Today IBM announced a new Sports and Entertainment Consortium created to help design, build and deliver the ultimate fan experience. In addition to the consortium, IBM announced the Sports, Entertainment and Fan Experience consulting practice, which will be lead by Jim Rushton, former Chief Revenue Officer of the Miami Dolphins and SunLife Stadium.
According to A.T. Kearney, sports annually generate nearly $700 billion around the world and the market is growing faster than Gross Domestic Product in nearly every country.
Rushton explained to us that the goal is to help sports enterprises transform their businesses and create a new business model, since fan habits have changed over time.
He believes there are three major obstacles that are keeping fans and teams from doing direct business.
The first obstacle is the growth of high-definition broadcasts. With every sporting event now available on TV, it makes getting fans out of their homes and into venues even more difficult. The in-home viewing experience for fans is better than ever and it is often shown in the attendance numbers.
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The next obstacle is the secondary ticket market. Websites like StubHub are giving fans an alternative way to purchase tickets without going through the organization or venue directly. The secondary market also allows fans to purchase tickets to a sold out event just minutes before it begins.
The final obstacle is the recent obsession that fans have with fantasy sports. Fans are often engaged in multiple leagues for multiple sports and this can prevent them from interacting with a specific team directly. Having a fantasy team full of players from different teams now has fans interacting with multiple teams on a daily basis due to their fantasy roster.
Rushton believes that IBM’s newest endeavors can help connect fans directly with teams.
The IBM Sports and Entertainment Consortium is a first-of-its kind ecosystem that combines IBM networking services with some of the industry leaders in construction and design, network infrastructure, and telecommunications in sport, entertainment, and venue design.
IBM is looking to use their current partnerships with sporting events such as The Masters and Wimbledon to grow and create relationships with other sporting enterprises.
In February 2015, IBM and AMB Sports & Entertainment announced a partnership to begin working to install a state-of-the art fan experience in Mercedes-Benz Stadium before it opens for the Atlanta Falcons in 2017.
The company also recently finished working with Corning to implement a state-of-the art fiber optic infrastructure in the newly renovated Kyle Field at Texas A&M which brings increased wireless capabilities to over 100,000 fans.
The main goal for the new consortium is to bring these industry leaders together to help provide a seamless year-round experience that will satisfy their passive, active, and high-value fans. The consortium will provide increased bandwidth for connectivity in venues, so fans can watch live TV or get live statistics all while being able to communicate with others. The overall goal is to make fans engaged with the sports enterprises that they follow 365 days a year and that is where the IBM Fan Experience comes into play.
The IBM Fan Experience is aiming to be a powerful way for fans to get their own personalized sporting experience whether they’re on the couch, or on the 50-yard-line. The three factors that come into play in creating a personalized fan experience according to Rushton are infrastructure, data management platform, and delivery experience.
Infrastructure deals with the way that the fan experience will be organized to best suit each individual fan. IBM understands that in order to create a unique and personal fan experience they will have to handle each sporting enterprise different from the rest.
The next part, data management platform, has to do with how data develops throughout the experience and how it is delivered to each individual. The goal for IBM in this area is to understand each person and tailor the experience to them.
Finally, the delivery experience deals with the technological experience that each individual is given. In order for IBM to create a personalized fan experience they must be able to reach each person in the way that is best suited to fit their needs.
The IBM Fan Experience will include a multitude of different interactive opportunities for fans both at the game and at home. For example, with the help from IBM, a fan at the venue will be able to view all of the concession, merchandise, and restroom options that are available to them throughout the stadium. For someone sitting at home, they will be able to get up-to-the-minute statistics that can give them an inside look at just how well their team is playing.
Whether it is at home or in the venue, fan personalization that connects the team directly to the fan is the main goal for IBM here.
“Most businesses have millions of customers, but relatively few fans,” said Rushton. “Sports enterprises have millions of fans connected through traditional media, but relatively few customers in comparison. We are looking to give teams the opportunity to build relationships with their fans to hopefully turn them into customers.”
It will certainly be interesting to see how these two new endeavors from one of the world’s most recognized technology companies can attempt to carve out some business opportunity in a crowded global sports industry.