Fourty-one per cent of UK adults who watch sport on TV either strongly agree or agree that lower-profile sports should be given a greater amount of broadcast coverage. Respondents across a range of demographics - including both the highest and lowest social and economic groups - reacted strongest to darts when given a selection of sports they wanted to see more of on TV.
“Terrestrial channels will rarely give up scheduling time for anything other than the ‘power sports’ and one-off ‘National Treasures’ such as Wimbledon, The Grand National or Boat Race,” said David Stubley, former head of business development at UK commercial broadcaster Channel 4 and managing partner of media consultancy Sportent.
“It’s hard to make a success of free-to-air content dedicated to a single sport such as volleyball or gymnastics, but bringing a group of sports together under an umbrella brand would work in my view, especially if the broadcaster had the engine room of an existing media partner.
“It will require funding and a smart approach to keeping production costs under-control, but I have a hunch a media company might soon step into this space.”
For more details see the next edition of SportBusiness International magazine out October 1.
