Week 8: Corporate Sport

Question 1

What are some reasons for why sports become corporate?

Answer 1

1. The development of mass popularity for a sport
2. An organisation leveraging this popularity and the sports assets to generate revenue
3. The development of more sophisticated structures and strategic process, acquisition of professional staff.

Question 2

What are some reasons for why corporates want to be in sport?

Answer 2

• Leverage the emotional attachment of sport for their products/purposes
• Develop connections and grow with powerful brands
• High profile, high coverage
• Range of unique assets
• Brands want to be where consumers want to be
• When consumers spend, organisations want to be spending
• Ego factor

Question 3

Characteristics of Corporate Sport:

Answer 3

1.The sport possesses a significant administrative structure
2. The sport pays athletes to play (i.e.; it employs professionals)
3. The sport has the ability to generate substantial income
• Gate/Matchday income • Broadcasting Rights
• Corporate sponsorship
• Merchandising/licensing
4. The sport’s management adopts internal and external perspectives
• Internal - concern for internal workings
• External - concern for environment/market
5. Thereisuncertaintyofoutcome
• Regulated mechanisms ensure a more even competition
6. The sport provides entertainment • Sport is now part of the entertainment industry

Question 4

What does change mean for sport?

Answer 4

• Organisational change (Professionalisation and Commercialisation)
• Structural change
• Greater Emphasis on Strategic Processes
• A larger focus on revenue generation
• Multiple and varied stakeholders
• Sport product vs entertainment product

Question 5

What are some conflicts that are created by corporate sport?

Answer 5

• A sponsor seeks to gain naming rights to the MCG
• An owner buys a football club, and insists particular players are bought and play in the first team
• A athlete is unwell, but a sponsor puts pressure on the team for him to play in an important game
• A broadcaster buys rights to an event, and seeks to place pressure to change the time of the event to 10am in the local market, to better suit the broadcasters home TV market