Due to an increase in demand for more digitized experiences, the global sport tech industry is on the rise. What catalysts and challenges set this sector in motion?

While technology always impacted the sporting world, the last decade has seen digital communications take a central role in its evolution. The rate of change in how we play, compete and watch sports keeps accelerating, characterized by the emergence of new industry leaders, and the growing influence of fans along and within the game. Keep reading to find out more about why the sport tech industry is taking off.

Sport Tech Start-Ups Are Leading the Way

The sports tech sector is being revamped by the industry rule breakers and revolutionists behind innovative start-ups that are transforming the playing field. Their innovations provide fans with a more enhanced experience and a chance to feel like they’re getting in on the action alongside their favourite sport players .

• Over-the-top (OTT) sport tech media. Services like DAZN, a boxing streaming service, are disrupting traditional sports TV. Subscription-based streaming platforms are bypassing traditional TV in popularity across the globe mainly because of how easily accessible they are. Typically, all one would need to enjoy an OTT is a high speed internet connection and a connected device.

• 5G and augmented reality. The sport tech industry has been reinvented for both those who watch from the comfort of their homes and those physically in sports stadiums. The way in which fans participate in their favourite sports has been refashioned by live-streaming video, mixed reality experiences and real-time access to information. 5G heralds the start of new possibilities in sports as phenomena like sensors connected to balls, goals and players become a reality.

• Artificial intelligence (AI) analytics. This field is also proving to be a game-changer in the sport industry, as it allows for the reconstruction of stories of matches to be created. There are 3 types of sport data that’s used to evaluate performances and reconstruct these stories: box scores, event data and tracking data.  Box score statistics summarise a 90-minute match in just a few seconds. Event data offers additional information about key moments during matches. Tracking data allows for the location of all players and the ball to be projected into a diagram that reconstructs a match using raw video footage. 

The most hopeful new sport tech start-ups often incorporate a theme of gamification into their offerings. Immersion is the key objective, as in the case of gaming. This promising combination of sports tech and gamification is definitely set to change the way we engage and consume sport.

Wearable Technology More Fashionable Than Ever

Now, let’s talk about wearable technology in sports. The coolest inventions in the sports industry fall into the category of wearable tech. Some of the best wearable tech pieces are the Catapult Playr Smart Football Tracker, Sensoria Smart Socks and Mpower Wearable Pod. The aim of wearable tech is to provide players detailed information regarding their performance while wearing them so they’re able to identify which areas they need to improve on. 

With the introduction of these wearable tech sport products, the marketing industry has been booming with new opportunities. These products are reinventing the sport tech landscape – a digital marketing consultant’s traditional approach may not work as well with these fresh innovations. The growth marketing agency you select to market them need to follow suit and adapt their methods to these new technological advancements. 

Fans Are Becoming Sport Tech Stakeholders

The evolution of the sport tech industry has allowed for fans to express their love for their favourite sports in ways the sector has never seen before. Fans are typically known as bystanders, purely “viewers”. Their role in the sport tech industry has evolved to allow them to express their opinions and to have a say in the decisions made. 

Traditionally, the pillar of the sport industry is fine sports marketing. Why is sports marketing so powerful? Because it quite literally comes from fans. I think it’s fair to assume that sports marketing has paved the way for this new age that allows fans to become stakeholders in the industry.

The opportunities for sports fans to get involved are endless. Innovative fans are delving into different avenues to grow their online communities, bringing together fans of sport from all around the world. One such example is the launch of new online sports video streaming platforms. 

The use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the sports tech industry has also grown momentum over the last year. NFTs are a type of digital asset, based on blockchain technology, that indicates ownership of a virtual item. In the sport tech industry, they’re used to represent collectable items for fans. 

Fans Have Voted

NFTs are set to transform the sports tech industry as fan tokens gain popularity. Many platforms follow the notion that the higher the number of fan tokens you have, the more influence you have over decisions that directly impact your favourite sports team.

Socios.com, for example, is one of the trailblazing engagement platforms that allows fans of sport to have their say. This app-based platform allows fans to vote on polls, buy tokens with its in-house currency “Chiliz” and win prizes such as signed merchandise.

Socios.com prides itself on its secure voting platform, which has been developed using blockchain technology. From choosing in-stadium entertainment to new jersey designs – fans are able to influence tons of decisions that directly impact their favourite players on Socio.com’s ever-increasing list of partners. The polls are binding, so sport teams have to go with the winning option. Socios.com offers a perfect example of the important role that fans are being allowed to assume in the sport tech industry.

Social Media Is a New Playing Field

Social media platforms are definitely not new to the game of “influence”. Would it be incorrect to liken a social media platform such as Instagram to a content marketing agency? I think not. Especially if you take into consideration the similarities between the new-found role of “influencer” and a digital marketing consultant. With regard to the sports tech industry specifically, social media platforms serve as a tool for fans to share their opinions publicly.

Social media platforms allow users to create online communities made up of fellow fans and to participate in discussions and debates regarding the account holder’s topic of focus. It promotes the use of free speech and the comment sections of sports-focused accounts can be likened to hot battlegrounds. Barring from the availability of a limited amount of measures that account holders may take to prevent and get rid of opinions that are hateful or abusive in nature, social media users are pretty much free to share any and every opinion they have. 

Sports Betting: A New Sport Emerges?

Sports betting is growing to be widely accepted across the world. What once started off as tipsters scouring social media and communities to harness data in an attempt to one-up bookies has now evolved into a legalized social activity. Several countries have introduced legislation regulating sports betting, from the USA to Argentina. This new-found legality makes way for sportsbooks to gain traction in the industry. 

Sports betting no longer involves just pure sports – there’s now an element of fantasy sports (fantasy baseball and gridiron football being the most popular) that’s leading sports betting to new heights. These hybrid social games are often incorporated into traditional sportsbooks.

Would this even be an article about 2021 trends if I didn’t give cryptocurrency a mention? Crypto sports betting allows you to bet on your favourite players and teams using virtual currency. Although there is still an outstanding legal requirement for crypto betting, the crypto-sportsbook market is growing momentum. This could possibly have a major impact on the scope of sport and betting-related fraud in the years to come.

Platforms such as ZedRun, a digital horse racing game, uses blockchain to create ecosystems. Players can purchase and race horses, create their own stables and trade with other players. Zed Run is often referred to as “breathing NFTs”, as these tokens take on a life of their own. All your transactions are in Ethereum and players can earn money by playing. 

Wrapping Up…

I think it’s safe to say that sports tech is definitely a booming industry with lots more potential to revolutionise the sports sector as a whole. With the incorporation of the likes of AI and blockchain, the opportunities are endless. This grand combination of sport and technology is set to have a very bright future – definitely one to look out for!

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Written by Prenelle Pillay.