Global sports marketing agency IMG has already demonstrated the power of live sport to deliver prime content for passengers since launching Sport 24 in 2012. Now it is expanding its reach.
Perhaps nothing encapsulates the power of live sport to grip an in-flight audience more than Australia’s nerve-jangling penalties victory over France in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Social media posts from onboard one flight alone captured the moment, as almost the entire cabin watched the action unfold live on their seat-back screens, when Australia, at the third time of asking, converted the winning penalty which took the co-hosts through to the semi-final of the tournament. The cheers of excitement – doubtless mixed with relief – as Cortnee Vine’s spot-kick hit the back of the net underlined just how engrossed passengers were in the moment.
IMG has been offering the capability for airlines to deliver these type of shared live sport experiences onboard to passengers through its live sports channels Sport 24 and Sport 24 Extra since 2012, utilising in-flight connectivity (IFC) systems to stream the best in live sport directly to the seat.
”We saw an opportunity to create a new market for live sports and keep travelling fans connected,” explains IMG’s Senior Vice-President of Content and Channels, Richard Wise. “From day one, it’s proven to be very successful and very popular. Passengers love it. Airlines love it. It’s created memorable moments, boosting passenger satisfaction onboard.”
Last year Sport 24 broadcasted more than 5,800 hours of premium live sport to over 8.5 million viewers in-flight. That included showpiece events like the Olympic Games in Paris and the UEFA EURO 2024 last summer; year-round coverage of competitions including Formula 1, the Premier League, the NBA and the NFL, as well as tennis grand slams and golf majors.
“We have found solutions to previous restrictions in technology,” explains Wise. “We have now set up dedicated workflows so as long as you have got connectivity, and you are flying internationally, you can get Sport 24.
“We listen to what airlines want. Airlines want to be able to make their own decisions on IFE and have a more direct relationship with us. It means we can look at evolving the product with them,” Wise says. ”That’s the big message. We are available to any airline that has connectivity.”
There is also a revenue opportunity for airlines by virtue of being able to show premium sports content onboard. “Live sport commands the highest ad spots in broadcast - just look at the Super Bowl,” says Wise. “By having live sport onboard, that opens up inventory that airlines can sell against and that is an area that is being spoken about much more.”
Passengers want live sport
Sport 24 is already in-service today on over 10 international carriers, including big global operators like Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines and Turkish Airlines.
As the Sport 24 name suggests, it is a 24-hour dedicated sports channel tailored for the international in-flight market – as well as serving the cruise ship industry - and has a clear focus on delivering as much live sport as possible to millions of passengers globally.
“The airline industry is a 24-hour business, so we have to make sure we have good sports all-day, every day,” says Wise.
Highlights on Sport 24 this summer include the Ryder Cup, Wimbledon, Formula 1, The Open and a few major announcements coming soon, while IMG recently secured the exclusive in-flight rights for Sport 24 to air next summer’s FIFA World Cup. Sport 24 will broadcast all 104 matches being held across Canada, Mexico and the United States.
The strong content mix is made possible by IMG’s experience and relationships in sports media, both as a sports rights holder itself and through securing international rights for other events.
However, Wise says there is much more to delivering Sport 24 to the airlines than just getting the media rights. He highlights IMG’s production capabilities to package together a live channel for the airlines and the insight its more than 25 regional offices provide in understanding the popularity of sports and competitions across different regions.
”We are lucky, we can do every element of it,” he says. ”We’ve got offices all around the world. So, for example, we can speak to our Australian office about AFL [Australian Football League]. Most people won’t know the AFL is as big in Australia as the NFL is in the US. You have to be able to put it together, understand global audiences and know who watches what around the world.
”Our strategy is really to get the best sports from every continent,” Wise adds. ”We have that data, we know what people enjoy watching, and we make sure its available on our channels.”
Scheduling to support the 24/7 needs of the airline market is also key. “There is no point having six major events all going on at the same time, and then nothing going on the week after. We make sure that we show premium live content pretty much every day of the year,” he explains.
Last year Sport 24 had 350 days of premium live content and averaged 16.5 hours of live sports content per day.
“That is how much live content we managed to put on, which is incredible from our scheduling team. No other broadcaster does that,” notes Wise.
‘Appointment to view’ content
The Australian women’s nail-biting World Cup win is just one of the high-profile shared sporting moments onboard. Wise, for example, cites similar feedback of cabin-wide watching of the NFL Super Bowl on flights departing from the USA.
“I call it the domino effect,” he says, noting how passengers will see others watching onboard and join in. “It’s a good environment to watch live sport because you are with others, and we’ve been told passengers make friends inflight to watch concurrent live games broadcast on both our channels (Sport 24 & Sport 24 Extra) at the same time,” he says.
“Sport is one of the few remaining genres of content, that you have to be there live. It’s appointment to view. And there is no other way of watching it,” Wise adds. ”That is really important - airlines want to keep their passengers entertained across their entire journey. No other inflight content is as live as live sport.”
74% of passengers surveyed in the Endeavor Analytics Passenger Insights Survey 2024 said access to live sport onboard was important and that they would choose to watch Sport 24 over other onboard entertainment, while 81% of passengers surveyed said they wish Sport 24 was available on other airlines.
While big-ticket sporting events like the EUROS and FIFA World Cups provide an obvious draw and the potential for peak moments, there is also clear value in season-long content which offers the potential for repeat entertainment for frequent flyers. It means passengers know that if they are flying again in a month’s time, that the next round of games will be available on that airline and they can watch them onboard. Alternatively, they would be missing these crucial moments throughout the year.
52% of passengers surveyed agreed that that availability of Sport 24 is a consideration when choosing which airline to book with (Endeavor Analytics Passenger Insights Survey 2024).
”That really helps the airlines use Sport 24 to their advantage. It shows how airlines are using the channel to get premium passengers onboard,” he adds, noting the company has seen from social media posts and feedback from airlines that frequent flyers will ask if particular games are available on a specific flight before booking their ticket.
This also underlines how powerful being able to offer passengers the chance to watch their favourite live sport onboard can be in differentiating an airline in what is a hugely competitive market. The knowledge a passenger can watch the big game or their home team live in action onboard could be a decisive factor in their booking decision.
While audience data is still relatively difficult to secure, IMG also highlights insights gained from research indicating the importance to passengers of having live sport available onboard.
The appeal of having live sport available onboard gives airlines an opportunity to align their brand with premium live sports, market the onboard experience, and promote upcoming sports content to passengers. That also opens the door in future to airlines providing more personalised promotion of relevant upcoming sports onboard to frequent flyers where their preferences and interests are known.
Trusted partner
IMG has been in business for 65 years and was in February acquired by TKO Group, a media conglomerate which owns World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). TKO acquired IMG from global sport media and entertainment group Endeavor – which is itself majority owner of TKO.
Wise believes IMG’s strong heritage, both in sports media and in serving the in-flight market, stands it in good stead for delivering live sport to more airlines in future.
”We make it really easy for airlines and rights holders” Wise adds. ”We are talking about global sports rights. It’s a complicated business that you don’t want to get wrong. IMG has a good reputation and we are the trusted brand. You know that if you get Sport 24, it’s fully cleared, you can market it and you can advise your passengers that in six months’ time you are going to have that blockbuster event onboard.”
Learn more about Sport 24 and download the valuable Passenger Insights Survey here
