Sports Broadcasters Channel The Pressure On
Michael Hedges April 6, 2020 Follow on Twitter
Sports fans are understandably restless. The season - take your pick - has been cancelled, with a few utterly bizarre exceptions. This is a challenge for sports editors and reporters as well as broadcasters. So far, the sports news hole is being filled with sports stars’ heart-warming stories of donating a million here or there and lesser players’ tales of anguish. Just how much longer the fans will tune to archived broadcasts of feats past is unknown. But the cold hard business of sports continues.
 Popular sports specialist broadcaster DAZN stopped making certain rights payments this past week, reported Sports Business Journal (March 31). The devil being in the contract details, rights payments for previously broadcast events will be met but not those cancelled, such as the English Premiere League, UFEA Champions League and UFEA Europa League football matches.
DAZN, known as Da Zone, has become the darling of sports broadcasting since it arrived in 2016 to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Its unique selling point has been streaming live events, varying somewhat by region. In Europe, that’s football; in the US, mixed martial arts and boxing. As of this week, US WWE pro-wrestling events will be streamed on DAZN in the German-speaking region. DAZN is plagued by its unique month-to-month payment option, virtually assuring significant subscriber turnover.
In general DAZN is shaking off rights payments as more events are postponed or cancelled. "Due to the impact of COVID-19 on sport, DAZN is examining a number of measures to enable the company to survive this difficult time and be able to start again as soon as live sport is available again,” said a company statement (April 1). According to German motor sports portal speedweek.com (April 5), DAZN wants to exit its rights contract with MotoGP World Cup. Staff in the UK and Germany has been pared down. The previously announced launch of DAZN in the UK, expected in May, has been delayed.
At the same time French professional football league (LFP) received a one-two financial punch from TV broadcasters. French pay-TV broadcaster Canal+ and sports specialist BeIn Sport announced “suspension” of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 rights payments until, well, play resumes. French sports daily L’Equipe (April 1) underscored the pain this inflicts on the LFP. “These suspensions are particularly worrying because broadcasting rights are, on average, 47% of the clubs’ budgets.”
For those in need of news and tips, a new online sports business portal is about to arrive from Penske Media Corporation (PMC). It will be called Sportico, the name mysteriously similar to the political business portal Politico. Sports media veterans Dick Glover and Scott Soshnick have been brought in as chief executive and executive editor. In their plan are virtual conferences.
PMC publishes entertainment trade newspaper Variety, fashion business trade publication WWD (formerly Women’s Wear Daily), media trade portal Deadline Hollywood, legacy lifestyle brand Rolling Stone and more than a dozen others. The company is principally owned by Jay Penske, son of Penske Corporation founder Roger Penske, well-known in auto racing circles as a driver and racing team owner. Last year Roger Penske acquired the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indy 500, usually run annually in May, now postponed until October.
“Until (play resumes), TV sports remain in retro mode,” observed Markus Ehrenberg in Tagesspiegel (April 3). “Football junkies will have to get by without fresh goods over the next few weeks and months. The advantage: you know the results. You can enjoy it more. Corona-sports-TV is good for the blood pressure.”
|
Hot topics click link for more
|
Television thrives on predictability. For two decades reality TV defined the medium - from Big Brother and Survivor to Dancing With Stars and the ubiquitous Got Talent franchise. Broadcasters have been thrown off their pace by the ascendent streaming services, not limited to Netflix, taking advantage of new technologies and spending fortunes on top drawer productions.
As the merry seasons change so, too, sports. Every season has its preferred sports; indoor moves outdoor and vice versa. Every season, though, is fit for TV sports. But for sports fans there is always the next game, match, bout or race - all on TV.
There was a moment, about five years ago, when major investors in sports rights felt a tipping point nearing. Rights fees had risen to a level that challenged sustainability. Minor investors had begun to flee the process, just as the big guys planned. With that, rights holders could foresee recovering those huge investments.
|
advertisement
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!
|
|
