‘Tis the season, and by season we are of course referring to the season of March. To the outside world this might be considered just like any month, but in the sports & entertainment space March is one of the most exciting times of the year. Recent news includes Tom Brady un-retiring, Major League Baseball starting spring training, and why we are gathered here today, the 2022 Men’s & Women’s March Madness basketball tournaments.

Last year, we created a bracket to visualize the types of sponsorship assets that get sold into college sports deals. Radio assets won by a landslide, being included in 40% of deals. This does not necessarily mean radio is a massive revenue generator for these schools, but it is both an efficient asset to include in deals and reaches the college athletics audience consistently.

The data we are exploring is at the school level, separate from deals directly with the NCAA. Wendy’s, for example, is an NCAA sponsor, meaning the partnership details involving the surplus of Reggie Miller commercials the rest of the month are not being counted in our bracket, as that deal is directly with the governing body.

This year we parsed through KORE Software’s industry-leading data set to uncover which sectors tend to engage in college sponsorship deals. In the data, we identified 16 sectors with over 60 sub-sectors (to date) making up those sectors. For example, Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) fall under the “Food & Beverage” sector and are pushing their marketing dollars towards college athletics.

Food & Beverage as a sector would contain sub-sectors like alcohol brands, packaged food, QSR, grocery brands, and more. This list is ever-evolving, especially as new types of companies enter the sponsorship space. In the Financial sector, for example, Cryptocurrency & FinTech were only recently added to our watch list. Previously they could have fallen under a Banking or Financial Services sub-sectors until the explosion of brands entering the space.

To organize the bracket, sub-sectors were ranked and separated into “regions” based on their overall spend towards college athletics. Given this is not quite a competition and more of a visualization, the “higher ranked” sub-sectors automatically moved onto the next round to eventually show us the sub-sectors spending the most on college sponsorships.

Looking at sports sponsorship from a global landscape the sectors consistently out-spending competition are Food & Beverage, Financial, Communications & Media, and Retail. Some of the largest brands in the world encompass these sectors, such as Pepsi, JPMorgan Chase, Verizon, Nike, and more.  We can use this knowledge as a baseline to predict a spending trend in the college space.

Let’s look at the data

Congratulations to the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams on winning their respective conferences and facing off in the Big Game on Sunday, February 13^th. These two teams took very different routes to this point, so let’s see how they historically stack up against each other, both on and off the field:

Team
Cumulative Social Media Followers	11 million	34 million
Social Fans Added This Season	4.8 million	3.4 million
Market Population	2.3 million	13.2 million
Average Age of Players	25.6 years old	25.5 years old
Teams’ Founding Year	1967	1936
Last “Big Game” appearance	1989	2019
Players in Top Jersey Sales	5 weeks (either Joe Burrow or Ja’Marr Chase)	0 weeks
Retired Uniform Numbers	1	7

The Rams improved their team over the past 12 months through trades and free agency, meanwhile the Bengals have predominantly acquired their star power through the draft process. Both rosters are of similar age, but the Rams main characters have more experience in the NFL. This does not necessarily bode in favor of one over the other. According to The Action Network, the Rams only open as 4-point favorites, hinting at a very competitive matchup.

When comparing markets, historical impact on the game, and historical success, the Rams have a solid hold on these metrics. This season though, the Bengals young core have captured a national audience and give off “team of destiny” vibes. The Rams have been around much longer and have had more on-field success in recent decades, but the Big Game is no guarantee.

There are interesting differences among the players’ social media profiles. For example, Odell Beckham Jr, wide receiver for the Rams, has by far the most followers of any player not only in the Big Game but also among the entire NFL, with 22.1M. In contrast, Joe Burrow brought his total social following to about 3 million, 17^th among NFL players. While “only” 17^th in the league, Burrow shot up the social ranks this year, taking the top spot for the highest follower growth rate of any NFL player in the league at +484% this season. His social influence is noticeably impactful, as Burrow’s fan engagement rate is 4x the league average for players with at least 500k fans.

Attendance across the NFL this year reflected record numbers, regardless of the existence of a pandemic. On average, NFL teams hosted over half a million fans over their now-expanded 8 game schedule. This averages to just over 67k fans per game, or 95% of available capacity. This was a 6% increase compared to 2017 numbers.

Attendance numbers are rounded for visual purposes

The top 5 teams in terms of total attendance were an interesting mix. Original assumptions were based around local Covid-related restrictions, but the NFL season started as most of the population had received at least one dose of their vaccine. The top attended stadiums are split between the biggest markets or the better performing teams, coupled with some loyal fan bases like the Denver Broncos.

The 1980 NFL season finale holds the attendance record with 103,985 spectators, meanwhile the most watched championship game was in 2015 when 114.4 million viewers watched the New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks. It’s important to recognize the 2021 numbers as impressive given the circumstances: last year’s matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs had limited capacity due to Covid-19 restrictions, so attendance was expected to be on the lower end of the spectrum. The game also posted a 15-year low for ratings with 96.4 million viewers but crushed it in streaming. According to “digital-only viewers” those numbers were up 65% year over year, to 5.7 million digital viewers per minute.

For as much heat traditional cable/television viewership gets as “being dead”, it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. During this 2021 season, NFL games accounted for 91 out of the top 100 most watched television programs. Read that again. Football is dominant in the United States. To support this even further, an Ipsos Poll found that over half of Americans have some type of fandom towards the NFL, and no other major sport here in the U.S. cracked 50%.

The Big Game is unique, where the major networks take turns broadcasting the event. Referencing SportsPro media, starting in 2023 through 2034, ABC will air the Big Game  twice, CBS will air it three times, Fox gets the honor four times, and NBC gets the game three times. The combination of these deals, plus amazon’s nearly-exclusive-streaming-deal, amounts to about $110 billion over that 12-year stretch.

The NFL showed their commitment to technology by engaging with Amazon in their broadcasting arrangements. Having a dedicated digital platform like Prime Video is surely an experiment for both parties; per the comparable deals, Amazon is paying the least but a specific premium on bringing the NFL to a new platform, as “the viewing on Prime Video has never been quantified by Amazon.” It is more of a strategic initiative than a proven concept.

Referencing KORE’s Industry Leading Data Set, the NFL is a confirmed leading league in terms of including digital assets among their sponsorship deals. In 2018, KORE saw those digital assets (e.g., social media, website content, email) included in 53% of deals. Fast forwarding to 2021, these assets are included in 63% of deals. For comparison, baseball teams only included digital inventory in 26% of their deals in 2021, and basketball organizations have them included in 46% of deals.

Focusing on digital assets only, the NFL tends to value their website inventory more than other types of assets, with email marketing in a distant 2^nd place. Commonly, this is allocated between banner ads and branded video content. As we focus on individual industries that are buying these assets, we see an interesting spike from the entertainment industry (e.g., betting partners) towards banner ads, and health care and insurance companies placing value on branded content.

Pepsi is a long-time partner with the Big Game, owning the naming rights of the half time show and its endless attempt to surpass what was done the year before. However, this upcoming game will be Pepsi’s last and the NFL plans to go to market to sell this deal, which might be the biggest piece of sponsorship news since Ted Lasso mentions Lynx Body spray even though LACOman spray is the official club sponsor of AFC Richmond (a major faux pas, even for a fictional team).

This year’s halftime show will showcase rap and R&B legends, including Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar. Per CNBC, the value of the halftime show has a wide range, anywhere from $25 million to $50 million. A valuation is tricky to place on this event, but at the same time very justifiable. Let’s explore:

NBC is the exclusive broadcasting partner for the Big Game in 2022. According to Reuters, companies are shelling out upwards of $6.5-7 million for a 30 second advertisement during the game. This is already an 18% premium compared to what CBS charged last year, indicating a bullish sentiment on how many people are estimated to tune in this year.

Sticking with Food & Beverage brands as an example, we’ll dive deeper into the sponsorship portfolio. F&B brands typically include the following assets in their sponsorship deals when partnering with American football teams: Tickets/Hospitality, Entitlements (e.g., official partners), and Digital.

As important as entitlement assets are to help stake a claim, hospitality is very interesting this year. As we remember from the 2021 Super Bowl, the game had limited capacity due to Covid restrictions. With restrictions likely easing for this game, we can see the emergence of hospitality events around the stadium coming back. The NFL is its own case study here, this December the league owners “voted grow its stake in On Location Events from 13.5% to nearly 45%.” On Location enhances the gameday experience by immersing fans directly into live events beyond traditional attendance. The NFL knows all too well the importance of a heightened experience, and there is no doubt the Big Game will bring about top engagement numbers.

With Pepsi in the last year of their contract, who might be the next presenter of the Big Game halftime show? Here are some of our favorite predictions with some rationale:

1. Verizon – well established sponsor of the league and individual teams
2. FTX – They are spending hundreds of millions on sponsorship already
3. Netflix – A virtually (no pun intended) endless amount of stardom and content can bring the half time show to new heights
4. Caesars – Already a stadium sponsor in New Orleans, trying to expand their betting footprint, especially online
5. State Farm
6. Wendy’s – one of the top spenders on sports sponsorship in one of the most emerging categories (QSR)

Best of luck to both the Bengals and the Rams, and congratulations to these respective fan bases. Enjoy the moment.

Sources:
Age of players’ source 
S. Metro Statistical Areas 
Fanatics jersey sales
Retired uniform numbers
Miami Heat announces FTX as venue naming rights partner
Caesars Sponsorship in New Orleans
QSR sponsorship spend 

Congratulations to the Atlanta Braves & Houston Astros on reaching the 2021 World Series! Both teams have a rich history and their respective fanbases have enough passion to provide an exciting atmosphere at both ballparks. These clubs are more connected than just meeting here in the Fall Classic. The manager of the Astros, Dusty Baker, made his debut as a player in 1968 with none other than the Atlanta Braves. The teams’ connections grow even stronger, as the manager of the Braves, Brian Snitker, will be coaching opposite his son, Troy Snitker, who is the Astros hitting coach. Their Thanksgiving dinner could be a little tense to say the least. 

The Braves and Astros finished second and sixth respectively in both total and average attendance this year. There is no fair way to compare attendance in 2021 to past seasons, but we can start to appreciate how fans slowly returned to venues across the country.  

The season was very transformative as the year went on; capacity restrictions were in place when the season started but varied by state, allowing stadiums to update their rules as they saw fit. Yankee Stadium, for example, hosted “social distancing” sections for un-vaccinated fans, while vaccinated patrons were able to get a sense of pre-pandemic normalcy during the first half of the season. As the country progressed through the pandemic, some ballparks did away with social distancing restrictions, opening the gates to sold out crowds. 

Check out our interactive dashboard here based on ESPN’s attendance data for MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL since 2011.  

ESPN maintains attendance data for all 30 ball clubs (and other major sports leagues) with records dating back to 2001. Throughout the 2021 regular season, the Los Angeles Dodgers welcomed the most fans with over 2.8 million total attendees. It is worth noting the Dodgers also have the largest capacity to leverage, with room for 56k, yet they still maintained an attendance rate of about 62% of capacity. The Atlanta Braves, who eliminated the Dodgers in dramatic fashion, maintained the highest percentage of attendance to capacity in 2021, filling nearly 72% of the stadium over this tumultuous year. This can likely be due to the Braves not only fielding a competitive team but also easing mask requirements (although still encouraged) as early as the second month of the season.  

To put this past season in perspective, the average attendance rate between 2011 and 2019 for MLB clubs was 69%, while 2021 only reached average attendance of 44%. Both the Braves and the Astros had higher than average attendance rates, with 72% and 62% respectively. Both teams are in states with more relaxed Covid restrictions, likely a leading indicator for these above average attendance rates. 

As great as ticket sales are, they are not the only factor that contributes to an organization’s success on and off the field. Other things to consider are market size, team performance, sponsorship effectiveness, community impact, and broadcast ratings.  

Looking at both Braves & Astros stadiums, each holds between 40-42k fans, putting them both in the bottom half of MLB venues in terms of available capacity. Prior to 2017, the Atlanta Braves played in the iconic Turner Field in downtown Atlanta. As part of a relocation and redevelopment project in 2017, the Braves moved 10 miles northwest of downtown, still in Cobb County, in an area known as “The Battery.” The new stadium was promptly named SunTrust Park as part of a 25-year, $10 million naming rights deal. It wasn’t until 2019 that Truist Financial Corporation, previously known as Branch Banking and Trust Company, purchased SunTrust Banks, inheriting the naming rights deal. My heart goes out to the Stadium Operations staff for having to change out all those SunTrust signs for new Truist ones. 

Although sponsorship deals on average are about four years long, the two World Series teams boast lengthy naming rights deals. Minute Maid and the Astros agreed on a 28 year deal worth over $100 million back in 2002. Coca-Cola might be the real winner by having a loyal Coca-Cola fanbase play against a Coke-owned branded stadium (Coca-Cola Co. owns Minute Maid and is based in Atlanta). 

Last year we discussed how Nike took over the jersey rights of MLB and now display their iconic logo on the front of jerseys, breaking away from a traditional “clean” uniform baseball historically is so proud of. Based on sales from MLBShop.com since the 2021 Opening Day, the Braves had two players finish in the top 20 in jersey sales, Ronald Acuña Jr. (3rd) and Freddie Freeman (15th). The Astros landed one spot in the top 20 list, with Jose Altuve finishing 17th in jersey sales. 

Major League Baseball has double the home games than the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League, and 10x as many than the National Football League. The 81 home games during a baseball season provide ample opportunities for brands to get in front of fans, factoring into the league’s sponsorship strategy. Leveraging KORE Software’s industry-leading dataset, we notice that signage assets in the NBA and NHL make up between 30% – 36% of these league’s sponsorship revenue. MLB on the other hand, generates nearly 43% of sponsorship revenue from signage assets. The significance of how much more MLB relies on their stadium and broadcast visibility significantly impacts their sponsorship strategies. 

When it comes to playoffs, MLB league-level sponsors take precedence. We often see a lot of T-Mobile and Taco Bell commercials during playoffs. This year we were introduced to Good Sam (RV rental and outdoor tourism company) as the Presenting Sponsor of MLB Playoffs. Good Sam can leverage the MLB logo on their website, proving this relationship intends to be more of a partnership to engage with each other’s audiences rather than a straight sponsorship. 

In terms of quantity of deals, MLB tends to include some combination of signage, tickets/hospitality, and promotional assets in over half of all deals. Between 2018 – 2021, the number of deals that included tickets & hospitality assets in their deals is nearly 62%. Some examples of assets in this category include tickets in premium sections, parking exposure (or free parking), and access to non-gameday events. Hospitality areas in stadiums are popular destinations for corporate partners to treat their employees to a fun night or to entertain clients, or both. With Coca-Cola’s exposure at both venues, I’m willing to go out on a limb here to say Coca-Cola staff and partners will be present in hospitality areas in every World Series game.

This should be a very close World Series in terms of on-field competition. The Astros opened as a favorite with 57% probability of winning (-135 Money Line), but the Braves are riding a very emotional, authoritative revenge tour from last year’s abrupt ending (the Braves lost to the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series in 7 games). The relationships, sponsorship, and attendance similarities between these two teams make for a competitive yet even matchup, both on and off the field. Best of luck to both teams and we are looking forward to an exciting and historic World Series. 

The Fall sports calendar is as loaded as an Idaho potato at a Vandals tailgate. College football and the NFL are back, the NBA and NHL begin their pre-season schedule, and MLB gears up for the playoffs. The biggest storyline we have seen so far might also be the fastest acting (pun pending). If you tuned into any college football game this season there is a good chance you saw Reggie Bush enjoying a Wendy’s breakfast sandwich during a commercial break. This example is one of many in the college and professional sports landscape. Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) have always been at the pinnacle of target marketing and most recently are catering their advertisements and promotions for college fanatics everywhere. To help push their messaging, Wendy’s became an official sponsor of NCAA college football and teamed up with the legendary running back, who also doubles as a college football host/analyst on Fox.

Quick Service Restaurants, traditionally known as fast-food, are staples around any college campus. QSRs continue to dominate outside of college sports, as common partners with professional teams and leagues. Citi Field where the New York Mets play boasts a Shake Shack behind center field. Dippin’ Dots can be found at over half of all Major League Baseball stadiums. Even esports is in on the QSR action, with Jack in the Box engaging in a multi-year partnership with esports powerhouse Envy Gaming and their franchised team brands as their main jersey sponsor.

Stadium food and QSRs bring out both nostalgic and comforting feelings, and their messaging aligns with their goals. When looking through KORE’s sponsorship industry data, specifically at QSR brands, they focus more on broadcasting assets and promotions, which almost perfectly aligns with Wendy’s most recent campaign. Looking at brands across all industries, we see Ticket & Hospitality assets included in about 70% of sponsorship deals. This is attributed to brands’ desire to be part of the team, treat their colleagues, and their employees. Strategies like these are especially true if a company has an office in the same metro area as a team. QSR brands on the other hand only include Tickets & Hospitality assets in about 34% of deals, which leads to the question, where are they spending money?

Now that we’re a little hungrier for data, let’s look at the menu below. We can tell simply from watching games that QSRs leverage big media buys to get their names and promotions in front of fans. Our data shows these two categories are included the most often in their deals, and often overlapping with each other in the same deals. A single sponsorship contract can include multiple types of assets based on the brands’ objective, which is why the “Item Popularity” column is over 100%. Let’s say we only looked at one deal and it included Broadcasting and Community assets; both of those categories would show 100% popularity. Click the sponsorship menu below to open it in a new window.

As we look through the sponsorship menu, we can see different examples of what these assets are. Signage, for example, is included in about 39% of QSR sponsorship deals, and includes LED boards around the stadium, or a physical sign in the outfield at a baseball game.

Since 2018, QSRs have nearly split their spend between the NBA and NFL, with opportunities to grow in other leagues. This does not account for individual athlete partnerships, as that data can start doubling up. When a Subway commercial featuring Steph Curry is shown during a college football game, both the broadcast and Curry would be considered properties that partner with the sandwich chain. We’ll be watching the focus on how QSRs continue their involvement in collegiate and professional sports, potentially with a breakfast sandwich in hand.

Interested in how KORE’s intelligence platform can help optimize your partnerships? Click here to request a free demo to get started.

This summer’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will surely be historic. Since the inception of the Modern Olympics in 1896, the Games have been cancelled only three times, all due to war: once during World War I and twice during World War II. Although a last-minute cancellation still can’t be ruled out, much of the world is excited to witness the competitions on television and online.

The pandemic’s challenges have impacted not just the athletes, but the city of Tokyo and all the Games’ organizers as well. With an estimated cost of over $26 billion USD (70% of which is public funding), there are enormous sunk costs they desperately hope to recoup a portion of. It was far too late to back out when the pandemic began in late 2019, so organizers were left with little choice but to delay the games and make the best they can of terrible circumstances.

When the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committees for the Olympics Games (OCOG) announced that no fans would be present in the arenas due to COVID-19, we asked ourselves three questions:

• How much ticket revenue is being lost?
• What will the broadcasts look like?
• How will sponsors react and adapt?

Lost revenue
In 2019, the OCOG expected to sell over 9 million tickets for a total of about $800 million. Prices ranged widely from highs of 300,000 yen ($2,680) for the most expensive Opening Ceremonies ticket all the way down to 2,500 yen ($22) for the cheapest ticket to some of the events. Experts estimate the OCOG will miss out on about $800 million solely in ticketing revenue. Tak Matsumoto, Customer Success Manager at KORE Software, got a firsthand view of this—back in 2019, he explored ticketing options for some of the more marquee matchups:

* Tickets were ranked from A to D (A being the best seats and D being the worst)
**Track & Field 100m Men’s Final was significantly higher than the other two Track & Field events explored 

World Atlas notes that the three most-watched Summer Olympic events are Gymnastics, Track & Field, and Swimming. Those events are naturally among the biggest revenue drivers for ticket sales. With half of all Tokyo 2020 tickets priced at 8,000 yen ($70) or less, it’s evident that the most popular events make up a tremendous portion of net sales.

Broadcast
Without live spectators, it’s impossible to overstate how crucial broadcast and streaming services will be—these will be the only ways fans can experience the games. Given the unusual circumstances, NBCUniversal plans to air an unprecedented 7,000 hours of Olympic content across two broadcast networks, six cable networks, and several digital networks. For the first time ever, NBC and Twitch are partnering to produce and deliver live content via the NBC Olympics Twitch channel.

When it comes to linear programming, sports are often the most desirable live events to air. In 2011, NBC paid $4.38 billion for the U.S. broadcasting rights for the following four Olympics, and then they extended the deal in 2014 to include another six Olympics for an additional $7.7 billion. Although TV viewership has steadily declined over the past few years, live sporting events still attract plenty of eyeballs. According to Statista, the 2018 Winter Games attracted 1.9 billion viewers and the far more popular Summer Games were watched by 3.6 billion in 2016.

Sponsors
Broadcast partners receive hundreds of different sponsorship assets in a single deal. These may include LED banners around the stadium, commercial spots (on radio, TV, or streams), social media branding, tickets, hospitality, signage, and official rights (including use of the rights holders’ IP). While some of these can’t be delivered while venues are closed to spectators, others will have even more value if TV and online viewership rise as expected. With NBC leveraging new outlets, the doors are open for new and creative sponsorship assets.

At KORE, we’ve seen a wide variety of broadcast deals. Although the headlines focus on the North American Big 5 broadcasting deals—such as the NFL’s recent agreement with CBS, ESPN/ABC, Fox, NBC, and Amazon for 10+ years—the average broadcasting deal in North American sports is between four and five years in length. With the Olympic Games normally held every other year (Summer & Winter working in tandem) and reaching a wider audience, national and international sponsors alike are incentivized to engage in lengthier deals.

Sponsors may face difficult decisions this year, however. Take Toyota for example—Japan’s top automaker. Toyota signed on as an Olympic sponsor in 2017, extending through the 2024 games, emphasizing the importance of deal longevity. In Japan, the decision to push forward with the Games during the current state of emergency is very controversial. Toyota announced on Monday that they are pulling their television ads from Japanese broadcasts of the Tokyo 2020 Games. Their ads will continue to run on a per-country basis, but they had also big plans to showcase their latest vehicles during the games by transporting athletes and VIPs—a very direct activation that they’ve been forced to drastically scale down.

Making sports history
The Tokyo 2020 Games will be historic no matter the outcomes of each event, but that won’t stop us from hoping to witness greatness. Athletes push themselves to incredible heights to earn a moment of well-deserved glory, but there’s a “team behind the team” which also deserves our appreciation. As we embark upon these most unique Summer Games, take a moment to think of all those working behind the scenes making them possible. We wish the best of luck and health to the world’s greatest athletes and all those working alongside them in these most challenging conditions. Controversy aside, we are grateful to all the individuals making the best of the situation and trying to bring a message of positivity and unity to our world. Thank you.

Broadcasters will be in the spotlight this year even more so than usual. Sports fans are very particular about who is calling their game, the ease of reading the score on the screen, and other factors that encompass the fan experience. But when all is said and done, the most iconic moments in sports are immortalized by the broadcasters. “Do you believe in miracles?” “Down goes Frazier!” “The band is out on the field!” All these moments we cherish are stamped into history alongside the call on the field. In a year marked by so much pain and loss around the globe, perhaps we’ll get lucky and add a new, positive moment to the list.

We hope this provides a look into what goes into broadcasting live events. We’d also love to help answer any questions you might have about how these deals are constructed. Learn more about our KPI services on our website and request a free consultation.