Sports marketing is a multi billion-dollar industry in international terms and is an extremely profitable exercise for organisations and sporting divisions when conducted in a correct fashion. Marketing generates corporal sponsorship along with fan-based memberships, pouring substantial amounts of money into individuals, clubs, and the governing bodies surrounding the sport.
There are several theories and practices surrounding sports marketing and the following are common in this topic area.
Several elements are in the composition of sports marketing that include: rights holders, broadcasters, facilities/venues, promoters, sponsors/buyers, the athletes themselves and competition management.
Rights holders involve sporting entities such as the IOC (International Olympic Committee), AFL (Australian Football League) and the NBA (National Basketball League) etc. These own and control competition and events in their related code.
Television broadcasters will bid against each other for the right to telecast these events that result in increased revenues for the rights holder. A current example is when TVw7 contract expired for the broadcasting rights to the AFL and was bided against by channels nine and ten, collectively, who inflated the rights fees and forced channel seven out.
Baron Pierre de Coubertin, half-length portrait, s...
English: 1985 International Olympic Committee post...
The seat of the International Olympic Committee in...The broadcasters will then package and promote the competition to a television audience to increase ratings, which will persuade advertisers to pay huge fees for commercial time when the broadcast is aired. The broadcast profits are usually significant and justifies the fees that are paid by the network in the first place.
The facilities and venues are required to stage the competition (Subi oval, MCG etc). The host team and venue needs to make a profit from the event. In professional sports, like the AFL, the oval will sell signage space and will often have contractual obligations to certain companies (e.g. MCG). Ticket and food sales also contribute a profit for the ground or venue.
Sponsors and...