With 2016 coming to an end, SportTechie compiled insights from over 80 sports technology industry experts to look ahead to what technological innovations will continue to evolve the sports industry in the coming year. The experts who weighed in include leaders from eSports, virtual reality and player-tracking companies, as well as experts in social media, mobile, wearables and professional sports.
Each expert was allowed 75 words to answer one or two of the following questions: 1) What sports technology trend(s) are you closely following heading into 2017? 2) What is your bold prediction for the next twelve months for your particular sector within the sports technology industry?
Finally, we hope you find these trends and predictions to be thought-provoking and insightful. Please let us know what you think on Twitter by mentioning us @SportTechie and using the hashtag #SportTechieTrends.
Get The Latest Sports Tech News In Your Inbox!
VIRTUAL REALITY
“Predictions: The next generation of VR-ready phones and headsets will improve the visual experience significantly. Microsoft’s entry into VR will bring a major shot in the arm to the installed base, with lower-cost PC headsets from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo – and – with Microsoft’s release of the XBOX Project Scorpio VR console system. New VR programing (e.g. live sports, music and more) will be available daily — there will always be something “on” in VR.”
— Dave Cole, Chief Executive Officer/co-founder, NextVR
“Predictions: I have two major predictions. The first is that augmented reality will have a huge spotlight moment, something similar to when Oculus was acquired by Facebook. Second, I believe that in the next year, we’ll begin to see significant number of super fans and early adopters start to make VR their sports viewing platform of choice, eschewing TV as the experience continues to improve and as content continues to become more prevalent.”
— Andre Lorenceau, Chief Executive Officer/Founder, LiveLike
“Trends: Consumer interest in VR hardware outside of the gaming community. We know Sony had great success with pre-orders around the holidays, and we know that mobile VR devices such as Samsung GearVR and Google Daydream continue to get into consumers’ hands… but how much of this is purely for gaming and ‘early adopters’ and how much is because the medium is truly impactful/useful to the average consumer?”
— Derek Belch, Chief Executive Officer/co-founder, STRIVR Labs
“Trends: The biggest trend that I will keep an eye on is how many people start to design and create augmented reality experiences compared to virtual reality experiences. Each are fascinating Technologies with their own unique value propositions and I think we are at an exciting inflection point where augmented reality starts to really gain some steam.”
— Brendan Reilly, Chief Executive Officer/co-founder, EON Sports VR
“Predictions: Live sports productions in virtual reality will become “Second Screen 2.0.” While the first version of the second screen didn’t provide any substantial commercial benefit, the promise of VR and all of its exciting permutations, like mixed reality and augmented reality, will give audiences new and exciting things to do. Produced pieces in VR will complement these efforts perfectly — audiences will come for the live VR, but stay for the AR and VOD.”
— Michael Davies, Senior Vice President Field and Technical Operations, FOX Sports
“Predictions: VR will gain momentum in 2017, driven by better headsets and more high quality content. The fragmented headset market (“tethered” PC and mobile VR headsets) will start to converge and consolidate. New technologies (eye tracking, foveated rendering, etc.) will improve comfort. VR for brands will grow rapidly. The Chinese VR market will accelerate. And the movement away from simple 360/180 and Fisheye footage towards meaningful, “TrueVR” experiences enabling users to move, interact and socialize around live games, will accelerate.”
— Tom Impallomeni, Chief Executive Officer, Virtually Live
“Predictions: This past year has been seeing exciting pilots and experimentation with technologies in the sports industry providing new-age fan experiences both in-stadium and at home. At VOKE, we have created powerful technology based on virtual reality that allows fans a personalized viewing experience from the best seat. In 2017, we anticipate a dramatic increase in the number of people that will have access to VOKE and other new fan engagement woven into the sports experience.”
— Uma Jayaram, Chief Operating Officer/co-founder, VOKE
“Predictions: We’re going to see a short term explosion of 360 videos initially being pushed out on Facebook and YouTube and by the end of 2017 you will see video players on most media players capabilities of having 360 content natively integrated into their web and mobile platforms. This 360 content will serve as the initial offering of videos in VR distribution platforms as it expands throughout 2017 and 2018. The next big hurdle yet to overcome will be in 360 degree sound.”
— Neil Mandt, Chief Executive Officer/Founder, MANDT VR
LEAGUES/PROPERTIES
“Trends: We are following the major digital companies who are creating new platforms for live content. These companies are also starting to make investments in rights for premium sports content. We are also following the continued dominance of mobile consumption and the impact mobile has on content creation. Prediction: Live sports moves beyond Twitter in a big way, with premium live content showing up across multiple digital platforms.”
— Chris Schlosser, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Major League Soccer Digital
“Predictions: I would expect 2017 to be a year of tremendous progress toward engaging sports fans in virtual and augmented reality-based experiences, both around live games as well as off-the-court, behind-the-scenes opportunities.”
— Amy Brooks, Executive Vice President, Team Marketing & Business Operations, NBA
“Trends: We will continue to follow trends that integrate technology and the IoT (internet of things) into sporting events and resulting media applications, particularly those that rely heavily on human decision-making to determine some or all of the outcome of the athletic competition. Predictions: PBR will be among the first sports to emphatically embrace IoT sensors and technology applications and to redefine an ages-old competition platform that relies almost exclusively on human judges.”
— Sean Gleason, Chief Executive Officer, Professional Bull Riders
“Trends: Biggest trend I’m following is the continued growth of OTT’s and how smaller sports properties are using them to serve their fan base. It will be interesting to see the continued emergence of VR in individual homes and how that will impact how content is produced.”
— David Gross, Commissioner, Major League Lacrosse
“Predictions: Emerging video platforms (VR/AR/MR) will be able to immerse fans into the live game experience in ways that that can’t be imagined whether they are at the venue or watching it someplace else. This will be done with a smart combination of virtual reality video and layered graphics, statistics, and social.”
— Luis Goicouria, Senior Vice President, Digital Platforms and Media Strategy, PGA TOUR
“Predictions: Virtual reality is certainly intriguing, especially when you think about harnessing the power of VR or AR to introduce young people to the sport. Not everyone has the means to race stock cars — we know that — but VR technology can recreate the experience. When devices become less cumbersome and affordable, we’ll have an entirely new way for fans to consume our sport. It could even impact how the next generation learns how to play sports.”
— Brian France, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, NASCAR
“Predictions: We have seen a continued trend toward more digital transactions for content consumption. Consumers aren’t walking away from traditional broadcast, but they are increasingly accessing content on a wider variety of platforms. Traditional TV/broadcast won’t see the same decline as physical newspapers, for example, but we’ll continue to see consumers look for engaging content across an evolving mix of digital platforms.”
— Eric Winter, Senior Vice President, UFC; General Manager, UFC Fight Pass
GAMING/ESPORTS
“Predictions: 2017 will see a more engaged eSports fanbase as teams blend star North American domestic players with imported superstars to create higher quality tournaments/leagues. The players’ skill levels will continue to improve and training, medicine and lifestyle coaching will become increasingly important in an attempt to squeeze another 2% in player’s performance to ensure success. Teams will find innovative ways to create player personalities and build a bond between them and their fans and commercial partners.”
— Jonathan Kemp, Chief Executive Officer, Team Dignitas
“Trends: In my view, the most significant trend to follow in 2017 will be the various publisher efforts around franchising, and what impact those efforts will have on the eSports industry.”
— Ken Hershman, Executive Chairman/Commissioner, World eSports Association
“Trends: The biggest challenge facing digital media in 2017 is the erosion of quality distribution. Publishers are more dependent than ever on a very small number of social platforms that are difficult to monetize, and the pay TV ecosystem is working harder than ever to maintain subscriber levels. With that context, one trend I’m watching is the creation of new, targeted content networks that are built on non-traditional distribution channels… like within video games, for example.”
— Pete Vlastelica, Chief Executive Officer, Major League Gaming
“Predictions: ESL’s attempts to bring VR into the world of eSports has showed a lot of potential for this technology, so for 2017 I’m super excited about VR and the content it makes available. Blockbuster VR games are still a bit off, but eSports fans are in for a lot of enjoyable VR experiences at most ESL events. I’m also expecting grassroots eSports tournaments to make a breakthrough with integrations on i.e. PlayStation and on mobile.”
— Ralf Reichert, Chief Executive Officer, ESL
“Trends: 1) Franchising and new games — teams will have to make capital decisions regarding which games warrant a franchise arrangement. Separately, participation from major endemic teams will be a key to the success of new games breaking into professional eSports; 2) Team economics — for team revenues to grow at a level that will cover increasing team operating costs, it will be interesting to see how teams expand their business footprint and sponsorship relationships.”
— Bruce Stein, Chief Executive Officer, aXiomatic
“Trends: We’re going to see the global eSports market become more localized. Support for the industry in key regional markets and from mainstream sports franchises will grow. Most importantly, we’ll see a natural blend of pop culture – sports, entertainment, music, festivals – and eSports. Predictions: In the next 12 months, VR will have far more impact for spectators in venues and at home than it will for those actually playing the game.”
— Tobias Sherman, Global Head of eSports, WME/IMG
“Predictions: It’s been exciting for me to watch the growth of eSports, especially in my favorite video game, Dota 2, where I picked up my own team VGJ! The past 18 months we’ve seen the value of established eSport teams skyrocket. For 2017, we’ll see the value of individual players’ brands increase. Pro players will start taking ownership of their PR, fan base, and professional development, leading to a healthier eSports ecosystem.”
— Jeremy Lin, Point Guard, Brooklyn Nets
GENERAL TECHNOLOGY
“Trends: One of the biggest trends we will see in 2017 is consolidation, on the consumer side and on the business side. Consumers want to consolidate all of their tech into one comprehensive device/wearable, instead of 6 wearables for each function. In business, we will see a lot of sports tech company mergers. This will encourage the sharing of ideas and intellectual property to create more wide-ranging products from these newly-combined businesses.”
— Davyeon Ross, Chief Operating Officer/co-founder, ShotTracker
“Predictions: We believe 2017 will bring viewers and fans never-before-seen perspectives and expect to see deeper tech integrations into Field of Play. Wearable technology that tracks athletes’ biometrics has a ton of potential to further humanize professional athletes and articulate the physical demands needed to participate at the highest level of sport.”
— Todd Ballard, Vice President, Global Sports and Entertainment Marketing, GoPro
“Trends/predictions: In 2017, Intel and our partners are building the foundation to take sports and technology to new heights. We are working on solutions that will allow fans to experience the game like never before through Virtual Reality and Volumetric Video, all in a personalized way. For athletes and trainers, data and analytics will provide insights to enhance athletic performance. At Intel, we call this the digitization of sports.”
— James Carwana, General Manager, Intel Sports Group, Intel Corporation
“Trends: We are very excited about sports advertising triggered by real-time game events. At Sportradar, we call it marketing in the moment. Live game action dictate the ads fans see at the game, on TV or from their mobile device. When ads reflect the game action fans are watching, impulse purchasing rises significantly as brands reach targeted consumers with timely, contextual messages while their passions are high.”
— Steve Byrd, Chief Commercial Officer, Sportradar
“Predictions: At Reebok we believe that 2017 will be a breakout year for 3D printing in production. We’ve used 3D Printing for prototyping for almost twenty years. However, we’ve been waiting for the technique to successfully make the leap from prototyping a few shoes to producing thousands. So Reebok’s taking a more active role in making that happen with Liquid Factory, by teaching robots to act like 3D printers and start a new wave of manufacturing.”
— Bill McInnis, Head of Future, Reebok
“Predictions: Augmented Reality is changing the way organizations run their business from customer engagement and experiential learning to enhanced worker productivity. This is true for businesses, sports fans and athletes alike. Costly hardware was an obstacle to adoption but Enterprise IT organizations will begin testing AR applications on smartphones. AR will bring the sports enthusiast into the game through enhanced in-home and stadium experiences. It’ll also take athletes to another level of training and performance feedback.”
— Rich Esposito, General Manager, Mobility Services, IBM
“Predictions: In 2017, you will continue to see a rise in sensors utilization across sports (and not just in the use-cases where we currently see them), but also a struggle to utilize the data to its fullest and distill down ‘real’ additional value for coaches and analysts. Augmented reality will be a rising star.”
— Brian Kaiser, Chief Technology Officer, Hudl
“Predictions: Expect the death of many companies that managed to raise a seed round during the boom of 2014, but are slowly realizing how difficult it is to build a business in sports. There’ll be market consolidation, with many of the players being scooped up by larger companies, but the vast majority of them won’t make it. In the meantime, expect a few large companies to emerge from the pack in the youth sports space via acquisitions.”
— Vasu Kulkarni, Founder, Krossover
“Predictions: We’re going to see a shift in how brands view and engage with their audiences. It’s not about B-to-B or B-to-C marketing anymore. That means moving to Human-to-Human experiences that connect to a core passion point for our target audiences. It’s about developing activations that allows all fans — whether it’s a CEO or everyday fan — to see, understand and appreciate the growing role that data and analytics can play in enhancing their sports experience.”
— Bjoern Ganzhorn, Head of Global Sponsorships, SAP
SOCIAL/DIGITAL MEDIA
“Trends: The proliferation of smartphones and the amount of time fans are spending on them are driving significant shifts in consumption. Twitter has been a complement to television, and in 2017, we’ll continue to redefine the live sports experience by coupling great live sports content with real-time conversation and brand integration on Twitter/Periscope. Predictions: Sports fandom will further diversify and become increasingly borderless, and both content providers and marketers will need to evolve with these changes.”
— Laura Froelich, Global Head of Sports Partnerships, Twitter
“Predictions: The eSports industry is exploding and will soon be approaching 300M+ viewers worldwide, but the spectator experience hasn’t changed much in the last 5 years. We think there’s a tremendous opportunity to transform this landscape. We recently live-streamed ESL ONE NY and Intel Extreme Masters Oakland in VR 360 with augmented real-time stats and live 3D replays. 2017 will be all about scaling quality VR content such as live eSports tournaments on all VR platforms.”
— Mitch Liu, Chief Executive Officer/Founder, SLIVER.tv
“Predictions: Personalization is key for 2017. As each viewer is more connected than ever before, it is now a priority to deliver personalized OTT experiences by offering customized content, promotions and product offerings, recommendations, reminders and alerts; all specific to each viewer across all devices. By doing this, we have seen and will continue to see increased conversion rates, loyalty and retention, improved user experience and faster product discovery ultimately leading to higher OTT revenues.”
— Chris Wagner, Executive Vice President/co-founder, NeuLion
“Trends: Growth of Live Content — No digital content type was hotter in 2016. I’m excited to see how high school, college and professional athletes use Instagram’s live video feature to speak to directly fans. 2) Acceleration of digital business models — As rights holders invest more in digital to attract the next generation fans, new business models will emerge. The Warriors are successfully selling tickets and merchandise via Instagram, and I expect more teams to follow.”
— Brandon Gayle, Head of Global Sports Partnerships, Instagram
“Trends: Will TV ratings continue to decline? Will any of the tech companies make a real push into sports (Twitter has a toe in the water…will anyone dive completely in)? Predictions: at least one team from the major four U.S. sports will launch an OTT (over the top) direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service. Even more bold: the Detroit Lions will win the Super Bowl.”
— Adam Shaw, Chief Executive Officer, Sportle
“Predictions: In 2017, the sports industry will engage much more deeply with digital, mobile and social-first content distribution. Publishers are already experimenting with interactive live broadcasts on Facebook that tap into the global and social nature of sports. This will accelerate, along with greater utilization of production techniques that optimize the mobile viewing experience. Progress will be made on monetization and distribution tools necessary to establish new business models that better reflect today’s emerging audience tastes.”
— Dan Reed, Head of Global Sports Partnerships, Facebook
“Predictions: In 2017, social media platforms take a huge step towards growing up. Facebook’s announcement regarding the allowance of 3rd party measurement partners demonstrates the need for outside verification of ad impressions. As emerging OTT networks become prevalent and announcements considering fewer commercial interruptions like that from the NFL multiply, you can expect to see more brands redirect traditional ad spends to social. Sports sponsorships will become more digital and social will go from “value add” to “strategic activation”.
— Jermaine Spradley, Executive Editor, Bleacher Report
“Live-streaming sports on mobile is attracting audiences for go90, and our expectation is that this behavior will expand. We see mobile as a path to reach entirely new groups of super fans for sports that sometimes have stronger followings worldwide, like soccer. Go90 has tapped into sports fans of a mobile-first generation, and gives them the ability to stream sports live on an app, without traditional subscription fees, which can only help to strengthen engagement.”
— Chip Canter, General Manager, Verizon Digital Entertainment (go90)
“Predictions: I’m less bullish than many on virtual reality because I’m still not convinced that the connected generation wants to be away from their phones and feeds that long. However, the convergence of live streaming across social platforms with an augmented reality overlay could be incredibly profitable in 2017 and beyond.”
— Brian Selander, Executive Vice President, Whistle Sports
“Predictions: In 2016 there was a palpable tension with our digital selves, politically, culturally, socially, and even physically. We watched as our connected world fell short in inspiring meaningful offline action. In 2017, I expect companies in sport tech to rise to the challenge of pushing the limits of using data to service the individual and society-at-large, harnessing this powerful resource to empower real world action for the betterment of ourselves and of those around us.”
— Stacey Burr, General Manager, adidas Digital Sports
“Trends: It will be fascinating to follow the enormous and accelerating investments made by major industry powers into next generation OTT (over-the-top) content distribution services, in some cases (potentially) enabling or contributing to the disruption of their own core businesses. How will these players simultaneously balance legacy business model considerations against the growth of their new services? How will the major players differentiate against each other on product, content, and price?”
— Jason Coyle, President, 120 Sports
“Predictions: I believe 2017 will be a pivotal year for consumers to use their social media platforms as their first screen experience for watching live content. With Facebook launching their live video page, Twitter’s commitment to live sports and other major events, Instagram’s launch of live video and Snapchat’s impressive growth and audience, these platforms are becoming virtual cable operators for live and VOD content without the cable bill.”
— Dana Golden, Executive Vice President, Business Development, Silver Chalice
“Trends: The continued rise of live video. Giving users the ability to share moments while they happen is a top priority for Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and others. We will continue to see them invest heavily in this area throughout 2017 as usage becomes more widespread. Predictions: Facebook finally buys Twitter. Facebook hasn’t been able to crack live public discussion around news and events, and Twitter is in a position to add that distinct value to the social media giant.”
— Josh Decker, Chief Executive Officer, Tagboard
“Trends: CMOs will continue to be more and more accountable to justify marketing dollars spent in sponsorship. Internal ROI metrics must be supported by third party analysis, measurement and valuation. Digital/social media will continue expanding unabated as one-to-one marketing grows in relevance. Predictions: Cord cutting and a la carte cable offerings will hit an all-time high in 2017, forcing the majors to untether premium content from current business models.”
— Carl Thomas, Chief Revenue/Business Development Officer, Hookit
PLAYER TRACKING/WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY
“Trends/predictions: The biggest trends I am following is the evolution of the “wearables + VR.” I don’t believe it will happen in 12 months, but I do believe there is a BIG shift with consumers adopting more intensity/performance trackers (wearables 2.0) vs. the dismissal of activity trackers (step counters). Consumers want “real” data points: ran 5.2 miles, jumped 37”, swung a 7 iron at 147mph. The more precise the measurements the more consumers get excited.”
— Martin Matak, President/Founder, VERT
“Predictions: In 2017, we’re going to see athletes using more advanced data-driven tools and technologies to maximize their performance levels. Gone are the days where step counting is considered ‘data’, athletes will want to apply hard statistics to their training program in order to set them apart. Advancements in this sports science data combined with advanced tools and technology will push the physical boundaries of athletes’ bodies, allowing them to train, recover and move more efficiently.”
— Jim Huether, Chief Executive Officer, HyperIce
“Trends: We will continue to follow the advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) very closely. Access to powerful, reliable and affordable big data infrastructure and AI tools has opened the door for the data science to make a profound impact on the world of sport for many years to come. Companies who are most effective at marrying up the disciplines of sport science, computer science and data science will be the big winners in this race.”
— Dr. Travis McDonough, Chief Executive Officer/Founder, Kinduct
“Predictions: 1) Wearables will result in actionable data to improve athletes’ performance on a micro level. This could include being able to specifically understand how sleep/rest and recovery affect things like minutes played, how intense workouts should be or how hard you can push yourself. 2) Former professional players will use wearables to manage health issues. Players organizations like the NFL Players Trust will help former pros tackle issues with Fitbit devices, giving them data/guidance to make lifestyle changes.”
— Tim Rosa, Chief Marketing Officer, Fitbit
“Trends: 2017 is going to be a big year in metrics, and we’re following the continued segmentation of a variety of sports looking to accurately measure performance. 2016 saw many new entrants into the landscape, and we’ve seen a much greater interest from individual teams and franchises looking to go way beyond counting steps. Predictions: In 2017, we see data will become much more valuable for players at all levels, and have greater implications for future playing opportunities.”
— Michael Fitzpatrick, Chief Executive Officer, Blast Motion
“Trends: In 2017, we’re going to witness the democratization of wearable tracking technology. More than ever before, amateur athletes will be able to purchase top-tier performance tracking equipment, especially GPS-based technology. Predictions: For my 2017 prediction, I believe all five major North American professional sports leagues will have an official player tracking provider, and we’ll see significant movement in this direction globally. Leagues are discovering how valuable next generation data is, and now they’re going to capitalize.”
— Jill Stelfox, Vice President/General Manager, Location Solutions, Zebra Technologies
“Predictions: The next-gen wearables are going to be proactive with intelligence. Wearables will go beyond passive tracking, in order to truly deliver results. Wearables will provide actionable coaching “Tell me what to do, instead of just tracking numbers.” Actionable coaching enabled by wearables and artificial intelligence is going to make passive fitness trackers outdated and useless.”
— Meng Li, Chief Executive Officer, Moov
“Predictions: In 2017, the major sports leagues’ will create or update policy that approves use of wearable technology for in-game performance monitoring of athletes. Technology platforms and devices are ready today. Research and testing has demonstrated that performance monitoring has many benefits to keep athletes healthier and performing at their peak, ultimately, extending careers over time. This infusion of data, Performance Enhancing Data, will significantly impact the cultural constructs and traditions within sports.”
— Will Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer/Founder, WHOOP
“Predictions: We believe the time for data-driven pitching decisions amongst Major League Baseball clubs has arrived. That’s not to say innings limits and pitch counts are now a thing of the past. Still, certain teams will begin to rely on quantified workload insights, when considering how much to throw their pitching staff.”
— Joe Nolan, Chief Executive Officer/co-founder, Motus Global
“Trends/Predictions: 2017 will be the beginning of the convergence of some of the niches or ‘silos’ in performance technology for amateur athletes. As demand for technology and data in sports continues to accelerate quickly, so will the demand for centralization of services, data sets and user experiences to provide a more comprehensive and immersive experience.”
— C.J. Handron, Chief Executive Officer/co-founder, Diamond Kinetics
TEAMS
“Trends: We’re particularly interested in the ongoing fracturing of content across media channels (not just website and social). The path that fans take is constantly changing. Where are they interacting with the club? How do we track that? How do we proactively look to new avenues such as dark social, and attempt to measure the effect of these, by definition, non-trackable, but critical communication vehicles? Prediction: eSports is well-positioned to grow but to what end and audience?”
— Mike Golub, President of Business, Portland Timbers
“Trends: One of the biggest trends we’ll be keeping a close eye on going in 2017 is the continued evolution of sports consumption in the digital space, namely the ongoing development and adoption of OTT and mobile platforms. This directly affects our overall marketing and distribution strategy and creates big opportunities to grow our brand and audience in the US. That’s why I also think in 2017 we’ll see a lot more global sports brands and leagues market here.”
— Rudolf Vidal, President Americas, FC Bayern Munich
“Predictions: eSports is already way bigger than you think and 2017 will be an inflection point for the industry. Not only will eSports become more mainstream and popular with millennials, but the industry will experience double-digit growth in viewership, capital invested and advertising spend. By next year, eSports events will be more valuable than several major league sporting events in the U.S. We will also see eSports stars emerge among the highest paid professional athletes.”
— Ted Leonsis, Partner/co-founder, Revolution Growth
“Trends: 1) Primary vs. Secondary Ticketing — Due to technology, the secondary market has become the primary option for most consumers. We will be following that trend closely as we hope to be leaders in providing our fans with more agnostic solutions. 2) “TV” vs. “Digital” Content — Mobile devices and laptops have, in essence, turned into TV devices. The end of rights deals being split between separate “linear” and “non-linear” deals is imminent.”
— Joe Stetson, Chief Marketing Officer, New York Red Bulls
“Trends: I’m following trends associated with sports facilities, as that is an area of emphasis for our organization. This year, we broke ground on a new practice facility, announced major renovations to Philips Arena and revealed a partnership with the City of College Park to bring the city an NBA Development League team (and new arena). Predictions: My bold prediction is also facilities-related: sports venues will spark retail and residential development owned and managed by the teams.”
— Steve Koonin, Chief Executive Officer, Atlanta Hawks
“Trends: Virtual reality implementation. Ticketing platforms and shift to mobile. Security. Impact of sport on social change. Predictions: Our society is in a critical time right now as important topics become more and more polarized and emotions run high. Sports are woven into the fabric of our society and will be a big part of positive change in the coming year.”
— Tom Garfinkel, President/Chief Executive Officer, Miami Dolphins & Hard Rock Stadium
“Trends/predictions: Our focus revolves around how do we let our season-ticket holders feel more connected when they come into the venue, and how do they further connect to our franchise, our players and this great sport. Everything that we’re looking at does a few things — it engages with the fan deeper, it allows them to come to our games more easily and to connect with the franchise and our players in better fashion.”
— Sean Henry, Chief Executive Officer, Nashville Predators
“Predictions: The explosion of interest and action in the eSports space this year has been extraordinary. Innovative ownership groups have taken notice of the remarkable, organic power of the audience and once timid advertisers are engaging in the space with a fresh perspective and fervor. In 2017, we’ll see game publishers work in harmony with teams to develop a league structure that is consistent, sustainable and tangible for fans, players, team management and corporate partners; all while staying true to the fans’ desire for unfiltered, compelling access.”
— Scott O’Neil, Chief Executive Officer, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, Prudential Center
“Trends: We are starting to more closely follow the evolution of eSports. Clearly, it is an exciting and rapidly emerging area in the sports and entertainment industry. The similarities and crossover appeal between traditional sports and eSports — leagues, teams, players, television, digital media, sponsorship, etc. — are what make eSports especially intriguing to me.”
— Neil Glat, President, New York Jets
MOBILE TECHNOLOGY
“Trends: Seen a shift to people doing more and deciding what to do later. People are taking the time they used to spend planning and spending it having fun — increasing the share of wallet spent on experiences and increasing utilization for teams/venues. Predictions: Social will generate higher attendance in 2017. Only now is there density of mobile users and data sources to make this opportunity interesting. All-in on creating a better experience with a prospective social network.”
— Brad Griffith, Chief Executive Officer, Gametime
“Trends: At StubHub, we’re looking at the shift in ticket access technology. When StubHub was founded, ticket inventory was all paper. Now you have numerous different ways to get into an event. Fans are demanding more access options and that’s exactly where we will look to enhance our offering in 2017. Predictions: For events, I predict eSports will make a big jump from being a niche interest to becoming a mainstream paid spectator sport in 2017.
— Marty Boos, Chief Information Officer, StubHub
“Predictions: eSports have experienced tremendous growth in 2016, with no signs of slowing down. In 2017, I think that mobile will cement itself as a major medium in electronic sports. I expect the entire eSports industry to award over $250 million in prizes, with more than 50 percent coming from mobile. In addition, I predict that eSports will become more ubiquitous in broadcast TV. We’re already seeing this potential, but soon eSports will truly infiltrate mainstream television.”
— Andrew Paradise, Chief Executive Officer/Founder, Skillz
“Predictions: Mobile will finally overtake desktop for licensed sports merchandise purchases on a consistent basis to become the primary shopping option for Fanatics customers over the next year. We saw this happen several times already this holiday season, but smartphone sales will soon become the norm. I also think that mobile sales, not traffic, for one of our upcoming championship hot markets will break the 80% threshold immediately following the win, which would be a Fanatics record.”
— Matt Madrigal, Chief Technology Officer, Fanatics
“Predictions: The explosion of social video and live streaming has dramatically changed the media landscape. Rights owners now face intense competition for attention and, in order to ensure relevance, they need to deliver more content, across more platforms, in less time than ever before. This is accelerating demand for fast and flexible video production and distribution tools and we expect data-driven platforms to be the leaders in the next generation of video in sports.”
— Gareth Capon, Chief Executive Officer, Grabyo
“Trends: Actively pairing data and analytics to drive deeper fan engagement and apply methods to increase Season Ticket Holder attendance will be a major focus for the sports industry in 2017. Predictions: Consumers and brands will be brought together through unique sponsorship opportunities via in venue mobile technology. This will generate revenue and increased consumer loyalty for teams and brands, while providing huge value for fans.”
— Greg Foster, President/Chief Executive Officer, Experience
“Predictions: Innovation will continue to accelerate at a rapid pace with an even larger focus on personalizing the fan experience. We live in an on-demand economy from a technology perspective. These types of services will increasingly be embraced to meet the needs of today’s consumer. Virtual/augmented reality are great examples, but I also think organizations that leverage forms of artificial intelligence in conjunction with their products/services will lead to a seismic shift in the coming years.”
— Josh Manley, Chief Executive Officer/Founder, ReplyBuy
INNOVATION HUBS/ACCELERATORS
“Predictions: In 2015, the LA Dodgers and R/GA Ventures blazed a new path with the first accelerator for Sports Tech innovation. Since then a number of programs have followed. 2017 will see additional accelerator and other Sports Tech innovation programs spring up. However, leading programs will focus on growth-stage startups capable of immediate productive engagement with sports industry leaders, on global-scale opportunities, and on exciting new verticals such as VR, AI, and eSports.”
— Stephen Plumlee, Global Chief Operating Officer, R/GA
“Trends: I’m following companies that are small now, but poised to disrupt their industries. At the Sixers Innovation Lab Crafted by Kimball, we see unique applications every day. From our Innovation Lab residents to companies we’ve explored, I’m looking forward to watching new ideas hit the market. Predictions: 2017 is the year for innovation. Emerging companies are working on new ways to solve issues across industries. I can’t wait to see and meet next year’s game changers.”
— Seth Berger, Managing Director, Sixers Innovation Lab Crafted by Kimball
“Trends: The sector will continue to grow also due to the Sponsors and Broadcasting rights record (up to $100 billion). Steady and constant growth of fan engagement and prevalence of second screen use; massive spread of Wearables (sales up to $110 million); Virtual Reality: for fans and athlete performances. Predictions: new social strategy made by important sport brands/teams to make more profitable social networks (top clubs started with dugout.com).”
— Stefano Tambornini, Drector, Wylab
“2017: 2017 looks to be another big year for VR and eSports, but in our space we’re seeing a lot of innovation coming out of data analysis/tracking to improve the health, safety, and performance of athletes. Wearables, data tracking, and video analysis are pushing hard into boundaries, solving for big problems like concussions, return-to-play and basic fundamentals in execution/training.”
— Teke O’Reilly, Executive Director, The Pitch
“Trends/predictions: Serious acceleration in sport/tech sector growth is coming, it’s coming soon, and it’s coming from the UK. The incubator that we are opening with London & Partners is a start, and the game changer is going to be when sport bodies start to think seriously about the benefit of working directly with tech companies and start-ups. Look out for an explosion in open data adoption too.”
— Peter Fitzboydon, Chief Executive, London Sport
“Trends: I expect 2017 data and platforms will still dominate the sports industry. When startups and scale-ups continue to grow their platforms, sports clubs and federations will soon be cornered. These young companies are able to mobilize, connect and bring people together without the intervention of sport clubs or federations. The rise of these new unorganized sports initiatives create many opportunities. I think tomorrow’s challenges are also 3D printing, augmented reality, Internet of Things and virtual reality.”
— Arno Hermans, Founder, Sport eXperience
SPORTS SCIENCE
“Predictions: Virtual reality has been touted as the future, but I find it difficult to see the application catching on within professional sports technology in 2017. I’d expect to see the biggest growth around better leveraged performance data. We’re just about to turn a corner whereby the majority of the industry recognizes the value of greater investment in processing objective data.”
— Samir Abid, Founder, Pace Insights
“Trends: GSSI will continue to follow the nutrition personalization piece and not just hydration but also fueling and recovery. Standalone technology for each parameter is the obvious starting point, but understanding how we can integrate each component into a single interface will be the longer term objective. Many options already exist for the monitoring of athlete variables, but the overlay of nutrition-related data on top of heart rate, acceleration, speed, RPE, mood, sleep, etc. is missing.”
— Dr. James Carter, Director, Gatorade Sports Science Institute
“Predictions: Technology currently isn’t playing a widespread role in athletic development because it’s not practical, affordable, and effective. That will change. Athletes will demand more than tracking from their fitness wearables. Steps, calories, heart rate — users might know what their body is doing 24/7, but there is a disconnect between having the data and knowing what to do with it. Turning trackable data into actionable recommendations will fundamentally change the relationship between coach, athlete and sports.”
— Dan Giuliani, Chief Executive Officer/co-founder, Volt Athletics
“Predictions: In 2017, sports tech that offer machine learning and the real-time, automation of analysis will grow in popularity over tools that simply collect data for manual analysis and subjective interpretation. Actionable insights from real-time analysis will validate organization-wide decision making related to player health and performance.”
— Dr. Phil Wagner, Chief Executive Officer/Founder, Sparta Science
“Predictions: Technology vendors will have to work harder to sell their products as competition intensifies in the market. Vendors will have to demonstrate how their products (1) make it easy to turn data into actionable information and (2) helps address meaningful strategic challenges. Vendors in the performance industry are going to have to demonstrate the people and process dimensions to using their products as organizations realize that investment in just technology alone will not result in performance improvements.”
— David Hesse, Director of Athletic & Personal Development, IMG Academy
“Predictions: We’ll see consumers demanding wearables with more functionality/accuracy than the wearables today. Consumers will want more information, but more importantly, will want devices that will actually help them move better and improve at their favorite activities. We’ll see a few pioneering companies starting to introduce next-generation wearables to track more activities, provide more information and combine with real 3D motion capture to help consumers optimize their movements with convenience and at an affordable price.”
— Joe Chamdani, Chief Executive Officer, TuringSense
“Predictions: Human performance and longevity enhancement will reach the masses. We will see the next generation of human/machine hybrid products and services that apply the vast amount of knowledge we have been collecting for generations in science, health, and sports. The future will be personalized, precise, machine-enabled, and accessible to the many.”
— Rony Sellam, Chief Executive Officer, InsideTracker
“Predictions: Brain and sensory training will be the next wave of focus when it comes to sports science and athletic performance. The human brain goes widely untapped especially when athletic movements and strength gains are involved. Sports science will focus on exploring and improving the relationship between the brain connections and the neuromuscular systems to achieve optimal performance. There is now evidence that stimulating the brain can improve physical movements and actions that were previously impaired.”
— Matthew Reicher, Head Athletic Trainer & Exercise Scientist, NY Sports Science Lab