Technological needs and challenges of the sports industry
In recent years, we have seen how records are broken time and time again in different sports. Athletes run faster, jump higher, or are stronger. We have also seen how technology has helped to have fairer arbitration and eliminate human error in sports infamous for their mistakes. However, even with the adoption of some technologies within sports, the industry has not embraced everything technology has to offer.
During the pandemic, one of the hardest-hit sectors was sports. With the world on lockdown and the ban on holding massive events, sporting events couldn't occur. Fitness and gyms were also affected as people stopped attending, and even after the pandemic, many people did not renew their subscriptions for fear of closed spaces and possible infections. It must be said that during the lockdown, home exercise was an interesting source of income for sports retail as many people bought home machines and equipment and subscribed to fitness apps with routines that could be done easily using the sofa or dining room chairs.
During this period, people satisfied their need for “sports events” by following fantasy leagues, buying video games, or following E-Sports. The result of all this was that in the post-pandemic period, we see a decrease in consumption and interest in the sports industry, especially in massive events like game days, which leads us to ask ourselves about the challenges of the sports industry and how technology can help.
What are the challenges faced by the Sports Industry?
The sports industry has not changed much along the way. It’s true that they have adapted technologies to broadcast events on television, make arbitration fairer, and even improve athletes' equipment. Still, the industry model has been the same for years.
Because of this, an unforeseen event like the Covid-19 pandemic, which changed the work model of many industries and accelerated the digitalization of the world, has exposed many of the weaknesses and problems of the industry.
Today the sports industry faces challenges that are very varied and can be analyzed from many areas such as marketing, retail, and telecommunications. However, today we will focus on the difficulties and challenges associated with technology and its use to improve the sector's experience.
The disinterest of the new generations
Young people today are not like their parents. Digital natives live experiences in a very different way, in front of a screen and hopefully interactive. Going to the stadium just to watch or follow their team on social networks is not enough. They want an unparalleled experience that makes them feel important and part of a community, a sports elite that only they can access.
These people are waiting for new ways of watching the games, more participation in the decisions of the teams they like, or exclusive benefits in exchange for both economic and time investments.
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Performance of athletes
For years, the industry has sought to control the performance of athletes by measuring times, distances, heights, etc. Today, technology allows us to know much more. We can know the complete state of an athlete's health and recommend training or rest accordingly. This type of technology could prevent injuries and optimize training in a personalized way to get the most out of athletes and their results.
If we consider that much of this technology already exists, the important thing would be to make it available to everyone to equalize the conditions in the field and ensure that the athletic results are satisfactory. This kind of tech could also be of great interest to the fitness industry since amateur athletes like to keep track of their progress, and the more data they can collect, the better for them.
Game Data
Nowadays, not only the athletes’ statistics are important, general game data is also extremely valuable. These are used to see how the competitions develop and help to obtain general averages of the leagues. This information helps organizers, sponsors and other stakeholders to analyze the competition's development and the teams' overall performance.
This information is used to know, for example, at what speed the ball travels, how many passes are made during the game, and how effectively. Unlike many player data collected by their teams, in-game data tends to be visible as it is analyzed during and after competition or used by digital bookmakers to influence betting.
However, this information is not being used in all the ways that it could be and is especially limited to the live event, the broadcast of the game, and the news afterward. However, the teams could take more advantage of these results.
Engagement of the public and fans
Not only the younger generations have lost interest in going to the stadium to see sports. Most fans are interested in new experiences and ways to watch sports and follow their teams. Most are waiting for greater participation and being recognized as important; after all, they are the ones who pay for the tickets to the events and buy the merchandise; therefore, expect the club to give them something beyond the good performance of your team which is the bare minimum.
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Personal health and the fitness industry
It’s a fact that the fitness industry moves differently from competitive sports and that users' interests are different too, which is why we consider it important to discuss this separately from the other issues.
This industry has a vast audience looking for different things. Most digital apps can only help you with one of your needs. Most gym users or fitness practitioners expect to see progress and results quickly; if this is not the case, they get discouraged and leave the industry. To avoid these frustrations, the most important thing is the data. We have to give users accurate data that show real and short-term progress since visible physical results can take a long time.
The solutions for the sports industry challenges
In the case of data, different wearable technologies already exist. The important thing would be to find a way for the different actors to access them. This also applies to technologies associated with the world of fitness. If it is possible to create small, comfortable, and economical portable equipment, the long-term commitment of the users can be greater. Likewise, the development of personalized algorithms can give more exact measurements concerning the athlete's needs and can store this data and analyze it to analyze progress and predict the risk of injury or adaptability to new training regimens, among others.
On the other hand, using and processing the data can change how we see the game. A database capable of processing all information, comparing it, and drawing conclusions, can help improve teams' performance in general and athletes in particular. These data can also affect crucial moments, such as the transfer markets. It would be great if teams optimized this process using artificial intelligence, simulations, and existing data to know if a player fits in the team and will give results before making million-dollar investments. At the end of the day, the clubs' interest is to have strong teams and make big profits; failures in the transfer markets damage the reputation of the players and the teams.
Attracting new fans to traditional venues is also becoming a difficulty. If we consider that most of the time, taste for a sport is hereditary, this could mean a great crisis in the future for the entire industry. To solve this, it is necessary to renew how sports are brought to the new generations. Digital natives are used to seeing the world through screens and being able to participate in their interests as active actors through social networks, applications, etc. However, sports still have a system of passive fans who go to games and competitions just for passion; the only thing fans should expect is that their team or athlete wins the competition. The new generations want more than that. They hope that their fanaticism will be recognized and that they will be given a special place within the structure. Because of this, many teams have created tokens and collectible NFTs to make some of their fans enter an even more exclusive club and become part of a new generation who are no longer consumers but prosumers of the products.
Likewise, the televised transmission is being replaced by streaming platforms and social networks. People want to approach their content how and when they want instead of being forced to sit in front of the TV. Even the demand for premium channels to watch certain sports is falling as digital alternatives become more extensive. If we add to this the growing interest in virtual reality and the metaverse, soon, sports will have to begin to consider the possibility of its matches reaching these spaces, either with virtual stadiums that replicate the real experience or digital spaces that allow you to be as close to the action as possible, allowing the user to control their vision, replays, analysis, etc.
Foto de Jimmy Conover en Unsplash
Conclusion: The technological age of sports
The sports industry is changing. Now, like never before, it is necessary to be at the forefront and embrace technology to help achieve better sporting and financial results. The sports industry needs to seize the moment and start modernizing, not only to put on a bigger show on the field but to bring fans closer and closer to the action and their idols. NFTs, Tokens, and wearable tech is just the beginning. People want to experience the sport, not just watch it.