How America's Obsession With Sports Is Changing the Game for the Industry

The sports market is poised for huge growth. In North America, the industry will grow to $73.5 billion in 2019, from $60.5 billion in 2014, according to a report from PwC, which breaks down the sports market into four streams of revenue: gate or ticket sales, media rights, sponsorships and merchandise. ‘Media rights and sponsorship will drive overall growth in the space, followed by gate and merchandise revenue, which are relatively mature segments,’ said Adam Jones, PwC’s sports advisory services director. Gate revenue will grow to $20.1 billion in 2019, from $18.3 billion in 2015 – a 15.3 percent increase. He said gate revenue has traditionally been the industry’s largest segment. But that may soon change. ‘Media rights will surpass gate revenue as the industry’s largest segment by 2018,’ he added, with revenue expected to soar to $20.6 billion in 2019 from $16.4 billion in 2015, or an increase of 26 percent. 'Media is driven by the popularity of the programming, both with the consumer and the advertiser,’ he said. TheStreet’s Scott Gamm reports from New York.