Each day this week we will be looking at one element of the benchmark PwC Sports Survey 2019 and at how it is relevant to the business of sport here in Ireland.
Today we look at the area of Innovation.
The survey paints a picture of sporting organisations around the world being acutely aware of the changes in consumption and technology that they need to understand and embrace but not fully being aware as the impact it is likely to have.
“With digital disruption accelerating across the board, pressure on traditional sports is increasing,” states the introduction to the section on innovation.
“Our data shows that in Europe sports leaders are less optimistic about future growth. They are also more aware than ever of rising threats such as the shift away from traditional TV consumption and access to new entertainment formats.”
The writing is on the wall: sports organisations need to innovate in order to address changing consumer behaviour and compete against new forms of entertainment and (any) other form of leisure.
The survey of 538 industry leaders revealed that 46 per cent have concrete plans with regard to innovation and are implementing them.
A further 29.8 percent are in the process of developing their strategy while the balance are thinking about it.
In a positive sign less than one per cent felt that there was no need that they were fine as they are.
One of the key areas to emerge was the desire to integrate feedback from fans into the innovation process.
The NBA in America, Manchester City and Bayern Munich here have all organsied regular ‘hackathons’ where the expertise of developers, mixed with their personal passion for sport has produced fresh thinking at an experimental level.
Relevance in Ireland
Ireland is developing a reputation as a genuine hub in Europe for Sports Technology Companies. Stat Sports in Newry and Orreco in Sligo arre leading the way in international markets changing the way that elite sport is performing.
Stats have located a European HQ in Limerick and others are looking to the technology cluster we have here to find synergies. Sport for Business is hosting a special Social media event with Twitter next month and Facebook and Google have both been active in reaching out to sporting communities with a view to encouraging fresh ways of engagement with fans and customers.
There should be a closer working together of how these companies and others below the radar yet are looking at the future of sport.
It is an area which we will be considering as part of our Round Table series in early 2020. If you would like to be part of how we are thinking contact us by email quoting ‘Innovation’ in the subject line and let’s start a conversation.
Away from technology we will look tomorrow in greater detail at how the GAA and RTÉ, and PRO14 Rugby are making the right moves in OTT broadcast streaming.
Innovation can be defined as looking at new ways of doing old things. Sport is a traditional sector, looking at the inter generational transfer of knowledge and emotion as a key part of its success and standing.
Innovation though in how we prepare athletes, such as the programmes taking place at the Sport Ireland Institute and other centres are changing the game. Even in our amateur world of Gaelic Games nobody could say that it is the same sport in all bar name and teams that was being played at the top levels a few short decades ago.
Change is something to be embraced rather than feared. That’s the challenge which we have to face to maintain sports position as a key universal bond in our modern world.
Sport for Business irish Sport and Social Media seminar in partnership with Twitter will take place on October 24th at the Dublin HQ of the Social media giant and will cover many of the key areas of how sport and fans are engaging in 2019. Click here for more information.
Tuesday: Women in Sport
Wednesday: Innovation
Thursday: OTT and Direct to Consumer
Wednesday: Gaming Strategy
Thursday: The Role of Federations
