IT Services Vendors Embrace Digital Transformation to Revolutionize the Sports and Entertainment Industry

IT Services Vendors Pursue Opportunities in the Sports and Entertainment Industry

Like every other industry, sports has undergone digital transformation in recent years, greatly improving operations within the industry and fundamentally changing the fan experience. Every major sporting event is enhanced by analytics, both at an operational level and for the fans, and other elements core to IT services, such as cybersecurity and automation, have become fundamental to running a sports operation.

 

Not surprisingly, IT services companies and consultancies have jumped on the bandwagon, increasingly associating their brands with major sport events and leagues, not simply as sponsors but also now as digital transformation, AI and analytics partners.

 

The sports and entertainment industry segment typically contributes a small share of revenue for the 31 vendors covered in TBR’s IT Services Vendor Benchmark compared to established industries such as financial services, public sector and manufacturing. However, an increasing number of IT services providers are building specialized expertise to address the needs of clients in sports and entertainment and to diversify revenue streams. Applying capabilities such as around digital design, secure infrastructure and data, and customer experience enables vendors to increase value and capture growth opportunities.

Specialized Expertise and History of Working with Clients in Sports and Entertainment Help Vendors Establish Credibility and Attract New Clients

IBM, Atos, Accenture and Infosys have well-established industry expertise and a history of working with clients in the sports and entertainment sector. In addition to those companies, other IT services providers are developing capabilities and building client relationships to capture opportunities in the sector.

 

Utilizing their solutions, expertise and reputation gained by working with clients in other sectors and applying that knowledge to the sports and entertainment industry enable vendors to expand their client reach. Vendors increasingly utilize digital design capabilities to add value. For example, IBM iX, the experience design business of IBM Consulting, developed a new AI commentary feature for the Wimbledon Championships utilizing watsonx to train the AI in the language of tennis, and then implemented the solution to create engaging commentary for event video clips.

IBM

Utilizes IBM Watsonx to Improve Fan Engagement

IBM has a 30-year partnership with the All England Lawn Tennis Club. To help more than 19 million fans globally follow the Wimbledon Championships more closely, IBM has been improving the digital experience of the tournament’s official app and website.

 

In June IBM announced a new feature for the app and website that provides personalized player stories as players advance through the tournament, utilizing data and generative AI (GenAI) from IBM’s watsonx platform. In addition to the Wimbledon Championships, IBM Consulting has been providing insights and improving experiences over the past several years for events such as the Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open and the Grammy Awards; improving user engagement and integrating AI, such as with the ESPN Fantasy Football app; and addressing storage and security needs, such as for the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

 

For example, IBM has been working with the Masters Tournament for more than 30 years to digitally transform the event by designing solutions and user interfaces and transforming back-end systems to deliver insights through golf data. IBM is utilizing GenAI to convert Masters data into AI-powered narration and insights about players and games.

 

In April IBM announced new fan features for the Masters app and Masters.com to improve the digital experience of the tournament that was held April 11-14. IBM Consulting collaborated with the Masters’ digital team to provide fans with shot-by-shot insights based on data-based projections and analysis for each hole, thanks to GenAI capabilities from IBM watsonx.

 

IBM has also been working with the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) for more than 30 years. In August IBM announced several fan features for the digital platforms of the 2024 U.S. Open that are powered by IBM watsonx to improve fan engagement and tournament coverage. IBM delivered AI-generated Match Report summaries for singles matches minutes after they were completed utilizing IBM’s Granite 13B large language model (LLM) and the USTA’s data and editorial guidelines. IBM also provided AI commentary with automated English-language audio and subtitles for singles match summaries. Fans also utilized the redesigned IBM SlamTracker experience offering that provides pre-live and post-match insights.

 

In September IBM and ESPN announced enhancements to the ESPN Fantasy app, which is powered by GenAI technologies from IBM watsonx. The new Top Contributing Factors feature within the Waiver Grade and Trade Grade features of the app provide analysis around grades. The grades that are assigned to players are created by AI models built with IBM watsonx, and the information is generated by IBM’s Granite LLM.

Atos

Every Olympics Must Run Flawlessly; there Are No Second Chances

Atos used its well-established expertise in the sports and entertainment industry to provide infrastructure services for the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics and enable a secure and digital Games experience for end users globally. The company has been providing services for the Olympic Movement since 1989. Atos established its relationship with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as a Worldwide IT Partner in 2001 and provided IT services for the first Winter Olympics in 2002 in Salt Lake City. Ensuring that the IT systems behind the Olympics run flawlessly every two years requires dedication and strict execution of processes and timelines.

 

Atos has been expanding its client roster in the sports and entertainment industry, applying its vast experience gained from the Olympics. In December 2022 Atos signed an eight-year deal with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to be the official technology partner for men’s national team competitions. Atos is assisting UEFA in managing, improving and optimizing its technology landscape and operations. It is also managing and securing the hybrid cloud environment and infrastructure that hosts UEFA’s services, applications and data. Atos is the official IT partner of UEFA National Team Football until 2030.

 

In March Atos announced plans to open a Sports Technology Center of Excellence (CoE) in its new Middle East and North Africa headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2Q24. The CoE will develop technology applications for athletes, fans and sports organizations in Saudi Arabia. The new CoE provides a way for Atos to capture opportunities in the local sports industry as Saudi Arabia works on its Vision 2023 to position as a host for leading international sporting events. The center will enable clients to explore solutions around digital transformation, cloud services, cybersecurity, decarbonization, application modernization, DevSecOps and edge computing. Atos provided cybersecurity and infrastructure services for the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games utilizing its Technology Operations Centre.

Accenture

Accenture Helps NFL Make Data-driven Decisions and Works with ESPN to Transform Sports Fan Experience

In May Accenture announced a five-year partnership with the NFL in which Accenture will be the Official Business and Technology Consulting Partner. Accenture will help the NFL make data-driven decisions in three business areas: football, financial operations and human resources. Accenture will also support the NFL across multiple areas such as transforming the league’s human capital systems, ERP and analytics, and driving efficiencies and automation across the NFL’s back-office functions.

 

In 2021 ESPN partnered with Accenture, Microsoft and Verizon with the goal of exploring ways to improve the fan experience in sports through technologies such as 5G, augmented reality and mobile edge computing. Accenture and ESPN launched the ESPN Edge Innovation Center to utilize technologies and jointly imagine, explore, conceive and prototype sports entertainment experiences and production capabilities. The combination of design and innovation capabilities with technology and industry expertise enabled Accenture to become ESPN’s Innovation and Founding Consulting Partner. Accenture and ESPN collaborate to enhance live sports broadcasting, develop consumer-facing products and improve the sports fan experience.

Infosys

Client Wins Such as Formula E and Ongoing Work with Grand Slam Tennis Tournaments Allow Infosys to Demonstrate Innovation Capabilities Beyond Traditional IT Services

Since 2015 Infosys has been the Digital Innovation Partner for the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour and the International Tennis Hall of Fame, transforming tennis through data, insights and digital experiences. For example, Infosys has been partnering with the ATP to develop digital assets. Infosys’ design capabilities and technical prowess continue to help it attract business in experience design and AI-powered services with sports and entertainment companies, particularly around tennis tournaments.

 

In March Infosys extended its digital innovation relationship with the ATP by three years, until 2026. The ATP will continue to benefit from Infosys’ capabilities in AI, data analytics and cloud. Since the beginning of the partnership in 2015, Infosys has deployed digital assets for ATP Tour, such as reinventing the ATP PlayerZone intranet portal; launched the ATP fan app; and developed systems integration (SI)-driven features powered by Infosys Topaz in the Infosys ATP Stats Center. Infosys and the ATP are also collaborating on the ATP Carbon Tracker, which monitors and helps offset the carbon footprint of players, supporting the ATP’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2040.

 

Outside of tennis, Infosys is the Official Digital Innovation Partner of Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks and New York Rangers. In May Infosys announced that it will be the official Digital Innovation Partner for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the global motorsport championship for electric cars, for the next three years. Infosys will deliver in-race analytics, improve fan engagement experiences and enhance sustainability reporting and tracking for Formula E.

 

Additionally, Infosys will develop a new AI-powered Fan Customer Data platform to engage 500 million fans by 2030; provide in-race insights utilizing GenAI capabilities through Infosys Topaz; and implement a sustainability data management tool based on AI to help Formula E reduce carbon emissions by 45% by 2030.