US leads the field in £321m global online sports market
Global sponsorship spending on sports websites has been valued at $453m (£321m), with the US representing a massive 88 per cent of the market, a new report reveals.
Global sponsorship spending on sports websites has been valued at $453m (&£321m), with the US representing a massive 88 per cent of the market, a new report reveals.
The “2000 Worldwide Sponsorship Market Values Report”, by Sponsorship Research International (SRi) and SportBusiness Information Resources, also predicts that sports sites such as Sportal will struggle to stay afloat in the coming year.
The report, which claims to be the first to analyse the sector, says the US spent $399m (&£283m) last year on Internet sports sponsorship, indicating its position as the global leader in e-commerce.
Japan was ranked second, spending $12.7m (&£9m). The UK spent $10.8m (&£7.6m), Germany $4.8m (&£3.4m) and France $3.9 (&£2.7m). The sector accounts for 17.4 per cent of total global online sponsorship spending, valued at $2.6bn (&£1.8bn).
Rachael Church, director of consulting at SportBusiness, says: “Winning sports sites will be those partnered with or owned by large media companies, sports clubs, sports federations or those centred around niche sports with large community followings. There will be a fall-out next year and it will be survival of the fittest.”
