#94 🔗 Web3 in Sports: 5 highlights from 2024

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Our top 5 Web3 in sports highlights from the year, and there are some good ones in there. Plus some pretty major Private Equity related news, with the NFL & Premier League.

As always, have a great weekend!

Web3 in Sports: One block at a time

Have been to quite a few events this year, one highlight was SEG3.

Held in London and Los Angeles (we’ve only attended in London), the event “brings together the most innovative minds from Sports, Entertainment, Gaming & emerging technology to collectively shape the future.” as quoted from their website. As they say, It's all in the name.

While SEG3 covers the latest developments across “web3, GenAI, immersive technology, UGC gaming and more”, our interest lies primarily in Web3 in sports.

Now that the initial hype has passed, this space continues to make steady progress.

Our biggest takeaway from the event was the panel titled “Web3 x Sports: Building in 2024” that featured rights holders ATP Tour & McLaren Racing alongside sector stalwarts Sporting Crypto & Ready, talking about the interesting projects they’ve been working on.

I was particularly intrigued by McLaren Racing’s comment that their 78k member Discord server generates more engagement that their 14 mln Instagram page. Impressive.

Getting close to their most highly engaged fans is critical for any sports team or athlete. This community is crucial for gathering feedback, understanding sentiment, and potentially monetising in ways that the broader ‘casual fan’ can’t be.

Web3 based solutions, built fully or partly on-chain, provide a level of transparency and direct fan engagement that Web2 has yet to fully achieve.

The cash grab days are long gone. The NFT hype has passed. What’s being built now is focused on delivering value, and we’re keeping a close eye on what stands out.

Here are our five highlights from the year so far

• Man City had a pretty successful 2nd drop with their partner OKX, 50k+ shirts available (for free) as digital collectibles were all “sold out”

• Staying on digital merch, VFB Stuttgart just made their 2024/25 home and away jerseys available on the Roblox Marketplace for 100 Robux (~€ 1.5). The first Bundesliga club to do this.

• Watford FC made 10% digital equity (£17.5m @ 175m valuation) available through a crowdfunding platform Republic, with the option to tokenise. Till date £5.1m has been raised, it’s still open.

• adidas have been quite busy, first working with Move-To-Earn platform STEPN, then with Juventus on digital fashion and more recently with their Summer of Sport digital collectibles

• In the last month, Manchester United and the PGA Tour have announced Web3 games

Like any good blockchain, Web3 in sports is being built one block at a time. Stay tuned—there’s plenty more to come.

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Top News from the World of Sports Biz & Tech

⛵ Capgemini and America’s Cup announced a new innovation - Windsight IQ. The tech visualises the wind live on screen, allowing fans and commentators to better understand optimum routes and team tactics.

💪🏽 Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech announced that the 10 companies in its fourth class have secured 15 pilots, partnerships, and commercial deals as a result of their participation in the program. 

🚴 Fit Bike is now offering fitness professionals a tool to enhance client engagement and motivation through advanced technology and immersive, game-driven workouts.

🏏 Walt Disney Co and Reliance Industries won approval for the $8.5 billion merger of their Indian media assets, after assuaging regulatory worries about their grip on cricket broadcasting rights.

🏈 The NFL Players Association is suing DraftKings. Their lawsuit claims that the betting giant still owes the league roughly $65 million in guaranteed payments. 

🎟️ TicketRev, the Sacramento Kings and Ticketmaster have partnered to launch Kings Price Setter, a new solution that will allow fans to submit offers to the team for single-game premium seats at Golden 1 Center.

🏈 The NFL and NFL Players Association have mandated the use of a new device to measure field conditions before regular-season games this season. 

⚽ The Famous Group brought broadcast Mixed Reality to the Bundesliga season opener between Borussia Mönchengladbach and defending champion Bayer Leverkusen at Borussia-Park.

🕶️  ARound launched an in-stadium AR experience for Minnesota United FC in partnership with Target.

Money Talks:

💰 NFL owners have approved new ownership rules that will allow private equity firms to buy passive minority stakes in franchises.

💰 Native American PE Firm Bright Path Sports Partners acquired a 44% stake in newly promoted Premier League team Ipswich Town FC.

💰 TickPick, the ticket marketplace, raised $250 million as growth investment from Brighton Park Capital. This represents the largest fundraise in the ticketing industry to date.

💰 Slingshot AI, a New York and London based AI mental health startup, raised approximately $30 million in seed funding. 

💰 Home Run Dugout, Austin based entertainment provider featuring indoor soft-toss baseball, raised $22.5 million in Series A funding.

💰 Cork-based gym management software company, LegitFit raised €1.74 million as they aim to bolster growth in the lucrative UK market.

💰 Fanton Fantasy Football, the blockchain-based fantasy sports platform raised $1 million in a seed funding round. 

💰 Digital sports entertainment and gaming company DraftKings will enhance its in-play betting offering, having acquired Simplebet for an undisclosed amount. 

💰 Evoke will expand its presence in Romania through the acquisition of Winner.ro for €10 million ($11.1m).

💰 Hospitality and experiential group, Legends, has closed its previously announced purchase of venue manager ASM Global.

💰 JSW Sports founder Parth Jindal, invested an undisclosed amount in PadelPark India.

Latest from our channels

🎙 #217 3D Digital Venue: Management & Sports Venue Mapping Technology

Last week on the SportsTech Allstars we had Francis Casado, Head of International Business Development at 3D Digital Venue.

• 3D Digital Venue helps venues modernize and simplify venue mapping, enhancing the online ticket purchase flow and improving event discovery for fans.

• Digital twins and virtual environments have become essential tools for venues to communicate and promote their spaces to fans and customers.

• There are revenue opportunities in creating virtual experiences and engaging global audiences through digital twins.

• The market for digital twins and virtual environments has evolved, with more sports entities and venues recognizing their value and adopting these technologies.

• The use of mobile technology and digital solutions in stadiums and venues is becoming increasingly important for enhancing the fan experience.

🔙 STX Article: Turn Gen AI Potential into Value in the Sports Tech Industry.

✅ STX Monthly: Last month’s sports tech dealflow, in case you missed it.

💪🏽 SportsTech AllStars Recap: Innovation in Broadcasting Tech