In recent years, in large shopping malls across Europe we have been seeing somewhat strange scenes: instead of well-dressed girls and men standing in line for tickets and popcorn, there are people with scarves loudly cheering. No, they didn’t miss the entrance — they are waiting to enter a movie theater that will on that occasion be temporarily turned into a supporters’ stand.
The idea is simple: Instead of traditionally watching an important sporting event on a TV screen in a café or bar, the audience can enjoy the big screen, great sound, and comfortable seats. Instead of blockbusters, the Champions League final, the World Cup, or a League of Legends tournament is projected, and the atmosphere can be carnival-like.
At first glance, this new trend is a big hit: Fans get the chance to enjoy a unique experience, organizers — that is, cinemas — rub their hands, and betting operators also have reason to be satisfied. After all, the enjoyment is complete when the match you are watching in the cinema is also on your betting slip, especially if you used some betting promotions — you can place bets using freebets or bonus cash.
However, it seems that Serbia is somewhat lagging behind the rest of the world, though far from unfamiliar with this kind of “entertainment.” Let’s take a look at what sports broadcasts in cinemas look like and what is needed for this trend to take off in Serbia.
It all started with LoL
In major cinema chains you can enjoy the latest films, but increasingly also sports broadcasts. How important this aspect of business has become is shown by one of the most popular domestic companies in this field, which even has special rules for sports broadcasts. They come with specific conditions, even when it comes to purchasing tickets.
Cinemas have an additional incentive to try to popularize this type of entertainment: it is possible to gather a large number of people at times that are not typical for cinemas (for example, morning Formula 1 races or midnight NBA games).
Sports fans in Serbia not only like to follow sports broadcasts but also support their favorite clubs by betting on sports. Most often, players look for betting information on specialized portals such as Legalbet, which publishes reviews of bookmakers, their odds, and offers. Among the most popular sports for betting are football, basketball, tennis, and Formula 1, and recently many esports disciplines have gained an increasing number of followers.
Esports also played a key role in popularizing the trend of sports broadcasts in cinemas. Back in 2018, a whole series of esports broadcasts was organized in the “Ušće” Shopping Center. Organizers cleverly connected the premiere of the documentary “All Work All Play” with broadcasts of gaming events, and visitors could enjoy clashes of the best teams in video games such as League of Legends and the unavoidable Counter Strike: Global Offensive.
It was a clear signal that interest exists, especially among younger audiences, who discovered a great way to combine the charms of cinema with their love for competitions and live broadcasts. Recently, Riot Games successfully organized screenings of the League of Legends Worlds finals in numerous cineplex halls across Europe, including in our region.
The question of TV rights
However, in Serbia, aside from global esports events, everything still comes down to events organized by certain sponsors, which are mostly closed-type. Despite the attractive idea that national football or basketball team matches or EuroLeague matches of Partizan or Red Star could be watched on the biggest possible screen (especially since the “Arena” is usually sold out!), this still hasn’t happened.
This is a real shame, considering that modern cinemas now exist not only in Belgrade, Niš, Novi Sad, or Kragujevac but in many other cities across the country. And, of course, taking into account how much Serbs love sports and love watching it, whether our teams are playing or it’s a match from top football leagues. This could be especially interesting for Formula 1 fans, who in a theater could experience engine sound in a way that even the most modern televisions can hardly reproduce.
However, the biggest obstacle is not the technical conditions, but obtaining broadcast rights. To organize a broadcast, an agreement must be reached with the rights holders, and this can be an expensive and complicated endeavor.
Interest exists — Nole soon on the big screen!
If cinemas and those who hold television rights manage to reach an agreement and properly “advertise” this new way of enjoying sports, the audience in Serbia and the region will surely be ready to welcome this novelty. Naturally, watching in a cinema has its limitations (it is unlikely that the hall will feel the same energy as a real stadium stand or a town square during a national team match or when Novak Djokovic plays in a final), but the rules of conduct come with many advantages.
A good step might be test screenings of matches from the upcoming World Cup, especially since they will be played at unusual times for our time zone. Esports fans have already shown that interest exists, and they have shown the path to implementation.
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Source: Serbian Times Foto: Piero Huerto Gago / Unsplash