Our clients often ask us to analyze and report on trends that will impact the sports and marketing worlds in order to stay ahead of competition and prepare for the future. As 2022 comes to a close, we wanted to highlight some of the most interesting trends we reported on this year that will continue to impact our industry in 2023 and beyond.
Sports Betting

The impact of sports betting in our industry is far-reaching. Not only has it become a key driver of fan engagement across sports, but the competition for market share amongst major sportsbooks has created a popular new sponsorship and advertising category. This has resulted in  new revenue sources for both properties and media rights holders. Sports betting is projected to become a $10B industry by 2028. For context, the entire film industry generated $11B in 2019 pre-COVID.

Changes to College Athletics

NIL was the most frequently discussed subject this year on the Navigating Sports Business podcast as AJ Maestas interviewed several athletic directors, conference commissioners, and other decision-makers in collegiate athletics.

Despite its significance, it was not the only impactful story at the college level. Conference realignment and College Football Playoff expansion (a 12-team CFP was officially announced for 2024 and 2025) each generated their fair share of headlines and are set to have powerful long-term effects on the financial futures of athletic departments and media partners across the country.

 

Fan Growth

At a time when the established pro sports leagues are thriving in the U.S., other niche sports are finding unique ways to grow fanbases. Below we explore some of the sports and leagues we’re following and what their ascension means for the domestic sports market.

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the U.S. and has eclipsed . For context, 18M people in the U.S. play tennis. We’ve seen noteworthy investments from the likes of Tom Brady, LeBron James, Mark Cuban, and many others. Pickleball’s popularity as a participant sport is undeniable, but its strength as a spectator sport and its future as a revenue-generator are still widely debated.

Formula1 races on ABC average the same number of TV viewers as NBA games on ESPN.

Netflix’s Drive to Survive follows the Formula 1 season, garnering over 4M viewers on opening weekend this season.

In total, the Drive to Survive season generated an astonishing $42.2 million in sponsorship exposure value in the first two weeks following the season’s March 11th release. Earlier this year, we dove deeper in the numbers behind the show’s impact on F1 sponsors.

The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) increased viewership 500% during the pandemic by forming content deals with CBS, Paramount+ and Twitch in order to get eyes on the product. Now, it’s paying off with increased team values, new investments, and a growing fanbase.

The 2022 NWSL Championship between the Portland Thorns and the Kansas City Current was the most-watched game in league history with an average of 915,000 viewers, a 71% increase from 2021’s championship match, according to The Athletic. Another sign of positive momentum, the NCAA women’s volleyball championship between Nebraska and Wisconsin averaged a 0.6 rating and 1.19 million viewers on ESPN2 which was the largest audience for the event since it began airing on the ESPN networks per Sports Media Watch.

One of the biggest hurdles for women’s sports has been reaching desired levels of media coverage. The last few years have seen the launch of outlets like The Gist and Just Women’s Sports that attempt to balance out the distribution of coverage. The positive trajectory of women’s sports remains closely-tied to exposure and will be something to monitor in the new year.

Augmented Reality

We’re keeping our eyes on the evolution of AR technology, including the development of Mojo Vision, an AR-capable contact lens. Mojo Vision lenses include a microLED display just .5 mm across to project text, graphics and hi-res video onto wearer’s retina.

More ways to access content naturally lead to new methods of sports consumption, as well as sponsorship activation.

NBA fans with an Oculus have already had access to stream live games in virtual reality. 2023 will bring new activations within the metaverse, but the more impactful changes may come with AR rather than VR. This AR content will not only be viewed through AR glasses, but a large share of the content will be accessible using a cellphone camera.

What Will We Be Following in 2023?

The trends highlighted above all impacted the sports industry in 2022, with no signs of slowing down. Keep an eye on our blog and social media in the coming months as we continue to monitor these trends and other significant developments in the sports industry. The future of streaming platforms on sports is a frequently discussed topic in our Navigate Slack channels, along with private equity investments in sports, and how organizations are preparing for a potential economic downturn.

We’ve also taken an interest in following emerging technologies that have the potential to impact far more than just the sports industry including AI-generated content, autonomous vehicles, and even near-space tourism.

What other trends would you like to see analyzed? If you have suggestions for what we should discuss in 2023 or questions on any of the above, reach out to Matt@NVGT.com.