SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
With the recent launch of new financial trading and sports betting programme- Tip TV, Team SBC caught up with the Tip TV founder and CEO Nick ‘The Moose’ Batsford to discuss the programmes format, content and future growth strategy.
Nick Batsford has enjoyed a 25-year career in the financial markets, specializing in short-term trading signals. He has applied his skills both as a trader and as a broker and immediately prior to founding Tip TV was running a hedge fund in London. Nick has had regular appearances on Bloomberg TV and CNBC as a market analyst and has written columns for the Sunday Business and Daily Mail.
Tip TV is a live programme which combines informed analysis of the financial trading markets with sports commentary and betting tips – http://www.tiptv.co.uk/
SBC: Nick pleasure meeting you! Can you give our readers more details on TipTv, how it came to be created and what it looks to offer the public?
Nick: Pleasure meeting you too! Quite simply Tip TV came about because we believe there was a gap in the market. We see a need for a unique financial media service targeting day traders and sports betters alike.
The volume of day traders exploded in the early 2000’s as the number of online brokerage firms increased during the dotcom boom. Online brokerage significantly changed the dynamics of the marketplace. For the first time ever, investors could, from the comfort of their own homes, access market data in a similar fashion to professional institutional investors. In the current economic climate, there are an increasing number of traders trading independently who are looking for ways of accessing new information and we believe Tip TV is at the forefront of that.
Also our team has huge experience of positive returns in the financial markets, and we have first-hand exposure to the huge changes that have taken place in the financial arena.
And because it’s great fun – not only for me to present and work with so many talented people in the twin worlds of finance and sport but for our ever increasing army of viewers as well.
SBC: What attributes and competencies do you want TipTV to display to its audience, what factors do you feel will drive growth and coverage to the show?
Nick: We have the capabilities, the competitive advantages, and USP’s. that no other immediate broadcasting competitor has. We have commitment, leadership, experience, knowledge and data, we have an impressive marketing-reach and brand awareness that are growing daily/
We have a prime geographical location, and our processes, capabilities, systems and continuity are being honed on a daily basis. As such our reputation, presence and reach are expanding to deliver exceptional core activities, which will result in a long-term stellar performance.
Our USP is that we have no real competitors in terms of infotainment for day traders. We have an extensive contacts book for our twin pillars of Finance and Sport. We have a delivery mechanism, which will enable us to have a worldwide audience. Our current technology enables us to conduct interviews worldwide. Our management consists of over one hundred years of experience in The City. We already have an impressive track record in providing a platform for highly regarded Sports pundits and City Experts to offer their hard-hitting and accurate opinions.
And a selection of our tips have returned upwards of 200% returns – what’s not to like about Tip TV?!
SBC: How does your team balance the content between sports betting and financial trading insight? Do you feel there is a crossover for your audience between the subject matters?
Nick: Good question. Firstly I think there is a cross-over between sports betting and financial trading insight. Many finance experts take an interest in sport and vice-versa. And it has been proved through our extensive audience research that many of our viewers do. People don’t watch the finance then switch off for the sport – nor do our massively growing audience only tune in for the sport and not the high quality finance section – they watch both. Because we are only on for two hours a day a huge majority of our loyal viewers stay tuned for the entire show.
They stay tuned for lots of reasons the primary one being because we offer quality programming with top quality experts in both fields offering top quality high conviction bets – and because our show is not only the most knowledgeable out there but because its entertaining!! And because our experts all have proven track records in making their audience/clients’ money.
These top level guests help identify our brand as reputable, knowledgeable and hard-hitting as Tip TV increasingly grows a favourable reputation as a show which delivers on obtaining and showcasing top sports stars, broadcasters and City Experts.
With our proven track record of attracting world renowned sporting stars onto the show via our expansive contact book since launch we have already had the following appear on the show:
Ian Wright – Ex-Crystal Palace, Arsenal, West Ham and England International. Honours include 1998 Premier League winners medal, two FA Cup winners’ medals and one League Cup win.
Peter Reid – Ex-Everton and England International. Honours include two league titles with Everton, an FA Cup and the 1985 Cup Winners Cup. Played in the infamous ‘Hand of God’ 1986 World Cup Q/F game at the Azteca Stadium, Mexico.
Don Hutchison – Ex-Liverpool, Everton and Scotland International who scored his country’s winner at Wembley against The Three Lions in a European Championship play-off.
All top, top footballers and great blokes. And from the world of broadcasting we’ve had the legendary Richard Keys and Andy Gray – Ex-Sky Sports broadcasters who were the face of Sky Sports coverage of the Premiership for two decades and good lads too.
We have also had experts from the field of boxing, cricket, rugby and racing appear.
For the Finance segment of the show, again, our extensive contacts list has seen such respected City Experts as Zak Mir, David Buik, Clive Lambert, and Dominic Picarda (Financial Times)
And they have all been lovely, lovely people – and hugely professional people too.
Don’t just take my word for it either – we have had hugely favourable media reviews: For example Gary Parkinson from The Times said of us: “Make ‘em money, make ‘em laugh…roaring good fun – bet on it” – we’ve also had great reviews from City AM and many, many other media outlets.
SBC: You have secured advertising for TipTv, how was this managed, what did advertisers like about your format?
Nick: We’ve been putting some numbers through the mixer and whether it be all manner of financial ratios or audience figures the results have always been hugely favourable on so many levels for any number of reasons including the ones I’ve already listed, Quite simply advertisers – and the general public – know a good thing when they see one and that’s what happened to us.
I could go through the reasons why people watch and advertise Sky Sports or Bloomberg or whoever – but the fact is advertisers want to be associated with a good, attractive, progressive and popular product – growing concerns that offer value for money and a large market share and audience reach – and Tip TV does that and will continue doing that as we grow.Which will only mean more and more advertising revenue and advertisers coming on board and more and more viewers – in the short run and in the long run.
Another thing advertisers liked is that our extensive research is performed in house by our team of highly qualified analysts and statisticians in providing high conviction data. In addition, our expansive professional network provides access to a wealth of highly qualified personnel, resulting in high quality intelligence across a range of topics.
Not to mention the quality of the content – our analysts, researchers and presenters are highly qualified and well regarded amongst their peers. And the tone of the website and live broadcasts reflect the high quality intelligence we are offering, whilst maintaining a positive outlook.
Advertisers also liked the way we strike an important balance between professionalism and entertainment in order to develop and maintain a devoted following.And that’s just for starters!
SBC: Will TipTV be using other technology formats and channels to distribute its content. If so what impact will they have on your company?
Nick: Technology is changing all the time, and we are continually tracking these changes.
Our service has the ability to expand globally. It shows huge scalability as we already have the capabilities to broadcast globally – because in terms of distributing our content, the financial markets are a global entity resulting in a potentially worldwide audience. In using an IP-based delivery system, rather than a television broadcast, we have the ability for our content to reach a global audience.
We also use leading-edge technology. This allows us to match the production quality of established financial media without the large costs associated with conventional TV studio productions.
SBC: What content and features will TipTv look to expand and grow in the coming months, what are your future plans for the programme?
Nick: We have plans for world domination! Tip TV is growing all the time, our audience is growing, our advertising revenue is growing, the number of high calibre guests from the worlds of finance and sport are growing all the time – we are a feel-good success story that people want to be associated with.
We have big plans for the future – not only for the show itself but for the platform we will broadcast the show from – we aim to be seen by as many people as possible. In the Square Mile, in London, in the UK and globally.
We are working behind the scenes 24/7 as we speak to make this happen – I can’t say anymore at the moment but the future looks extremely bright – so watch this space – and make sure you and your readers watch Tip TV!!
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Nick Batsford – CEO & Founder Tip Tv
