Even in a so-called “off year” like 2013, with a meagre number of major events, and a number of disruptive conditions, sports saw substantial growth Another sports video research edition has been published and once again, the market research indicates a banner year and forecast for sports video on a worldwide scale. Even in recession-troubled […]
Even in a so-called “off year” like 2013, with a meagre number of major events, and a number of disruptive conditions, sports saw substantial growth
Another sports video research edition has been published and once again, the market research indicates a banner year and forecast for sports video on a worldwide scale. Even in recession-troubled Europe, we see sold-out stadium boxes and seats, heavily subscribed premium channels and unabated enthusiasm for everything related to sports. The latest edition Sports Video World in 2013, published by DIS Consulting, reinforces the assumption that sport TV and all of its segments professional, collegiate, mobile and broadcast are thriving.
Growth seen
Overall, growth of sports video equipment purchases aggregated across all product genres is estimated at 7.24%, globally since our last sports study was published in 2012. Regionally, USA is seen as strongest with 9.64% growth, the Americas with 7.51% growth, Asia at 6.92% growth and in the Middle East and Africa that growth is estimated as 7.05%. While Europe shows the weakest growth, it is evidencing a positive 5.08% growth despite a very challenging economic climate. Segment growth on a global basis saw that Professional Sports were making the strongest growth at 11.60%, with College Sports second at 8.94%, Broadcast/Cable at 4.72% and Mobile/OB at 3.71%, respectively.
Many factors add to success in sports video growth, among them major events like the Olympics, the World Cup, the Masters and the like. But, even in a so-called off year like 2013, with a meagre number of major events, and a number of disruptive conditions, substantial growth was seen.
Basic kit required
Just as it would be unthinkable to play competitive sport without the right gear, so too television coverage of sport has its required kit, and that has grown in both the nature of basic component items and quantity, year on year. Certain genres of sports video kit are more common in professional sports, such as instant replay and robotic cameras, they do appear in
the other segments as well. Universality is seen for cameras, camcorders, D-SLRs, displays and many other sports video related products.
Money is the root of all sports
Colleges spend an average of 50% of their annual revenues from tuition, from donations and from grants, in support of sports, from stadia to programs and TV gear. Professional clubs and stadia use public tax funds to expand, and depend on ticket sales and merchandising to supplement their operations. More mobile operations are built to serve those constituencies. And, broadcasters and cable operators depend on advertising revenue or subscriptions to premium channels to support their enterprises. It is all about
the money.
Public unrest affecting play
The pressures of public unrest on each of those market segments is, however, going to have an impact. Brazilian citizens took to the streets over lack of a basic social safety net like health care, as the massive spending for the World Cup and Summer Olympics began to come to light. Already, the uprising in Turkey has all but eliminated that country from future Summer Olympic consideration. And, parents of U. S. college students are questioning sports spending due to governmental plans to double the interest rate on student loans.
2014 will be a big sports year
Despite a more sluggish European sports climate, between the 2014 winter games in Russia, the World Cup o
f Football (FIFA soccer) in Brazil and many other televised sporting events, the year ahead is going to be big in sports. While 3D has been sidelined pretty universally, 4K has risen in its stead to attract the interest of venues, teams and fans.
Douglas I. Sheer is CEO and Chief Analyst of DIS Consulting Corporation in Woodstock, N. Y.
