Ampere Analysis report for Ofcom finds financial constraints on free-to-air broadcasters and international rights deals could bring issues

wimbledon tennis

Listed Events regulation in its current form could be in danger, according to a report by Ampere Analysis for Ofcom.

According to the report’s findings, the share of spending on Listed Events by free-to-air broadcasters has declined over the past ten years, falling from 75% in 2012 to 62% in 2021. In addition, 2021 was actually a bumper year for free-to-air spend on these events, up from 44% in 2020 and 57% in 2019. 

Financial constraints on free-to-air broadcasters, such as the BBC, has led to more sharing of rights in recent years. In 2012, the only Listed Event to be shared was Euro 2012, while in 2021 there were five such Listed Events, including the Olympics - which it shared with Warner Bros. Discovery’s discovery+ and Eurosport. While this has dealt with the issue for now, Ampere Analysis research manager Jack Genovese warns that this may not be enough in the long term.

Ampere Analysis Listed Events rights spend

He writes: “Thus far, the impact of rapidly changing media on the UK sports rights market has been relatively contained. However, while multinational rights deals are still relatively uncommon for mainstream sports in the UK, should they increase in frequency, there is potential for less transparent and accessible rights bidding processes in the future. This could in turn limit the ability of national broadcasters to bid competitively for those rights, including Listed Events.”

Indeed, the report itself warns: “The scale of fees sought by some rights owners may rule out bids from free-to-air broadcasters entirely.”

Another worrying sign for free-to-air broadcasters is the declining interest in TV highlights when in competition with near-live online clips. The study found that since the introduction of Sky’s near-live YouTube highlights of the Premier League, viewership of Match Of The Day has declined by 33%.

Ampere Analysis Ofcom Match Of The Day viewership

The BBC recently agreed a deal with UEFA for highlights of the Champions League, which could be affected by BT Sport’s use of near-live highlights on its social platforms in a similar fashion.

The full report from Ampere Analysis for Ofcom can be found here.