The sale of sports media rights is a high stakes business. The global market now exceeds $50 billion annually. For sellers—professional sports leagues, clubs, and event organizers—media deals are a critical component of fan engagement and growth strategies, and the revenues underpin salary structures and provide financial stability. For buyers, including traditional and new media platforms, sports media rights attract large and engaged viewers who can deliver reliable subscription and advertising revenues, more so than traditional scripted content such as movies and entertainment shows. As the market evolves, the mechanisms for selling sports media rights must also evolve.

The market for selling sports media rights is inherently well-suited for auctions for multiple reasons: Sports media rights are exclusive, the market is highly competitive, prices are not stable, and valuations are complex and vary between bidders. In this landscape, auctions are uniquely positioned to help sports organizers reach their revenue and allocation goals. Recently, shifts in the market for sports broadcasting and the emergence of new streaming platforms have increased the scope for leveraging intelligent auction design to sell sports media rights.

In this white paper, Senior Managing Director Richard Marsden and Senior Consultant Zoe Pangalos explain steps sports organizers may take to maximize their revenue and allocation goals from the sale of media rights by selecting the optimal auction format, packaging media rights appropriately, and setting intelligent reserve prices.