky Villa to Tottenham Hotspur just weeks after the 1978 tournament. He took a relegated team to domestic and European cup success before leaving the club with a prescient warning about the growing influence of money in the game. Keith joined me to chat about his time at Tottenham and relive some very happy memories. Enjoy!  

My guest this week on Here Comes Pod is Wall Street Journal writer Ben Fritz, author of the  best selling book The Big Picture. Ben talks about his days coming through the entertainment journalism ranks at Variety and the LA Times, before he joined the Wall Street Journal where he is currently West Coast Bureau Chief for US News. But our main focus is The Big Picture, Ben's fascinating dissection of the movie business which charts the ever-increasing focus on franchises and brands, as seen through the lens of the revelations from the Sony Pictures hack. Enjoy! 

Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick - all products of the West Ham youth development system. My guest this week, Tony Carr, spent 43 years at West Ham working with these and many other players to help turn them into the greats of the modern game. His autobiography is out now, and Tony sat down with me to talk about training and technique, running in Epping Forest and the West Ham way. Enjoy

This week's guest on Here Comes Sports Pod is a sporting icon from a previous generation. Steve Perryman won multiple domestic and European trophies during his 19 year career at Tottenham Hotspur and became the club's record appearance holder. He shares his experiences as a young apprentice professional coming into the game, the arrival of Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa to English football, the secret of Liverpool's success in the 1980s with Graeme Souness at the heart of the team, and how he would cope with playing in the modern game. Steve Perryman will always be Captain, my Captain. I hope you enjoying listening to him talking about his career, and for more current thoughts from Steve on the modern game please do check out his podcast The Steve Perryman Podcasthttps://shows.acast.com/steve-perryman-podcast 

Mip TV is back, and as a special treat Here Comes Pod is celebrating the market with a special guest - Armando Nunez. Armando talks about his early days in the business, the constant evolution of ViacomCBS during his 20 years running the international distribution there, the golden age of US TV series, and why a business built on relationships needs a market like Mip TV. Enjoy. 

Here Comes Pod now has a sibling - Here Comes Sports Pod, with interviews from the world of sports in general and football in particular. And there is no better place to start than with a look back at the tumultuous events of April 2021, and the short lived European Super League, with football consultant Alex Fynn. Alex picks out the three games that changed European football, his role in the establishment of the Champions League which set the ESL in motion and the reasons why the ESL failed. Enjoy