Trends have become a common scenario in every industry and the sports are no exception from this. So, the following are the trends of sports for the year 2016.
- Women Entrance:
In the industry where the majority of the males dominate, women have made a mark and emerged as winners. Some of the famous examples include:
Indian women won medals in badminton and wrestling in the Olympics, making the country proud. They won silver and bronze respectively. The country’s first women gymnast also made the country proud and won many hearts.
Carli Lloyd, the co-captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team, has been titled FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year 2015 and Jill Ellis, who was in-charge of the USA win of Women’s World Cup 2015, has been titled the 2015 World Coach of the Year for Women’s Soccer.
- E-sports:
E-sports is like any other sport where the players play through electronic systems like video games, play stations, x-boxes, etc. because of the rise and rise of digital technology, internet e-games have become very popular among the youth. According to a study, the worldwide e-sports market has made US$325 million of revenue in the year 2015 and is expected to make $463 million in the year 2016.
It offers sports marketers a new medium for advertising and sponsorship for reaching younger audiences around the globe. Some of the popular examples are FIFA, NHL, Velocity e-sports, NBA, etc.
- Fan Engagement:
Fan engagement is the most popular trend which is rising and rising all because of the interview. Fans want to be connected with sports teams and their content anytime, anywhere with just a click on their mobile. So, many sports are coming with their own pages during important matches on social media.
For example, there were official pages of Indian Premier League (IPL) and teams being made on Facebook. In the general IPL page, the timing of the match, among which teams the match is, live scores would be updated for every second and people would be able to comment on it as well. Whereas in the official team page, updates would be regarding the team, their upcoming matches, photos of cricketers practicing, etc.
- Venue Development:
The home viewing experience has enhanced so dramatically in the recent years that sports franchises must compete with the couch so as to attract fans to stadiums and arenas on the day of THE match. It could be anything like upgrading in-venue Wi-Fi, increasing mobile concession ordering and retail purchasing, etc. to heighten fan engagement
Destination marketing companies and sports commissions today are taking an active role in the venue development and management. Numerous CVB’s, sports commissions & rights holders are now acquiring equity stakes in building and managing venues.
- Wearables:
Wearables have now entered even in the sports industry as well. The wearable technology can guide to advances in player health and safety, particularly as sensors work their way into protective equipment & predictive injury analytics allowing teams to assess and avoid injury risk.
