Digital technology takes sport into a new dimension

In 1903, the year of the first Tour de France, you had to open a newspaper – notably L’Auto, the forerunner of L’Équipe and creator of the event – to read the stage summaries.
The first revolution came in 1929, when radio made it possible to follow the riders’ adventures throughout the day.
And, from 1948 onwards, the Grande Boucle made its way onto the small screen, giving spectators an even greater opportunity to immerse themselves in the heart of the competition.
The Internet, smartphones and social networks have brought the event into a new era, breaking down the walls between fans, professionals and journalists who follow the cyclists’ offensives live.
Finally, since the last Tour de France, all 198 riders have been equipped with a GPS sensor under their saddle.
Using their smartphones on a dedicated website, informed viewers can, between two tweets about a breakaway, find out the exact position or speed of their favorite rider.
As for team managers, a few clicks on their computer provides them with information on the positioning of their troops, enabling them to fine-tune their strategy live.
New media and new technologies have always revolutionized the world of sport.
Digital technology, with its legions of connected objects, applications and screens, is no exception.
Professional sportsmen and women now make extensive use of Big Data, i.e. the analysis of megadata, to dissect and improve their performances.
This is particularly true of the French rugby team.
As part of the World Cup, the team is making extensive use of these tools to support its players.
And the Sunday sportsman is not forgotten either.
For running, for example, which has been very fashionable in recent years, the wave of applications known as quantified self, dedicated to self-evaluation of performance, is proliferating.

Connected rackets and balls

Among them, RunKeeper boasts over 30 million users.
This GPS-enabled application collects a wealth of data on its users, such as heart rate and speed.
By analyzing this information, the app turns into a personal trainer, sending out batteries of advice and indications (such as the number of calories burned) during and after exercise.
And once you’ve completed your jog, you can share your performance on social networks.

In his view, the future of tennis is bound to be connected:

” The player can now measure himself, but also compare himself to others, via the dedicated application. […] Connected tennis enriches the player’s experience and also takes him or her out of isolation. By 2020, there will be nothing but connected tennis.

The same trend applies to basketball.
American sports equipment manufacturer Wilson has recently launched the Wilson X. Equipped with a non-rechargeable battery – whose autonomy corresponds to ” the evaluation of around 100,000 shots” – this sensor-packed e-ball allows you to analyze your game via a dedicated smartphone application.

On-board cameras for skiing and diving

Once the preserve of a select few, some practices are now finding their audience and sponsors on the Internet.
Such is the case of base-jumping.
This extreme sport consists in throwing yourself into the void from a fixed point (such as a cliff or antenna), activating your parachute at the last moment.
Today, many base-jumpers share videos of their jumps on YouTube, thanks to GoPro cameras attached to their helmets.
From skiing to scuba diving, this type of use is becoming increasingly popular.
Last year, some 5.2 million GoPro cameras were sold worldwide.
Some videos are even breaking all records.
Three years ago, Austrian Felix Baumgartner’s record-breaking free-fall jump from a capsule at an altitude of 39,000 m drew the crowds.
Sponsored by the Red Bull energy drink brand, the event was followed live by almost 7 million people on the Web.
These new “sports experiences”, as the experts call them, are increasingly attracting investors.
And it’s a sure sign that innovative startups are flourishing in this new ecosystem.
And one fund-raising round follows another.
Last spring, startup PIQ, which makes a multisport mini-capacitor to record, visualize and share athletes’ performances, raised $5.5 million.
A subsidiary of Octonion, a Swiss software and services company, the startup secured this windfall from a number of high-profile investors, including Taiwan’s Foxconn, one of Apple’s biggest subcontractors for electronic components.
In another niche, French company BodyCap is developing a connected capsule.
Called e-Celsius, it measures the temperature of its host.
For BodyCap’s directors, this technology should make it possible to learn more about the bodies of marathon runners during their effort, and in particular to eliminate the risks of hyperthermia they face.
The company – which has forged partnerships with Orange Healthcare and Samsung – raised 1 million euros a few months ago.
It is aiming for sales of 2 to 3 million euros by 2016.
At the same time, this wealth of information and content is opening up new opportunities for all those involved in broadcasting major sporting events.
Such is the case for Euro Media Group (EMG).
This specialist in technical and audiovisual services films sports programs and competitions for TV channels.
The company produces Ligue 1 matches for Canal+, some Rugby World Cup matches, and footage of the Tour de France.
Recently, EMG doubled down on the so-called “second screen” segment (such as smartphones and tablets), acquiring Netco Sports, a startup specialized in this field.

It’s absolutely fundamental,” explains Thierry Drilhon, head of Euro Media Group. When they watch a soccer match, viewers, especially young people, are no longer as focused on television as they used to be. Quite often, they have their phones at hand to access other content and enrich their experience.”

The irresistible rise of the “second screen

EMG, which was behind the initiative to install sensors under riders’ saddles, hopes to create an application that will offer fans of the Grande Boucle additional information to what they see on television.
For Thierry Drilhon, second-screen services appear to be strategic, at a time when the market for tablets and smartphones is booming.
He cites the Canal Football App, also developed by Netco Sports.

” You can review the goals and the best actions of a match.
But you can also access a wealth of additional information, he explains.
For example, ” we can find out how many kilometers footballer Lionel Messi has covered since kick-off, or how many goals he has scored in the competition”, explains the EMG boss.

Boris Helleu, a lecturer at the University of Caen Basse-Normandie and a specialist in sports management, shares this analysis.
” Whether you’re in the stadium or in front of the TV, it’s more and more the screen in your hand,” he observes.

” When you look at Médiamétrie’s data on Twitter audiences, a good half of the most commented TV programs are live sports broadcasts, and soccer matches in particular,” he adds.

New growth drivers

In his opinion, this “major trend” is one of the reasons why clubs and federations are betting heavily on the mobile to find new growth drivers.
This is the logic behind “stadiums 2.0”, such as the new Olympique Lyonnais stadium.
The new 60,000-seat arena will feature 300 screens in around 100 boxes, as well as 500 wi-fi terminals for up to 25,000 simultaneous connections.
Thanks to a special application, fans will be able to order their drinks online, avoiding the usual long queues.
With this connectivity and these new services, the club hopes that its guests will put their money where their mouths are.
At the same time, they will be able to publish as much content as possible about the show on offer, to enhance the club’s aura.
This is a crucial point, given that clubs are increasingly seeking to monetize their digital audience with their sponsors and financial partners.
OL is no exception in this respect.
The club has a “SociOL room”, i.e. a room in the stadium dedicated to its community organizers, along with a few hand-picked supporters.
Their role?
Bring the matches to life on social networks.
But also (and above all) to ensure maximum visibility for its main sponsor, Hyundai, who oversees the initiative.
The carmaker’s community animators are therefore present in the room.
Their task?
Write tweets on social networks linked to the match and promoting the brand, which will be dutifully retweeted by their OL counterparts.
Hyundai’s objective is very clear:

” It’s about driving people to our own social networks, but also to our dealerships”, a manager in charge of the manufacturer’s sports partnerships tells Europe1.fr.

Adding value to your digital audience

Federations are also investing in this lucrative niche.
Boris Helleu explains:

” You’re the FFF [French Football Federation], you have a super-product called the French soccer team. And you have partners like PMU, KFC, Carrefour, etc. and millions of fans on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. What do you do to keep your sponsors happy on social media? You can simply mention them to generate traffic on their own sites, but also organize contests… Clearly, you’re adding value to your digital audience in your sponsorship contracts.”

All these legions of fans can also be converted into marketing databases, continues the specialist.

” We can use their Twitter and Facebook profiles to send out mailings. Or we can generate traffic in physical stores through specific operations. During a match, we can offer fans on Twitter a -10% promotion [on shirts, scarves or balls, for example, editor’s note].”

The sports industry has wasted no time in embracing the digital revolution.
And to transform it, without delay, into hard cash.