Sportscafé arrives in Australia

After several successful years redefining sports entertainment in New Zealand, iconic sports media brand Sportscafe has officially launched in Australia, entering and disrupting the local podcast and digital landscape with a format built for modern audiences seeking authenticity, humour and long-form conversation.

Originally launched as a cult-favourite television show in New Zealand in 1996, Sportscafe became a defining voice in sports entertainment across nearly a decade on air, blending elite performance with irreverent humour and cultural relevance. In its modern digital form, the brand has successfully transitioned to a YouTube-first sports show available as a podcast, posting dozens of long-form episodes and building a highly engaged cross-platform audience across the Tasman. Its sustained popularity across YouTube and podcast platforms reflects the appetite for personality-driven sports storytelling that moves beyond 10-second highlight reels and hot takes.

Since launching in Australia, Sportscafe has already scaled and significantly built engagement, generating more than 2.5 million combined YouTube views and podcast downloads alongside 56 million social media impressions and over 120,000 new organic followers. Early Australian episodes are already averaging more than 50,000 views on YouTube, highlighting strong discovery and retention across platforms. 

The Australian launch has been incredibly well received. The debut episode featured Cricket Legend Mathew Hayden alongside Australia’s former World Tree Climbing Champion, setting the tone for a show that treats all sports, from global professional codes to unusual and culturally fascinating competitions, with equal respect. Subsequent guests have included Roosters halfback Sam Walker, a Bondi Rescue lifeguard who also competes as a big-wave surfer, Australia’s leading snake wrangler, and endurance athletes whose journeys defy convention. The result is a program where seriousness and absurdity sit comfortably side by side, reflecting the true texture of sport itself.

Founder and co-host Ric Salizzo says the move into Australia represents a natural evolution for the brand at a time when audiences are shifting toward longer-form, personality-led content. “Sportscafe has always been less about analysing sport and more about understanding the people who live inside it,” Salizzo says. “Audiences are craving authenticity, humour and conversations that go beyond the scoreboard. If you’ve trained hard, sacrificed something and performed under pressure, you’re welcome at the Sportscafe table.”

The on-screen panel has been intentionally constructed to reflect the full sporting ecosystem. Current NRL player Connor Watson offers insight into the realities of elite sport today, while Big Bash and global T20 cricket star Chris Lynn brings perspective from entertainment-driven competition. Cultural commentator Tayla Montoya represents the intelligent, curious audience member who enjoys sport without being consumed by it. Former All Black and NRL player Marc Ellis embodies the brand’s spirit, having achieved elite success at the highest level while embracing sport’s inherent absurdity. Salizzo, an Officer of the Order of New Zealand Merit for services to sports media, anchors the format with decades of journalistic and production experience, guiding conversations toward the human story rather than punditry.

Sportscafe is designed YouTube-first and audio-second, reflecting global consumption trends where sports audiences increasingly discover content visually before engaging via podcast platform with  72 % of podcast consumers prefering podcasts with video and *44 % of weekly podcast listeners who discovered a new show in the past six months said they found it through YouTub*e. That visual DNA traces back to the original television series, making YouTube a modern extension of the brand’s storytelling heritage rather than a departure from it.

“After decades producing television, I’ve chosen to work on YouTube first because it’s the most direct and accountable platform I’ve experienced,” Salizzo says. “It allows us to reach the right audiences organically, understand what resonates in real time, and engage people for exactly as long as we’ve earned their attention. For a producer, that clarity is incredibly powerful.”

At a time when much of sports media leans toward outrage cycles and polarising debate, Sportscafe positions itself differently. It celebrates the joy of sport alongside its intensity, balancing irreverence with genuine respect for the commitment required to compete. “Elite performance and cheeky banter are not opposites,” Salizzo says. “They often live side by side. Sportscafe exists in that space, where laughter and respect can co-exist.”

With weekly long-form episodes now rolling out in Australia and cross-platform distribution spanning YouTube and all major podcast platforms, Sportscafe enters the market as a confident, human and distinctly modern sports show poised to carve out a unique position in the Australian audio and digital landscape.