The way fans experience live sports is constantly evolving. With technological integration, professional sports now place a lot of value on data-driven information. Take note that most of the impact from this is seen off-field.
With the landscape ever-changing, teams have been putting in extra effort and resources to cultivate healthy relationships with their fans. With the availability of digital technologies, the process is made a whole lot easier.
Discussion forums, online highlights, gaming, and live sports betting are some of the things a traditional TV broadcast is unable to provide. The sports and tech industry continuously work together to enhance the live sports experience for a fan sitting at home. And to add more to it, sports fan experience platforms drive deeper relationships with fans by helping them engage with each other better.
Live Statistics and Data Collection
Time passes in the blink of an eye. With work and other activities occupying your day, spending hours watching your favorite game can sometimes feel like it is impossible to do. That being the reality, missing a live tournament is a true sports fanatic’s nightmare.
Thanks to technology, plenty of websites track scores and events of your favorite sports matches at any given time of the day. You only need a smartphone and steady internet to keep yourself updated.
Apart from being efficient, live stat services provide all essential information to give unique insights to sports enthusiasts. Access to data algorithms like measuring distances covered by players, speed, positions, ball movements, and more are some of the statistics you can get access to. All of this is done by tech tools like optical tracking and wearables.
Along with sports enthusiasts, these insights are also crucial for live bettors. While tracking all the twists and turns of the match live, they can bet smartly and make it work in their favor. Data providers use historical trends, player databases, and the current odds to help determine an outcome of a wager. Due to the increased accessibility to such data-intensive insights during live games, live sports betting rose in popularity. Following its success, sportsbooks and online betting sites saw the integration of the feature as the perfect opportunity to increase engagement by providing an up-to-date service that bettors can interact with during live games. Demonstrating the fact that fantasy sports live betting, and the general curiosity of sports fans will further increase demand for statistics and analytics in real-time.
Live Streaming
Technological integration within the sports industry has improved services like the live broadcast of sports matches. New forms of viewing now include:
- Videos recorded from a field-level perspective
- Streams with a vertical angle for mobile phone users
- A telecast with a live stream and fan-driven content on the side – polls, discussions, and live phone calls from viewers.
All this can make fans at home feel like they’re at the game. Statistics show that more than 30% of sports fans watch stretch live streams on their phones/tablets. Overall, a reasonably sizable demographic is being catered to.
Access to live streaming also helps viewers track odds and enjoy their favorite sport in one place. Most online bookmakers have realized the importance of live streaming and are now incorporating live streaming onto their platforms.
Virtual Reality
Believe it or not, VR has finally become a reality. Virtual reality is being used by teams and broadcasters to provide sports fans with immersive live experiences like never before. In interactive games or pre-recorded 3D matches, you feel like you’re present in the stadium, in the front row, and can even participate, albeit virtually. This was tried out earlier in 2016 during the Olympics and is currently in the NBA.
Not that alone, but you can also enjoy your favorite sports through virtual reality if the game supports VR. Usually, all you need is a VR headset, a good streaming service/app, along with a smartphone with an internet connection. And with that, you’re all set to experience your favorite players playing your favorite sport in a virtual stadium.
Final Thoughts
Sports fans are enthusiastic and inquisitive. With innovative technology solutions like this, viewers will engage and enjoy watching their favorite sports in a stadium. Moreover, soon, fans will witness a boost in technological integration within the sports industry, enhancing the live sports experience further.
