the power of sport

the business of sport
peter holmes à courtseptember 9, 2009
©9/09 www.isfm.com.au

the business of sport is using the
the power of sport

the power of sport
live
human
professional
games

*
the power of sport
*
not the box office clout, the tv ratings or the value of our assets

the power of sport
to build
to transform
- people
- communities
- ideas

the power of sport in Australia
there are global similarities, but like doing any business in another country, the cultural differences create a unique environment

uniquely ours
community grounded
indigenous relevance
we develop world champions from swimming to pole vault, we play four codes of football (including one we made up ourselves) and we staged the best Olympics ever (so they told us).

uniquely ours
community grounded
our structure makes us very different:
the US has 60 cities with a catchment of more than 1 million inhabitants, we have 4, and an average of 10 major professional teams in each of those.

uniquely ours
community grounded
in the US there are 2.5 million people per major professional sports team, we have less than 400,000 for every team.

uniquely ours
community grounded
the US has 100 million homes with pay TV, Australia has 1.3 million.

uniquely ours
community grounded
the average contracted NFL footballer player earn 50x the average American worker, MLB baseballer 70x, NBA basketballer higher still.

uniquely ours
community grounded
the average contracted NFL footballer player earn 50x the average American worker, MLB baseballer 70x, NBA basketballer higher still.
the average rugby league player here earns 2.2x the average Australian wage, a soccer player in A-League a bit less, an Aussie rules player a bit more.

uniquely ours
community grounded
as a result our elite athletes are elite in their performance, but not segregated from our society.

uniquely ours
community grounded
and we touch the significant issues of the nation: and no more importantly than our indigenous relevance and ability to make an impact there.

from 2006 to 2008 I led a small,
dedicated team that turned around
the Rabbitohs. What we stated
has continued...

...thanks to the commitment of management, an independent board, coaching staff and players and of course the unstoppable energy and incredible creativity of co-owner, Russell Crowe

the Rabbitohs play rugby league, and have won a record 20 first-grade premierships since their foundation in 1908
photograph of the 1908 premiership winning team

unfortunately, they are all in black and white.

in 1999, after nearly 3 decades of underperformance, the National Rugby League excluded the Rabbitohs from the competition. They did not play in the 2000 or 2001 seasons.

in two marches through the streets of Sydney 100,000 people protested the decision
in July 2001, a federal court decision found that the Rabbitohs were wrongfully excluded, and the club was reinstated in 2002.

however by 2006 the team was running last and was financially fragile and club’s voting members were asked to approve a proposal to sell control of the club to Russell Crowe and I:
date of EGM:
location:
number of speeches:
number of eligible voters:
votes required:
march 19 2006
Sydney Olympic Stadium
42 over 5 hours
3942
2957 to carry motion (75%)

however by 2006 the team was running last and was financially fragile and club’s voting members were asked to approve a proposal to sell control of the club to Russell Crowe and I:
date of EGM:
location:
number of speeches:
number of eligible voters:
votes required:
votes received:
march 19 2006
Sydney Olympic Stadium
42 over 5 hours
3942
2957 to carry motion (75%)
2988 (75.8%)

In 2007, the Rabbitohs qualified for the semi finals for the first time in 18 years

Membership has risen from 8,000 to 15,000

Membership has risen from 8,000 to 15,000
In 2009, the Rabbitohs will, for the first time, make a small profit

in 2006 the Rabbitohs, they had the worst training facilities in professional sport in Australia, and they were locked out of their spiritual home, Redfern Oval.
Redfern Oval 2006
worse, the run down oval and grandstand was a nest for crime in the surrounding area

in partnership with the City of Sydney, Redfern Oval is today a vibrant community asset with a state-of-the-art training facility, a playground for kids, skate ramp, basketball hoops, open from sunrise to sunset in the shared custody of the community and the Rabbitohs.
Redfern Oval 2008

a physical manifestation of an open, transparent business, inviting rich participation appropriate for an increasingly digital age

sure there are times when the gates are closed for a ticketed event, such as this trial game earlier this year

The
but even when you close the gates, we remain transparent

The
the days of building walled gardens are over

The
he has our merchandise on
she has a members cap on

The
businesses can give away a taste for free, and encourage greater interaction

The
established customersconsidering greater interaction

The
potential customers
sampling the product

The
businesses can give away a taste for free, and encourage greater interaction and if your product is good enough, they will want to get closer

“sports don’t have to fear competition from other sports; we have to fear people sitting in a dark room
listening to an ipod.“
Me, 2006

Me, 2006 I was wrong.

Those benign ipods have morphed into dynamic, connected and networked audio visual devices, enabling incredible interaction
with sports.
Digital is our friend. Our new bff.

Those benign ipods have morphed into dynamic, connected and networked audio visual devices, enabling incredible interaction
with sports.
Digital is our friend. Our new bff.
Because we have something digital can never have:

we have live events that just happen.

we have live events that just happen.
the more we have a digital life
the more people crave
human gatherings

and digital gives fans a multitude of new ways to interact with their game of choice

all team announce-ments emailed to fans at same time as media

all tickets (gate, train, parking) and concession offers on mobile screen

interact with big screen at the game, share experience w/ friends

video highlights sent to you because you were there to see it live

video highlights sent to you because you were there to see it live
It works for big sports. (but is even more powerful for niche sports, who can’t get mainstream media coverage.)

the power of sport is that it is
both/and

both/and
both tough and kind

both/and
both tough and kind
both community focused and business-like

both/and
both tough and kind
Both elite and inclusive

both/and
both tough and kind
both heritage and fresh

both/and
both tough and kind
both heritage and fresh
both well planned and highly unpredictable

to win, you need big guys like this

capable of doing jobs like this

and you also need guys like this

to do jobs like this

and when kids can see this, in their school, in their community

and when kids can do this, in their school, in their community
and then get on a train to go see this:

that is the power of sport.

wearing the ribbon of our major sponsor’s charity our players...

Beau Champion
indigenous
local junior

Beau Champion
indigenous
local junior
Issac Luke
kiwi international

Beau Champion
indigenous
local junior
Issac Luke
kiwi international
Jamie Simpson
twice recovered from
lymphatic cancer

Beau Champion
indigenous
local junior
Issac Luke
kiwi international
Jamie Simpson
twice recovered from
lymphatic cancer
partner with the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation off-field

and deliver with extraordinary feats on-field

that is the power of sport.

bloody hard work
incredibly important
worth fighting for
a lot of fun

dedicated to Mike Wrublewski 1946 – 2009
Michael Wrublewski was a pioneer of professional basketball in Sydney, a former director of ISFM and the founder of the Sydney Kings. Mike’s funeral was being held as I gave a version of this speech for the first time. This quotes is from one of his players, and speaks for itself:
“...we did over 660 school visits a year when Mike was in charge...
and when the Kings folded two years ago they did just 20 school visits.”
The Sydney Kings went out of business in 2007, the year they had won their third consecutive national championship. Who said winning is everything in sport in Australia.

also dedicated to last weekend’s game...
the biggest winning margin over the Dragons since 1921.

peter holmes à court
Peter is the Executive Chairman of ISFM, a specialist sports industry consultancy, a director of Viocorp International, Australia’s leading internet video technology company, a director of Queensland Rail and the Barangaroo Delivery Authority, and since 2006 he has been the co-owner with Russell Crowe of the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Peter was Executive Chairman of the Club from mid-2006 to mid-2008.
Previously Peter was CEO of the Australian Agricultural company, today the country’s largest cattle company. Peter took the 185 year old company public in 2001. Prior to that Peter founded and ran Back Row Productions, an international producer of theatrical productions, touring shows such as Australia’s highest grossing live theatrical show Tap Dogs, UK comic Eddie Izzard and Jerry Seinfeld, amongst a total of over 20 different productions in 300 cities and 20 countries.
Peter was born in Perth, lived 14 years in the US and UK, and moved with his wife Divonne and two sets of twins to live in Sydney in 2000.
Peter rides a bike and does the odd triathlon, both of which he does slowly.

examples of new ways – physical and digital – sport is reaching its customers:
www.isfm.com.au/projects_redfernoval.html
A summary ISFM’s work on the redevelopment of Redfern Oval and adjacent commercial properties in conjunction with the major stakeholders including the City of Sydney Council, South Sydney Rabbitohs, South Sydney Leagues Club, and property developers Trivest. The completed project, and the adjoining park is considered a benchmark in community and elite sports integration.
www.cyclingmasters.tv
Viocorp developed this site to create a broadcast model for the track cycling masters championship. The model demonstrated how high quality multi-camera coverage, produced efficiently (i.e., cheaply) could create multiple new revenue streams (organiser, participants, sponsors, syndication) and enable a small participation sport to reach its geographically diverse fan base.
www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/club-news/rabbitohs-2009-squad-announcemend.html
The Rabbitohs broadcast “members-first” videos and release team news to their members at the same time (or before) the major media receives press releases. Importantly, while the quality of some videos is very high, some low cost videos of breaking news that is very relevant to hard core fans (not interesting at all to non fans and therefore the mainstream media) are the highest watched videos.
this presentation with audio at: www.viocorp.com/peterhac

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the power of sport

by Peter Holmes à Court

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