A study by international sports marketing firm Two Circles has predicted that only 53% of sports events in 2020 will now take place due to Covid-19.
With the coronavirus pandemic forcing the cancellation or postponement of many events Two Circles also estimates that the interruption to live sports will see revenues drop from $135.3bn to $73.7bn – a $61.6bn deficit.
Commenting on the study Gareth Balch, Two Circles CEO, said: “Sports properties are keen to return as soon as possible as the longer the sports calendar is on hiatus, the worse the financial impact will be.
“However, sports should – and will – only return when it is deemed safe to do so, and with the support of all relevant government and medical authorities. Even hosting sports without crowds poses a complex challenge.
“Compared to most other industries, in recent times of economic adversity sports has proven to be recession-resilient.
“Whilst live sports is halted, every corner of the sports industry will continue to feel this significant financial pain, but we are certain that it returns, whether that’s behind-closed-doors or with full houses, sports’ economy will thrive once again.
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What the Two Circles study found
- Originally, 49,803 major sports events [paid ticketed events for professional, competitive sports events with a projected attendance of at least 5,000] were scheduled for 2020, however global social-distancing measures introduced as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic have led to a large proportion of sports events being postponed or cancelled
- In March, only 1,870 of the originally-scheduled 5,584 events [33%] took place. As of 20 April, Two Circles models – which update daily based on changes in the rate of infections and confirmed scheduling alterations – show that 26,424 events are due to be held by calendar-end. This is 53% of the events anticipated pre-Covid-19
- As of 20 April, Two Circles estimates that the global sports industry will generate $73.7bn in revenue in 2020 – $61.6bn less than the $135.3bn projected before the Covid-19 outbreak
- In 2019, the global sports industry generated $129bn in revenue and it had been anticipated the industry would grow by 4.9% year-on-year before Covid-19 struck
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