Tom Evens

Sport sponsorship is one of the largest and most profitable marketing techniques worldwide (Kelly and Ireland 2019), as it is perceived as indirect, more subtle, less commercial, and more beneficia...

Using Belgium’s top-tier domestic football competition, the Pro League, as a case study, this article analyses the impact of platformisation on the structure of the sports broadcasting value chain and identifies a parallel process of streamification and broadcastification. Based on semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, the article illustrates that sports media rights can be seen as the latest front in the streaming wars. It highlights how the growth of online distribution provides the potential for both sports rights owners and new entrant streaming services to bypass legacy pay-tv operators and connect with audiences directly. Despite the potential success of streaming, however, our results also suggest that live sport continues to rely heavily on distribution via established pay-tv operators. Utilising institutional isomorphism as a theoretical framework, the article provides evidence to support the argument that predictions of the imminent death of broadcasting and the hegemony of sports streaming are largely misguided.

In Europe and beyond, coverage of sporting events and competitions has long been a highly valued part of the programming mix offered by public service media. For PSM, sport (and particularly live sports coverage) provides a way to bring communities and/or the nation together, as well to reach audiences that are otherwise often under-served by PSM, such as lower-income groups. However, over the last decade or so, the ability of PSM organisations to utilise sport to enhance cultural citizenship in these ways has increasingly come under threat, due to a combination of budget cuts and escalating rights fees. Using examples from Flanders (VRT), South Africa (SABC) and the United Kingdom (UK) (BBC), this article details some of the main ways that PSM organisations, who continue to see sports coverage as an important part of their remit, have responded to this twin challenge. The article begins by outlining why sport remains such a key genre for PSM and their viewers. The second and main part then analyses how the PSM organisations examined here have adopted three sports media rights buying and distribution strategies, namely: increased coverage and promotion of women’s sport; a renewed focus on minority sports; and, the growing use of their online platforms to enhance the attractiveness of PSM for both viewers and sports organisations. The final part of the article highlights the need to update major events legislation (sometimes referred to as ‘listed events’ or anti-siphoning’ legislation), which, in many countries/regions with PSM, including Belgium/Flanders, South Africa and the UK, is designed to ensure that certain key national and/or international sporting events (e.g. the Olympic Games; FIFA World Cup football tournaments) remain universally available via free-to-air television.

Purpose: This systematic literature review examines the domain of sports sponsorship involving controversial industries. We delve into the shared patterns, differences and overarching themes prevalent across various dark consumption industries (i.e. alcohol, food and beverages high in fat, salt and sugar, gambling and tobacco).Design/methodology/approach: This study systematically reviews research on controversial sports sponsorships (CSS). Literature searches in Web of Science and Scopus, and additional searches in reference lists resulted in a total of 90 publications meeting the inclusion criteria, which can be grouped into three research clusters: prevalence, impact and (in)appropriateness of CSS.Findings: This review revealed a high prevalence of so-called controversial sponsors in sports, particularly in – but certainly not limited to – soccer. Especially gambling sponsorships have become more prominent in recent years. Ethical concerns surfaced since CSS are positively related to attitudes, preferences, purchase intention and consumption, potentially causing health-harming consequences for children and adults.Practical implications: This study provides scholars and practitioners with insights to advocate for policy measures curbing CSS.Originality/value: In light of the identified research gaps, we propose a research agenda to particularly investigate causal relationships between exposure to CSS and its impact by conducting longitudinal and experimental research. Additionally, we propose to establish a consumer-centered framework for processing CSS.

In the current disinformation era, where both people and generative AI systems can easily create content, concerns about the credibility of online content have come to the fore in public and policy debates. Audiences are faced with the challenge of determining which news messages are credible and which are not. It remains however unclear how audiences evaluate the credibility of social media posts. This study evaluates three key ingredients of the credibility cocktail on Instagram: the source, the presence of a verification label and the use of images. Using two between-subject designs (N = 963), participants were exposed to an Instagram message regarding climate change. The findings demonstrate that audiences primarily assess the credibility of messages based on the source, i.e. the person or organization sharing the information. Messages sent by both a news outlet and non-governmental organization are considered to be more credible than messages shared by dubious sources. Remarkably, a verification label next to this source has no impact. Hence, audiences do not trust so-called ‘blue check accounts’ more than accounts without a verification label. Moreover, AI-generated images are perceived as more credible than photoshopped ones.