
PwC Sports Outlook: Value of Rights Will Continue To Grow; Legalized Gambling Will Have Major Impact Media rights, gate revenues, sponsorship, and merchandising forecast to rise 3% annually to 2022 By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Monday, November 5, 2018 - 9:30 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
PriceWaterhouseCoopers released its annual PwC Sports Outlook today and projects the North American sports market to grow at a compound annual rate of 3% - from $69.1 billion in 2017 to $80.3 billion in 2022 - across four key segments: media rights, gate revenues, sponsorship, and merchandising. In addition, the report looked at the impact of legalizing sports gambling on these four revenue streams.
CLICK HERE to download the full report.
Capitalizing on Revenue from Sports Betting
After the Supreme Court ruled to allow individual states to determine whether to legalize sports wagering in May, Delaware and New Jersey made the move a month later. Mississippi and West Virginia soon followed suit, and other states, including Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, are on track to do so. Now leagues and team are looking to capitalize on the expected onslaught of revenue spurred by legalized sports betting.
PwC sees legalized sports gambling having a positive impact on leagues and teams in terms of potential integrity fees, sponsorship revenues, and media-rights deals.
Several leagues are seeking an integrity fee to be paid by sportsbooks, which would amount to a tax to compensate the leagues in their efforts (for example, data monitoring and other compliance issues) to ensure the integrity of the game. Assuming that a mature sports-gambling industry could generate an annual handle of $100 billion (in Nevada alone, it was $4.8 billion in 2017), a 1% integrity fee would yield $1 billion for the leagues (and, potentially, collegiate athletics as well) to split.
In addition to the integrity fee, leagues are exploring sponsorship revenues with MGM Resorts inking multiyear sponsorship deals with the NBA (a reportedly three-year, $25 million deal announced in July) and the NHL (announced last week). Prior to this season, the NFL relaxed its policies on accepting advertising from casinos.
In terms of media rights, a new study from Nielsen and the American Gaming Association (AGA) projects NFL media rights to increase by nearly 18% because of bettors' appetite for live sports events.
In addition to receiving a portion of any league-wide integrity fees or sponsorships, teams are free to enter into sponsorships with sportsbooks. That has already been seen in the New York Jets deal with MGM and a three-way deal between the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, and Caesars Entertainment. PwC also sees the potential for teams to adopt a more European approach to sports gambling in which casinos have sportsbooks located at their venues and teams participate in revenue-sharing.
All of this offers the potential for increased fan engagement and participation, greatly benefiting both leagues and teams.
FAANG Enters Bidding Wars for Media Rights
In 2017, media-rights officially became the industry's largest segment - a year earlier than anticipated because of slower gate-revenue growth than expected. PwC projects media-rights revenue to remain strong through the beginning of the next cycle of national rights deals, given increasing competition for rights among traditional broadcast intermediaries and emerging distribution partners. With key deals underlying the media-rights segment locked in until 2021, the growth of rights in the near term is driven by contractual escalators within the national deals, as well as the runoff of 16 regional sports network deals across MLB, NBA, and NHL through 2020.
However, change is on the horizon. This year's edition refreshes PwC's five-year revenue forecasts through 2022, with broadcast contracts for both the NFL and the MLS expiring after that season. The NHL's contract expires in 2021, and the NBA deal ends in 2025. The sports-rights landscape is likely to look very different in the next cycle, with FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) likely entering the fray.
However, according to PwC, one thing is clear: No matter how consumers experience live sports (in 2023 and beyond) across their devices, channels, and apps, one thing is for sure: all signs point to an increase in competition for sports-media rights, which could yield a significant rights-fee increase.
Gate Revenues, Sponsorship, and Merchandise
Gate revenues are projected to increase at a compound annual rate of 2.2%, from an estimated $19 billion in 2017 to a projected $21.2 billion in 2022 (although gate-volume metrics - ticket sales and game attendance - have leveled off and even decreased in recent years.
Sponsorship is estimated to surpass the $20 billion threshold in 2022, at which point it is projected to close its market-size gap to within $1.1 billion of gate revenue.
Licensed merchandise sales are projected to increase at a compound annual rate of 1.2% percent (from an estimated $14.4 billion in 2017 to a projected $15.2 billion in 2022).
Most recent headlines
13/03/2025
TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring ...
13/03/2025
DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage P...
13/03/2025
FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Lif...
13/03/2025
CTIA, the wireless industry association, has named former FCC Chairman Aji Pai as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1. He replaces Mere...
13/03/2025
he National Association of Broadcasters is urging the FCC to end its investigation of that controversial CBS interview with Kamala Harris stating there is no ...
13/03/2025
MIAMI CBS News & Stations continues to expand its use of augmented and virtual reality technologies with the planned launch of an augmented reality/virtual real...
13/03/2025
Srividhya Srinivasan, co-founder and chief customer success & innovation Officer at Amagi, tells TVBEurope how staying ahead of the latest trends is essential f...
13/03/2025
WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...
13/03/2025
SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...
13/03/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...
13/03/2025
TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...
13/03/2025
Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions.
...
13/03/2025
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
Shake your Shamrocks, Patrick Kielty will be...
13/03/2025
This St. Patrick's weekend, RT invites you to celebrate all things Irish, showcasing the very best of Irish sport, entertainment and live coverage from the...
13/03/2025
What's next in AI is at GTC 2025. Not only the technology, but the people and ideas that are pushing AI forward - creating new opportunities, novel solution...
13/03/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
By combining T-Mobile's robust network, Thal...
13/03/2025
Bundle up - GeForce NOW is bringing a flurry of Blizzard titles to its ever-expanding library.
Prepare to weather epic gameplay in the cloud, tackling the genr...
13/03/2025
AI is leveling up the world's most beloved games, as the latest advancements...
13/03/2025
PC game modding is massive, with over 5 billion mods downloaded annually. Mods p...
12/03/2025
O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...
12/03/2025
Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...
12/03/2025
Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...
12/03/2025
Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...
12/03/2025
More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report
NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...
12/03/2025
GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...
12/03/2025
BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....
12/03/2025
LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...
12/03/2025
CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....
12/03/2025
Nevion announces new 400G addition to its eMerge SDN media fabric offering
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
High-capacity switch enhances existi...
12/03/2025
DaVinci Resolve Studio Delivers Cinematic Sound for Adam Bol
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
Feature film relies on DaVinci Resolve Studio for ...
12/03/2025
SVT Leverages Ateliere Live to Pioneer 100% Software-Defined Production at Rally...
12/03/2025
Berklee Awards Fenway Neighborhood Improvement Grant to Four Organizations A total of $17,000 will be distributed among the Boston-based nonprofits.
By
Madd...
12/03/2025
TVBEuropes Jenny Priestley sits down with new SMPTE president Richard Welsh to discuss his aims for the organisation going forward, its efforts to attract a you...
12/03/2025
The new process has significantly enhanced operational efficiencies, with automation freeing up creators to concentrate on higher value tasks
By Matthew Corrig...
12/03/2025
Jellyfish Pictures, which has offices in London and Sheffield, said it has been battling hard in the face of strong headwinds over the last 12 months
By Jenny ...
12/03/2025
Visit Booth #W2213 to Experience the Latest in AI-Driven Content Discovery and Workflow Automation
Bitcentral, a leader in media workflow solutions, is set to ...
12/03/2025
CHICAGO Jeff Lilly has been named WGN-TV director of technology effective March 17, 2025, according to Ric Harris, WGN-TV vice president and general manager....
12/03/2025
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. A new study from LG Ad Solutions indicates that consumers want more features that would allow them to shop for products on the connected T...
12/03/2025
BOTHELL, Wash. The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and the Video Services Forum (VSF) will once again present...
12/03/2025
PHILADELPHIA Comcast announced that it has upgraded Xfinity Internet speeds for more than 20 million customers for no additional cost....
12/03/2025
Create with Maxon: Cinema 4D Fundamentals Workshop - March 12-14
Brie Clayton March 11, 2025
0 Comments
Makin' Waffles with Elly Wade
During Marc...
12/03/2025
Ottawa, Canada - March 12, 2025 - Ross Video is pleased to announce the appointment of Aaron Tunnell as Business Development Director, Cloud Solutions, reinforc...
12/03/2025
12 Mar 2025
VEON to release 4Q 2024 trading update on 20 March 2025 Dubai, 12 March 2025 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a global digital operator, today confirms ...
12/03/2025
Getting set for the Winter Olympics: Inside SVT's ongoing software-based pro...
12/03/2025
THE PLAYERS Championship 2025: AI Commentary, Shared-Reality Viewing at COSM, La...
12/03/2025
Seamless SMPTE 2110: A Discussion on Making the Move to IP Less Painful Leaders from Netflix, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, LinkedI, and Megapixel address ...
12/03/2025
Opening Doors of Perception: Meta's Ajit Ninan on Rethinking AR/MR Perceptua...
12/03/2025
With the 2025 Formula 1 season set to begin in Melbourne on March 16, Sky Sports is gearing up to deliver its most comprehensive F1 coverage yet. Following a th...
12/03/2025
Unicanal and Trece TV revolutionize Digital TV in Paraguay with Rohde & Schwarz ...
12/03/2025
Honoring Service, Celebrating Sport: Rohde & Schwarz UK Sponsors NavyFit Rugby D...