Source – “Gladiator,” Universal, 2000
“You wrote to me once, listing the four chief virtues: Wisdom, justice, fortitude and temperance. As I read the list, I knew I had none of them.” – Commodus, “Gladiator,” Universal, 2000
Peak TV was (still is) all about amassing as large an audience as possible on a specific day/time, then selling the content to advertisers.
It worked for years.
Netflix, networks, studios and hybrid tech/entertainment companies changed first with ad-free content and then with tiered services (cheapest with ads).
Folks liked the time/screen option, but they couldn’t abandon their bundles.
People could miss a film/show when it first came up and catch it later. NBD!
But … millions of people simply have to watch their favorite sports game in real time no matter what the time zone.
Take last year’s FIFA World Cup and COPA America soccer championships.
Olympics Break – During the Olympics, a lot of people around the world celebrated their favorite sports with their favorite drink.
People skipped work, watched the contests during meetings or stayed up all night to watch the contests being played out halfway around the globe in real time.
Then came the Paris Olympics/Paralympics and people everywhere couldn’t get enough following stuff they didn’t even know was a sport.
WBD very effectively provided coverage for more than 215M Europeans during the Paris Olympics.
NBC kept more than 30.6M viewers in the Americas watching during the 18-day long global event. Similar real-time coverage was provided by local/regional networks in other areas on the globe. Their sister streaming services – HBO and Peacock – gave people summaries of the events and great commentaries.
It was interesting during real-time and on replays/wrap-ups.
Surprises, Perseverance – We didn’t know breakdancing or breaking was a sport but Aussie RayGun did make it memorable. Unfortunately, the Paralympics didn’t have the same hype or audience; but if you watched any of it, you really appreciated the athletic dedication.
We didn’t even know breakdancing or breaking was a sport until we saw Australia’s Raygun compete.
We winced every time an athlete made a minor error, knowing they had trained for endless hours, month after month for that moment only to see it slip away.
We were mesmerized as Paralympians overcame unbelievable obstacles to compete on the world stage.
Okay, sure Snoop Dogg, Billie Ellis, Tom Cruise and the rest of the glitz/glamour helped, but people just had to make time to see people excelling.
Sports viewing really is a way for people to escape the horrors and challenges of the world around them … if only for a few hours.
But … and there’s always a but.
It’s Live – Watching a sporting event, any event, is best enjoyed live and is one of the few entertainment venues that people still turn first to payTV to watch the challenges unfold.
Millennials who want to watch their sports and sports teams play go to their TV channel.
Here, in the US, the first choices were Disney’s ESPN or WBD’s TNT.
In your country it will be the area pay TV network/channel that has paid the most for the airing of sporting events and advertising rights.
Better than Stock – Sports franchises have consistently outpaced the S&P 500, making them a win-win investment for those few who can afford them.
Not that you or we care, but that has resulted in an outstanding return on investment if you’re one of the very few people around the world who happen to own all or part of a sports franchise.
But owning a sports franchise and auctioning the home distribution rights to the highest bidder is just the beginning of how these folks make money.
Growth, Growth – If you’re someone who can only enjoy a sport in person, you know the cost in every area is constantly and steadily increasing.
In fact, you could argue that selling the media rights might even be chump change for the franchise holders but it’s a start.
If you’re one of those people who simply has to be part of the action, share in the roar of crowd and partake in the delicacies that are only available in stadiums around the globe, you know that the cost of tickets and concessions have increased dramatically.
According to Sports Business Magazine, event tickets have risen more than 40 percent in recent years and sports fans spend an average of $30 each during the contests.
Of course, every real fan has an array of shirts, jackets, hats and other merchandise to prove they are loyal.
And if you’re interested in making the game/event even more interesting, there are a wide array of betting opportunities, including and increasingly on your smartphone.
What the Paris Olympics showed us is that people have a very different image as to what is the sport everyone just has to watch.
Favorites Vary – While Soccer may arguably be the world’s most popular sport, interest and viewing demand varies from country to country and sport to sport.
You may say you’re a football fan but there’s football and then there’s futbol.
Yes soccer (futbol) is the world’s most popular sport and it’s gaining ground in the Americas along with about every sport you can name. Its population is so diverse and people bring their sports with them.
Here in California, which arguably has the most diverse population, we have new teams and sports venues constantly emerging in addition to baseball, basketball, football and ice hockey.
Soccer, Lacrosse, cricket, field hockey, rugby teams and playing fields are continually cropping up as folks continue to enjoy and share their favorite sport(s).
In every country the most popular sport(s) vary but a global constant is that people want to watch the contests at home on their big screen or keep track of the action on their smartphones when they’re on the go.
He’s a Millennial – Watching and following sports has traditionally been a male/millennial thing but the world is slowly changing.
For the most part, it has been guys watching guys play against each other.
Honestly, we didn’t give it much thought until last year’s NCAA’s (National Collegiate Athletic Association) women’s championship and the beauty, artistry and precision of the women’s events at the Olympics.
But then we’re more of a fair-weather sports fan anyway.
Okay we like basketball, more specifically the Golden State Warriors and even more specifically when they’re winning.
But the women’s NCAA contest became interesting – better PR – as teams and individual players started garnering the spotlight and it became interesting/exciting to watch the teams and individuals pit their talents against each other.
50 Percenters – In recent years, female sports figures and teams have gained in popularity thanks in no small part to WNBA’s Caitlan Clark and Angel Reese as well as gymnast Simone Biles. And the momentum shift is continuing.
All of a sudden, it became interesting to watch Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, Rickie Jackson, Camilla Cardoso and others vie for top seats and prepare for their move to the WNBA pro league teams.
Playing opposite against each other, people – especially women – finally had a female sports personality she/he could cheer for.
And while there was a dizzying array of female talent at last year’s Olympics no one (man or woman) captured the world’s interest, attention and concern like Simone Biles did after she said she was returning to the world gymnastic stage after suffering the twisties in 2016 and was forced to exit the Tokyo Olympics.
“Everyone” watched and wondered if she would do the floor routine that was named after her – The Biles – which she did and ended the Games winning more gold medals than any American gymnast.
It almost feels like suddenly people – franchise owners, sponsors, networks/streamers, advertisers and regular folks had “discovered” women play sports and play them well.
They should, for cripes sake! 50 percent (+/-) of the population is female; and at least in our household, our wife is terribly bored when a bunch of guys are running up/down a field, whether they’re kicking or throwing a ball.
No, not even during the American Super Bowl (45 percent of US households watched last year, according to Kagen).
O.K., she and I watch to see the ads which haven’t been that good lately.
Shift Needed – For no other reason than perhaps habit, men’s sports continue to dominate viewer options and share of attention.
It made us think that perhaps if women’s sports got the same backing and lift, we could have a women’s Super Bowl some time for the other 55 percent of US households.
According to industry analysts like PwC and Isentia it’s something of a vicious circle. Women sports aren’t as popular as men’s sports because they aren’t as widely covered.
Ah, ya think?
Gen Zers – The younger generation has a different view on sports and its importance in their lives. That requires franchises and media to rethink how they will remain relevant to the newer audiences.
One of the keys to attracting new audiences is to live broadcast the events, especially for the GenZ crowd who, unlike their parents, have little to no affinity for sports of any type.
We’ll bet the streaming folks who changed the way we watch our shows/films could effect the same change in sports viewing as they did with home/personal video content viewing.
With very little effort – and investment – they could become the ESPN, TNT of women’s sports – football, basketball, tennis, golf, soccer, hockey, etc.
Sure, some of the sports like tennis, golf already have contracts with other home entertainment services as well as their own streaming channels but … things can change.
But…things change.
Equals ??? – The difference between the NBA’s and WNBA’s media contracts were mindboggling especially since the potential audience is pretty equal (50/50), but the value differential was ridiculous.
ESPN and TNT used to be the go-to channels for watching men’s basketball, but this year marks a new era for NBA distribution with Amazon, ESPN/ABC and NBC leaving WBD wondering WTF and crying foul.
The “referees” checked the replay and said sorry Zas it was a perfectly executed play.
Adding insult to injury; Disney, Amazon and NBC snapped up the WNBA media rights contract.
The thing that bothered us most about the two contracts was that the NBA contract went for an 11-year deal worth $76B while the “record” WNBA contract was only worth $2.2B.
Are you kidding?
If WBD, Peacock and Paramount want to remain relevant, they need to act relevant by relying less on the past and more on the future.
You know, like Canada’s famed hockey player, Wayne Gretzky, said, “Skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”
She Grows – Female sports in every category is experiencing steady growth in revenues and potential.
Most sports analysts predict that women’s sports will experience double-digit growth in the next 3-5 years.
And if WBD’s Zas is too busy firing folks and trying to make things look beautiful for Wall Street, then maybe Netflix, Amazon and Apple should take a close, hard look at their subscribers (and in the case of Amazon, Apple and their customers).
They’ve always been changing leaders, imagine owning a whole new entertainment category – women’s sports.
Snap up WFA (Women’s Football Alliance), NWSL (National Women Soccer League), and maybe add women’s hockey, cricket, rugby, MMA and a few other sports and watch the audience (female/male) follow.
As Gretzky also said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
All it takes is to create a new, unique sports experience for the up-and-coming younger audience.
Admit it.
The only time the guys rule the TV set remote is when she is out of the room. Or if they’re a two-set household. he gets to control what’s on the older, smaller set.
It would boost the revenue/value of women’s sports around the world.
But …
Yes, there’s a but, and it’s a big one.
Seriously – If you follow any sport and compare the male and female action and intensity, you realize there is no difference between the sexes when it comes to commitment, dedication and excitement. Franchise owners hide the big difference.
Until we heard what female basketball pros got paid compared to their male counterparts, we figured a pro is a pro so …
We know, that’s naive.
According to a study by The Collective, female athletes in the Americas make 21 times less [on average] than male athletes. And it’s the same around the world.
A study by Sporting Intelligence in European and Middle Eastern countries found that among elite athletes, women earn one percent of what men do.
Okay there are some bright spots like footballers (soccer) in Norway, Wales, Brazil, Australia and the US received some increase in compensation; however, it’s still a long way from equitable.
Other sports? We don’t even want to know!
Source – “Gladiator,” Universal
But what we do know is that female sports are gaining ground and all they need is to give audiences a unique, different sporting experience and they’ll embrace it with a fervor.
As Maximus said, “I think you have a talent for survival.”
And when it comes to women’s sports, we believe it’s not just survival but actually thriving and growing.
We’ll pay to watch, how about you?
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Andy Marken – andy@markencom.com – is an author of more than 800 articles on management, marketing, communications, industry trends in media & entertainment, consumer electronics, software and applications. Internationally recognized marketing/communications consultant with a broad range of technical and industry expertise, especially in storage, storage management and film/video production fields. Extended range of relationships with business, industry trade press, online media and industry analysts/consultants
