In the past decade, viewership of sports events has significantly declined. While numbers have been increasing slightly over the past few years, there has been a significant shift in how fans consume sports media and events. There’s a good reason for this. Fans have everything they need at home, watching games over high-speed Internet while using other devices for fan engagement at the same time.
The data-driven experience is one of the main reasons for the decline of attendance across stadiums all over the world. Of course, ticket prices, lack of parking, and other stuff are reasons for in-person viewership, too. The good news is that the sports industry has learned from this, tweaking its approach to a data-driven one in order to drive fans back to stadiums.
The Importance in Matchday Data
The sports industry has been trying to transform fans into super fans in the past decade. Interactive quizzes and polls during games, live streams with all kinds of data, and social media interaction have all been designed to engage sports fans. It’s safe to say that it has backfired in a way. Together with high ticket prices, lack of parking spots, and a few other factors, modern-day sports consumption has truly changed how we experience football.
The modern-day football super fan isn’t at the stadium. They sit comfortably in their homes, watching games in full HD streams or even 4K on their big screens. Most of them also use a second screen, such as a smartphone, to engage with other fans on social media, track various data, or even do some in-play football betting.
Football sportsbooks have elevated these experiences even more. They provide all kinds of team and player stats, visualisations, live scores, and even offer rewards for engaging with media on their social media sites. In short, football betting sites and the data-driven approach the sports industry uses to keep fans engaged give fans no reason to switch their home with stadiums, at least not like they did in the past.
To persuade fans to leave their homes, teams need to do harder. Over the past couple of years, many have done their homework looking for ways to drive attendance back to stadiums. The answer lies in the same thing that mostly drove fans away from stadiums – matchday data.
Integrating Data to Drive Fan Experience
Integrating data in stadiums has already been used to some extent in other sports such as basketball and American football. Just take a look at what NBA and NFL teams are doing to keep fans engaged. They use app promotions to drive attendance up, giving fans some goodies when they visit the game.
It won’t always be a gift – more like a discount on app food or drink orders. Additionally, all NBA and NFL matches are covered with tons of data on the big screen at stadiums and arenas, allowing fans to interact with the data similar to how they do from their homes.
Of course, integrating data in stadiums won’t fix the attendance problem alone. The decrease in viewership has declined because of other factors, too. But, making the in-person experience as convenient and as affordable as possible will surely have positive effects on the fan experience.
When fans go to a stadium to watch a football game, they spend most of the time glued to their seats. If the match is boring, many of them will think of leaving earlier. In that way, they’ll escape the crowd and go home early. Teams want their fans engaged in their seats, so it’s crucial to give them something to interact with.
Keeping them closer to the game is one way to do so. Football stadiums all over the world are investing in expensive and huge scoreboard screens hanging above the field. They look great, but what makes them even better is the data driven on them. Unlike the past, these screens are used for more than just the current score. They display data about the match, integrating detailed match and player stats and offering unique views into the game.
Fans love this, as they can rely on that data to uncover new game narratives. This means engaging in content in many new ways, or using that data to place bets. Some fans will use the data to engage with others on social media, which is a huge plus when the game is slow. The key is to capture the fans’ attention.
Much of this data shown on the big screen is often provided by major football betting outlets. Football teams and bookies collaborate on this and other engaging ways to keep fans occupied during games. For example, during half-time or in slower periods, gamification can keep fans occupied by offering them interactive quizzes, fan challenges, and other competitions.
To sum it up, digital applications in and around the venue give football fans an engaging aspect that they can’t receive at home. Fans can connect via various communication mediums to connect with other fans, making them feel like part of the event itself.
Making the Digital Data Leap
Bayern Munich was one of the earliest adopters of the data-driven fan engagement approach. A few years ago, the club further modernized its home, the Allianz Arena, for a more connected and data-driven fan experience. In collaboration with Stats Perform, the club mounted over 1,200 screens around the stadium, along with unique video walls with real-time matchday data content that engages fans on a whole new level.
Many other clubs have been looking at the same approach. Barcelona’s new Camp Nou is said to offer a similar experience. Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu was modernized a couple of years back, adding a seamless screen that runs around the whole perimeter of the stadium, and 10 large rear screens that display all the data. It’s only the second stadium in the world with such a seamless screen, marking a technical innovation driven by data.
The future will see other clubs approach the problem of in-person fan attendance in new and exciting ways. It’s a whole new world of interaction and a bright future for football match consumption indeed.
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