THE SPORTS LEAGUES WITH THE greatest digital value in the world have been revealed in a new report by digital asset valuation experts Horizm, which projects the combined online inventory of their teams will be worth more than £860 million ($1.2 billion) by the end of this year.
The digital inventory of the world’s top sporting leagues across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter is projected to be worth more than €1.1bn in 2021. Of this total, the world’s top 20 sports teams by inventory value are projected to account for two thirds, offering €733m in the same period.
English and European football clubs dominate what Horizm has coined the ‘Global Brands’ category, those with an audience of 20 million and above. Manchester United lead the category, with The Red Devils predicted to generate upwards of £90 million from their digital assets this year alone.
The Premier League has the biggest digital inventory of the world’s major sports leagues, with a projected value of £302 million, almost as much as those in second and third place combined – LaLiga and the NBA.
As per Horizm, activity is the biggest lever of value, with a greater correlation present between activity levels and value than with engagement rate and value. This implies that a volume play rather than a heavily curated strategy is the best approach to maximise the commercial potential of digital inventory.
Premier League dominates digitally
Collectively, the teams of the Premier League produced the most amount of digital inventory in Q1, ahead of LaLiga and NBA, and is projected to be worth more than €350m in 2021, which is almost as much as the 2nd (LaLiga €219m) and 3rd place (NBA €142m) combined.
NHL were the most efficient at generating value amongst the world’s top sports leagues in Q1 ahead of The Premier League and NBA.
Manchester United the top performing ‘Global Sports Brand’
Horizm’s top 20 ranking by inventory value of “Global Brands” – teams that have a social audience in excess of 20m across their primary social platforms – is dominated by European Football teams, accounting for 15 of the top 20. The other five teams are NBA franchises.
In this category, Manchester United has the biggest digital inventory in Q1, ahead of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool & Chelsea and are projected to generate more than €105m in digital inventory this year across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Manchester United is also the most efficient of the teams at generating value per fan, ahead of the Golden State Warriors and Inter Milan. The Premier League’s “Big Six” clubs are amongst the most efficient in generating digital value with all six in the top 10.
In terms of posts published in Q1, Premier League teams dominate this category with Manchester United topping the activity charts ahead of Manchester City and Tottenham. Golden State Warriors head the performance rankings ahead of LA Lakers and Inter Milan.
US sports lead the way amongst ‘Elite Teams’
Horizm’s top 20 ranking of “Elite Teams” – teams that have a social audience between 2m and 20m – is a lot more US dominated with North American teams accounting for 15 of the top 20 teams by value per fan.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the most efficient “Elite Team” in Q1, generating €0.5 per fan, although it should be noted that the Florida-based franchises’ Super Bowl triumph took place during the period of measure which will have driven up their usual level of digital engagement.
There is a diversity of sports in the top five with Athletic Club Bilbao (football) second, Buffalo Bills (NFL) third, Brooklyn Nets (NBA) fourth and Washington Capitals (NHL) fifth.
Athletic Club Bilbao, Leicester City and Real Sociedad lead the way in terms of activity levels in this bracket.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Buffalo Bills and Leeds United top the performance charts.
Instagram most valuable channel
Instagram is the most valuable of the three primary social media channels for the world’s top sporting leagues & teams, accounting for 49% of the total value generated. Facebook accounts for 36% and twitter 15%.
Looking at value per fan, Instagram is particularly strong, generating on average double the value per audience compared with Facebook and Twitter. European Football teams are stronger on Instagram while American teams perform better on Facebook and Twitter, particularly on Twitter.
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