In a little lit arena in London, the crowd counts down from 20. Two athletes squat into a maze of bars and ramps, waiting for the sound signal. One will chase, the other will try to escape. This is the “World Chase Tag”, a professional league that turned a childhood joke into a show, complete with referees, sponsors and television agreements. He attracted millions of viewers and closed broadcast agreements with ESPN in the United States and Channel 4 in Britain.
Pega-Pega is not the only marginal sport to find serious support. Last June, ESPN acquired a minority stake in Premier Lacrosse League and will broadcast its matches by 2030. CVC, a Private Equity giant, invested $ 300 million to create Volleyball World, a joint venture with the International Volleyball Federation that manages sports commercial operations; The deal helped increase the volleyball league audience by 42% last year, reaching two billion views.
The boom is largely due to the covid-19 pandemic. When conventional alloys closed, the confined audience devoured any remaining competitions. After Covid, the demand for in -person entertainment increased the public: two years ago, a volleyball match in Nebraska attracted 92,000 fans, a record for women’s sport.
Streaming boosted this growth. In the age of broadcasting, the largest alloys monopolized the scarce transmission time. Currently, platforms like Netflix and Disney+ have unlimited programming and global reach, giving room for the growth of smaller sports. This trend is visible in other corners of the internet: streaming has provided worldwide distribution to niche content varieties, helping local genres like K-pop build global fan foundations.
Meanwhile, the dizzying increase in the value of franchises has consolidated sport as a class of assets. Private equity companies accounted for 45% of business in the sports sector in 2024, with the number of transactions almost doubling compared to the previous year, according to Oaklin consultancy. However, the top in the top is scarce: participation in mega-franks like NFL (National Football League) or NBA (National Basketball Association) of the United States are rarely put up for sale. This directs capital to smaller alloys.
“Niche sports offer investors a gateway,” says Avery Wright of Navigate consultancy. By supporting competitions from the outset, investors build the credibility and experience necessary for when franchises eventually open to new capital. For funds that already have actives in large alloys, smaller alloys offer diversification and a chance to apply their expertise. Qatar Sports Investments, owner of the Paris Saint-Germain soccer team, bought the World Padel Tour in 2023 and has since helped build a global circuit.
The news is designed to reach young audiences. Sports established as tennis and golf are dealing with aged fan base. Free from traditional regulations, newcomers can project their products to serve digital natives with short attention periods. TGL, a golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory Milcroy that holds competitions in computer -covered arenas, attracts 12 years younger than the PGA Tour, the main golf circuit, and has ESP’s second younger audiences among the main sports alloys. King’s League, a five -time football tournament founded in Spain in 2022, keeps engaged fans allowing them to vote online for changes in the rules. Many of these competitions seem more festivals than departures. Ugo Valensi, executive director of Volleyball World, says the festive atmosphere at its events attracts younger audiences.
The big question is how to monetize all this new attention. Smaller alloys depend on the same three sources of revenue as giants: media rights; sponsorships; and sale of tickets and goods. But the combination varies. While about half of NFL’s revenue comes from broadcasters, some niche leagues charge little or nothing for media rights, preferring to maximize the exhibition. Social networks are crucial: Viral clips on Tiktok or Instagram can quickly translate into shirt sales.
The risk is that only a handful of new alloys will be able to capture constant attention. In some sports, the capital race generated chaos, with rival alloys competing for the same slice of fans. Pickleball had three “official” circuits in the United States, a confusion that diluted attention and confused the public. Other novices are facing difficulties: Last month, the Grand Slam Track, a new athletics league, admitted that he was late in paying athletes, after not receiving the promised funding. However, the chance of supporting the next MLS (Major League Soccer) or UFC (UFC) offers the prospect of huge returns. For now, this is enough to keep investors in the game.
