Sports websites worldwide could be attracting $2 billion a year in advertising revenues by 2009, if current trends for the growth of the online advertising sector and the growth of sports coverage online continue.

The prediction is contained in Sport on Broadband 2007: Video Rights, the Internet and IPTV, a comprehensive and in-depth new 328-page management report available now from Sportcal.com, the business site for sport.

The figures represent a huge potential market for sports federations and other rights-owners seeking to find new ways of commercialising their sports properties and content.

The figures are based on projections from ZenithOptimedia valuing the global internet advertising market at almost $43 billion in 2009. These are combined with Sportcal.com’s own prediction that sport’s share of that market (4 per cent in USA in 2006, according to Nielsen/NetRatings’ AdRelevance data) will grow to at least 5 per cent worldwide by 2009, as advertisers begin to recognise the potential of online sport.

Research undertaken during the course of the report suggests that rights-owners are already exploiting the potential of online advertising revenues associated with free-to-view content. In many cases, they are adopting this model, or offering a combination of free-to-view and paid-for content, in preference to attempting to commercialise all of their premium content through subscription and pay-per-view models.

Perhaps the most high-profile example is Fifaworldcup.com which, during soccer’s World Cup last year, more than doubled the 65.2 million average daily page views of the 2002 website, after Fifa elected to offer free-to-view video clips. Fifa had experimented with a $19.95 subscription fee during the 2002 World Cup.

Meanwhile, Sportcal.com’s research on 30 major countries also shows a growing trend for sports federations and rights owners to provide live or delayed coverage of their events online as they bid to cash in on the growing number of internet users with broadband connections.

The growth of broadband also opens up new and attractive opportunities for advertisers to communicate with potential customers through ‘rich media’ including video which can include interactive options.

Sportcal.com’s research shows that the majority of sports websites offer a mix of free content and premium subscription services. Online advertising tends to focus on the major sports web portals like ESPN and SkySports but as advertisers begin to appreciate the figures and communities being generated by major international and national sports federations, it is expected that their websites could also become the focus of advertising campaigns.

The challenge for the federations representing smaller and niche sports is how to build these communities and how to attract advertisers and sponsors who wish to interact with them.

About the Report

• How do you share in the expanding broadband sports market?
• How are rights holders delivering their sports online?
• Who are the key players in the market?
• What are the commercial pricing models?
• What are broadband rights worth?
• What is IPTV and how can it help you?

All these questions and more are answered in Sportcal.com’s latest 328-page report, Sport on Broadband 2007: Video Rights, the Internet and IPTV.

The report offers a comprehensive reference guide to this expanding market, using interviews with key industry players, case studies, graphs, charts and tables providing the trends, issues and business opportunities involved, whether you are a rights holder, an events organiser, an internet service provider or a company servicing the new media market.

• Rights by sport, country and company  
• Covers 54 sports worldwide  
• Analysis of 30 countries on five continents  
• Nine detailed case studies  
• Market trends and analysis  
• Summary of key broadband deals with values   
• Growth of online sports advertising  
• Extensive list of industry contacts  

The ‘Rights by sport’ section covers 54 sports worldwide, with summaries of the sports’ broadband presence, details of rights-owners (including contact information) and agencies, and a list of deals agreed, showing how they are offered (free-access, pay-per-view, on-demand etc) and the duration of the deal.

The ‘Rights by country/company’ section offers a summary of the status of broadband internet in each of 30 top markets worldwide, together with a listing of 123 companies (mainly web portals and broadcasters) involved in sport in each country, with contact details, and a breakdown of sports rights deals, including how they are offered and their duration. The section also analyses which sports are available on IPTV in different markets.
 
An introductory section explains and explores important market trends, including IPTV, converging technologies, the market value of broadband video rights, consolidation in the broadband market, defining, packaging and protecting rights, the value of web advertising and surveys of broadband consumer habits.

Sport on Broadband 2007: Video Rights, the Internet and IPTV is a must-have 328-page reference guide for anyone already involved in the business of broadband sport or those seeking an entry into this potentially lucrative new market.

Due to high demand for the Sport on Broadband 2007 report, all hard copies have now sold out. However, online versions of the report are still available at a greatly-reduced price of £195.

Please contact our sales department for further information on how to purchase the report: sales@sportcal.com or telephone +44 (0)20 8944 8786.