Sport is one of the world's "great money-spinners" with a claimed global value of $700B a year, 1% of global GDP, according to Michael Lynch of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. The inaugural Money in Sport Conference on Tuesday began a "detailed examination of the financial underpinnings of sport and the numbers are mind numbing." Tribal Sports Group Chair Walter Bugno, who gave the opening address, produced the figure of $700B for the total value of all sport -- "not just the events, but the service industries that support it, the marketing, merchandise and health and safety and fitness sectors that piggyback off the greater interest in sport globally." Media rights alone, Bugno said, were worth $80B and, as he illustrated, "just how much broadcasters are prepared to pay for live sports action to drive audiences, pay TV subscriptions and advertising revenue is crucial for the wellbeing of the sports concerned." Despite the "media largesse," the economics of many sports "are shaky." Football is "by far the biggest in the world, but its size and critical mass doesn't guarantee profitability." The EPL's 20 clubs in '12-13 generated losses of more than £300M, Bugno said, although projections for '13-14 were that they would make a profit of about £200M. Bugno: "That's a turnaround of around £500 million ($738M). The TV rights increased by £500 million." The big numbers "generate the headlines but often disguise the underlying financial instability of the game" (SMH, 3/17).
