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The Usefulness of Economic Theory in the Sport Market

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Table of Contents
Introduction..............................................................................................................................3

The Usefulness of Economic Theory in Analysing the Demand for the Products/Services
Offered by MUFC.....................................................................................................................5

Neo-Classical Approach.......................................................................................................5

The price of Activity...........................................................................................................5

Disposable Income...........................................................................................................6

Price of other Goods.........................................................................................................6

Taste and Preferences......................................................................................................6

Uncertainty of Outcome Theory............................................................................................7

Sports Market Response to Increase/Decrease in Season Ticket Prices................................8

The Impacts of Sports Market Globalisation on the Demand of MUFC Products..................10

Sponsorships......................................................................................................................11

Broadcasting.......................................................................................................................13

Conclusion.............................................................................................................................15

References.............................................................................................................................16
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The Usefulness of Economic Theory in the Sport Market

Introduction
Football has undergone through series of development, from being a primitive game
being played in the streets to being an elite sport that is liked globally. The development of
rules, the ball, stadiums, and technology advanced the game globally. Football invention led
to the creation of teams that grew to international status with well-organised leagues for
different levels in different regions. Europe is the largest football market and has constantly
been growing over the years. It was only in the 2019/2020 season that the market dropped
lower than in the previous season of 2018/2019 (Deloitte, 2021). The market drop was due
to the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the implementation of restrictive policies where fan
attendance at matches was restricted. In 2019/2020, the European football market
contracted by 13% generating €25.2bn (Deloitte, 2021). English Premier League (EPL) is the
largest league in Europe, and in the 2019/2020 season, it generated €5.1bn after a 13%
drop from the 2018/2019 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Deloitte, 2021). The
market is expected to grow post-COVID periods with a compound annual growth rate of
18.3% globally (Deloitte, 2021). This shows more significant potential for football clubs to
grow and achieve larger market share and total revenue generated.

Manchester United was founded in 1878 as Newton Health Football Club and has
been operating for more than 140 years (Mathieson & Luckhurst, 2016). The club changed
its name to Manchester United Football Club (MUFC) in 1902 (Manchester United Football
Club, 2022). MUF has won 20 EPL titles; the first was won in 1908 and the latest was won in
the 2012/2013 season (Manchester United Football Club, 2022). Apart from the EPL titles,
the MUFC has worn other46 trophies since its inception. Currently, the club plays its home
matches at its stadium Old Trafford which has a league-topping capacity of 75,454
(Manchester United Football Club, 2022). The club plays in EPL, and it finished in third place
last season. MUFC is among the most popular teams globally, with approximately 1.1 billion
fans globally (Manchester United Football Club, 2022). Due to the growing market share, the
club has constantly increased its revenue generation. In 2022, the club generated
approximately $709.18 billion compared to $629.61 and $683.26 for 2020 and 2021
(Mathieson & Luckhurst, 2016). The primary MUFC revenue sources include matchday
(ticket sales), broadcasting, sponsorship, media rights, merchandising and retail, and
commercial revenue. Some of the MUFC partners include Adidas, Team Viewer, Tezos,
DXC Technology, Apollo tires, Chevrolet, and many others (Manchester United Football
Club, 2022). Therefore, the club operates within global football, its main product being
football matches, merchandise, and sponsorships.
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Using Gratton & Taylor’s sports market model, MUFC is placed at elite sport within
the global professional football market (Ramchandani & Wilson, 2016). The model illustrates
the hierarchical nature of the sports market, with the top portion being elite sport which
comprises few teams and is essentially commercial (Ramchandani & Wilson, 2016). It shows
the interaction between various key sports stakeholders, including teams, athletes,
sponsors, the public, and broadcasters (Zhang et al., 2018). The model establishes the
essential sports market components: demand, supply, media rights, competitive balance,
and market structure. This model helps understand how several stakeholders interact and
how affected decisions affect other organisations (Ramchandani & Wilson, 2016). Also, the
model helps develop critical strategies for increasing market share for sponsors and teams
(Zhang et al., 2018). Based on this model, this paper will critically evaluate the usefulness of
economic theory in the sports market while analysing the response of the sports market to
changes in the price of organisations' products or services and to what extent globalisation
in the sports market changes the demand (Ramchandani & Wilson, 2016).

Figure 1: Gratton and Taylor Representation of Sports Market Hierarchical Nature

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The Usefulness of Economic Theory in Analysing the Demand for the

Products/Services Offered by MUFC
Sports market demand refers to customers' willingness and interest to purchase
sports services or products or attend a sports activity or event. The demand in the sports
market is based on factors such as the reputation and popularity of the sport, its teams, and
its players (Zhang et al., 2018). It is also affected by the overall cost of the product and its
availability. However, sports demand cannot be singularly defined because the sports
market covers various goods, including public, consumer, and private goods, categorised in
different levels as shown by hierarchical Gratton & Taylor’s sports market model (figure 1)
(Ramchandani & Wilson, 2016). Also, the sporting market contains different activities with
varying products and services. Nevertheless, this does not disqualify demand theories from
being applied in the sports market.

Neo-Classical Approach
The neo-classical approach establishes that consumers have their specific set of
tastes and preferences and are likely to allocate their income to achieve maximum value or
utility of their money when faced with different prices for goods and services. The neo-
classical approach to economics will be utilised as it helps to assess the demand for the
sport due to its fundamental analysis and theories on individual consumers’ demand for
particular sports activities based on the four critical determinants; price, income, taste and
preferences, and prices of other goods.

The price of Activity

Gratton and Taylor stated that price is a critical determinant of demand. Consumers
are likely to purchase products or services if the utility gained from consuming the product or
service is higher than the purchase price (Ramchandani & Wilson, 2016). This means that
consumers only purchase products or services when the benefit of consumption is higher
than the cost (Zhang et al., 2018). The price of MUFC match tickets and SKY Sports TV
subscription will affect the demand for the ticket. When the prices are high, consumers will
have less ticket demand. This is the general way that the pricing of MUFC tickets and
streaming costs affect the demand. However, fans' loyalty highly impacts the demand for
tickets or streaming subscriptions. Loyal MUFC fans will always weigh the ticket and
subscription costs against the potential utility from the matches and there are factors that
may influence this (Drewes et al., 2021). Notably, the MUFC performance will significantly
affect the demand for their streams and tickets. If MUFC has previously played well, or it is a
derby match, or an essential qualifying match, fans will expect a win. Therefore they will
perceive that the expected derived utility will be higher than the costs incurred. Hence the
demand will be higher.
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Disposable Income
Their income determines individuals’ expenditures, and how they spend their
disposable income depends on the expectation of future income generation. In sports,
disposable income affects the demand, where consumers may be willing to pay the set
prices, but they are unable to pay due to their insufficient income (Drewes et al., 2021).
Sports are perceived as luxury goods and services. Therefore, fans will only spend their
disposable income on sports. However, there are loyal fans to whom football sport is
considered a normal good to them, and they are always ready to pay any price to watch
MUFC matches either live in the stadium or streaming.

Price of other Goods

The price of a closely related product affects the demand for related products. For
example, when the subscription prices for one streaming TV are lower than another, and
they offer the same quantity of matches for MUFC, consumers will go for the streaming site
at a lower price. However, settling for a lower subscription fee when the channel shows
lesser matches will lead to consumers paying higher prices to watch the MUFC matches.
Regarding ticket prices, the demand is minimally affected by the prices of other closely
related goods (Drewes et al., 2021). This is because football is based on club loyalty.
Therefore, even when MUFC highly prices their products and services, while the rival teams
set lower prices, the demand for MUFC products and services will not be affected since
MUFC fans cannot purchase the rival teams’ products or services.

Taste and Preferences

According to Gratton and Taylor's model, tastes and preferences is the most variable
that determines the demand in the sports market (Ramchandani & Wilson, 2016). The tastes
and preferences factor is influenced by personal factors such as age, lifestyle, gender,
culture, intellectual factors, and media perception of the consumers. The sports market has a
greater complexity about tastes and preferences of their consumers for attending football
matches, with team loyalty being the most significant source of the complexity (Haugen &
Guvåg, 2018). Loyalty will always make consumers choose their team’s matches,
merchandise, services, and other products (Shakina, Gasparetto & Barajas, 2020).
However, loyalty can always lead customers to watch or attend matches to witness their rival
teams’ being defeated. Consumers will choose the type of sport to watch, attend, and be fun
with based on their tastes and preferences. Still, the price and disposable income available
will determine their taste and preferences at some point. This theory is essential in analysing
the demand for sports, as MUFC can analyse its market to establish which market segment
should be focused on.
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Uncertainty of Outcome Theory

According to the uncertainty of outcome theory, people are more likely to be drawn to
sports events or activities with some degree of uncertainty. It follows that activities with
uncertain or unpredictable outcomes are more likely to draw more people in. According to
this view, people enjoy the suspense and anticipation of not knowing what will happen in a
match. According to the hypothesis, people are more willing to engage in an activity if there
is some degree of uncertainty regarding the result (Shakina, Gasparetto & Barajas, 2020).
This hypothesis is frequently used to explain why people participate in sports, gambling, and
other forms of competition. Research demonstrates that when spectators consider a game to
be significantly competitive, they are likely to be highly interested in the match and watch for
longer, supporting this hypothesis.

In football, the uncertainty of outcome can be categorised into; a single season

uncertainty, single-match uncertainty, and long-term dominance. All the uncertainties are
critical in analysing the demand in the sports market. In football, competition is the major
source of uncertainty. Football teams like MUFC depend on league competition and
competition from other teams to attract more spectators in both live and streaming their
matches (Shakina, Gasparetto & Barajas, 2020). The more competitive the matches where
the results are unpredictable, for example, derby matches and UEFA champions league
matches, the more tickets MUFC will sell. In 2019, the UEFA marketing boss stated that
unpredictability was good for business. Therefore, a more competitive league with almost all
the teams having equal chances of winning matches and no dominance will attract more
consumers. Thus, if the EPL becomes too predictable for MUFC, the league will attract less
customer attention, and more revenue will be lost since fewer spectators will be attracted to
the league matches.

In addition to the ticket and merchandise sales, the uncertainty increases global
audience through competitive broadcasting, increasing the broadcasting revenue for the EPL
teams. For MUFC, broadcasting is the second largest source of revenue after commercials.
In 2021, MUFC generated $321.1 million, $352.37 million, and $9.82 million in commercial,
broadcasting, and matchday revenue, respectively, while in 2022, it generated $313.51
million, $261.26 million, and $134.41 million in commercial, broadcasting and matchday
revenue respectively (Statista, 2022). Maintaining a more balanced league with uncertain
outcomes is essential for teams’ growth. Although MUFC is a globally recognised sports
brand, a lower uncertainty could result in future financial struggles since their on-pitch
performance has been poor for the last six seasons (Haugen & Guvåg, 2018). Because of
this, the uncertainty of outcome theory helps analyse the demand for football tickets.
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However, each product (football match) is unique, so context must be considered before
organisations can fully understand demand (Shakina, Gasparetto & Barajas, 2020).

Sports Market Response to Increase/Decrease in Season Ticket Prices

As stated in the above section, one of the critical determinants of demand in the
sports market is the price of the products. Consumers are willing to purchase only those
products they perceive their utility is higher than the cost they are incurring. The demand
fluctuation due to price changes is illustrated by the price elasticity of demand concept
(Schulte, 2020). In the sports market, demand is often considered relatively inelastic to price
changes, which means that price changes have a relatively small impact on demand. This is
because consumers frequently have a strong emotional bond and affinity with sporting
events and products, which might take precedence over pricing considerations (Schulte,
2020). Accordingly, demand is less price-sensitive than in markets for consumer products or
other goods. The level of inelasticity, however, can change based on the particular good or
occasion in question.

The response of the sports market to an increase in season ticket prices will probably
depend on the extent of the increment and the team's performance. Season ticket sales may
fall if the club is underperforming, and the increase is mainly because fans may react
negatively to the situation. On the other hand, if the club is highly performing and the
increase is only marginal, the reaction from the supporters may be favourable, and season
ticket sales may rise. The sports market would probably respond favourably if season ticket
costs dropped (Schulte, 2020). Due to the decreased price, fans might be more inclined to
buy season tickets, which could increase season ticket sales for the team.

Currently, MUFC has the 9th cheapest season tickets in the EPL sports market,
ranking at £532 (Statista, 2022). The club is 7th in terms of the most expensive tickets, which
sell at £950, below rivals such as Manchester City, Tottenham, and Arsenal. This shows that
although MUFC is among the most popular and successful football clubs globally compared
to its EPL rivals, its ticket prices are reasonable for customers (Haugen & Guvåg, 2018).
Figure two shows that MUFC had achieved more than 98% capacity for its home teams,
except during the 2019/2020 season when the COVID-19 pandemic caused restrictive
policies to be implemented, barring fans from attending live matches (Statista, 2022).

Season Average MUFC Old Trafford

Attendance Capacity (%)
21/22 72,992 98.22%
20/21 526 0.70%
19/20 73,504 97.46%
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18/19 74,498 98.73%

17/18 74,976 99.37%
16/17 75,290 99.78%
15/16 75,279 99.77%
14/15 75,335 99.84%
13/14 75,207 99.67%
12/13 75,430 99.97%
11/12 75,387 99.91%
10/11 74,989 99.38%
09/10 74,864 99.22%
Figure 2: MUFC Average Attendance since 2009/2010 Season (Statista, 2022)

Figure 3: MUFC Average Attendance since 2009/2010 Season (Statista, 2022)

From the 2015/2016 season to 2022/2023, MUFC has not changed the prices of its
cheapest and most expensive season tickets. The cheapest season tickets have been going
for £532, while the most expensive season ticket has been going for £950 (Statista, 2022).
While the club has maintained the ticket prices, there has been a minimal fluctuation in the
number of fans attending their matches (Wills, Tacon & Addesa, 2020). This shows that
even if the club increases its ticket pricing, there will be a minimal effect due to fans’ loyalty
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and tribalism, making them purchase the tickets at non-extortion prices because they believe
they are maximising their satisfaction (Schulte, 2020). In the 2021/2022 season, after the
COVID-19 restrictions eased, MUFC match attendance went back to more than 98%
capacity (Statista, 2022). This shows that even when the league was terminated or attending
love matches was prohibited, and football customers eagerly waited for the chance to
consume MUFC products. This is why even when the United Kingdom faced 77.1% inflation
from 1990 to 2011, the MUFC matchday ticked more than 700% over the same period
(Statista, 2022). Hence, it demonstrates how the taste and preferences of MUFC fans
prioritise the team regardless of the economic situation because loyal fans do not view
football sport as a luxury but as a normal good.

In conclusion, the demand for football packages analysis may be made using the
price elasticity of demand. Similar to the uncertainty of result theory, each match's/season's
context must be taken into account, though, since other elements like product quality
influence a customer's choice to purchase football tickets.

The Impacts of Sports Market Globalisation on the Demand of MUFC Products

Over the last three decades, the world sports markets have increased
interdependence due to the growth of cross-border trade services, rapid technological
advancement, and easy flow of capital across nations. A wider variety of sports are now
accessible, and there is more international competition and greater access to sporting goods
and apparel due to globalization in the sports industry (Schulte, 2020). Football clubs and
other sports can now reach a broader global audience and offer a more comprehensive
range of sponsorship opportunities and partnerships for athletes from across nations
(Schulte, 2020). Additionally, technology has made it more convenient for sports fans to
access products, apparel, and details about their preferred clubs and athletes and watch and
track sports events happening anywhere in the world. More competitive sporting events and
improved chances for players to compete on a global stage have both been aided by
globalization (Schulte, 2020). Globalisation has placed the sports market in the stock market,
generating large amounts of revenue from sponsorships and broadcasting rights.
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Sponsorships
In 2020 and 20201, the global sports sponsorship market was approximately $57
billion and $64.8 billion, respectively. The sponsorship market is expected to grow to $112.2
billion by 2030 (Statista, 2022). Worldwide, every region has been experiencing continuous
growth in sports sponsorship, as shown in figure 4 below;

Figure 4: Global Sponsorship by Region from 2009 to 2018 (Statista, 2022)

Sponsorship deals are among the most significant revenue contributors to MUFC. In
2021, MUFC generated more than $193.88 million from sponsorship deals (Soebbing,
2019). Over the years, MUFC has received sponsorships from many companies, from jersey
sponsors to logistic sponsorships. The figure below shows the total sponsorship revenue of
MUFC from 2010 to 2021 (Statista, 2022).
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Figure 5: Total Sponsorship Revenue of MUFC from 2010 to 2021 (Statista, 2022)

The figure below shows the revenue generated from jersey sponsorship from 2009 to
2022 (Statista, 2022).

Figure 6: Revenue Generated from Jersey Sponsorship from 2009 to 2022 (Statista, 2022)
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These figures show that sponsorship has significantly generated a large amount of
revenue for MUFC. The global status that MUFC has achieved over the past four decades,
gaining fans from across the world, helps the club attract good sponsors who intend to
market their companies worldwide (Soebbing, 2019). The sponsorship level depends on the
amount of broadcasting coverage the club receives. MUFC is among the clubs with the
highest global broadcasting coverage; therefore, companies such as TeamViewer and
Chevrolet target global audiences by sponsoring MUFC jerseys (Soebbing, 2019).

In conclusion, globalisation has led to MUFC reaching global status by gaining fans
worldwide, attracting sponsors for various club activities, and generating more revenue. The
club utilises the revenue to re-invest in on or off-the-pitch activities to increase its global fan
base by attracting better players and funding better marketing strategies (Wills, Tacon &
Addesa, 2020). Increasing global market share and recognition, MUFC continues to attract
large sponsors willing to offer large amounts of money to reach MUFC worldwide fans.

Broadcasting
Similarly to sponsorship, broadcasting has significantly increased over the last three
decades. The demand for broadcasting has been through broadcasting suppliers’
willingness to broadcast and cover sports programs, while football fans have been willing to
consume live sports broadcasting. Globalisation and rapid technological growth have been
fuelling broadcasting growth globally, with the growth of online streaming, mobile App
streaming, and Sports TV rights channels essential to broadcasting growth (Soebbing,
2019). In the UK, the TV rights for broadcasting EPL matches were renewed for three years
to BT Sports, Sky Sports, BBC Sports, and Amazon Prime Video (Soebbing, 2019). Also,
EPL has granted broadcasting rights to more than 39 broadcasting organisations across the
globe, signifying a more than 39% increase in broadcasting rights (Statista, 2022). The local
EPL broadcasting rights are split equally. However, the foreign rights are split based on a
team's final standing, with a higher standing granting them a more significant chunk. This
criterion has historically generated extra revenue for MUFC. The uncertainty of outcome
concept theorises that this could damage spectator interest in the league and diminish
broadcasting revenues in the future. This leads to an unequal distribution of funds, which
could lead to a less competitively balanced league.

The EPL is by far the most lucrative league globally, and according to research, the
league generated more than €3.5 billion in broadcasting revenue in 2021/2022 (Statista,
2022). Figure 7 shows that the broadcasting revenue for EPL has been increasing since
2010, when clubs received a total of €953 million, to 2021, when the clubs received a total of
€2.518 billion in broadcasting revenue (Statista, 2022).
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Figure 7: EPL Total Broadcasting Payments to Clubs (Statista, 2022)

In MUFC, broadcasting is the second-highest source of revenue. In 2021 and 2022,

MUFC generated $352.37 million and $261.26 million in broadcasting revenue, respectively
(Statista, 2022). The club’s broadcasting revenue has been increasing over the years,
indicating a growing revenue generation for the team (Shakina, Gasparetto & Barajas,
2020). The increased broadcasting has enabled MUFC to gain more fans worldwide, with
new fans coming from China and India.
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Figure 8: MUFC Revenue from Commercial, Broadcasting, and Matchday from 2009 to 2022
(Statista, 2022)

Therefore, globalisation in the sports market, fuelled by rapid technological

advancement and broadcasting rights growth, has significantly contributed to EPL achieving
global status and generating significant revenues for the clubs (Shakina, Gasparetto &
Barajas, 2020). However, it will be intriguing to observe if MUFC's poor long-term on-field
performance has a negative impact on their future commercial performance and fan desire
to watch their matches.

Conclusion
The professional football continues to operate in a dynamic sport market that
requires proper strategizing to realize the more significant potential for the clubs. As the
clubs gain loyal customers and a more extensive customer base, the uncertainty of the
outcome of the matches and the demand-determining factors such as price, disposable
income, and the tastes and preferences of the consumers continues to be complex, and the
football clubs should ensure a holistic approach is developed. The future of football sport is
excellent, as there is more significant potential in the unexplored markets.

Word Count: 3294

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