Exclusive content behind a paywall, sports science revolution highlight premiers’ grand plans

Collingwood is plotting to be the first AFL club to put exclusive content behind a paywall. See why the club thinks this is the future and what it will mean for supporters.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. September 30, 2023. AFL Grand Final between Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions at the MCG. President Jeff Browne hugs Craig Macrae, senior coach of the Magpies . Picture by Michael Klein

Collingwood is plotting to become the AFL’s commercial and community leader on the back of its premiership as it draws up designs to place exclusive content on its website behind a paywall.

President Jeff Browne told the Herald Sun the club wanted to “build separate, vertical businesses within our club structure” as he also prioritises spreading its learnings from the Do Better racism report.

“We’ve just started a business called Performe, which is a sports medical science facility which we’ve set up and are running in conjunction with Monash University,” Browne said.

“It’s groundbreaking treatment in relation to injuries and recovery, and it’s all been incorporated and built into our new $15 million redevelopment.

“That’s something that is cutting edge and once we embed it at Collingwood I think we can replicate in lots of other places right around Australia.

“Players and athletes from anywhere can come in and get treated, we’ve got a broad range of clinicians there, we’re backed by a university and all their access to science and trends.

“I believe we can treat and rehabilitate better than any centre that will be available to athletes anywhere in Australia.

“Not only will this offer a groundbreaking service, it’s a separate revenue stream now for our club.”

Jeff Browne and Craig McRae after the Pies’ premiership win. Picture: Michael Klein

The website subscription service would “send a lot of value back up the line” because it would allow the Magpies to serve special offers from their sponsors to a huge database.

Last week the Magpies published a 28-minute inner sanctum from the grand final to its YouTube platform, which showed assistant coach Brendon Bolton painting one fingernail black on every defender and urging them to wear it off with spoils during the match.

“We’ll get a super-interesting and sticky subscription service up,” Browne said.

“I also don’t want our facilities to lay vacant over the period we’re not playing football. I want to use them for all sorts of functions around the Australian Open and other big events that come to Melbourne.

“Open up the Glass House, open up that precinct and bring in lots of other users of our facilities.

“After a $15m spend they’re as good as anyone in the league. I want to open it up to other commercial users to come and enjoy the precinct.

“We’re good at run at events, but we basically run Collingwood events so I want to widen that scope and be able to put on and run events for people who need some hospitality and some accommodation and create a really great experience for people who come down to the AIA Centre, which is the best-located position of any club I think anywhere in Australia.”

The top brass at the Pies are also looking into a website subscription service. Aaron Francis / Herald Sun

RMIT University has assisted Collingwood in curating the work from the Do Better report into a teaching module.

“I want to get that out further, not only into other clubs but also into other organisations in the community,” Browne said.

“Just to share the learnings that we’ve developed off the back of all that. They’ve been significant and really contributed to the cultural turnaround of our club.

“I’m pushing hard on that, the foot is right to the floor on that one. I think we’ve got an obligation to do that.

“Because we’ve fixed Collingwood I think we’ve got to get out and give people some direction and talk about our experienced at Collingwood.”

Collingwood CEO Craig Kelly wants clubs to be able to market their best assets — players and coaches — and is helping drive the business innovations. Picture: Jason Edwards

Chief executive Craig Kelly bemoaned late in the season that the Magpies only made $50,000 in 2022.

“We’ve got to do better, and we are doing better, we’ve got great things happening,” Kelly said.

Kelly flagged a need to invest in technology to save coaches hours each week in coding games that they could be spending with their families.

He has also said it was time to allow clubs to market their best assets.

“We don’t see our coaches endorsing anything. If you go anywhere else in the world they’re doing stuff,” Kelly said.

“So allow us to do that easily, which is outside of the soft cap, which gives Craig McRae opportunities to earn a bit more money, which allows us to use a bit more money to spread across and help the services that the club needs.”

Originally published as Exclusive content behind a paywall, sports science revolution highlight premiers’ grand plans