방송사와 스폰서는 어떻게 모멘텀을 강화할 수 있을까요?
여성 스포츠에 대한 관심은 빠른 속도로 증가하고 있습니다.
The 2023 NCAA tournament drew nearly 10 million viewers for the final game between Iowa and LSU—up 103% from the previous year. The WNBA draft audience increased 42% between 2022 and 2023 and was up 89% with female viewers1. Interest in the Women’s Super League increased 81% from 2022 to 20232, and this year, 41% of the global population are excited for the Women’s World Cup, rising from 34% before the 2019 Women’s World Cup3.
이러한 엄청난 변화는 진공 상태에서 일어난 것이 아닙니다. 브랜드, 스폰서, 방송사가 여성 스포츠에 투자하고 우선순위를 둔 결과입니다.
승리를 위한 가시성
Consider how the BBC approached women’s football in the past four years. Previously, women’s football fans had to search high and low to watch their favorite teams compete. While a few games were shown on main linear channels, the rest were tucked away in digital space. But then, in 2019, the broadcaster doubled down on the Women’s World Cup, showing nearly triple the number of matches compared with the Women’s Euro 2017 on Channel 4. Three years later, the broadcaster did it again, prioritizing the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 by airing 26 matches in total4.
출처: 영국 시청률 협회
BBC는 채널 슬롯을 더 많이 배정했을 뿐만 아니라 통합 캠페인을 통해 다른 여자 스포츠와 함께 2019년과 2022년 대회의 중계방송을 홍보했습니다.
Between 2017 and 2019, U.K. viewership rose from 11.7 million to 68.6 million. In 2022, 57.9 million people watched the UEFA European Women’s Football Championship. This growth was largely led by women ages 35+, but in looking at new male audiences, younger fans are particularly interested in women’s sports, reinforcing the diversity of the growing appeal5.
These major tournaments are drawing bigger and bigger audiences, creating a halo effect of opportunity for the players, the fans and the sponsors. Nearly 80% of the general population are now aware of the 2023 Women’s World Cup and 40% find it appealing—the highest scores for any female competition6.
The takeaway is clear: Prioritizing the access and promotion of women’s sports increases visibility and grows audiences and sponsorship opportunities. To do so, broadcasters and sponsors must internalize these three facts.
1: 팬들은 여자 스포츠를 시청하고 싶어 하지만 여전히 중계방송을 찾기 어렵습니다.
스포츠 팬들에게 여성 스포츠를 따라잡는 데 방해가 되는 장벽에 대해 질문한 결과, 두 가지 주요 요인을 꼽았습니다: 정보 부족과 접근성 부족.
According to Nielsen Fan Insights, nearly a quarter of the U.S. population (22%)7 said that there isn’t enough information in the media to keep up with women’s sports. This isn’t just perception, it’s reality. According to the Fans Are Changing the Game report, Nielsen analysis found that ESPN SportsCenter provided 91 seconds of coverage for the average WNBA game and 266 seconds of coverage for the average NBA game, despite claimed interest in the two leagues being much closer.
The second barrier cited is lack of access to live broadcasts. Almost a fifth of U.S. fans (18%)8 said live airings of women’s sports aren’t easily accessible to them. Clearly, fans —including young ones—still want to watch sports play out in real time. Per Nielsen Fan Insights9, 36% of global audiences ages 16-29 are interested in watching the 2023 Women’s World Cup live, which is an even higher interest than viewers 50-69 years old (32%). That’s all the more impressive considering that the Women’s World Cup is in Australia and New Zealand this year—not a particularly convenient time zone for much of the world.
이러한 커버리지 문제는 귀중한 콘텐츠 기회를 제공합니다. 여성 스포츠에 대한 시청자의 선호도를 이해하면 콘텐츠 배포자가 프로그램을 구성하고, 설명하고, 태그를 지정하는 방법을 파악하여 팬들의 자연 검색과 발견을 개선하고 활용하는 데 도움이 될 수 있습니다.
접근성과 커버리지 조건이 모두 충족되면 팬들의 관심이 집중됩니다.
2: 팬들은 방송사와 스폰서가 여자 스포츠 홍보에 앞장서 주기를 원합니다.
Sports fans feel that both the media and brands should be responsible for promoting women’s sports10. There are several ways to do this, but they all require intentional, integrated strategies.
Take the BBC example again. Along with broadcasting more of the women’s football matches live, they promoted the tournaments with a full media blitz of TV trailers, out-of-home advertising and digital content. Before the 2019 tournament, the BBC launched a trailer featuring South London rapper Ms Banks. And before the 2022 women’s EURO tournament, the “We Know Our Place” campaign promoted women’s participation not only in football, but also in Wimbledon, the Commonwealth Games, the European Athletics Championships and The Hundred cricket tournament.
Investing in access to and promotion of the actual games is critical to growing women’s sports fandom, but it shouldn’t stop there. Audiences are hungry for more. Nearly 40% of global sports fans are interested in non-live content related to live sports events. This number jumps to 44% when looking at fans ages 16-2911. For both broadcasters and brands, this underscores a clear opportunity to create, promote and sponsor the women’s sports stories fans want.
And fans do love a company that supports their favorite franchise. According to Nielsen Fan Insights, 71%12 of Women’s World Cup fans believe that companies who sponsor the tournament show their commitment to the advancement of gender equality and women’s sports.
스폰서에 대해 말하자면, 올해는 여자 월드컵 중계권 및 스폰서십이 남자 월드컵과 분리되어 판매된 첫 번째 주기입니다. 여자 월드컵 중계권이 분리된 것은 브랜드에게 큰 혜택입니다. 스폰서십 계약을 분리함으로써 광고주는 광고비를 보다 세분화하여 타겟팅하고 세분화된 팬 오디언스를 확대할 수 있습니다.
2023년 6월 현재 FIFA는 유럽 5대 방송사와 중계권 계약을 체결하여 무료 방송 네트워크에서 경기를 시청할 수 있게 되었습니다. 팬들이 폭넓게 경기를 시청할 수 있게 되겠지만, 협상이 지연되면서 대회 한 달 전에 경기를 따라잡기 위해 이 지역의 홍보 및 방송 스폰서십 기회에 어려움을 겪을 것입니다.
3: 팬들은 스포츠에 투자하는 브랜드에 보상합니다.
Given the emotional connection that fans have with their teams, it’s no wonder that they think highly of their sponsors. After seeing WNBA sponsorships during a game, 44% of WNBA fans claim to have visited the brand’s website and 28% claim to have bought something from the brand—compared to 36% and 24% of NBA fans surveyed for the same sponsorship responses13. And 69% of Women’s World Cup fans believe brands are more appealing when they participate in sports sponsorships—that’s 15 points higher than the general population—and those feelings tend to translate into concrete actions14.
Fifty-six percent of football fans are likely to inform themselves about brands that sponsor sports events (17 points higher than the general population) and 59% would pick a sponsor’s product over a rival’s if prices and quality were the same (14 points higher)15.
When brands and broadcasters are all unified behind women’s athletics, it creates a powerful, positive cycle. When ESPN expanded its coverage of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament in 2021, the audience reach of the first round doubled when compared to 2019. That meant more eyes on the athletes and their sponsors, further solidifying the business case for promoting and supporting the tournament.
2023년 여자월드컵을 앞두고 배울 점이 많습니다. 특히 젊은 팬들은 여자 스포츠를 좋아하지만 선수, 리그, 시즌에 대한 더 많은 정보를 원하고 경기 자체, 특히 라이브 방송에 더 쉽게 접근할 수 있기를 원합니다.
이러한 수요를 충족하기 위해 방송사는 여성 스포츠를 우선순위에 두고 더 많이 발굴하고 열정적으로 홍보해야 합니다. 한편, 스폰서는 여성 스포츠가 제공하는 비즈니스 기회, 특히 구매 의향의 증가를 인식해야 합니다.
브랜드, 스폰서, 방송사가 이 대회에 참여하면 시청자는 이에 대한 보상을 받을 준비가 되어 있습니다.
출처
1Nielsen National TV Panel, Live+Same Day, 4/11/2022, 4/10/2023, Persons/Men/Women 2+
22023, Nielsen Fan Insights, UK
3Nielsen Brand Tracker, FIFA Women’s World Cup, April 2019 – Jan 2023
4British Audience Ratings Bureau
5British Audience Ratings Bureau
6Nielsen Brand Tracker – FIFA Women’s World Cup, Jan 2023
7Nielsen Fan Insights, March 2023, U.S.
8Nielsen Fan Insights, March 2023, U.S.
9Nielsen Fan Insights, January 2023, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, U.K. and U.S.
10Nielsen Fan Insights, January 2023, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, U.K. and U.S.
11Nielsen Fan insights, August 2021: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, U.K. and U.S.
12Nielsen Fan Insights, January 2023, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, U.K. and U.S.
13Nielsen Fan Insights, US 14Nielsen Fan Insights, January 2023, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, U.K. and U.S.
14 Nielsen Fan Insights, January 2023, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, U.K. and U.S.
15 Nielsen Fan Insights, February 2022: Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, U.K. and U.S.
