ABSTRACT
A successful sports league, like the NFL or the Indian Premier League, provides one of the most cash-generative and reliable of all media businesses. But how can one be built? This chapter considers the media and live experience dimensions of national-level leagues in team sports, including cricket, football, American football, baseball, basketball and rugby. First it looks at the balance of live experience and digital engagement in sports leagues – where both drivers are powerful. It presents the Value Creation Model, looking at development, performance/delivery, distribution and monetisation in sports leagues. In media rights exploitation, the reach vs. revenue conundrum is explored, along with competitiveness, the fast-evolving distribution landscape, and the challenge of cable vs. streaming options in distribution. There is a section on the media footprint of basketball in the US, plus a detailed section looking in detail at the Indian Premier League in cricket: its context in Asian sport, its creation, media footprint, controversies, expansion opportunities, implications for world cricket and lessons for world sport. Finally, in technology NFTs in sports leagues are considered.
