The WSL is not (currently) on the block but if it was......
The markets are emotionally unstable 13 year-old girls aren’t they just though? One day it is blue skies and soaring stocks. The next day plummeting depression and Chinese corrections.
And speaking Chinese, did you read today that Dalian Wanda Group, headed by China’s richest man Wang Jianlin ($37.5 b) bought the Ironman Triathlon today for $650,000,000.00? The Ironman Triathlon! Swim/bike/run! Six/hundred/and/fifty/million/United/States/Dollars!
The original Ironman is, of course, Hawaiian, being first run on the Big Island. There are lots now, maybe 200 or so but the season ends each year back where it all began. Kailua-Kona!
In any case, DWG wanted the event to diversify their portfolio (because Chinese stocks are all shit right now. Buy low! Sell high!) and are actively looking to purchase more sports’ properties. Sports are hot across the board right now because they are generally enjoyed in real time and have multiple revenue sources. Which brings me to the real nut. Will the Chinese try to buy the World Surf League?
Let’s pretend they do want it. How much do you think it is worth, really? Oh, don’t be a hater. Whether you love or very dislike, it must be admitted that professional surfing is a going concern with growth potential. And Ironman actually had massive debt. So how much? How much do you think it is actually worth and how much do you think CEO Speaker and co. would take for it?
Also, do you think if we all got together we could crowd fund that amount?
I would value based on a multiple of annual profit, plus net assets, including brand equity, apply a premium based on estimated future earnings / growth momentum, product differentiation and barriers to entry. Taking all of that into account, I’d say zero.
The WSL is a white dwarf heading for a black hole, a dying
star in monetary terms. We might love whats going on with it, the new tour, the
contests and the organization, but the rest of the world (non-surf fanatics) don’t
give a shit. Even inside our world there is a majority that doesn’t give a shit
about the contest side of it. Plus you have a never ending debate between the
purists of the sport vs the competitive aspect of it. Who outside our little
circle if gonna sit at the their computer screens to watch an event that goes
on for hours spread out during 12 days or so sometimes in marginal conditions?
Which group would put serious money into an enterprise like this expecting a high
return?
A lot of you guys don´t know that, but right now there´s a huge brazilian group of investors talking with WSL about buying the whole thing. Maybe, around december, WSL will have a new south american owner.
Figures, if they are already willing to sell it so soon that means the shit has hit the fan
I guess it depends if it could find a Chinese billionaire to outrank its American one.
heaps I reckon , as the shows are so much better than before , surfers are getting paid good money , rumors are its lost about $70 m so far , but with 23 m surfers ,sure has to be worth $50m ,
Probably not worth too much. The social media numbers are bigger than the live audience. The business model is not exciting with big costs and low turnover whereas to be attractive, it should be low costs big turnover.
Read a stat the other day that estimated that there are 23 million surfers of all types on this planet. You can look a little beyond that to estimate the total amount of people that just might be interested in the WSL. How much is it worth? About a dollar a year per surfer? Depends on how well they sell it.
23 million hahahahahaha so says industry pundits
Nobody likes a smart ass.
I’d say it’s worth a few mil, but that’s really just the ego value of owning a dying business. AVP goes through similar cycles – someone with money comes in to save it, gives it a few years, and it dies again. Surfing’s no different.
But really though? It has to be better than pro volleyball. (that’s what AVP is, no?)
What was the price WSL paid ASP again?
3/5ths of fuck all from memory.
Correct, so three years ago it was worth diddly squat, now, losing money it’s worth how much?
btw, one of the original pitches from ZoSea was for a pension plan for pro surfers, anyone got any idea how that is working out?
More importantly when is the free ride voice doing another coherent rambling about it all?
why? More people play (or can play) volleyball than can surf. They take their tour to Chicago etc and don’t need elaborate contest set ups with action spread over the course of weeks, so cash outlay is certainly lower. Tan, fit bodies, sand, sun and fun are the main attraction – and it’s an olympic sport. Similar problem though – what’s the revenue generator? Not tickets, not licensing, but at least they have major network TV now and then.