Paralympics come of commercial age

LONDON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - With top athletes competing in

front of sold-out stadiums and global television audiences in

the millions, the Paralympic Games are starting to look a lot

like their able-bodied equivalents - and big business is right

behind.

Although the money for TV rights, ticket sales and athletes'

earnings is not on a par with the Olympics, the rapidly growing

profile of the Paralympics has made them a commercial

opportunity in their own right.

And while it took the Olympics the best part of 90 years to

evolve into the business they have become, the transformation of

the Paralympics is much more swift.

"The media coverage has increased exponentially over the last

12 years," said Greg Hartung, Vice President of the

International Paralympic Committee, which organises the Games.

"These Games seem to be breaking all records."

Tickets have sold out for most events at the 14th

Paralympics, held in London weeks after the Olympics, and

organisers hope the sale of more than 2.7 million tickets will

bring in close to 45 million pounds ($55 million).

While most of the tickets were available for 10 pounds or

less compared to the hundreds of pounds charged for many seats

at the Olympics, tickets were often given away in the past - if

seats could be filled at all.

A cumulative total of more than 4 billion people are

expected to watch the London Games on television, compared to

3.8 billion for the 2008 Beijing games and 1.9 billion for

Athens in 2004, the Paralympic committee said.

U.S. network NBC is only covering highlights, but

the criticism it has faced for limiting coverage itself points

to the growing importance of the event.

The higher profile can also be seen in athletes' earnings.

'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius, the South African face of

the Games, can expect $2 million a year in endorsements from

sponsors including Nike and BT, according to

research from IMR sports marketing & sponsorship intelligence.

That's a lot less than the $20 million or so estimated for

Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man, but it's more than many

able-bodied athletes will get.

EMOTION

Businesses sponsoring both the Olympics and Paralympics see

some additional benefits in sponsoring the latter - and more

than just from being able to put up their logos alongside

running tracks and swimming pools.

"The Paralympics can bring an additional emotional

connection, even over and above the incredible emotional

connection that the Olympics delivers," Mike Sharrock, of oil

giant BP's London 2012 partnership said.

"It's not about selling more fuel. It's a deeper, more

values-based partnership."

That could certainly serve the objectives of BP, still

trying to rebuild its image and show a softer side two years

after its Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

And the interest in the Paralympics is a far cry from the

past. In Atlanta in 1996, workmen began dismantling the Olympic

village as the Paralympians were still competing.

Much of the demand from companies seeking to associate

themselves with the Paralympics came after the success of the

London Olympics, said Martin Sorrell, chief executive of the

world's largest advertising group WPP.

For the first time, the Paralympics also have their own

major sponsor. British supermarket Sainsbury paid 20

million pounds for the right, local media said. It did not

sponsor the Olympics.

"What we're seeing is a significant degree of warmth towards

Sainsbury's as the Paralympic sponsor, in particular from

families," Jat Sahota, Sainsbury's head of sponsorship, said.

It is hard to break down exactly how much sponsorship the

Paralympics gets because the organising committee does not give

figures. The Locog local organisers signed around 700 million

pounds in sponsorship for both the Olympics or Paralympics.

No figures were available for global sponsorship paid to the

International Olympic Committee and its counterpart for the two

events, but businesses said they would not have considered

sponsoring the Olympics and then ignoring the Paralympics.

"We don't have an Olympics and a Paralympics plan," project

director Nathan Homer of Procter & Gamble, said. "We have

one plan."

CHANGING ATMOSPHERE

Long term however, the growing commercialisation has raised

concerns among some followers that it could go too far - a

complaint often made of the Olympics itself.

Among the worries is that it could endanger the more relaxed

family feel to the Games that many spectators have praised.

One person who has noticed the changing atmosphere is

Allison Graham, a consultant physician at the Stoke Mandeville

hospital which hosted a competition for disabled people in 1948

and the 1984 Paralympic Games.

"In 1984 you could just walk into the beer tent, but it's

not like that now," she told Reuters. "It's gone a bit

commercial and posh."

The other big question is whether the commercial success of

the Paralympics can be sustained when they move to Rio in 2016.

In Britain, perceptions of disability have progressed to the

extent that not featuring Paralympic athletes in advertising

campaigns would now be a dangerous strategy, according to Pippa

Collett, managing director at Sponsorship Consulting.

But attitudes are changing globally too.

"The appeal of the Games has grown alongside the public

appeal and acceptance of Paralympic sport as a high performance

sport," the IPC's Hartung said.

Among countries where broadcasting rights for the

Paralympics have been sold for the first time are Iran,

Singapore, Malaysia and Pakistan, the local organisers said.

They did not say how much TV rights made in total.

In Brazil itself, there is every sign that interest will be

as great as it has been in Britain.

Brazilian Paralympic athletes are having to spend hours

talking to their media after each event and their country has

risen to eighth on the medals table, well above countries

including France and Italy.

With Brazilian Alan Oliveira as the only man to beat

Pistorius in the London games, the prospects look bright.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/paralympics-come-commercial-age-155150319--sector.html

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