The sports and entertainment market is undergoing significant change spurred on by the global pandemic, accelerating trends in digital adoption, and shifting cultural attitudes and behaviors. These changes include infusions of capital from new sources, a post-pandemic resurgence of spectator and participatory sports, balancing the books for college athletes, and a greater reliance on emerging and connected technologies. Together, these changes have the potential to redistribute power within the sports and entertainment market and create new pathways for unprecedented growth.
At Pivot International, we are a US-based global leader in helping companies capture value from emerging trends in sports and entertainment. With end-to-end services that span proof-of-concept, design and engineering, scalable manufacture, and distribution, we provide a secure, seamless, integrative development process and advanced product solutions for your innovation.
Sports and Entertainment Opportunity Segments
By surveying the sports and entertainment market landscape to better track and understand emerging changes and trends, businesses can more easily engineer new opportunities for capturing value from segments that include:
- Spectator and participatory sports organizations and leagues
- Sports players and fan
- Fitness and recreational centers
- Fitness enthusiasts
- Gamers, hobbyists, and other everyday consumers
Sports and Entertainment by the Numbers
The sports market can be divided into two overarching categories: participatory sports and spectator sports. Market reports and growth forecasts indicate that while participatory sports accounted for the largest segment at 72.1% of total growth in 2020, spectator sports are predicted to be the fastest growing segment at a CAGR of 11.1%, representing a gain of $136.7 billion of global annual sales by 2025.
The fitness and recreational centers market is the largest sub-segment of the participatory sports market, accounting for 39.9% of the total in 2020, with an expected CAGR of 10.9% between 2020-2025.
The entertainment market comprises a wide array of segments, with gaming representing a functional cross-over with sports. This sector is set to grow by USD 125.65 billion, progressing at a CAGR of 12% from 2020 to 2025.
Related to the gaming segment is the radio-controlled (RC) market that includes RC hobbyist vehicles. This market is expected to reach US$ 1761.3 million by the end of 2027, with a CAGR of 3.1% between 2021-2027.
Digitalization — The Top Trend in Sports and Entertainment
Digitalization continues to exert strong adaptive pressures on the sports and entertainment landscape. Sensors, IoT, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), data capture, and analytics are playing increasingly prominent roles in applications for these markets.
Thanks to the low-latency benefits of 5G, these digital, wireless, and cellular applications are picking up speed and rewriting the playbook for the sports and entertainment market. Applications include training, simulations, broadcasting, in-venue experiences, viewer-customization, and more. In short, companies are mobilizing to launch products that give customers the best of both physical and digital worlds while translating the energy and excitement of in-person events to digital experiences.
At Pivot, we deliver advanced AR, VR, sensor, and IoT expertise and deploy a diverse suite of digital product solutions, including Wi-fi 6, 5G, Bluetooth, LoRa, NB-IoT, Cat-M1, and more. These technologies are integral to the many sports and entertainment innovations we’ve developed, including fitness monitors, a contactless game controller, an indoor sports camera, and many other successful products.
Seizing Adjacent Opportunites
As companies seek to capitalize on digital evolution in the sports and entertainment space, they’ll need to wrestle with questions of utility vs. entertainment value. They’ll also need to examine how these technologies and their application stand to open adjacent market opportunities.
For example, Castle Creations, one of Pivot’s nine subsidiaries, first began doing business 25 years ago in the RC hobby sector. But as Castle developed its reputation for creating high-performance motors that rivaled those found in almost any other sector, it saw — and seized — the opportunity to become the go-to partner for industrial and commercial applications. Today, Castle has distinguished itself as the leading aftermarket specialist in low-weight, high-power, configurable ESC solutions, DC brushless motors, customized firmware, and high-performance fuel systems.
Looking to Launch a Successful Innovation?
If your company is gearing up to launch a new sports or entertainment innovation, Pivot brings 50 years of proven experience, in-house DFM (Design For Manufacture), and 320,000 square feet of manufacturing space (including options in the American Midwest). We will work closely with your team to understand your business objectives and make your product vision a winning reality. If you’d like to learn more about how we can support your business, contact us today.
