Managing sports broadcasting rights in the converged era

In this paper, it is contended that premium sports rights holders are increasingly moving towards non-exclusive selling models as a result of recent regulatory and market developments. Whereas digital broadcasting is evolving to mature but fragmented markets with multiple operators, a growing amount of regulatory interventions on the national and European level is pressuring exclusive dealing in pay-TV markets. This changing environment may urge sports rights holders to alter their current business models that are based on the exclusive selling of media rights. Consequently, sports leagues have started looking for direct-to-consumer business models that make them less dependent on particular pay-TV operators and allow them to capture the value of their product themselves. From a public policy perspective, this non-exclusive model might help to create positive market dynamics in terms of competition, innovation, consumer prices and market penetration