UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Jamie Singer and Flora Peel, Onside Law
ship rights are not delivered. In light of recent events in Ukraine, rights-holders are revisiting the importance of termination and suspension rights. In particular, the ability to terminate for reputational reasons. Additionally, athletes are becoming more aware of the value of their intellectual property rights and seeking ever greater control when negotiat - ing these sponsorship deals. 2.3 Broadcasting Traditional Sport Broadcasters Broadcasting rights have arguably become the most important set of commercial rights within UK sport over the last 20 years. For TV compa - nies such as Sky, BT and ITV, live sport remains one of the few types of content that has bucked the trend of declining viewing figures in recent years. As such, sport is often the cornerstone of their lucrative subscription packages and helps to drive significant advertising revenues. Media fragmentation has further reinforced sport as one of the very last platforms for brands to connect with mass audiences. The impact of the Euros on the UK advertising market alone saw a 9% increase in televised advertisement spend in the second quarter of 2024. With this level of reach, broadcasting investments in the sport market should continue to be resilient against economic growth and emerging media trends. Broadcasting Rights In return, sports rights-holders have benefitted from exponential growth in the value of their broadcasting rights. For example, the domes - tic broadcasting revenues earned by the FA Premier League have risen from GBP191 mil - lion during the 1992–93 to 1996–97 period, to approximately GBP5 billion due to be paid in the shorter 2019–20 to 2021–22 period. As of
the end of 2024, broadcast revenues were up by a further 17% to GBP12.5 billion. In light of the potential for a further devaluation of domes - tic rights for the 2022–25 cycle, the FA Premier League received government authorisation (with broadcasters’ approval) to bypass the tender process normally used and simply roll over the rights from the previous cycle at the same fee. This exceptional rise in value has made it very difficult for terrestrial broadcasters to com - pete. However, the Broadcasting Act 1996 still requires certain “crown jewel” events, consid - ered integral to British culture (eg, Wimbledon), to be shown on terrestrial TV. This legislation has a depressing effect on rights values, given that Digital companies and content platforms such as Amazon, YouTube and Facebook are also increasingly active in the sports broadcasting space, whether through live rights, highlights and/or associated entertainment content such as documentaries. They have different motiva - tions and commercial models from the tradi - tional pay-TV broadcasters, which impacts the type of rights they acquire and the price they pay to acquire them. Streaming services like Ama - zon Prime Video have recently expanded into sports broadcasting, notably following Ama - zon’s GBP90 million acquisition of the exclusive rights to 20 Premier League matches in 2019. This growing presence of digital platforms and live streaming services has prompted traditional broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV to adapt to this new landscape. For instance, they have secured free-to-air rights for FIFA World Cup coverage until 2030. only terrestrial broadcasters can bid. Non-traditional Sport Broadcasters
228 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook