Hot Topic - Sports Rights
Traditional television broadcasters have been backed into a painful corner. Video on demand services of the subscription kind are steadily raiding viewers who will pay for top flight drama and comedy series. Big name live sports is increasingly the domaine of pay-TV operators. Free-to-air broadcasters find the left-overs less than tasty.
The transcendent advantage of live events, and competition for them, has the complete and full attention of television broadcasters. This means, for most broadcasters, sports. Acquiring rights to the biggest events is evermore costly as is the expense of maximising every produced second. The thrill of the unexpected, surprising and even shocking attract huge audiences to live sports, perhaps more than victories and defeats. It is a television broadcaster's major prize.
European public broadcasters once held a distinct advantage in sports broadcasting, largely from generous staffing and advantageous sports rights contracts. Those days are fading fast. Pay-TV operators and telecoms have roared into sports broadcasting with buckets of money.
Television viewers have benefited greatly from new actors on the media scene. All that competition from nimble new faces has brought more cool stuff to screens of all size. And prices are lower. It’s making broadcasters crazy.
The pay-TV business is certainly getting complicated. Customers once were enticed by premium movies and sports, a fairly straight-forward proposition; take it or leave it. Now the product range may include broadband and mobile connectivity as well as boxes on top of the TV set and boxes filled with DVDs. Every customer in the digital age can custom-order a basket filled with every want and desire.
It’s another digital dividend. Telecoms fat with cash are taking over the television business. Once again distribution trumps content. Lucy has grabbed the football once again.
Sports rule media, plainly in evidence from last weekend’s parade of big events. Broadcasters typically pull out all the stops to attract viewers, investing in time, talent and technology. Pay-TV challenges free-to-air channels and all-sports channels proliferate. Players play, viewers watch and rights fees rise.
See also in ftm Knowledge
The Games People Watch
Media and sports are a powerful combination. Together they capture huge audiences and considerable money. This ftm Knowledge file looks at the competition from football rights battles and cycling coverage with new media to the Olympic Games. 82 pages PDF (October 2012)
Order here
|
Hot topics click link for more
Media in Spain - Diverse and Challenged – new
Media in Spain is steeped in tradition. yet challenged by diversity. Publishers hold great influence, broadcasters competing. New media has been slow to rise and business models for all are under stress. Rich in language and culture, Spain's media is reaching into the future and finding more than expected. 123 pages, PDF. January 2018
Order here
The Campaign Is On - Elections and Media
Elections campaigns are big media events. Candidates and issues are presented, analyzed and criticized in broadcast and print. Media is now more of a participant in elections than ever. This ftm Knowledge file reports on news coverage, advertising, endorsements and their effect on democracy at work. 84 pages. PDF (September 2017)
Order here
Fake News, Hate Speech and Propaganda
The institutional threat of fake news, hate speech and propaganda is testing the mettle of those who toil in news media. Those three related evils are not new, by any means, but taken together have put the truth and those reporting it on the back foot. Words matter. This ftm Knowledge file explores that light. 48 pages, PDF (March 2017)
Order here
More ftm Knowledge files here
Become an ftm Individual or Corporate Member to order Knowledge Files at no charge. JOIN HERE!
|
|
