Sport & Commercialization

Beginnings

• Jesse Owens broke 4 world records in 1936 Berlin Olympics. He had a warm homecoming and became a national celebrity in the USA.

• However, Owens gained nothing and had to accept a $130 month salary as playground instructor. He made shows where he ran against horses, motorbikes or dogs.

Do you think this is a coincidence?

Most visited countries in the world

Sport & Commercialization

Country branding

Most valuable sports competitions in the world 2013

Competition Brand Value (in $M) Sport

1 Super Bowl 464 Football

2 Summer Olympic Games 348 All

3 FIFA World Cup 160 Soccer

4 NCAA March Madness 137 Basketball

5 MLB World Series 135 Baseball

6 Winter Olympic Games 123 All

7 UEFA Champions League 117 Soccer

8 Daytona 500 98 Car racing

9 Kentucky Derby 97 Horseracing

10 MLB All-Star Week 86 Baseball

Sport & Commercialization

Sports branding

• Are there limits to the commercialization of sport teams and competitions?

• In 2013 FC Barcelona made a deal with technology company Intel worth $25 million over a 5 year period. Intel rented FCB’s shirt insides…

Sport & Commercialization

Sports & technology

• Sporting competitions spur the technological change

• Consumer Electronics Association surveys have found that almost a quarter of TV buyers get a new set specifically for the Super Bowl.

• Big screens run 5 to 10 percent cheaper during the week leading up to the Super Bowl than they are in the three months before and after, said Ben Arnold, executive director and industry analyst for The NPD Group

La Vanguardia – 15/02/1959

• February 2 1959 television arrived to Barcelona city.

• On February 20 Real Madrid faced FC Barcelona.

• Spanish television paid Real Madrid $1100 for the broadcasting rights.

• People rushed to obtain a tv set.

Sport & Commercialization

The arrival of television to Barcelona

There was a rumor that the game was going to be broadcasted on national television. As the rumor spread people invaded the streets in search of their own television set. 6,000 were sold out in less than a week. YA daily’s headline said: “All tv sets sold out in Barcelona. 9 to 12 dollar tips for those willing to resell their tv sets in the second hand market”. Families invited their acquaintances home for tea and the game. Marca newspaper reported: “Still a few televisions spotted in Las Ramblas store windows”.

1. BONAUT, J (2008). La influencia de la programación deportiva en el desarrollo histórico de TVE durante el monopolio de la televisión pública (1956-1988). Comunicación y Sociedad, 21(1): 103-136.

• Sporting supranational organizations benefit from a distinctive corporative status. They are considered not-for-profit companies so they don’t pay taxes.

• FIFA is often regarded as the “United Nations of Soccer”, its aim being “to improve the game of football constantly and promote it globally in the light of its unifying, educational, cultural and humanitarian values, particularly through youth and development programs.”

• FIFA made $1386 million in 2013. So, what do they do with this money?

Sport & Commercialization

Sport as white swam

FIFA finances in 2013

• According to Forbes, FIFA pursues tax exemption from every country agreeing to host the Cup. The bidding process for upcoming host countries requires “a comprehensive tax exemption to be given to FIFA and further parties involved in the hosting and staging of an event.”

• There are strong indications that the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids that became selected offered bribes to FIFA members.

Sport & Commercialization

Sport as white swam

Sport & Commercialization

Boundaries

• Should kids be off-limits to sport commercialization?

Sport & Commercialization

• Should kids be off-limits to sport commercialization?

Boundaries

Sport & Commercialization

Boundaries

• Do you have a problem with any of these commercials?

Sport & Commercialization

Implications

• Sportswear is not only used for professional sports.

• The sportivization of our societies also encompasses a “sporting lifestyle”

Sport & Commercialization

Boundaries

Txindoki Mountain, Basque Country

Sport & Commercialization

• The biggest sport retailer in the world is Decathlon. It has a over a hundred stores in Spain

Implications

Sport & Commercialization

• In a few years Decathlon has become a reference in the Spanish market. Everybody thinks about Decathlon as the first option to buy anything sports-related in our minds:

Cheap but short-lived clothing for kids New products unknown to the Spanish consumer Very functional and easy to use products Accessible but at the same time inspirational products Promotion of sport habits among elderly people, adults and kids

Implications

Sport & Commercialization

• In Barcelona the ‘sporting lifestyle’ is extremely popular:

Every weekend there is some kind of race, marathon or something.

The outskirts of Barcelona city offer different possibilities to run. The “water road” (carretera de les aigües) has become popular and everyday the trail is packed with runners from the surrounding area.

Implications

Sport & Commercialization

• People use social media to share and spread this lifestyle among their friends and acquaintances:

Implications

Sport & Commercialization

• The world largest clothing retailers (Zara and H&M) have started to fight the sportswear war.

• The owner of Inditex, mother company of Zara, is Spanish: Amancio Ortega, the 4th richest man in the world.

Implications

Sporty girls, Zara