How SportsPro was born

The team behind the magazine

The team behind SportsPro created BusinessF1, a business magazine specifically for Formula One, in 2002. Many of the team, including editor Tom Rubython, have for the last five years made BusinessF1 a very successful magazine reporting on the financial aspects of one of the richest sports in the world. Over the years, BusinessF1 built up a high-quality circulation and readership, which increasingly included figures from outside Formula One who were mainly interested in the sports marketing nature of the editorial. At the turn of 2006/7 it became apparent that more than 50 per cent of the subscribers were from the general sports world rather than Formula One. The wider sports community was intensely interested in the numbers that were being published. When that became apparent, the next step was easy: it was time for change and SportsPro magazine was born.

The people running sport

BusinessF1 originally made a name for itself by continually reporting on the activities of the high-profile characters that run Formula One. This will also be the editorial philosophy of SportsPro. More than any other undertaking, the business of sport attracts the greatest characters from the world of business. Money and sport actually do mix well together. One feeds off the other – it is a mutual experience. The activities of this surprisingly large group of people are never dull and often cutting edge and innovative. While the people at the top of sport often initially become involved for different reasons, they are all soon absorbed in their subject. As a result no other sector of commerce is changing so quickly or so radically. It is this dynamic that drives the business of sport and has seen the size of the action double inside five years. SportsPro understands these people - it understands what makes them tick and what makes their businesses work.

The editorial philosophy

The editorial philosophy of SportsPro is based on finding out and then explaining the numbers behind the sport.  SportsPro writers have honed their skills on BusinessF1 for the past five years and intimately understand the sports marketing and sports sponsorship business. People are often reluctant to reveal the numbers behind the stories. BusinessF1 researchers were adept at finding out the real numbers time and time again. BusinessF1’s annual Business of Grand Prix Special Report minutely detailed a US$3 billion annual turnover sport and was generally correct within a five per cent margin. The same rigorous skills will be brought to all major sports. This will be combined with mastery of the big profile and the deep investigative story, which BusinessF1 was famous for.