By Ajit Kumar, Partner, Deloitte India and Yagna Narayana Akuluri, Senior Manager, Deloitte Digital
Imagine standing in front of the finish line as Hima Das sprinted to win a gold medal, or, standing next to Eoin Morgan as he lifted the Cricket World Cup this year, or, beside Novak Djokovic who lifted his 6th Wimbledon title. Imagine experiencing the pride and nostalgia of winning? Wait, you don’t need to imagine anymore, you can experience it yourself – through the world of Digital Reality. Sports and entertainment are becoming intertwined in the way they are presented as a “product” to fans. Over the past few decades, sports media broadcasting has seen multiple paradigm shifts, from radio broadcasting to live TV to high-speed internet and now, innovative steps towards Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). After thrilling consumers with its “never seen before” possibilities and experiences in healthcare, education, gaming, entertainment, e-commerce, and retail, AR/VR is well on its way to revolutionize sports entertainment.
Technology has always been a key enabler in enhancing fan experience. Fantasy sports, presence of different channels to watch favorite players and a genuine curiosity in the games they love has increased fans’ demand for live statistics, analytics and engagement in real time. Leaderboards, up-to-the-minute statistical updates, data visualization, social sharing is taking sports entertainment experience to a higher level.
Catering to the modern sports aficionado is a new ballgame altogether and it calls for more immersive and engaging ways to approach sports. As technology advances, the challenge of keeping fans constantly engaged has become increasingly difficult. Any lull in the game leads to fans diverting their attention to their phones and consuming content from other venues. Today, consumers of sporting media broadcasts are no longer mere spectators in stadiums and living rooms – they are participants via an experience in which they have full control of how they experience a sport. From vast wall-sized data visualizations to powerful virtual and augmented reality experiences, emerging technologies are set to help fans connect to their sport in ways previously unimaginable, primarily driven by advances in the augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) space complemented by the creative application of technology.
Major sports tournament associations such as National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball and CBS Sports Super Bowl, are already invested in AR/VR apps to increase viewer interaction to gain higher viewership and connect with the viewer in a more engaging way. With the AR/VR market poised to witness stellar growth owing to increase in mobile data speeds and accessibility, free apps, uniform software platforms, a booming gaming industry, and a rising need for head-mounted displays it’s no surprise that the IDC report- Worldwide Semiannual Augmented and Virtual Reality Spending Guide suggests a whopping 69.9 per cent CAGR in the AR/VR spending between 2017 and 2022.
The growing integration of augmented reality and virtual reality is transforming the customer experience by giving fans an opportunity to get “closer” to athletes while having a single platform to access a wealth of related data3. One such AR app created for golf US Open championship at Pebble Beach, US, gives fans a 3-D look at historical & live play from iconic holes, and comparisons of favorite players, allows users to click on a player to view his profile, heat map and related play statistics. While the app pertains to the sport of Golf, the potential to extend the same solution for sports in India is high.
For sports like cricket, badminton and football, AR/VR holds untapped opportunities to create immersive experiences. Imagine ardent cricket fans wear a VR headset or use an AR app to watch cricket from the comfort of their homes. For a market that already has the talent to develop such solutions, and a sporting sentiment and heritage to go with it, it would indeed be worth exploring emerging technologies to help fans connect to the game in a highly immersive manner. The upswing in mobile penetration and the consequent “app” culture provides an ideal platform for India’s smartphone users to start experiencing real-time sport in a non-traditional way. The day is not far, when you would no longer be staring at the mobile screen watching a game, you’ll dive right in and be part of the action.