Investment in sports media is increasing as a fragmented media landscape forces agencies and advertisers to rethink their content strategies.
As WARC noted in this month's Sports Media Report, global advertising spending on sports media rights will reach $61 billion this year (up 18.9% compared to pre-pandemic levels) with major live events in 2024. It is expected that this will happen. This is because streamers and social media attract a wide audience across different channels.
“Sports is the main thing.” [content] It’s about preventing people from cutting the cord completely,” said Darwin Aguinaldo, media director for linear media at Media Culture. But cord-cutting has wiped out some regional sports networks, once bastions of relatively cheap ad inventory for regional advertisers.
Changes in the sports content landscape
Kevin Collins, executive vice president of strategic sports investments at IPG's Magna, says consider when people watch sports, in what format, and on what devices and screens. has become more important to marketers, he explained. For example, NFL games are run on broadcast and cable, OTT platforms and mobile, while college football is fragmented by conference. Collins said the network is moving various packages to multiple platforms.
Sports buyers are nervous about the resulting impact on prices. “It's fragmented because certain sports and teams are available on different platforms, so his CPMs on non-linear TV platforms are higher compared to linear TV,” Aguinaldo said.
“Empower Media is a company that is committed to helping businesses adapt to budgets and customer bases, whether strategizing around consumer type, geography, or sports fan base,” said Alexander James Marshall, president and chief growth officer of Empower Media. Based on this, we are guiding brands through sports content.” The increasing fragmentation of sports means clients may not be able to invest in everything all the time. Still, depending on your media budget and considering the high fees for events like the Olympics and March Madness, there are many different ways to draw fans into your sports content.
“If you want a spot in the championship game, you might have to spend money on other properties that aren't as interesting,” Marshall said. “[With clients,] By offering a variety of options, including advertising at big matches, and lower cost options that reach the same audience, sports can make the most of limited budgets in more creative and out-of-the-box ways. You can continue to take advantage of our ecosystem. ”
Joanna Rutner, associate director of strategy and planning at Involved Media, agrees that agencies need to understand which sports fans are using which platforms and where they're getting their postgame content. said. For example, soccer and martial arts could mean a streaming-first approach to buying viewers, while the NBA will focus on linear, streaming, and post-game social highlights.
“This better integrates the client’s brand in the conversation… [As] Changes in sports rights and distribution – We will align our activation partners and purchasing strategies to effectively reach our sports fan audience,” Rutner said.
Involved Media's sports fan survey also found that 46% of sports viewers watch highlights and 29% watch live via social media.
Expanding services in emerging sports
Because of the complexity of the sports ecosystem, some agencies rely on dedicated media sports teams focused on understanding changing rights, new platforms, and new partnerships. Jimmy Spano, executive vice president and head of Dentsu Media Sports, said Dentsu is working with clients to balance traditional linear sports with the services of new streaming partners.
Spano noted that the rise in streaming deals has led to fragmentation, but also increased opportunities that “previously prevented many leagues, players and fans from connecting with each other.” From sports documentaries to talk shows and series, it has introduced a platform for more women's sports and niche sports that traditionally had limited airtime on linear.
Furthermore, the expansion of the sports sector could also benefit some smaller advertisers if they can collaborate with agencies on cross-platform and data strategies, said the chief media acquisition officer at financial app MoneyGram. said Dave Lightner. This allows advertisers with smaller budgets to find additional opportunities to be part of the sports ecosystem.
“The main benefit of segmentation is that we now have more options than ever before to leverage sports media and build brands,” Leitner said. “Agents and buyers are leveraging advanced data analytics and audience segmentation techniques to identify and target specific audiences across various platforms.”
For example, there are more ways to create cross-platform campaigns to reach diverse audiences for local teams, youth sports, and popular sports like pickleball, says Nicole, SVP and GM of sports management platform TeamSnap Brand Solutions. McCormack said.
“Brands looking to navigate an increasingly fragmented sports media landscape need to recognize that audience attention has shifted to some extent from men's professional leagues,” McCormack said.
