Sports moving to Pay TV will disappear from the view of fans and marketers, researchers warn

June 21, 2017 10:55

Australian sports which have moved from free-to-air TV to subscription TV are disappearing from the view of fans and sponsors, eroding their ability to grow in a world where they are competing for the attention of audiences against the likes of Netflix and Stan, the audience at Mumbrella’s Sports Marketing Summit has heard.

Alasdair Johnston and Alex Sweeney warned sports lose public awareness when they leave free-to-air TV

Alex Sweeney, director of Clarity Strategic Research, said there were already examples of sports beginning to suffer after choosing the pay TV route, saying that such a move was excluding 70% of the potential audience.

“Any sport that automatically excludes 70% of the population is thought to be making maybe a risky decision,” Sweeney said.

Subscribe to keep reading

Join Mumbrella Pro to access the Mumbrella archive and read our premium analysis of everything under the media and marketing umbrella.

Simon Canning

Simon Canning was Mumbrella's marketing and advertising editor from 2015-2017. In a career spanning journalism and communications over more than 30 years Simon has become one of Australia’s most respected analysts and commentators on the advertising, marketing and media industries. A regular commentator on radio and TV, Simon has also worked in media in the US and UK .

Topics

3 COMMENTS

David Hague 21 Jun 17

Someone is going to say it. May as well be me.

“No shit Sherlock”….

User ID not verified.

Nostradufus 22 Jun 17

If a game is televised on Pay TV and nobody is there to watch it, did it really happen? #A League, #Rugby Union, #V8 Supercars, #International Cricket, #NBL, #EPL, #NBA, #NFL, #MLB, #NHL ……

User ID not verified.

Get real 22 Jun 17

Needless to say, without the $s from subscription TV these sports may not even exist to be shown on any TV. I wouldn’t blame the media for Rugby’s woes …..

User ID not verified.