The World of Sport can be a minefield these days.
Gone are the days when you negotiated a Television deal sat back and watched the cash roll in to fund the sport for the next three to four years. In many cases today television may in fact not be the best option for your sport. There is so much attached to that contract, whether it is pay-TV, whether games will be live, whether they will be available on catch up TV or via the broadcasters phone app.
Yet still so much importance is placed on television viewing figures.
There was a proliferation of articles written after the opening round of the A-League season on how football and Basketball struggle for television ratings. Yet both sports had strong support at the live venues in the opening rounds of their competitions.
There is no doubt that how we watch sport has changed dramatically in the past eight to ten years. There is now very much a “TV Everywhere” expectation. What that means is that if a fan buys one subscription, they believe that they should be able to watch that channel whether it’s on TV or whether it’s on a tablet, or whether it’s on a mobile phone. Of course the Television companies view differs and to cover the costs of their bid for the television rights they are looking at charging extra for that access.
The big concern for the the television industry is something that in the USA has been termed ‘cord-cutting.’ This is where fans or viewers just cut the cord and watch via Netflix, YouTube or similar platforms. The view several years ago was that the only thing that is saving the Top Cable stations in the USA was the fact that they provide access to the “big-time sports.” With these sports you want to and almost have to watch them live, as trying to avoid the result these days is nigh on impossible unless you shut yourself off in a darkened room without your mobile phone and any human contact. Just a glance at social media and the result is there for all to see.
Australia has a unique issue thanks to the media regulations being lifted in 2017. This change to the legislation saw restrictions such as the “two out of three” rule, which stopped companies owning newspaper, radio and television stations in the same city lifted. It also saw the “reach rule”, which prevented a single TV broadcaster from reaching more than 75 per cent of the population lifted.
It should come as no surprise that it was the Media owners who were pushing for such changes. They battlecry was that the media industry required changes that would reflect the changing media landscape.
When the changes were announced Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes said in a statement that the changes would provide a “better future for local news and Australian stories.” Fairfax Media not surprisingly also welcomed the changes, saying in their statement that the organisation had “long supported the modernising of media laws to better reflect the current media environment.” A year later the public and hopefully the Politicians that voted for such changes have realised just how completely they were hoodwinked.
Just look at who owns what. The Fairfax media group own the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Australian Financial Review and Canberra Times. They also have a majority stakes in property business Domain Group and the Macquarie Radio Network. The Macquarie Radio Network owns key stations in each major city including 2GB, 3AW, 4BC and 6PR. The organisation is also involved in a joint venture with streaming service Stan and online publisher HuffPost Australia. In July 2018, Fairfax Media and Nine Entertainment Co. announced they had agreed on terms for a merger between the two companies, with Fairfax owning 48.9% of the Television network, which now makes them Australia’s largest media company.
One of the best known media outlets is Rupert Murdoch’s Newscorp. Newscorp own the Australian Newspaper, The Weekend Australian and in Sydney the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, in Melbourne the Herald Sun and Sunday Herald Sun. In Queensland the Courier Mail, The Sunday Mail and the Gold Coast Bulletin. In South Australia the Advertiser, Sunday Mail and the Messenger Newspaper Group. As well as the key newspapers in the Northern Territory and Tasmania. Newscorp also own their fair share of Lifestyle magazines and of course they own Foxtel, Fox Sports and Sky News Australia.
Seven West Media as would appear obvious owns the Seven Network. They also own Pacific Magazines, who publish a number of Australia’s leading lifestyle magazines including Marie Claire, Better Homes and Gardens and New Idea. Hence presenters and writers appearing in the publications and on Seven. Seven West Media also owns The West Australian, the only daily newspaper in Western Australia and recently purchased the only other newspaper The Sunday Times. IT also owns 21 of Western Australian regional newspapers, including Community Newspaper Group in a joint venture with News Corp Australia. In addition to this dominance of the media within Western Australia it also owns nine regional radio licences.
The truth is these media outlets have done little to adapt to the changing media environment. None have truly capitalised on the change of landscape. Instead they have lowered their standards of output and spread themselves thinly and poorly over a wide range of media outlets. For this reason viewers and readers have left them in droves. The public has found outlets online that give them what they want. In many cases more informed, and unbiased coverage.
The changes have now allowed a number of large Media companies to “rationalise their staff.” What that means is the older more seasoned and skilled writers have been put out to pasture and younger cheaper staff have been employed. Many who are simply there to churn out information rather than tell a story. The quality of match reports across a myriad of sports has virtually died. Match reports now in the main have a score, the goal-scorers and then comments from the coaching staff and something that is the furthest for reporting a few quotes from ex players on Twitter.
The art of describing an epic tussle between two teams where the goal, try, or century making shot is described in detail is no more. Often, even finding the team line-up can be a problem. The fans have to know which sites to go to in order to discover who played in the match and whether they substituted where sent off or even scored.
Just to show how bad things have become we now have to endure print journalists from these Media Companies newspapers popping up on their radio stations and television stations giving their opinions. In many cases there is a reason that these journalists are in the print media game, they do not have a voice for radio or the television presenting skills. This is called Cross-promotion and is aimed to keep the discerning viewer going to that media outlet’s various media properties for their information. Does it work? Media experts will tell you that the viewer/listener is much smarter than that, yet not surprisingly the Media owners will tell you it is extremely successful.
So what does this have to do with the viewership of sport on television? A heck of a lot actually. With so much information available to the average fan these days it is important that those presenting the sport be it in the newspapers, radio or television are totally across the game. If fans are not receiving information that they were not already able to gain themselves they feel there is nothing to be gained from the experience.
However, we are frequently told that the reason the viewers are not engaging and watching is because the modern-day viewer, especially the younger generation have a low attention span and will not stay with anything for long. This is again a complete furphy. Watch a young person on their X-Box or play station and they do not play for five minutes and walk away. They play for hours. The key is capturing their attention and keeping it.
The truth is times have changed. The days of a group of mates huddling around a TV set for the big game are now no more. The availability of sport and so many other distractions makes it hard to pull in and keep an audience. Only those big events such as a Grand Final, the FA Cup Final, The Melbourne Cup continue to attract people watching as a group. Have our media outlets adapted to these changes? Sure they make the games available on more platforms but have they managed to engage and keep their audience?
We all struggle with change. Change is uncomfortable, it is challenging and at times confrontational. This applies to everyone in the whole sporting landscape, from viewers to club and game administrators, to the media. There is a need to do things differently, yet at the same time giving your audience what they seek.
Despite what many will tell you sports fans are in the main creatures of habit. They will follow the same match day routine religiously. So a key aspect to viewership on television, as well as the attendance at live sporting events, is the consistency of delivery.
If you look at the sporting events that pull the viewers in there is a consistency to them. How many Australians know that the first Tuesday in November is without fail the Melbourne Cup? That Wimbledon is the last week of June? If consistency is not important why do television stations always show “The News” at the same time every day – even if it is rarely news on Commercial TV – and why is “The News” such an important part of their ratings?
Kick off times need to be consistent for club’s matches, even though television often dictates otherwise. If a team plays at 3pm one week and 5pm the next, that can have a huge effect on viewership and match attendances, unless the game is supported by a strong marketing campaign. Fans do not want to have to look up what time their team is playing. They want to know that if it is a home game on a Sunday it is always at 3pm, on a Friday at 7pm, etcetera.
The FA Cup in 2012 pushed its kick off time back from 3pm to 5.15pm for the first time in 130 years. It was not something that went down well with the fans. FA Cup final in England had a traditional feel about it. People would rush home to be sure to be in front of the television for the start. This had been a habit that fathers had passed down to ether sons. Suddenly they found themselves having to adjust. It was a change that did not sit well, and interestingly the Television viewing figures have again been affected.
There is no doubt that television audiences will continue to be a concern for sports administrators and also television executives, but the media ownership situation is not helping. Which means there is an opening for an independent new player. In the meantime all concerned need to look at what the fans want, rather than giving them what they think they want, or what suits their network, or media organisation. Give them what they are searching for and your will keep their attention, and more important their loyalty.
