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MOTORSPORT:
MOTORCYCLING
Of these, only MotoGP races
will be shown live on the BBC’s
main free-to-air channels, with
the rest shown on their interactive
service and online. Additional
coverage of MotoGP races will
also be available on the hugely
successful BBC iPlayer.
Filling the gap
In France, the AB Groupe and
Eurosport France signed for
three years 2011, with the digitalterrestrial
channel NT1 taking all
18 MotoGP races while cablesatellite
channel Eurosport France
screening practice and qualifying
sessions and all three races live
on Sunday. Likewise, in Germany
DSF committed to 170 hours of
coverage per year.
From a sponsorship point of
view, MotoGP can also look back at
the end of 2008-09 with at a roster
of new partners. The credit crunch
came at a time when motorsport
was still weaning itself off tobacco
money, and new categories of
partner - betting, insurance,
finance and most recently, energy
drinks such as Monster - have
helped fill the gap.
But there does remain a gap,
something Dorna Sports have
never been afraid to acknowledge.
Part of the answer may lie in cost
cutting. But cost cutting is a trigger
issue for MotoGP. Slash budgets to
suit the new economic reality and
the series runs the danger of losing
its bleeding edge image, narrowing
the gap between MotoGP and
Superbikes, its perennial rival.
The annual cost for a
manufacturer team in MotoGP
varies between 5 million and
10 million per annum and
beyond. The smaller, privately
owned teams budget for up to
2 million. For Superbikes, team
costs are considerably lower due to
harmonisation of parts and tyres,
and the fact they race on-road bikes
rather than prototypes.
One obvious place where cost
cuts may come in is in the riders’
contracts. Along with Rossi,
the front of the MotoGP grid is
dominated by Jorge Lorenzo, Casey
Stoner and Dani Pedrosa - all tied
to multi-million Euro contracts.
But from fifth place down - there
is often twenty seconds between
fourth and fifth place - the salary
cuts might be deep.
“The riders were paid crazy
amounts,” says Herve Poncharal,
team owner of the Monster Tech
3 Yamaha team, who suggests the
market, rather than legislators, will
deal with the issue.
The riders that are coming to
the end of their contract in 2009,
he says will see sharp falls in
fees. ‘Apart from the Untouchables
- it will be 50, 60, 70 per cent
down. That will be a big, big
saving. We always talk about the
bike, but the riders department is
sometimes bigger than the cost of
the bike.”
As Formula One has shown,
with the Brawn GP team in
particular leading the way,
lowering costs means that the price
demanded of sponsors for title
partnerships, the key commercial
revenue stream for most teams, is
lowered, raising hopes of drawing
a broader constituency of brands
into the sport.
This is something that should
perhaps be the aim of both
MotoGP and Superbikes.
As ever, broadcast exposure
will be critical in determining
sponsor revenues and in October
2009, Infront Motor Sports,
the commercial rights owner of
Superbikes, struck an important
and wide ranging TV deal with
Eurosport Group, which gave the
pan-European broadcaster the
TV and digital rights to the FIM
Superbike World Championship
(SBK) for the 2010, 2011 and 2012
seasons. The deal includes the
support classes FIM Supersport
World Championship and FIM
Superstock 1000 Cup.
This pan-European agreement
includes all 59 territories covered
by Eurosport which promises
an increased number of live
broadcasts and that 24 out of 26
races will be shown live or delayed
on either Eurosport or Eurosport 2.
Superbkes - Getty Images Sport
“We have not only signed a very
significant TV agreement with
Eurosport, but also secured
additional media coverage across
Europe and Asia during the last
two years,” explains Stephan Herth,
executive director of Summer
Sports, Infront Sports and Media.
“The sponsorship market has
been slower, but is looking brighter
for 2010 although our targets for
hospitality remain conservative.”
Hospitality matters
The hospitality side of the
business, he says, is a real point of
difference for Superbikes, allowing
VIPs to get very close to the teams
down in the pit. This informality is
attractive, and broadens the appeal
of the sponsorship.
On the key difference between
motorcycling’s top two series,
Herth says. “MotoGP is more
about R&D while Superbikes
is about marketing for the
manufacturers, that’s why all major
brands are in the series, compared
to say four of the manufacturers
who remain in MotoGP. For the
manufacturers, World Superbikes
offers greater benefits in terms of
a direct link between what fans see
on TV and the type of bikes they
can go and buy on the high street.
“The great advantage we have
is that we have seven major
manufacturers in the series, which
is a tangible sign that they see
value in Superbikes.
“For MotoGP, Rossi is very
outstanding and the TV rights
market responds quickly to
personalities,” says Herth,
“Without local heroes it makes
the job of selling media rights
more difficult. It is up to Dorna
to find a new Rossi, and that is a
formidable challenge.
It certainly is and with the man
himself, aged 29, stating, “I will
ride until I’m 31 or 32 at most,”
earlier this year, the curtain calls
on the great rider’s career will be
watched closely by a varied group
of stakeholders, from fans and
rival team members, through TV
executives and sponsor directors
through to the rights owners of
both MotoGP and Superbike series.
SportBusiness International • No.152 • 12.09 61