Euroleague basketball a case study of the swedish market (final)
1. Euroleague Basketball:
A CASE STUDY OF THE SWEDISH MARKET
EMELIE NYMAN ÖSTBARD
BARCELONA, SPAIN, 2013
This presentation belongs to Emelie Nyman Östbard and was done in connection with
the final thesis project at La Salle.
2. Index
2
Sport in Sweden
3
Swedish Basketball
6
8
International Presence
9
International Competition
11
League
International Players
12
Sport Media Presence in Sweden
13
Broadcasting
Social Media and internet
15
Important Media Channels
16
Sponsors
17
NBA in Sweden
18
The typical basketball consumer
19
Norway & Denmark
20
Recommendations
21
Evaluation of the Swedish market
23
Key Success Factors for the Swedish market
24
3. Sport in Sweden
Almost half of the Swedish population are
members of a sport club (3,4 million)
2,4 million compete regularly
The main purpose of the Swedish sports
confederation (RF) is to support the sport
federations and represent the sport
movement in their contact with the
government and politicans. They set the
strategy to chose for financing, org.
structures and communication.
The sport movement (’the Nordic sports
model’) is a democratic movement
where sport is organized as an
independent voluntary movement.
Where a club is a voluntary non-profit
org. owned by its members.
3
4. Sport in Sweden
- Cont’
The clubs receive most of their
income from membership fees and
other member costs, sponsorship
represents between 15-20% and
20% are given in form of grants from
local and central governments.
Voluntary work is the basis of the
Swedish and nordic sports clubs
and represents around 70.000
fulltime jobs.
4
5. Sport in Sweden
- Cont’
Sweden is ranked as number
seven on the Olympic medal
table.
The Swedish Sport Confederation
(2012) have established some
factors that are important to the
Swedish sport movement
(table.1)
The idea of Swedish sport is to
”organize sport at all levels so
that it develop people positevely
both physically and mentally,
socially and culturally”.
5
External factors
Internal factors
Welfare: long period without war, no
natural catastrophes, raw materials,
energy sources, well-developed
educational system and good
infrastucture
Lenghty tradition
Long tradition of collaboration between
local authorities and sport
Organizes as a popular movement with
sport’s greatest resources, the extensive
voluntary contributions, and having elite
sports and spor-for-all under the same
umbrella
Sport enjoys a strong reputation with
politicians and receives generous grants
and investment capital for sport facilities
Opportunities for combining sport and
education, through national sports
secondary schools
Serious investment in leadership training
and adult-education organization SISU –
Swedish Sports Education
Extensive sport research, principally
physiology
TABLE.1
6. Swedish Basketball
The Swedish Basketball Federation
(SBBF) was founded in 1952
SBBF have divided Sweden into 5
competition regions that are
responsible for the third tier of
competitions. There are 12 district
regions that are responsible for the
operations of the clubs, the lower
tier- and younger- club
competitions.
6
The members of SBBF are the clubs
and non-profit associations.
SOK: Swedish Olympic
Committee
EOK: European Olympic
Committee
IOK: International
Olympic Committee
FIBA: International
Basketball Federation
FIBA E: European
Basketball Federation
RF: Swedish Sport
Confederation
DF: District Federations
SDF: Swedish Basketball
District Federations
F: Regional Federations
Spelare: Players
7. Swedish Basketball
The basic values of SBBF are:
together for the best of Swedish
Basketball; everyone’s right to
participate; passion, happiness and
curiosity; high competence level;
fair play in everything we do;
democracy and participation
The vision is to be: ”the most
available nationalsport in Sweden”
7
Registered members in SBBF
63,113
Players with licenses (over 13 years old)
13,500
Players under 13 years old
9,000
Non-licensed players
3,000
Registered coaches
750
Registered clubs
350
Source of information: SBBF (Henrik Schöldström)
8. Swedish Basketball
- League
SBBF have the main responsibility for the professional leagues of both
men and women. The mens’ league is called: Basketligan herr and is
from this season on an open league (relegation and promotion system)
with up to 12 participating clubs. SBBF are also responsible for the second
highest leagues as well as the wheelchair basketball league.
8
9. Swedish Basketball
- International Presence
9
The Swedish National team both men and women have qualified for the
EuroBasket 2013.
It is the first time in 25 years that the womens team have qualified and they
finished on 7th place
5 out of 6 youth national teams are qualified for the European Championship
A-group in 2013
The wheelchair national team U23 have qualified for the world cup
11. Swedish Basketball
- International competitions
In 2003 Sweden hosted the EuroBasket for Men in Stockholm.
However, the Swedish national team did not make it
through the group stage. They also hosted the European
Championship U18 for women 2009 in Södertälje.
Sweden have two clubs that compete on an international
club competition level:
Norrköping Dolphins qualified for EuroChallange 2010/11,
2011/12, 2012/13 – this season they advanced to the top 16
phase and finished 12th.
Södertälje Kings qualified for EuroChallenge 2012/13 but did
not advance. Will participate in EuroChallenge season
2013/14.
11
12. Swedish Basketball
- International players
Players in Europe
12
Players in the USA
Ludvig Håkansson, 1996
FCB Regal II, Spain.
Jonas Jerebko, 1987
Detroit Pistons, USA, NBA.
Valter Lindström, 1995,
Real Madrid, Spain.
Jeffrey Taylor, 1989
Charlotte Bobcats, USA, NBA.
Nick Spires, 1994
FCB Regal II, Spain.
Chris Czerapowicz, 1990
Davidson Wildcats, NCAA.
Marcus Eriksson, 1993
FCB Regal II, Spain.
Carl Engström, 1991
Alabama Crimson, NCAA
Jonathan Person, 1993
Gotha, Germany.
Viktor Gaddefors, 1992,
SAIE3 Bologna, Italy.
Erik Rush, 1988
Cimberio Varese, Italy.
Thomas Massamba, 1985
Lukoil Academik, Bulgaria.
Kenny Grant, 1982
Nancy, France.
There are currently no Swedish players in Euroleague.
The lists represents a sample of the players currently abroad.
13. Sport Media Presence in Sweden
- Broadcasting
A report from Nordicom covering the average viewing per day in 2011 in Sweden
showed that 18% of the average daily viewers were watching sports (27% men, 9%
women).
The segments watching sports is divided into the following brackets:
The table below shows the viewer timeslots among TV-viewers between the ages 9-79
in 2011 (in %)
Gender
Age
Education (16–79 year)
Total
Men
Women
9–14
15–24
25–44
45–64
65–79
Low
Middle
High
06.00–08.00
4
4
4
5
3
3
4
6
6
3
4
08.00–12.00
9
7
10
11
8
8
7
11
9
8
8
12.00–17.00
12
12
11
20
16
11
8
10
12
11
9
17.00–19.00
24
25
23
32
23
16
21
32
32
23
18
19.00–22.00
77
77
78
60
68
77
82
83
84
79
78
22.00–24.00
23
24
21
5
21
29
25
22
25
26
25
24.00–06.00
2
2
1
1
3
3
2
1
2
2
2
Source: Undersökningen Nordicom-Sveriges mediebarometer 2011.
13
14. Sport Media Presence in Sweden
- Broadcasting
The two biggest sport TV stations in Sweden are TV4 Sport and
Viasat Sport.
Viasat has Scandinavia’s most comprehensive portfolio of sport
rights and has exclusive broadcasting rights to the Euroleague
competition. They also broadcast international basketball
competitions.
TV10 is mainly a sport channel launched in 2010 by Viasat, the
channel have rights to broadcast Euroleague basketball.
The Swedish Basketball League had an agreement during 2013
with the Kanal Global channel and the stream site of the online
newspaper Aftonbladet to broadcast their games
14
15. Sport Media Presence in Sweden
- Social Media and Internet
Official website of the Swedish Basketball Federation: www.basket.se
Features: The Swedish basketball federation uses this website to inform about
news and information from the federation, the national teams, the basketball
leagues, national and regional competitions, education, calendar of activities
and contact information.
BasketSverige: www.basketsverige.se
Features: BasketSverige contains information about the basketball
league men and women as well as news about the NBA. The
information is conveyed through articles and blog posts. There are one
blog focused on the NBA. The site has both Facebook and Twitter
accounts. Two other main persons involved are Jakob Törnell and
Magnus Stråhle that produces podcasts with interviews of basketball
players and profiles in Sweden.
15
16. Sport Media Presence in Sweden
- Important media channels
Television: SVT , TV4 , Viasat, C More (football and golf)
Newspapers: Dagens nyheter, Aftonbladet
’Give and Go’ – national basketball magazine delivered
by the Swedish Basketball Federation and distributed to
the clubs.
16
17. Sponsors
Official sponsors of the Swedish Basketball Federation
Out of the 10 clubs in the swedish basketball league the following sponsors occur
the most: Swedbank (4), Nike (4), Scandic (4), Stadium (3), PEAB (3), Gothia (2),
Intersport (2), Viking Line (2), ICA (2),
Other major companies involved in basketball in Sweden: E.on, adidas, McDonalds,
Volkswagen, Astra Zeneca,
Top 20 sport sponsor companies in Sweden (2010) according to Sponsorworld*
Volvo, Ericsson, Svenska spel, Swedbank, ICA, Telia, Vattenfall, Aftonbladet, Folksam,
Nordea, Carlsberg, SEB, ATG, Posten, SAS McDonalds, Telenor, Adidas, Puma, Nike
* www.sponsorworld.com/_project/_media/_doc/upload/Topp-50.pdf
17
18. NBA in Sweden
The club Sundsvall Dragons organize a summer camp
called the NBA Camp for players born 95-99 with Mike
Wilhelm from Chicago Bulls.
Viasat Sport/TV10 bought the rights to broadcast the
NBA Playoffs 2013 in Sweden however the rest of the
season was not broadcasted on Swedish TV.
NBA gear is easily bought through stores such as
Footlocker ond other national sport stores.
18
19. Segmentation
- the typical basketball consumer
Male
Middle-class
Age 16-26
Urban
High school/college educated
Active
Uses streaming sites to watch sports on
computer and mobile device
Watch TV
Purchases basketball merchandize and
clothes
19
His friends also watches basketball, he
seeks information on and off the court,
uses the information for conversation on
social media and private with friends,
watches mainly NBA and NCAA.
If he has a lot of knowledge about the
sport basketball he follows Euroleague
The main sources of information he would
look at is: the official website of NBA, the
facebook page of NBA; he follows his
favorite players and teams on facebook
and instagram
Twitter is not very popular in Sweden at the moment, the two
most popular social networks are Facebook and Instagram.
20. Norway & Denmark
20
The sports movement is organized in the same way in all three nordic countries.
Denmark have a strong youth development and are currently working on
developing their national club competition.
NBA playoffs is broadcasted in Denmark.
There is a organization called GAM3 that organizes 3-3 basketball tournaments
in Denmark focused on urban sport and culture as an integration tool for
immigrants.
21. Recommendations
21
After the interviews that I conducted in the process of my thesis I recommend Euroleague to implement a
market entry indicator system for the European market. This indicator system will serve as a guide to what
markets are ready to expand to and in what extent. It will also show what markets are not developed
enough and will require more investment.
Each criteria receives a score from 1-10 (10 is the highest) which will give a total average score that will
indicate the readiness of that market. The number is related to 4 different entry modes. These entry modes
were detected during the interviews: 1) Export with ’Pull-option’ – ’game of the week’, 2) Export with ’pushoption’ – Sales team in the market, 3) Customized investment with sales representatives – clinics, camps,
friendly games with local teams etc., 4) Direct investment – Euroleague team in the market
I have developed an example of a simple indicator system that is shown on the following slide. It represents
5 criterias that I have detected as important in order to determine if expansion is profitable for the
company, and, in what way to enter into the market.
The first criteria evaluate how many cities that are able to comply with the criterias for reaching an ”A” license. I
included this because it shows the readiness of the infrastructure in the country and ultimately the investments
required to have a future Euroleague team in the country.
Second criteria evaluate if there are teams already competing on an international level and therefore requires
less investment and in the near future can advance to Eurocup and ultimately Euroleague.
Third criteria counts the number of players competing on a top international level both Euroleague and NBA.
These are important to use for marketing purposes.
Forth criteria evaluate the level of the National team, if they compete in the A-groups. This is important for
marketing purposes and the level of awareness of basketball in the country.
The fifth criteria evaluate the media structure of the country. How hard it is to broadcast sport and for it to reach
the majority of the population. Because this is the main revenue for Euroleague this criteria is important in order
to decide to expand and invest and how much.
22. Recommendations
22
Market entry indicator system
1.
1.1
1.2
1.3
2.
3.
4.
5.
CRITERIA
A city that comply with the criteria of an
“A” license.
10,000 seat arena
2x 4**** hotels in the same city
International airport less than 100km from
arena
Number of clubs competing in top three
European club competitions
Number of international player
competing in Euroleague and/or NBA
Level of National team
Level of media market and infrastructure
TOTAL SCORE
EXPLANATION
SCORE (1-10)
-
10-9
Direct investment (4)
Should already be min. exporting with sales representation
7-9
Customized investment with clinics, camps etc. (3)
Should already be exporting with sales representation
5-7
Sales team in the market (2)
Push content - Should already be exporting
2-5
Export (1)
Pull content of the ’Game of the week’ and Final Four
23. Evaluation of the Swedish market
1.
1.1
1.2
1.3
2.
3.
4.
5.
23
Market entry indicator system
CRITERIA
A city that comply with the criteria of an “A” license.
10,000 seat arena
2x 4**** hotels in the same city
International airport less than 100km from arena
Number of clubs competing in top three European
club competitions
Number of international player competing in
Euroleague and/or NBA
Level of National team
Level of media market and infrastructure
TOTAL SCORE (AVERAGE)
EXPLANATION
Stockholm Globe, 16.000
Stockholm, Norrköping
46 km Stockholm Globe, 7.8Km
norrköping
2 out of 10 (norrköping dolphins,
Södertälje Kings)
2
Qualified A group EuroBasket
Viasat have extensive sport
broadcasting
SCORE (1-10)
10
2
2
5
5
4.8
10-9
Direct investment (4)
Should already be exporting with sales representation
6-9
Customized investment with clinics, camps etc. (3)
Should already be exporting with sales representation
4-6
Sales team in the market (2)
Should already be exporting
2-4
Export (1)
’Game of the week’ and Final Four
24. Key Success Factors for the
Swedish market
24
Increase the awareness about Euroleague through:
Player recognition: use key players to market the league
Follow them on Facebook and Instagram and use in marketing campaigns
The main advantage over NBA is that it is close - possibility to experience the games
live without spending a lot of money. Arrange travel campaigns and discounts to see
a Euroleague game. This could be done as an arrangement through with the Swedish
Basketball Federation and sponsors already involved.
Play friendly games against a Swedish team or arrange a training camp in Sweden
Sponsor youth camps: through name rights, merchandize, send a Euroleague player to
the camp, have a training game during the camp
Sponsor local clubs with merchandize
Much of this can be done through collaboration with the Swedish basketball federation.
25. Key Success Factors for the
Swedish market
25
Work closely with the SBBF as well as local clubs to facilitate and develop certain
key drivers of development
Through investing in the education and knowledge of basketball for the public, players
and volunteers
Through investing in the education of clubs and its employees regarding media and
communications management, marketing, development etc.
Providing insight and advice regarding negotiations with broadcasters and sponsors
Providing a network between countries
26. Important information &websites
SWEDISH BASKETBALL FEDERATION CONTACT DETAILS
President: Hans Von Uthmann
Secretary General and FIBA World Board Member: Lena Wallin-Kantzy
Press contact: Henrik Schöldström
Office tel.nr: +46 (8) 6996000
Swedish basketball federation: www.basket.se
Swedish sport confederation: www.rf.se
Swedish basketball league (men):
http://iof1.idrottonline.se/SvenskaBasketbollforbundet/Basketliganherr/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/basketklipp
BasketSverige: www.basketsverige.se
26
27. Sources
Pictures that were used in this presentation are taken from:
The official webpage of the Swedish Basketball Federation
The official webpage of the Swedish Sport Confederation
Sundsvall Dragons official webpage
The images are used only in an academic purpose and are included under the fair use
exemption and are restricted from further use.
27
