# Immersiv.io at Global Sports Week 2021: Reinvention in action!

11/02/2021

_Immersiv.io participated in the [Global Sports Week 2021](https://www.globalsportsweek.com/) at the beginning of February. GSW is the biggest forum for the **sports world economy** in France, gathering sports leagues’ leaders, famous athletes, media or institutions all over the world. This year, the event has turned completely virtual, and our **startup** had the chance to join the virtual Marketplace on behalf of [Le Tremplin Sport](https://letremplin.parisandco.paris/), the incubator it collaborated with a few years ago and which remains a choice partner._

## **Discussing the Future of Sport: Connected, Engaged, Equal & Green**

The Global Sports Week 2021’ tagline was **Reinvention in action!** The overall purpose of this event in this very special time for sports was to take the opportunity to **reset the ecosystem** and change the aging models to bring more **innovation in sports**. In recent months, many changes have been accelerating “thanks to” the crisis (reimagining media platforms, digitalization of clubs & leagues, turning to new sports and the rise of eSports…). The use of technology has become inevitable to help shake the lines of the sports industry & shape the future of sporting events, **more digital** and with a **more positive impact** on society.

Sports positive impact is becoming a huge topic, driven by **Gen Z**, who is politically engaged, and who seeks **equality**, **sharing**, **interactivity**, athlete empowerment & ecology as core values in their favorite sports. Throughout the event, the **Young Sports Makers** have represented the voice of this younger generation and were an interesting example of how sports stakeholders need to listen to this **connected** and **committed** generation in the future.

At Immersiv.io, we’re also convinced that technology will create new opportunities for sports brands to **engage with their fans**, and will help to **reimagine interactions & content consumption** between brands and audiences. Tech innovation will also be an opportunity to **attract the younger fans** and impress them with new types of experiences, which is very important in a world where the **battle for attention** is at the heart of global media consumption.

Just 1 in 4 Gen Z sports fans said watching live events is an important part of being a fan

(source: [Morning Consult](https://morningconsult.com/2020/12/09/gen-z-future-of-live-sports/))

## **Innovation in Football: driven by the new sports media consumption**

During a roundtable discussion gathering the Bundesliga, UEFA & AWS, it was the occasion for the football industry to share interesting perspectives on the future of **sports media consumption**. No doubt that the fans today, and especially the younger ones, are looking for a completely **personalized experience**: they are craving for interactive feeds, they want to command the **stats** & choose videos from different angles as much as staying connected on **social media**. These options are made possible by using technologies such as **augmented reality** (see examples of [AR experiences in Sports](/content/blog/ar-digital-experiences-sports/index.html)) and tech innovation will improve the user experience over time, in-stadium or at home.

> “Data creates momentum, engagement and interactions for fans”  
> \- Robert Klein CEO [@Bundesliga_DE](https://twitter.com/Bundesliga_DE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) during a [#GSW](https://twitter.com/hashtag/GSW?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#DATAshift](https://twitter.com/hashtag/DATAshift?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) panel on 'innovation in football' featuring influential decision makers from [@UEFA](https://twitter.com/UEFA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw), [@awscloud](https://twitter.com/awscloud?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw), [@Endeavor_Stream](https://twitter.com/Endeavor_Stream?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) and [@n3xtsports](https://twitter.com/n3xtsports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [pic.twitter.com/P6teXO0T1W](https://t.co/P6teXO0T1W)  
> — Global Sports Week (@GSWParis) [February 5, 2021](https://twitter.com/GSWParis/status/1357672410368126976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

It’s a shared opinion that when consuming sports media, each individual would want to focus on his/her own interest and **personalization will be a key in the future**. Generation X and later are already consuming **customized, on-demand content**, in a way that they request data & video to come in specific types for specific places. In addition, sports fans consume sports on tablet or phones, **the big screen is almost gone**, and when it is there, it is used together with a **second screen** on which they are looking for different **interactions**. At Immersiv.io, we’re convinced that AR will be a key technology to meet these new consumer’s expectations in the years to come (see more about our [solution for clubs & leagues ARISE](/content/arise/index.html)).

Many other interesting subjects have been covered during the Global Sports Week 2021, and the **impact of eSport** was also discussed, as the convergence of technology and virtual competitions has permitted [eSports to clearly integrate the global sports ecosystem](/content/blog/sports-industry-esports-covid-19/index.html) recently.