Who would have thought in May
2020 that sports fans would be
craving some, no, any live sports
action?
Who would have thought that football -
the world’s biggest sport would be confined
to players playing in empty lifeless stadia?
Who would have thought that pay TV
companies be cutting their subscription
rates by up to 35%?
The last 3 months has seen unparalleled
moments and developments across all
spectrums of not just our lives, but the
sports world as well. Essayist, scholar and
mathematical statistician Nassim N. Taleb -
in his book titled The Black Swan published
in 2010, notes “black swans underlie almost
everything about our world, from the
rise of religions to events in our personal
lives”. This sure feels like a black swan to
many in the world currently. Though he
opines this wasn’t entirely unforeseen and
unpredictable, this is a first for many. It is
unprecedented to imagine a world with
little or no sporting action taking place.
Current State
Walking through the streets of Nairobi for
the last two months either early morning
or early evening, one would be mistaken
to think there is a marathon or road race
coming soon. The number of runners, fitness
enthusiasts and brisk walkers has risen,
thanks to time to spare or the need to get
out of the current quarantine conditions.
Will these be temporary trends or will this
breed a new fitness craze in this part of the
world?
Elsewhere in the world, with the most
sports suspended till further notice,
sports bodies are looking at how they
can kickstart their respective leagues and
races. Germany’s Bundesliga took the bold
step of resuming the 2019-20 season on
the 16th-17th of May. This was after the
German government gave the greenlight
for partial reopening of the country. The
first European football league to resume
since the pandemic, was played under
strict health and safety protocols. These
included banning fans, social (or should
it be physical?) distancing for players on
the pitch and off of it, muted celebrations,
and restricted movement for journalists
covering the games.
While it was a huge sigh of relief for the
football and media world, the conversation
will be held on how long such procedures
will be practiced. Germany for example
has restricted public gatherings till
August, hence no fans expected in the
games anytime soon. Still on the protocols,
health practices such as reduced or no
physical contact before kick-off will seem
impractical when the players get the game
started - for every tackle or pass of the
ball. Football missing the 12th man in the
stadium will be a factor on how the next
few weeks will be impacted especially for
the live television coverage.
Some European leagues such as the
French Ligue 1, Belgian Pro League and
Dutch Eredivisie have already cancelled
the remainder of the season and declared
winners of their shortened leagues. Parts
of Europe such as England, Italy and
Spain which still have high incidences
SPORTS MARKETING
Sports’ World Living
Beyond The Pandemic:
New Normal As It
Prepares For Kickstart…
By Richard Wanjohi
of deaths and spread of the pandemic,
will wait a little longer. Earlier in May,
there was concern by some media
rights holders demanding part of their
monies back from major clubs. This
may not be happening anytime soon.
It will also affect the incomes of major
European clubs both for the national
and continental tournaments.
Digital Content, VR and
Wearing it Well
Media – both traditional and modern
have also been largely affected by this
suspended state of affairs. Live TV
action and productions both pre and
post-games have been out of a job for
the last 10-12 weeks depending on
which country you’re reporting from.
With the resumption of some of the
leagues in parts of Asia and Europe,
health protocols have meant cutting
down on the media personnel involved
by almost 30%. It may be an indication
of what live sports will look like going
forward.
Decentralized sports production systems
have been set up for some of the sports
disciplines. Motor sports and tennis
have been piloting this to ensure the
safety of their production staff, capture
hard-to-get angles as well as offer fans
exciting shots. ESPN - one of sports
media powerhouses in partnership with
Netflix had perfect timing with the
screening of The Last Dance - a docuseries
featuring basketball’s biggest
talent Michael Jordan. According to
Nielsen TV ratings in the US, there
were a record 6.1 million viewers tuned
in to the premiere episode. Originally
scheduled for June 2020, the ESPN
programming has had to make amends to
accommodate the changes in viewership
due to cancelled live sports action.
Netflix which has been partnering
with major sports such as Formula 1 to
produce documentary series has been a
major beneficiary in these times. In the
first quarter of 2020 alone, it has recorded
15.9 million subscriptions globally. This
reflects what sports properties - from
associations and teams ought to be
looking to develop. Archival and postgame
content for both traditional and
digital platforms. Sports associations such
the world’s governing body for football
- FIFA have a rich trove of content
developed for its many tournaments -
past and present. These include the World
Cup, Under-17, Under-19 and Women’s
World Cup.
The Olympics body - the IOC - reeling
from the postponed Olympics Games to
2021 has been whipping the appetite of
the sports fans with archival content as
well as short clips of athletes practicing
and preparing for the Games. Sports
brands which took a hit from closure
of retail stores have taken to the digital
platforms to find ways of keeping their
fans engaged. The platforms have also
become the touch-points for review
and purchase of upcoming and popular
brands.
Nike one of the biggest shoe brands in
the sports apparel market, will once again
look to exploit the Michael Jordan - Air
Jordan brand. In 2019, the Jordan brand
generated over $ 3 billion in revenues
on the back of its 30th anniversary. Still
riding on the documentary, The Last
Dance, the marketing honchos at Nike
are likely to exploit and ride the wave
once retail stores can operate around the
world.
Japanese shoe manufacturer, Asics which
was looking to launch its latest shoe
brand for running shoes during the
Olympics had to get creative. With the
postponement of the Games, where it was
expecting to launch the shoe brand, they
resorted to the Asics Virtual Innovation
Lab, purchased Oculus headsets and sent
these to sports editors and reporters across
the world. Through Virtual Reality (VR),
they were able to show the capabilities of
their intended shoe brands. The running
shoes segment have become a huge market
for most shoe brands in the last couple of
years.
Nike has been ahead with its various
prominent athletes up to and including
marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge.
Asics was hoping to upstage them in their
own backyard, but alas Corona happened.
With VR, perhaps they will achieve a little
bit more of that edge.
e-Sports
Keeping things tech and having noted the
emergence and mainstreaming of e-sports,
the current crisis has further buttressed the
place for e-sports. Some major European
leagues in football have been using
their virtual presence to keep their fans
engaged. They have engaged key players
to engage in virtual games (matches if you
say) and leveraged screening this online.
Competitive matches and tournaments
are organized against cities, countries and
even global ones. This has been a multisport
discipline including not just football
but basketball, motorsport, mixed martial
arts to name but a few. Virtual NASCAR
was screened for motorsport enthusiasts
in the US. Formula 1 which has not had
any Grand Prix this season resorted to the
Virtual GP in March and April to keep
their audiences tuned in.
Future of Sports?
What does the pandemic portend for the
future of sports? First estimates indicate a
loss of up to US $ 17.2 billion according
to Forbes. This will impact revenues
across all major sports for the next 12-
18 months. Next is the health and social
protocols associated with sports. As we
saw in the German Bundesliga re-launch;
from substitutes sitting in spaced out areas
wearing masks to pre and post-match
interviews conducted two meters apart
with microphones covered with plastic
disposal sheet; these are different times
we’re living in. Will this continue? Only
time will tell.
After a period of golden years, media
rights holders in major sports franchises
will have to relook at their pricing and
bidding processes. This will be adjusted in
the next 2 seasons as leagues, media houses
and sports people review their budgets and
sustainability. Cross-collaboration will
become a necessity for both sports owners
and media houses. As noted above in the
case of ESPN and Netflix pushing the
basketball documentary, innovative and
engaging content will keep audiences
enthralled for the short to medium term.
This can also be a consideration for the
off-season period.
Player transfers - will the 2020-21 season
see the market corrected? We have seen
Formula 1 teams already regrouping their
lead drivers as they prepare to attack the
new season. For the footballing world, it
remains to be seen if the astronomical
figures we have seen in the last 2-3 season
will be sustained. Fan engagement - what
will mark a true return of the capacity
stadia and sports venues and what will
imply for their owners to ensure safety
and health protocols are followed? The
12th man, the noisy wall, the distracting
crowd side-court and the passioned fans
across the world, it will be new territory
for the foreseeable future as temperature
checks, isolation zones and sanitization
practices remain with us.
Fitness enthusiasts - this may be a passing
fad but it can also be an emergence of a
movement. The last few months has
seen previously passive citizenry engage
in walking and running in their droves.
Whether it is to ward off boredom or keep
the virus out of bay, it has been a breath
of fresh air from the reckless indulgences
and unhealthy lifestyle for most urban
dwellers. Sporting brands need to relook
at the opportunities to run with and
appeal to the hearts of these enthusiasts
be it for the mid to longer term.
Pundits agree the pandemic will remain
with us for the foreseeable future. We
will have to learn to live with it as the
researchers work on a vaccine or remedy
for it. The world economies are currently
headed into a recession and a battered
citizenry to boot. The sports economy
stands stunted but it remains one of the
best bets for re-emergence into a novel
world order. See you on that side!
Richard Wanjohi is a marketing
enthusiast with interest in research
and sports. You can commune with
him on this or related matters via
mail at: [email protected]
or check his tweets @rwanjohi.
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