ABSTRACT
Sports in which the achievement of the lone individual is specifically tested are amongst the most commercially powerful, at-scale and long-running of all live media events, accounting for thousands of hours of high-value TV and streaming content per year, and billions of dollars of revenue. This chapter considers the particular business model and media properties of major tours, tournaments and players in individual sports. It considers golf (US Open, Masters, PGA Championship, British Open), tennis (ATP Tennis Tour, Wimbledon, Roland Garros, US Open, Australian Open), boxing, wrestling, cycling (Tour de France) and (whatever debates may exist around their legitimacy) the commercial powerhouses of WWE and UFC. This chapter also poses a detailed case study of the powerful media business models in TV, streaming, sponsorship and controversial environmental footprints of motor sports, including Formula One and Formula E, alongside other key events.
