5 Emerging Technologies Shaping The Sports Industry

Huynh NguyenAugust 16, 2022

5 Emerging Technologies Shaping The Sports Industry

The 21st Century has brought about some amazing advancements all across the world in various industries. The sports sector, for instance, has benefited so much from the improvement in the tech industry. With more and more innovations coming into the picture, sports lovers and businesses can enjoy better and smoother ways of doing things.

Various tech enhancements are pushing the sector to a new high. For instance, punters can now access more betting markets and wager on NCAAF odds on their mobile devices, and sportsbooks can now use big data and other tech tools to serve their customers better and increase revenue.

Apart from these mentioned above, other emerging technologies shaping the sports industry include wearable gadgets, real-time fan engagement, digital marketing techniques, and AI, to mention a few. So, in what ways are these tech innovations impacting the world of sports? Let’s take a comprehensive look at that below.

Wearable Technology

Wearable gadgets have been evolving the way we interact with sports. Before now, we had to use our eyes to track movements and changes as the game went on and thus make judgments. We must admit that most times, the eyes can be prone to error, regardless of whatever practice and focus we put into monitoring the matches.

Thanks to improvements in the tech industry, we now have RFID chips, GPS trackers, and sensors, so officials can conveniently evaluate games and calculate match points immediately. Also, these gadgets are accurate and provide quantifiable data. Various kinds of wearable gadgets exist in soccer, basketball, and other sports.

One of such is smartwatches, such as Fitbit, that offer many functionalities. These watches are fitted with sensors and AI tools that enable them to evaluate the heart rate, pulse, distances, steps, and calories. The gadgets can ensure the athlete’s safety while performing various activities. We also have smart clothing created with some notable functionalities. For instance, smart socks are designed using textile pressure sensors that track the player’s foot movements and tell if they’re using the balls of their feet or their heels.

There are also advanced medical tech gadgets such as sensor-filled shirts, leggings, and smart rings. HMDs (head-mounted displays) come with advanced helmets and provide race car drivers with radio connections to their pit crews. Sports and tech have become married to innovating the entire globe.

New-edge fitness products cannot only count steps but calculate the heart rate and provide electrocardiogram results connected to smartphones. Developers are moving the sports sector in a way that amazes athletes, businesses, and fans.

Match Prediction

We can’t overstate the impact of match prediction tools in the world of sports. While this can’t be a new invention for the industry, there are better and more exciting features that make it always sought after. Using innovations, bettors can access better player and team stats, match histories, and even other underground details essential for gambling.

Gamblers can conveniently make better judgments concerning the different matches using these functionalities. It makes it easier for them to leverage these opportunities and earn massively from betting sites.

Fan Engagement

One of the most crucial tech innovations in sports is the proactive fan engagement and rewarding strategies innovators employ.

The introduction of loyalty programs has now become a rave in the industry. Sports clubs now reward their fans with privileges, perks, or products to keep them consistent in their support for the team. It encourages a sense of belongingness and drives an increasing desire for fans’ engagements. It includes meetings, sit-ins, and greets with team athletes, merchandise, and VIP access to special stadiums and games. Innovators and companies are also collaborating with blockchain companies to provide high-quality rewards via NFTs, crypto tokens or stablecoins, and other programs that fans can trade for fiat currencies.

While that’s happening, some clubs are selling their jerseys integrated with chips that give seasoned ticket holders loyalty incentives when they enter the venue of the games. Besides these, virtual engagements enable ultra-high speed internet connection and allow fans to access club info using smartphone mobile apps. The entrant of social media has also changed the narrative for fans. It’s worth noting that fan engagement outside the stadium usually occurs in the digital space.

Digital Marketing Techniques

As we’ve stated earlier, newer advancements in the sports industry ramp up the fun for everyone. For instance, the introduction of digital marketing — more specifically, influencer marketing, among others, has contributed massively to the growth in revenues in the industry.

Clothing organizations are now collaborating with sports stars to promote their latest merchandise. It causes fans of these athletic stars to want to patronize these brands. The budget for digital marketing has increased massively in this last decade, which has positively influenced the other sports sector and industries.

Artificial Intelligence

One of the latest and most intuitive innovations of tech in the sports sector is the introduction of artificial intelligence into matches. Teams now have new-edge improvements in sensors, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and intuitive cameras that can track the ball’s motion while on the field.

We now have virtual assistant referees (VARs) that provide impressive and more effective results than normal referees. It contributes to the growth of the industry.

Conclusion

Tech has greatly impacted the way we see sports, enhancing our perspective on the sector and increasing fans’ engagement, revenue, and overall fun.

These notable changes will continue to shape the sector in the foreseeable future and provide fans and stakeholders with newer realities that will enhance growth and possibly take us all by surprise.