A rationale for the coexistence of central and decentral marketing in team sports

In some sports leagues, the sports association sells broadcasting rights centrally in order to create competitive balance. In other ones, the market is decentral. As a result, there is competitive imbalance. In this paper, the preferred kind of marketing of sports associations is analysed. Distinctions are made between three cases. In case one, the sports association is only interested in competitive balance. In the second case, it wishes to create a single high performing team, and in the third, it maximises aggregate performance. It is found that, depending on the preferences of the association, both kinds of marketing can be optimal.