There are two editions of Champions of The Sport Market 2008:

1. Champions of The Sport Market 2008 – International:
A year-end sport business report listing the best performers in a number of categories in the sport industry and sport-related industries. Volume I International features sport business leaders for Canada, North America and the World for the calendar year ending December 31, 2008.

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2. Champions of The Sport Market 2008 – Vancouver:
A year-end sport business report featuring sport business leaders for the marketplace of Vancouver, for the calendar year ending December 31st, 2008. The report is designed to recognize organizations based in or doing business in Vancouver, individuals residing or working in Vancouver and athletes residing, working or originally from Vancouver or British Columbia.

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HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE YEAR 2008

The year 2008 saw the National Football League become the first professional sports league in the world to cross the $1 B USD mark in the average business valuation of its member franchises (Forbes.com). It saw Manchester United of the Barclays Premier League maintain its position as the most valuable franchise in the world at $1.8 B USD.

Those two leagues – in 2008 and over the past decade – have served as the one-two punch in the business of sport worldwide. The NFL is the highest-valuated league in the world but the Premiership is the most recognized and arguably the most important in terms of global media coverage and television audiences.

The National Hockey League is by far the most dominant professional sports league in Canada, with its six Canadian franchises worth a combined $1.62 B USD, not including league brand equity.

Those relative positions of strength in terms of business valuation – based on indicators such as ticket sales, broadcast income and overall revenues, along with the capacity for stadium ownership and control – are reflected in Champions of The Sport Market 2008 – International. It shows soccer as the most powerful sport on the planet (leading 13 categories outright), with football #1 in North America on the strength of its U.S. base (leading 16 categories) and hockey clearly dominant in Canada (with a stranglehold on 27 categories).

It follows that where a sport dominates the landscape of a country or region, the media, broadcasters, merchandisers and sponsors associated with that sport also dominate their respective sport industry sectors.

It is also worth noting that global leaders in media and broadcast skew heavily to those operating in English, partly because of the international currency of the language and partly because of the capacity shown by U.S.-based media companies as worldwide distribution channels.

For more, see Champions of The Sport Market 2008 – International and Champions of The Sport Market 2008 – Vancouver.

The ratings and opinions expressed in Champions of The Sport Market are exclusively those of The Sport Market and sport business commentator Tom Mayenknecht and do not necessarily reflect the views of partner organizations and sponsors such as TEAM 1040, The Vancouver Sun, iMambo.com, Emblematica Brand Builders and Zappworx Design.