Q & A with Richard Worth of Sportfive

Richard Worth, Sportfive CEO (Sportfive)Sports marketing agency Sportfive is the choice of the IOC to handle TV rights for Europe for the 2014 and 2016 Olympics. The move broke a relationship that goes back 50 years with the European Broadcast Union. ATR’s Heinz Peter Kreutzer speaks with Sportfive CEO Richard Worth

Around the Rings: What does this deal mean for Sportfive?

Richard Worth: We are very honored in any case to work with the IOC. We are the first agency who has that privilege. It is a very special thing, to work with one of the biggest sport organizations in the world, but also, to be the first, to get that opportunity. It is a big thing for us.

ATR: Sportfive is experienced in football deals, why the Olympic TV rights now?

RW: Obviously, it is in a sense different, because there are different disciplines. In the Olympic Games are many things happening simultaneously and happen across the 17 days in the Summer Olympics and similar in the winter. We had certain skills in the company, central things we are good at.

Among the things we are good at is distributing sport rights through the television market of Europe.

So actually the fact is we are competent and do a very good job in that area. That is really a core strength, is what we do well and I am sure it will be successful.

ATR: For maximizing revenues, do you want to split the Olympic rights and sell it to different TV channels? Track and field on one channel and swimming on another one?

RW: We have to respect the market conditions, but also, what the IOC want themselves for the Olympic Games. And I believe, that they want of course a high audience channel, which means in most countries about 70, 80, 90 percent possibilities of public reach by that channel.

In the end, they also want a real focus for the Olympic Games. I think, if we took the attitude as you describe, track and field on one channel, and swimming on another channel, and other sports on a third channel, that doesn't create the focus that the IOC will appreciate.

That must be the possibility, I guess, that in Italy, where the IOC sold themselves the rights to Sky Italia, to be a kind of gatekeeper of the Italian Olympic rights, that some rights will retained on Sky Italia of certain sports, other rights will on free channels.

I could see a split between a free and less-free channel of certain rights. I definitely don't see in each sport going to the highest bidder in the market, that really doesn't work.

ATR: You also have to sell the rights for mobile and Internet. In the past, TV has bought the rights and have hidden them because they didn’t want to damage the TV rights. How will Sportfive handle the different ways of distribution?

RW: It is clear we need to consider that section of the market. We need to be creative with the opportunities they bring. But at the moment, none of us understand how the media market will look in the year 2014. We have to use the advantages of the technological explosion in the next five years .

ATR: But will you sell separate rights for TV and Internet, possible competitors within a country?

RW: If you are selling to competitors, than you have to be very careful. You are damaging your own values, your exclusive factors. Any broadcaster doesn’t want to pay a lot of money for rights, then another guy on a smaller distribution method get the same kind of rights for much less price.

We should take in account the fact that the Olympic Games, when there is the 100 meters final, there is also a ladies hockey match, and there is round up of the whole day of news. You could create different products for different technologies.

And then there are good things happening simultaneously which different parts of the audience in the same country want to see.

By the year 2016 for sure, for the Summer Olympic Games, the ability for even one TV channel, to have so many distribution methods, and to say, if you are a fan of basketball, go to channel 1a, if you are a fan of track and field, go to channel 1b, simultaneously everything will be available for everybody.

And probably, the primary outlet will have the best of Olympics, that is, what everyone wants.

ATR: The IOC keeps the rights for the four big TV-markets in Europe (England, France, Spain and Germany), a model international federations are following. Is this a new trend, with the IOC and federations taking the easy markets, the agencies doing business in more difficult markets?

RW: It is certainly a change and it is not maybe unexpected. Certain big federations have relations with that primary broadcaster that they feel that they can conduct themselves.

I certainly wouldn’t characterize as easy the job to sell the Olympic Games in the remaining big markets in Europe. There are not a lot of bidders, potentially, who can show a hundred hours of Winter Olympics and 200 hours of Summer Olympics and have a substantial budget.

It is still in a restrictive market place in that sense; in this case, the IOC has also a big challenge, to complete these sales successfully. It is not an easy option for them.

Quite clearly at the other end of the scale, smaller sport federations would not take that direction. They would push their media rights, their marketing rights, to a specialized agency. They have the skills, the contacts and the network to capitalize the best whatever sport and federation that might be.

It is a trend that begins with certain bigger federations who have resources and let say the desire can sell the rights themselves. But I certainly would not characterize it as easy.

Interview by Heinz Peter Kreuzer

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