As shown above the most affected is the
clubs’ income in matchday revenues. Over
time clubs will have to make drastic calls on
whether to reimburse fans for season tickets
if the matches stay cancelled and are not
played altogether.
In countries where the broadcasting
incomes are tied to the number of times
a club’s matches are shown live, the losses
will be greatest. Broadcasters, who have
collective deals with the leagues mentioned
above may claim that they want their money
back proportionally if matches are cancelled
and the season is not completed, the KPMG
report noted.
With revenues affected and plummeting,
major clubs in these leagues have started
reviewing their cost structures. Major
Bundesliga clubs including Bayern Munich,
Borussia Dortmund, Werder Bremen among
others have agreed to a temporary pay cut to
be able to pay the other staff members of
their respective clubs. Other clubs are likely
to follow suit even as individual players
make their own contributions be it in the
form of donations to their country’s health
organizations or setting up medical centres
in their countries.
Economic activities associated with the pre-
match; match-days are some of the spin-off
acts which will continue being affected by
the lockdowns. In sports such as motor-
racing - Formula 1 and WRC rallies have
The business of sport
has been heavily dis-
rupted with sports
organizations forced
to consider the health
and human side of the
individuals,
teams,
managers and sup-
port staff. Estimates
from sports business
experts at Forbes and
KPMG calculate an
initial loss of $ 9.35
billion by the sports
properties
globally
halted for at least two
months.
92 MAL35/20 ISSUE
Containment, quarantines and lock-
down scenarios will remain with most
states in the next 2-3 months as each
continent continues coming to terms
with the unpredictable nature of pan-
demics. No sport discipline worth its
salt would love to look to be exposed to
the vagaries of the coronavirus.
intense pre-qualification activities which
continue being affected by the start-stop
that has been since the first cases were
detected in Asia.
The provisional halts have seen a 50%
drop in live sports audiences both in
media audiences according to Kantar
Media reports. Major sports channels have
resorted to showing archival material and
sports documentaries to keep their viewers
engaged. Interestingly though, is the
increase in social media engagement and
in exercising as individuals stay indoors
and confined to their living quarters. This
has seen some of the more fancied brands
use this opportunity to promote exercising
and healthy habits. Here’s Nike’s official
statement on Twitter:
“The health of athletes around the world
is our top priority. Beginning March 15th,
we’ll be temporarily closing stores in
select countries through March 27th. You
can still shop on Nike.com and the Nike
App, but more importantly stay healthy
and active with us via Nike Training Club
& Nike Run Club apps. We’ll continue to
monitor the situation closely and we’ll all
get through this, together. With love. Your
Nike Family”.
Beyond the sports clubs and associations,
the supporting acts in sports including
travel and manufacturing have taken big
hits. Starting with the manufacturing
concerns, there have been several delayed
or cancelled orders from the Chinese
manufacturing firms. Major sports brands
have their assembly lines in the worst
affected areas by the pandemic.
As the lockdown of Hubei province
eases off and the region connecting with
other parts of the country, it will take
more than a couple of months to reach
optimal levels. It will also be noted that
other Asian states in Taiwan, Malaysia are
entering critical phases in the spread of
the pandemic hence delays in reopening
the plants. Chinese authorities have also
announced that they will be looking
restricting re-entry into their cities as
they seek to contain the possibility of
re-infection.
Air travel which had been battered by
the anticipated global recession now has
the pandemic to blame for grounding
most of the international flights.
The cancellation and postponement
on sporting events has only served
to exacerbate an already precarious
situation.
Ticketing companies are counting
losses with cancelled sports events
and will hope to counter these with
new dates for the postponed ones. For
example, change of the Olympic Games
and Euro 2020 to the yet-to-confirmed
dates in 2021 may offer part-relief.
Sponsoring companies for the major
sports events such as the Tokyo
Olympics and Euro 2020 have asked
organizers to retain the numerals “2020”
to save on merchandising costs incurred
and for sentimental reasons. It will be a
souvenir too for some of the fans who
will record this a once-in-a-lifetime
that their favorite sports disciplines
were cancelled or postponed.
At individual level, ageing athletes are
exploring the possibilities of calling
the swansong on their careers. Eliud
Kipchoge, Kenya’s marathoner had
hoped to run the London marathon
as he closed off the year with the
anticipated gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
Tennis legends Serena Williams and
Roger Federer both in the sunset of
their careers were hoping to call it a
day with a Grand Slam title. With the
Wimbledon Tennis tournament looking