s, professional sporting events worldwide have been delayed, postponed or canceled outright amid the global pandemic, raising questions about the financial damage the outbreak will wreak on networks dependent on live coverage of tremendously fit folk running, throwing, kicking and catching all manner of round objects.
Comcast’s NBCUniversal, which holds U.S. rights to the Tokyo Summer Games, and Discovery Inc., which holds Olympics rights through 2024 in 50 European markets via its Eurosport network, have both previously said they had purchased insurance policies that would cover losses. NBCUniversal booked a record $1.25 billion in ad sales ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, selling out 90 percent of its national ad inventory before the IOC announced the delay.
A report published Thursday by London-based Ampere Analytics estimates Sky in the U.K. generates $2.5 billion from sports, around 22 percent of its overall U.K. revenue. In a worst-case scenario, where COVID-19 concerns lead to all sports coverage, both British and international, being suspended for the next four months and all subscribers pausing their contracts, with wholesale clients being allowed to follow, Ampere forecasts Sky would lose $837 million from the current crisis.
Even harder hit will be all-sports networks, which face extreme revenue drops and wholesale massive losses of subscribers. For groups like London-based DAZN and France's BeIN Sports “there is no conceivable loss cap” says Ampere, noting the prevalence of no-contract, cancel-anytime 30-day subscriptions means customers can quickly drop their all-sports services while they wait for the games to resume.
“Someone save the broadcasters GODDAMMIT!!”