Sports

Since the first industrial revolution occurred in the late 18th century, sport has always been impacted by these historical events. Every one since has had a significant impact on sports. The love of sports is expanding yearly, and digitalization is showing up more and more in live sports, facilities, and the broadcasting of sports events and related information. With the rise of new concepts like connected stadiums, the Internet of Things (IoT), connected gadgets, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence—particularly computer vision—are, for example, having a significant impact on live sport. The worldwide sports sector is projected to generate over $700 billion in sales by 2026 (1). In the meantime, TV and radio are seeing growing competition from streaming services and social networks accessible through smartphones and tablets, such as Instagram, TikTok, and Twitch, particularly from younger audiences. Sports gaming has also grown immensely popular, with over 3 billion users by 2022. E-sports and fantasy sports in particular are seeing substantial revenue growth and audience augmentation. Athletes are generating profit for teams and businesses by increasing fan engagement; the most successful have become household names. As a result, even while working with well-known brands might come with significant upfront expenses, there is a growing understanding of the value of utilizing these names in sponsorships, advertising, licensing, and broadcasting rights to increase merchandise and derivative sales. The environment in which the fourth industrial revolution has emerged is tremendously uneven. In fact, the second or third industrial revolutions are currently ongoing in some regions of the global south. There are still about 1.3 billion individuals without access to energy. Four billion people do not have access to the internet, primarily in developing nations.