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One of my favourite SportsPro+ features is ‘The Tech Stack’ – a series of in-depth dossiers on the broadcasting and technology strategies of the world’s leading sports properties, including the Premier League, Wimbledon and, most recently, the National Football League (NFL). We’ll also have profiles on the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the America’s Cup in the coming weeks, with more planned for the future.
In every Tech Stack, we identify the new innovations that you should keep an eye out for each year, which got me thinking about the key technological trends in the industry.
So rather than wait for our annual tech predictions piece in January, I thought I’d identify five things that have caught my interest.
The word ‘VAR’ (well, it’s acronym) evokes anything from indifference to fervent rage in the modern soccer fan, but video assisted referees are just the latest development in video-based review systems that have long been used in a variety of other sports, including American football, ice hockey and both rugby codes. More recently, tracking and virtualisation technology such as Hawk-Eye has aided officials in sports ranging from tennis and cricket to hurling and Aussie rules.
Automated officiating is the latest development in this field. Semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) is now used in the Premier League, following on from other major soccer competitions, while electronic line calling (ELC) will be used across the ATP Tour from 2025. Wimbledon, the sport’s most traditional event, is also following suit.
Meanwhile, Major League Baseball (MLB) is trialling robot umpires, and the NFL is testing to see how computer vision technology can replace the manual chain gang currently used to determine the first down line.
While automated officiating will undoubtedly improve efficiency and speed up sport, the obvious obstacles are accuracy and whether AI will either replace human officials, or eliminate opportunities to develop future referees or umpires through secondary roles such as line judges
Wimbledon is the latest property to adopt automated officiating tech (Image credit: Getty Images)
The global era of sport has allowed many properties to expand beyond their traditional heartlands and cultivate global fanbases that can be monetised through sponsorship, ecommerce and subscriptions. However, the ability to physically attend a sporting event is affected by geography, affordability, and capacity. Only a fraction of Manchester United fans will ever be able to set foot in Old Trafford, for example.
Despite technological advances, few would argue that a sports broadcast will ever be a substitute for the atmosphere and emotion that comes with watching a live event in a stadium. However, there is hope that augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) tech can help bridge the gap, with the Apple Vision Pro the most obvious example.
Cosm’s purpose-built ‘shared reality’ facilities look to offer the next best thing to being there by marrying advanced audiovisual technology, including a 180-degree 12K LED display, with the experience of watching a live event. The company has already secured content partnerships with major leagues and broadcasters, as well as US$250 million in fresh funding, to help expand its vision. Early reviews have been positive, suggesting this could be the future of remote sports viewing.
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Virtually every major property is gathering vast amounts of data in a bid to enhance its broadcast product, often converting this information into advanced metrics that can be fed to commentators or transformed into on-screen graphics or visualisations that are overlaid across the live feed. Sailing, and the America’s Cup especially, has been doing this for nearly three decades, recognising that its sport is more difficult than most to understand.
This year, host broadcaster America’s Cup Media and and tech consultancy firm Capgemini have developed a system that can accurately capture and visualise real-time wind speed and direction data for the first time, using a combination of light detection and ranging (Lidar) technology, which is analogous to radar, and scientific computation. In doing so, viewers and commentators can identify a key variable and better understand tactics.
It’s a common trend. The NFL and Amazon are also using AI to create graphics that can identify the defensive scheme in real time, before the snap is made, and can highlight defensive players in an optimal position to disrupt the offence.
While some might scoff at expected goals, heat maps, and other initiatives, there is no denying that these efforts are bringing a new element to sport – and that there is an audience for them.
The America’s Cup has used computer-generated graphics for more than three decades (Image credit: America’s Cup)
The Football Manager series has been both commercially successful and hugely influential over the sport it simulates. It is effectively a ‘digital twin’ of the world of soccer, driving awareness of the global game, enhancing understanding of tactics and the soccer industry, and normalising the concept of data analytics. Many professional performance analysis and scouting tools are influenced by its user interface and feature set.
Yet due to the terms of the Premier League’s exclusive licence with EA Sports, English soccer’s top flight has long been absent in an official capacity – until now. The Premier League has recognised the importance of being able to reach the game’s passionate, knowledgeable audience, and has made its licensing agreements more flexible to ensure its engagement capabilities aren’t impacted by commercial agreements. Indeed, it is also working with Rezzil on an official VR title.
The NFL, which has had a similar exclusive arrangement with EA, is also working to increase its gaming reach with official VR titles and a presence in Roblox. It’s also given its licence to indie mobile darling Retro Bowl and has various Web 3.0 initiatives.
Meanwhile, properties that have had sporadic appearances in video games, such as Wimbledon, are doing their best to make sure they’re also visible to a wider, younger audience – in this case through Top Spin 2K25.
Rights holders are now making the same reach versus revenue calculations in the video game arena that have influenced broadcast deals for decades.
Speaking of Football Manager, this year’s edition will also be the first-ever version of the game to include women’s soccer – the culmination of a multi-year project. This builds on the recent addition of a women’s career mode in EA FC 25, and the launch of an unofficial fantasy game for the Women’s Super League.
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While these initiatives might seem trivial when compared to the fight for better pay, conditions, commercial deals, and media coverage, new digital experiences will be crucial in engaging existing fans and attracting new ones.
This article was first featured in the new and improved SportsPro Ignition newsletter – your essential guide to the world of sports technology, featuring the latest news, insights, and market intelligence into your inbox every fortnight. You can subscribe here.
