By John Considine
In recent weeks there has been a number of interesting stories on the relationship between sport and television. Last week The Economist sports blog (Game Theory) carried a story about how boxing might be returning to free-to-air TV (here). While the Floyd Mayweather v Manny Pacquiao fight will require fans to pay for the right to watch it on TV, Mayweather's promoter is rumoured to have purchased $20m of airtime for boxing on NBC. This follows a recent NBC prime-time boxing broadcast for the first time in 30 years. The Economist piece explores the possible reason for the media strategy followed by boxing and why it might now be changing. One of the potential reasons for a change in strategy is the competition from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Another potential reason is the decline in popularity of the sport. This is possibly linked to the move away from free-to-air TV for the last number of decades. Of course, real-time TV is also in decline as viewers switch to on-demand and online offerings. It now seems that both boxing and real-time TV have a common interest.
Not all US real-time TV is in decline. Last week the Financial Times carried an article (here) explaining how Spanish-language channels are bucking the trend. This trend is driven by sport and soaps. One of the larger Spanish-language networks is Univision. For 2013-14, 92% of its 18-to-49 year-old demographic watched programming live compared low 60% figures for the four big English-language broadcasters. Univision's performance was aided it showing the FIFA World Cup from Brazil.
However, the Univision story might indicate only a temporary reprieve for real-time TV. The satellite provider Dish Network was the biggest spender on advertisements on Spanish-language channels! Time will tell if the Spanish-language channels also start to decline. Time will also reveal the extent to which boxing returns to free-to-air TV.
Another potential reason is the decline in popularity of the sport. This is possibly linked to the move away from free-to-air TV for the last number of decades. Of course, real-time TV is also in decline as viewers switch to on-demand and online offerings. It now seems that both boxing and real-time TV have a common interest.
Not all US real-time TV is in decline. Last week the Financial Times carried an article (here) explaining how Spanish-language channels are bucking the trend. This trend is driven by sport and soaps. One of the larger Spanish-language networks is Univision. For 2013-14, 92% of its 18-to-49 year-old demographic watched programming live compared low 60% figures for the four big English-language broadcasters. Univision's performance was aided it showing the FIFA World Cup from Brazil.
However, the Univision story might indicate only a temporary reprieve for real-time TV. The satellite provider Dish Network was the biggest spender on advertisements on Spanish-language channels! Time will tell if the Spanish-language channels also start to decline. Time will also reveal the extent to which boxing returns to free-to-air TV.
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