Day two at the Web Summit yesterday and there was no slacking in terms of the pace of the sports contribution.
After highlighting ten moments from day one yesterday we have limited ourselves to the same number today, from the possible million nuggets that we absorbed and may one day recall when in a moment of quiet reflection…
1. The worldwide profile of the Premier League is a juggernaut. There were massive queues and standing room only when Rio Ferdinand of QPR was on the stage. He was billed as the man who needs no introduction, in the midst of a five minute introduction.
2. It would cost upwards of €15 million to fit out a major stadium with sufficient wi-fi infrastructure to make it suitable for the demands of modern sports fans. That’s according to Colm O’Neill of BT who did just that to turn the London Olympics into the benchmark for a truly connected stadium.
3. Broadcasters who pay massive rights fees to broadcast games would be reluctant to back such major investment on the basis that it could turn all of us into hyper-local BT Sport or Sky Sports producers, with content that could through increased social connectivity undercut the value of the main pictures. – Grant Best of BT Sport
4. Damien O’Donoghue of IKON Talent was in good company on the Agents panel. He said his primary concern as an agent for many of the top sports stars was still the negotiation of the best possible terms in their primary sporting contract. That will prevent the contentious idea that as many as 50% of football players go bankrupt.
5. The Irish Rugby team are very, very big. Especially Devon Toner who looked to stand about eight feet tall when in a group including Jamie Heaslip and Rob Kearney that were soaking up the atmosphere through the day.
6. John Collison of Stripe played a bit of Gaelic Football when he was at school in Limerick. His Stripe payment system will have a bigger influence on the sport as it announced an extension of it’s relationship powering subscriptions to GAAGo.
7. Dublin GAA is on the point of announcing two more big sponsorship deals according to Mike Farnan who divides his time between Parnel Park and managing a new venture for Christiano Ronaldo. As you do. That will be good news for Alan and Bernard Brogan as well as Denis Bastick all of whom were in evidence yesterday.
8. Donal Og Cusack changed his view on the professional path for Gaelic Games over the course of a career transition from young firebrand to (getting) older statesman. Pay to Play has been in the news recently but if it comes it will be in the form of a fair reward and a life balance rather than a massive paycheque.
9. Injury and Concussion are meltdown hot subjects in the world of professional sport. Legal cases cast a shadow that is creating a very fertile environment for companies like Kitman Labs who we met with yesterday and the Sports Surgery Clinic who made their own major announcement but on the North rather than the South of the City.
10. Another area where sport and business collide for mutual benefit is in the world of fantasy sports. Join us later today for an exclusive interview with Nigel Eccles, founder of Fanduel who will burst through $100 million in revenues this year and have ‘barely scratched the surface.”
If you missed the Web Summit or can’t get enough of it join us at Digital Sport 2014 on November 27th. There are a limited number of tickets available and today is the last day to grab the ‘getting closer’ rate.
