Broadcast Sport spoke to the sport’s governing body about the broadcast potential of adding the obstacle course TV property to its competitions
Modern pentathlon may have a surprising change for the 2028 Olympics, with popular obstacle course sport and TV show Ninja Warrior potentially replacing its horse riding section.
“Obstacle Discipline”, as it will be called in modern pentathlon, could come in after the IOC president Thomas Bach said that modern pentathlon won’t be at the LA Olympics if it doesn’t find a replacement for its horse riding discipline following the decision to review it. This is after controversy surrounding a competitor’s treatment of their horse at the Tokyo Olympics. The IOC also asked the sport to show a significant reduction in cost and complexity and an improvement across the areas of safety, accessibility, universality and appeal for young people and the general public.
Governing body Union Internationale de Penthalon Moderne (UIPM) has seen this as an opportunity to refresh the competition, and potentially attract larger broadcast audiences - with general secretary Shiny Fang telling Broadcast Sport that it wants the sport to become more appealing to young audiences around the world.
Fang said: “There are more than 20 million obstacle course racers of all ages worldwide. This participation base will bring pentathlon and the Olympic values to millions of new fans and athletes. But millennials are the primary Obstacle constituents. Born between 1980-2000, they will be aged 18-38 when the Olympic Games goes to Los Angeles in 2028.
“The real beauty of Obstacle Discipline is it will make modern pentathlon more dynamic and more appealing to young audiences around the world – it is relatable, affordable and accessible for kids everywhere in a way that Riding is not.”
She added: “Obstacle Discipline will serve as the catalyst to transform Modern Pentathlon into a broadcast-friendly adventure-style multi-sport with proven appeal to younger fans and commercial partners around the world.”
The UIPM has been in “constant” contact with rights holder Ninja Warrior, with a more detailed study on how it will be integrated into broadcasts to come after the governing body’s congress in November. In the UK, Ninja Warrior is shown by ITV, with Ben Shephard, Rochelle Humes, and Chris Kamara fronting a dynamic and action-packed presentation. UIPM president Dr Klaus Schormann revealed three tests have been conducted on its addition to modern pentathlon, with feedback positive so far.
However, the UIPM won’t just be adding Ninja Warrior and hoping that audiences follow. A number of other actions have been and will be taken to try and bring eyeballs to the sport. It was reduced to a five-hour format for Tokyo 2020, and this has now been cut back even further to roughly two hours with a knockout format. According to 1st vice president Juan Antonio Samaranch, broadcast partners have given “very positive” feedback.
In addition, ISB has come on board as official host broadcaster, bringing consistency after relying on individual local organising committees to handle production in the past.
Samaranch explained the reaction: “Our two flagship events, the UIPM Pentathlon World Championships and UIPM Pentathlon World Cup Final, have been taken by a variety of channels around the globe, and although a majority of the networks are located in Europe, we also worked to promote the sport in areas such as the Americas and Asia.
“Takers’ interest was initially for our post-produced 30-minute highlights package, but this has shifted more towards our live programme because of the draw of the new elimination format.”
As well as broadcast partners, UIPM also has a D2C platform, UIPMTV, with the end goal of the major changes being put through being it becoming a destination for the new fans.
Samaranch said: “Our goal is to attract newcomers to the sport to the platform and give them the possibility to watch a full competition live but also access exclusive content such as training tips and unique shows crafted for the community.
“In that sense, UIPMTV is not competing against traditional broadcasters but is providing a deeper and more complete experience for those who we consider the “experts” of the sport.
“Clearly, bringing more awareness to the sport has to be done via an entertaining live programme taken by regular broadcasters as well as powerful campaigns on social media which showcase the amazing moments of the sport. UIPMTV will definitely be a hub for not only the existing community but also more and more fans and consumers who can enjoy the full experience. And yes, D2C is eventually our goal.”
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