Sport business models under threat from piracy

Many sports that today rely on selling multibillion-dollar broadcasting rights are facing vastly reduced income because of piracy, sometimes practised on an industrial scale, reports the Financial Times.

Why it matters

Illegal streams undermine the business models of some of the world’s biggest sporting events, from the Olympic Games, to the English Premier League and Formula One, and will also have an impact on what sponsors may pay.

What’s happening

• A 2020 study by Ampere Analysis revealed that, while 89% of sports fans globally paid for a sports TV subscription, over half of them watched illegal, pirated broadcasts at least once a month.
• Qatar media company beIN, which is the largest buyer of sports broadcasts in the world, has said it now regards all sports rights as non-exclusive and its commercial offers will be reduced accordingly.
• Serie A in Italy expects its future international TV contracts to command significantly less than the current $170m a season.
• Separately, the English Premier League wants to scrap a forthcoming auction for broadcast rights and simply roll over an existing £5bn contract with Sky, BT and Amazon – in marked contrast to past years when it welcomed an auction frenzy for rights.

Key quote

“The glorious media rights bubble is about to burst. And while most people here think they’ve got their house in order, the truth is that our industry is completely unprepared” – Yousef Al-Obaidly, chief executive of beIN Media Group, speaking at the Leaders in Sport conference in London.

Sourced from Financial Times, Sport Business Media