Determining the professional sport broadcasting marketplace in Australia

Sport Management Review, 2005, 8, 167–193© 2005 SMAANZ

Determining the Professional Sport Broadcasting Landscape: An Australian

Football Club Perspective

Paul Turner and David ShilburyDeakin University

The professional sport broadcasting landscape has received much attention from an economic and legal perspective. While the economic and legal focus has been the predominant association with sport broadcasting, there has been little research undertaken into the breadth of delivery and signifi cance of broadcast coverage. The aim of this paper was to identify the professional sport broadcasting landscape in Australia. The sport broadcast landscape was examined from the perspective of two professional football codes. In-depth interviewing of senior managers of 11 AFL, and 10 NRL clubs was undertaken with the resulting data analysed, coded and emergent themes identifi ed. Three core themes emerged: identifi ed as territory, distribution and profi le. A further seven sub-themes specifi c to the outcomes associated within each category were also identifi ed. Major fi ndings highlight the territorial nature of the Australian professional football league market, identifying the way in which clubs are representative of particular regions. Issues associated with free-to-air delivery, brand recognition and core market attributes were also identifi ed. Results are presented; implications for management and opportunities for future research are discussed.

The structure and operations of the professional sport industry have evolved considerably over the last three decades. Global marketing opportunities have emerged, economic circumstances have shifted, consumers have become more discerning and broadcasting systems more deregulated (Cousens & Slack, 1996; Gerrard, 2000; Levitt, 1993; Todreas, 1999). Originally an aspect that was essentially

The authors are with the Sport Management program, Bowater School of Management and Marketing, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood Victoria 3125. Email for Paul Turner: [email protected]

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168 Turner and Shilbury

supplementary in its impact on professional sport, broadcasting has emerged to be the singularly most important revenue source to most professional sporting leagues and events (Mason, 1997). The economic, regulatory, technical and business profi le of professional sport has been altered through the impact of broadcasting. While there is much literature focusing on the economic impact of broadcasting on professional sport leagues (Gerrard, 2000; Grimm & Lefton 1993; Mason, 1997; Solberg & Gratton, 2000; Stotlar, 2000, 2004), there is no evidence of research addressing the impact of broadcasting on the exposure received by individual clubs within a league.

Exposure, as a concept, was initially identifi ed as representing the audience and coverage attributes associated with broadcasting. Following investigation, the concept of exposure was refi ned to represent three dimensions. These dimensions include the coverage and extent of the broadcasting agreements, which in effect defi nes the territory covered; the distribution, or the means through which (i.e., free-to-air or pay-TV subscription services) clubs are distributed to the consuming television audience; and profi le, which refers to the profi le of the participating clubs rather than the broader profi le of the sport. Although previous studies have examined the decisions made by the league and broadcaster concerning broadcasting issues impacting on the clubs, the attention has typically focused on the revenue-earning potential associated with the value of the rights and rights distributions.

The present study aims to explore a different facet of the sport broadcaster interrelationship, and specifi cally seeks to examine club perceptions of broadcaster agreements in two major Australian football codes. Previous research, for example, has identifi ed the impact of broadcasting on spectator attendance (Bernthal & Graham, 2003; Jeffres, Neundorf & Atkin, 2003; Zhang, Lam, & Connaughton, 2003), and the viewing correlation to advertising (Beasley, Shank, & Ball, 1998; Delpy & Bosetti, 1998; Turner, Bounds, Hauser, Motsinger, Ozmore, & Smith, 1995). Most of this research has been approached from the league or the spectator/consumer perspective and not the individual member clubs.

This paper addresses the broadcast landscape from the perspective of the clubs within two professional football leagues. A key feature of this research was to identify the impact of the broadcasting landscape from the perspective of the geographic and audience considerations confronted by clubs. The broadcasting exposure that clubs within the two Australian professional football leagues experience is reviewed in order to determine the implications for management.

Through a series of in-depth interviews with club senior managers within the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australian Football League (AFL) competitions, the issues pertaining to exposure within the sport broadcasting market are identifi ed. An analysis of 21 professional sport club manager interviews was undertaken, in which subsequent data coding revealed key determinants relevant to their position in the market. This paper addresses these issues through a brief review of the two

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Sport Broadcasting 169

professional football leagues, the sport broadcasting landscape, data collection procedures and the outcomes and implications including future opportunities for research in this domain.

Professional Sport LeaguesProfessional sport has evolved into a very successful business enterprise in many parts of the world. Interest in professional sport, measured by attendance and television ratings, is at an all-time high. Professional sporting leagues have developed both nationally and internationally, adopting sophisticated marketing practices to tap sources of revenue that were once ancillary to ticket sales. Product endorsements, merchandise licensing and, in particular, broadcast rights, have become more important than ticket sales to many of these organisations (Mullin, Hardy & Sutton, 2000). The result has been a move towards increased professionalisation of sport and the subsequent presentation of sporting contests. Sport broadcasting has become a primary conduit to league success. Indirect revenues to sport are often greater than direct operating revenues, which in turn, enhance the widespread media exposure given to sport, making sport very visible and marketable (Mason, 1997; Shilbury, Quick & Westerbeek, 2003). The emphasis on exposure within the broadcasting landscape is a key requirement of sport leagues and sport broadcasters. Given that exposure is identifi ed as a key requirement, the reporting of audience viewing numbers has received widespread media attention (Cowie & Williams, 1997; Solberg & Hammervold, 2004). While rating measurements have dominated the focus of research associated with exposure, concerns connected with the broader broadcasting landscape have received little coverage in the literature.

Professional sport leagues have evolved as unique business organisations (Rosner & Shropshire, 2004). Typically, league structures govern franchise location, conditions of entry, relocation, labour market for players, rules of the game and various revenue sharing distributions through broadcasting, sponsorship, merchandise sales and gate receipts (Rosner & Shropshire, 2004; Scully, 1995; Quirk & Fort, 2004). The requirement for leagues to manage elements of both cooperation and confl ict between clubs is also of paramount importance. Though professional clubs are competitors on the fi eld, the league entity provides centrally organised fi xtures of play through a unitary set of playing rules. Off the fi eld, professional sport leagues are cooperative endeavours, with teams jointly engaging in practices to maximise profi t and generate collective wealth (Rosner & Shropshire, 2004). The structure of the Australian professional sport industry has evolved through a similar pattern to that which has dominated the global sport scene. The basic structural dimensions that apply to the two Australian football leagues investigated in this study will be addressed to identify those attributes that are unique to this environment.

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Professional Sporting League Clubs: The Australian ContextWithin Australia, the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australian Football League (AFL) are the major domestic professional leagues. Each of these competitions receives signifi cant television revenue to broadcast their respective matches throughout Australia and the rest of the world. The revenue and audiences generated through broadcasting have enabled these leagues to develop broader-based national competitions emerging from what were essentially one-city leagues. These leagues are representative of competitions that comprise core support in different regions within the country. The NRL has a strong profi le predominantly in the Northern states of Australia (Queensland and New South Wales) while the AFL is represented strongly in the Southwestern states of Australia (Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia). The regional-based development of these leagues has a profound impact on their capacity to develop and sustain broad-based appeal. This affects the opportunities for exposure. Each of these domestic leagues will be addressed in turn.

Australian Football League (AFL)Since the mid-1960s, the former Victorian Football League (VFL) has undergone a wholesale process of economic restructuring. This process commenced with the commercial downturn of the former VFL, which ultimately was the catalyst to the formation of the national competition league in the 1990s. In 1990, the expanded VFL was renamed the Australian Football League (AFL) and currently spans fi ve states, comprising sixteen clubs, which are overseen by a central administrative body.

In 1982, the league fi rst moved to expand its geographic coverage by allowing the south Melbourne Football Club to play games in Sydney. The South Melbourne Football Club was eventually relocated to Sydney, where it became known as the Sydney Swans. This expansion policy was extended in 1987 with the inclusion of the Brisbane Bears from Brisbane, Queensland, and the West Coast Eagles from Perth, Western Australia making up a fourteen-team league competition. In 1991, the competition was enlarged to fi fteen teams with the introduction of the Adelaide Crows (South Australia). Presently, the composition is sixteen teams with the Fremantle Dockers from Western Australia being admitted to the League in 1995, and in 1996 Port Adelaide (South Australia) replaced the former Victorian-based Fitzroy Football Club which merged with the Brisbane Bears to become the Brisbane Lions. The current framework for the league is nine teams from Melbourne (with Geelong comprising number ten from the State of Victoria), two from both Perth and Adelaide, and one each from Brisbane and Sydney.

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The principal motive behind the expansion of the AFL was to secure a wider market for its product, which in turn enabled the league to command greater revenue from broadcasting rights, corporate sponsorship and marketing activities. The result of this expansion has been an unqualifi ed success with total AFL revenue climbing from $20.6 million in 1986 - the year before the entry of teams from Perth and Brisbane - to exceed $68.0 million in 1995. In 2004, total AFL revenue had climbed to $186.3m (AFL Annual reports, 1995, 2004). Total spectator attendance has risen from 5.4 million people in 1994 to over 6.6 million in 2004, and broadcast interest in the league has continued to grow with the Grand Final attracting an average audience in mainland capital cities of more than three million viewers nationally (AFL Annual Report, 2004).

Broadcasting of the AFL competition has increasingly become a symbiotic relationship where developments of broadcast technologies, broadcaster strategic goals and AFL plans for growth have driven the structure and form of the national competition. The League represented primarily a Melbourne-centric presence until the 1980s with games and interest largely restricted to the Victorian population. Some national exposure of the competition was achieved at this time, but it was limited. Following the relocation and introduction of teams from markets outside Melbourne, there has been a signifi cant development in interest and exposure for the league nationally. The increased interest and support for the league can be largely attributed to broadcasting. The broadcast agreement has developed into a national distribution opportunity for the league.

National Rugby League (NRL)The Sydney premiership kicked off on April 20, 1908 with nine teams comprising Balmain, Cumberland, Eastern Suburbs, Glebe, Newcastle, Newtown, North Sydney, Western Suburbs and South Sydney. Clubs entered and departed the league during this period, with St George entering in 1921, Canterbury Bankstown in 1935 and Parramatta and Manly Warringah in 1947. Cronulla Sutherland and Penrith played their fi rst games in 1967. These clubs and the evolution of the league were based predominantly around Sydney and its surrounding suburbs.

The competition remained under the auspices of the New South Wales Rugby league (NSWRL) and in 1982 expanded with Canberra (Australian Capital Territory) and Illawarra (Southern NSW) added to the Sydney Premiership. The national expansion of the premiership continued with the introduction of the Brisbane Broncos (Queensland), Newcastle Knights (Northern NSW) and Gold Coast Giants (Southern Queensland) in 1987. Proposals for expansion continued in 1995 with the introduction of North Queensland (North Queensland Cowboys), Perth (Western Reds) and an additional Brisbane team (South Queensland Crushers). The entry of these clubs also coincided with the Auckland Warriors’ (New Zealand) entry the same year.

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The expansion of the NSWRL into a 20-team national league resulted in a weakening of the league base. This expansion coincided with the introduction of subscription television services into the Australian market. There was a strong push by the subscription broadcast services to acquire key sports content, and this resulted in a split in the rugby league competition. Nineteen ninety-fi ve also saw the introduction of Super League. Rival media moguls Kerry Packer and Rupert Murdoch went head-to-head, with Murdoch introducing the Super League concept with the express purpose of attempting to achieve sales of pay-TV subscriptions (Colman, 1996; Miller, Lawrence, McKay & Rowe, 2001). Packer threw his support into retaining the existing NSWRL competition. The result was that in 1997 the NSWRL ran its traditional competition alongside the Murdoch controlled Super League. The impasse between the leagues was overcome in 1998 with the formation of the NRL bringing together the NSWRL and Super League competitions.

A unifi ed competition was played under the newly formed National Rugby League in 1998, and following a series of mergers and club exclusions, a 14-team competition commenced in 1999. South Sydney appealed its exclusion from the league and was readmitted into the competition in 2001, bringing the league to its current 15-club format, represented by 9 clubs in Sydney, 1 club in Northern NSW, 1 club in North Queensland, 1 club in Brisbane (Queensland), 1 club in Melbourne (Victoria), 1 club in Canberra (ACT) and 1 club in Auckland (New Zealand).

Sport BroadcastingEarly sporting contests were displayed on television in a capacity that could ostensibly be referred to as exploratory. Sporting events featured on television in Europe, with the broadcast of the Eleventh Olympic Games in July-August 1936, in Berlin, while Monday 21 June 1937 saw 2000 Londoners experience a live television broadcast of a tennis match from Wimbledon (Barnett, 1990). On May 17, 1939, the fi rst sporting event in the United States was aired, a collegiate baseball game between Colombia and Princeton (Gorman & Calhoun, 1994). Although the audiences were few and the pictures blurred and fl ickering in the early days, television and sport have developed a wide-ranging and signifi cant relationship in the period since.

The early days of television saw the relationship between sport organisations and television broadcasters as being one to which sports bodies did not willingly commit. Television managers throughout the early years had to encourage, cajole and inspire sport administrators to persuade them of the benefi ts of the new technology. The fears held by many sport administrators were highlighted through issues such as the impact of television on spectator attendance, the effect of television on major or important events, and the impact on lowly supported clubs (Barnett, 1990; Whannel, 1992).

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While there was initial reluctance on the part of sport to embrace television, this has evolved to the stage where sport and television have now become inseparable. The development of sport on television is evolving with developments in broadcasting. Todreas (1999) refers to broadcasting as having undergone three eras of development. Barnett (1996a, 1996b) concurs, indicating that the development of television is entering a third age, where the economies associated with the armchair sport viewer are being signifi cantly developed. Prior to the fi rst era, was the period in which the only way to view sport was live at the event. The fi rst era commenced in the period following World War II from the 1950s through to the 1970s. This was a period in which the industry was developed with the input of a few major broadcasting networks. Coinciding with this phase, technology created an opening for raising interest in the sport product on television through the introduction of colour television. Sport became infi nitely more appealing as a television spectacle when displayed in colour (Turner, 2000).

A second era emerged around the 1980s when cable (subscription) services were introduced. This presented alternate viewing opportunities to the consumer and broadened revenue generating opportunities for broadcasters. It also increased the potential outlets for exposure for the broadcast of sport (Todreas, 1999). Increased competition emerged through alterations to existing regulations and practices, coupled with the arrival of new specialist networks and channels based on subscription delivery systems. Consequently, the rights for major sporting properties begin to escalate. Cable was able to acquire an increased amount of programming, of which sport has become a major contributor. Rupert Murdoch saw the opportunity of sport being associated with a subscription broadcasting service through comments made in an address to shareholders in Adelaide on October 15, 1996. Murdoch stated that: “We have the long-term rights in most countries to major sporting events and we will be doing in Asia what we intend to do elsewhere in the world, using sports as a battering ram and a lead offering in all our pay-television operations. Sport absolutely overpowers fi lm and everything else in the entertainment genre” (Elias, 1998, p. 6).

The third era, referred to by Todreas (1999) as the digital era, commenced in the mid-late 1990s and is still evolving. This era presents great opportunity for sport content providers in terms of the technical developments that are emerging through computer and wireless applications. The “emergence of new television delivery platforms such as cable and satellite, video-on-demand and digital TV, as well as the convergence of TV and Internet technologies,” has a profound impact on professional sport (Gerrard, 2000, p. 205).

Consequently, new technologies have created a vastly more complex broadcast environment. This complexity has forced legislators to review regulations governing free-to-air TV and subscription services, monitor technological developments, exclusivity and rights allocations. While expansive in their overall

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impact on the professional sport environment, these issues represent only part of the complexity associated with sport broadcasting. Broadcasting provides the principal mode of delivery to the fans beyond those who attend the stadium. While all these parameters assume a level of importance to the league, the broadcasters and the clubs, the focus of this research is to consider the sport broadcasting landscape in terms of the impact on professional sport clubs.

The Australian Sport Broadcasting LandscapeThe primary focus on the sport broadcasting landscape within the literature tends to refer to the economic parameters associated with ratings, advertising and broadcast rights, associated with views surrounding the media and spectator/consumer. Fortunato (2001, 2004), studying the NBA, identifi ed the sport broadcasting landscape through the way in which the league controlled the national television exposure. Part of this control extended to the way in which the broadcast partners and the league formulate the NBA season and television schedule. This enables the league to showcase its product and broadcast partners to initiate a telecast of the most popular game. The league admits to facilitating the strategic needs of the networks by focusing on the teams that the people want to watch.

While there are many aspects of the sport broadcasting landscape that can be addressed, including the previously referred to economic and regulatory factors, the focus of this paper is on the effects of exposure intuitively identifi ed through audience attributes and geographic coverage. The audience size and geographic scope of broadcasting is an important issue that emerges when dealing with sport broadcasting. While audience effects have received the interest of researchers, there is a dearth of information pertaining to the concept and geographic scope of coverage.

Audience The audience attribute encompasses the number and percentage of viewers. Sports’ presence in the television programming line-up is highlighted by audience interest. In Australia, the historical recording of the most-watched programs of all times includes a signifi cant number of sport events. The Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Olympic Games reached an all-time high rating of 72 (96.3% share) in Sydney and 71 (93.6% share) in Melbourne (Maria-Bobbert, 2000). Sport featured in 54 of the top 100 programs by ratings within Australia in 2000 (Day, 2000). While this included the Olympic Games coverage from Sydney, it is not uncommon for sport to feature highly in ratings both nationally and across key markets. Since the Australian introduction in 1991 of the people-meter to gather ratings information, three events at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 have featured as the most watched programs

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(Closing Ceremony, Opening Ceremony and Women’s 400m Athletics Final). The Rugby World Cup Final between England and Australia featured in ninth place with a peak viewing audience of 4.34 million viewers (Slattery, 2003).

Sport has been largely immune to the fragmentation of audiences affecting many other television programs. This is one of the reasons why major sport leagues and events continue to attract high levels of broadcaster interest. Even though some major sporting events have experienced a decline in audience numbers, major competitions still generate signifi cant viewer interest. The capacity of sport programming to attract audiences is unlikely to change in the medium-term. The impact of audiences is relevant in terms of the breadth and depth of sport coverage (Rowe, 2004).

CoverageCoverage refers to the breadth of delivery through the geographic importance of the broadcasting markets. Within the two major sport leagues, the professional sports marketplace in Australia is extremely territorial. While there is a strong national profi le, the reality is that the coverage associated with the leagues in question is largely driven by regional underpinnings. This has already been identifi ed in terms of the distribution of teams within each league. There have been attempts made to expand the coverage nationally and internationally, but this approach has only achieved minor success. Within the coverage parameter, the way in which the broadcast occurs has an impact. Major broadcast methods such as free-to-air and subscription broadcasting are considered.

Rowe (2004) identifi es with this concept of coverage through the way in which sport and media have led the development of the ‘culturalization of economics’ (p. 74). Media sport is desired by billions of people, media corporations are willing to expend billions of units of currency to supply them, often free-of-charge to the user, and invaluable access is given to audiences, on a global scale, which can be cashed in for large sums of money exchanged between sporting associations, clubs, offi cials and players.

Each of the core attributes of audience and coverage underpins the broad aim of this study, to determine the professional sport broadcasting landscape. This is undertaken by addressing the exposure outcomes associated with sport broadcasting. Specifi cally, the study sought to inductively determine the set of dimensions that measure the perspective of professional sport clubs in considering the effect of the broadcast landscape associated with their code of football. A qualitative approach, utilising an inductive framework, was employed in order to ascertain the club perception towards exposure. This inductive, qualitative approach enables the depth of analysis to be forthcoming, thereby developing the deeper meaning that can be attributed to the club managers’ views on broadcasting. The inductive methods employed by this study are described in the method section.

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MethodPopulationThe population for this study represented the 16 clubs in the AFL competition and 15 clubs in the NRL competition. From the populations identifi ed, senior managers of 11 AFL clubs, and 10 NRL clubs formed the sample frame for analysis. Theoretical sampling was employed in order to determine the study cases. Theoretical sampling enables diversity to be uncovered, through facilitating a range of possibilities that are relevant to the research question (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Theoretical sampling hinges on the selection of samples on the basis of relevant categories, issues, themes and concepts that emerge prior to and during data collection (Minichiello, Aroni, Timewell & Alexander, 1995). Given this approach to theoretical sampling, the data collection and data analysis components were conducted simultaneously (Strauss & Corbin, 1998).

Sampling categories were established by dividing the population on the basis of the geography or regional nature of the clubs. The determination of the regional history and structure of the leagues was considered in order to identify whether relevant exposure issues exist. On this basis, the sample frame for the clubs included 6 AFL clubs representing the Melbourne category; 5 AFL clubs representing the non-Melbourne category; 5 NRL clubs representing the Sydney category and; 5 NRL clubs representing the non-Sydney category.

Data CollectionA qualitative method refl ecting the realism paradigm (cf. Healy & Perry, 2000; Guba & Lincoln, 1994; Tsoukas, 1989) was undertaken to support this research. The nature of the research problem directed data collection to be substantial, in-depth and consistent with an inductive analysis. As a result, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were selected as the data collection tool. In-depth interviews were conducted with one senior manager from each of the professional sport clubs that formed the sample frame. Interviews were conducted in the interviewee’s offi ce or a nearby meeting area. The interviews were of approximately one-hour duration and no follow-up interviews were conducted. All interview tapes and supporting notes were transcribed onto computer for use in subsequent analysis. An interview checklist was employed, with some broad categories of questions developed. These questions were not directly posed to the respondents but rather were used as a reminder of the issues that needed to be explored. The use of checklists is common in research utilising interviews for data collection (Brink, Karlson & Hallberg, 2002; Cooper & Kurland, 2002).

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Data Analysis Coding was undertaken through comparative analysis. The analysis of data occurred during the actual research process and was undertaken following each interview. This approach enabled constant comparisons to be made between the organisations under review. The coding process involved initially studying the transcript to gain a general familiarity with the contents. During this process, dominant concepts, themes and issues were noted in order to form categories. Interview transcripts and notes were imported into QSR NVivo for coding. The result of the coding was a densely branched tree representing the hierarchical structure of node inter-relationships. Each node was examined in order to assist in the interpretation of the data. This approach ensured that the resulting interpretations represented persistent themes, rather than single ‘stand-alone’ outcomes.

Coding was developed through a three-stage process identifi ed by Strauss and Corbin (1998). The identifi cation of broad ‘open’ codes in which data were broken down into manageable concepts occurred in the initial instance. The open coding procedure recognised the core attributes connected with broadcasting exposure. This initial process was followed by the determination of ‘axial’ codes where the broadcast landscape determinants were identifi ed. Once dimensions had been identifi ed, the axial codes were further divided into ‘selective’ codes in which the concepts of broadcast exposure parameters were identifi ed. The coding process moved in a descending order, where data were both combined and reduced. Labels were applied to best describe the researchers’ interpretation of the data. Where appropriate the literature was used to support the development of labels.

A process of checking the labels and coding outcomes was employed within this research. Two researchers were involved in checking the codes, initially through separately coding the same data, and then subsequently coming together to establish common outcomes. Attempting to enhance reliability in this way was undertaken where a satisfactory level of inter-coder agreement reaching 90% was considered reliable (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Through the inductive processes employed in this study, core attributes refl ecting the views of the clubs towards the exposure generated through broadcasting were identifi ed and are reported in the results and discussion to follow.

Results and DiscussionThe broad aim of this study was to identify senior football club managers’ views and interpretation of the sport broadcasting landscape. Evidence arising from this research enables a description of the broader exposure patterns and requirements sought by professional sport clubs with respect to broadcasting matters. Presentation

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of results occurred through an initial development of the core attributes identifi ed by the football clubs in the Australian marketplace. Initial open coding identifi ed the core categories that refl ect the outcomes identifi ed by the clubs when referring to exposure within the Australian professional sport situation. Confi rmation of the core or open code attributes occurred following the initial checking procedure.

The open codes were identifi ed as audience and coverage considerations associated with exposure arising from sport broadcasting. Axial (or secondary level) codes emerged from the analysis, represented by three dimensions termed territory, distribution and profi le. Within axial codes are selective (third-level) codes. The axial code of territory displayed the selective code dimensions of geography and region, the axial code distribution displayed the selective codes termed importance of free-to-air (FTA) and attendance, while the axial code profi le displayed the selective codes of support base, brand recognition and signifi cance. The selective code attributes are not independent of each other, and there is a high degree of crossover amongst specifi c coding attributes identifi ed. Each of the axial and selective code dimensions are examined in turn. Table 1 displays the axial and selective coding outcomes identifi ed by this research.

Table 1: Exposure Dimensions Within the Sport Broadcasting Landscape (Axial and Selective Codes)

Axial Codes Selective Codes1. Territory i. Geography

ii. Region

2. Distribution i. Importance of free-to-air coverageii. Attendance

3. Profi le i. Support baseii. Brand recognitioniii. Signifi cance

TerritoryThe core attribute of territory emerged in response to the geographic depth and breadth associated to the coverage dimension. Territory represented the reach associated with broadcast exposure achieved by the clubs. The dimensions referred to focus on the national and international coverage opportunities presented to a club through broadcasting. This emphasis on coverage resulted in the development of an initial selective code classifi ed as geography. Geographic attributes are closely associated with the international and domestic profi le associated with broadcasting. A second selective code was established from the analysis, and this was termed

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region. This selective code identifi ed a key aspect within the domestic profi le that could be further clarifi ed to include the regional attributes of exposure identifi ed by the clubs. Each of the selective code attributes was addressed.

Geography. Geography referred to the domestic and international opportunities available through the broadcast of the league competitions. The domestic position associated with the league broadcast landscape featured predominantly in the minds of the club managers, given the domestic (national and even regional) nature of the respective football competitions. This is further complicated by the regional nature of the leagues in question. The domestic nature of the Australian professional football leagues is one in which the NRL dominates the northern states of Queensland and New South Wales, while the AFL dominates the southern states of Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. This regional dominance of the two major leagues is a key feature of the Australian professional sport landscape.

In considering geography, domestic market size was referred to in terms of the type of game and the interest that existed on a global scale. This scale was also restricted in the Australian market by the breakdown between AFL and rugby codes. The perception that, “we don’t have that pressure here [as is the case on overseas league competitions] as we only have a national game” existed. This opinion is reinforced through comments such as, “our game, sadly, is not really developed too well internationally.” Identifi cation of the domestic focus of the leagues in question emerged and was a key consideration of the sport managers.

Clubs consistently referred to the inadequate size of the Australian market. There were strong comparisons made to overseas markets and their capacity for particular metropolitan regions to represent individual clubs:

That simply comes down to numbers and the economics of it. We have a country of 20 million. Los Angeles has that many people in the state. They are producing one basketball team, one baseball team, one football team. It is a vastly different set of circumstances.

This emphasis on the small market was a consistent theme that emerged. The club managers were mindful of the fact that they were operating in a domestic situation comprising a sparse population and further divided through state-based interests of the league.

An example of the geographic responsibility associated with the league competition can be displayed by the clearly established points of view surrounding the effect of the origins of each of the respective leagues. Given that the NRL and AFL had both evolved from, in essence, single-city based competitions, there was a strong reference to the regional league association. “When you are talking rugby league, it is only played on the East Coast anyway. It is not even a national game in that respect.” This generalisation was a common reference made by club

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respondents. While the quote is specifi c to rugby league, it was a general theme that emerged from all clubs, regardless of sport represented. The territory that is relevant to the league competition plays a key role in the thinking of the club managers.

The common theme to emerge from this view is that the club managers feel strongly that the market is domestically oriented; it is too small and of minimal interest to large numbers of supporters beyond the core regional boundaries that exist. The reference to the way in which the broadcast occurs outside the major regional market was an area of concern identifi ed. This focus on the regional market introduced the next sub-category of region, further developing this issue of regionalisation.

Region. The appeal to markets outside the local one was considered to be a major obstacle to the broadcast exposure opportunities presented to the clubs. As one club offi cial indicated, “play the Perth clubs and there is no chance you are [broadcast] in the Melbourne market.” This situation was identifi ed as being of primary concern to the clubs, and through further probing it emerged that there existed strong identifi cation with what was subsequently termed core and non-core markets.

The core market refers to the specifi c markets that clubs identifi ed in terms of their regional basis. The core market was identifi ed by NRL clubs as those clubs existing within Sydney, while non-core market comprised those clubs outside of Sydney. Equally, the core market for AFL clubs was Melbourne and non-core market those clubs outside of Melbourne. As previously stated, the NRL and AFL competitions had evolved predominantly from single-city competitions, with continued attempts made since the mid 1980s to develop the leagues nationally. A key feature behind this national approach was to develop greater interest and enhanced broadcasting revenue (Colman, 1996; Linnell, 1995; Stewart, 1985).

While much of the commentary presented by the club managers refl ected a general negative perception associated with the exposure opportunities presented, there was some acknowledgement by the non-core clubs that being one team representing a broad geographic base can be advantageous. This was further reinforced by the fact that the market needed to be one in which the code was dominant or at least high profi le. This can be identifi ed by the Brisbane club in the NRL or the Adelaide or Perth clubs in the AFL:

Yes it does [being one club or one team in a reasonably large regional centre]. That aids us because there is a recognisable geographic location. I think the media assists us tremendously. We are in a lucky situation where all of our games are telecast [local FTA] because of the market that we are in here.

The above point of view was further reinforced by the clubs within the core markets. “A one team town in a huge capital city, they have an absolutely unfair advantage. As has New Zealand. The whole country versus the suburb. How does

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that work?” The emphasis on the way in which core clubs felt that non-core teams were advantaged is clearly shown by the following quote. “Your one team one town situations are always going to have an advantage. They are always going to [have] some advantage over you because you have nine clubs competing out of Sydney.”

The breakdown of the core and non-core attributes provided a clear distinction and one in which clubs felt largely divided on whether there was either an advantage or disadvantage. The clubs refer to the breakdown of the supporter/spectator market as being those that are directly applicable to their current circumstances. For example, there was a strong focus by the Sydney clubs on there being limited advantage to them in playing non-Sydney teams. This view was expressed in terms of the audience profi le associated with particular markets. “The fact is that the majority [of Sydney supporters] don’t care about the North Queensland Cowboys.”

These core comments were quite specifi c in their context and refl ected only by a small group of clubs. The majority of club respondents broadly contradicted this position. There was a strong feeling that the clubs in the core markets would actually receive greater opportunity for broadcast exposure.

No matter how some clubs are travelling, put them on and it pulls [audiences]. You bring in a regional team and the broadcaster will be cutting their throat. If it was number one playing number two in the competition [two non-core clubs] and the broadcaster put that on, they know it won’t rate as well as four playing fi ve if they are two [core] teams.

This comment is reinforced by the fact that clubs indicate that the audience is the key driver behind the broadcast and not necessarily the actual game product:

They [the broadcaster] are not going to schedule a Raiders vs. Warriors game for instance on a Friday night. Even though it is the two best teams. When they did meet, the actual game itself was fantastic. The product is great, but your audience isn’t going to refl ect that product.

This issue not only raises the problem of the free-to-air broadcast, but the additional issue of what times games will be scheduled.

The contradictions that emerged from the core attributes focus need to be explored further. There was a clear view presented by the clubs that they believed the domestic competition, coupled with its further regionalised nature, was too small to provide signifi cant exposure. The exposure issue was further affected by the core and non-core markets that were represented by the clubs. The fact that clubs have strong regional affi liations rather than a broader market or brand presence was seen as a key feature to enhancing exposure. It was identifi ed that the core markets present better opportunities for exposure for the clubs. A general view was that the core clubs were better supported and that more people in the core market would want to watch these clubs, therefore they would be featured more regularly by the

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broadcaster. This position is almost counter-intuitive for the league, which is seeking to develop the game nationally, and relying on the broadcast exposure to assist this in occurring.

DistributionThe second axial code attribute identifi ed was distribution. Distribution refers to the way in which the coverage occurs, and was clearly aligned to the importance of free-to-air broadcasting to the clubs. This ties in closely with the territory outcomes identifi ed previously. If the Australian broadcasting market, which is still the major domain of the free-to-air broadcasters, is already considered too small by the clubs, they would seemingly consider the subscription market size as totally inadequate. The subscription broadcasting market has grown since its inception in 1995, but it still only encompasses about 25% of Australian households and a share of market represented through national ratings fi gures in the low teens (Schulz, 2002).

An emphasis on distribution identifi es the importance the clubs place on receiving free-to-air coverage and, the identifi cation of the free-to-air market and the accessibility of broadcasting. Free-to-air identifi es the freely available broadcasting delivery methods. These methods are predominantly provided in the Australian broadcast sector through terrestrial commercial or public networks. Although technology such as the Internet can be applied to provision of services through free-to-air access, the terrestrial system is the primary format, with a mass audience potential given the integration of television into over 99% of Australian households (AC Nielsen, 1994). Subscription identifi es ways in which technology in sport broadcasting presents additional revenue generating opportunities through subscription supported services. These services link closely to the pay-TV environment through to Internet and mobile telephony subscription opportunities. This approach is supported by Barrand (2002) who identifi ed that pay-TV methods present dedicated sport viewing options for consumers.

Importance of Free-to-Air (FTA). The importance of key (high profi le) games and teams to a sport broadcaster was identifi ed by the club managers. Club managers believe FTA broadcasting to be of greater importance than subscription broadcasting options. There was a clear emphasis on this being important due to the size of the FTA market. The audience capacity of free-to-air delivery over subscription delivery emerged as a key issue. The FTA broadcast provides the greatest potential for mass audience generation. As one club offi cial identifi ed, “it is like 10 times the viewers watch you on Friday night, free-to-air than they do on pay-TV.” Another club offi cial summed it up succinctly by referring to the free-to-air broadcast in terms of its signifi cance to a club stating, “it is a lot more valuable to a football team to be on free-to-air rather than pay-TV.” These responses are representative of the audience capabilities which were previously identifi ed through market size and which are associated with FTA delivery.

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Audience potential associated with subscription broadcasting was considered on the basis of the numbers of subscribers who actually have pay-TV in the Australian market place. This aspect was questioned with respect to the value that pay-TV provides to a club. Numbers were described as insuffi cient in the Australian pay-TV market:

You still wouldn’t get anywhere near those numbers [with pay-TV]. You might double it or triple it but even if you triple it you’re only talking about 240 thousand people versus a million more than that [on FTA]. And it’s still a game for the masses, football. If we move away from that I reckon we’ll lose a lot of our … well a lot of the core of what we’re about.

Exposure associated with FTA was considered important by the clubs due to the number of households that have subscription broadcasting services. “[From an] exposure point of view it is better for us to be on free-to-air without a doubt because three out of every four households don’t have pay-TV. So we want most people seeing us. The exposure side of it, we need that.” The focus on exposure was a very strong consideration. Clubs also extend their views on the importance of exposure beyond the market dimensions to incorporate FTA value to their sponsors and supporters. “We were leading the competition, we still hadn’t had a free-to-air game. Which is valuable to our sponsors and supporters.”

Associated with sponsorship and supporter groups is a clear link to the audience and branding issues as noted by one club manager. “Obviously we want to be on free-to-air as much as we can to provide our sponsors and our brand to be out there; to be in front of the biggest audience. The biggest audience is obviously free-to-air rather than pay-TV.”

While audience and branding issues were considered paramount by the club, and FTA presented the best opportunity to achieve this, the capacity for clubs to have control over their place on FTA television is severely restricted. This aligns closely to the profi le attribute identifi ed later in the paper. “I think they [league] will be giving them [sport broadcasters] the best games on free-to-air,” and “90% of the good games are on FTA,” emphasises a degree of disparity that exists between the clubs, the league and the broadcaster over the obligations to ensure fairness in scheduling. This issue is a key feature that represents an exposure dimension that affects the clubs, and needs to be considered by all the parties in the broadcasting relationship.

The emphasis on the scheduling surrounding the FTA broadcast extended to the view that FTA broadcasting was considered to have an impact on the way in which clubs were able to promote themselves. The impact of playing teams considered inferior in terms of audience and broadcast ratings was considered less than desirable. “We might be drawn to play teams that won’t draw big crowds and they are not going to draw big TV ratings, so other games are going to be on [FTA]

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TV and we are not.” This is a defi nite problem that clubs see as arising through having a mixture of FTA and subscription broadcast games. Club managers express strong views concerning the value of exposure within the Australian broadcasting market and the value of revenue that might be on offer through the broadcast rights available. This issue emerges as a direct consequence of the exposure position that is presented.

There was a strong feeling that the capacity to receive FTA coverage was vitally important to a club. While the exposure aspect was considered to be the primary concern within this paper, there is a clear indication that other aspects such as fairness emerged when assessing the importance of FTA distribution. This approach to fairness and exposure to mass audiences as opposed to niche subscription audiences is an area that requires further consideration and researching.

The distribution attribute identifi ed the importance of FTA rather than subscription avenues to the clubs. This is because subscription broadcasting does not present the audience numbers available through FTA, and that this has a profound affect on the exposure that the club then receives. The reduction in exposure brings with it problems to sponsors and supporters.

Attendance. Arising from the importance club managers place on the exposure generated through broadcasting, one further criterion emerged. Game attendance best fi tted within the distribution code, but it emerged as an important but somewhat contradictory element, in light of the other exposure attributes presented. It is considered here as it was a common theme to emerge from the interpretation of the distribution of broadcast exposure, which was developed by the clubs. There was a clear feeling that attempting to incorporate and maintain/maximise attendance was considered equally as important by the clubs in maximising broadcast exposure.

Exposure for the game was presented in a way to identify the importance of both attendance and broadcasting exposure. “I think one of the key performance indicators for the AFL always has to be both television ratings and attendance and fi nding the right balance between both. Can’t be one or the other.” Comments such as this highlight that clubs believe that audiences are a combination of both television viewers and spectators at the game. There was a clear focus on needing to identify how best to maximise both without diluting either alternative.

Given the emphasis on the domestic nature of the leagues, the required positioning of the league was an issue that was also raised. When referring to the importance of the northern states one AFL offi cial stated: “We have to get them up otherwise we’re in trouble as an AFL, as an industry. That’s a major issue for us but at the same time we need to make sure the fi xtures are balanced enough [so] they provide an opportunity to get greater attendances.” The identifi cation of the national (domestic) nature of the leagues was a key point that was stressed, while also being mindful of the balance between attendance and viewing, as well as the club, league and broadcaster interests that emerge.

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Profi leProfi le represented the third axial code category, and encompasses many issues associated with the concept of exposure. The actual profi le of specifi c clubs was considered a key contributor towards enhancing their broadcast exposure opportunities. Consideration of the profi le of the club was measured through issues such as supporter interest, club brand and club success. The profi le of the broadcast landscape was introduced through the selective code dimensions referred to as support base, brand recognition, and signifi cance. Profi le is an important consideration for the clubs when added to the previously determined attributes of territory and distribution, particularly in reference to the location of the club. Profi le relating to club location was referred to in relation to the region selective coding framework.

Support base. The support base is closely aligned to the attributes already discussed. The impact of domestic and terrestrial support as already outlined was closely aligned to this dimension. Clubs refer to the development of supporter categories and the level of interest in the game globally. The impact of opportunity to develop a broader support base was summed up succinctly by one club offi cial in the following way. “If we had 6 million fans in China, it would be a whole different ball game.” The fact that the Australian market is seriously restricted in its size, coupled with the domestic nature of each football code, was considered to be a key consideration of the clubs. “We’re not a Manchester United. I think they have something like 380,000 paid members. We don’t have that scale.”

The position of the support-base aligns closely to the brand recognition dimension outlined below. It was strongly felt that there existed a pecking order of game selection by the broadcasters, who would look at the profi le of the teams over the league’s or clubs’ interests. The comment that, “even though we came last this year, we still had plenty of Channel Nine games. Our games rate, people want to watch us,” is a clear indication of the attention given to the marquee or boutique clubs in the league by the broadcaster.

Brand Recognition. Associated with the above comments referring to support base, a clearly developed position in which the ongoing brand development of clubs was identifi ed. Clubs did not consider diluting their audiences by giving the broadcast rights to a subscription broadcaster. The capacity to generate mass audience numbers was still considered a crucial requirement in order to continue to develop the club brand:

One of the things for us is we want to grow our brand and be known as far and wide as we can. If Foxtel came to us and said we want to do it and we’ll give you a special deal and have it subscriber only, that wouldn’t be our preference. We want to be exposed to and touch as many people as we can. Notwithstanding they [Foxtel] might chuck a fair bit of money at you but at the end of the day we get [sponsors], and we get all these people coming to our game because they know

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who we are. And people like Foxtel only have about 80 thousand subscribers. We average 500 [thousand] plus you know, on the [FTA] TV, so you don’t want to limit yourself to 80 [thousand], it doesn’t do you any good.

Within this brand framework, clubs were looking at broadcasting as a way in which to engage in support and development opportunities from beyond their existing territorial markets. There was a general feeling that clubs have captured good support within their local markets, but that there is the need to develop markets beyond traditional boundaries:

Fremantle are good in their own market, we are good in our market. Our major competitor is [the other club in the city], but we want to get into other markets. We want to spread our wings, be a national club. Be recognised and have that brand presence that [other clubs] have got.

The problem of brand recognition was developed further through the way in which local markets were deemed to be relatively safe, but there was an inequity in how the national market was distributed. This inequity was observed as being a direct result of the way in which the FTA broadcast was disseminated. It was felt that this gave those clubs that dominated the FTA coverage a greater push into non-core markets, thereby enabling these clubs to develop their brand at the expense of those clubs that do not receive the same level of national coverage:

If you look at us [club] in our own right, we are very well served by free-to-air. Free-to-air gets the greatest audience. But we see what is happening across the AFL, and we see Collingwood and Essendon being pushed into free-to-air markets in Sydney, Brisbane and other free-to-air markets that Western Bulldogs, Fremantle and ourselves don’t get. What is that doing? Well that is spreading the gospel of [certain clubs], a whole lot wider than we can do. Therefore when you start to look at the fi gures of anticipation in all states across all clubs, lo and behold, you are seeing the Collingwood’s and the Essendon’s of the world having high anticipation rates from kids who do Auskick, who barrack for those clubs. Why is that? Because they see them on free-to-air TV. Don’t ever see Fremantle on free-to-air TV. They will see us less on free-to-air TV. So there are inequities in that.

This viewpoint was developed by the clubs to be one in which there was a strong feeling that the infl uence the broadcasters had in selecting clubs and games to broadcast was too profound:

Well it is hard, because the broadcasters are saying, we want to use high profi le teams to generate increased viewing and audiences. So they are going to use the clubs with the strongest brand presence. So the broadcasters are in it for their own benefi t and they want to generate more viewers, increase revenue through advertising. They use the top brand names in AFL footy and that is advantageous to some of us.

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The brand recognition dimension is a clearly identifi ed position in which clubs feel that they are reliant on the broadcast exposure to enhance their brand, but that inequities exist in the opportunities that are presented to them to do this. Broadcaster infl uence is considered to be too great.

Signifi cance. The signifi cance of broadcasting to clubs was identifi ed through attention to the profi le of the club, league-ladder position, and the effect of each on the broadcast. There was an initial feeling expressed by the clubs that ladder position was relevant to whether a club was featured through FTA or subscription TV broadcasts. “The more successful you are during the course of any one year, the more free-to-air TV you are going to get.”

The majority of the other club respondents quickly downplayed this virtuous remark made by one club respondent. There was a very cynical view about the broadcaster selection of games. “The most signifi cant component of the broadcasters selection is audience.” This was even further denigrated by the fact that clubs believed that, “It is up to the broadcaster. The games they think are going to be best for their ratings, they are the ones they want on there.”

Attention towards the profi le of the club being more important than the clubs’ position on the league-table, was considered broadly, with the view that while current league-table placement would certainly help a club to appear on the FTA coverage, it was felt that most defi nitely, the overall popularity of the club was likely to be the most telling factor in a FTA broadcast appearance:

Their scheduling is a little bit different. It is not just the top teams that they consider. It is the high profi le teams. It is the teams that are well supported or come from a Sydney background. If it’s a Sydney team, suddenly your audience is going to be higher so that all refl ects your scheduling.

This situation is one that is closely aligned to the focus on distribution outlined previously, as well as the link to region in which the core market consideration was again presented. There was further concern expressed by the clubs over FTA exposure, in terms of the involvement of the broadcaster in determining the composition of games to feature on the FTA broadcast. The emphasis refl ected on the actual impact that the FTA versus subscription broadcast has on a club:

We haven’t had a free-to-air game for a year and half and they [broadcaster] would come to you with excuses, depends on if you are winning. For example, [club] who won the same amount of games as we did last year and on the ladder [were in] the same [position] as us, they had 14 free-to-air games, we had none.

As already stated, the importance of FTA exposure to a club was considered vital. This further reinforced how the clubs view the situation. To compound the problem, the above comment was made by a non-core (regional) club. Some clubs outright admitted that they would receive substantial FTA coverage given their status as a higher profi le team within the league. One offi cial with a high profi le team stated:

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No it [ladder position] doesn’t affect us [club] because we have the bases covered as far as always being competitive. We are considered a high profi le team. We have high profi le players. We have never had a problem with free-to-air coverage.

The comments made in reference to the signifi cance of the club, in terms of how much FTA coverage is received, coupled with the region in which the club might belong, have close ties to the previously determined importance of free-to-air coverage and region selective code attributes. This implies a strong overlap with other specifi c dimensions as a consequence of the coding process. The implication of this close alliance of selective code outcomes also expresses the importance of these considerations by the clubs when addressing the issue of exposure.

Conclusions and Implications for ManagementThe exposure of sport through broadcasting is a key driver for the development of professional sport. Within the Australian context, the regional nature (and even further restricted single-city nature) of the major football codes has been challenged by the development of national competition by the league. One emphasis has been on the crucial focus on audiences in terms of number and type being identifi ed. Broadcasting opportunities have evolved in order to maximise the opportunity to develop the audience profi le. The introduction of subscription broadcasting into Australia has further challenged the leagues to ensure the growth of revenue while maintaining the audience and development parameters associated with growing the game.

The regional nature of the markets represented by each league emerged as a key consideration. The fact that the NRL dominates the northern Australian markets of New South Wales and Queensland, while the AFL dominates the southern Australian markets of Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia presented a signifi cant area of concern to the clubs. As a result, geographic territory was considered to be a key outcome in terms of market size and exposure capacity to develop audiences and consumer interest.

The push towards national competitions has been strongly emphasised by both of the leagues in question. Seemingly, the desire to develop a national approach is supported by the clubs and the broadcasters. While this would intuitively seem to be the case, there are concerns among the clubs that this is not necessarily being supported through the broadcast agreement (in terms of exposure). The clubs felt that the importance of the broadcast in a national sense was somewhat restricted given subscription services had been integrated alongside the FTA broadcast. There were grave concerns that while the domestic market was already too small, the placement of games into the even smaller subscription broadcasting market was detrimental

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to the development of the clubs themselves. The view was not necessarily one that it affected the league, but it was one that was clearly stated as being a position that impacts upon individual clubs. Clubs expressed concern that this may not be in the interests of the overall development of the game, if the trend continues for specifi c clubs to obtain more exposure than others.

The impact of the region attribute presented an interesting and differentiated outcome. While concerns were expressed by core market clubs that clubs in non-core markets had an unfair advantage with respect to broadcasting, it was suggested that the broadcasters would actually look towards higher profi le teams from within the core market. This presents somewhat of an anomaly and is a case that requires further research in order to develop the core and non-core identifi cation. The outcomes associated with this attribute would seem to indicate that while there is talk about developing a national competition, clubs believe that the broadcasters really only want to broadcast the higher profi le teams and don’t want to feature other teams, even where they represent the potential for development of new markets. This is a contrary position to that which seems to being developed by the league.

It would seem that league management need to be ever mindful of the needs of broadcasters within the confi nes of any agreement, in order to ensure that the audience and ratings are maximised. While being mindful of the broadcasters’ needs, the league must also cater to the requirements of the member clubs in order to ensure that all clubs within the league receive adequate and equitable exposure.

The method of distribution was identifi ed by the clubs as being an important issue. This raised concerns over the importance of FTA and subscription broadcast. Given the current size of the Australian subscription market there was some concern over the differentiation between each market. The clubs felt that FTA was a priority, and one in which they needed to maximise their position. Club management has to be aware of the need to maximise exposure and develop the club brand in a national or international sense, while also respecting the share of audiences in order to enable the league competition to grow and develop beyond its parochial regional boundaries.

Club respondents believed that broadcasters view the profi le of clubs as important in determining their schedules in order to maximise the games broadcast. Club managers displayed misapprehension with respect to the issue of profi le. An issue arose over whether the league position a club has, is or should be, considered more important in the broadcast than that of the club profi le. This again has serious implications on the club being able to build their brand in a national (or even international) sense. Broadcasters play a crucial role in ensuring maximisation of exposure. Added to this is the requirement for clubs to be featured regularly through free-to-air broadcasts rather than subscription broadcasts. Club managers believe that being a successful club in terms of position on the league-table should have the effect of ensuring that games are broadcast free-to-air. The club managers expressed

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that they did not believe this to be the case. This is further exacerbated through the core attributes concept in which not only are higher profi le clubs featured more regularly in the FTA broadcast, they are also fi xtured more often with other high profi le clubs within the core market. This means that the high profi le Sydney clubs in the NRL and high profi le Melbourne clubs within the AFL will be fi xtured to meet more often, with the resulting broadcast receiving prime broadcasting positions suitable for the core market (and subsequent national markets).

While fi xturing the higher profi le, core market teams makes pragmatic business sense, it could be considered somewhat detrimental to the development of the league in question. The result is that the fi xture and broadcast exposure is dominated by a selection of branded clubs. The effect of this position on the league national strategy is a serious consideration. The situation of profi le clubs receiving predominantly more exposure than non-profi le clubs needs to be considered in terms of whether this dilutes the brand of these lesser clubs, and as a result, the brand of the league. The leagues have made inroads into expanding nationally, while the broadcasters focus their attention to the profi le teams in the core markets. The strategic imperatives of the leagues and broadcasters appear diametrically opposed. This may be detrimental to the future growth potential of the league. Club managers believe that broadcast management needs to take into account the broader requirements of the league and the clubs in ensuring that the competition will continue to grow the market and audience interest will continue to develop, while also ensuring that clubs are given equal opportunity to develop supporter bases. Further research into reviewing the opinion of the broadcasters would assist in determining this position.

In summary, the exposure element for the clubs can be clearly observed given that there is concern with the audience fi gures generated. Clubs feel that the current broadcasting opportunities are relevant, but restricted by the impact of territorial boundaries, whereby the key broadcast times are allotted to the higher profi le clubs. There is an argument that these higher profi le clubs generally represent teams within the core markets. The net effect of this process is to aid in building the already strong brand presence these clubs have in a national sense, potentially to the detriment of the lower profi le clubs.

With the above comments in mind, FTA and subscription opportunities were considered extremely important from the perspective of the clubs. This was due to the requirement for exposure of the club brand as well as key games on FTA being seen as preferential in terms of exposure. The FTA broadcast also presents a mechanism for promoting a club to sponsors and supporters. There were certainly issues expressed by the clubs in terms of exposure, and this leads to the conclusion that there is scope to develop this research approach further, delving beyond the clubs to investigate league and broadcaster perspectives.

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Determining the professional sport broadcasting marketplace in Australia

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