Let’s buy the World Athletics broadcast rights

What would you be willing to pay to stream world class athletics live?

This piece is inspired by a recent tweet from live streaming aficionado, Lachlan Rayner. It’s presented below to set the scene.

How is FloTrack a 'local broadcaster' of Australia? They aren't Australian and they are behind a paywall?

— Lachlan Rayner (@LachlanRayner) May 9, 2021

Probably would have paid if the price point was right. But what a rip off 😡

— paulpearcecoaching (@paulcoachpearce) May 9, 2021

The topic is a classic conundrum for a rights holder like World Athletics that has dual responsibilities of promoting the sport and generating revenue: Do you give away content for free, to maximise exposure of the sport? Or put a price to it, to achieve a commercial return that can be reinvested in the sport, but at the expense of lower exposure?

It’s a topic others have also sought to address, but from a different perspective: providing additional income for elite athletes. Earlier this year the Parkdale Gift trialed an initiative where the top athletes at their meet received a cut of the pay-per-view income, while a similar model is being explored in the US.

But first, back to Australia and viewing the big meets around the world. As David Culbert tweeted, it’s a peculiar set of circumstances that FloTrack have the Australian rights to World Athletics’ events and haven’t engaged in any marketing to encourage subscriptions to their service.

Perhaps it’s because FloTrack’s pricing would likely make the Australian audience baulk unless they are very interested in the US collegiate content they primarily focus on… $30 to pay by the month or $150 annually (presumably in US dollars?).

In turn, FloTrack not seeking to gain a commercial return on their investment makes one think that the World Athletics rights must not have cost them much… perhaps they were bundled with the US rights that service their constituent base?

So what are the rights worth? One way to put a value to them would be the figure out what Australian athletics fans would be willing to pay to watch the events (if they are willing to pay at all).

Help us find out that out with the below quick survey.

While we’re at it, let’s also look at a similar question for Australia’s domestic season meets. We’ll publish a summary of the responses shortly, along with a range of opinions on the topic.

Like to receive the results straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our newsletter.

Have an opinion on this topic? Join the discussion via Facebook or Twitter.

[wcepe_products ids=’1402,1411′ columns=’2′]

Latest posts:

• 
  Louison-Roe gets her gold as Australia closes out Eugene with six medals
  Two years ago in Lima, Izobelle Louison-Roe was the surprise. A 17-year-old clearing a personal best 1.89m to take silver behind Angelina Topic, with nothing much expected and nothing much to lose. In Eugene she was the favourite, and that is a very different job. She did it anyway: 1.92m,
• 
  No walk in the park: Beacroft sets World U20 record in claiming gold
  Nine days after Commonwealth gold at Scotstoun — and a night out with the Australian team — Isaac Beacroft has completed the double at Hayward Field, breaking the world U20 record for the 5000m walk. It completes a double almost no one attempts, let alone lands. Nine days earlier the
• 
  Buchanan, Campbell claim City2Surf honours
  Andy Buchanan and Holly Campbell have honed their preparations for races later this month by taking out one of the world’s largest running event: Sydney’s City2Surf. Buchanan clocked 40:27 to win the 14km race from Sydney’s Hyde Park to the iconic Bondi Beach, finishing over 30 seconds ahead of Luke
• 
  Twice the climb, half the mercy: Ballarat raises the stakes in 2026
  The mud pits, mounds and logs will be familiar. The hills will not. The Australian Cross Country Championships returns to Victoria Park in Ballarat on 22 August with a course that, on paper at least, looks considerably more demanding than the one athletes tackled 12 months ago. While many of
• 
  Five minutes: Australia’s mixed relay broke a World U20 record, then Great Britain bettered it
  Australia’s mixed 4x100m relay held the inaugural World U20 record for about as long as it takes to walk from the finish line to the top of the mixed zone. Uwezo Lubenda, Maya Taber, Kelechi Ekwomadu and Thewbelle Philp won the first of the two morning heats at Hayward Field

Gearing up for the season?

Replacement spikes, shipped fast from Melbourne.

Shop Now