Abstract
English football, and the FA Premier League (FAPL) in particular, is today a bigger business than it has ever been, generating record revenues both within its stadia and through the rising value of its broadcast rights. The game is televised in more countries than ever before and watched by an increasing number of passionate fans all around the world.
But has the game strayed so far from its roots that it is now tailored more towards the media product than the live event, with the globalisation of its appeal marginalising traditional domestic support bases? Despite the rising cost of attendance, football grounds are as full as they have ever been and FAPL matchday revenues have doubled in just eight years. But broadcast rights fees are expected soon to account for a majority share of income and younger consumers appear not to be inheriting the club ties that older fans were born into.
This report examines the recent growth of English football, with a primary focus on the experience of the FAPL, and the relative importance of its matchday and media elements. It assesses recent trends in both sectors and their impact on other commercial revenue streams, aiming to identify the future direction the game may take. In so doing, it will examine the hypothesis that: “the soaring value of Premier League broadcast rights and the globalisation of the competition' s appeal through worldwide television coverage have turned the sport into an entertainment product in which the core stadium experience has become a mere servant to the game' s media master.”
Main report themes:
- Can the value of FAPL broadcast rights continue to rise at recent rates?
- Is football recession-proof?
- How can football use the internet to monetise its global fan base?
- Can mobile technology improve the matchday experience as well as the media one?
- Can the ‘new stadia effect be sustained beyond the end of the recent building boom?
- Is an ageing population good news or bad for match attendance?
- Is access to technology excluding core, but less affluent supporter groups?
- How does the Premier League perform against other leagues, sports and leisure activities?
- What innovations are being developed in the media and matchday environments?
- How do UK consumers follow the national game?
- How do they interact with the game online?
- What do fans think about the current state of the game?
- Which sponsorships are achieving cut-through in an increasingly cluttered market?
Table of Contents
- Issues in the MarketMain issues
- Definition
- Abbreviations
- Market in Brief
- Media v matchday: The result
- Club loyalties weakest among the young
- Media rights push income through the £2.5 billion barrierSponsors seek
football' s reach
- Recession-resistant, not recession-proof
- England gives game to the world -- again
- Preferred viewing platform: We (still) love TV
- Mobile can put clubs in fans' pockets
- Innovation: Meshing media and matchday
- Supporter groups: Core v casual
- Internal Market Environment
- Key points
- Media coverage: Platform-neutrality the launch pad for growth
- Television: Fragmentation fails to brake rising rights fees
- Figure 1: Television football coverage, 2003-07
- Figure 2: Premier League football television rights values, 1988-2007
- Radio and match-going: Complements, not competitors
- Print media: Youth weeklies provide newspaper functions for kids
- Figure 3: Leading football magazines, by audited circulation, 2003-07
- The internet: Changing the rules of the economic game
- Figure 4: www.arsenal.com, website traffic, 2001-07
- Worldwide web speeds game' s globalisation
- Figure 5: Share of total unique visitors* to leading Premier League
websites, by region, August 2007-May 2008
- Web browsing habits setting football up to score
- Hitting the network?
- Mobile: An opportunity to get up close and personal
- Multifunctional handsets: Adding value home and away -- or abroad
- Broadcasters wary of cannibalisation risk
- Betting: Football a spectator, not a player
- Stadium development: Building boom takes a breather
- Figure 6: Capital expenditure on stadia/facilities by English clubs,
1997/98-2006/07
- Sustaining the ' new stadium effect'
- Ticket costs: Fans still finding the price worth paying
- Figure 7: Premier League stadium utilisation rates, 1998/99-2007/08
- Big variations in prices and policies
- Secondary ticketing market continues to grow
- Globalisation: Kimonos for goalposts?
- Game 39 plan shows matchday beats media
- India the latest target
- Foreign owners: They liked the league so much, they bought the clubs
- Success
- Broader Market Environment
- Key points
- Is football recession-proof?
- Trading down: Will fans look for a free transfer?
- Televised football: Trading down or turning off?
- The 1980s: A warning from history?
- Not just Chelsea who appeal to pensioners
- Evolving society ushers in crowd changes
- Access to technology: Traditional fan base disconnected
- Broadband to be star performer
- Competitive Context
- Key points
- Bundesliga draws crowds, Premier League banks cash
- Figure 8: Major European football leagues, revenue and attendance
trends, 2002/03-2006/07
- The greatest show on earth?
- English clubs at centre of the web
- Figure 9: Global traffic to football club websites*, March 2007
- Football almost 2-1 up on other sports
- Figure 10: Interest in named sports/pastimes, 2003-08
- Online interest outpaces Olympians
- English football facing an Asian handicap?
- Strengths and Weaknesses in the Market
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Market Size and Forecast
- Key points
- Premier League drives growth
- Figure 11: Income and attendances of English professional football
clubs, 2003/04-2013/14
- Recession held at bay -- at least until May
- Slowdown could swing revenue mix towards media
- Forecast to 2013/14
- Factors used in forecast
- Segment Performance
- Key points
- Premier League engine starts to turn over faster
- Figure 12: English football revenues, by division, 2002/03-2006/07
- Revenue streams: Broadcast rights values head for majority share
- Figure 13: FA Premier League clubs' revenue mix, 2002/03-2006/07
- Sponsorship: Entering an age of change?
- Figure 14: Team shirt sponsors, FA Premier League, 2008/09
- Club-brand integration cuts through clutter
- Online gaming sector reduces its stake
- Shirts still for hire
- Attendances: Many head for the few
- Figure 15: Share of English professional football attendances, by
division, 2003/04-2007/08
- The Clubs
- Key points
- Success and its coverage the key to cash
- Figure 16: Premiership clubs' attendances and revenues, 2006/07
- Figure 17: UK traffic to Premier League clubs' websites*, August
2007-May 2008
- Wannabes spend to earn
- Club profiles
- Manchester United: Pace-setters on and off the pitch
- Figure 18: Key financial indicators of Manchester United, 2002/03-2006/07
- Chelsea: Star performers prove bankable assets
- Figure 19: Key financial indicators of Chelsea, 2002/03-2006/07
- Arsenal: New home holds key to entering the big money league
- Figure 20: Key financial indicators of Arsenal, 2002/03-2006/07
- Liverpool: Stadium delay raises pressure to perform
- Figure 21: Key financial indicators of Liverpool, 2002/03-2006/07
- Tottenham Hotspur: Commercial advances funding ambition
- Figure 22: Key financial indicators of Tottenham Hotspur, 2002/03-2006/07
- West Bromwich Albion: Premier survival on Championship prices?
- Figure 23: Key financial indicators of West Bromwich Albion,
2002/03-2006/07
- How Do We Follow Football?
- Key points
- Fans 2, Non-fans 1.2
- Figure 38: Type of football fan, October 2008
- Converting casuals? Or alienating the avid?
- How to focus on the cas(h)ual fan
- Going to the match? Probably not...
- Figure 39: Ways of following football in the last 12 months, October 2008
- Did you see that goal? More than likely...
- Segmenting the segments
- Still a man' s game...
- ...but not necessarily a young man' s one
- Crossover interest highlights segregation of matchday and media fans
- Interactive Engagement: What Do Fans Do Online?
- Key points
- Internet complements TV and matchday experiences
- Figure 40: Football-related online activities done in the last 12
months, October 2008
- Avid fans look beyond the official line
- Clubs can be quick to exploit speed through mobile
- Internet football offers something for everyone
- Gambling Habits: How Do Fans Bet?
- Key points
- Football a key player in the growing sports betting market
- Figure 41: Gambling activities done by football fans, October 2008
- Understanding the football punter: Who bets where?
- In-stadium betting can be boosted by mobile
- Marketing gambling: Blanket promotion missing the target
- Appendix -- Broader Market Environment
- Age trends
- Figure 48: Trends in the age structure of the UK population, by gender,
2003-13
- Lifestage trends
- Figure 49: Adult population trends, by lifestage, 2003-13
- Socio-economic trends
- Figure 50: Adult population trends, by socio-economic group, 2003-13
- Appendix -- How Do We Follow Football?
- Type of football fan -- detailed demographics
- Figure 51: Type of football fan, by demographic sub-group, October 2008
- Activities done regularly/occasionally -- detailed demographics
- Figure 52: Most popular regular or occasional ways of following football
in the last 12 months, by demographic sub-group, October 2008
- Figure 53: Next most popular ways of following football regularly or
occasionally in the last 12 months, by demographic sub-group, October 2008
- Activities done more than 12 months ago -- detailed demographics
- Figure 54: Most common ways of following football done more than 12
months ago, by demographic sub-group, October 2008
- Figure 55: Next most common ways of following football done more than 12
months ago, by demographic sub-group, October 2008
- Activities never done -- detailed demographics
- Figure 56: Most common activities never done, by demographic sub-group,
October 2008
- Figure 57: Next most common activities never done, by demographic
sub-group, October 2008
- Combinations of activities done regularly/occasionally
- Figure 58: Regular or occasional ways of following football in the last
12 months, by most popular other ways of following football, October 2008
- Figure 59: Regular or occasional ways of following football in the last
12 months, by next most popular other ways of following football, October
2008
- Activities done regularly/occasionally, by activities done more than 12
months ago
- Figure 60: Regular or occasional ways of following football in the last
12 months, by most common ways of following football done more than 12
months ago, October 2008
- Figure 61: Regular or occasional ways of following football in the last
12 months, by next most common ways of following football done more than 12
months ago, October 2008
- Activities done regularly/occasionally, by activities never done
- Figure 62: Regular or occasional ways of following football in the last
12 months, by most common activities never done, October 2008
- Figure 63: Regular or occasional ways of following football in the last
12 months, by next most common activities never done, October 2008
- Appendix -- Interactive Engagement: What Do Fans Do Online?
- Any interactive activities -- detailed demographics
- Figure 64: Any football-related online activities done in the last 12
months, by demographic sub-group, October 2008
- Activities done via PC -- detailed demographics
- Figure 65: Most popular football-related online activities done via PC
in the last 12 months, by demographic sub-group, October 2008
- Figure 66: Next most popular football-related online activities done via
PC in the last 12 months, by demographic sub-group, October 2008
- Online activities, by ways of following football
- Figure 67: Football-related online activities done via PC in the last 12
months, by most popular regular or occasional ways of following football in
the last 12 months, October 2008
- Figure 68: Football-related online activities done via PC in the last 12
months, by next most popular regular or occasional ways of following
football in the last 12 months, October 2008
- Combinations of online activities
- Figure 69: Most popular combinations of football-related online
activities done via PC in the last 12 months, October 2008
- Figure 70: Next most popular combinations of football-related online
activities done via PC in the last 12 months, October 2008
- Appendix -- Gambling Habits: How Do Fans Bet?
- Gambling habits -- detailed demographics
- Figure 71: Gambling activities done by football fans, by demographic
sub-group, October 2008
- Gambling habits, by ways of following football
- Figure 72: Gambling activities done by football fans, by most popular
regular or occasional ways of following football in the last 12 months,
October 2008
- Figure 73: Gambling activities done by football fans, by next most
popular regular or occasional ways of following football in the last 12
months, October 2008
- Combinations of gambling activities
- Figure 74: Combinations of gambling activities done by football fans,
October 2008
- Gambling habits, by online activities
- Figure 75: Gambling activities done by football fans, by most popular
football-related online activities done via PC in the last 12 months,
October 2008
- Figure 76: Gambling activities done by football fans, by next most
popular football-related online activities done via PC in the last 12
months, October 2008
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