Have you heard about Louis-Schmelling paradox?
It has origins in 1960s, when Walter C. Neale in his article identified such phenomenon through the examination of boxing fights between Joe Louis and Max Schmelling, taking place 30 years earlier. Due to Schmelling’s unlikely victory in the first fight, fan interest and selling generated around their rematch skyrocketed – it was proved that monopoly does not work in sports as uncertainty generates the interest and ultimately puts all stakeholders in better situation. Briefly saying, FC Barcelona needs their Real Madrid, Lakers needs their Celtics. Recent example is Tour de France, where Vingegaard-Pogacar rivalry pushed this year’s edition of the race to 12-year record in average viewership and all-time viewership peak at France 2 TV channel.
Why am I writing that?
Today’s news regarding Formula 1 is a great reminder of importance of competitive balance and generating rivarlies. Buzz Radar published results of their analysis on high profile F1-related accounts, that shows significant year-to-year drops in mentions (~70%), new followers (~46%) and social reach (~64%) - data was collected between January and May in respective years. As some portion of that can be associated to the buzz around technical regulations revamp before 2022 season, greatest contribution to that decrease should be connected to the domination of one team and one driver. Let’s remember, that 2021 season produced season-long, close title fight that ended on the last lap of the final race.
➡ Referring to the Neale’s research – for Formula 1’s best interest and further dynamic growth, championship needs Hamilton-Verstappen-like rivalry back again.
#F1 #SportsBusiness #SportsMarketing
Incredible post, PGA TOUR! It's fascinating to see the technology behind running a TOUR event. Thanks for shedding light on what's hidden in plain sight.