SVG Sit-Down: BHV's Chris Bevilacqua on the Potential Impact of Coronavirus on Sports-Media Rights Landscape The sports industry has prioritized public health over their own commercial self-interest' By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Monday, March 30, 2020 - 3:25 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing the sports world to a halt, questions about the long-term impact on the sports-media industry are still to be answered. To provide insight into what the coming months and years may hold for the business, SVG is sitting down with several top sports-media executives and veterans to share their thoughts on the current situation.
Over the past 30 years, Chris Bevilacqua has established himself as a leader in the sports and media business. As co-founder of Bevilacqua Helfant Ventures (BHV), he has consulted on a slew of record-breaking sports-media rights deals. In addition, he was architect of the Pac-12 Conference media strategy and helped to launch Pac-12 Networks. He also pioneered other college-specific channels, including CSTV (the first-ever 24-hour cable network dedicated to college sports) and the MountainWest Sports Network. Prior to these efforts, Bevilacqua was chairman and CEO of Creative Artists Agency (CAA) Sports Media Ventures, serving as a media-rights advisor for several sports and entertainment entities.
Chris Bevilacqua: All these loyal, passionate audiences who are being deprived of their passion over a fairly lengthy period will have some pent-up excitement.
SVG sat down with Bevilacqua late last week to discuss the short- and long-term impact of coronavirus on the industry, how he sees future rights deals playing out, and what the future holds for college sports and regional sports networks.
How do you see the coronavirus pandemic affecting the sports-media business over the next six-12 months?
The immediate impact is obviously not good. Many industries are just shut down, including sports. But the good thing is, I think everybody in the sports industry has prioritized public health over their own commercial self-interest. This industry's doing everything it can do to protect fans, athletes, and employees and worrying about the commercial fallout afterwards.
That said, obviously, if you're not staging events and games, you're not collecting revenue from ticket sales, sponsorship, and media [rights], and that's a substantial lost commercial opportunity. I think we're going to have a period of choppy waters - not for weeks but for months - where we don't know exactly how and when this is going to settle out. And there are a lot of things commercially that are going to be degraded between now and whenever that is. The question then becomes, when things are back up and running, can the economy come back? Do people have a job, and are they willing to go buy a ticket or merchandise like they had in the past?
I don't have a crystal ball, but I am a glass-half-full kind of guy. What I do know as it relates to the sports industry is that the partners on all sides have very solid relationships. In most cases, the owners of the major properties and their commercial partners have been partners for a long time, and, when everything settles out, they'll sit down as partners and work out what's in the best interest of everyone going forward.
In your experience, do major rights deals typically have an out clause for rightsholders if games aren't played?
It's not really one-size-fits-all. These are things that are typically very customized in terms of acts of God, natural disasters, and force majeure. Obviously, you have to address these sorts of unforeseeable events in any kind of a contractual commitment, especially when they are the size and scope of these big properties. And then, everybody has their own set of insurance policies as well, which will play a big role for both sides. In some cases, there's very specific language for loss of games or seasons, and sometimes there isn't. I think there will be a variety of factors coming together depending on the agreement, and it's certainly not going to be the same for everyone.
We have seen the value of live sports coverage skyrocket over the past three decades. Do you believe this situation will cause the sports-rights media bubble to pop?
No, I really don't think so. I think this is going to be a short-term issue - albeit a very painful short-term issue. But, when you start talking about the new cycle of rights, I think you're going to see the values continue to grow. First one up is the NFL, and they're gearing up [for negotiations] right now. Whatever happens, there will be a pretty good barometer of what's to come. An event like this is not going to change the demand for the NFL product over the next 10 years. I truly don't think it will have any meaningful commercial effect on valuable sports rights.
I think it is a unique, unforeseen event that won't change any of the major trends in media. Now, it may accelerate some of those trends. Obviously, there's already a transition going on from traditional media to digital, mobile, and OTT consumption of live sports. I think that will continue unabated. I think high-reach platforms like broadcast TV will still be incredibly important. And, even though cable TV is shrinking in terms of its reach, it is still very meaningful. So I don't see that changing dramatically in the next few years through this next cycle of rights.
Do you believe this situation will have an impact on the rise of legalized sports betting in the near term?
I think the market forces are going to accelerate sports gambling. There is going to be a big hole in local, state, and federal government budgets. And, with the interest in sports betting spreading
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
29/05/2026
At just 20 years old, Sean Melia from Summerhill Co. Meath has been revealed as the winner of Super Garden 2026. Sean is the youngest ever contestant and winner...
29/05/2026
Experimental HIV vaccine achieves a long-sought goal In a first for the field, all non-human primates given a new series of vaccines generated antibodies capabl...
28/05/2026
Thomsons Climate Crisis Toolkit is already being put to work, helping journalist...
28/05/2026
FOX Sports' MLB coverage dominated the night at the 47th Annual Sports Emmy ...
28/05/2026
One of the most memorable postseasons in baseball history would have had no memo...
28/05/2026
NBC's Sunday Night Football is among the most-decorated and most-watched pro...
28/05/2026
The 2026 Sports Emmys marked a watershed moment for Prime Video Sports. After bu...
SVG Sit-Down: BHV's Chris Bevilacqua on the Potential Impact of Coronavirus on Sports-Media Rights Landscape The sports industry has prioritized public health over their own commercial self-interest' By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
