While it may be true that the money-flow in sport is still largely directed by the relationship between the world’s major properties and television, there is every indication that may be beginning to change.
For years the game was simple. Properties chased valuable airtime on a limited number of channels and were either paid for their content - sometimes extremely well - or had to pay the broadcaster to get their advertisers and sponsors’ brand messages on-air.
Today things are a little different. In the digital media universe there are few real limits to the amount of sports content which can be delivered, enabling sports outside the mainstream to have an opportunity to reach an audience relatively inexpensively.
But just because a sport can find a channel to market, it doesn’t automatically mean there is an audience for it. In the last month two new ventures have been announced that will test the public appetite for sports and sports events which would otherwise struggle for coverage.
The first is GBsport.tv, a digital channel focused on 14 Olympic sports in the UK. The second is NextGen, an under-19 football series featuring the finest emerging players from some of Europe’s top clubs.
It will be interesting to see to what extent football fans will ‘follow the badge’ and tune into online or broadcast coverage of their club’s under-19 team. How transferable is that loyalty and how will media outlets and sponsors monetise the opportunity.
And will GBsport.tv prove to be a realistic model for the future of sports media? It will include athletics and swimming, which rate well on mainstream television during major competitions, but also a raft of other sports which are less familiar to viewers.
Both sets of promoters are confident that if they build audiences commercial investment will follow. And in the case of GBsport.tv, a network of partners including Telegraph Media Group will provide excellent signposting and visibility which will be a tremendous asset.
We asked our panel of experts how they view the digital opportunity for sport, and here’s what they had to say.
John Nolan Head of commercial and digital, North One Television: “The dilemma of the internet is that universal distribution can’t be controlled and that can sometimes damage the value of the property.”
Danny Townsend President EMEA & South Asia, Repucom International: “All sports have their own endearing qualities and never before have organisations had the options at their disposal to drive interest through communications on a relatively cost-neutral playing field.”
David Wood Executive Chairman, Input Media: “For ‘smaller’ sports the key is that viewers will not be looking for the same sort of levels of production which are associated with a major football match.”
Chris Lencheski CEO, Phoenicia Sports and Entertainment: “The athletes in the best position to succeed in a global environment are the ones who can attract global brands and are unencumbered by the restrictions of the sport or entity they play in.”
For the full debate see the latest edition of SportBusiness International published August 1.
