The future of the sports industry could be defined by the sponsorship market.

Teams and rights holders have been dealing for years with a fast-changing media ecosystem – one which presents possible new sources of income but could also undermine long-established business models that are predicated on rising media rights values.?

In this scenario, strong commercial partnerships will be fundamental to an organisation’s financial health and independence. Those organisations that can demonstrate an ability to grow valuable, highly engaged multi-platform audiences – or a strong relationship with a well-defined core fanbase – will often be those best-placed to win the trust of sponsor brands in this environment.?

Inevitably, some sports will perform better in those conditions.?

Nielsen Sports’ latest data has shown that basketball has enjoyed the strongest rise in sponsorship returns of any sport in terms of its average deal value between 2019 and 2024 – up 145% from $0.7 million to $1.75 million. Motorsport – buoyed by the global popularity of Formula 1 – has enjoyed 137% growth by the same metric, with football (+96%), tennis (+86%) and multi-sport events like the Olympics (+56%) completing the top five.?

?

The overall picture

After a challenging economic period, the general outlook for sponsorship is currently positive.?

?

Back in March 2024, the Sponsorship Market Overview produced by Nielsen Sports for the European Sponsorship Association (ESA) found that the European sports sponsorship market hit a new record high of €21.98 billion in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 6.2 per cent. That took it beyond the pre-Covid pandemic peak reached in 2019.

?

Below that macro growth, however, the situation is a little more complicated. Speaking on the release of that report, Nielsen Sports’ managing director international Samantha Lamberti noted some hints of “market volatility” and the need for brands to have “more security, for example through shorter contract terms or performance-related sponsorship payments”.?

?

The appropriate response to this, she said, was for brands and rights holders to “position themselves more strategically than ever before in order to meet the demands of the market”.

?

Converting audience engagement

In 2024, the average size of sponsorship deals in F1 is up 77% on pre-pandemic levels, rising from $2.87 million in 2019 to $5.08 million today.

?

That success has been stimulated in no small part by greater interest from markets like the Middle East, thanks to a growing event portfolio that overlaps with partners’ regional priorities. Yet it also owes much to F1’s approach to building audiences – going wide by offering live events and shoulder content on conventional, digital-first and social platforms, while also offering deeper experiences for different types of fans.?

?

Avid viewers with a strong technical interest, for example, can enjoy data-led insights through services like F1TV, while the Netflix series Drive To Survive now has a well-established following of its own through rich, multi-season storytelling.

?

In basketball, meanwhile, the NBA is another world-class exponent of generating reach and compelling, culturally relevant content in multiple territories. Yet its success can also be credited to the creation of new sponsorship assets. NBA jersey patch sponsorships had proven their commercial viability by the time teams began their second deal cycles around 2020, while the entry of brands from sectors like betting has also driven competition and demand for new inventory.

?

Factors like the timing of major events and renewals will naturally influence sponsorship returns in the short to medium term. But developing a clear offering and a strong understanding of audiences will always be key to maximising returns!

尼尔森 #sportsbusiness #sponsorship #sportsmarketing