Sports Technology Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Technology Type (Devices, Smart Stadium, Analytics & Statistics, Esports), By Sports, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 - 2025

Industry Insights

The global sports technology market size was valued at USD 9.80 billion in 2018 and is estimated to register a CAGR of 20.3% over the forecast period. Over the past years, there have been several developments in the sports industry. The growing number of sports leagues across the globe are expected to create substantial opportunities for companies operating in the market. The coupling of technology and sports is empowering a data-driven sports culture and driving the next-generation of viewing, fitness tracking, and stadium experience.

Lately, sports stadiums have been renovated considerably to offer a complete experience around events, covering a wide range of aspects such as operational efficiency, viewer experience, enhanced security, and smart parking. Moreover, the increasing adoption of IoT technologies for adequate management of stadium infrastructure is expected to be a key factor driving the market growth over the forecast period. Furthermore, escalating demand for data-driven decisions and operations in the sports industry also offers traction to market growth. Smart stadium owners are providing stadium apps to spectators, which enables them to know the parking spaces and the location of the seat using their mobile phones.

The significant improvements in audience engagement and upcoming sports events across the globe are anticipated to surge the demand for sports technology over the forecast period. The increasing adoption of IoT technologies for improved management of stadium infrastructure is expected to be a key factor driving the growth of the market over the forecast period. Artificial intelligence-based sports analytics are being used in developing strategies for scouting new talent, boosting individual performance, reducing injuries, and so on. Additionally, the legalization of sports betting by the U.S. Supreme Court in most states such as Illinois, Iowa, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, among others, is also expected to positively influence the growth of the market in the coming years.

Besides, the use of big data analytics and artificial intelligence-based solutions in sports events has enabled effective handling of online ticketing, performance evaluation, sponsorship activations, and athlete training, among others. This is further expected to propel the market growth over the forecast period. The development of new kinds of sports technologies has helped in making players stronger and enabled improvements in training programs for various sports events. For instance, the Adidas miCoach Elite System is being used by Major League Soccer (MLS) to determine athletic performance such as acceleration, distance, power, and speed.

On the flip side, deployment of sports technology requires a high initial investment and a long timeframe for the return on investment. This is expected to restrain the growth of the market. Moreover, increasing risk of technology glitches are expected to challenge the sports technology market growth. Additionally, the complexities involved in replacing and upgrading legacy systems are also expected to hinder the market growth.

Technology Type Insights

Based on technology type, the market for sports technology has been segmented into devices, smart stadium, analytics & statistics, and esports. The smart stadium technology segment dominated the market and accounted for 57.4% of the overall revenue share in 2018. Digital transformation would provide considerable benefits to all spectators and stadium owners. The smart stadium concept involves the integration of several technologies for crowd management, ticket management, determining availability of parking space, and seat upgradation. It also covers the Wi-Fi network, closet bathroom queue, food ordering, social media updates, merchandise purchasing, incident & emergency response management, integrated security system, and smart lighting, among others.

The wearable devices technology segment dominated the devices segment in 2018 and is expected to continue to do so over the forecast period. Wearable devices and sensors can be integrated into several accessories such as wristwear, garments, eyeglasses, and shoes owing to the advanced integration technologies and their compact size. Furthermore, the esports segment growth is driven by the sponsorship & advertisements segment, which accounted for the largest market share in 2018. Additionally, the growing enthusiasm for offline esports such as the Overwatch League and Call of Duty World League is creating significant growth opportunities for advertisers and sponsors to build customer loyalty and brand image.

Sports Insights

Based on sports, the market for sports technology has been segmented into American football/rugby, baseball, basketball, cricket, golf, ice hockey, tennis, soccer, and others. Soccer is considered to be the most popular sport as soccer fans are spread across the globe. The soccer segment dominated the sports segment and accounted for a share of 15.1% of the overall market revenue in 2018. In soccer, sports technology is used for undertaking informed decisions and gaining actionable insights on a player’s fitness. In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was used to help on-field referees with controversial match decisions.

The basketball segment is estimated to register a CAGR of 21.0% over the forecast period. Several wearable technology companies are focusing on automating data analysis and providing actionable & insightful data pertaining to various parameters such as speed and heart rate. For instance, ShotTracker is a real-time sensor-based platform, which captures stats and performance analytics. Moreover, companies such as STATSports Group and WHOOP are focused on developing new ways to adopt wearable technologies in basketball games, thus, augmenting the segment growth.

Regional Insights

The European region dominated the market and accounted for 30.1% of the share in 2018. The growth of the region can be accredited to the wide-scale adoption of advanced technologies in stadiums, coupled with an increasing number of sports leagues/events. Moreover, the increasing popularity of BYOD and rising demand for comfortable viewing experience are some of the factors driving the market in Europe. Additionally, Europe is predicted to hold a significant market share of smart stadiums owing to the presence of more than 1,200 stadiums.

Asia Pacific is expected to register a significant CAGR of 23.0% over the forecast period and is expected to reach USD 10, 802.33 million by 2025. Sports organizations such as the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Melbourne Cricket Association, New Zealand Cricket, and Sahara Force India use smart technologies for hosting domestic and international tournaments. A growing number of tournaments are encouraging the construction of new stadiums and renovation of the existing ones in countries such as India, China, Australia, Singapore, and Japan. This is expected to further propel the regional market growth.

Sports Technology Market Share Insights

The key industry competitors include Apple Inc.; Cisco Systems, Inc.; Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson; Fitbit, Inc.; Fujitsu; Garmin Ltd.; IBM Corporation; Modern Times Group MTG; Oracle; Panasonic Corporation; Samsung; SAP SE; and Sony Corporation. These companies are focused on strategic expansions to expand their presence in untapped markets. For instance, in June 2018, Fujitsu announced the commencement of the operations of its subsidiary, RUN.EDGE, in Japan. The company is expected to offer ICT-based image-analysis and image-search services for the sports industry in the country.

The growing number of events with massive prize pools and increasing number of sports leagues across the developed & emerging economies are generating various lucrative opportunities for the market players. The market is consolidated in nature owing to the presence of a limited number of players. The players are significantly investing in research and development activities to develop new and innovative technologies and maintain their position in the market. For instance, in April 2018, Fitbit, Inc., a global wearables provider, collaborated with Google LLC to accelerate innovation in digital health and wearables.

Report Scope

Segments covered in the report

This report forecasts revenue growth at the global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2015 to 2025. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global sports technology market report on the basis of technology type, sports, and region:

• Technology Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)

  • Devices

  • Wearables

  • Digital Signage

  • Camera

  • Smart Stadium

  • Software

  • Stadium & Public Security

  • Building Automation

  • Event Management

  • Others

  • Services

  • Analytics & Statistics

  • Esports

  • Tickets & Merchandise

  • Sponsorship & Advertisement

  • Others

• Sports Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)

  • American Football/Rugby

  • Baseball

  • Basketball

  • Cricket

  • Golf

  • Ice Hockey

  • Tennis

  • Soccer

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)

  • North America

    • The U.S.

    • Canada

    • Mexico

  • South America

    • Brazil

    • Argentina

    • Rest of South America

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • U.K.

    • France

    • Italy

    • Rest of Europe

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

    • South Korea

    • Rest of Asia Pacific

  • Middle East & Africa