Sports Data Analytics Convention In London
Sports data and analytics are now a major component of the sports business culture and are driven by advanced technology which is why my LinkedIn connection, Nicholas Longworth, decided to introduce a new convention set to launch in the UK during 2016 surrounding sport and Big Data analysis initially funded by a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. His London Sports Analytics Convention seeks to rally small contributions from crowdfunding sources like the Sports Techie community blog readers and followers around the world and nation. I chatted with Longworth on Skype about the Beta, achieving market penetration, database building and sponsorship relationships through an online resource (eg. expert interviews, high quality content). If all goes as planned, I will be a part of the live event in some capacity which is something I look forward to as I have never visited the UK before.
Sports Data Analytics UK Show
Longworth has produced top events and executive conferences in the life science sector for 7 years and spent time as with cycling coaches at a New Zealand velodrome as well as blogging at Shutup-Legs.com about various sport topics include sports technology, science and Big Data. Some of his blogs were shared by IBM and other noteworthy companies and industry leaders.
His goal is to apply this experience to the international sporting sector and proposes to develop the leading convention for sports data analytics (as a B2C expo) for autumn 2016. Then the following year, expand this into a B2C exhibition as a satellite to the IAAF World Championship in London (August, 5-13 2017). An initial wish is to secure the Olympic Stadium venue and establish an east London presence.
The sports analytics market was worth $125 million in 2014 and is expected to climb to $4.7 billion by 2021 (Wintergreen Research). The wearable device market is anticipated to grow to $19 billion by 2018 (Juniper Research) and by 2018, 250 million units will be operational around the world, 14 times larger in scale than in 2013.
Capturing data, analyzing numbers and producing insights in ‘US’ sport leagues like the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, resulted in other global sports such as soccer, rugby, cycling, cricket, track & field, tennis, sailing and an assortment of winter sports, to all do a deep dive into the sportsbiz movement.
Think of it as a Sloan Analytics Conference hosted in the UK where discussion areas will include – sports performance, fan engagement (and how to maximize it for sponsorship) as well as innovation in wearables. Look for revealing discussions surrounding sports tech products and gameday experiences for both fans and businesses. Because advances in capturing, storing and analyzing data are revolutionizing every aspect of sport, from training to broadcasting to engagement of fans, there is growing investment by sports teams, federations, broadcasters, software and hardware firms, and data analytics firms in this market.
- Sports Performance: Coaching staff, scouts and players are leveraging analytics to better understand the performance on their own teams as well as that of the opposition. Innovations in this space, for example, have led to offfield tracking technology which is utilized by sports broadcasters. Data analytics are also being used to improve scouting, to detect new player unusual talent and evaluate players competitive capability.
- Fan Engagement: Data analytics is at the center of broadcast sports production, providing relevant, realtime data to help spectators engage with the event. It is having an increasing role in multiplatform digital distribution, allowing fans to have datasharing capabilities (everything from tweeting to providing better television coverage by leveraging photos and videos captured by mobile devices) and enabling sports production teams to monitor consumer uptake (gaining vital statistics for advertising negotiations).
- Wearable technology: Sensors and biometric monitoring are being innovated by professional sports teams but the technology is filtering down to the lucrative consumer level, augmenting stadium/gameday experiences and allowing wearable smart devices to become available.
Upcoming goals include, securing a venue and confirmed date, sign up agenda speakers and having a firm schedule, launching the new website while continuing the soliciting of possible angel investors and financial backers. There will be a focus on bringing in sponsors for this web site, as the content will be well viewed by both the B2B and B2C markets.
Donate to the development of the London Sports Analytics Convention 2016.
Sports Techie, the Tour de France captured data this year and used a GoPro action cam to enhance the fan experience by providing cycling data and analytics like never before. Look for the upcoming 2015 Rugby World Cup tournament hosted by England to do much of the same. These business models are just a few that are driving Longworth’s event vision towards reality.
Longworth identified a business trend among software and data management providers such as Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, SAS, SAP, EMC, Oracle, TIBCO software and Catapult, in that each are hiring, grooming and relying on sports analytical data experts to help grow their businesses and reach the right consumers and businesses with products and services they want and may not even be aware of it yet.
We have both noticed the proliferation of niche vendors such as Qlik, Opta and STATS Sport as game changers in the space. Hardware is another vertical market Adidas, Garmin, Polar, Intel, Under Armour and Nike are revolutionizing, especially with the coming together of sports apparel companies and smart-tech.
Longworth is in talks with Intel to launch a wearable at the inaugural event. Conversations have or are expected to take place with NBC Universal, British Cycling and Barclay’s Premiere League teams. Because European football generates a third of global sporting revenue (AT Kearney), with 20 of the top clubs reaching 6.2 billion euro in 2013/2014, together with the fact that all 20 EPL clubs make the top 40 highest earning sports franchises (Deloitte), look for a significant presence by BPL organizations and their sport business experts.
There are competitors in London, throughout Europe and worldwide but I like his European focus, the emphasis on inviting Heads of Science and the leveraging of existing relationships to get it all done for this startup.
Only nineteen days are left to support the crowdsourcing development of the Sports Analytics Convention 2016 for as little as $8 via this link.
I appreciate the sharing of this blog.
See y’all later in Seattle, Atlanta and around the world.
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