The North American sports business is expected to grow 3.7% to $71 billion in 2018, according to PwC, with media rights outstripping actual ticket sales to games for the first time.
Revenue from media rights will rise 5.6% to $20 billion in 2018, and hit $22.6 billion by 2021. Gate revenue on the other hand will grow 2.1% to $19 billion in 2018 and reach $21 billion by 2021, according to the report. Sponsorship revenue will grow 5.7% to $17.6 billion in 2018 and climb to nearly $20 billion in 2021. Merchandising meanwhile will increase 1.1% to $14.5 billion in 2018 and $15 billion in 2021.Media rights will continue to be lucrative even in the midst of shifting broadcast landscapes, thanks to increasing competition between traditional broadcast partners and emerging OTT platforms, which drives their value up.
“There are also stronger paths to monetisation across digital platforms in either rights form or direct subscription/ad-based models to the extent consumer engagement shifts from the linear broadcast,” the report added.
PwC noted that most of the major sports leagues are locked in between through 2021, future growth potential will pivot on digital innovation.
“Future growth within the media rights segment beyond the next rights deal cycle will primarily hinge on market engagement with future generations of digital products which deliver premium, immersive experiences with either live or archived content enabled by a wide landscape of underlying technology, including personalised video, 3D video, augmented and virtual reality, and augmented video,” PwC said in its report.
