Football has eaten almost every sport' due to digital dominance, says podcast chief

"Football's already eaten almost every sport worldwide, Pastor said. With the possible exception of a bit of boxing and, obviously, American sport separately, football's eaten all the other sports. Rugby and cricket are like a pale shadow of themselves. What we need to make sure is that these very high-quality leagues are seen by people."

"When I grew up, Serie A was the best league in the world and I never missed it. Channel 4 did an amazing job and I never missed it. It went through a long spell of disappearing. Now, my kids don't watch it. It's disappeared. We need to bring Serie A back again."

"Serie A has a responsibility to its own content to make sure the audiences of the future can find it. Otherwise, these things disappear and die."

Football has achieved near-total dominance over other sports worldwide through control of television and digital markets, with rugby and cricket reduced to minor status. Tony Pastor, CEO of Goalhanger podcast production company, argues that broadcasters struggle to obtain value from sports rights investments. He emphasizes that high-quality leagues must ensure visibility across fragmented media platforms to maintain future audiences. Pastor highlights Serie A as a cautionary example, noting its dramatic decline from being the world's premier league to near invisibility among younger viewers. He stresses that sports competitions bear responsibility for making their content accessible where audiences currently consume media, or risk complete obsolescence.

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