The League Product Flashcards
Lecture 2
What do corporations seek by sponsoring or owning hockey teams?
Affiliation with league/team, synergies with other business interests
Corporations use sports to enhance their business visibility.
What is a key characteristic that makes the league product an entertainment spectacle?
Uncertainty of outcome
This aspect differentiates sports from movies.
True or False: Recreational hockey is separate from the goal of developing skilled players.
False
Fill in the blank: The goal of junior hockey is to produce _______.
Athletes
What changes have occurred in the hockey product?
The product has become more complex.
Producers of content are changing (fans are now producing and consuming content simultaneously).
Fans making more content draws more attention to the product.
Fan edits? Yt videos?
How is professional hockey characterized as a multisided market?
Fans on one side, media on the other.
More fans means that the content is more valuable to the media, while more content in the media means it becomes more valuable to the fans.
The league acts as the core platform connecting both sides.
Benefits reaped from one, dependant on the size of the other.
What does the term ‘attention economy’ refer to?
Information is rich and attention is scarce
Sports content attracts attention across various media channels.
What is BIRGing in the context of sports consumption?
Basking in reflected glory; traditional ‘bandwagoners.’
Fans identify with team success, often claiming ‘we’ won but ‘they’ lost.
Who consumes the hockey product?
Fans, cities/communities, media, corporations
Each group has different motivations and benefits from hockey.
What are the four forms of uncertainty of outcome?
Match outcome, seasonal outcome, championship contention, absence of long run domination
Each form influences fan engagement and interest.
What factors determine the demand for the league product?
Price, income, prices of other goods, tastes and preferences, fluctuations in product quality, availability of substitutions
Changes in ticket prices can affect demand, as seen in playoff pricing (however fans still bought tickets so this is not a great example).
Fluctuations: Team not doing well
Substitutions: Other teams or leagues available to watch.
What are the two levels of quality in league products?
Absolute level of quality and relative level of quality
Absolute refers to the best league, while relative compares talent distribution.
What is the core goal and the core product of the league product?
Goal: Marketable, saleable product.
Product: Uncertainty of outcome.
The league aims to provide an entertainment spectacle and gather attention from fans.
What are the layers to the production of the hockey product?
Production of community, regional/ national/ international success, best-ever programs, underage teams (prov., nat., internat.).
Consider WJC and other “best ever programs”
Canada is invested in team Canada > product.
Who are the early consumers of the hockey product?
Participants and parents.
Parents often register children for hockey clinics and leagues.
What is the goal of recreational hockey?
/ the goal of production of player opportunities
Healthy, happy citizens.
Not necessarily separate from goal of athlete production.
Also focuses on teaching leadership qualities, teamwork, and hard work.
What is the goal of minor hockey and player development?
/ the goal of production of athletes
Better skilled players.
What does the production of athletes include?
Minor hockey/ player development, junior hockey, hockey camps.
What does the production of participant opportunities include?
Minor hockey, rec hockey.
What does the consumption of the hockey product include?
Participants, registration for hockey clinics/ leagues/ camps.
Think: Who views games? Who spends money?
What are the consumers of the hockey product buying?
Leisure/ recreational/ social/ health opportunities.
What is the core goal of the production of the hockey product?
When discussing best ever programs and provincial/ [inter]national teams
Championships, medals.
What is the difference between absolute and relative level of quality?
Absolute refers to quality across leagues: NHL compared to other leagues.
Relative refers to talent distribution within the league: Mackinnon or McDavid compared to LOC or Podzolkin.
What are the characteristics of the league product?
Absolute and relative levels of quality, Contest legitimacy.
Contest legitimacy: Concept of “tanking.” Teams are all owned by different people to avoid rigging.
Give an example of determinants of demand affecting league success.
NBA, 1970s: Tastes and preferences changed and fans were not as interested in watching basketball. As a result, the NBA almost went bankrupt.
Explain the difference between uncertainty of match outcome, season outcome, and championship contention.
Match outcome: Singular games
Seasonal outcome: Singular games have implications on overall season performance.
Championship contention: Playoffs and games becomes more interesting if the team is a legitimate cup contender.
How do dynasties affect uncertainty of outcome?
Dynasties will increase interest in the singular market, but decrease interest league-wide.
See baseball w/ the Yankees.
How do fans consume the hockey product? What are they buying?
Attending games, watching on tv, buying merch, following online/ through media, BIRGing.
Buying identification with the team/ league/ player, uncertainty of outcome, BIRGing.
What characterizes an attention economy?
Information is rich and attention is scarce (variety of channels and streaming services to choose from, with a finite amount of attention to give).
The market covets any info that can attract attention.
Sport remains desirable as content given that it attracts attention.
Clickbait is used (journalism on exciting or scandalous content).
How do cities or communities consume the hockey product? What are they buying?
Big league status, economic impacts, BIRGing.
Buying status and tenants (if a publicly funded arena).
Explain big league status. Why do cities want to buy status through the hockey product?
Post industrial cities become desperate to regain their previous status and believe that having a team will bring their status back.
For ex. Pittsburgh needs the Penguins much more than LA needs the Kings; The Penguins bring a certain level of status to the city, especially when they’re playing well. If they left Pittsburgh, the city would be affected.
(see results from Jets leaving Winnipeg).
How does the media consume the hockey product? What are they buying?
Network TV and radio, cable, pay per view, streaming. Giving teams/ league exposure.
Buying programming options and status through affiliation with the league or a team.
See Fox deal with NFL, gaining rights to show games and eventually becoming the 4th most popular/ known channel.
How do corporations consume the hockey product? What are they buying?
Sponsorship, ownership, gate revenue.
Buying affiliation with the league/ specific team, synergies with other business interests, venue to conduct business (buying suites for conducting business).
Affiliation: Think Molson with Oilers, or Hyundai with NHL.
NHL is a gate driven league, meaning gate revenue is primary source of revenue.
Synergies: Such as Disney with the Mighty Ducks.
