Sport is not just a game, it is a business. Professional sports leagues and clubs are starting to tip the balance of power away from broadcasters and media companies as they increasingly recognise the value of their rights and the strength of their business brands.

The popularity of sports has created significant opportunities to generate revenue from advertising, live event sponsorship and sports-related commerce. While the online sports market is new and rapidly evolving, traditional media sports-related revenues indicate the opportunities available online in the future.

Sport is an area of intense competition on the Internet with an unquantifiable number of sites offering news and live coverage spanning time zones and cultures. The Internet is considered the perfect medium for the average sports fan, who is usually passionate about one team and sport, as well as interested in big events and other sports to a lesser degree. Sports websites can attract mass audiences and therefore have the potential to generate substantial advertising and sponsorship revenues.

This report examines the main issues surrounding sport on the Internet, including the role of technology and how media companies are getting in on the act. It provides case studies of major sports websites and companies involved in website production and analyses them to determine how they are making money and who the winners and losers will be.

The report includes forecasts and projections of potential revenue streams for sports websites, including advertising, ticketing and merchandising revenue streams, for 1999 to 2005. These are broken down by region and by sport, including soccer, golf, cricket, wrestling and basketball. Throughout the report are tables and charts of the latest data in this fast-moving sector.

Executive Summary

Revenue streams

Sport on the Internet

Competition

Media ownership of sports clubs

Media investment in the Internet

Sports website revenue streams and forecasts

Advertising

Sponsorship

Merchandising

Sports ISPs

Syndication fees

Premium content

Online gambling

Technology

Successful sports sites

Introduction

The global Internet explosion

Benefits of a successful website

Sport on the Internet

Competition

US sports Internet data

Sports website market predications

Types of website

Sites by category of sport

Club/team/federation sites

Athlete sites

Event websites

Charts and tables

US Internet data

Internet take-up forecasts

Number of web pages in existence

Sports sites that registered during a single week in Australia

Sports sites visited in the past two weeks

Demographics for sports site users versus general sites, UK

Key facts on UK sports website users

Percentage of respondents visiting a sports website at least once per week

Sports fans relationship with their PCs

What male and female US Internet users said was their primary source for sports information in 1999

Opinions on dominant sports delivery mechanism by 2009

Will media groups own major sports clubs?

How will sports coverage increase?

What will I give audiences on my sports site?

G02net top 100 athlete websites

Sport Media and the Internet

Traditional relationships

Sports rights

Broadcasting rights

English Premiership soccer rights

Internet rights

US experience

Niche sports

Niche sports case study: Beckman TV

Types of Internet rights

Internet rights case study: Worldsport and Gaisf

Media ownership of sports clubs

European soccer club ownership

Ownership of sports clubs by Internet companies or pioneers

French broadcasters race ahead

Charts and tables

Top five sports watched on TV in Europe

Top five sports events viewed on UK TV during 1999, excluding soccer

BSkyB spend on programming

Premiership broadcasting rights packages for 2001-04

European media interests in soccer club ownership

US media companies IT spend

Revenue stream from sports websites

Attracting traffic

Stickiness

Fantasy sports case study: dreamleague.com

Encouraging site loyalty

Celebrity columnists

Breaking news

Branding and marketing

Ads-for-equity deals

Revenue streams

Advertising

Online advertising reality and forecasts

Viral marketing

Sponsorship

Online sponsorship

Sporting world cups

Technology sponsorships

Sponsors and website production

Online sponsorship case study: Gillette soccer on Sky Sports

Websites themselves becoming sponsors

Dotcom sponsorship case studies: phonefree.com and Madison Square Garden; Telescan and Sportsline; Yahoo! Sports

Merchandising

Content

Etailing case study: bostonhockey.com

US sports goods bought online

Auctions

Ticketing

Dynamic pricing

Ticketing case study: Data Factors

Merchandising and ticketing forecasts

Access services: Internet Service Providers

Content syndication

Subscription services

Pay-per-view/listen

Online gambling

Sports websites and online gambling

Building a database

Charts and tables

1999 top 10 online UK advertisers

Top 10 online US advertisers

Online advertising revenue by region, 2003

Advertising on sports sites forecasts, global, 1999-2005

Advertising on sports sites forecasts by sport, 1999-2005

Online advertising forecasts by sport

Top five globally sponsored sports

Number of sites used by leading World Cup 98 sponsorship and advertising campaigns

Cnnsi.com example polls

Pga.com example poll

Yahoo! Sports example polls

Formula1.com example poll

Value of online sports goods 2000-04

Pros of merchandising on the Internet

Intention to purchase selected sports products among Internet users, total and by gender

Percentage of potential buyers who will use Internet to purchase sports goods

Internet usage for purchasing

Online sports ticket sales by region forecasts, 1999-2005

Online sports ticket sales by region forecasts including total ticket sales, 1999-2005

Online sports merchandising sales by region forecasts, 1999-2005; including total ticket sales, 1999-2005

Sports.com revenue earners

PPV event comparison

PPV event revenue

Website profiles by sport

Overview of each sport, with website profiles under these headings as appropriate: history/description, content, marketing, technology, strategic partnerships, revenue, advertising

Website/operator profiles:

American football

nfl.com

nfleurope.com

nflmedia.com

superbowl.com

Cleveland Browns

buythejets.com

patriots.com

Baltimore Ravens

Australian football

afl.com.au

Carlton Football Club

Realfooty

Case study: Sportsview

Baseball

majorleaguebaseball.com

totalbaseball.com

Chicago Whitesox

New York Yankees

Basketball

Nba.com

British Basketball League

Britball

Chester Jets

College/amateur sports

ihigh.com

totalcollegesports.com

ncaasoccer.net

finalfour.net

ncaavolleyball.net

scorecardusa.com

fansonly.com

Sportsview Online

wvspn.com

Cricket

Cricinfo

Baggy Green

Lord's

Fishing

fishandfly.co.uk

worldwaters.com

outdoornet.com

Golf

golf.com

Golfonline

Golf Today

opengolf.com

pga.com

pgatour.com

masters.org

Golfserve

thegolfer.com

Sponsorship case study: Kesmai Gamestorm-Jack Nicklaus Online Golf

Icehockey

nhl.com

swehockey.se

Motor sports

ITV-F1.com

Atlas F1

Formula1.com

F1 Today

Total F1

Johnny Herbert Official Website

Ferrari

Australian Grand Pix Website

Nascar Racing: Nascar Online, Sterling Martin

Indy Racing League: Net Race Live

CART: cart.com

Sponsorship case studies: Fosters, Tag Heuer

Olympic Games

nbcolympics.com

olympics.org/.com

olympic.org

thegames.seven.com.au

usteams.net

Rugby Union and Rugby League

ITV-rugby.co.uk

Rugby 365

saracens.com

scrum.com

sharks.com

Snow sports

Complete Skier

Skinet

Sno-info

onthesnow.com

International Ski Federation

bobsleigh.com

luge.com

expn.com

Sponsorship case study: Ford Motor Company

Soccer

AC Milan

Arsenal

Bayern Munich

Bundesliga

Chelsea FC

eurofootball.com

FIFA Online

Football 365

football.co.uk

FootballNews

Barcelona

Brazil National Team Site

Gillingham FC

Glasgow Rangers FC

Juventus

Manchester United

mlsnet.com

Olympiakos

planetfootball.com

Real Madrid

Tottenham Hotspur

Soccernet

teamtalk.com

World Soccer Pages

wsx.com

Tennis

wimbledon.org

Davis Cup

ATP tour

Rolandgarros.org

tennis.com

tennisstation.com

Watersports

Yachting:

Louis Vuitton Cup

americascup.org

whitbread.org

btchallenge.com

Yachting Net

Surfing (Quokka Sports)

e-raft.com

Other sports

Athletics: onrunning.com

Boxing: houseofboxing.com

Chess: Internet Chess Club

Darts: Planetdarts

Fitness: Pupule Sports

Gynmastics: BAGA

Sumo wrestling: wnn.or.jp

Wrestling: wwf.com

General sports sit