Clubs in English soccer’s Premier League are missing out on UK£1 million (US$1.2 million) in sponsorship every game because of piracy, according to a new study.
The first-of-its-kind report, carried out by digital piracy authority MUSO in partnership with sponsorship valuation firm GumGum Sports, was based on an analysis of eight matches during the 2018/19 season, which on average drew an illegal audience of 7.1 million fans across up to 149 countries.
The UK£1 million-per-match figure is based on what the total legal and illegal audience would mean for sponsorship income. A total of seven deal placements were analysed, with the majority of value derived from pitchside LED advertising and front-of-shirt sponsorships.
The methodology saw MUSO identify the size of the global digital piracy audience. GumGum then analysed on-screen exposure and duration for sponsorship placements, before calculating a media value for each nation.
Commissioned by an unnamed club in English soccer’s top flight, the study found that the largest pirate audience was in China, where more than one million fans watched an illegal stream of each game.
Vietnam, Kenya, India and Nigeria completed the top five largest illegal audiences, while the US and the UK ranked tenth and 11th for the most digital piracy views, respectively.
“Clubs and sponsors have never been able to quantify media exposure from unauthorised streaming, which over the years amounts to billions of dollars in unrealised value,” said Brian Kim, GumGum Sports general manager. “Now we have a unique data set that gives an advantage to brand sponsors while also enabling clubs to better demonstrate the value they’re driving on behalf of corporate partners.”
Piracy is seen as a considerable threat to soccer and the sports industry at large, which relies heavily on income from television rights deals. La Liga, Spanish soccer’s top flight, for example, estimates that it loses around €400 million a year due to illegal streaming.
The Premier League, meanwhile, saw the value of its domestic rights dip during its most recent sales process, and broadcasters have warned that they will not be prepared to spend as much on premium sports if rights holders are not being seen to take active measures to combat piracy.
“Piracy audiences have too long been disregarded as offering no real value to rights holders and distributors, but the reality is that these huge audiences still see the same shirt sponsors and commercials as people watching the game via a licensed channel,” added MUSO co-founder and chief executive, Andy Chatterley.
“Sports rights owners are now waking up to the fact that they are leaving sponsorship money on the table by not measuring, understanding and gaining insight from the piracy audience – and we’re looking forward to continuing our work with GumGum to change the perception of piracy audiences’ value.”
Clubs in English soccer’s Premier League are missing out on UK£1 million (US$1.2 million) in sponsorship every game because of piracy, according to a new study.
The first-of-its-kind report, carried out by digital piracy authority MUSO in partnership with sponsorship valuation firm GumGum Sports, was based on an analysis of eight matches during the 2018/19 season, which on average drew an illegal audience of 7.1 million fans across up to 149 countries.
The UK£1 million-per-match figure is based on what the total legal and illegal audience would mean for sponsorship income. A total of seven deal placements were analysed, with the majority of value derived from pitchside LED advertising and front-of-shirt sponsorships.
The methodology saw MUSO identify the size of the global digital piracy audience. GumGum then analysed on-screen exposure and duration for sponsorship placements, before calculating a media value for each nation.
Commissioned by an unnamed club in English soccer’s top flight, the study found that the largest pirate audience was in China, where more than one million fans watched an illegal stream of each game.
Vietnam, Kenya, India and Nigeria completed the top five largest illegal audiences, while the US and the UK ranked tenth and 11th for the most digital piracy views, respectively.
“Clubs and sponsors have never been able to quantify media exposure from unauthorised streaming, which over the years amounts to billions of dollars in unrealised value,” said Brian Kim, GumGum Sports general manager. “Now we have a unique data set that gives an advantage to brand sponsors while also enabling clubs to better demonstrate the value they’re driving on behalf of corporate partners.”
Piracy is seen as a considerable threat to soccer and the sports industry at large, which relies heavily on income from television rights deals. La Liga, Spanish soccer’s top flight, for example, estimates that it loses around €400 million a year due to illegal streaming.
The Premier League, meanwhile, saw the value of its domestic rights dip during its most recent sales process, and broadcasters have warned that they will not be prepared to spend as much on premium sports if rights holders are not being seen to take active measures to combat piracy.
“Piracy audiences have too long been disregarded as offering no real value to rights holders and distributors, but the reality is that these huge audiences still see the same shirt sponsors and commercials as people watching the game via a licensed channel,” added MUSO co-founder and chief executive, Andy Chatterley.
“Sports rights owners are now waking up to the fact that they are leaving sponsorship money on the table by not measuring, understanding and gaining insight from the piracy audience – and we’re looking forward to continuing our work with GumGum to change the perception of piracy audiences’ value.”
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