View From the Editor: Full House for broadcasters? - September 2007  

Readers, did you know that Bingo is the new Poker? That’s certainly the message S&T picked up at Bullet Business’ 2nd Annual Online Bingo Summit, held in London towards the end of September. With legislation prohibiting online gambling in major markets such as the US, online gamers are reported to be migrating away from casino-based games such as Poker and Blackjack towards ‘softer’ gaming such as Bingo and Lotteries, which fall into grey areas legally in some markets and/or are completely legal in others. Bingo is much-loved in the English-speaking world, particularly in Europe and South America (where it accounts for 10% of gross wins from all gambling according to analysts). Online Bingo is particularly popular with women, although Littlewoods Bingo in the UK reports that men love playing online Bingo just as much as women, but they often use female names to disguise their identity. As S&T once reported that an online Bridge website was finding success as a dating site between rubbers, may we humbly suggest you request a photograph of the online Bingo-playing object of you affection if you decide to get romantic. (Mind you, isn’t it funny how everyone looks like Brad Pitt and/or Angelina Jolie on MyBook/FaceSpace/etc but more like Bernard Manning and Jo Brand in real life? Or so our online dating sources tell us. S&T’s tip: Leave your glasses at home and/or check the restaurant washroom has an accessible window from the inside).
S&T’s hairdresser (let’s call her Michelle, after all that is her name), is an avid bricks and mortar (rather than online) Bingo fan. It is something she (and her friends) take extremely seriously. Once they are seated at their tables down at the local Bingo Hall (having ejected anyone new who has dared to sit in their lucky spot), they will not speak to each other except between cards/books. None of them expect to win per se, but heaven forbid, if anyone has too much luck then they are glared at by the other players and made to feel that they ought to leave. Michelle won a considerable sum of money last week, which she is blowing on a luxury cruise (“cabin with balcony and the works”), and was escorted to her car by a bouncer who looked somewhat like The A-Team’s Mr T to the cries of “she’s obviously won lots of money which is why she is being escorted to her car”. As this was in a less salubrious corner of Camden Town in North London, Michelle put her foot down and got out of there as fast as her Peugeot would jolly-well take her.
The whole Bingo gig for Michelle is about having a good night out and a break from her day-to-day life/asking people about their holidays. As, because of her profession, Michelle has expert knowledge of all things barnet-related (i.e. hair, not the London-based soccer team with the sloping pitch), S&T of course quizzed her on whether Bingo halls in the UK are still full of blue-rinsed old wrinklies, or whether a younger, trendier crowd is increasingly having a punt? “The players are certainly getting younger and we are also seeing a lot more men,” she told S&T, “but to be honest, as no-one speaks to each other anyway, and we sometimes play national games against other Bingo halls around the country, you don’t really look too closely at your competitors.” Unless they win of course, or sit in your lucky seat and then it’s handbags at dawn, make no mistake.
Working on the adage that you shouldn’t really knock anything until you have tried it (online dating perhaps being an exception), S&T intends to have a Bingo experience of our very own in the near future, so we’ll keep you posted. Legs Eleven, two little ducks and all that jazz. (Except they don’t say that anymore apparently. Shame).

Do broadcasters rule?

Moving away from gaming to matters more traditionally technology and sport-related, S&T’s older sibling SportBusiness International said it would be withholding our pocket money/allowance and presenting us with material proof that Santa Claus doesn’t exist unless S&T answered the following question, toute suite. As the Christmas festive season is rapidly approaching (i.e. it’s nearly SportelMonaco/Soccerex time, after which it’s best to start writing the Round Robin letter), we thought we’d better oblige. Plus we may need the pocket money to fuel our new Bingo habit.
The question was: “To what extent will technological changes in the delivery of sports content affect the power-balance between traditional broadcasters and rights holders, who will be empowered to deliver their own content?” Cappiche?
If S&T were to answer this question using specific examples of how some major broadcasters allegedly call the shots when it comes to particular sports and their coverage (even coming down to influencing decisions on where sports events are hosted), we’d probably get sued. Let’s just say, we’ve been made aware of instances where some sports rights owners are forced to kow-tow to their traditional broadcasting partners in order to garner much-needed rights fees and others are just so darned grateful to have linear coverage that the power certainly lies with the television bosses rather than the federations.
There’s definitely a school of thought within the sports industry that an hour of terrestrial coverage is worth infinitely more than a similar amount of time on cable or satellite, let alone on the internet. Although the latter, through improvements in broadband technology, allows sports bodies the chance to reach a wider audience more cheaply than through traditional linear means, one could argue that until internet audiences overtake those of traditional television, then sports bodies will never truly have ‘the power’. In 2004, S&T asked our readers whether this would ever happen and 67% thought it unlikely – i.e. people will always watch sport on television rather than on the web.
Broadcasters however are wising up to the fact that the younger generation are likely to consume sport differently to those of us who cut our desk-top teeth on the ZX81 for example. Broadcasters are therefore less likely these days to buy up broadband and wireless rights just to sit on them (an accusation that has been directed at some of them in the past) and are exploring ways to build audiences outside their traditional coverage through an online presence.
Obviously different types of sport have different levels of exposure on television, and S&T has said before that we believe it is the sports not typically snapped up by broadcasters that have the chance to empower themselves and appeal to an increasingly technologically-savvy younger audience through growing their sports online. And with the likes of YouTube perhaps one day buying sports rights, who knows how we will define ‘traditional broadcasting’ in 10 years’ time anyway…..so there!

Curtains for turnstiles?

With 50 pence now gloriously winging our way in exchange for the above diatribe, and Santa Claus’ mince pies and sherry safely poised to make a return under S&T’s freshly-swept chimney on 24th December, S&T can sign off for another month and joyfully head over to SportBusiness’ International Sports Media Summit at the fragrant Emirates Stadium, home of English Premier League soccer team Arsenal, for a one day new media gorge-fest in the presence of former BBC Director-General (and Roland Rat pioneer), the colourful Greg Dyke.
S&T has a great bond with Arsenal don’t you know, because the club’s old turnstiles (from its previous ground at Highbury) were acquired by our beloved Exeter City for installation at the Real St James Park. Unfortunately Exeter City cannot afford to fit them yet, thus neatly highlighting the disparity in wealth between the Premier League, and the Blue Square Premier, four divisions below (i.e. turn left before Hades). If they end up on eBay, you’ll know why. (The turnstiles that is, not Exeter City. We hope). See you in Monaco for Sportel, Rat Fans.

Rachael Church-Sanders
Editor

Do you think Bingo is the new Poker or do you not really give a fig? It goes without saying that it would be divine hearing from you, so please send all your comments and stories to the editor (rchurch@sportandtechnology.com) as fast as you jolly well can, or certainly within the next 12 months or so.

This article was seen first by people who receive the monthly newsletter, join them.