Why Sports Companies Have To Be Wary About The Information That They Share

Innovation and Technology
5 min readAug 18, 2019

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The fans have always been a big part of sporting events and are the reason why certain events have grown to become the prominent names that they are. Several technological advances have changed the manner in which fans are able to partake in the entire experience and are now changing the manner in which several events operate. This has caused widescale changes within the sporting industry and has led several organizations to a point wherein they have to rethink the work that they are doing.

Fan engagement is always something that is essential for the overall success of a sporting event. When you take a look at football, for example, the World Cup would not be at the scale that it currently is if it wasn’t for the fans. Big companies would not invest in these events to advertise if they didn’t have the massive audience that they could potentially reach out to. The relationship that fans have with the players of these teams is also something that fills up the stadiums and keeps people tuning in for more. Without the fan base, a sport would not be able to reach the international viewership that it normally gets.

With the recent developments that the sporting industry has been witnessing, the manner in which fans interact with the sport and the players has changed on a significant level. Advances in media and technology have made the impossible possible and have enabled fans to interact on a level that they have never interacted on before. These new innovations and improvements are not only making things more accessible for players but are also offering a wider scale of opportunities for fans and players alike. However, it is important to note that these new developments, no matter how great they may be, come with a certain amount of legal implications and challenges. These can sometimes alter the manner in which these opportunities can be presented and can make things easier, or more difficult for the companies that are involved in this entire experience.

Brodies Give Their Opinion

Brodies is a law firm that operates out of Scotland. The company is known for offering its services to sporting companies and teams who are on the lookout for expert legal opinions when it comes to the work that they do and the things that they engage in. The company is known for working with a wide range of clients and companies and has offered their legal services to some of the biggest names in the sporting industry. The company’s Managing Associate, Andy Nolan recently took to an interview to give his take on the entire situation that companies are currently in and the legal implications that present themselves in these situations. According to Nolan, the new GDPR that has been imposed is what is causing major changes to the industry as we know it. GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation and is a new form of privacy and data protection law that has been passed within the EU. According to this law, several issues that were being faced by the industry, including those of data protection, compliances and several others could easily be taken care of. This was something that was being considered as a game-changer because of the numerous solutions that it offered to some of the more notable things that these companies were once facing.

In the interview, Nolan also outlined the role that fan engagement will play in the developments that sporting companies want to partake in. He stated that many sporting giants are now starting to move in a direction that focuses on fan engagement and the entire experience that fans have access to. The aim of these companies is now on the different ways in which technology can be used to elevate the entire fan experience and the ways in which they can improve the interest that people have in a certain team or company. Attracting followers is one of the major concerns for many companies and implementing good technological solutions is one of the best ways to ensure a positive outcome in this regard.

Moving In A Positive Direction

Efficiency is always something that companies all over the world aspire to achieve. No matter what field a company is operating in, reaching a point wherein they can operate at their most efficient is always desirable. The same applies to sports companies who are now implementing technology to improve the work that they do. Even though technology might not directly be used in a particular sport, it is something that can significantly improve the kind of work that is being done and the engagement that is being generated. Generating income is one of the main goals of these companies, other than winning at the sport that they are known for engaging in. Companies have to generate their income from the wins that they achieve, and also from the fans that are supporting them. Fans are always ready to buy or partake in an experience that features some of their favorite teams and players, and capitalizing on this is always important for companies that want to earn a considerable amount and be in a good financial position. Development in this manner also gets more people engaged, who otherwise would have not been interested if it were not for the experience that is brought onto them.

Information Is Key

Engagement might be an ideal that sporting companies want to attain, but being able to apply that in a practical manner is not always the easiest for big sports companies, especially when the engagement that fans want is with the individual players and not the company itself. Fans of a certain team or player want to know more about the players, the lives that they lead, the statistics that they have and the routines that they follow. Fans also want to be in on the daily lives of their favorite players and want to know about what makes them the great players that they currently are. With improvements in technology, all of these interests that fans tend to have is fulfilled. Simple things like social media are brilliant to let fans know what each of their favorite players is upto. Things like player statistics and game information are brilliant for fans who want to be engaged with the technical side of their favorite players and who want to know more about the efficiency level that their favorite players are playing at.

While most of this technology about players and their lives may be enticing to fans who want to know more, there is always the risk that these players have to face owing to the negative impact of information sharing. It is easier than ever to track a person’s movements and even to misuse their information, especially ones that are out there for all to see. This means that companies have to be cautious while revealing this information, and have to take steps to ensure that the information that is being given out is not misused in any manner.

Currently, there is a fine line between what can be easily shared and the things that stand as violations. The abuse of data is a very prevalent threat that presents itself, which sporting companies have to take care of in order to protect their players as well as their information.

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Innovation and Technology
Innovation and Technology

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