With hundreds of delegates, including some of the industry’s top sports business minds, this year’s SportsPro LIVE Conference was the place to be to gauge the temperature of what’s hot and what’s not in sports business. 

We have known for quite some time that new technologies are changing the way people watch, engage with and play sport. Analytics and big data are allowing teams, leagues and fans to connect in ways that would have seemed impossible before now. Audience engagement is key and emerging markets and investors are creating new centres of power and influence.

“It is clear that digitally-native sports are gaining in audience numbers. If we want to stay at the forefront of providing media coverage, we need to keep this in mind and help broadcasters and publishers establish expertise in this area. Eurovision is known for providing the full package, from A to Z, and this is just one of the areas we need to look into building in the future,” said Louis Matignon, Multiplatform Solutions Manager at Eurovision.

What is less clear at this time is how best to tackle the challenges federations and broadcasters face when covering this new e-content as well as using e-enabled information such as data to cater to multiple audiences on different channels. Traditional sports federations are currently using digital tools to strengthen their audience ties. At the same time, broadcasters are adapting how they distribute content to reach these new audiences, although there is currently no well-established model for digital sports.

This was the main topic of discussion during the panel at this year’s SportsPro LIVE Conference at Wembley Stadium 28 March 2017. Moderated by Matt Cutler, Founder of SB Weekly Podcast, panellists included Jean-Marc Pailhol, Head of Group Market Management and Distribution at Allianz; Liam Thompson, Gaming & Influencer Executive at Havas Sports & Entertainment Cake; and Louis Matignon from Eurovision.

Panellists pointed to the growth of eSports (video games as sport), Tech sports (drone racing) and refereeing aids (video refereeing) as well as performance tracking technology (wearables, coaching tools) and social media tools (to capture and share data and insights in real-time). NewZoo predicts the global eSports industry will be worth US $1.8 billion by 2020. As the digital sport arena continues to grow, traditional media players have a unique opportunity to leverage their experience with media rights to help steer the direction of the business of digital sport.

“We look forward to this exciting time and the challenges and opportunities that most certainly will arise,” said Louis Matignon.