Marketing in sport leagues: optimising the product design. Intra-championship competitive intensity in French football "Ligue 1" and basketball "Pro A"

Nicolas Scelles (1) , Michel Desbordes (2) , Christophe Durand (3, 4)

1 University of Stirling
2 UP11 - Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11
3 CesamS - Centre d'étude sport et actions motrices
4 IOA - Information, Organisation et Action

This article deals with the optimisation of the sport leagues product thanks to adequate rules. It features a new model called intra-championship competitive intensity which measures outcome uncertainty and reversals in the standings of a sport league. The model depends on the league product design and, in particular, on the number of sports stakes in the standings. Intra-championship competitive intensity was calculated in French football Ligue 1 (league without playoffs) and basketball Pro A (league with playoffs) over the period 2004-2009. The results show that Pro A intra-championship competitive intensity surpassed Ligue 1's, whereas the latter benefits from a better competitive balance. Then, we propose a product design which maximises intra-championship competitive intensity and marketing and sponsoring efficiency in the European context. This design needs specific marketing actions to be optimised.

Mots clés: Basketball; Competitive balance; Sport management and marketing; Football; Intra-championship competitive intensity; ICCI; Outcome uncertainty; Product design; Sports stakes; French professional leagues; Playoffs

Domaines: Gestion et management

Nicolas Scelles, Michel Desbordes, Christophe Durand. Marketing in sport leagues: optimising the product design. Intra-championship competitive intensity in French football "Ligue 1" and basketball "Pro A". International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2011, 9 (1-2), pp.13-28. ⟨10.1504/IJSMM.2011.040255⟩. ⟨halshs-02110756⟩