The digital revolution is here and impacting the global sports market. New technologies are accelerating the shifts in business models causing a blurring of historically separate revenue streams. This is creating new challenges for sponsors and broadcasters as they seek to maximise value in a multi-platform world. And these sweeping changes are forcing sports brands to face new challenges in growing and monetising their global supporter bases.
The global sports market is achieving a gradual but robust recovery from the impact of the 2008-2009 economic slowdown. Over the four-year forecast period from 2009-2013 we estimate that total worldwide revenues will record modest overall growth as the industry rebounds from the decline, looking in detail at four key market components:
Sponsorship - smaller brands face an uphill battle
Gate revenues - striking the right balance between price and attendance
Media rights - facing up to a multi-platform world
Merchandising - shifts in consumer confidence are exposed