Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 120, July 2019 | Page 32

rights to any sport in the past. This could leave ASA
with a massive problem on its hands, with regards to
its broadcast rights. In essence, the federation will
be sitting with a product and no market to sell it to,
which leaves big events in a very precarious position,
due to having major sponsorships that are reliant on
broadcast coverage.
The Cost of a Non-broadcast
Events the magnitude of the Comrades, Cape Town
and Soweto Marathons, as well as the Two Oceans
Marathon and several other SA running events, rely
on large sponsorships in order to be put on. Up until a
year ago, sponsors knew they would get some form of
television coverage in return for their investment. Now
that guarantee no longer exists.
The deadlock between ASA and SABC earlier this
year meant that the Two Oceans was not broadcast
on traditional television platforms, but was rather
livestreamed, a project I was fortunate enough to be
involved in. The Comrades Marathon also came very
close to not being televised, until the SABC and ASA
thankfully struck a deal in literally the 99th hour. The
Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) was under
massive pressure to make sure the deal between ASA
and the SABC was struck, even though they really
had no say in the matter, because had it not, then
the CMA stood to lose 50% of its sponsorship from
one of its headline sponsors. That would have been
disastrous for the event!
Events are facing a similar problem in the sport of
athletics. Due to the fact that they have no say on
the broadcast rights, they cannot negotiate their own
television deals, which puts them in a predicament in
how they obtain sponsorship. After all, they cannot
guarantee television coverage any more, given the
situation amongst the broadcasters. So what are their
options? One way is to buy back the digital broadcast
rights from ASA, and some races have already done
this. But the events also need to remember that to do
a livestream broadcast is not just a case of holding up
a cell phone and calling that a livestream. It does cost
money to do it properly – and to the standard that
sponsors demand.
The recent FNB Cape Town 12 ONERUN was also
livestreamed, with phenomenal feedback, and that
does seem to be the future of athletics broadcasting.
At this stage though, as mentioned previously,
sponsors are not yet convinced they will get the reach
via livestreaming that they are used to with traditional
television. Also, if that is the future, where does that
leave the federation in terms of income? These are big
questions facing ASA, and while many believe that the
set-up on the broadcast rights should change, and
that the events should own their own broadcast rights,
it really isn’t that simple.
The ramifications are pretty scary. With no major
broadcast coverage, sponsors will be less likely to
throw money at events, or if they do still invest in
events, it may not be to the extent that is currently
the case. Millions of Rands could turn into hundreds
of thousands instead, or even tens of thousands.
Imagine a Comrades or Two Oceans losing millions in
sponsorship. Or the Cape Town Marathon. Already, in
the past, we saw the Soweto Marathon get cancelled
– on more than one occasion, too – due to having no
sponsor. The case of Comrades almost losing 50% of
its headline sponsorship shows just how precarious it
is at this time, and underlines the challenge that ASA
and the sport in general are facing.
We are at a watershed point in the sport of athletics in
how it moves into the digital age... and it would seem
that no-one is really ready for it.
Broadcasting Options
Both ASA and the major athletic events mentioned
here are now sitting with a dilemma. For starters, ASA
has to rethink its rights package model to fit in with
how the times are moving, i.e. away from traditional
broadcasting. While the role of traditional broadcasters
is by no means over, and they will be around for some
time to come as stakeholders still look to the traditional
form of broadcasting, the proverbial writing is on the
wall. As the famous song says, the times, they are
a-changing... so ASA and other federations need to see
what opportunities lie in the realms of New Media, and
how they can monetise it.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Manfred Seidler is a freelance Olympic sport journalist who has been in the industry
since 1994, in both print media and broadcasting, covering four Olympic Games for SABC Radio, and producing
various athletics shows for the SABC. Follow him on Twitter: @sportmansa; Facebook: Sport Man SA;
Instagram: sportman_sa, and check out his weekly podcast: RunnersGuideRadio.
ISSUE 120 JULY 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
In turn, sponsors may now be looking at New Media
alternatives (livestream, YouTube highlights, social
media), but they still see traditional broadcasting as
the platform that reaches the biggest viewership, in
particular via the public broadcaster. So this does
create a dilemma for the sport and sponsors. Where
to from here?