Live sport will continue to be a hot property for television networks and social media platforms can complement and enhance their coverage, John Skipper, president of US sports broadcaster ESPN and co-chairman of Disney Media Networks, said yesterday.
Skipper argued at the Cable Show 2012 convention that the power of live sport gave it a unique edge in television programming.
“Sport at this point is a central part of the culture and there is no better place to be than in sports,” Skipper said. “It can’t be knocked off and it must be watched live, which makes it unique in programming today.”
David Levy, president of sales, distribution and sports for cable-television operator Turner Broadcasting, added: “It’s the last thing you have to watch live. Ultimately you are going to pay for that.”
Turner shares rights for the annual National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Division I Basketball Championship tournament with the CBS network as part of a 14-year deal for coverage of NCAA events, spanning from 2010-11 to 2023-24. Referring to the reasons for the lengthy deal, Levy said: “You have a built-in fan base each and every year. We know there is going to be an audience for March Madness in 2026. With American Idol, we’re not sure what is going to happen in 10 years.”
Skipper said broadcasters shouldn’t feel threatened by the rise of new media and social media platforms, adding that he could not envision a scenario in which the latter would compete for sports rights.
“Sport is inherently social,” Skipper said. “We believe large social networks complement what we do. I don’t think social networks will buy sports rights, so we are looking to see what we can do together. We are working with Twitter on large sports events.” He added: “(Social media) is good for all of us. We think there may be some additional commerce in it and we are working on that.”
Skipper said that further rises in sports-rights fees were inevitable. “Anybody who thinks they can figure out what rights are going to be worth in 2026 doesn’t really know. What we will make a bet on is that the value of sports rights is going to continue to appreciate. We would love it if sports rights would come down, but sports rights are going up because the value of sports rights is going up.”