COVID 19 and sports sustainability

In less than two months, all professional codes have been indeterminably postponed, thrown into a chaos never experienced before, lost two CEOs, and made cost-cutting a priority in the absence of broadcast revenue, translating to staff being stood down, salary cuts and renegotiated terms. While there is no question the virus has devastated economies across societies, a powerful message to professional sport has been the revelation that its business models are unsustainable, and rapid innovation is required to ensure survival in the post-COVID-19 world. The existing sports business model is simple but flawed, relying on revenue generated by broadcast rights, sponsorship and a bit of merchandise; all contingent upon a live event. Few sports have responded to the changing landscape and hedged by strategizing for new versions of this same model. The landscape was exponentially evolving pre-COVID-19, with increasing narrowcasting, growing dependence upon analytics, next gen consumers demanding new options for engagement and rising cost structures associated with professionalism, mostly governed by a federation model structure. COVID-19 has accelerated the need for sport to evolve in structure and strategy to survive. There are now only two options – innovate or fail.