A new independent report commissioned by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has calculated public service media (PSM) sports broadcasting contributed EUR 4.9 billion to Europe’s GDP and supported more than 60,000 jobs in 2022. The findings included direct economic impacts from content production and broadcasting as well as significant indirect and induced impacts through supply chain spending and consumer expenditure.
Produced by Oxford Economics, the report, The Economic Impact of the Sports Activities of Public Service Media, evaluated the impact of 188,000 hours of radio and TV sports programming, from 44 EBU members in 31 countries. Including high-profile events such as the FIFA World Cup Finals and the World Athletics Championships, it also considered the online engagement of fans via websites, apps and social media.
The report broke the economic footprint of EBU member sports broadcasting into three main areas:
Direct impact, in which the PSM production and delivery of content contributed approximately EUR 0.9 billion to the GDP, employing over 5000 workers, each generating an estimated value of EUR 166,000.
Indirect impact. EBU members’ spending on goods and services, including cameras, media rights and services stimulated an additional EUR 2.7 billion in GDP and supported over 38,000 jobs.
Induced impact, which the report valued at EUR 1.4 billion, generated through the wages paid to employees and those in the supply chain.
“Our analysis unveils a symbiotic relationship between free-to-air sports broadcasting and economic vitality, illustrating the far-reaching ripple effects of this dynamic industry right across the continent,” said Doug Godden, lead economist at Oxford Economics and report author. “What’s more, providing sporting action to audiences for free has great value to the public of the countries in which EBU Members operate.”
The full report is available here.
