By Jonathan Baker and Angela Mertz, EGC’s VP of Integrated Media Professional sports are becoming highly competitive. And that statement doesn’t apply just to soccer, football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. Competition is surging right now over how games and tournaments are viewed on television. Much of this focus is on viewers’ preference for streaming. Streaming is in the Lead Unsurprisingly, streaming services have become the media of choice for many fans eager to watch their favorite sports. A recent EMARKETER article, citing findings from Nielsen, stated that Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) has increased 52 percent, year-over-year. (It should be noted that this percentage was reached in the first quarter.) Also, many brand names providing these streaming services should come as no surprise: Amazon, Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+, and Apple TV, among others. The surprise (and true competition) is the struggle among the many players (no play on words intended) who are trying to grab a place to show sports via streaming. Fragmentation Frustration Watching sports is beyond popular. (Consider the global competitions in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, which are still top-of-mind for many who watched them.) This popularity has translated into fragmentation of obtaining the rights to show sports on a screen. This fragmentation has accelerated and become increasingly complicated where media planning is concerned. This diagram presents a visual clue to these complications. As if this diagram is not dizzying enough, there is network (or linear) television to consider. (More on linear television later.) Marketers must not get discouraged. Angela Mertz, VP of Integrated Media at EGC Group, provides this insight: “The real challenge isn’t choosing between streaming and linear. It’s understanding how each contributes differently to sports viewership and planning accordingly. Brands that take a holistic approach outperform those that simply follow trends.” Note these two words: “holistic approach.” This term provides the basis by which marketers can use fragmentation to their advantage! Fragmentation Inspiration and Opportunities In the diagram above, note the crisscrossing maze of lines from media companies to sports leagues. Believe it or not, this can serve as the springboard where marketers can leverage highly targeted and data-driven advertising campaigns. Here are three examples: 1. All-Powerful Omnichannel As ‘the Big Game’ that happens every February proves, the advent of social media, partnerships with influencers, and other direct-to-consumer (DTC) digital touchpoints provide opportunities for well-rounded integrated campaigns. 2. Precision Targeting Thanks to the advent of connected television (CTV) and streaming platforms, marketers can apply first-party data to connect to specific demographics as opposed to a broader audience. 3. Contextual Advertising Marketers can engineer uniquely tailored campaigns that revolve around exact dates, specific games, and even regional teams that catch the attention of immediate audiences. Giving Love to Linear Yes, linear (or traditional) television has strong relevance for presenting sports on television. How so? The EMARKETER piece pointed out how linear television provides (on average) 15 minutes of ad time per hour, in contrast to streaming services, which averaged 1 to 9 minutes. This allows greater opportunities for advertisers to be seen by their target audiences in high-viewership moments. So, advertisers should do themselves a favor by keeping as close attention to linear as they may toward streaming. Summing Up As streaming sports on television continues to lead, advertisers must weigh the benefits with the hurdles. The difficulties of fragmentation will likely continue and intensify with streaming. But marketers must not lose sight of the opportunities listed above. And they should also not overlook the value of advertising via linear television. If you want your brand to be seen during a high-energy game on television (watched by an equally high-volume audience), partner with EGC Group. Our expertise in media planning will ensure a win for your brand. Visit our MediaMix Hub page for more information about these services.
