Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe sports rights and media businesses in the Asia-Pacific region are experiencing a post-COVID rebound that could continue at 6% annually until 2026.
But the past domination of broadcast TV is being eroded. The “Asia Pacific Sports Media 2022” report published by consultancy firm Media Partners Asia forecasts regional sports revenues in TV and online video rising from $6.7 billion in 2021 to $8.9 billion by 2026, after a 15% contraction during the pandemic in 2020.
Sports media revenues grew more than 30% in 2021 and are projected to grow by 11% in 2022.At the rights level, sports rights costs are forecast to grow 5.6% in 2022 to reach $6.5 billion and at a compound average of 4% per year between 2021-26 to reach $7.4 billion by 2026.
Soccer leads the sports rights market in APAC, driven by the English Premier League. According to MPA, sports rights for the Asia Pacific contracted by $1.2 billion in 2020 while sports media revenues fell by $0.9 billion, reflecting the impact of COVID lockdowns and other restrictions which hugely hampered sports – and live sports especially. “Rights values crashed in China in 2020 while revenue contraction was marked in Australia and Japan,” MPA said.
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