July 29, 2026 / News Innovative new Watch Party concept packing out pubs
It's late Sunday afternoon at Guildford Hotel and the front bar is buzzing with anticipation.
The pre-game sounds from Fox League echo around the room as former NRL star turned podcaster Josh Mansour stands in front of the crowd on the microphone, explaining what this clash means.
"These podcaster watch parties are bringing in people that have never been here before," explains General Manager of the venue, Sharlie Rapsiardi, in between pouring schooners for thirsty guests.
"We had about 50 people [for the first one we did] and more than half of those were new faces,”
Tonight Mansour is also interviewing Bulldogs star, Jacob Kiraz, who’s giving more than usual away from bright television studio lights and instead standing inside comfortable pub surrounds.
REAL MARKETING BENEFITS
A brainchild of Rapsiardi, the venue's new podcaster led watch parties have impressed head office, who have confirmed increases in foot-fall and F&B turnover.
"We're seeing that the people coming to these; they're not just the local base," said Sonnel Hospitality Marketing Manager Paul Fear.
"Fans are traveling from surrounding suburbs and [even] wider than that."
"The diverse gender mix that these parties are bringing to the venue are also a big measure of success for us," he added.
Mansour's sports podcast also helps drive visitations via regular cross promotion across his own media channels.
In addition to attracting new faces, watch parties heighten venue visibility across social media as attendees instantly share content and take selfies with podcasters and guests.
"There doesn't need to be that fancy editing or the expensive video shoot," Fear said.
"It's just capturing exactly what's happening in real time and saying, if this is what you're looking to be a part of, come be a part of it. Everyone's welcome.'
WHY IT WORKS FOR PODCASTERS
Importantly for Mansour these watch party events are also valuable to his own podcast.
In the hyper competitive world of sports podcasting, fragmenting audiences are far more likely to become a regular subscriber if they have had a personal experience with the host.
The Bulldogs watch parties at The Guildford Hotel provide opportunities for Mansour to strengthen his ties to listeners and promote his media business.
"I love it because it gets me close to fans and my community," he said.
SPORTSYEAR IS BUILT TO SUPPORT
For venues wanting to run their own watch parties, Sportsyear's Bella Shepherd says the trickiest part is usually just knowing where to start.
"Watch parties can be a great way for venues to bring people together and increasing organic social content, but planning them can get pretty overwhelming,”
"Sportsyear has a range of watch party tools in our service to help Venue Managers and marketers quickly identify the teams and games that matter most to their local audience and promote the events well in advance,"
Fear says Rapsiardi’s passion for sport and her ability to leverage Sportsyear for planning, has helped make the watch parties a success.
“She'll work with us in the marketing department and she'll say, ‘These are the events I wanna do’. ‘These are the events that my customers want’. ‘Can I give away some jerseys?’ ‘Here are the dates.’
Rapsiardi agrees planning is key to pulling off a successful watch party.
"If we show them what this venue is and what we're about, we're hoping that they come to a game and go, 'How good was lunch?’ ‘How friendly were the staff?’ ‘Let's go back.”
