Industry leaders have voiced that the key to success is to develop fan-driven strategies around its major sporting events on a global scale. At a Qatar Economic Forum in Lusail, business owners, chairpeople, and venture capitalists joined forces to discuss the future of sports technology and its impact. Donn Davis, founder and co-owner of the Professional Fighters League, highlighted how streaming has become the game-changer for the sports industry. When asked if artificial intelligence has the potential to dictate tendencies in sports, Davis replied with brief no and remarked that it is the fan features that matter.
Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Socios, added to the conversation, stating that sports is the only industry yet to be disrupted. Sandrine Nzeukou, founder of Tessa, agreed that change is happening in Africa for the better, especially with campaigns such as the NBA, NFL, PFL, and Formula 1. To trigger more engagement, though, Nzeukou stressed the importance in reducing mobile data prices across the continent.
One such panel discussion on the business of sports, with Chatri Sityodtong, Chief Executive Officer of the ONE Championship, iterated that basketball and soccer remain favored sports worldwide due to their simplicity. Stephen Pagliuca, co-owner of the NBA league’s Boston Celtics, similarly attributed their success to the transparency that rewards athletes with the ability to brand themselves, attracting a loyal following. Similarly, Dynasty Equity’s Co-Founder and CEO Don Cornwell noted how Twiiter, Facebook, and sports betting have become contributing factors to fan engagement.
Overall, these industry pioneers have comprehended the role of technology in sports and how developing fan-driven strategies around major sporting events on an international scale are key to success. Although technology may be disrupting other industries, sports is an industry that has thus far escaped its reach, instead being reliant mainly on the audience they reach.
