New technologies

• People are increasingly moving online to connect, deliver and access services, obtain information, perform transactions, work and deliver order to cluttered lifes. A possible impact of COVID-19 could be an acceleration of this trend.
• People share more online with their social networks and digital media is being used to access information through multiple channels.
• People are increasingly using wearable tracking devices such as Fitbits and the fitness sector use social media to build and foster sporting communities, such as the ‘UrbanRec’ Facebook group or the ‘RunKeeper’ app.
• New technologies are a major influence on spectators, participants, and home-viewers​, for example:
  • Spectators: wi-fi, media streaming; food ordering; stadium apps, tickets statistics
  • Participants: online registration, fixtures, communities; ‘gamification’ e.g. Zwift, Strava; ​
  • Home-viewer: digital; user-generated content, match analysis, fan stories.
• Technology advances have allowed physical movement to be incorporated into electronic games.
• eSports is booming in playing, watching and attending​ and professional sports clubs are now signing leading eSports players and investing in eSports teams.

What this could mean for sport?

• Opportunities for sports offer a connective experience for participants to share, monitor and track progress or participation.
• Consider ways to bridge the divide between tech-savy participants and traditional sport delivery.
• Investment in mobile and digital is valuable to reach significant numbers of the population.
• Leverage social media to provide efficient and effective promotion and communication channels.
• Find ways to use technologies to overcome identified barriers to sport participation.

Resources

• We are Social - Digital 2020 Australia, opens in a new tab
• Deloitte – Mobile Consumer Survey 2019, opens in a new tab