Sports marketing

Sports Video on the Web
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1006446&src=article2_newsltr
Extracts: The continued success of the sports industry will depend largely on how well sports properties migrate their video content online.

Screen Digest expects sports sites in the US to more than double the number of video streams and downloads they serve online, reaching 10.9 billion in 2012, up from 5.3 billion in 2007. While this increase is large, it actually represents a declining share of total online TV streams and downloads. That decline is more a measure of the expected growth of online video as a whole than an indication of any weakness in the sports sector.

Other forms of online video—such as entertainment and music video—are growing at faster rates than sports as a result of user-generated content, according to a study by AccuStream iMedia Research.

In contrast, the vast majority of online sports video content is made up of professional media. This suggests that sports fans go online to watch highlights of their favorite teams, not to view homemade clips of athletic exploits by average citizens.

An eMarketer estimate based on a weighted average of data from eight research firms determined that 30% of US online video viewers watched sports clips and highlights on the Internet at least once per month. This does not include live sporting events, which fall into the "other" category in the ranking.

A comScore study that tracked unique viewers and videos viewed on US sports sites found that ESPN.com and MLB.com were well ahead of the competition in both categories. During the year leading up to April 2008, ESPN.com averaged roughly 8.8 million unique viewers and 78.2 million clips per month, while MLB.com logged an average of 5.7 million viewers and 25.4 million videos.

"These findings are a clear indication that the Internet is reshaping how Americans consume sports content," said eMarketer senior analyst Paul Verna.

"It started with news and scores and then evolved into fantasy leagues and post-game highlights. Now, more consumers are using online channels to stream live games, and we expect this trend to continue as leagues get more comfortable with this model—and as broadcast contracts allow for greater leeway in how content is syndicated on multiple platforms."

Sports Sites Score Big
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1006440&src=article1_newsltr
Extracts: Most importantly to marketers, sports fans are willing to pay for premium content and merchandise, and are used to the presence of sponsors and advertisers around sports events.

"As the Internet continues to evolve toward ad-supported models," says Mr. Verna, "sports sites will follow suit."

eMarketer estimates that total revenues for US sports sites will reach $2.96 billion in 2012, up from $1.49 billion in 2007.

"The increase will be largely due to the growth of ad-supported sports content models," says Mr. Verna.

eMarketer estimates that US sports site revenues from advertising will rise from 55% in 2007 to 66% in 2012.

"Additional revenues will come from ancillary sources such as ticket sales, merchandise and memorabilia, partnerships, and Website and production services that sports sites provide for third parties," says Mr. Verna.

Cycling - Getting Australia Moving
http://www.cyclingpromotion.com.au/images/stories/downloads/CPFHlthRpr08V3prf1.pdf
Abstract: This report has been developed to assist practitioners, policy makers and planners to increase adult physical activity levels through bicycle riding. It does this by first setting the scene on Australian cycling and then outlines current barriers and facilitators to greater participation. Finally, the report delivers a set of recommendations to overcome these barriers and increase bicycle riding among Australian adults.

The Revenue Model: Why Baseball Is Booming
http://www.bnet.com/2403-13502_23-210671.html?promo=713&tag=nl.e713
Abstract: On the face of it, it’s amazing the $6.1 billion that Major League Baseball took in last year is within spitting distance of the NFL’s 2007 revenue of $6.3 billion. The Super Bowl broke TV ratings records once again in 2008, drawing nearly 100 million viewers, while only 17 million bothered to tune in to the 2007 World Series. But baseball has found increasingly inventive ways to ramp up revenue — from counterintuitively reducing the number of seats in stadiums to selling streaming video of baseball games online — hitting record high revenues for five consecutive years.

Baseball remains an especially local, live form of entertainment — an aspect some analysts trace to its historical roots, which predate national markets and TV by a half-century. Unlike the NFL, which takes in more than two-thirds of revenue from national TV, baseball’s national broadcasts generate less than 20 percent of overall sales ($935 million in 2006). The lion’s share comes from revenue at its ballparks and via local broadcasts.

It’s at the local level — soaring sales of higher-priced tickets, concessions, and advertising at new theme-park style stadiums — that MLB is hitting some of its biggest home runs.

Article explores the key drivers of growth being:
Stadiums as high margin retail outlets
Smaller stadiums: bigger profits
New media, new money
Stadiums as sponsorship platforms
Regional sports network revenues

Can the right brand strategy popularise major league soccer?
http://www.brandchannel.com/forum.asp?bd_id=97
Vigorous and interesting online debate on this issue.

How soccer can be represented on a global scale
http://show.mappingworlds.com/
Go to Lifestyle/Sports/Football and see how the world map is resized proportional to participation in soccer.