Business: 2018 PwC Outlook for the sports market in North America through 2022, Summary

PwC Sports practice

PwC offers a dedicated and distinctive sports practice with multi-discipline subject matter experts. Our sports specialists serve as trusted advisors to the industry and its investors; offering clients a wide range of assurance, tax and advisory services to address issues related to sport leagues, teams, facilities and major events. PwC professionals serving the sports industry include a national US practice and global network of industry specialists focused on advisory services as well as assurance and tax teams serving member clubs of the professional leagues in their respective local markets.

Segment definitions 

For the purposes of the report, the sports market consists of: 

Media rights— fees paid to show sporting events on broadcast and cable television networks, television stations, terrestrial radio, satellite radio, the internet, and mobile devices. 

Gate revenues— primary market ticket sales for live sporting events. Nonrecurring seat premiums and license costs are not included. 

Sponsorship— fees paid to have a brand associated with a team, league, facility or event, including naming and category rights. 

Merchandising— the sale of licensed products with team and league logos, player likenesses, and other intellectual property. Food concession revenues are not included.

At the gate and beyond 

Outlook for the sports market in North America through 2022

Overview

This year’s edition refreshes PwC five-year revenue forecasts through 2022 within four key segments of the North American sports market: media rights, gate revenues, sponsorship, and merchandising.

Sports gambling

One of the biggest sports industry stories of 2018 is the legalization of sports gambling in some US states. After the Supreme Court ruled that individual states could decide whether to allow sports betting, Delaware, New Jersey, Mississippi joined Nevada in legalizing sports betting with more states to follow. As the major industry players continue to iron out the finer points of potential integrity fees and revenue sharing/sponsorship deals, the signs point to legalized sports gambling being a boon for media rights deals between leagues and teams – an increase of 18% according to a recent American Gaming Association (AGA) study – due to bettors’ enthusiasm for viewing live sports events.

The Future of Sports Media Rights

The sports media rights game is in flux as the digital revolution is storming the gates of this lucrative sector and new entrants, the tech giants, are demanding admittance into this exclusive club. Due to changing viewer consumption patterns, particularly among younger viewers (18-49), sports rights holders are under pressure to create novel multichannel fan experiences that cut across digital and traditional broadcasting platforms. By 2022, sports consumption may look very different than it does today. 

References and contacts:
PwC, PwC Sports Outlook (October 2018), At the gate and beyond, Outlook for the sports market in North America through 2022, October 2018, link: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/tmt/library/sports-outlook-north-america.html.

Contacts

Mark McCaffrey Partner, US Technology, Media, & Telecom Leader mark.mccaffrey@pwc.com
Shawn Panson  Partner, Private Company Services Leader shawn.panson@pwc.com
Michael Keenan Managing Director, Sports Practice Leader michael.keenan@pwc.com
Greg Peterson Partner, Sports Deals gregory.j.peterson@pwc.com
Andy Rey  Partner, Sports Assurance andrew.rey@pwc.com
Archie Fagot Partner, Sports Tax archie.fagot@pwc.com
Christopher Vollmer Partner, US TMT Global Advisory Leader, Entertainment & Media christopher.vollmer@pwc.com