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Video: The Bounce Back

However, for the first time in nearly a year, there is now a light at the end of the tunnel with vaccinations rolling out at pace across the world. And with every vaccination that takes place, that light gets just that little bit brighter and a lifting of restrictions just that little bit more within reach. … Continued

Quick Fire Questions: Life at Two Circles

Koya Sanwo (left – joined August 2020), Sophie Behan (centre – joined January 2020) and Ben Robinson (right – joined August 2020) are all Analysts at Two Circles. What are you working on currently? Koya Sanwo: A few different clients. Southampton FC – where we support a range of business areas including ticketing, hospitality and … Continued

Why live sports will return to growth post-Covid

However, with vaccines being rolled out there is light at the end of the tunnel for both sports and society at large. And for the business of selling live sports experiences, our data analysis of fan behavior shows that Covid will not have a long-term negative impact on the propensity to go – and pay … Continued

Growing Out of the Uncertainty: Sports Media’s Hybrid Future

In Growing Out of the Uncertainty, we use our unique insight from processing and analyzing tens of billions of data points on sports fans to predict Covid-19’s long-term impact on sport, and provide a roadmap for sports properties to minimize the challenges and maximize the opportunities. Sports Media’s Hybrid Future As the world navigates a Covid-19 … Continued

Sponsorship’s Digital Revolution

The last two months have been spent exploring how sponsors can be compensated through ‘makegood’ collateral, and how new ‘sponsorable’ broadcast and digital assets can be created as we prepare ourselves for a sustained period of spectator-less sports. Through Covid-19 sports sponsorship’s transition to being a digital business will be accelerated In sports where events have … Continued

Covid-19 and Sport’s New World Order

The most optimistic projections – such as from McKinsey on April 13 – show that the US economy, the world’s biggest, will return to its pre-crisis growth during Q4 of this year. Other projections show a far less optimistic outlook; Goldman Sachs, on March 31, said they believe the US economy will shrink an annualised 34% in Q2 … Continued

Podcast: Unofficial Partner talks to Gareth Balch

Gareth Balch spoke to Richard Gillis on the Unofficial Partner podcast about what being a data-driven agency entails, the digital transformation of sport, and how Two Circles is helping clients drive growth by building direct relationships with fans. The podcast was recorded in the midst of the global Covid-19 pandemic globally on March 31st 2020. … Continued

Maximising the value of sports assets

At the end of March, Gareth Balch talked to Sportcal about the impact on the sports industry during and post-coronavirus, the role of digital and data in maximising the value of media and sponsorship rights, and the prevailing trend of private equity investment. Sports properties need to develop rights packages that are befitting of the … Continued

Data, Digital and Sponsorship’s Future

As a marketing platform to reach on-scale, audiences in real-time, sport is unrivalled. After all, no other form of entertainment produces the moments of major cultural significance that sport does, nor the global, highly and emotionally engaged audiences from such a diverse set of demographics. And in a world where brands are striving for greater … Continued

Setting Up for Success

Sports rights-holders already have multiple channels through which they can deliver authentic physical and digital campaigns for brands, putting them a step ahead of traditional media investment. By properly integrating digital into their sponsorship proposition – and recognizing the value sponsorship is delivering using sophisticated, but simple-to-digest, evaluation metrics – rights-holders will drive a growth … Continued

Sports broadcasting: solving the Innovator’s Dilemma

Changing media habits have forced the major leagues into their own version of the Innovator’s Dilemma: do they protect their media rights income by continuing to do linear TV deals, or do they serve their younger audience through digital innovation? The ‘traditional’ TV audience is eroding as viewers watch digitally and on-demand, and while viewership … Continued

CES takeouts for the sports business in 2019 (and beyond)

Don’t believe what you read: sports broadcasting is thriving – not dying Sam Yardley: How and on which platforms fans watch live sport has changed significantly over the last five years, testing all established media models. But Levy was bullish that the sports broadcast industry is “strong…and getting stronger” – and particularly given sports is … Continued

Sports’ digital disruption – and the crucial role for marketing

“Two ways,” he replies. “Gradually, then suddenly.” That fictional conversation was written nearly a century ago, but relates perfectly to the impact digital is having on the sports business. New companies and players are entering the market, new business models are emerging, and consumer behavior has changed fundamentally. Netflix has helped shift what we’re willing … Continued

Sport: the Ultimate Experience

In 2018, professional sports events played in the UK will attract 11.5m more attendances than in 2012, not including major one-off events. That represents an average increase of 2.8% a year between 2012 and 2018 in a period where the UK population has grown by 0.71% a year1. Total Ticketed Attendance for Live Sport in … Continued

Sport: the Ultimate Experience

In 2018, professional sports events played in the UK will attract 11.5m more attendances than in 2012, not including major one-off events. That represents an average increase of 2.8% a year between 2012 and 2018 in a period where the UK population has grown by 0.71% a year1. Total Ticketed Attendance for Live Sport in … Continued

What can sports learn from Amazon’s increasing retail power?

Bezos’ online retail giant has already bought live sports broadcast rights, commissioned sports documentaries, and even launched its own ticketing platform. With quarterly profits of $1.6 billion in the first quarter of 2018, my answer would probably be quite a big one. What triggered my Amazon interest recently, however, wasn’t something with a direct link … Continued

UK Attendance Growth: Why Sport is Prospering

As Gareth explains, for a complex set of reasons – geo-political, technological, social – the youngest generation is financially worse off in real terms than the generation that preceded it. When it comes to owning physical possessions, this appears to be having the impact you would expect. A third of Millennials, for instance, will never own … Continued

Attendance Growth: Why Sports are Prospering

As Gareth explains, for a complex set of reasons – geo-political, technological, social – the youngest generation is financially worse off in real terms than the generation that preceded it. When it comes to owning physical possessions, this appears to be having the impact you would expect. A third of Millennials, for instance, will never own … Continued

Creating the Right Strategy for Growth

1) Where do I find the new audience for my sport? There’s a growing demand for live sports experiences – but how do sports rights-holders know who new fans are, and how do they reach them? More sports fans will watch more events as they seek out different sports experiences. We also predict more people … Continued

Creating the Right Strategy for Growth

1) Where do I find the new audience for my sport? There’s a growing demand for live sports experiences – but how do sports rights-holders know who new fans are, and how do they reach them? More sports fans will watch more events as they seek out different sports experiences. We also predict more people … Continued

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