Sportscasting Rights – ‘Tis quite interesting
Mrunmayee Mainkar
FY BSC 2024-28
Estimated reading time ~ 5 minutes
All the sports fans understand the stark difference between watching the match live and watching it on an electronic device. Being there, watching your favourite players on the field in live action is surreal, but not everyone has that privilege or the time. As much as I want to watch the IPL live and cheer for Mumbai Indians (aka the BEST), I can’t. Watching sports is a favourite pastime of many people, especially in the case of Indiansas it tends to bring the whole country together. I absolutely love it when my mom, dad and I watch sports together. However, it’s not so simple to broadcast these matches. A lot goes behind the scenes like deals, collaborations, etc. Sports broadcasting rights are a major part, and it is certainly something to be interested about.
Sports broadcasting rights are basically legal and financial arrangements which allow TV networks, streaming platforms and other media outlets to broadcast sports events in live action to the general public. They are sold by the sports organisations to these platforms, and are a major source of income, both for the organisations and the broadcasters. The first ever sports broadcast, or sportscast, is said to be achieved by Guglielmo Marconi, who broadcast the 1899 America’s Cup, a renowned sailing competition till date. The sports broadcasting industry is worth millions, its global market size estimated to be 71.57 billion USD in 2022. As people’s preferences have shifted from cable TV to OTT platforms, that’s where the money lies. For example, In India, people used to watch matches on DoorDarshan. Now, Disney+ Hotstar, ViaCom18’s JioCinema, and Amazon Prime Video are the major platforms for the same. As mentioned earlier, sports broadcasting is a major source of revenue for both the organisations and the broadcasters. In 2022, Ambani-backed media conglomerate ViaCom18 procured the rights for the Indian Premier League from BCCI for 3 billion dollars, thus being the primary source of digitally broadcasting a $12 billion dollar industry, Star Sports being the TV broadcaster of the same.
These rights, similar to IPL players, are auctioned, hence being sold to the one willing to pay the most, and you bet they are sold at a crazy amount (3 billion, remember?). These rights are exclusive, meaning that a sole entity gets the rights with no competitor once purchased, which is quite a big deal considering the amount of platforms available for broadcasting sports. And, like any major industry, the sports broadcasting industry has manifested monopolies as well. For instance, in the USA, the major sports broadcasting firms are ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Sports are some of the major players in this Industry. This boosts their business as they get to control the rights. However, on the flip side, viewers are instigated to buy expensive packages to watch the sport they want. It restricts innovation, diversity and prevents new players from entering this market. Lobbying is a big part of the same as it gives an unfair advantage to those in power for purchasing the rights, which the smaller firms certainly can’t face. I feel that in the long run, it might reduce their viewers as fans might reconsider shelling out the amount of money they spend just to watch a match.
The sports broadcasting industry is an intricate interface of businesspersons, sports players, organisations, media, law and so many others, and the rights involved are like the blood flowing through the veins of this field. As the audience shifts from television to OTT platforms, the dynamic changes accordingly. It definitely has challenges, and it is important that there exists a balance amongst the media, the firms and the audience for this field to be successful in the long-run. But, considering the profitability and potential of the same, there is hope for this industry to keep on thriving. Here’s to watching even more matches with the fam!