This year’s sports schedule includes major sporting events. The Summer Olympics and Paralympics will take place in Paris. The T20 Cricket World Cup and UEFA European Football Championships will also provide advertisers with opportunities to reach large audiences.
However, fragmentation of media consumption is becoming a challenge to brand advertisers. Live sports rights are split between OTT, live apps, and broadcasts. Fans are also increasingly using social platforms to engage with sports. A WARC media report examines the new media landscape in this era of fragmentation.
Major live sports moments still reach huge audiences
The WARC media report found that live sports moments still reach mass audiences. More viewers tuned in to watch the Kansas Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49s in the Super Bowl this year than ever before.
NFL coverage spans broadcast and cable TV as well as OTT. With the potential to place a sports bet online, fans could watch the game comfortably at home and bet using sports betting apps on their mobile phones.
Advertising is also a key part of the Super Bowl experience. Most viewers who watch the Super Bowl tend to watch the advertisements. At last year’s Super Bowl, brands spent as much as $7 million for a 30-second spot.
Some other insights in the WARC media repor
- Global spending on sports media rights is forecast to reach over $60 billion in 2024.
- Major sporting events like the Olympics will bolster broadcasters and streamers this year.
- Sport won’t reverse a decline in linear TV ad spending. In the U.K. and Germany, the decline will continue throughout the summer, despite major sports events taking place.
- Fragmentation of sports rights makes it costly and more complex for fans to follow all games. In some sports, local fans may need various subscriptions to watch a full season of games.
- Social media has become an increasingly important part of sports watching for casual viewers and dedicated sports fans. They will watch sports highlights on social media platforms. Young people tend to be appreciative of stories about individual athletes.
- Streamers like Netflix and Amazon know how to build a strong brand. In addition to acquiring live sports rights, they are releasing more sports documentaries to satisfy fans’ passion for sports stories. Amazon has WWE Raw rights, which targets an audience of young males.
A few 2024 predictions
NBA is likely to retain ESPN and TNT as primary TV partners when the current deals expire in mid-April. It might add new media rights partners, too. Amazon Prime may gain a weekday streaming-only package.
Tom Brady will take over as Fox Sports’ main NFL game analyst. Brady has been on tenterhooks since he decided to take a gap year before starting his career as a game analyst.
The NBA could take a stake in ESPN. ESPN wants to go direct-to-consumer by 2025, and that’s more feasible with the NBA as a partner. ESPN’s expertise could improve the quality of the league’s app and NBA TV.
The larger-than-expected fiscal boost to the economy last year could lead to a slight headwind in the U.S. economy in 2024. The presidential elections could also have an impact on geopolitical risks. Within this context, live sports can still get eyeballs, and sports content will always engage fans. Sports platforms will need to have strong content plans in place to entertain fans, especially if they need several subscriptions just to watch a full season of games.
