With the overall North American sports market projected to surpass $83 billion in value this year, the sports industry is showing little sign of slowing down.
If anything, digitization is shaking up every aspect of sports, transforming fan engagement with the advent of second-screen experiences, sports betting, NFTs, mixed reality and metaverse activations. There is a plethora of options that fans now have for consuming and interacting with sports content, that include streaming, broadcast, owned mobile apps, virtual worlds, online gaming, and, of course, social media. In this evolving space, sports organizations are reinventing themselves as multi-channel media companies, delivering always-on, platform-based experiences to their audiences – prompting sports marketers to become ever more sophisticated in how they approach fandom and the business of sport. How do brands navigate through this digitally supercharged sports world? We’ve put together a primer on some of the biggest sports trends and key marketing plays to watch out for in 2023.