• Loading stock data...
Monday, August 25, 2025
Front Office Sports Honors winners are here! View the 2025 winners

Office Hours: Peter Hutton on Facebook’s Next Step In Sports

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Powered by RedCircle

Welcome to a new episode of Office Hours: a podcast where Front Office Sports CEO Adam White has a discussion with figures from throughout the sports industry centered around three basic questions. Those questions are “What’s on your mind today?”, “What are you excited about?”, and “Any big ideas or theories you want to share?”

Peter Hutton is the current Director of Sports Partnerships at Facebook. Previously, he spent just over three years as the CEO of Eurosport. Hutton joins White in today’s episode to chat about the tech giant’s strengths and opportunities in the sports space, being a seasoned world traveller, and preparing for the future.

Edited highlights appear below:

On Facebook working and growing their relationship with athletes (14:47)

Hutton: “We’ve got teams of people who work specifically with athletes to talk about best practices on the platform, how they can grow their fan base, how they can potentially commercialize that fan base. And I think that’s definitely something that we’ll look at more and more. That’s a worldwide phenomenon. You know, it’s cricketers in India, it’s Lewis Hamilton in the UK, it’s NFL stars here. I think that’s a really interesting area. That idea that you can talk directly to your favorite athlete, I think, is a wonderful thing.

On knowing Facebook is in a good spot (36:39)
Hutton: “The fundamental part for being part of this industry is that you’re part of a growth story. And you know, I’ve been through sort of all these different companies on a very winding route to get there. Some of them have definitely not been growth stories…Facebook’s not like that. It’s clearly a growth business. It’s one which is looking to the future, investing in technology, things like Portal and Oculus. It’s tremendous to be around the sort of engineers who are building that and therefore to be part of that energy, to be part of that sense of where we’re a future looking company I think is really important and really sort of enlightening.”

Office Hours is Presented to You By Bittrex

On growth opportunities for Facebook Sports (37:17)

Hutton: “I think you look at the technology and the doors the technology is opening up. So you look at things like Messenger, WhatsApp, or Oculus. You look at where that can take the sports industry and find that connection between what Facebook is building and what the sports industry needs. And if we can help find the middle ground that works for both organizations, then that’s a good place to be.”

On the biggest issues that teams hope Facebook can help them solve (39:00)
Hutton: “The first thing is really audience development. We often go with really long presentations of all the book things that we can open. And the number one factor is how do we find our next audience? And that’s the right thing for a sports organization because you’ve permanently got to be looking at how you engage with younger demographics, with worldwide demographics, how you spread your fan base and therefore prepare better for the future. So we do offer up lots of different business solutions, whether it be branded content or commerce and conversion, but fundamentally audience development is the number one thing that I think we can help with.”

Love what we are doing? Help us grow and get in front of more people by subscribing below and leaving a review! 

Powered by RedCircle

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

opinion

As TV Embraces Digital, Podcasts Have Become TV Shows

Top sports podcasts now resemble TV shows—and vice versa.
2000, Jupiter, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Montreal Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu in action on the mound against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium during Spring Training

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter

The Expos, Sonics, and Whalers have active social media accounts.
Aura farming tiktoks

The ‘Aura Farming’ Boat Dance Taking Over the Sports World

An unlikely viral boat dance has ignited the sports world.

Featured Today

The Honey Deuce Effect: How Tennis Perfected the Signature Cocktail

Sold every 1.5 seconds, they total more than $12 million in sales.
Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up as the Texas Longhorns prepare to play the Clemson Tigers in the first round of the College Football Playoffs at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium.
August 23, 2025

Schools Are Hesitant to Allow PE Into Their Athletic Departments

Regardless of budget, schools don’t believe the risk is worth the reward.
Oct 2, 2024; Rosemont, IL, USA; Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti speaks with the media during the 2024 Big Ten Women’s Basketball media day at Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.
August 22, 2025

‘Not Ready to Jump In’: Power 4 Commissioners Aren’t Sold on PE

Top leaders in college sports have yet to see a satisfactory proposal.
Nov 23, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin looks at quarterback Drew Allar (15) during the first quarter against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium.
August 22, 2025

Private Equity Enters College Sports—Without the Equity

As college football starts, lending agreements have become PE’s best way in.

Office Hours: Alex Magleby, co-founder and CEO of the New England Free..

Alex Magleby, the New England Free Jacks co-founder and CEO, is bullish on rugby’s future in the U.S. and Major League Rugby.
July 22, 2020

Office Hours: Devon Kennard, Real Estate Investor

Devon Kennard has found success on and off the field with a multi-million dollar real estate portfolio that includes 14 different properties.
August 13, 2020

Office Hours: Bart Conner, Owner of Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy and Former..

Bart Conner is the only American male gymnast to win a gold medal at every level of national and international competition.
Sponsored

Building A Pro League From Scratch

Front Office Sports and Gainbridge® spotlight what it takes to build a professional women’s soccer league.
July 7, 2020

Office Hours: Isaac Rochell, Founder, Local Human

On today’s episode, we’re joined by Isaac Rochell, Los Angeles Chargers defensive end and founder of apparel company Local Human.
June 17, 2020

Office Hours: Brent Celek, Owner, Pando Mortgage

On today’s episode, we’re joined by Brent Celek, former NFL tight end turned real estate investor and Owner of Pando Mortgage.
May 27, 2020

Office Hours: Justin Forsett, CEO & Co-Founder, Hustle Clean

On today’s episode, we’re joined by Justin Forsett, former NFL running back turned CEO & Co-Founder of Hustle Clean.
March 18, 2020

Office Hours: Rich Antoniello, Founder and CEO, Complex Networks

Rich Antionello, founder and CEO of Complex, discusses sports, media and the life of an entrepreneur.