he San Francisco 49ers have bucked
a worrying trend in US sport. They
have been enjoying record live
attendances at the 68,000-seater Levi’s
Stadium in the Santa Clara area of
San Francisco, in the heart of Silicon Valley,
whereas overall ratings for live games have been
falling in all four major American sports leagues –
the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB since 2008.
Brent Schoeb, chief revenue officer believes the
key to this success is how the club has embraced
the innovative use of technology to enhance the
live experience. “Our attendances are through the
roof, both on TV and live. For our last match we
sold and distributed the most tickets ever in our
74-year history,” he says. “One reason for the
success is we have become really creative in
BROADCASTING
adopting, and developing, new technologies.
We figure that if we make the live experience
memorable fans will want to keep coming back.”
An intriguing aspect of the San Francisco 49ers
popularity is that it has been rising for both
televised and live matches, undermining oversimplistic
notions about broadcasting being the
natural enemy of the live experience. In reality, the
relationship between TV audiences and live ratings
is complex. Roger Kirk, a professor of retail
marketing at Baylor University explains that,
generally, increased viewing actually leads to
higher live attendances. “It’s a bit counterintuitive,
but the more people watch their favorite team the
more they want to experience it in person.
Constraining or restricting viewership hurts
attendance,” he says.
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