In profile: Media & Sports Betting New Business Manager Alan Feehely

Alan Feehely joined Twenty3 earlier this year, and has brought a wealth of media experience to the organisation.

A former writer with a penchant for Spanish football, our Media & Sports Betting New Business Manager understands exactly what Twenty3’s customers are looking for, having worked extensively for written publications, TV, radio and podcasts.

We sat down with Alan, to find out how he’s using that knowledge to help media and betting companies get the most from their data, through Twenty3’s Toolbox.

WE: You’ve taken a somewhat unconventional route to becoming our Media & Sports Betting New Business Manager, Alan – what was your career path before you joined Twenty3?

AF: I earned a BA in Economics and Politics from University College Cork before spending two years working with Pendulum Summit – a business and leadership conference with events in Dublin and New York, that featured speakers like Sir Richard Branson and Bear Grylls.

I then went back to university, earning a MA in International Development from University College Dublin, before moving to Seville in Spain and building a career as a football writer. 

I spent the next two years based there – working for outlets like the BBC, CNN and BT Sport – although within those two years I enjoyed three three-month spells working in Lisbon, Brazil and Madrid.

I moved to London in September of 2022 to join the team at Twenty3, spending my first seven months as a football writer before beginning my current role at the start of April.

WE: What made you want to make the switch to your current role at Twenty3?

AF: My work has taken me all over the world and exposed me to many different environments. As time went on, I became more and more interested in the business side of things – the art of leveraging yourself, as opposed to merely producing content.

I came to London with that in mind, cutting down on freelance activities while I worked for Twenty3 and searching for a route into a more business-oriented role.

WE: You’ve obviously had plenty of experience working in sports media. How do you think your background as a writer is helping you to work with our media and betting clients?

AF: I think I’m well-suited to the role because my background isn’t just in writing – it’s also in television, radio and podcasting. 

I’ve worked across different mediums and sectors, in many ways – from independent and legacy media to betting outlets.

This experience and knowledge enables me to see things from our prospective clients’ point of view. 

I know the pain points that they experience and I understand exactly how our product can not only help them remedy those, but actually take their content to the next level.

Writers want to write – not be bogged down in administrative work or graphic design. 

Our Content Toolbox helps them to access and produce data quickly and efficiently – and to a world-class level. 

It’s something that would have helped me enormously in my writing days.

WE: Tell me a little bit about the Content Toolbox and how our clients are using it to enhance their offering and maximise their data.

AF: The Content Toolbox is effectively a way of interpreting and exhibiting data to make it simple to use, and easy to consume for the target audience. 

We consolidate and optimise data to enable clients to focus on the things that matter most – delivering top-quality content with incomparable ease.

Media outlets use our service to illustrate their work and underline hypotheses with hard-nosed data, as well as expanding their social media presence with easy-to-share graphics. 

Betting outlets work with us to add another layer of sophistication and science to their day-to-day business. 

Agencies use the Content Toolbox in order to paint their clients in the best light, ahead of a potential summer move or contract renewal negotiation.

All in all, the variety of uses for the software underlines the breadth of its capabilities. 

Whether you’re using Smart Graphics, the Football Lab, Insight, Discover, Visualisations, Power Reports or the Event Lab – it will enhance content.

What’s more, the fact that we work with so many different sectors of the industry enables us to refine and improve our software as we mature. 

Our work in the professional club space informs what we do in sports media – and vice versa.

WE: What things have impressed you most about the Toolbox since you’ve started using Twenty3’s technology?

AF: It’s a cliché, but the Content Toolbox is genuinely second-to-none – both for the quality of the work it produces and the ease with which it produces it. 

For somebody without a background in data it has been a game-changer – helping me to understand elements of the game that I didn’t know existed.

I think my favourite aspect of the software has to be the Smart Graphics function. 

As someone who has spent countless hours trying to tell stories around football matches, being able to produce so many different types of graphics as quickly as you can in the Content Toolbox would have added another dimension to my work.

WE: Finally Alan, if I was to ask you why media and sports betting companies should start working with Twenty3 – and using the Content Toolbox in particular – what would you say?

AF: In the modern world, the attention of consumers is more sought-after and valuable than ever. 

It really is a no-brainer from my perspective to include high-quality and informative graphics in whatever content one is producing, in order to deliver the strongest product possible. 

And the Content Toolbox helps with that enormously.

The proof is in the pudding – all you need to do is look at the clients that we currently service in order to understand what we do and the level to which we do it. Some of the biggest broadcasters on either side of the Atlantic Ocean trust us, for example.

I genuinely believe that every outlet in the game should be using the Content Toolbox – the need is present for everyone, no matter which sector of sports media they’re operating in. 

My job is fundamentally to help them see that.

If you’d like to chat with Alan and find out more about Twenty3’s services, please get in touch below.