Advertising Age

January 29, 2007

By Jim Hanas

Going Pro:  What's with all these second-tier sports?

Hunter S. Thompson once said, ``When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.'' But even Dr. Gonzo probably couldn't have predicted how this maxim would work itself out in today's weird media world, where audience fragmentation and the proliferation of media channels have led to a surge in professional sports.

No, these aren't the fields of dreams that produced Ruth and Staubach. Instead, these are organizations such as Professional Bull Riders and the National Professional Paintball League. There are pro hunters (World Hunting Association) and pro lacrosse players (National Lacrosse League). Fans-as well as advertisers and sponsors-can regularly enjoy watching pro gamblers and pro eaters ply their skills.

``While I think you are seeing a growth in these sports, I think you're more accurately seeing the opportunity for these niche sports to be exposed,'' says Andrew Judelson, chief marketing officer at Sports Illustrated and former VP-corporate marketing for the National Hockey League. ``With the growth of both traditional and new media delivery channels, the barriers to entry have come tumbling down.''

ESPN recently acquired an equity stake in the two-decades-old Arena Football League and will feature AFL games on Monday nights when the National Football League is in recess. The network also telecast three events sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive Eating last year, including the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Meanwhile, Comcast Corp.'s newly renamed Versus network-formerly OLN, which originally stood for Outdoor Life Network-offers regular telecasts of a menagerie of niche sports, including bull riding and lacrosse.

FINDING A NEW STATURE

``There have always been those sports,'' says Paul Swangard, managing director of the James H. Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon, ``but I certainly think that they've elevated their stature in the last five years.''

In part, this has to do with marketers' intensifying interest in sponsorship, which, like new media, has benefited from anxiety about the future of the 30-second commercial.

``Ten years ago, the stereotype [about sponsorship] was that it was the CEO's pet project or pet sport,'' says Eric Wright, VP-research and development at researcher Joyce Julius & Associates. ``It's certainly become much more sophisticated than that. More time goes into deciding what's the best fit and, once that's determined, how can we maximize our investment?''

...