Badminton is seeking a "sexy" new image to bring in fans and revenue, according to TNP.
Even in China, "where badminton has mass participation and world-beating stars, its visibility dims in the glare of more glamorous rivals like NBA basketball, football and tennis." Everything "is on the table as badminton looks to capitalise on its wide appeal and gain a profile that will bring sponsors running and turn its players into millionaires."
New scoring, new advertising and even new shuttlecocks and court colors "are being considered as badminton looks to shed its staid image and stand out in the digital age."
Badminton World Federation Commercial Dir Owen Leed, who heads the new division created last year, said that "the sport needs cachet if it is to compete." He said,
"That's one of the challenges we have -- how do we make the sport more glamorous in terms of the sport itself being sexier, without that being a naughty word?"
Leed "preferred not to discuss the infamous move to gain popularity by making women players wear skirts, which was finally shelved in 2012 following howls of protest."
But he said the players' appearance was "all part of the picture" and would also be in focus as the sport attempts to modernize.
He said,
"As a sport, we're still quite conservative and if we want to grow the sport for the players to have an ability to earn more money. ... We have to think about how the sport is presented and indeed how the players present themselves" (TNP, 9/23).
