On Wednesday morning, I spoke at the Youth Sport Trust’s annual conference up in Telford. Youth Sport Trust are our partners in Sky Sports Living For Sport, which if you don’t know is a free secondary schools initiative that uses sports stars and sports skills to improve the lives of young people across the UK. Schools sign up to the scheme, pick a sport, set some goals for their project and receive a visit from an athlete mentor who has competed in top-level sport.

A couple of those mentors, Serita Shone and Dermot Gascoyne, were in the audience along with 600 other teachers, governing bodies and sportspeople. It was a pleasure to speak to this audience about something we’re all so passionate about.

I’ve been MD of Sky Sports since 2009. We’re the UK and Ireland’s leading sports broadcaster, employing hundreds of staff, offering over 55,000 hours of sport a year, across six different channels to millions of customers. I’m also a father. Hearing my boys’ stories every evening helps me understand the power and influence that sport has on the lives of young people.

So I took the opportunity to talk about three things. One, Sky Sports as a broadcaster and our effect on young people’s lives. Two, the work we are doing with brilliant organisations like the Youth Sport Trust and governing bodies; and three, a little bit about the future, including what we’re doing on screen and off to help encourage interest and participation.

Influence on young people

As a company we have invested billions into sport over 20 years, and that commitment includes not just the money we pay in rights but also the airtime and promotion we provide. With that huge commitment comes huge responsibility, because our coverage, along with other elements of the media of course, can have an incredible influence over those watching – particularly young people.

So at Sky Sports we understand the responsibility of our coverage, not just in football, but all sports. I never want anyone to think of Sky Sports as just a logo in the corner of the screen. I want people to see us as part of the fabric and future of sport.

Our work with partners and ambassadors

If that first spark of inspiration comes from kids seeing great top-class sports coverage, then we must help fuel that fire. And that’s why we work closely with governing bodies to encourage people to get involved.

Examples include our partnership with British Cycling, creating Team Sky and getting one million more people out on their bikes through Sky Ride, and Sky Academy Sports Scholarships scheme which sees twelve athletes benefit from funding and mentoring as part of a scheme that Sky is in a unique position to be able to offer. And our longest-standing partnership is with the Youth Sport Trust delivering Sky Sports Living for Sport. 

We recently partnered with two fantastic role models – Jessica Ennis-Hill and David Beckham – to elevate Sky Sports Living for Sport even further. They’ve been there, done it, and can now pass on their experience and inspire youngsters first-hand.

On air:

Sky Sports is also unique in that we can offer something that many other brands in sport can’t, and that is on-air support. I showed the audience a video we’d made especially to give them a snapshot of what we do. As well as the great sports and events we show – Premier League football, Formula 1, Ashes cricket, the British and Irish Lions tour to name just a few – there were examples of the programmes we’ve made to promote grassroots sport and the benefits sport can have on young people.

The next step is about actively encouraging kids to go out and do it themselves. For me, our Saturday morning kids show Game Changers is the final link between what we do on screen and our off-screen commitment to grassroots sport. It blends three important reasons for getting kids involved in sport: to have fun playing sport, to develop promising young athletes, and to improve kids’ lives through sport.

If you’ve not yet watched Game Changers, tune in to Sky Sports on Saturday morning from 9am or find it On Demand.

The future:

So why do we do it and why will we continue to be involved?

One, that sense of responsibility. It’s important to continue to help inspire generations to take up sport and benefit from it. Not only does participation ensure the future of sport, but it also means that sport will continue to ensure better futures for young people. If Sky Sports can play a role in that – fantastic.

Two, the work we’re currently doing is clearly having a positive effect. There are some incredible stories to come out of the Living for Sport scheme, which we hear about all the time. Some have used sport to help them overcome difficulties. For others, it's changed their lives with new confidence and friendship. For most, their academic attainment levels shoot up. For me and my colleagues at Sky Sports, it's not just about kids being good at sport. It's about sport being good for kids.

And three, for the future. I like to think Sky is good for sport on and beyond the screen. Over 23 years of Sky Sports, we’ve developed strong and lasting partnerships with organisations and governing bodies. We’ll keep up the momentum, and we’ll continue collaborating at all levels and creating engaging content in order to ensure the success continues.

This all amounts to a continued investment of money, time and resources: in sporting rights, in delivering the best on-air coverage, and in grassroots development – on-screen and off. So thank you to the Youth Sport Trust for a great 12 year partnership and for their ongoing work with us to achieve that shared goal – to improve lives through sport.