The sports industry is evolving.
On and off the field, on screen and behind the scenes, the industry is remodeling.
Teams are using Big Data and more advanced forms of analytics to gain a competitive advantage on the field; while the concept of the stadium is being redefined in order to enhance the fan experience and deepen engagement off the field. The way in which sporting events are broadcast is even becoming surreally unconventional. Behind the scenes, the nuts and bolts of the sports industry are being replaced.
Author of The Sports Strategist: Developing Leaders for a High-Performance Industry and Lecturer in Managerial Communication at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Ben Shields has, in describing this phenomena, stated, “I firmly believe we’re in the era today where sports teams are media and technology companies at their core.”
Shields also discusses the shift in the industry’s dynamic of innovation. Historically, dating back to the adoption of helmets in football, the teams and leagues were the innovators. In the modern era, teams are seeking out innovation and thus seeking out smaller companies and startups for this innovation. Due to the now decentralized nature of this dynamic, interaction and association amongst industry innovators is more fractured.
This issue is fairly well documented. The sports tech industry lacks a foundation for the unification of companies, ideas, and technologies, a glaring inequality when compared to other developed industries. It has an absence of significant infrastructure supporting the flow of communication and facilitation of association among industry innovators, a collaborative community of sports tech innovators and influencers who are shaping the future of sports.
Introducing…
… Welcome to the future. #WeAreStarters
By: Jake Spirer
