US sports: media rights will be the top source of franchise revenue in 2018 (PwC study)

Media rights will become the top source of franchise revenue for the five major North American leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS), starting in 2018, with a cumulative amount of $20.135bn (€17bn at 21/12/2017), according to a report from the audit and consulting firm PwC, published in December 2017.

In 2016, the main source of revenue for North American franchises was ticketing, with a cumulative amount of $18.649bn (€17.7bn at 31/12/2016), compared to $18.372bn (€17.5bn) for media rights. The other two categories of income in the study are sponsorship, $16.301bn (€15.5bn) and merchandising, $13.966bn (€ 13.3 billion) in 2016.

According to the study, the total revenue of US sports franchises should increase from $67.288bn (€63.9bn) in 2016 to $78.532bn (€66.4bn at 13/12/2017) in 2021, representing an average annual growth of 3.1% over 5 years.

To download the report: PwC: study on the evolution of revenue sources for North American franchises (December 2017)  Published on 14/12/17 at 09:49
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