NDML meets Alasdair Collis from TNT Sports At CompSoc 2024
We attended the Competitive Socialising : The Power of Play event in London, Lighthouse Theatre, where operators and suppliers were exhibiting and accepting awards. We spoke to TNT Sports Business and their Director of Commercial Customers, Alasdair Collis. TNT Sports brought along with them the Premier League trophy, as well as a new Playstation 5 for a competition in combination with Kwizzbit.
We spoke to Alasdair about the rise of competitive socialising, and how TNT Sports fits in to help hospitality businesses deliver a superior service.
Please explain your connection with nightlife businesses and competitive socialising businesses:
“I’m the TNT Sports Director of Commercial Customers. We look after TNT Sports for pubs and clubs and anyone in the license trade – yachts hotels prisons – anywhere that’s not a home.”
When asked why he thinks competitive socialising has grown so rapidly:
“There’s some really big macros. Firstly, people don’t want to just have a pint, they want to do something and be entertained. Secondly, people want to get out their home. One of the worst things about COVID was that people were staying at home too much. It’s human nature to socialise, compete, get outside. Put socialising and drinking together with competing you’ve got this wonderful alchemy that can really make a difference – we’ve seen it time and time again.”
“It a sector we [at TNT Sports] are really excited about and its one we want to work with and to grow with.”
When asked how venues can use the summer of sport that’s coming up:
“Sport is a wonderful opportunity to extend, customers stay beyond their play, and perhaps have another drink. When people aren’t throwing axes, or playing darts, or playing cricket at your venue, this way they’ve got something else to do as well. So sport provides a plan b to some extent in a very cost effective way.”
“Also it does allow the corporate audience to do something else when perhaps businesses are struggling to get the footfall. The TNT content specifically is suited, it being on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays; those are the footfall fillers when perhaps you are not going to have lots and lots of people in their anyway. TNT Sports will help fill those gaps for you.”
