THE WORLD SERIES OF BOXING will be organised on a city-based FRANCHISE SYSTEM .
The franchisees will enter into a franchise agreement with the World Series of Boxing SA (WSB SA) including the following provisions:
• The ownership in perpetuity of a WSB franchise
• Annual franchise fee payable to the WSB SA
• Obligations regarding the engagement by the franchise of a specific number of boxers, trainers, and team management
• Obligations regarding the provision of training facilities and medical support to a minimum standard
• Arrangements regarding the travel, accommodation, and other costs, which will be met by the franchisee
• Details regarding the franchisee’s share of the centralised commercial rights
• Obligations on the franchisee to ensure that the venue for the matches has a WSB look and feel, which will be developed by WSB, including specific venue standards, the use of large closed-circuit video screens, pre- and post-
bout entertainment and other aspects of the promotion of the matches
The commercial rights of the WSB will be divided between the franchisees and WSB SA. The intention is to provide franchises with a fair distribution of revenues, while allowing individual franchises the freedom to manage and maximise the commercial potential of their own WSB franchise.
In total, this mechanism is designed to maximise the total revenues for the entire competition, resulting in the greatest revenues for each franchise.
The split of commercial rights between WSB and the franchisee is as follows:
WSB SA
Media/Broadcast Rights •
Digital Rights • Title Sponsorship/Presenting Rights • Betting/Gaming/Video Gaming Rights • Play-Off Final and Individual Championships - All Rights
FRANCHISEE
Promoter’s rights (home matches)
Tickets •
Catering • Concessions
Local Sponsorship
Corner Posts •
Ringside Banner • Boxers’ Robes/Trunks • Round Cards • Entrance Tunnel • Interview Backdrops
Other Rights
Hospitality •
Licensing • Merchandising
FRANCHISEE REVENUES
Ticketing - six home matches per season
Sponsorship - derived from the sponsorship rights available to each franchise
Hospitality - from packages sold by franchisees to home matches
Prize Money - a prize fund will be split by teams which participate in the play-offs
Licensing & Merchandising - from the sale of apparel and other merchandise
Exhibition Matches - matches organised by the franchises during the off-season
Centralized Rights - share of WSB central revenues from the sale of broadcast and media rights, centralised sponsorship rights
Revenues will depend greatly on location, since regional appetites for sponsorship rights, commercial and TV rights, and tickets will vary.
FRANCHISEE COSTS
Boxer Renumeration - a salary and prize money for each successful bout
Management and staff salaries
Training and medical costs
Marketing and promotional costs
Venue rental fees
Travel and accommodation expenses for away matches
FRANCHISEE SELECTION
The criteria that will be used by the WSB in selecting the franchisees will include:
• Financial security
• Potential of home market to generate media rights fees
• Experience of organising sporting events and in managing professional sports teams
• Long-term business commitment to WSB
• Access to appropriate training facilities
• Potential spectator or fan base for home matches
A detailed franchise prospectus will be circulated to potential franchisees in March 2009. This will detail specific rights and obligations of the franchisees as well as the potential costs and expenses of owning a franchise.