SEPTEMBER | AGENDA
50% of sports fans would rather watch team on TV
required installing a specialist DCP
compliant projector and screen.
Robinson added: “The key achievement
for the evening was Tim O’Brien
undertaking a Moon bounce live on
stage at 1am. This involved sending
signals which were audio supplied by
Kraftwerk, New Order and Anna Calvi
transferred into radio waves. They
were then sent via skype to a telescope
in the Netherlands. The team at
Dwingello Telescope then transmitted
the radio signal at the moon and Jodrell
Bank Telescope Mark II picked up the
returning signal, relayed it to Tim on
stage where he transferred it from radio
wave to sound wave and played it out
of the speakers to the audience. All in
the space of less than three seconds and
in the presence of Kraftwerk who were
sitting in the front row taking it all in.
The arts programme included Luke
Jerhams Moon, a scale replica of the
Lunar landing module and a projection
piece from Illimunos.
Robinson said the event is about
being a fan of experiences and
delivering something that you would
‘want to see yourself’. This year also
featured RFID by Playpass.
Full suppliers list at accessaa.co.uk
According to SportBusiness Intelligence,
50% of UK sports fans would rather follow
their chosen sport on TV than watch it live,
prompting industry experts to weigh in.
MEI’s COO Andy Rice said: “To me it
shows that event organisers still have
work to do to improve the fan experience.
Or perhaps, as most are selling out, they
don’t care? It certainly is a reminder not to
slip into complacency.“
68% of that 50% cite ‘the price of tickets’
for their decision to consume sport from
the sofa or on the go via the small screen.
Other factors included convenience; the
cost of travel; the hassle of travel; hassle
securing tickets; improved camera angles
and expert commentary. Many elements
that are outside rights holders’ control.
Rice added: “Rights holders have a
challenge. As broadcasters, who continue
to furnish them with large chunks of cash,
improve their content delivery and OTT
offers, how do they keep pace and ensure
their sports forums are filled to capacity,
and event day profits (I use this word
advisedly, as opposed to ‘revenues’) are
maximised?”
At the SportBusiness/Sportel Sports
Decision Makers Summit in July, experts
debated how to improve the event day
experience. Michael Cole, CTO, at the
PGA European Tour (which runs 46
tournaments a year across 30 countries)
explained: “We basically have to build a
town for every tournament. We no longer
see ourselves as a golfing organisation, but
an entertainment provider. Connectivity is
as basic a right to fans as latrines it
seems. The European Tour does
all it can to help fans amplify
their experience through
sharing images and video with
friends on social media.
“Additional fan benefits
are provided
by seamless
connectivity such
as wayfinding and
enhanced content.”
Cole illustrated the growing level
of content being shared with fans by
explaining, “in the last four years the
number of player data points captured
have increased from 23,000 to 700,000!”
The PGA have sophisticated crowd
tracking software which is used for safety
and security, but also to maximise merch’
and food and bev’ sales. Push notifications
are used to facilitate this.
AEG VP Global Partnerships’ Paul
Samuels added: “US Sports are very
different as they are there basically as
a background for a social experience-
eating, drinking and chatting; rather
than for the sport itself”. He was excited
about the trend to use push messaging in
augmented reality to create location-based
marketing and claimed that the festival
experience was setting the bar for bespoke
experiences- which will see a greater
diversification of ticket pricing.
Meanwhile, Tom Jones, senior principal
at Populous explained that, for the new
Spurs stadium, the company wanted fans
to arrive earlier and stay later: “We also
had to make it NFL friendly. We did that
predominantly by adding lots of additional
facilities and reasons to be there; but we
had to put the deep footballing traditions
at the heart of the project”.
Jones was delighted with description of
the new stadium as a ‘pub on steroids, with
a match taking place in the beer garden’.
He explained that the decision to go
cashless was based on service efficiency- to
minimise queuing and
maximise revenues.
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