A new reportby Tata Communications examining the commercial transformation of sports identifies 2019 as a defining tipping point for the global sports industry, with digital technology innovation set to kick-start a new era of unprecedented commercial growth for broadcasters, rights holders and sports organisations.

The “Show Me the Money!” report  – featuring insights from Formula 1, MotoGP and European Tour plus major global players HSBC and DAZN -highlights that streaming platforms, eSports, VR apps and other technology innovations are quickly becoming new crucial revenue drivers for sports alongside media rights, event attendance, sponsorship and merchandising. Not only do they help grow a sport’s global viewership in terms of volume, they can boost engagement among fans, creating a more compelling value-proposition for sponsorship and advertising.

That is why, according to “Show Me the Money!”, regardless of the role an organisation plays in sports, it should have a unified digital strategy to unleash new opportunities for growth.

Describing digital technologies as the “secret sauce” for monetising fan engagement, “Show Me the Money!” notes that a successful digital strategy is all about augmenting the fan experience. This could mean enabling peopleat the stadium or trackside to experience sports in new ways or connecting people around the world to the live action in the most immersive ways possible.

Digital platforms also allow sports to create more emotional connections: more direct access to leading sports stars through platforms like Instagramhelps fans identify with the big personalities. This makes them “stickier” from a commercial perspective – so more likely to buy TV and streaming subscriptions, more likely to attend events and more likely to buy merchandise.

Other key findings of the report include:

 

• The lines between traditional and digital media platforms have blurred, causing a seismic shift in the entertainment landscape, tearing down traditional geographical barriers, and highlighting the need for the sports ecosystem to rethink howrevenues are generated.
• Digital platforms are giving sports access to geographies and audience demographics they were previously unable to reach.