Winners and losers in the Olympic Games branding and broadcasting rules

Dr Adam Karg, a senior lecturer in sports marketing and management with the Deakin Business School, said it was somewhat ironic that the time when professional athletes were the most attractive to potential sponsors, their ability to promote or attract sponsors was stripped from them.

“With the Australian media rights this year tightened to a single broadcaster, with much coverage aired behind a paywall, and the International Olympics Committee banning athletes from promoting brands (through social media or any other channel) that are not official Olympic sponsors there are new challenges for athletes trying to make a name for themselves in Australian sport,” Dr Karg said.

“Building a profile and making a living as a professional athlete is hard work, particularly for those in some of the lesser known or second tier sports such as rowing, sailing, or athletics. At best most of these athletes will only make the equivalent of a part-time wage during their professional lives.

“Competing at the Olympics is their window to make money through sponsorships however there are significant restrictions on them both in their visibility through the way the games are broadcast and also what they can do on social media and attach to brands that sponsor them during the games.

“Unless they are competing in one of our high profile sports, are a chance for a gold medal or they have a really attractive aspect to their story, a lot of athletes are going to miss out on the commercial benefits of being professional athletes. Noone wants to sponsor an athlete if they are hidden away the whole time they are competing.”

Dr Karg said that it will be interesting to see how Australian sports fans respond to having to pay to view many aspects of the Olympics coverage or take control over what they view.

“From a viewer perspective we have unprecedented access to the broadest coverage ever of the games, with Channel Seven broadcasting through three free to air channels and another 30 plus channels. The catch is that you have to pay to watch the additional 30,” he said.

“Compared to global levels, Australians are not huge consumers of pay TV so this will be a big test for our viewing habits and push the boundaries of what viewers are prepared to pay for.

“In the end most Australians are only going to be exposed to those sports that are commercially viable and that we are most likely to win medals in. This is another blow for those lesser known sports people who are only in the spotlight every four years.”