Vision of the future?
What a week it's been for sport and technology. From Real Madrid’s new streaming platform to investments in the women’s game made by Amazon and Google – all stories worthy of their own ramble – there has been a lot going on. However, two stories have rightly dominated our ramblings...
First, the news alert that shocked the sports world and one that will undoubtedly have a seismic impact on golf. We are of course talking about Wednesday’s surprise announcement that, after 12 months of shall we say less than cordial relations, The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf are merging to create “a new collectively owned” entity, with investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). No end of column inches have been penned on the ramifications, and goodness knows how and when it will come to fruition or how the many different personal, legal and commercial issues bound up in this will be resolved.
The plight of Rory & Co will understandably get the attention but spare a thought for the digital teams involved. Once the mess of how the many different stakeholders are going to work together has been sorted, the onus will be on building towards a full launch of the new entity, which will require a new website, new mobile app and new social media pages. The digital teams will have to build a website that transfers the equity and SEO goodness stored up in the existing sites and work out what content needs to be migrated to each new platform and how best to do it. Combining archive content from multiple sites is no mean feat - how far back to they go? The DP World Tour site has archive footage going back to the 70’s!! ?How long should they keep the old platforms running in case of problems like the European Tour experienced? There is also the issue of making sure the new site is robust enough to cope with what will surely be bonkers levels of traffic, once the launch tweet has been made.
There is clearly a tonne of issues to consider with the launch of this new entity but what will be the technological impact on the sport itself, now that there are new hands at the wheel (or should that be cart)? Which leads us (eventually) onto the second big story of the week…
On Monday, at its Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced the launch of its new mixed reality headset, Vision Pro. The announcement has caused a heap of industry buzz due to the tech giant's strong track record of redefining and dominating markets following product launches and they are expected to make better headway than META have done, despite their multi-billion dollar investment so far. ?
Vision Pro could have a huge impact on the sports industry and is packed with features that could play a big part in how we watch and consume sport’s content, including multiview broadcasts, immersive replays, and gaming displays. The big advantages Apple have, include the connectivity it can offer with its other prevalent market devices and the sports rights they own, following recent acquisitions in MLS and MLB and forecast moves for Premier League and NBA rights. The ability to shape the broadcast experience for the sports at source will give them the opportunity to build a product tailor made for their new headsets. Now this may well involve impressive, headline grabbing fan?engagement features, but these are often more “gimmicky” and short term in their nature. Where we think their tech could really disrupt, and deliver a longer lasting transformation of sports broadcasting, is through enabling an immersive, collective viewing experience that brings people together in their enjoyment of sport.
Further down the road, Vision Pro could also have an impact on how sport is played, by helping to deliver more real time data to athletes in game. For example, imagine the benefits to golfers of having a visual overlay that gave them accurate distance, wind speed and course contours ahead of every shot? This sort of thing is clearly a long way off from being possible – no player is going to want to swing with a massive pair of goggles on! It would also most likely contravene the current rules of golf (Rule 4.3a we believe), but who’s to say what will happen to those, and the role/importance of technology, under golf’s new PIF backed entity? (told you we’d get there in the end…)
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Finally, could Apple extend its influence further and use mixed reality technology to redefine sport itself? With rights holders searching for the silver bullet that makes their product more appealing to the digitally native Gen Zs and Gen Alphas, by developing suitable AR/VR eyewear for athletes and building their tech into how the game is played as well as watched, could Apple create a hybrid of real and esports with players securing extra points or “power ups” by engaging with AR elements in game? Imagine a cross between Football and Free Guy…only with slightly less Ryan Reynolds!
Mixed reality maybe the future of sports but we’ll leave you with another "reality phenomenon on the verge or breaking through...
The Sports TEC Ramble is based on the weekly musings of our consultants?Kevin Bain?&?David Wright?on the technology news and trends shaping the sports industry.