Sports video equipment spending shows increases in every geographic region, despite uneven experiences the industry is seeing in many other markets. Ever since the recession hit in 2008, and worsened in 2009 and 2010, speculation had it that despite previous gains, the sports video market would be underperforming by the same ratios that were hurting […]
Sports video equipment spending shows increases in every geographic region, despite uneven experiences the industry is seeing in many other markets. Ever since the recession hit in 2008, and worsened in 2009 and 2010, speculation had it that despite previous gains, the sports video market would be underperforming by the same ratios that were hurting the sports arenas and stadiums generally, namely reduced attendance, unrented VIP boxes, lower concession revenues and poor season tickets sales. True, the sports video spend was affected some projects were halted and the market somewhat slowed, but unlike many other consumer-oriented segments, sports, seen by most as a form of entertainment, continued to do better than was anticipated and rebounded sooner.
The spend on refurbishing or constructing new stadiums kept going during the darkest times, pretty much through the worst years of 2009 and 2010 and in some regions like the Americas and Asia, really didnt dip much if at all. In the USA, it has been mainly baseball parks that have seen dramatic spending in the past year or so, as some of the oldest ones have been totally re-built, sometimes from the ground up. Needless to say, in addition to massive Digital Signage displays that personify modern stadiums, TV equipment installs have been happening on a scale not seen before. And, video has been used in parts of those stadiums where it heretofore had not been in the old parks. An example could be monitors (not cameras, mind you) in restrooms, and stairwells, carrying the signage and promotional campaigns steps towards branding support and concession going stimulation. Educational facilities both for the games and for training environments have been expanded as well. In other markets, globally, new arenas have been built, new trucks constructed and TV sports departments expanded. Additionally the phenomenon of new sports channels being deployed, many on a pay for view basis, is also making a profound impact.
Now, a new study looking at 2011 purchases and 2012 purchase plans on sports-related video equipment is setting new records and exceeding goals. All of the ten product categories that were tracked in the new D. I. S. report, Sports Video World 2012 are showing increased spending.
The study, which was conducted during the spring of 2012 and published at the end of July 2012, offers a five-year forecast for each of the separate product genres.
From an equipment perspective, there are definite signs of significant build-outs in cameras and camcorders, added virtual camera positions, additional displays and control room packages being deployed, affecting spend on switchers and routers, graphics and more. It seems that there is expansion in addition to replacement or upgrades.
Regionally, only the European countries have experienced any significant diminishing of this increased spend, made worse by the economic turmoil there and but has been offset and mitigated to some degree by the London Olympics and increased coverage of sports heretofore not regularly covered on TV, as well as spending by Sky and others. Additionally, the uptake of 3D and its application to cup games as well the deployment of new 3D sports channels has kept the European weakness from having a greater impact than it could have.
Whilst the interest in 4K resolution is also seen as potentially strong, augmenting the 3D use, its probably too early to predict how much that 4K influence will be, except that it may combine with 3D in some instances making such coverage even more compelling.
The overall global sports video equipment purchasing gain seen in the year 2012 over 2011 purchases is expressed as 6.24% with the USA at 5.1% gain, Europe at 2.3% gain, the Middle-East and Africa at 6.1%, Asia-Pacific at 8.4% and the Americas at 9.3%, respectively. Of course, these gains vary by product genre, by segment and as stated, by region. But, the overriding theme is that sports video spending is amongst the most attractive in the entire professional equipment marketplace and a consistently stable place among many much less predictable ones.
Douglas I. Sheer is CEO and chief analyst of D.I.S. Consulting Corporation of Livingston Manor, NY.
