... is one of the first questions a sports organiser has when it comes to live coverage.
But maybe it's worth asking the other way round:
“Does the organiser have to pay at all?“
Or perhaps it would be wise to give the fans themselves a chance to contribute to the tournament - those who would like to see the games anyway but can't always make it?
Because let's be honest:
not all Nordic parents, relatives and friends want to criticise Tallink.
And Rail Baltic... well, it's not quite ready yet.
Baltic Youth Basketball Tournament
The Baltic Sea Basketball Cup is an international youth basketball tournament with a long history, bringing together youth teams from Estonia, Latvia, Finland and Sweden. The tournament is organised by Estonian Basketball Association
In 2026, the tournament took place on 3-5 January in Audentese Sports Hall and was played in the age groups WU16, WU18, MU16 and MU18.
The games were held on two pitches simultaneously, which means that even the most enthusiastic fan will inevitably have to make choices.
And when you add to that parents, relatives and club mates living abroad, it's pretty clear that the audience doesn't fit within the walls of the hall. No, not even in a super hall, or a mega or giga hall.
Technical solution
The broadcasts were produced by Levira AS using AI cameras permanently installed in the Audentes sports building.
Television.ee was responsible for all output:
- transmission of transfers
- ticketing for a fee sport.television.ee in the environment
- online viewer customer service
From the organiser's point of view, this solution meant that. all online viewers were served in one place and did not require any intervention from the tournament organising team.
Ticket model: see how it suits you
BSBC 2026 used three ticket types:
- Single match ticket - 3,90 €
- Day ticket - 7,50 €
- Tournament pass - 17,90 €
The aim was to give the viewer a choice.
Do you only want to see your child play?
Or follow the whole tournament?
Or maybe it's the one day you need to be in the office and show you're indispensable?
Where were the tickets bought?
Looking at ticket sales by country, the markets differ considerably. There were ticket sales from more than 15 countries, but over 95% of the revenue still came from fans in the countries participating in the tournament.
Estonia
Most popular among Estonian viewers single match ticket - in terms of both quantity and revenue.
This suggests a fairly clear pattern of behaviour: watching specific games, not necessarily the whole tournament. But the Estonians only made 18% of the sales, so obviously many fans were on site in Audentes and thus the rest of the 82% BSBC ticket revenue came from the export of bits and bytes abroad.
Latvia
In Latvia, the pattern was similar.
The single game dominated and consumption tended to be selective - people watched “their” games rather than the whole programme.
Finland
In the case of Finland, the picture gets more interesting.
While single match tickets were still the most purchased, it came to most of the revenue from tournament passes.
Maybe people will live with their own, and a ticket that costs less than half the price of the ship's buffet lunch for three days didn't seem like a particularly dramatic investment for a northerner.
Sweden
Sweden stood out the most.
There were tournament pass most popular ticket, primarily in terms of turnover, but also in terms of volume, the difference in favour of the single ticket was minimal.
This shows the willingness of Swedes to consume content over a longer period of time and in a larger package.
Or simply that they don't bother to think about it and buy everything at once. That's also a strategy.
Which tickets were worth selling?
- Single match ticket is the most popular choice by quantity in each country. Simple, logical and with a low entry barrier because it is in a similar price range to a tank coffee.
- Tournament pass is the most important source of revenue for international audiences.
- Day ticket remained the weakest product in each country. Not that there shouldn't be such an opportunity, as the highest proportion of people buying this ticket was in Estonia. Who knows, maybe the passionate fans were on the ground on Saturday and Sunday, but were still expected at the office on Monday?
But back to the original question
How much will it cost to broadcast a sports tournament?
In the case of BSBC 2026, the answer is simple: nothing went into the cost.
Instead ~6000 euro added to the tournament budget. Without lotteries, NFTs or “today only” campaigns.
Ticketing for a fee sport.television.ee in the centre means that:
- the transfer is not an expense in the budget, but a revenue item.
- an international audience can contribute to the Estonian economy very easily
- and 70% ticket sales proceeds go directly to the organiser while the Television.ee team handles the customer service and all the technical side of things, because
- all transfer set-up is simple, hassle-free and fast, with no development, complexity or hidden overheads.
An online viewer does not take away anyone's seat in the hall.
He's just sitting somewhere else - maybe in Helsinki, maybe in Stockholm, maybe in Sri Lanka (compliments of the Television.ee support team to kossufan Mat) - and is grateful that you're helping him pocket the boat or train fare this time.
To the organiser of the competition
BSBC 2026 was not an exceptional project, but a rather logical example of how pay-TV can be natural. a share of the tournament's organisation and revenue for over five years..
Without any sales pitch, without coercion - just an opportunity for those who want to watch and are willing to pay for it.
And those who want to bet are - as the numbers show - more than you might think at first glance.
On the other hand, of course, you can always post your broadcasts on social media for free.
You can definitely get more spots and subscales from there.
Unless you want to serve these two on the prize table of your competition ;)
