Research Analyst - US Sports Media

October 4, 2024

Company: S&P Global

Industry: Private

Employment Type:- Full Time

Work Hours:- 8 Hours

Locations:- USA

Full Job Description:-

The Team:

The US Sports Media analyst role requires a mix of maintaining databases and creating financial models, writing research articles and reports, talking with clients and members of the press as an expert in your coverage area, networking and speaking at industry conferences and contributing to consulting jobs.

In this role, the analyst will spend about 50% of their time updating financial models annually and periodic edits for the US Regional Sports Networks (RSNs) and creating new financial models for the emerging local broadcast TV station and direct-to-consumer streaming media sports rights deals. The analyst will also contribute to estimates for the sports-centric basic cable networks like ESPN. Each financial model requires a series of processes, including:

Leveraging Media Census video subscriber data to estimate inner and outer market subscribers on a Nielsen DMA level
Using the video subscriber data to estimate inner and outer market license fees to calculate total affiliate revenue
Using CPM, advertising inventory and ratings estimates to calculate advertising revenue
Allocating sports rights expenses using an amortization schedule across the span of the contract
Balancing the estimated totals against reported 10K data (where applicable)
Producing 5-year projections based on macroeconomic and industry trends
Reaching out to industry contacts for input on the models

The economic models are updated on an annual basis but are also adjusted when major developments occur (new rights deal, change in carriage, etc.). Once the models are updated, the analyst will roll up the individual network financial estimates to generate industry-wide metrics. This will include written analysis for the annual Global Sports Report. The analyst needs to be prepared to discuss these estimates with clients and members of the press. The analyst will also be expected to present these figures during internal meetings with sales and support, and on webinars with prospective clients.

The analyst will maintain a database that tracks media rights deals for all of the 83 U.S.-based professional MLB, NBA and NHL teams. This includes the estimated cost of the deal, the length of the contract and the annual average price. The analyst will also maintain a database that tracks national sports rights deals across broadcast and cable networks. This includes things like the World Cup, the Olympics, the NFL Sunday Ticket, and Super Bowl advertising rates.

The analyst will also maintain a database that tracks RSN carriage across the major traditional and virtual MVPDs. The analyst will write a series of articles around these databases. The analyst will track quarterly earnings releases for major RSN owners like Diamond Sports Group and report on new developments. As the industry changes and the RSNs launch direct-to-consumer apps, the analyst will also produce research around these developments, using Media Census data to estimate the potential market for the service. The analyst will stay on top of new developments in the industry such as the growth of legalized sports gambling and the shift in media rights to streaming services. The analyst will be expected to attend industry conferences like the CAA World Congress of Sports. There, the analyst will network with other industry executives as well as produce articles around conference panel discussions. The analyst will contribute to any relevant consulting jobs related to the sports media industry.

What We're Looking For:

Knowledge and interest in U.S. Sports and media sectors
Experience working with major professional sports leagues, individual teams
Background in distribution strategy, media rights, advertising sales
Analytical skills including high-level Excel, financial modeling, coding experience (Python, SQL, Tableau, Power BI) a plus
Experienced researcher with professional writing skills and publishing background highly desired
Ability to interact with clients, prospects and participate in external speaking engagements
Team player, good communicator and collaboration skills